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**Reel Slots** Gaming Machines => Bally Electromechanical => Topic started by: tomstark22 on November 08, 2014, 08:56:29 PM
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Any one have a lead on where to find or have an extra they are willing to part with? I am looking for something similar to these 2 I have attached pics of. Mine are severely flaked and the rest of my glass is in average condition. Thanks for your help!
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Tom:
I know that you want what you want however those glasses might be really hard to find. I sent your pictures to a friend of mine with a stash of glasses. If he has anything I will let you know. Respectfully the games could take a different and nicer belly glass of your choice.
Ra
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If you do find the glass, you can expect to pay around $70 in good condition, suitable for mounting on your Bally EM. These belly glass are not inexpensive and are hard to find.
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Thanks Ra. It doesn't have to be the exact same glass just of similar style. I think these type have so much more character then the standard ones that just have "bally" or "5 cents" I figured the only way I an gonna have much luck is to get lucky finding someone with a stash.... Got my fingers crossed!
rdaniel I understand that this will not be a standard glass price.
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I do hope you find your glass! However, that being said, if I had that glass, or was WANTING that glass, I would be prepared for $200+. Some of these Bally glasses were a very, VERY small run, like 2-3 glasses. This isn't something you're gonna find just anywhere...sorry to be a Debbie Downer, just stating the facts.
Edit: Auto correct gone wrong! Sorry about that! :rotfl:
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I think I deciphered your post CV. With that said has anyone tried touching these up?
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I think I deciphered your post CV. With that said has anyone tried touching these up?
I think your best bet is to look into a company that could do a reproduction. I would start with a company that does pinball back glass. You could try Franks Casino Glass is Las Vegas.. That phone number is 702-207-2440.. Email is CASINOGLASS@AOL.COM. If he has it expect to pay top dollar for vintage glass.
Gary
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Tom
As promised I have put out feelers for you. I think that Roz is right about the price IF you should find the exact match. Gary just reminded me in his post that there was a guy on THIS forum who made custom glass. I don't remember his handle and I haven't seen any posts by him since everything got switched over from .net to .com. We lost a lot of good folks then.
If my old brain can recalls correctly his works looked pretty good and most came in at about $125. I think a digital photo would get him started. If you have time give a look at the archives. I am sure that you will find him there somewhere.
Happy hunting
Ra
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I appreciate all the help. I will call and research around with what you all have given me. Cross my fingers!
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It is possible to do it yourself, but I can see why someone would charge $125. For a full repro, I don't know if that's enough actually (based on my own experience doing it). Do you have any additional pics of the belly glass you're wanting?
We are finishing up a reproduction belly glass for an old Spa Amusements slot machine my husband Darrell just couldn't live without. Well, the machine arrived from AZ with broken glass. We took a picture of the broken glass, photoshopped it to remove any signs of the cracks (took hours, but may have been due to a poor program choice), then had it printed on clear water-decal adhesive laser paper. We will now apply that to an 1/8" piece of glass, over which another piece of 1/8" glass will go.
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Ra, I think you mean Angry ninja and all his stuff was on plexiglass
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If you have one already, you can always just make another one:
1. Scan existing glass.
2. Clean up artwork in Photoshop.
3. Print out artwork on glossy photo paper at full size.
4. Sandwich it in between two 1/8" thick sheets of glass cut to the size of the artwork.
5. Seal edges with silicone. Let dry.
6. Turn over so back side faces up.
7. Mask off any parts of the backside of the glass that need to pass light. (for this, print a second copy of the artwork in low quality, cut out the parts that need to pass light and attach them to the back of the glass in their proper position with stencil adhesive.)
8. Spray the remainder of the back with dark gray spray paint primer. Let paint dry.
9. Remove the masking.
10. Install. When done correctly, the result will look like an original glass.
I've done a half a dozen glasses this way for pinball machines; this would be a whole lot easier, as the art is less complex, you don't have "hidden" things in the glass that need to shine through (ball in play, game over, tilt, etc.) and you don't have to cut holes in the artwork for score reels.
If you're any good with Photoshop (or know someone who is) this is a job that will take an afternoon and probably cost $25 or so.
Charlie
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How can I scan a 20" X 8" piece of glass?
Most wide format scanners are 17X11.
I'm trying to replace a piece of glass also.
Thanks!
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[How can I scan a 20" X 8" piece of glass?
You scan it in several parts and you assemble it into one piece in Photoshop.
Charlie
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It is a good idea to always scan your glass, even if it takes 3 or 4 different scans, you can stitch them together passably with drawing programs. You can also SHARE them with friends if you know what I mean.
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Apparently, we suck at photoshopping, as it took way longer than an afternoon...but I guess it depends on the amount of "clean-up" needed. We had it blown up to like 600-800% to recreate symbols that were just totally destroyed.
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I wish I had some experience with photo shop. That seems to be the key that I am missing in doing this myself.
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Apparently, we suck at photoshopping, as it took way longer than an afternoon...but I guess it depends on the amount of "clean-up" needed.
Depends on the amount of work, of course. I've spent 15-25 hours doing the Photoshop work on a single pinball backglass. That Golden Gate glass, on the other hand, looks like about an hour's worth of work. There's not a lot of detail and the only colors are white, black and teal.
The other one looks a bit more complicated, but not too difficult.
I'd be willing to take a shot at doing the Photoshop work on the Golden Gate glass if you'll make scans available, as it would be useful to have this thread archived as an FYI for those who need to make their own glass sometime. Just scan it in sections and save them as either a jpg or a tiff, preferably at 300dpi, but 150 dpi will probably do. TIFF files zip up really nicely, so that would reduce file size. I'll also need the exact dimensions of the glass and a photograph of the backside in order to see where light needs to pass through.
All provided that you're not in too much of a hurry, of course.
I'll walk you through the whole process of making a belly glass. It's not that hard, as long as you've got access to a decent print shop, such as Kinko's or equivalent.
Let me know.
Charlie
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I would be more than willing and greatful. How are you guys scanning them?
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I would be more than willing and greatful. How are you guys scanning them?
If your glass measures 8"x20", you should be able to scan it in two passes on an 8 1/2" x 11" flatbed scanner. Just lay it down with one edge of the glass at one end of the scanner and let the other end hang off. Close the lid if it has one, and scan it at 300 dpi if you can (as there isn't much detail in the image, 150 dpi will do, but use 300 dpi if you can.) Just save the images as jpg files. If you have a way to either scan the files or save them as TIFF files, they reduce about 90% when put in a zip file, which makes them easier to pass back and forth.
Then I need either scans of the back side of the glass or just a photograph of the back side to see which parts of the glass pass light. Does the whole hot dog pass light? Just part of it? The bridge? The lettering? I need to know that.
I'll attach a few images to give you an idea as to how this works. The first one is a scan I did of the upper glass on my Bally 873. I'm converting it from nickels to quarters and I needed to change the payouts from $10/$150 to $50/$750. I did the scan in two parts, and then pieced it together. The last one shows the finished product, assembled and showing the new payouts.
The second set of images is for a pinball machine that was stored in a barn for years. The paint was peeling badly, so the owner covered the entire back of the glass in tape. It was a mess. That one had to be scanned in nine parts and reassembled in Photoshop. What follows is a photo of the back of the glass, the raw "assembled" image of the front, and the finished artwork.
The third set is another pinball glass. You'll quickly appreciate how much less work is going to be involved in doing a belly glass versus a pinball glass.
The last set shows the front and the back of a pinball glass. The large rectangle in the center is clear glass; there's a mechanism in the head of the machine that's visible to the player. On the back, I masked off the players, the name of the game, balls in play, and a few other things that need to pass light. Then I sprayed the remainder of the glass with gray primer and after it dried, I removed the masking. When installed, the name of the game and the players will light up, just as they did on the original glass.
This process isn't as complex or as difficult as it appears. Once you see how it works, you'll have an "Aha!" moment. Like I said, I'll walk you through it, step by step, but first I need scans.
After that, you'll need two pieces of glass, cut to the correct size, a tube of silicone adhesive, a can of spray stencil adhesive, an X-Acto knife or razor blade, and a can of Krylon gray primer....and printed artwork, of course.
Charlie
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I will scan as soon as I get home. Tell me if this seems correct. This is how I was told it was colored originally?
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Looks good. Just let me know what parts need to have light shine through them. Looks like it's probably everything that isn't black, but I can't tell if the word "featuring" lights up or not. I'll also need the height and width of the glass, measured to the nearest 1/8" of an inch.
Charlie
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Is the artwork printed onto vinyl or onto photo paper?
Is it printed with a vinyl ink jet printer?
What software can be used with the scanner?
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Is the artwork printed onto vinyl or onto photo paper?
Is it printed with a vinyl ink jet printer?
What software can be used with the scanner?
I've always used photo paper, though others have used vinyl. It doesn't really matter, as long as it will hold ink. I use my own inkjet printer if the artwork is 8 1/2" wide or less, otherwise, I take it to a print shop and let them print it on whatever it is they use. I just tell them that I want it printed full size on glossy photo paper and they take it from there. My local Kinko's charges something like $3/square foot, so the cost would be minimal for something like a belly glass, which isn't much more than a square foot in size. Costs will vary from shop to shop, of course, but it shouldn't cost too much.
Most flatbed scanners include software of some type for capturing the image. My old model from Visioneer has a software interface that lets me scan from within Photoshop.
Charlie
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Great Info !! Thanks Very Much!
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Sent you a PM essmeier. Think I am all set to go!
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I've replied with the particulars.
Charlie
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Making a Belly Glass - The Easy Method
OK, here's an update on the process, complete with images and zip files for those who want to try this at home. I'm hoping Tom will post photos as he puts the glass together.
In this post, we're going to discuss the easy method for doing this; the hard method will come in a subsequent post. This method is quite simple, but the hard method may produce better results. It all depends on your artwork and your level of patience.
The image shows three photos - the original scan, the completed cleaned-up artwork, and a black and white negative. All images are the full size of the finished glass, in this case, 15 1/8" x 7 7/8".
Materials needed:
2 pieces of 1/8" thick glass, cut to 15 1/8" x 7 7/8"
1 tube clear silicone
1 color print on glossy paper
1 black and white print on white vinyl
Here's the process:
1. Have the color artwork printed on photo quality glossy paper.
2. Have the black and white artwork printed on white vinyl. It's thinner than paper and will keep our glass from becoming awkwardly thick. We want to block light in the black parts but allow light to pass through the white parts.
3. Lay one piece of glass on a work surface.
4. Lay the black and white image, artwork side up, on the glass.
5. Lay the color image, artwork side up, on top of the black and white image.
6. Put the second piece of glass over the color artwork.
7. Seal the edges with silicone. Allow to dry for a few hours.
Done; you may install your glass.
I've never used this method, so I can't comment on the specific vinyl you need to use. It just needs to be thin and pass light. I know others who have used this and they've had good results. The hard method requires more effort and time, but may provide better results when installed.
Charlie
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Making a Belly Glass - Part II, The Hard Method
This method is more difficult and takes more time and a bit of patience. If you do it right, it will provide a better looking finished product, but the difference between easy method results and hard method results may not be significant enough to justify the extra effort.
The image shows three photos - the original scan, the completed cleaned-up artwork, and a white and black negative. All images are the full size of the finished glass, in this case, 15 1/8" x 7 7/8".
Materials needed:
2 pieces of 1/8" thick glass, cut to 15 1/8" x 7 7/8"
1 tube clear silicone
1 color print on glossy paper
1 white and black print on plain paper (two copies would be helpful, as it never hurts to have a spare)
1 X-Acto knife with a new blade
1 Spray can temporary stencil adhesive
1 Spray can Krylon gray primer
Here's the process:
1. Have the color artwork printed on photo quality glossy paper.
2. Have the white and black image printed on plain paper. We're going to be cutting it up, so the material is not important.
3. Lay one piece of glass on a work surface.
4. Spray a light coat of the stencil adhesive on the back of the white and black artwork. We want just enough to make it stick to the glass but we don't want a permanent bond. Lay the white and black image, artwork side up, on the glass. Adjust properly and smooth out any bumps or wrinkles.
5. Using the X-Acto knife, cut away and remove the border and everything that is white. The only thing that should remain when you're done is the black artwork. This is tedious, as cutting around the lettering can be a headache. Make sure that no adhesive remains on the clear parts of the glass when you're done. You can remove that with a piece of masking tape by just blotting it up.
6. Spray a light coat of gray primer over the clear glass and the black artwork. Don't overdo it; you just want enough to cover everything but you don't want blotches or runs. Do a second light coat, if necessary. Allow the paint to dry for a half hour or so.
7. Remove the paper from the glass. Using the tip of the X-Acto knife can help with this; be careful not to remove paint from the glass. You should now have a painted piece of glass that's clear where all of the lettering and artwork are.
8. Lay the color image, artwork side up, on top of the painted glass.
6. Put the second piece of glass over the color artwork.
7. Seal the edges with silicone. Allow to dry for a few hours.
Done; you may install your glass.
I've used this method a half a dozen times with good results.
Pros - the combination of paint and the color print will absolutely block light in the black parts, and the color parts will pass more light than they will using the easy method, giving you brighter images.
Cons - Much more time consuming and much more tedious. Depending on your artwork, it can be quite a headache cutting around fine or small images or lettering.
I'd recommend using the easy method, but the hard method works well and has advantages for more complex glasses, such as the ones I have to deal with on pinball machines.
Charlie
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I am taking pictures as I go. This has been an amazing help and hopefully when complete I can help someone as Essmeier has helped me. More to come!
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So I finished tonight. I did it a little different then the instructions given. I actually did a vector of the light blocking layer. Then had it cut out at kinkos. Total for the glass from Lowes and a print of the image and the light blocking layer cut I am at about $17. If anyone is in need of the files to take in to have printed let me know. I will share them with everyone since I was so fortunate to be helped to do this. The pics make it look washed out but its not at all. looks great!
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And a few more finished pics.
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That looks super!
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This is all thanks to the help from essmeier. He didn't know me from Adam and he took the time to help me do this. Thank You essmeier!
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Awesome awesome awesome job... :cool_thumb_up: :applause: :hail:
I would be interested in any information you would be willing to share with me.. I have a machine in storage that I picked up a couple years ago and never have been able to find a belly glass. Mines broken and missing a big piece, but after seeing this, it makes me wonder if one could be rebuilt close enough so I could fix the machine. It's not just a belly glass, but the machines feature payout glass.. What do you all think?? See pic
Gary
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Fantastic Job! It makes me want to make glasses in advance for my rarer games. I still don't understand how it was done (not a tech guy) but I am impressed.
Ra
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... Mines broken and missing a big piece, but after seeing this, it makes me wonder if one could be rebuilt close enough so I could fix the machine. It's not just a belly glass, but the machines feature payout glass.. What do you all think?? See pic
Gary
I think that if you can find a decent picture of this glass (higher res is better) somewhere on the internet then you can make one in a similar way.
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Let me understand this guys and gals.. I need a digital picture of my glasses and I am set to make a copy? I am VERY interested now. I am not computer guy but I would be willing to send out a digital picture and pay someone here to produce the glass.
Any takers?
Ra
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Ra,
I've been reading about the process here but haven't done it. But what they are referring to is not a glass reproduction that will be similar in construction to the original. Instead, it is a photographic reproduction printed on paper or plastic film like vinyl or mylar that is sandwiched between two thin pieces of clear glass. The appearance effect you get is very nice and a good substitute when the original glass is not obtainable. The edges of the two pieces of glass are attached to each other to hold the whole thing together, using clear silicone or other method. This also keeps dust from getting inside.
They got the photographic image into the computer by scanning the original glass with a computer flatbed scanner. The scanner is sort of like a copy machine, it creates a computer file with the image of the glass that is scanned. But if your glass is broken and has pieces missing, or you don't have the glass then scanning won't work well. But if you find a quality photograph of the glass then it also can be used to print a quality image.
I think there are also guys and companies setup to do actual glass reproductions where the ink-like paint is applied to the glass. This is frequently done in the pinball hobby for rare glass. This method produces a glass that is essentially the equivalent of the original but it is more costly than the method outlined above. It sounds like essmeier is very familiar with doing all of this, you could contact him and see if he could make what you are wanting.
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Glass looks great, Tom. Not sure I understand the "vector" bit. How, exactly, did they do the black and white layer? Or did they simply print black onto clear material? I'd be concerned about the printed black areas being too translucent.
Tell us more, please.
@rokgpsman
Good description of the process. Create art, print so it passes light in appropriate places, sandwich in between two pieces of glass.
Here's a company that claims to be able to "repair" existing glass. Their interest is pinball glass, but I imagine a paycheck is a paycheck, so I'd inquire. I cannot speak for their work: http://bgresto.com/ (http://bgresto.com/)
@amechanic
A good photo or a scan of a complete glass is a minimum requirement for any kind of reproduction. Obviously, you can't reproduce something if you don't know what it looks like...
@RiseLikeRa
As a rule, I don't have the time to do such things, as they're rather time consuming. I offered to do Tom's artwork for him because it would leave us all with a "how to make your own belly glass" tutorial, which we now have.
The problem is that the amount of time taken to do the artwork is such that it's cost prohibitive to pay someone to do it for you. Most slot machine glasses sell for about $50, tops, if you can find one. While I told Tom it would probably take an hour to do his artwork, I actually spent about six hours on it due to the so-so scans that Kinkos did for him. This is one of those things where you're either going to have to find someone to do it for you as a favor or learn how to do the work yourself. Otherwise, you're going to end up paying hundreds of dollars for the finished product when you take labor into account.
BTW - that's how I learned to use Photoshop. Got a copy of the software, a scanner, and a copy of Photoshop for Dummies. I'm not an artist.
Nice results, Tom.
Charlie
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Thanks Charlie for what you did on this project to help get the "how-to" out there for others. It offers a real alternative to an old machine that wants to be brought back to life but the glass isn't readily available.
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So by creating a vector file you can tell a laser vinyl cutter where to cut. I did this with the black light blocking layer. Then the laser cut out all the white areas of the black and white image This is the sticker vinyl that is used for window decals and stickers. I t blocks the light completely where the black is and everything lines up perfect. I saved everything in one folder so I could literally send the files to anyone and they could put them on a flash drive, take it in to kinkos and have all your artwork done. Then get your glass and viola. As much as I like having some original glass hopefully everyone will benefit from the process that was shared. If I can help or answer more question or try and give more help let me know. I plan on trying to get a few more better pics up soon.
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I wasn't aware that Kinko's had the ability to do that. I actually own a vinyl cutter, though it uses a blade, rather than a laser. I use it to create stencils for repainting pinball machine cabinets, but I suppose if I used black vinyl, I could use it to create a masking layer.
Hadn't thought of that, but it would simplify things a bit. Plus, it's something I could do at home.
We're talking about one of these:
http://www.uscutter.com/USCutter-SC-Series-Vinyl-Cutter-w-Sure-Cuts-A-Lot-Pro-Design-Cut-Software (http://www.uscutter.com/USCutter-SC-Series-Vinyl-Cutter-w-Sure-Cuts-A-Lot-Pro-Design-Cut-Software)
The same company sells them on eBay for quite a bit less than they charge on their Website. HUGE learning curve to figure out the badly-documented software, for what it's worth.
Charlie
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Charlie I will email you the files tonight and you can see if they are of use to you and your system.
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Very cool! Nicely done, may have to try it on mine!
- Joe
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Great topic! Thanks for all the info and suggestions.
Jeff
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Hi al,
read this topic and want to add something to it.
making a glass with the print between two sheets of glass is nice but there is a better way. A one-layer selfadhesive sticker You put on the backside of a sheet
of glass to make a perfect remake with no fading of colors even when there is a light is behind it and also the 'depth' of an original glass. a video of how it's done you find here
[size=78%]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf9BhUuSSUg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf9BhUuSSUg)[/size]
it's now also possible to make a glass with the real mirror lines directly printed on the backside of the glass,
(https://newlifegames.com/nlg/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.coos.net%2Fbingo_e%2Fimages%2Fbally-wild-deuces-1.jpg&hash=a24e8065e6fa9a0793c0d76a3109641f2f64e211)
With this new technique it's possible to make a backglass that really can compete the original ones and can be made one at the time.
all the best, Coos
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Looks impressive! So what does it run for something like that? My Pay glass is in sad shape.
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`
A top glass with the real mirror lines is 150 euro
and a one-layer foil for a belly glass is 75 euro
Coos
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Technology is improving all the time. It's all just a matter of how you want to approach it, and how much money you want to spend. The backlit poster route is another way to go. A few pinball guys I know have used this company to create new backglasses for their pinball machines: http://backlitposters.com/ (http://backlitposters.com/)
It's still the "sandwich" technique, but it's relatively "hands off."
Any solution that produces results that satisfy you is a good one.
Charlie
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I would not mind have glasses made for some of my rarer games.
Ra
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Hi Charlie,
if costs are a point, You're right, the "sandwich" is cheaper but You can't compare the result.... it's like comparing apples with pears.
Also know that there are people who really want to have a mirrored glass for their machines. it's a pitty that it always about the money.
Just want people to know that the new technique is available if wanted....
Coos
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Really helpful. What is the process for making the image?
Regards,
Jeff
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@Coos
Please don't misunderstand; new techniques, especially those that offer real improvement, are always welcome. Reproducing a glass with mirroring hasn't been possible before, so that's a good solution if you have a glass with mirroring.
It's not always about the money, but for some people, having a "perfect" recreation isn't all that important and they're probably not willing to pay for it or even take the time to get something that looks professional. For them, any fast or cheap solution will be good enough.
For others, nothing short of mirroring and four-color silkscreen-on-glass will be satisfactory.
There are many different problems, many different owners, and many different solutions. Anyone who reads this thread has access to all of them, including yours, and they can choose the method that they feel will work best for them.
The nice thing about the sandwich method, at least in terms of slot machines, is this - if you have a scanner and an inkjet printer, you can do the entire product at home.
Charlie
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@charlie no, problem... I know what you mean but for myself I always try to make the best possible. And nothing beats real mirror lines when needed.
@ Jeff, ideal would be to make a scan from the old backglass but high res. pictures is also possible. Photoshop is needed anyway...
Coos
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I came here knowing that I would find some useful information on making new glass for a machine that I'm customizing to be a 1 of a kind. This was right up my alley since I am already creating the design for both pieces of glass. I use a program called PAINT SHOP PRO 7 by JASC. I prefer it to any other paint or picture program ever made and i have tried and own many others. Full verisions of PhotoShop including all plug ins and video programs as well, drawing, photo edit etc..Maybe it's just because I'm used to using the PSP7 program for so many years now.
I also have a large selection of paper available from piles of special papers I have been buying over the years at thrift stores and when i saw it on sale at stores. I have some variety packs of paper that has specialty paper like clear decal vinyl sheets, plastic high res photo sheets, both matte finish and glossy as well as hundreds of glossy and matte photo paper. The plastic or vinyl photo stock is much thinner than the regular photo paper stock plus it will not discolor like a regular paper stock will. I have not checked it for luminosity yet and will do so after I post this to see what kind of light passing or blocking qualities it has
This post has solidified what i have tried in the past but has also shown a few new ideas as well. I'm curious as to how I can make hidden areas that will light when something is activated in a feature, like when the SirPrize feature is activated I have wired a light to signify this since the machine lacked that notification. I would like to be able to havean area that would light up without having a circle or spot that has a word or symbol there but rather be a SIRPRIZE to the player when this is activated. I was considering having the belly glass change colors by lighting a colored bulb and lighting a candle on top that has rings that light to show the number of spins left on that feature. I am also looking to add 2 or 3 sounds to the machine and could use advice on that also. but for now I'm looking at making the glass this week.
I have some ideas that will use diodes to signify features and Jack pot payouts, now that diodes are getting brighter and last so long they are the obvious way to go. Hidden areas could be something that might be made lighted by a row of diodes along the edge of the glass and pass the light across the entire screen, thus changing the color of the glass in front of the images as allowed by clear or blacked out areas. Also changing the color of the reel viewing areas until the feature has ended.
Anyone have any experience with this type of lighting effect?
I should add that my main reel lighting is a Black Light bulb and my reel tapes are printed in UV colors (Fluorescent) but I have made my own new reel tape with hand painted symbols using glow in the dark paints and fluorescent paints that only show up when the light is on.
The belly glass lighting is normal white light right now and that edge lighting would apply to the belly glass as well.
Any ideas are welcome, this place always seems to have some creative input and offers a vast amount of information if you know where to look. I've always shared my ideas and provided wiring diagrams for circuits I drew up. I have also made a SirPrize feature that actually works, unlike the Bally versions that I have seen published. Many times this is the only place you will find information on those rare or rarely discussed or even known to exist topics. :thank_you:
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I ran across this Tangiers machine on eBay and got inspired to make my own gaff belly glass. I'm semi competent will vector graphics tools so I can create the art work. Also read something about E.I thread regarding custom glass but I can't find the thread.
I'd be taking the Tangiers logo and replacing the Bally logo from photo 2. Ideally the symbols and Tangiers fill would pass light with a stroke that matched the line on the symbols.
A second thought is to do a stardust logo... Is there a color change film or a pearl? Similar idea but stroke would glow and the fill on stardust in something sparkly and late 70's is. From photo 3.
If I had the cash I'd bring this to coos.net but I want to try this for a few projects. Also read something about E.I thread regarding custom glass but I can't find the thread
I'm looking for some that can provide a scan of the Bally stock glass from photo 2 to start with.
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I recently acquired a Bally 891 Super Continental that had problems with the payout glass. It's mostly good, but the part of the pay table for the Super Symbols had a lot of cracking and some missing paint.
As that's the part that's right at eye level when you're playing the machine, I found it distracting, so I thought I'd make a new glass. I'd prefer to buy an original, but glass for this machine is somewhat scarce.
It was an easy but tedious Photoshop job, and with glass and a professional print, it ran about $60. I just needed to cut out the hole for the credit counter. I also sprayed the back piece of glass with a light coat of white primer to diffuse the light a bit.
I also found out that my local glass shop carries glass that's thinner than 1/8" - they call it "single strength," and it's used for picture frames. I think it's 0.093" in thickness. Works better than 1/8" glass for this job, as this payout glass has a metal frame that goes around it and two layers of 1/8" glass would make it too thick. With the thinner glass, the finished product is close to the 3/16" thickness of the original glass.
Before and after photos attached.
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That looks great!
I have a Bally 742 in desperate need of a glass re-do as well.
Glad you posted this. It's inspiring to know how great the results can be.
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Thanks. While the method of using a print in between two pieces of glass may not be the "best" method of replacing an original, it works, it's easy to do, and it's relatively cheap. Casual observers don't know it's not a silkscreened original.
Another alternative, though it's more expensive, would be to visit a site called bgresto.com.
Their business is primarily restoring pinball glass, but they can do one-off restorations of just about any kind of silkscreened glass. You send them your original and they work from that and either fix it or replace it, using a technique that involves using an oven to bond the artwork directly to the glass.
The tradeoff is that it's somewhat expensive ($250 or so) and can take 3-4 months for them to do the work.
I don't have any personal experience with them, but their work is regarded well on the pinside.com pinball forum.
Charlie
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any place online to get glass blanks?
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Glass blanks? What do you mean by glass blanks?
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I got some bad glass, don't want to scrap it off, id rather just start with new glass, a blank one
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I got some bad glass, don't want to scrap it off, id rather just start with new glass, a blank one
Local glass cutting shop probably be best for that.
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Ok. In that case just about any hardware store or glass shop will be able to cut you a piece of glass
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I know this thread is pretty old but it sounds like something I'd like to try. Has anybody ever done a reel glass that has things that have to be hidden at times and lit at other times (the "insert coin", "coin accepted", etc)? If so, what technique did you use?
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It's not terribly difficult to do. I outlined the full process in this post.
(http://newlifegames.com/nlg/index.php?topic=4107.msg21636#msg21636)You need to have two printed layers between the sheets of glass. The top layer is your artwork that's visible when you're playing the machine.
The second layer is a background layer that will be mostly black.
The key is the background layer - it needs to be entirely black except where you need light to pass.
For most applications, the background layer is simply black and white, with the text that you need to see in white and everything else in black. If you need "Coin Accepted" or "Insert Coin" to appear in some other color, then that portion of the background layer will have to be printed in that color.
As long as the background layer will allow light to pass through it, the light should pass through to the front and appear as text when appropriate.
Take a look at the last image in this post.
(http://newlifegames.com/nlg/index.php?topic=4107.msg21317#msg21317)The bottom part of the last image shows an illuminated glass for a game called Base Hit. Just above the name of the game on the glass, you'll see the number 20 illuminated, and the words, "Game Over" lit above that.
Those are only visible at certain times, and the number 20 is one of nine different numbers that appear in that row, and each is visible only when it's supposed to be.
The image directly above that one shows the back side of the glass and how it was done. The words, "Tilt," "Game Over," and the row of numbers "13 20 27 25 17 23 10 33 15" only show when the lights behind them are lit.
I hope this makes sense.
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Yes, that makes sense and seems not too challenging. I'm going to try the project using the artwork that is already in this thread since the photoshop stuff is already done and it would make a nice display piece in a backlit box.
If that works out well, I'd like to do a custom belly glass and reproduce a reel glass that is in poor shape. I'll have to learn how to use photoshop which might be a good retirement project!
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So I finally got around to getting this project done. As previously mentioned, I wanted to do this as a test to see if making a custom glass would give me good results. I think the answer is absolutely yes.
I tried a couple different methods. I tried having the images printed on plain and glossy photo paper. The plain paper did not give a good appearance but the glossy photo paper did. I backed them with the negative image printed on plain paper. The images were about one dollar per set.
I also tried using the backlitposters.com product. The owner contacted me and said that they don't do images as small as needed or to 1/8th inch precision but that he would print them on one sheet and I could cut them to size. See the attached image. The total was $20 for the print and $10 for shipping. It was a little tricky to cut the images but it turned out okay; a large paper cutter would have helped.
I sandwiched each between two pieces of glass, 1/8th inch in front and 1/16th inch in back to get it close to the original size. It was about $16 for each set of glass; getting tempered glass would have about doubled the cost.
In the attached picture, the photo print is in the 742A on the left and the back lit posters is in the 809 on the right. The photography sucks but the back lit poster definitely "pops" more. The contrast is better and more vivid. The photo also looks good but it is a bit more muted. Based on this comparison, I would make a test run using a print on photo paper and once satisfied with the artwork, print the final product on the back lit poster.
One of the things I noticed is that the original design is actually poorly designed. The slot machines have two fluorescent tubes that create dark and bright spots in the artwork. It's more noticeable in person than in the photos but the far edges where the "Golden" and "...ger" are is much dimmer than the center of the artwork. Since I want to do custom artwork, I'm going to try to avoid the extreme edges. The original Bally Fruit and Bally surrounded by gold leaf are done perfectly to optimize the existing lighting. The last photo is in a frame that I built that has led lighting all around the edges which eliminates the dark and bright spots.
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It's interesting that you tested multiple methods side by side.
I've seen the backlit poster method used in a pinball machine with so-so results, as the artwork wouldn't pass light well enough to be effective for certain parts of the poster that needed to be lit based on game features. Of course, the pinball machine had #47 bulbs in it, and not a pair of fluorescent tubes. Huge difference in light output there.
Looks like that method does work well if all you need is to pass general illumination.
I'm not surprised that that the Golden Gate glass wasn't well designed. That glass was likely designed to fit in multiple machines, and honestly, they likely didn't care about anything except making sure everything lit up and that the name of the casino was spelled correctly.
Thanks for sharing the results.