How to make custom reels

[visthis]

I am in the mist of trying to convert a basic macine to look like an M&M machine. This machine is for my sister who is a collector of M&M's I thought that this would be the perfect gift for her birthday. Does anyone have any information on how to convert the reels? There are alot of people on the web who can do the belly glass but the reels are the tough part. Help!

[scooby_doo_m2002]

shoot Dapperdan or Lzzdritt a pm... they have done it before..... actually if you see monopoly, steelers super bowl, or scooby doo on ebay, those are dapperdan's customs....

[SpeedRacer888]

OK I have seen this done. First mark the reel and the plastic were the pictures are so you can line them up later and then also note the order they are in, say.. left to right (Each reel plastic is different). Then have someone make them on plastic. (I have seen them done different ways) I mean some done on paper and others on plastic. Once you get someone to make what you want you glue them back on the way the originals were and in the same order. I say mark them because you want to be sure they line up and also that the same order is acheived otherwise they will not be right. I hope this helps you out. I have seen many machines converted and they looked Great. There was a Monoploy one that was done on Ebay that was one awesome job.. I am sure you M&M's one will look every bit as nice!

P.S. also make sure that the spacing is correct between the pictures on the reels.. your actually making duplicates of the exsisting reels with different pictures on them so you sould have identical reel plastics with the exception of the pictures.


Regards,
Tony

[rjb0388]

Yep scooby, Dapperdan is the man when it comes to custom conversions. Very professional, He has many kits available, and all are sweet. Don't know if he has an MM's one, but you could ask him.

Good Luck,
RJ

[SpeedRacer888]

Yep scooby, Dapperdan is the man when it comes to custom conversions. Very professional, He has many kits available, and all are sweet. Don't know if he has an MM's one, but you could ask him.

Good Luck,
RJ

Sweet! It's nice to know someone here that can actually do it!!!


Tony

[dapperdan]

I have gotten a few e-mails about custom stuff and here are a few tips.

When customizing a machine you usually want to get one the does not back light the reels and then use paper to print your reels on. It would be possible to print on back light film but you are never going to get the same effect as what the original one looked liked. The problem is they silk screen a black layer on the back the allows light threw the image of the shape. Also many times you can see the plastic reel cage showing through the reels and it looks strange. You may be able to remove the lights behind the reels but if the front light turns off and on (some machines do this to give a neat effect to the back lit reels) it is not going to look good.

For some tips on how to mark the reel strips and take them off you can visit my page at www.barncow.com/custominfo - This shows how to mark the reels so you can put on your reels in the right spot. Different machines layout their symbols in different a different order so you are going to have to figure out which ones go where. Different brands also sometimes have different size cages so you are going to have to measure the strip you took of the machine to make sure you get it right. You will then have to use a computer program like Adobe Illustrator to make sure your measurements are right (Microsoft Word is not going to cut it).

The largest amount of work is creating the graphics and I spend 10+ hours just working on the graphics for a machine sometimes. You want 200-300 pixels per inch so getting high resolution graphics can be a challenge and you will spend a lot of time just trying to find graphics that high. I will first try and get vector based images (info on what vector is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vector_graphics ) since these will give you clean lines at large sizes (pretty much at any size).

I get request all the time for custom machines (can you make be a great space coaster machine?) and I have to charge at least $500 or such a machine. Those whoever have made a custom machine knows how much work goes into it.

You can see the machines that I have made at www.barncow.com/slots

Anyway if anybody has any questions, feel free to post them in this thread.

[Eddie]

Fantastic work! Great info and great directions! Thanks.

[visthis]

What type of paper do you use for the reels? Or is it a type of plastic?

[dapperdan]

I use epson premium luster paper on a 100ft roll. It is thick Photo Paper.

[Lddrizzt]

When I did the Looney Tunes, I laminated the reel strips with a thin laminate. This made them feel very close to the originals.

[scooby_doo_m2002]

Lddrizzt, I am sorry for misspelling your name. I didn't do it on purpose....

[DaStooge]

I just skip the reel part alltogether, I'm old school, I still use a cane pole

[Davis]

I did a custom Indiana Hoosiers machine and the first one you do is always quite tough. It took me at least a couple of months working on it in the evening to get it finished! Its a great project and you feel awesome when you get done, but alot of it is a ton of patience!

http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/1...01597fb.th.jpg

[scooby_doo_m2002]

is it a real pain in the behind to do the reel glass? I see very few customs with the reel glass done also....

[Davis]

Arby does it I think, but ive never really taken the time to do it. You would have to basically take the door off and unscrew every piece of electronics on the door then find a way to get the glass off. That woudl be the easy part though. The hard part woudl be making sure the the bonus lights and symbols on the existing glass were lined up with what you printed on the new glass. I think it woudl be pretty tough so ive never even considered it! it sure woudl look great though!

[rjb0388]

I recently won a Yamasa New Red Pulsar machine, should be here tomorrow. If the machine checks out OK, I will be ordering one of dapperdan's kit. The New England Patriots kit. I always wanted to try to do a conversion. Seems like a fun project.

[alstonj1]

I use epson premium luster paper on a 100ft roll. It is thick Photo Paper.

question have you thought of using the transparency sheets for overhead projectors to make reels for the back lit machines it might be worth trying .
if possible could you send me a file of a reel design to play with don't care of what just like to try the transparency theory out with the right size graphics .....

[dapperdan]

The reel strips are about 27 inches long so unless you can find a really big piece of transparency film you are gong to have to put 3 pieces together (since transparency film is 8.5x11 inches).

Also Overhead Tranparency film is not going to work because it is very clear like glass. In order for transparency film to work correctly it needs a coating of white on one side so you don't see the see through it like a piece of glass. Otherwise you would see the bare lights.

I buy my film from here
http://www.inkjetart.com/photo_papers/backlight.html

If you want backlight film that is one piece at 27 inches, you are going to have to buy it on a roll and cut it down.

All my reel graphics are put together in QuarkXPRESS so sending you a file may not do you much good unless you have that program.

question have you thought of using the transparency sheets for overhead projectors to make reels for the back lit machines it might be worth trying .
if possible could you send me a file of a reel design to play with don't care of what just like to try the transparency theory out with the right size graphics .....

is it a real pain in the behind to do the reel glass? I see very few customs with the reel glass done also....

It is a pain. You have to cut out squares that show the reels, credits, etc. and make sure all the lights light up correctly behind it. You also have to replace the plexiglass and take the inside a part to get it in. I have only made one design that switches the reel glass which was a star wars.

It sure looks good though when you do it.

http://www.barncow.com/slots/starwars-slot-01.jpg

[dattia]

Thanks Dapperdan for the link of your customs. Of course, the whole concept of customs has been a hot topic here....several times. Regardless of whether I like the idea of customs or not, I think your customs are awesome. Start to finish, they are cohesive, complete and in good taste. Thanks for sharing your information and experience.

[alstonj1]

i thought you said you used adobe illustrator in a previous post . i have that program . oh well ill do a little experimentation on my own .have an extra reel from my don don king thanks to 5stars recklessness in packaging we'll see what i can come up with ....