It all started in the year 1983.  I was 14 years old at the time and my dad was the owner of a medium sized R&D company who did design work for various arcade game manufacturers.  My dad being in the field he was in afforded me certain privileges that other kids my age didn't have.  This particular perk included the chance to see a prototype Major Havoc (NOT the same as the one pictured to the left) at the Atari labs before it was released to the general public.  I would have loved to play the game at that time, but it was off limits as far as handling the game.  The machine was not functioning, but I knew it was a color vector graphics game, so I figured it would be pretty cool when operating.  Months later, I saw a "dedicated" production model (as pictured to the left) at the local arcade.  I finally had a crack at the game.  I was in love with the game the very first time I played it.  Six weeks later, the machine was gone.  I suppose it was a poor earner.

Fast forward to the year 2007.  After successfully bringing a reproduction Major Havoc roller controller to market, it was time to put serious focus on reproducing the cabinet itself.  Why?  Because the cabinet was originally made in very limited numbers and of those numbers remaining, many of them are in poor condition.  The various flaws range from missing or broken controllers and missing or seriously faded marquees all the way to completely parted cabinets or completely damaged cabinets.  Since this game was an extremely poor earner on location back in the 80's, many of these were either converted to some other game or shoved into storage, allowing the sands of time an opportunity of degrading the machine further.  Sad truth is that there's just not many of these around anymore.  Needless to say, since this is such a great game AND Atari made a ton of the conversion boards available for this game, it sounds like a good opportunity for a reproduction project! 

So, knowing that I was going to be working on this project eventually, I asked several of my friends and staff to keep an eye open for one of these.  My project manager (Ted), found one on ebay while I was away on business and bid a whopping $3500!  As much as it pained me, as soon as I was back I made the arrangements and picked up the machine.  While somewhat restored, it was in pretty bad shape for $3500.  It was missing the metal side pieces (some people call them "ears"), the monitor glass, the marquee, the marquee glass, and all the hardware to assemble those items.  The coin door was stripped of all it's parts, but included in a coin bucket.  The controller wasn't even working!  Yeah, $3500.  Wow!  The game fired up and operated, so it wasn't a complete waste of money.

After some time to think it over and since this was my very first cabinet reproduction, I decided to put my feelers out and see who could help with the project.  I received a lot of input from people who had some great ideas, but nothing concrete.  Eventually, I found a local collector (who I have since become good friends with) willing to help with the initial groundwork to spec. out the cabinet design.  Having a nearly complete dedicated MH of my own on hand, the project was off to a great start!  Within a very short timeframe, the cabinet was completely measured and ready to send off to fabrication to run off a prototype or two.

Note:  Somewhere around the same time,  I made a purchase of two CNC routers to help automate the wood cutting.  These are absolutely stunning machines to watch in action.

Here's the initial build layout for the dedicated Major Havoc cabinet.  You can open this up in a new window to get a larger view.  Naturally, the file isn't too detailed so as to protect the time investment over here at RAM Controls.  

The reproduction of the cabinet has made it a necessity to also reproduce various parts used on this machine as well.  Such at the metal "ears" on each side of the head of the machine as well as the control panel, the marquee and the coin door.  Even the special t-molding used on the base of the unit has to be reproduced, not to mention the monitor components (tube, yoke, deflection board, HV board, etc) and possibly the power supply block.

Construction Progress

	07/29/07:  The dedicated Major Havoc cabinet reproduction project started in late 2006.  With access to an OEM model available, the machine was spec'd out and drawn up as a 3D model.  Not only the cabinet, but nearly every cabinet part, as well.  From there, we've gone through several prototypes which brings us to where we are today.  To the left, you will see some random parts.  Visible are the parts used to make the base of the cabinet as well as the speaker mount in the head of the unit, the lower back of the body (where the power cord is attached and the lower vent is located), the monitor mount and a few other items.  These parts are made entirely of hardwood plywood.  They're used only for the prototypes for one single reason: cost.  Plywood is inexpensive compared to the laminated commercial grade particle board used in the OEM cabinets.  Also, the plywood parts are much lighter and easer to work with.  The final design will be made identical to the OEM cabinet to help maintain the heavy weight of the machine, with some minor upgrades to key areas of the cabinet which are prone to damage.  These "upgrades" will be transparent and will appear to be 100% genuine when compared to the original.
	07/29/07:  Here is another picture from the same prototype cabinet run.  Here you can see the two sides of the body of the cabinet stacked, plus the an inner cabinet component to the left.
	07/29/07:  Here is another picture from the same prototype cabinet run.  Here you can see the base component of the head unit.
	07/29/07:  Here is another picture from the same prototype cabinet run.  Here you can see most the same parts above, but from a different angle.  You can also see the back door of the cabinet way in the back.
	07/29/07:  Here is another picture from the same prototype cabinet run.  This is the last pic of this group.  What you see here are the two side pieces of the head unit stacked up.
	02/05/08:  The very first "dry fit" prototype has been assembled.  Here, you can see a backside profile of the cabinet.  Note that this prototype is made almost entirely of particle board, with the exception of the base (plywood), inside bracing (plywood) and the monitor mounting frame (baltic birch plywood).  This is only a test run, so ignore the obvious problems such as screw heads all over the machine.  It's a dry run to check form and fit.  The back door was not included in this assembly because our sample hinges are not completed as of yet.
	02/05/08:  Here, you can see a side profile of the cabinet.  We've made notes on the outside of the machine: Laminate both sides (a reminder that we're going to use thin formica on the sides of the head which will alter the thickness of the wood ever so slightly).  Also noted is that the final assembly won't have any visible screws on the sides of the head, they'll be corner braced from inside of the cabinet, concealing the hardware which attaches everything together.
	02/05/08:  Here, you can see a offset front/side profile of the cabinet.
	02/05/08:  Here, you can see a front profile of the cabinet.  Looks GOOD!
	02/05/08:  Here, you can see a close-up photo inside the head of the cabinet.  I wanted to point out the grooves which allow the metal side molding (ears) so slip over the sides of the head.

Updates

05/06/07 - This project BLOG has just been converted  from notes and pics taken awhile back and added to the website for reference.

05/15/07 - Most of the accessories for this machine are in process of being reproduced.  The side metal pieces, the upper and lower glass retainer brackets, the h-channel molding, control panel, wire harness, etc.   I still need a piece of t-molding from the base of the cabinet so I can draw it up. 

06/08/07 - I just sold off the OEM model I had so I could clear up some space.  All of the measurements were taken and everything is in process at this point, so I see no reason to hold onto the machine.  I took a big hit on the selling price, what a bummer.

06/11/07 - We've run off the very first sample cabinet based on the files we have.  The cabinet is nearly perfect, but there are some minor adjustments which need to be made to compensate for some inconsistencies between the different modeling and final layout systems we're using.  

06/21/07 - Want to hear some really messed up news?  The custom harness shop I contracted to make the wire harnesses for the MH dedicated just sent belly-up and vacated their building.  What they took with them, aside from my order, was the initial prototype harness I made for them to use as a model.  I created this harness using the OEM harness (from the cabinet I just sold) as the basis for my work.  So, that reels things back to square one with regard to the wire harness.  Anyone have a spare wire harness they can lend me for a week or two?

07/16/07 - At this time, the control panel is about to be completed as far as the initial sheet metal forming goes.  Also, I created a new batch of roller controllers to go along with these cabs.  Surprisingly, the rollers have been an excellent seller since the beginning, so I keep making more.  Thanks everyone!!

07/21/07 - We've run off the second sample cabinet from the files.  Things are starting to match up pretty well, but there's a small issue with the angles on the base of the unit and the angles on the area just underneath the control panel.  Aside from this, everything else looks perfect.

07/29/07 - The third prototype has been cut from a nice hard plywood and appears to snug together quite nicely.  Some final adjustments need to be made to the initial design to include various holes and such.  Once this is completed, we will cut the fourth and (hopefully) final prototype and move forward to the initial pre-production model which will be made from the correct woods, with laminate in the proper places.

08/01/07 - We're still at the same point we were at the last update with regard to the cabinet itself.  However, many of the sub assemblies and various cabinet accessories are either finished or nearing completion as of today's date.  The control panels are in powder coat process, so they're almost ready to go.  The last batch of roller controllers is complete and assembled, ready for installation into the control panels.  The side ears are completed, though still in need of finishing.  I'm not sure if I want to go with a power coat or an anodized finish.  Any comments on the subject?   I'd also like to point out a few items that I need to get my hands on to help move the project forward.  Namely the following items:   (1) Wire harness for dedicated cabinet.  (2) Hinge from the back door.  (3) T-molding from the base.  That's it.  Anyone?  I can return the items when I'm done with them (All I need is a week with each item).  I've updated the BLOG with a bunch of pictures of the latest prototype run.  Enjoy.

11/05/07 - The special 2.25" t-molding has been sent off to fab.  Determining the original material used for this item was easy since we already figured it out with the special 1.5" t-molding used on the Star Wars cockpit.  We're running off an order of 10,000' of this material using the original plastic extrusion die from Atari.  We own most of the tooling which existed just before the last of Atari was parted out.  Once the t-molding is completed, we'll sell this part individually, of course.  We'll also stock up the regular arcade suppliers with this material so you can buy direct from your favorite source.

02/05/08 - The first dry run prototype assembly has been completed.  I've included pictures above.  Be sure to check them out.  I'm still tossing around the idea of anodizing the side ears as opposed to powder coating them.  In the meantime, the control panel run has been completed, now they need to be assembled.  We're running off a batch of CPO's to go with our panels and since we already have the controllers done, we should be able to offer a complete ready-to-use control panel in the near future.  Enjoy!!

03/29/08 - I'd like to note that the hinges have been completed as well as the special 2.25" t-molding used on the base of the cabinet.   I'll fit everything to the initial prototype cabinet and take some more pictures ASAP.  Also, we're working on sideart which will be applied directly to our proto cab so we can check form/fit.

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