They’re not custom, they are preprinted and are limited to Street Fighter characters.
I have a thread that uses Gandakris to paint anything you want on a balltop or bat top.
Here’s some of her stuff.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.317517894973336.74599.134197256638735&type=3
Try on Etsy:
Reviving this thread to ask a quick question
Has there been any custom ball top/button designers who have been active lately? Someone wants to make a cool fight stick
Thanks and enjoy your weekend!
At least you were making them yourself , unlike aluminum balls and bats which are mass produced , imported, then rebranded for various arcade vending websites as “exclusive custom items”. PA, FA, rs2006.co.jp , Arcadeworlduk, Arcadeshop.de and many others sell some. Those by arcadeshop.de are supposedly made in germany (they also have non anodized ,polished aluminum). Rs2006 & PA import from japan if I’m correct.
I believe the happ/IL stainless “custom” integral bat+ shaft available years ago by various arcade shops were really made to order. For jap sticks, I’m against steel tops as they’re too heavy for that style, that’s probably why we’re only seeing aluminum and rarely if ever steel or brass.
The aluminum parts aren’t excessively expensive (5-7USD) , it’s the shipping which generally scares people.
Your blanks look a lot like the acrylic acetate material sold for turning pens, bottle stoppers etc, I’m not saying that’s what it is for sure as I’ve never bought yours, but a similar result could be obtained with decent UV resistant , colorless polyester or epoxy resins with the right mixture of mica & pearlescent powders, glitter and other enhancing fillers, along with a mold-in brass insert.
With acrylic acetate, inserts will hold best with ultrasonic/thermal inserts.
Good quality inserts are quite expensive if you order only a couple, it’s a shame.
First
Why even reply to a 3 year old post?
last post before mine says “9 hours ago” … so I thought some people might be reading, even if the joystick tops matter is rather limited. Butteroj’s post is from 3 years ago , sure, but he’s still alive isn’t he?
I know he still alive I talked to him at length a few months ago and I still hear from him every now and then.
It does not matter what the last post before you were, you still addressing a 3 year old post.
Its funny you are trying to tell him how the manufacturing process works and guess what his product is made when you yourself never bought any of his joystick ball tops.
I am sure Butteroj knows more than you like to think.
“It does not matter what the last post before you were” Yes it does, one guy posted two years after ( MonkeyGoverner) yet you didn’t go bananas on him.
. What’s really “funny” is you playing the cop and trying to make me pass for someone who disrespects Butteroj and treats him like an ignorant. I’m also sure he knows what he’s doing or else vendors wouldn’t even distribute his products and stick builders wouldn’t buy them, no need for you to step in and start some silly shit argument all over again.
Did you read in my initial post anything negative about Butteroj ? I was just wondering if he used commercial acrylic acetate blanks or if he used “blanks” sold by a hobbyist slash artisan who makes custom blanks for other hobbyists to avoid them the mess and hassle of dealing with toxic shit, solvents, buying various pearl, metal, glitter powders, resin hardeners & accelerators, UV stabilizers, pigments etc etc, which is the hassle of using epoxy or poly .
Why in hell shouldn’t I ask any questions, bud?
There was a guy on etsy who made balltops similar to his but it was mentioned they were made with thermoset resins (polyester if I remember correctly). butteroj said himself the blanks were expensive . One of the most if not the most common “patterned” plastic material blank sold today for turning and carving is acrylic acetate , fact. Perhaps he tried several models of brass inserts too and could share that eventually with those interested, or simply keep it a trade secret, but if no one asks…
If you continue this way Darksakul, you’ll just scare away newbies from asking questions and or discussing matters with regular posters concerning the fabrication and the materials of gaming parts. Look at the guy who sells plexi parts made of good quality impact grade PMMA : he openly reveals he uses this grade and is probably willing to discuss why he prefers that instead of say PC or non impact grades of pmma, but I feel no need to ask because I’m not interested in transparent panels ( restrictors yes though…) .
But you criticize and pick apart anyone else’s products or think you are the de-facto authority on manufacturing methods.
You are acting like he didn’t know how to do his own job. He didn’t need you to tell him how to make Balltops.
Butteroj’s last post on SRK was 3 months ago, and you trying to reply to a 3 year old message of his.
Odds are Butteroj is not going to even see your post as there no telling when he have the time to even check pots on SRK.
Your one comment is going to be lost in a sea of unread threads.
Okay, so? Whats your point?
Your post that I was criticizing not asking, the post did not have a single question mark. You asked no questions.
You tried to imposed your opinion on a 3 year old post and someone who don’t regally post on the forums as much as he used to.
You didn’t know he was even alive (by your own admission) , why make that effort to talk to someone who for all you knew could be dead until I informed you he was still around.
I said you were making another shit argument again , and here you go, so predictable.
Get off my fucking back pal, I never acted as “de-facto authority on manufacturing methods” , I simply was stating two or three very basic aspects (which seem like a display of knowledge to YOU) just to get the discussion going , if Butteroj is willing and or available to discuss his choices of course, it is perfectly understandable if he wants to keep some things as trade secrets. This being said YOU sure think really highly of yourself man, as I said, focus less on attacking me publicly on this forum EVERY TIME I ASK SOMEONE A QUESTION OR WHEN I GIVE AN OPINION ABOUT A GIVEN MATERIAL and also… START READING , I mean for fuck sakes I told you this already several times, there are free ebooks all over the place to educate yourself if you don’t have the ridiculous amount of cash needed to buy technical/engineering handbooks. Start with books dedicated to engineering plastics and elastomers. You’ll probably have less time to get on my nerves .
I mean fuck this bud, my initial post was extremely clear and had absolutely ZERO criticism directed to Butteroj’s business and here you go “defending” him. Against what please? Stop defending people who have never been attacked or criticized to start with… OH RIGHT YOU WANT FREE GIFTS FROM VENDORS/CUSTOM BUILDERS… Grow up bud.
Also, you’re no mod yourself so please quit that stupid act with your “resurrection” posts , it’s getting damn old you know.
Go back to the threads dedicated to vendor A vs. vendor B if you want fruitless forum fights. I’m here to DISCUSS IN PEACE without you interfering and redirecting everything towards yourself. Is that clear enough?
As an Industrial designer myself, this post gave me a hard on
Mikell Groover would be proud
Anywhere to buy custom Sanwa ball tops in the UK?