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Author Topic: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab!*it's Official Guinness Gaming ed. 2012*  (Read 60945 times)

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Bender

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EDIT The DK Micro is listed as the world's smallest playable DK cab in the 2012 Guiness Book of world records Gaming edition, it's on the DK page unfortunately no pictures but it's still fun to be included

Well I've been working on this for a while. I wanted to make a tiny tiny working DK cab that was very playable, battery powered, had real controls, and ran vertical MAME games
I've seen one smaller MAME cab built out of a Ipod nano but the nano was sticking out of the side and the controls on the Nano.. Well... Suck, so I'm not counting that ;D
I was really inspired by patrickl's Pocket Galaga(approx 11" tall)
But couldn't see building one for only one game, plus I wanted to make it even smaller, 1/8 scale to be exact(approx 8.25" tall) and even though that doesn't sound that small it is as that is a linear scale, and by volume it is 512 times smaller than an actual DK Cab
So on to the good stuff I've been doing research on the many handheld Systems out there now that do a decent job running MAME, and the two I settled on that had the right screen size(exactly 1/8 scale to a 19" arcade monitor) were the Dingoo A320 and The GP2X Wiz, so I picked up one of each and The Wiz ended up being a far better machine, OLED Screen and faster processor, so I decided to use that for the guts, the other issue was finding a small enough joystick that worked well, and I had a couple of options there and found one that worked Quite well, but more on that in the build details, to come
I took a bunch of Progress Pics and I'll post them here later, just wanted to get some Pics up cause I was so exited to see it all finished up
Oh yeah, it has a lit marquee and tinted glass, too!








so here you can really see the scale up against a full sized DK






EDIT: 7/10/11 Progress pics

Here are the promised progress pics!


These are the coin door parts and marquee/bezel retainers before painting, all made from model maker's styrene sheet and profiles
I als used styrene strips with the edges rounded(by carefully sanding) to simulate the T-molding


Here is the coin door painted and the pinheads I cut and glued in to use as rivits
I did some test paint on scrap to practice how to get the textured look to the paint, basically I used a can of semi-flat spray paint and would, do pretty heavy coats to get a subtle orange peel effect that looks a lot like real coin door


These are the coin buttons used painted with same silver paint I used on the coin mechs
9.5mm tack switch from radio shack here
I als used these for the volume and Pause buttons on the back


The finished coin door installed


Marquee/Bezel retainers painted and coated with a satin clear coat, and the bottom of the CP panel with faux speaker grill, I made indentations then filled the indents with black paint to get the lines





these are all CP controls from the front and the back and with a regular button for scale
I installed the larger buttons below the artwork so the silver rim wouldn't be seen, I found it a little distracting

Joystick from Digi-Key Here
Larger buttons Here well turns out these buttons are too stiff, I'll post an update when we find the right ones
UPDATE The ones I used are hereC&K 8532
Smaller buttons from radio shack here although I got mine at a physical store and they had a different top that I like better
I also used this used this button from radio shack for the power button on the back, I also recessed it so it would be hard to hit accidentally


Back hacked up wiring on the Wiz


This is the back/monitor/computer support thingy and the top painted and clear coated


Here is the back/monitor/computer support thingy with everything installed


And here it is running with the marquee light lit!!!
you can see the 15pin connector there in the corner that goes to the control panel


I used a usb LED light like this I got from ebay for like $4 and decased it and literally cut the last 1/3 of the board off LED's and all so it would fit inside the marquee are, and wired it to a 3.7v lead on the wiz board


here are my two first plexi bezels, the clear was too light and the smoked was too dark so I ended up putting the lightest car window tinting stuff on the back side of the clear one and it was perfect, unfortunately I didn't take any pics of that
« Last Edit: October 29, 2012, 06:28:33 pm by Bender »

smalltownguy

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Re: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab with real controls..?!?
« Reply #1 on: May 01, 2011, 03:25:05 pm »
Must......see........details.......
Man, will my cab EVER be finished?

emphatic

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Re: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab with real controls..?!?
« Reply #2 on: May 01, 2011, 03:31:59 pm »
Must......see........details.......

+1

elkameleon

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Re: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab with real controls..?!?
« Reply #3 on: May 01, 2011, 03:40:28 pm »
um shwing? SHWING! SHWING!

« Last Edit: May 01, 2011, 03:53:43 pm by elkameleon »

TOK

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Re: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab with real controls..?!?
« Reply #4 on: May 01, 2011, 04:19:38 pm »
Wow, that is really cool!  :cheers:

Nimbus

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Re: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab with real controls..?!?
« Reply #5 on: May 01, 2011, 05:08:34 pm »
Quote
I've seen one smaller MAME cab built out of a Ipod nano but the nano was sticking out of the side and the controls on the Nano.. Well... Suck, so I'm not counting that

Dude... the last thing you need to worry about is how this compares to something else that might 'technically' be smaller. This is a work of art. I own a full size Donkey Kong cabinet, and seeing your 'mini' is just amazing. Your attention to detail is commendable.

I looked at the first picture and said "Wow! That is a CLEAN build!" When I looked at the second pic, I had my mind blown. This is just plain cool on so many levels. AMAZING!!! :)

Move over IPad, we now have the IKong....

BobA

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Re: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab with real controls..?!?
« Reply #6 on: May 01, 2011, 06:28:04 pm »
I think that your new cab is the most detailed build that I have ever seen.   The size comparison to a beer bottle blows me away.  BRAVO!
 :applaud: :applaud: :applaud: :applaud:

Encryptor

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Re: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab with real controls..?!?
« Reply #7 on: May 01, 2011, 06:44:31 pm »
Winning!!!


Encryptor

Jigenjuke

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Re: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab with real controls..?!?
« Reply #8 on: May 01, 2011, 07:04:16 pm »
Bender!  In a word, AWESOME!  I thought that I was going small with my 50 centimeter projects, but you did me one better.  How responsive are the joysticks and buttons?  How did you make the replica coin door?  Sweet attention to detail.  Please don't tell me you routed the speaker grill.   :applaud:  Build Pics please!

Jigenjuke

NipRing

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Re: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab with real controls..?!?
« Reply #9 on: May 01, 2011, 10:47:03 pm »
Where do you find quarters that small?? :laugh2:

Seriously though, outstanding job BBR! Your making Mexico proud! Ole!

dfmaverick

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Re: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab with real controls..?!?
« Reply #10 on: May 02, 2011, 12:05:46 am »
Where do you find quarters that small?? :laugh2:

That's what I was thinking and about to post.  ;D

HatTrick77

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Re: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab with real controls..?!?
« Reply #11 on: May 02, 2011, 01:04:54 am »
wow :applaud:  i have to know how you routed that tiny speaker opening so clean...outstanding work.

Yvan256

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Re: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab with real controls..?!?
« Reply #12 on: May 02, 2011, 01:44:43 am »
Finally, I get to see more pictures!  I also want to see more details of the build, especially the micro tainted glass, the controls, the lighted marquee... well, everything.  :cheers:

You did take dozens and dozens of pictures while you built it... right?  :dizzy:

P.S.: my own secret project isn't dead yet.  ;D


RandyT

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Re: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab with real controls..?!?
« Reply #13 on: May 02, 2011, 02:20:51 am »

Amazing attention to detail.  I don't think it would be possible to get a fully working and playable machine any smaller.

LeedsFan

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Re: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab with real controls..?!?
« Reply #14 on: May 02, 2011, 02:23:38 am »
Haha! this is brilliant! That little coin door is beautiful. And the speaker grille looks to be cut so perfect.

My on;y reservation is how does it play? Do you have to strain your eyes a bit? Does the cab wobble about as you play? I'd love to see a video of this in action!  :applaud:

Ambaratur

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Re: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab with real controls..?!?
« Reply #15 on: May 02, 2011, 11:07:29 am »
Fantastic job - simply beautiful!

I was looking at my son's wiz the other day and thinking something like this - now you beat me to it!  :)

javeryh

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Re: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab with real controls..?!?
« Reply #16 on: May 02, 2011, 12:04:32 pm »
Bender - are you freaking kidding me?  Ridiculous job.  I am VERY curious to see build pics.  So many questions... How the crap did you make the coin door?  How thin are the side panels?  How did you find t-molding to fit?  How long did this take?  How did you interface the handheld to the joystick and buttons?  My head is going to explode.

Outstanding.   :cheers:

TopJimmyCooks

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Re: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab with real controls..?!?
« Reply #17 on: May 02, 2011, 12:35:01 pm »
Bender, you are a true miniaturist.  What an accomplishment.  Do I understand that it's an IPod for the system and display?

dfmaverick

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Re: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab with real controls..?!?
« Reply #18 on: May 02, 2011, 01:06:13 pm »
So, when are you building an entire miniature arcade populated with many variations of this?

leapinlew

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Re: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab with real controls..?!?
« Reply #19 on: May 02, 2011, 01:23:44 pm »
I'm so pissed - I thought I was going to have the smallest playable donkey kong at 8.26".

extendedplayarcade

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Re: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab with real controls..?!?
« Reply #20 on: May 02, 2011, 01:29:31 pm »
That is awesome.

You should of came to The Kong Off and brought that with you.

would of been awesome to take pics with the DK Players playing that.

Great stuff thanks for posting

javeryh

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Re: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab with real controls..?!?
« Reply #21 on: May 02, 2011, 02:03:57 pm »
Bender, you are a true miniaturist.  What an accomplishment.  Do I understand that it's an IPod for the system and display?

No, he said he used a GP2X Wiz.  I'm curious to see how he hooked it all up though.  It's like a gameboy that can play all sorts of emulators, MAME included I guess...


melvinbates

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Re: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab with real controls..?!?
« Reply #22 on: May 02, 2011, 06:33:12 pm »
Wow!! :o

That's incredible detail for a full size let alone on that scale. :applaud:

NipRing

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Re: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab with real controls..?!?
« Reply #23 on: May 02, 2011, 07:11:23 pm »
This was some weird sudo-time-warp-double post... :dunno. Sorry, moving along.
« Last Edit: May 03, 2011, 07:45:52 am by NipRing »

Bender

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Re: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab with real controls..?!?
« Reply #24 on: May 02, 2011, 10:20:48 pm »
@smalltownguy, emphatic, Jav, details are a comin' soon by way of Rockin' video action!!!

um shwing? SHWING! SHWING!


:laugh2: :laugh2:

@TOK, Nimbus, BobA, Encryptor, TopJimmyCooks, melvinbates, thanks for the complements gentlemen!

@Jigenjuke and HatTrick77, I'm sorry to say I didn't route those out, the smallest router bit I could find was 1/16, not small enough, so I scored indentations into the wood and then painted them in, the sound comes out from just below where that fake speaker grill is

@NipRing, just to funny, plus bonus points for getting an obscure futurama references in there  :cheers:

@Yvan, thanks, and yeah I got a few pics and details to share, can't wait to see that project of yours!

@ RandyT, I think your right any smaller wouldn't be comfortable to play, even this isn't something you'd want to play for hours at a time, OK well maybe I would

@LeedsFan, your wish is my command

@dfmaverick, I've got a horizontal one on the drawing board, only issue is the ribbon cable from the screen is really short and I have to rotate it 90º so I have to overcome that, I'll figure something out tough

@Leapinlew, well skintube, you know there's nothing that can't be made better or smaller with a little bending ;D

@extendedplayarcade, it is too bad it wasn't done in time, that would have been cool!


« Last Edit: May 02, 2011, 10:24:37 pm by Bender »

NipRing

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Re: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab with real controls..?!?
« Reply #25 on: May 03, 2011, 07:44:59 am »
.

elkameleon

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Re: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab with real controls..?!?
« Reply #26 on: May 03, 2011, 07:14:10 pm »
Hey Bender, do you have the plans you used to build this cab? I would like to build my daughter a 1/2 scale version, so if you have all the measurements from the full cab, I would be greatful to get them from you.  :notworthy:

macattack

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Re: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab with real controls..?!?
« Reply #27 on: May 03, 2011, 07:36:30 pm »
super nice job Bender.

i built a fullsize replica about 8 years ago, but i love this one, would fit nice on my desk at work.

you gonna share the plans with us? 

please :)
Pm me for custom cnc needs...

Bender

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Re: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab with real controls..?!?
« Reply #28 on: May 03, 2011, 08:40:02 pm »
Hey Bender, do you have the plans you used to build this cab? I would like to build my daughter a 1/2 scale version, so if you have all the measurements from the full cab, I would be greatful to get them from you.  :notworthy:

super nice job Bender.

i built a fullsize replica about 8 years ago, but i love this one, would fit nice on my desk at work.

you gonna share the plans with us?  

please :)

yeah, she's sitting right here on my desk next to me now

I used 3/16 (5mm) MDF for most of the construction, as for plans I took the jackobud DK plans and scaled them down to 1/8 scale which is 12.5% of the original, I printed them out (nice thing about this project everything easily fits on a standard sheet of paper) lightly spray-mounted it to 1/2 MDF and cut out the template for the side panels
I do remember making all the inside widths 3" so everything that fit between the 2 large side panels were exactly the same
I did make some minor adjustments as I went, but basically I laid everything down right on the printouts to size them up
Foam-board is usually 3/16th s also so I made a full mock up of that first, in a couple hours with just an x-acto and hot glue (actually stuck the un-hacked wiz right in there to see what the screen would look like)
I also used a bit of modle-makers' styrene for various parts like the t-molding, marquee retainers, coin door, etc., and it was all put together with CA glue for the construction and hot glue for the electronic bits (so I could get them apart)
I did make a special back section to house the Wiz board/screen that is screwed in so it's removable, look for that in the videos soon
« Last Edit: May 03, 2011, 08:44:24 pm by Bender »

childsremix

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Re: World's Smallest Donkey Kong/MAME Cab with real controls..?!?
« Reply #29 on: May 03, 2011, 09:00:39 pm »
Absolutely AWESOME!! Would love to see a video of this in action!

Bender

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Videos are UP!!!!!!

This gonna have to hold you for a while
I'm off for a couple weeks
But build pics as soon as I get back :cheers:
« Last Edit: May 04, 2011, 12:15:01 am by Bender »

mountain

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WOW! WOW! WOW!

I just watched the videos. You are very gifted Sean! Great work as always.  :cheers:

dfmaverick

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After watching the videos, I'm just amazed at how much detail was done to make this such a finished product. So finished, it seems like it could have been store bought.

vast

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Wow, that is truly inspirational  :applaud:

amendonz

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stunning.  :applaud:

Ond

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This is exceptionally impressive, a joy just to take in the beautiful miniaturisation and attention to detail.  Some real love and patience has gone in to this.  GREAT WORK.   :applaud: 

emphatic

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Amazing.  :o :o :o

lloydclinton

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If you ever decide to start making these for others, please put me on your list!

Lc

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Holy sheeeeite!  Such a pro-looking build as always Bender!
That thing is just too cute! I love it! :applaud:

I didn't catch it in the video, but are you just tapping the GP2X's battery for the marquee lighting?
Brilliant use of the GP2X btw.

DirtyDachshunds

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Wow, that is awesome.  I'm amazed how creative and gifted members like you are on this site.

Great idea, and perfect execution.