PLANS - American Ace - Mini Arcade Cabinet

[mgb]

When slotting on my first control panel, I was 90% done when the router got away from me. man I was ticked.

[Woodshop Flunky]

Not wanting to wait for my print to return, I made a black and white version of my marquee to scale on my printer to see if the line on the prop would be covered by the marquee retainer.  First, the print is being held on by the retainers only; I didn't sandwich the print between the lexan sheets.  This is why the print looks a little wavy in places (the A in American).  Also, the white line in the center is the seam between the two sheets of paper.

These photos are really grainy since I took them with my iPhone and had only my overhead shop lights.

Anyhow...


And for the closeup...
Yep! There's the line just ABOVE the bottom retainer.


Okay, so the line is not actually very noticeable in the whole scheme of this build... but I do hate it being there.  So, options:
1. Just live with it (really doubt anyone would notice if I didn't point it out).
2. Correct the mistake and see if Game on Grafix could use a new version instead of what I sent them.
3. Just bite the bullet and pay to have another one printed.

My gut instinct is to not opt for choice number one (I'm convinced it's a sickness ).  Since I sent my flawed copy to Game on Grafix 4 days ago, it is likely that I can't update the file at this point, but it might work.  That leaves me with choice number three.  Fortunately, this marquee only cost $23 (including shipping); so it won't really break the bank to have it redone.  The family could just skip one meal at Rosa's Cafe and recoup the loss.

I'll see how I feel in the morning! 

This is progressing beautifully, it's always pleasing to see quality craftsmanship in action.  Router slip you say?  I wont show you the results of my router going into fits recently (can't blame the router, I was being impatient) 

Thanks Ond... you're build is awesome.  I really hope when you're finished, you post some pics of the recovered UFO you reverse engineered it from. 

[Corbo]

When you get the marquee replace it with a spitfire and some British flags.  That's what your build needs.

[Woodshop Flunky]

When you get the marquee replace it with a spitfire and some British flags.  That's what your build needs.

I love the Spitfire!    And I'll rename it, "Finest Hour"!

EDIT: I use to play the mess out of this game when I was younger.

[Woodshop Flunky]

A little sleep helped (emphasis on little).

The distance between the line and the bottom retainer is just under 1/16 inch.  I could just shave that much from the bottom of the print and everything will drop down that distance.  The line should then just barely be covered by the marquee.  Also, everything else should still look okay... 1/16 inch shouldn't throw the look off.

Whew!  I can still take the family to Rosa's.   

[dexxy]

When you get the marquee replace it with a spitfire and some British flags.  That's what your build needs.

I love the Spitfire!    And I'll rename it, "Finest Hour"!

EDIT: I use to play the mess out of this game when I was younger.

Me too, was great with the Ju-88's coming in accross the channel!

[BurgerKingDiamond]

all of a sudden I'm thirsty for some milk....

[BurgerKingDiamond]

.

[Woodshop Flunky]

Minor baby update today...

I finally finished the side art and the control panel.

The side art was an absolute BEAST to work with.  The entire file is raster at 15000x7600 pixels.  There was a ton of different layers, and my computer only has 4gig... it was a mess to work with. 

So, there is a ton more detail in these graphics than I can display on the screen, but you get the idea of what I was shooting for with the WWII fighter theme.


I tried to keep the CP super simple... just some outlines and a couple of labels to keep it from being too boring.   Remember the CP wraps, so the player slect buttons will be on the front.


Back to making sawdust!

[jimmy2x2x]

Bloody brilliant!

This is going to be a stunner   

[BadMouth]

That is some awesome and unique artwork! 

[Martijn]

very nice, i love everyting you do, very good at gfx as well. You almost need wings on your cab 

[jimmy2x2x]

Can you tell me how you cut the wood/planned the side art accurately?

[emphatic]

Very nice artwork!  For the sideart, do you have the other side mirrored with the text horizontally flipped so it will face the right way?

[Woodshop Flunky]

Thanks everyone!

...almost need wings on your cab  

Little wings would give me a nice place to sit my drink!

Can you tell me how you cut the wood/planned the side art accurately?

This was a BIG deal.  So here's what I did...

1. I designed the cab in Sketchup, but that is just "theoretical" until I actually start building the thing.
2. With the Sketchup design in hand, I build the template that will drive the development of the entire cab.  Once I get in the shop, I always deviate a little from my design, so after I make my MDF template, I go back to Sketchup and update it so that it reflects the real thing.


3. Sketchup allows me to save a bitmap of my design, but there is no associated resolution per inch.  That's no problem, since what I really want is an accurate shape.


4. In Inkscape (I'm too cheap for Illustrator ), I load the bitmap from Sketchup and then trace a "Master Outline" over it.  This master outline is a vector image and has pixel per inch information.  I really wanted to make sure I had things right, so I had the "Master Outline" printed full scale at Kinkos for about $8.  I brought the print home and place it over the MDF template and made sure I had not made any sizing mistakes.  (Didn't think to take a picture of this... sorry.)  The fit was great, so I moved on to the actual graphics.


5. The "Master Outline" will never get printed and I just use it as a reference for all my vector drawing.  I created all my components as separate layers and then saved them off as bitmaps.  After I had all the bitmaps, I used GIMP (I'm too cheap for Photoshop ) to work the design into what I wanted.



The side art in my previous post show the profile just for clarity sake.  The actual print is going to be a rectangle 50" high by 25.5" wide (1/2" oversized all around).  I'll fit it to the sides and trim the excess.  This should give me plenty of wiggle room.

[Woodshop Flunky]

Very nice artwork!  For the sideart, do you have the other side mirrored with the text horizontally flipped so it will face the right way?

Thanks!  Yes, I reversed the image, and the USA reads correctly on the left and right sides.  I uploaded the images today to be printed... they were nearly 500megs each! 

[opt2not]

This is going to turn out really nice with the overall theme, and the execution. Nice cabinet design, great looking artwork....I'm looking forward to see it done!   

[BobA]

Beautiful work.  Very well integrated design concept and graphics  

[Nephasth]

Awesome job on the artwork! Great attention to detail!

[Well Fed Games]

Really a fantastic original design. Can't wait to see it all printed!

[wp34]

I know I'm just piling on at this point but that is the best original artwork I've seen in some time.  If 1942 cabinets only looked that good.

 

[Corbo]

Looking great my man.  Can you make it more spitfirey? :p

[Woodshop Flunky]

Thanks again for the compliments!  My wife is getting supper ready for this to be finished... I've been spending a lot time on it (but I think that's the nature of having such a hard deadline like my son's birthday).

Looking great my man.  Can you make it more spitfirey? :p

I know that would look great!  Swap out the green and aluminum for camo, replace the star and put in a white bottom in place of the check pattern.  Modeling those exhaust ports at about the level of the CP would really set it off! 

[redketchup]

Wow!

[mgb]

Awesome 

[shrunkenmaster]

Great to see some original artwork that is seriously on point. Well done my man 

[Woodshop Flunky]

Got the artwork in today!  Kudos to Game on Grafix for a top notch print job... and quick too! 

My crappy iPhone pictures do not do justice to these prints.

Side panel...


Control panel overlay...


Marquee...


Nine days to go!

[emphatic]

But, why is the sideart all scratched up like that? 

[Woodshop Flunky]

But, why is the sideart all scratched up like that? 

That's the first thing my son asked. 

[emphatic]

I know from experience just how awesome the gameongrafix stuff is, so I bet you're itching to put it in place.

[mgb]

the artwork looks awesome. great detail on the side art and that cpo is perfect.
When this cab is complete, please post some good full pics. I'm looking forward to seeing them

I'm looking forward to getting my cpo done by game on grafix in a couple of weeks. I bought one of their generic cpos a while back when they were still called mame marquees and I was very happy with the quality

[Martijn]

very nice  And yep to bad about the scratches 

Does the cpo have this scratch proof material? used for bullet proof glas?

[Woodshop Flunky]

What would a project be without screwups... right?

On the CP... look at the proximity of the joystick and the player one select button.  No problem if I had a flat CP, but the overlay is going to wrap around the CP so that the player select buttons will be in front.  Now, the joystick and player one select buttons WILL occupy the same space (I should have listened more closely to quantum physics theory in college... who knew  ).

Lesson: Fit a test CP before sending artwork to be printed.

*sigh*  This is not what I want to tackle one week before his birthday party.

[Woodshop Flunky]

Does the cpo have this scratch proof material? used for bullet proof glas?

According to gameongrafix... yes.

It has a very fine texture to it, and it feels very durable.  I couldn't be happier with gameongrafix.

[Martijn]

I had the same problem with my first cab. I installed the flipper buttons on the side as the last thing todo. And i didt have enough space, so i bought some Seimitsubuttons like these

http://www.arcadeshop.de/Seimitsu-Buttons-Seimitsu-PS-14-DN-CP-black_931.html


that will fit for sure, just route out some wood from the inside

According to gameongrafix... yes.
It has a very fine texture to it, and it feels very durable.  I couldn't be happier with gameongrafix.

Ill try Gameonegrafix for my latest cab, i hear nothing but good news.

Whats wrong with mamemarquees btw?

[emphatic]

Ill try Gameonegrafix for my latest cab, i hear nothing but good news.

Whats wrong with mamemarquees btw?

MameMarquees is now GameOnGrafix. They changed the name.

[gabe]

I just wanted to say that this is easily my favorite (current) project on the site.

Not only are you a very skilled craftsman, but you possess the common sense to know that "just because you can do something, doesn't mean that you should." It's refreshing to see someone exercising a bit of restraint on their DIY cab.

Tasteful, and well-executed.

[emphatic]

Also, the start buttons, there are some pretty short leaf switch buttons out there. If you measure your available space, perhaps there's something to be done to solve this.

[Well Fed Games]

I'll continue to pile on the praise- not just for the cab, but documenting it so well (so folks like me can learn)! Once your family is enjoying the finished product, you definitely have to post those plans... I have a 17" monitor telling me it wants me to rip off your design. 

This is going to be a great build! Mind sharing the plans when you are done?

Yes, I'm doing all my design in Sketchup and I plan on posting the file when its complete.  That way, anyone who wants can either use it as-is... or make changes directly in Sketchup.

Thanks for the compliment, my son is certainly excited about the build.

[mgb]

I just wanted to say that this is easily my favorite (current) project on the site.

Not only are you a very skilled craftsman, but you possess the common sense to know that "just because you can do something, doesn't mean that you should." It's refreshing to see someone exercising a bit of restraint on their DIY cab.

Tasteful, and well-executed.

+1 exactly