ms pac/galaga 4-way; do i need mounting plate?

[ekopp2]

I'm at the stage where I'm laying out my control panel and I have the Ms PacMan/Galaga reunion 4-way from Happ. I'm planning to route a space for it in my cp (3/4" MDF) and top mount it. The joystick has mounting holes moulded into the plastic and it looks like I should be able to drop this in and secure it with carriage bolts, without the use of a mounting plate.

I've seen from the boards that Oscar sells the mounting plates and I'm not opposed to buying a plate if I need one, but i'm not sure what the mounting plate is going to do for me. So, I guess my question is, do I need a mounting plate?

Also, a bonus question. I see that most people cover their CP artwork with plexi/lexan. Has anyone ever considered laminating their art? Is there a reason why this isn't done? As I was considering my options, it just seemed like this would minimize the extra thickness on the CP. Just curious on this one.

[Frostillicus]

I'm at the stage where I'm laying out my control panel and I have the Ms PacMan/Galaga reunion 4-way from Happ. I'm planning to route a space for it in my cp (3/4" MDF) and top mount it. The joystick has mounting holes moulded into the plastic and it looks like I should be able to drop this in and secure it with carriage bolts, without the use of a mounting plate.

I've seen from the boards that Oscar sells the mounting plates and I'm not opposed to buying a plate if I need one, but i'm not sure what the mounting plate is going to do for me. So, I guess my question is, do I need a mounting plate?

If you're routing out a space for the stick, then no you don't need a plate.  Mostly people who don't want to route the wood get a plate.

Although if you get his mounting plate, you can get the 2 way restrictors for games like defender.  

Also, a bonus question. I see that most people cover their CP artwork with plexi/lexan. Has anyone ever considered laminating their art? Is there a reason why this isn't done? As I was considering my options, it just seemed like this would minimize the extra thickness on the CP. Just curious on this one.

A lot of people do this. I laminated my overlays and I put lexan over it.  I like the added protection of lexan with the look of lamination.  Trust me, you just don't get the same look as non-laminated artwork under lexan.  I used 1/2 wood, so the added thickness of 1/8 in lexan is fine.