Beast Busters Second Nightmare project - finally finished

chrisg

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Feb 22, 2012
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I've been working to resurrect a BBSN setup for what feels like years.. and it's finally finished. Thought I'd share some pics of the finished thing. It's been really nice to get such a rare old game (in a rather unlovable cab) working again and make it a bit more practical.

The game now has SCART out, and wheels, so it's fairly easy to store and roll out for a bash. The guns were pretty badly smashed so actually fixing them up was the biggest challenge.

It's a BIG hit with the kids. Turns out shooting zombies in the face doesn't get old..

On with the pics. Video at the bottom.

bbsn_main.jpg

bbsn_main2.jpg

bbsn_bottom.jpg

bbsn_top.jpg

bbsn_gun.jpg

bbsn_boards.jpg

bbsn_videoout.jpg

 
Last edited:

ggallegos1

Cholecystectomy Required.,
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Oct 1, 2013
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That's awesome man. How does the gun tracking work on an LCD TV?
 

chrisg

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Feb 22, 2012
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That's awesome man. How does the gun tracking work on an LCD TV?

Thanks guys.

The guns are actually really simple - they are just giant joysticks with X and Y potentiometers, which can be calibratered (sort of) for different screen sizes. There are no optics to worry about. Bigger problems are the massive force-feedback motors which require 9.5v AC supply, and the fact that the kids in the arcades used to like to snap the grips off the guns, little treasures.. So finding, fashioning and fitting new grips to the guns was by far the most complex bit of the build.

If anybody wants to know how I did it to fix your own ones, let me know and I'll describe what I did. Probably nobody else cares ;)

C
 

xsq

Thou Shalt Not, Question Rot.,
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Jan 17, 2013
Posts
7,414
mad respect! It's awesome to see this game get some love. I had never seen the guns themselves before, cool stuff.

As to describing how you fixed the grips: I'd imagine there will be people searching for an answer ot that sooner or later, this is the internet - just post it up if you have the time.
 

JMKurtz

Tech Support Moderator,
20 Year Member
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Aug 12, 2000
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Very impressive work, and excellent job restoring those grips! Everything looks amazing.
 

fenikso

Slug Flyer Pilot
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Oct 6, 2004
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Now that is something to wheel out at a party. Congrats on the restore it looks amazing.

PS - Nice touch on the camo webbing around the back and sides.
 

chrisg

n00b
Joined
Feb 22, 2012
Posts
47
How to fix the gun grips on Beast Busters Second Nightmare

Hey everyone, thanks for the words of encouragement..

So here, for the approx 9 other people on the planet who have a BBSN with the gun grips broken off and who want to repair it, is how I did it.

Step One:

Take the shells off your guns and thoroughly clean them, both inside and out, especially around the grip area. Get rid of all grease, dirt and arcade-slime. (You'll be gluing and painting them later.)
Take them with you as you go around a bunch of toy shops looking at water pistols, bb guns and paintball guns until you find a suitable "donor". You're looking for something where the grip cleanly joins a flat surface, and which roughly matches the style. You will look and feel like an idiot as you do this step. After several weekends of this, I landed upon the "Meteor Sniper Stryker" paintball gun by "Out of Bounds Group":

LqZJeMI.jpg

VzoEjGz.jpg


In the UK it is stocked by Hawkins Bazaar:

http://www.hawkin.com/paintball-sniper-stryker-single

(weirdly in store it is only £5, as opposed to £10 on their website. I suspect it is being discontinued)

You will also need four 75mm metal straight "mending plates" to make some brackets.

Step Two:

Carefully clean up the grip area of the BBSN gun shells. You'll probably want to completely remove any remnants of the old broken grip, taking it back down to a flat surface on the bottom of the main gun body. A dremel is useful here, but a hacksaw will do if you're careful. (sorry, no pic of this step)


Step Three:

Carefully cut the grips off your donor plastic guns. You obviously need to leave enough plastic to make a good fit against the body of the gun shell. You'll also need to cut away any plastic inside which will get in the way of the bracket which we'll use to attach them. But don't cut away anything which gives the grips strength when screwing them back together.
You'll also need to cut away around the trigger, as the game trigger is much bigger. It will also help later to score up the inside of the new grips to help glue take.

tK74tQ3.jpg



Step Four:

Using a pair of pliers, bend the mending plates into a right angle approx one quarter of the way down. The short part will be bolted to the gun shell, the long part will go inside the donor grip. You may need to make another bend to get it to fit inside the new grip.

onEzcG6.jpg



Step Five:

Very carefully measure up and drill holes in the bottom of the gun shells to bolt the brackets on. You'll probably need to carefully remove some of the "waffle" strengthening on the inside of the gun shell. Drilling the holes in the right place is crucial. Check that when the shells are back together, the two brackets protrude out the bottom in such a way that they go comfortably inside the new grip, and that the new grip will line up with the trigger mech. Tape them in place to check. I forgot to take a picture of this step, but below is what you're aiming for; the large bolts on the right are going through the shell and through the bracket. Use the biggest bolts you can fit through the bracket, and washers, as it will need to take some load:

CoOntJt.jpg



Step Six:

Now for the hard part. When you are sure that the bracket WILL fit inside the grip and the grip WILL line up with the trigger, take the two shells together, and tape the new grips precisely in place, with a lot of tape. Now cut the two halves apart, making sure the tape has help the grips precisely in place. Hold them back together to check.
Inside, you'll see that the bracket is probably not really touching the new grip. Not a problem - just carefully fill ALL AROUND the bracket with our old friend hot glue. Take it slowly and carefully build it up in layers. Try not to leave any air bubbles, and let is cool periodically - the glue will probably be hot enough to melt the new grips as they are thinner plastic than the shell. You want to completely cover the bracket, and also try and reinforce the inside of the new grip. The most severe force on the grip from gameplay is forwards - towards the front of the gun. So build up plenty of glue at the back edge of the bracket.
But also make sure you don't overfill the grip. It needs to close up with it's other half, and also accommodate the trigger mechanism. This is what you're aiming for (note, pictures taken after painting, sorry):

Puky8fU.jpg


You may need to cut away a little glue to get the shell to fit correctly and not interfere with the trigger. Hot glue is fairly easy to trim with a sharp knife or a dremel.

UGzszdG.jpg


(If you really botch it, top tip: Isopropyl Alcohol is like Kryptonite to hot glue. But if you do this, you'll need to take it all off, wash it, and start again.)


Step Seven:

Take all the tape off, and run a final pit of hot glue, or plastic cement around the outside of the join. You could probably get creative here making up other bits of plastic to fill gaps and make a really tidy finish, but actually, you doing really see much of the grips when in position on the game.

Ewsi0i7.jpg



Step Eight:

Sand it all down lightly to key it (especially the new grips, which will probably be very shiny and not good for a new coat of paint). Give it a spray of primer, then a colour of your choice. I did a coat of matt black, then a light coat of mid grey, letting some of the black show through to bring out detail. I guess you could go to town with distressing, dry brushing, etc. if you feel like it. I gave it all a coat of hard matt sealer too for protection.
 

xsq

Thou Shalt Not, Question Rot.,
Joined
Jan 17, 2013
Posts
7,414
woha, that's quite a lot of work, but the result is exceptional. Good writeup!
 

chrisg

n00b
Joined
Feb 22, 2012
Posts
47
But no racers on this board possible, right?

yeah I don't think so - I think BBSN and the shooting-type board are only compatible with each other. I don't know if any other shooters were planned, but BBSN is the only one which saw the light of day.
 

Vas

Marked Wolf
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Feb 27, 2004
Posts
210
Is this for sale on eBay? If not someone is using your pictures
 

Vas

Marked Wolf
Joined
Feb 27, 2004
Posts
210
Awwwww mate! After reading this thread I thought to myself I wonder how much they go for online just window shopping if honest. I was suprised to see the exact rig for sale i don't go in for sale part much as it's 99.9% usa Based and it annoys me :) as I have to open evey post. You had a really fair price on eBay shame I preorderd a ps4 that day for my son Christmas pressie. Only in Cardiff too :(

Good luck with your sale pal
 

chrisg

n00b
Joined
Feb 22, 2012
Posts
47
100% know what you mean ;)

It's still for sale, just relisted it. Not in any massive rush to sell it, put a load of effort into it and it's super fun, but just don't have the space for all my projects...!

If you ever want to have a go on it, drop me a line any time.

C
 

Atro

Who?,
20 Year Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2002
Posts
9,208
Congrats on the project!

I was offered to get a free Beast Busters Hyper 64 cab this year, but the game was damaged ( or dead ) and no other Hyper 64 game would work on that mobo too .
the thing was beastly huge and I passed. I somehow kinda regret it.
 
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