wottenad Posted January 4, 2023 Posted January 4, 2023 After a shit-ton of effort and grabbing info from here, Facebook groups and other forums, I finished my build and wrote a 77-page breakdown of the process: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yDKPUMLcO6fLOZWT_GZ7D96KADYGWFXI/view?usp=share_link. Here are some of the photos I shot as it was under construction: https://photos.app.goo.gl/xhrtzXsoEXbp6eoT9 I'm posting in case it might help others with ideas about what to do on their own builds. It is pretty complete, with the following features: 43" 4K playfield 32" 1080 backglass 19" monitor DMD (2) 8" apron screens i5-12400 CPU, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD RTX3060 video card VirtuaPin widebody kit (black) VirtuaPin button kit 750W PC power supply 24VDC power supply 5VDC power supply 12VDC power supply (4) exciters 8" subwoofer 6.5" car audio separate speakers 3 car audio amplifiers (600+ watts) pop bumpers, slingshots & flippers from 1963 Williams Tom Tom knockers, bells, gear motor, tilt bob & mercury switch from 1963 Williams Tom Tom shaker motor Teensy 4.0, Octo WS2811 Addressable LED matrix, side rails, speaker grilles & backbox RGB undercab, flipper buttons, magnasaves Zeb's Boards plunger & expansion board (2) SainSmart 16 channel relay boards (2) LED Wiz (2) LED strobes tons of 3-D printed parts all wiring was sleeved and heat-shrunk all wire runs were contained in cable raceways all components were set up with threaded inserts and quick disconnects to allow easy service I'm not done yet, as it still needs graphics and some fine-tuning of various things (mainly software), but it is 100% playable and is pretty badass. It's honestly more fun than the other real machines I own. I don't think I'll get rid of the real ones, but the VPB will be getting most of the play time, for sure. I'm happy to help anyone with questions or clarification on anything done in the build. Walt
robertms Posted January 4, 2023 Posted January 4, 2023 1 hour ago, wottenad said: It's honestly more fun than the other real machines I own. Now that's what I'm talking about! P.S. Great write up. Congrats on a beautiful machine!
Coolman Posted January 4, 2023 Posted January 4, 2023 6 hours ago, wottenad said: After a shit-ton of effort and grabbing info from here, Facebook groups and other forums, I finished my build and wrote a 77-page breakdown of the process: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yDKPUMLcO6fLOZWT_GZ7D96KADYGWFXI/view?usp=share_link I'm posting in case it might help others with ideas about what to do on their own builds. It is pretty complete, with the following features: 43" 4K playfield 32" 1080 backglass 19" monitor DMD (2) 8" apron screens i5-12400 CPU, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD RTX3060 video card VirtuaPin widebody kit (black) VirtuaPin button kit 750W PC power supply 24VDC power supply 5VDC power supply 12VDC power supply (4) exciters 8" subwoofer 6.5" car audio separate speakers 3 car audio amplifiers (600+ watts) pop bumpers, slingshots & flippers from 1963 Williams Tom Tom knockers, bells, gear motor, tilt bob & mercury switch from 1963 Williams Tom Tom shaker motor Teensy 4.0, Octo WS2811 Addressable LED matrix, side rails, speaker grilles & backbox RGB undercab, flipper buttons, magnasaves Zeb's Boards plunger & expansion board (2) SainSmart 16 channel relay boards (2) LED Wiz (2) LED strobes tons of 3-D printed parts all wiring was sleeved and heat-shrunk all wire runs were contained in cable raceways all components were set up with threaded inserts and quick disconnects to allow easy service I'm not done yet, as it still needs graphics and some fine-tuning of various things (mainly software), but it is 100% playable and is pretty badass. It's honestly more fun than the other real machines I own. I don't think I'll get rid of the real ones, but the VPB will be getting most of the play time, for sure. I'm happy to help anyone with questions or clarification on anything done in the build. Walt Better than a new real pinball.....professional done love it...
blastactionhero Posted January 4, 2023 Posted January 4, 2023 awesome work....i´m not a fan of wide body but this machine looks amazing !!! can you please tell what exact monitor you used.. thx
wottenad Posted January 4, 2023 Author Posted January 4, 2023 7 hours ago, blastactionhero said: awesome work....i´m not a fan of wide body but this machine looks amazing !!! can you please tell what exact monitor you used.. thx I used a 43" LG 4K TV that I bought at Costco (https://www.costco.com/lg-43"-class---uq8000-series---4k-uhd-led-lcd-tv.product.100970917.html) for use as my treadmill TV, before I even learned what a VPB was. Fortunately it does have low latency game mode, so although it's only a 60hz monitor, it is pretty smooth and snappy. If I was going to go all out and do it again, I would probably do a different playfield monitor, but this one was a starter and I didn't know what I didn't know when I started. I don't know if I would spring for a 144hz monitor, as that would require a much better video card than I bought, and the benefit would be relatively small based on the cost difference. The only downside to this monitor is that like all cheap TVs, blacks are not really black, and when the room is dark the backlight is almost always too bright if you are on a dark screen (like a Windows desktop), but once a game is on you really can't tell it at all - it looks pretty stunning during gameplay. Everyone that has seen it is pretty blown away. The backglass monitor was a 32" 10-year old TV I bought on Craigslist for $60 (and probably overpaid at that). It's a POS but functions perfectly well for this application, and honestly, the only thing a newer monitor would have done would have been to make the back box slightly slimmer width-wise and slightly shorter, as the bezel around this screen is pretty huge. It was kind of nice though in that it had a hole in each corner that let me mount it on 4 studs with nuts, making for a VERY solid mount.
Richie Posted January 5, 2023 Posted January 5, 2023 This build is awesome and I love the haptics and aprons setup I have the same apron monitors setup. Oh wait I think I got the apron monitors from you! Thank you for the detailed write up on your build it will come in handy when I start my haptics set up.
KeenCobra Posted January 5, 2023 Posted January 5, 2023 Great write-up and awesome job! Thanks for sharing.
basemodel Posted February 14, 2023 Posted February 14, 2023 (edited) Holy bananas… this is truly unreal. I was pretty proud of my build but this is an order of magnitude cooler. As an AVL installer, I care about management, serviceability, quality of connectors… labeling and coding! All stuff you hit a home run on. Such a great job sir! id like to explore your flipper solution a bit. I have (4) real flipper mechs from the TZ cabinet I got to house my VP. I’d like to swap them with a 24v coil like the A-17875. They would already be running w an EOS switch but I’m worried that (2) flips and (2) slings at 7 amps on impact is going to be too much for my supply. Edited February 14, 2023 by basemodel
Tristen Posted March 7, 2023 Posted March 7, 2023 I wanted to know how the lockbar that your ordered fit. Was you dimensions for width spot on? I have been designing my own in sketchup and I am probably going to order the same "Ultimate Cab Builder's Kit" with widebody lockbar that you ordered. Great build by the way!
uopercival Posted March 2, 2025 Posted March 2, 2025 Wow, what a fantastic writeup and well done on the cabinet. I'm looking to build my 1st full sized cab and your details will come in very handy. Thought it was great that given your car audio background, you used an old Alpine amp for the speakers!
brefreez Posted May 30, 2025 Posted May 30, 2025 (edited) Wottenad's writeup, pinscape build guide and way of the wrench have been a godsend to guide me through the unknown. I followed Wottenad's plans but I am using a 15" lcd instead of a 19". I am totally blown away how good this is turning out, got about 7 more things to do before paint. Thank you very much for sharing your experience with everyone, it cleared up a lot of stuff. Hopefully it should be complete by the end of June, but one thing at a time. Forgot to mention on my butt joints I used the pocket jig on the inside of the cabinet with gorilla glue on every joint leaving the outside clean, I wasn't sure how well it would work , but its so strong it feels like you could set a car on top of it its that solid. Remember, perfection is a cruel mistress. Edited May 30, 2025 by brefreez
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now