In lieu of a new Benheck.com podcast (don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten about it) you can check out an interview I did with PCmag by clicking the link below:
I was probably soldering during the interview, but I believe I was attentive… enjoy!
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Washington Post interview RE Bill Paxton Pinball
Did an interview for their celebrity column, you can check it out below:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/celebritology/2009/08/going_full_tilt_for_bill_paxto.html
Definitely a nice change of pace from the usual interviews I do!
Fear not though – I am working on other, non-Paxton pay projects, including a new Atari 800 laptop that I hope to make look even more retro than the recent C64 project. There’s other stuff too but I can’t talk about it yet.
Remember you can browse my work and that of the Benheck.com forum members by visiting our Showcase.
Hold Flipper for Status Update
A while back I decided to take some time off and now I’ve finally done it! I’ve spent most of the last few weeks working on a long-gestating “dream” project of mine, which is to build my own pinball machine from scratch. Since my time off is coming to a close, I thought I would my show progress from these last few weeks.
Shown above is the main cabinet that I built last week, as well as the illuminated backbox. As many of you know, the theme of the pinball machine is Bill Paxton – a fine American actor who has thrilled audiences with a variety of characters over the years.
Why Bill Paxton? Well it’s as good a theme as any – I guess I could have gone with a more obvious geek choice like Bruce Campbell but to be honest, Paxton’s more interesting and has made movies people have actually seen. In the end what this project is really about is building something very complicated from scratch, so the engineering is the real star.
I should make clear that this is a personal, non-commercial hobby project for myself, since it clearly contains artwork and sound from movies, it could never legally be resold. But considering how few projects I actually build and keep (this would be the 3rd, after the original VCSp and my Neo Geo Arcade) I deserve to make myself something cool every once in a while!
For some more pictures and info, click below. You can also see some making off stuff on my YouTube channel.
My current plan is to have this completed in time for demonstration at the 2010 Midwest Gaming Classic in Milwaukee, WI – let’s see how I do!
Taking on new work August 10th
Greeting from Wisconsin! Just letting everone know that my “break period” is almost over and I’ll resume what I normally do (projects by request) on August 10th.
I’ve made a lot of progress during this time on the Bill Paxton Pinball machine, you can follow my progress on that via my YouTube channel. Since I don’t usually show incomplete projects on this site, that’s the best way to keep up with the progress.
Commodore 64 laptop fetches $6,000 for Child’s Play
The Commodore 64 auction has ended with a winning bid of $6000. This amount will be donated to the Child’s Play charity on behalf of Mike Troxel, whose idea this auction was in the first place.
Thank you Mike and our mystery buyer, I’m sure the money will be well spent for those in need!
Visit the Benheck.com Showcase!
Hey thanks to Skyler Lipthay we have a brand-new section of the Benheck.com site, called “The Showcase”.
The basic idea is that anyone who belongs to our forums can post pictures, specs and How-To’s about their work, all in one convenient place! It uses your same login as the forums, so no need to re-register. New users can sign up on the forums to use the Showcase.
Some other great features:
- Your work gets shown on a somewhat popular site (mine) that always gets linked to by much more popular ones. It’s all about the synergy, you know.
- Separate pages for your projects and yourself as a modder. Is your stuff for sale? Tell the world!
- Proper link titles for when external sites link to your work. Better than directing them to the forums.
- First “main” image is hosted on my server, making life easier for everyone.
- Visitors can sort by date, project name, or projects by modder.
- Stick in additional photos, YouTube videos, whatever. The forum mods monitor new entries to keep everything crisp and clean.
- Cool, calming colors present a serene viewing experience.
So be sure to check out all the great projects in the Showcase – more are being added everyday, and if you wish, you can add your own! I’m even going to put my stuff on there (one project per day) since it’s easier to navigate than my main blog!
Enjoy…
Commodore 64 Auction Ending Soon, Plus Other Stuff
Just one more day to bid on this fine piece of American engineering! It’s a two of a kind item, and it can be yours! To place a bid that benefits Child’s Play charity, click here to submit a bid. (Auction ended, thanks!)
In other news I am taking off work until August 16th. If anyone wants work or projects they can contact me to discuss, but no work will be performed until then. I’m tired, I’ve built, what, 6 or 7 Xbox 360 laptops this year, usually I only do one! But don’t worry, when the time comes I’ll be rearin’ to go.
All is not lost, however! One way I am spending my free time is getting some serious work done on Bill Paxton Pinball. As you can see above the display is done and working… next is sound, which Chris Kraft and I have already started working on. Should be pretty cool, though I’ve still got a lot to learn before I get it all working – stay tuned!