Zacc Invaders restoration

[gridrunner]

Hi everyone,

I need to replace the clear plastic panel that covers the artwork on my Zac Space Invaders control panel. This piece of plastic has taken some fag burn and I'd like to replace it. I'm not sure what material it's made of, it's quite a flexible, soft clear plastic.

Ideally I'd need someone to be able to cut a replacement piece to shape for me and drill out the button and screw holes using the original as a template.

Can anyone recommend someone who can do this?

I don't have a great array of tools for this kind of work and would rather have it made up.

thanks

stu

gridrunner2011-12-04 00:04:40

 

[andyman]

Polycarbonate is softer and less rigid than perspex, I could probably do something, let me look at mine and I'll be back

Andy.

 

[gridrunner]

Thanks Andy. The material isn't hard, it's relatively bendy. I was happy when I realised the fag burn was on this 'protector' and not the CP itself.

 

[cliff_poole]

How thick is it ?.

I bought a 2mm polystyrene sheet from Homebase a couple of weeks ago for some DIY and it is easy to cut with a sharp knife.

 

[gridrunner]

Hi,

it's a bit thicker than that, about 3, or 4 mil perhaps. 2mm would be fine, but I'm not sure how to make neat holes big enough for the CP buttons.

stu

 

[cliff_poole]

I have made unusual shaped holes for pinball plastics before.

Leave the protective film on the new bit and lay the old bit on top, then mark up the holes with a waterproof permanent marker. Use a normal sized drill to roughly drill many small holes around the inside of the outline until the center piece can bit broken out. Then, file the hole to shape with a half round file. If you want a really neat job you can polish the edges smooth.

Admittedly, it is a very laborious process.

 

[guddler]

Just buy a hole cutter. They're available in the size you need. Just make sure you buy the solid metal cutter and not the cheap 'alternative' which is like a flexible saw blade bent into a circle. They're useless.

 

[trm]

A big +1 for Gudd's hole cutter suggestion. I've used Q-Max punches in the past and thy give an excellent result. You'll find tons of them on eBay.

 

[andyman]

A Q-Max punch on polycarb would be an interesting one to watch

 

[cliff_poole]

Another thought comes to mind. How deep are the burns ?. Could you sand them out and then polish out the sanding marks. You'd be left with a dent but at least it would look tidy.

 

[PaulSwan]

There was a thread on Dragons Lair Fans about repros of Zaccaria control panels and overlays. Might be worth checking out and asking the dude who did the repros...

Paul.

 

[gridrunner]

Hi Guys,

Just a quick update on this. The artwork is in fact silk screened on the back of the plastic. It just gave the impression it was in two pieces. However, following advice from Mesmeric I've scrapped and then polished out most of the burn with a screwdriver, scouring pad and some novus. Looks a lot better now and no new parts needed!

thanks

 

[cliff_poole]

If you ever get desperate for printed plastics, I discovered stuff called Transfer Adhesive. It comes in sheets and is a very thin, clear, double sided adhesive. You can print out the graphics on normal paper and stick them to the underside of the plastics, with a lot of smoothing and working out the trapped air it doesn't look bad, even with lights behind it.

 

[andyman]

Yeah, its screen printed on the reverse, was going to post this last night but forgot. Glad you sorted it though

Andy.

 

[gridrunner]

On an unrelated note, can someone ID the board in my Zac Invaders? I don't know if it's original or not. I can post pics.

Stu

 

[andyman]

Go on then

 

[guddler]

Certainly can from a pic. Theyre kind of all bootlegs though

 

[gridrunner]

indeed, i think this could be a bootleg of a bootleg of a bootleg

 

[gridrunner]

Hi Chaps,

Here are some pics from the innards. The PCB is single board, has a lot of fixes and odd cludges in evidence. There's what looks like a voltage regulator PCB, and the B+W chassis is probably the simplest I've seen!

Stu

gridrunner2011-11-25 22:30:48

 

[guddler]

PCB doesn't look like a Zacc Invaders to me. Too many ROMs and in the wrong places, plus the board looks too big. Doesn't desperately look anymore of a bootleg than the originals do (well, maybe), it just doesn't look like the invaders. To be honest, looks more like a Subelectro UFO board to me if I had to guess at one but it's been a long time since I've seen mine

My UFO board was originally in a B/W cab despite being a colour game so that isn't a reason to think it might not be.

Rest of the innards look original.