Nice install so far, can't wait to see it completed. Kind of odd, and interesting on the button placement. I take it the gold buttons are just for show, or am I wrong? Either way, good job so far.
I had a couple of people ask about the buttons.
Here are a couple of reasons to explain why I did it the way I did.
1. I like for things to look clean and not like a switch was just thrown in there to make the board work.
2. I like for things to be solid feeling, not loose or wobbly which "could" be the case with the gold buttons depending on how you do make them work.
3. I like to hold my sabers high toward the blade. If I made the gold buttons the activation buttons then I would be hitting them all the time (the existing switches are recessed in the grip area and you have to push in to activate them).
4. While sometimes complex is cool often times the simplest solutions is the best.
I thought about how I could make the gold buttons the actual buttons and here are some ideas since some may want to try it.
I thought about cutting one of the buttons short (or at least the underside) and put a small slide switch under it. This would violate my #1 and possibly #2 because when you slide the switch you would see the tubing under it and it might be fragile because of the way you would have to design it.
I thought about putting a tactile under it and trimming the bottom. This would probably work pretty good but may violate #2 but with enough planning and a good design it could be solid feeling.
I thought about putting a tactile under them and putting a small plunger in the gold buttons (drill a small hole and put the plunger in it) but this would violate #1. It would not look bad if done right but it would still not be the same as it is.
And of course I thought about making a touch sensitive button but that would no doubt violate #3
Matter of fact all would violate #3 except for putting a small plunger in the buttons because I could recess it.
Did I say violate in this post enough ;D
Now as I have said many times. My way is not the only way. There are a lot of ways it could be done (I listed some but there are probably many others) and I hope others do them differently because I like seeing how other people handle things.
I just like things to be hidden as much as possible for a clean look.