Building a Speeder Arcade game

I've lurked this forum for a while and am finally tackling a project that I thought I should share and that I could get some great help and advice on.

I'm in the early stages of building a ride on 74-Z speeder that is being build on the frame of an old SEGA Super Hang-On ride on machine. When complete the build will allow one to play Star Wars Trilogy Arcade and Star Wars Racer by leaning and controlling the speeder.

As such everything I'm building has to be extremely durable as it is being made to be used. I'm not going for 100% screen accuracy but am trying to execute more along the lines of what one would find in an arcade.

The build will be a steel frame on a fiberglass body with metal and plastic accents. My biggest challenge thus far is figuring out the speeder handles. Specifically, can they be created from found objects or do I need to have them fabricated? I think I'm going to just have to bite the bullet and have them milled but thought I'd put it out to all of you builders first.

The link to my build thread on BYOAC can be found in my signature under New Republic Flight Trainer but here are a few pics for those who don't feel like clicking.


This is my promo teaser art


This is the sacrificial frame

Anyway, thanks for looking and thanks for all the help!

Looks like it will be pretty neat once completed. Good luck with it.

Subscribed.. Look forward to updates. Be neat to make a 3d helmet in the shape of a scout trooper lid.

Way cool. Where are you planning on putting it? Will it fit in your basement?

Umm, yes please.

Thanks everybody. I'll be sure and cross post here as I get things rollin'. The VR helmet is already on the drawing board but we will have to see if it's doable with the other hardware.

Humanoid said:

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Way cool. Where are you planning on putting it? Will it fit in your basement?

Bend over and I'll show you.

Do you even have to ask? Of course, but first I'll have to clear out the turtles, bricks, and hairbrushes.

alienscollection.com said:

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Umm, yes please.

Seconded.

Dude! If I had this when I was a kid I would have never left my house! Eh who am I kidding? If I had this now I would never leave my house!

What an awesome idea! I have a speeder bike build on the horizon, I was going to make the handles out of wood heavily coated in poly so they're smooth and can be painted like weathered metal.

I built my own arcade box (MAME) with the Centipede theme (full size artwork decals on the side) and it is awesome!! Child of the 80's with every arcade game he ever wanted! A ride-style game is the holy grail (motor cycle, car, speeder bike)... you're approaching nirvana brotha! Good Luck and we're here to help.

In regards to handle bars.... using bike handle bar style tubing and a resin cast of a custom sculpt would work. You could even have a 3D print made of the handle and mold it/cast it if the 3d print isn't strong enough.

savagesword said:

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I built my own arcade box (MAME) with the Centipede theme (full size artwork decals on the side) and it is awesome!! Child of the 80's with every arcade game he ever wanted! A ride-style game is the holy grail (motor cycle, car, speeder bike)... you're approaching nirvana brotha! Good Luck and we're here to help.

Awesome, for me arcade building has been a passion for about the last decade and the ante keeps getting raised. This is just one in a long line of builds that has lead me to tackle something on this order of magnatude.

In regards to handle bars.... using bike handle bar style tubing and a resin cast of a custom sculpt would work. You could even have a 3D print made of the handle and mold it/cast it if the 3d print isn't strong enough.

Orange_Blend said:

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I was going to make the handles out of wood heavily coated in poly so they're smooth and can be painted like weathered metal.

Great suggestions, I think that I definetely need to do a full size mockup out of MDF at least. My concern is the point of connection to the hull. The handlebars themselves won't rely on the hull for load bearing but it is a single connection point that has to rotate for my build. I'm leaning towards a solid aluminum build but will have to make friends with an industrial machinist as commisioning those two pieces could run me a ransom. I just don't know if a synthetic outer over a metal core that I'll get the stability and long term durability that I'm after. I'm likely to have to machine the ends no matter what so I may as well go whole hog I'm thinking. The handles are 3/4" steel tubing that will be threaded for a screw on to the handle bar ends. I already have the grips and other related doodads on hand.

While I'm taking suggestions, any idea where to get tubing that tapers? The front foil supports reduce in diameter as they extend from the hull, I can use wood but that's a lot of sanding. If there's a more out of the box solution out there I'm all ears for that.

You could always do the MDF to get the shape but run a metal tube through it for strength, attaching it to the hull that way.

Ah...so you're quite experienced with arcade building...that's awesome!

I was thinking more about the handle structure. From looking at the picture again, I see a structure built of turned aluminum rods with threaded ends going into aluminum block joints. These are simple machining processes...so you should have no problem getting quotes.

I suggest drawing a 3D model so you can communicate your goal easily to people.

One resource is emachineshop. They give you free 3d software that allows you to draw basic stuff then get an instant quote for the cost.

yes..Yes...YES!

This is gonna be sweet!

Savagesword's comment about block joints triggered something in the way I was looking at this sub project. Word associtation maybe, weird flash backs to art school... anyway. I started breaking the shaped up into components and layers and after about two hours of tinkering with mdf, doing measurements and some unnecesary routing I realized that I can build the entire set from bar stock. There is only one 15 degree bend and all the rest can be done piecemeal then torched together.

I have a source to do all the flat cuts, he was just unable to do any milling but I've taken care of that. I'll need to jump onto photoshop and start exploding the handle bars into the components needed so I can have templates (re)printed. Once I get that done I'll need to template out the rest of the cuts needed so I can send them off in batch. Doing it this way will slow me down a bit but I think I'll have better results + the durability that I'm looking for.

I'm really itching to start carving foam but I know that i need to get all my brackets and supports done first so I can ensure that everything will go together. Just so hard not to jump to the fun stuff.

Here's the cut sheet I'll be sending off. This is about everything but I'm sure I'll have another order of alibi pieces by the end. This doesn't include bracketing which will be done in house.



I welcome all critiques and recommendations if there is anything glaringly wrong. Thanks!

While I'm waiting for parts I'd like some ideas about what droid I should build to go with this build.

The back story on the arcade is that the New Republic has these manufactured and sends them out to remote worlds as a recruitment/training tool. Think "Last Starfighter" meets "SW". As such the speeder build won't just go to a console and tv as that would kill the illusion. I am planning to build a companion droid that will serve as both the electronic housing for the build (MAME rig + SEGA boards for SW Racer Arcade) and as the display unit.

I haven't decided if I'm going to have a screen raise and lower out of the droid or if I'm going to integrate a high lumen projector. Due to my size requirements I've been looking at GONK and PLNK droids. Boxy shapes that are easy to fit components into, but I'm wondering if there are other droids or SW containers that would fit the bill. If I wasn't doing the real arcade boards I'd use an R2 unit or similar astromech style droid but they don't have the interior space for everything I need to cram in.

Thanks for any suggestions and pics welcome. Help me find a good droid!

Foil is progressing nicely. I took it to the stage needed to build the frame support but was having such a good time I decided I'd continue to flesh it out. I plan on finishing the foil before moving on, that way I can break up the build into several small sculptural components so I'm not spending months and months sorting through piles of half finished parts.

Still a lot to do

• Add one additional cross member
• Add inner and outer pole support struts
• Add support struts to upper fins (will correct minor fin adjustment issues at that time)
• Sculpt greeblies on several pieces
• New hardware
• Complete prep on poles for paint
• Surface and brush aluminum

Aluminum will be selectively detailed for final paint scheme which will be done en masse before top coating

This looks awesome can't wait to see more on it

Great start! Will continue to watch this one...

Any news le chuck?.
Thought I would bump here and not the other place for a change.

Whaddup Rocky? Nothing picture worthy but there are updates.

I've ironed out the handle's support and axle system to include remote connect and disconnect allowing selective independent handle actuation. I went with a linear actuator approach and found one small enough (1" stroke) to mount to the axle directly for the split.

Axles and bearings are on hand. LA is in the post. Aluminum on hand to do the handles but I'm trying .625" PVC sheet first (been wanting to try out that material for parts as the spec sheet says it's crazy strong but machines like wood and is bendable by torch). PVC is in the post as well, along with an assortment of other odds and ends.

If the PVC is a wash I will have to pay to have the aluminum machined as I just don't have the necessary tools to execute that to standard in a timely manner.

This week I will fab up the support for the foil which is also the base of the handle support structure. Once I get the unit bench tested I'll be able to get everything spaced correctly and finish the welds on the frame.

That's my two week goal:

Handles
Handle support and axle system in place
Foil supports in place
Seat plate in place

From there I should be able to hook up the UHID and do some rough play testing just to insure my tolerances are where they need to be before I move on.

Thanks for checking up!

Such a cool concept. Really looking forward to see how this turns out!

Posted this in your other thread and thought the guys here may like it too.
Anyway saw this in the extra`s from prometheus and thoiught of this build.
You better beat weyland!.