The V1820 [WIP] - 4P Konami Cabinet Replica (Warning: Picture Heavy!)

[Vulgar Soul]

What's good BYOAC!

Straight from the Bronx, this is Mozii, aka Vulgar's first arcade cabinet build!

After checkin this forum for at least a year, I finally feel confident to submit my first shot at this hobby!

This is the first of what I hope are many enjoyable custom cabinets in my basement! I chose a Konami 4P Cab (TMNT, Simpsons, Sunset Riders, X-men) because it was one of my favorite designs even as a kid, and it has to be the most versatile non-Custom/Lusid cabinet there is.

Shout outs to Gozer at KLOV for his excellent Sketchup model of this cabinet, which was the main basis for my work with very little adjustments. And shout outs to JohnEDollar for providin me with some very helpful details I needed! This woulda been a helluva lot harder without their help.

Went with a very simple, "less is more" approach for the cabinet. As of this post none of the controls or artwork is finished, but I'm settled on a simple 4p set up, seimitsu sticks, Happ buttons, street fighter II layout for player 1 and 2, four buttons for 3 and 4. That covers most of my favorites, but in the future I'd like to build more cabs with other controls (I can't live without authentic controls for Centipede!), I will be avoiding a cluttered "frankenpanel".

Admin buttons I will have hidden behind a coin door rather then accessible from the CP. No trackball, spinner, yoke, extra lighting, free credit button. Jus wanted a fairly generic, convincing replica of my favorite 90s cabinet with all the original functionality.

Anyway, enough talkin. Let's get to the build.

Day 1:





So begins another arcade cabinet build. I did my side panel template on a 1/2" sheet of plywood. I will be usin 3/4" ply for the final material. I think I bought a lil TOO much squares for this lol.



My lil cousin checkin over some measurements for me. Like they say measure twice, cut once. I def recommend you have a partner to check over everything here.



Me doin some measurements.



A compass for accurately drawin the curves!



Kinda hard to see, but the first draft of my side panel is there. Squint and you'll see it!

[Vulgar Soul]

Day 2:



Rough cutting the panel. You may notice somethin danglin off my neck. Yeah, I'm mad stupid. Didn't get hurt, but I was more careful next time!







After rough cutting, I trimmed using a router, flush trim bit, and a long, wide straight edge.





This was a lil tricky, The control panel box will rest on a perfect 90 degree inside curve, so I set up two straight edges to route this out accurately.

[Vulgar Soul]

Day 2:



Template is complete. So far so good.



For inside curves like this I rough cut and trimmed to the line with a round file. I think in the future I'd like a Dremel and those cylinder shaped sander bits for this. The curve was jus a lil bumpy from the file, but I figured its okay since the T-molding will cover this up smooth.



Outside curves were much easier. Jus sanded to the line with a rubber sanding block.

[Vulgar Soul]

Day 3:



Rise and shine for day 3! It's ya boy!
You may notice another template behind me. Something I did long ago for practice with some scrap wood.











Y'all know the drill. Line up, trace, cut, flush trim. Repeat.

But for any newbies readin, you place your first side panel (or 1/2" template in my case) on top of your sheet of plywood. Line it up square by the factory cut side. trace it, remove finished panel, rough cut out traced panel from sheet, place and line back up your finished panel and rough cut panel, and trim them to a perfect match with your router and flush trim bit.



Both sides complete!



Also took the time to cut out the control panel surface.

[Vulgar Soul]

Day 4:



Worked on the CP Box using much the same cuttin, and trimmin technigues before.





CP Box done with CP surface being test fitted. I assembled it all from the inside using 1" support strips and drywall 1 5/8" drywall thread screws.



Couldn't help myself. But it was cool gettin my first sense of how it'll all come together

[Vulgar Soul]

Day 5:



After draftin the insets for the interior panels, started lining up and screwin in the support strips onto the side panels. Lil cuz helpin me out again!



Here's a tip: I used a combination square to measure and mark my insets, and to align and check the distance of my interior panels. Using a combination square I could verify the distance of all my insets and supports strips were a perfect match on both side panels. It's important they're the same on both sides or else your cabinet will come out a hot mess when it's time to assemble.





Also cut out and dry fitted some of the interior panels. Later I cut out the hole for the coin door.






Forgot to take pictures of this step, but I also cutout the tmolding slot on the side panels, control panel box, and control panel surface on this day. Most of y'all know how this do. For thos learnin, a 1/16" slot cutting router bit goes on your router and is adjusted so it cuts a slot into the MIDDLE of the panel edge. TEST YOUR ALIGNMENT ON A SCRAP PIECE OF WOOD FIRST! A good method I learned here, particularly from a member named Javeryh (shout out to his helpful build threads) is to cut a slot on a scrap piece, then turn over the piece and insert the blade again. if the blade fits in the slot with the piece turned over it's centered!

[wp34]

Looking good so far.     You've made a lot of progress in a short amount of time.

I was looking at the Jakobud plans for The Simpsons cabinet this afternoon so I recognized the profile of your cabinet straightaway. 

Have you settled on a theme?

[Vulgar Soul]

Day 6:

Cut out the holes for the speaker grills today. This was a tough decision. I ain't know whether to replicate the original speaker panel style which had long, parallel holes lined up on top of each other, or jus buy a set of speaker grills and fit it into two holes, steerin away from the original Konami design. I didn't feel like I had the tools, skill, or the patient to cut out the grills myself. In the end I stayed true to the original design and cut my own grills jus like the original using only some marking tools, a spade bit, and a jig saw.









Outlined the speaker hole placement drawing a series of parallel lines and markin the center of where every hole will be drilled out. Sketchup came in handy for getting these measurements.





Used a 1/2" spade bit and drilled out the holes where I marked them.







Usin only my jig saw, a good eye, and a slow hand, I VERY SLOWLY AND VERY CAREFULLY connected the two holes to cut out the grills. I was very careful to watch my cut, and stay within the outline. Using the variable speed of the saw, I would slowly trim to the outline of the grill. You can rough cut and use a round file to trim but I found careful use of the jig saw to be faster and better for me.









Final result, I got both grills cut out using just a jig saw and a careful eye. No expensive band saw or routing tools at all!

[Vulgar Soul]

Looking good so far.    You've made a lot of progress in a short amount of time.

I was looking at the Jakobud plans for The Simpsons cabinet this afternoon so I recognized the profile of your cabinet straightaway.  

Have you settled on a theme?

Jakobud's plans are cool, but I would recommend Gozer's model of the Simpsons cabinet for Google Sketchup. The basic version is free, it's far more intuitive, and Gozer's models are very accurate!

I will post about my artwork plans in the future, but it won't be nothin serious. I do want the cab to look fairly generic. Nothin fancy at all. I have a basic black, white, and violet color scheme in mind for the CPO and marquee. That's really it. Keepin it simple for this build.

I do have the name of my cabinet settled already. "V1820"

[wp34]

Yeah I agree with you on Gozer's Sketchup plans.  I've downloaded a ton of them.  Even ended up buying his book as a way of paying back.

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2010021

Keep posting pics.  I'm anxious to follow your progress.

[Vulgar Soul]

Day 7:



My new toy! had to get a good circular saw to cut beveled angles for some of the interior panels. As you can tell, I am a DeWalt man myself.





I used a protractor to mark the angled cut, set and squared up a straight edge, and set the bevel on the saw. Had to make sure the distance from the straight edge to the end of the angled blad was just right and doesn't pass the waste side. Once the cut is all set, pull the trigger and take it to town.





Check this cut mane. Solid! Love this new saw.

[Vulgar Soul]

Day 8:





I bought a continuous hinge from Home Depot to attach the CP surface and box.







Markin, drillin, and screwin the holes (lol, pause) for the hinge onto the CP.





Done.



Fit like a glove. Jus for the record, the end of the control panel surface has to be cut at an angle. You can see how it meets up with the "U" shaped area of the side panels. Big shout out to JohnEDollar on this tip!

Lookin back on this, I shoulda saved this step for later. I would end up disassembling the control panel and hinge to paint them. The hinge came in this ugly, glossy aluminum color and I wanted to spray paint it black.

[yotsuya]

Great job documenting this build! Looking forward to the final product! 

[Vulgar Soul]

Day 9:

Now this was the big day. All panels cut, support strips fastened, control panel assembled. Time for assembly!

I rounded up three of my cousins to help finally put this ---smurfette--- together!



First had to bolt the casters to the base.









How much heads it take to put together one base? Lol. Cuz helped me align everything while I drilled the holes. Once again, the handy combination square helped keep everything at an equal distance.



Whoops!! This is why you always plan ahead and don't rush. My dumbass forgot the support strips at the bottom of the side panels!



It's all good though. Took back the base, unbolted the casters, patched up the old holes with wood filler and bolted the casters to a better spot. Once the wood filler dried up and sanded down you'd swear the holes were never there!

[Vulgar Soul]

Day 9:

Now for the real assembly. The most challenging part was deciding how to put it all together because I wanted to assemble it all from the inside. We decided to jus work our way up from the bottom panels upward. Then to fasten the speaker panel from inside, I unscrewed jus the front end of the support strips from the side panels, turned them so I have access to the top of the strips where I can attach it to the speaker panel, fastened the speaker panel, turned it back into the cabinet and then screwed in just the end of the strips (which I could reach) back into the side panels. It's hard to explain but I hope that made sense. In the end it was all assembled with no screws on the outside.













My cousins held up the panels while I screwed everything together. Always get help for this step.







Second side panel was place on top and fastened to the rest of the cabinet from the inside by the support strip.



My cuz gettin a close look at the assembled cab. Hey J.J., I don't think we can get a high score yet!















A pivotal moment of the build. The cabinet is finally assembled!

[Vulgar Soul]

Day 10:

Took a break from the cab for a few weeks, but took the time to quickly add the marquee light. 15 bucks at Home Depot. Why the hell not?

[Vulgar Soul]

Day 11:

Sandin the cabinet down to be painted. Started with about 60 grit and a power sander, then worked up to 100, 120, and 200 grit with a block sander. Got it smooth as a baby's bottom. By the time I was done, you could wipe your face with this wood.





Made sure I dusted off and vacuumed the cabinet inside and out afterwards.

[Vulgar Soul]

BTW, I notice stupid ass imageshack is actin effed up (at least for me). Hopefully soon all the pics will show again.

[Vulgar Soul]

Day 12:

Time to paint! Went down to the local paint shop and got everything I need. Big ups to the guys at New Palace Paint Supply. I ain't know a damn thing about shoppin for paint. I dead ass did about an hour of research and then went on down to the shop lookin like a fool. These dudes coulda robbed me blind and instead were VERY helpful in helping me choose just the right brushes, rollers, paint, primers, and quantities of each, AND they had great prices. Now THAT'S how you run a damn good business. Don't even wanna think about how those kids workin at Home Depot woulda compared.

So on this day I primed up the cabinet, CP surface, and box, using a primer i had tinted.





Gotta be careful to keep the t-molding slot free of paint.

[Vulgar Soul]

Day 13:

After 2 coats of prime it was time for the paint. My choice of color was something I thought about for a while. The color scheme I have in mind for the marquee and CPO is black, white, and an electric violet. I wanted something that would match that for the cab. I considered black, but I thought a straight black cab would look a little TOO generic even for the simplicity I had in mind. I wanted the cabinet to have some sort of color and contrast with black molding I already ordered. Straight white seemed just as plain and boring for me. Violet? Nah, too fruity, too strong. So I split the difference between a black and white cab and went with a nice grey. I think it looks much nicer then any other color while keeping with the neutral look I wanted. Not too plain, not too strong.

I went with a flat sheen and would really recommend it. A glossy paint is more prone to showin flaws and unwanted texture. The flat paint came out lookin very good, very professional, very consistent!





The Back Door.

[Vulgar Soul]

Day 14:

Painted cab, rubber mallet, fresh T-molding. Y'all know what it is!



Went with the black leather texture. I believe this is the molding of the original Konami cabs and I remember a lot of the generic JAMMA cabs used this.







Bringing the T-molding around corners was harder than I expected.







And yes, my messy basement with cement flooring is also a work in progress.











This got me real excited. Can't wait to add a marquee.



The final results!

[ButterGuns]

FREAKIN SWEET project documentation.  Thanks brother.

[Vulgar Soul]

That's all I got for now, but as you can see, the cabinet is done! From here on in it's jus gettin artwork, parts, electrical stuff + computer + monitor, and finishin touches.

All this got me strapped for cash now. Gonna have to put this off and save for a while. but I'm aiming for a completed project, or at least everything short of having a computer and monitor done by Christmas. I'm in the process of the artwork and should have somethin to show soon.

I always appreciate feedback on my progress. Keep it locked here for more soon!

[Sir Kayne]

I really like cabinet replica, and you are doing a great job !
Even the picture are not so good quality, I can imagine that the result look very good! !

[Vulgar Soul]

I really like cabinet replica, and you are doing a great job !
Even the picture are not so good quality, I can imagine that the result look very good! !

Yeah, apologies for the grainy pics. I'm waitin for the final product in all its glory before I bust out the digital cam. I'm jus snappin shots on my phone and ipod for now.

I wish someone told me how much imageshack stinks to lol.

[OpFlash]

wow this project is looking sweet!!

[SNAAKE]

nice. looks just like the OG simpsons cabinet

[opt2not]

Nice documentation, and pretty solid progress for 14 days of work!
Looking forward to see what you do with the monitor mounting.

Keep it up the good work mang! 

[AlienInferno]

Just came across this but I must say it's a nice build.  I'm building the same cab.  TMNT and The Simpsons were two of my favorite games.     I used the Jakobud plans and MDF but for the most part are cabs look pretty similiar.  A couple differences I noticed between yours and mine are the speaker slots (size & number of slots) and the coin door (mine's two player).  I'll have to remember the angled back end of the control panel top.  Didn't even noticed that one.

I do have one question though.  What are/will you be using as a marquee retainer?  I've tried thinking of a few things and have pretty much just came to the conclusion I'll have to bend my own out of some lexan.

If you have the time check out my build.  My sig has a link.  Haven't had any updates in awhile though.  I've been trying to pay off a few bills first.

[Vulgar Soul]

Hey guys, my fault on the oversized pics before. I know this thread was slow as hell. I resized all the pics and this thread should be much easier to navigate now.

[Vulgar Soul]

Just came across this but I must say it's a nice build.  I'm building the same cab.  TMNT and The Simpsons were two of my favorite games.     I used the Jakobud plans and MDF but for the most part are cabs look pretty similiar.  A couple differences I noticed between yours and mine are the speaker slots (size & number of slots) and the coin door (mine's two player).  I'll have to remember the angled back end of the control panel top.  Didn't even noticed that one.

I do have one question though.  What are/will you be using as a marquee retainer?  I've tried thinking of a few things and have pretty much just came to the conclusion I'll have to bend my own out of some lexan.

If you have the time check out my build.  My sig has a link.  Haven't had any updates in awhile though.  I've been trying to pay off a few bills first.

Yes! I saw your thread months ago before I even started and it was a huge inspiration. Not enough Konami cab fans (or custom replica builders in general) here! We gotta stick together lol. Your cab looks real slick even this early. Hope to see your thread rise up again soon!

Would really like to see how you hooked up the speakers. That was one of the harder decisions for me.

The original Konami cabs had the CP surface met at an angle with those curves on the cab. This was reflected on Gozer's model and I had to apply this to my build, but I believe Jakobud modified his plans so you dont need that angled end. Your CP should meet up jus fine. I think you good on that.   

I'm gonna order the Happ's marquee retainers. Those retainers have a curvy "U turn" shape, rather then a 90 degree angle, that can fit your marquee in place no matter what angle your top and speaker panels are. Jus about every online cabinet parts vendor has these.

[Vulgar Soul]

Hey y'all jus wanna share some of my artwork. I'm nearly done with my marquee.

It bears the title V1820, with the subtitle "Video Arcade Super System." I wanted something retro lookin, and generic. Straight from the early 90's/late 80's lookin. Didn't really want anything contemporary lookin with loads of complex graphics. My abilities are limited anyway.

I'm jus a lil iffy about the empty space but it's only the marquee. I'm mostly happy with it. I will add a fictional corporate logo on the corner but that's it.

Any feedback is appreciated.

[Vulgar Soul]

Already made a quick change. added a black offset to the subtitle so it's easier to see.

[Vulgar Soul]

Another quick change. Centered the subtitle.

[yotsuya]

Looks good. There's a certain simplicity to the old stuff that I like and I think gets lost sometimes.

[fleetwood472]

That turned out badass.  Any recent pics of the finished machine up and running?

[Santoro]

I am really impressed with how well the speaker slots came out without using a router, nice job.  The whole thing looks clean and well done, also interested in how the project has progressed since....

[DaveMMR]

I always think that the best 4-player cabs were always the actual ones you'd find in an arcade.  So I love it when I see recreations of those cabs.  And the detail put into the woodworking is insane. Good job.   

[Spriggan Black]

Outstanding job man!

[bytestorm]

Wow nice job! I am thinking about a 4p cab myself. Any more pics or is the project still frozen?