Main > Project Announcements

First cab - Space City Arcade - almost finished

<< < (3/4) > >>

Kiatuthlanna:
I made a little cardboard mock-up today and you're right about the side button placement. The good news is, I can position them better and still not fundamentally change the rest of the layout. The home button is just what I call the menu button because I use it to back out of the current menu to the main system select.

Worked on the art a bit today as well.  I went through 3-4 drafts before I came up with what I have here.  I'm actually pretty happy with it. I replaced the artwork in the Google sketch-up plan as well. I'm still not sure what I want to do for side/front art. Simple may be better. I like the Robotron bezel pretty much as is.

Kiatuthlanna:
So I haven't been able to post for a while. We've had guest so I couldn't work on this, and then the Arizona monsoon kicked into full force. It's rained every afternoon when I've had time to work.  :badmood:

I finally got a chance to get something done today. I went to the local lumber supplier and picked up one sheet of 5/8" MDF and a couple of additional small pieces. They were actually willing to sell me scraps and small parts of other sheets for cheap. The nice girl working there even made some of the initial cuts on their large table saw so that it would be easier to transport home in my vehicle. I got it all home, drew out the design for one side and made the cuts using a circular saw and a jigsaw/razor saw for a couple of the tight angles. I brought it in, traced the second side and started making the rough cuts for side 2 when it started raining. Luckily, that didn't last too long so I was able to go back out, finish the rough cuts, clamp the sides together and use the flush-trim router bit to finish the second side. As soon as that was finished, it really started raining. I got everything inside just in time.

A couple of thoughts:
Although I've built a lot of cabinets and shelves with cabinet grade plywood, I'd never used MDF before. I absolutely love it. It's so easy to work and the smooth surface would be perfect for either laminating or painting with considerably less prep than many kinds of plywood. I'll definitely be using this again in the future on other projects. Second, I bought a new Bosch router before starting this project. It's pretty amazing and well worth the money (http://www.amazon.com/Bosch-1617EVSPK-4-Horsepower-Variable-Collets/dp/B00005RHPD). It's way better than the old router I've had for years and easier to use.

Since I've not been able to work outside, I've also been messing with the artwork and order parts. I scrapped the control panel and marquee I posted here before. I created a new CP based on the Centipede panel which was always one of my favorites. I found some assets on the arcade art library and drew some new elements. I finally settled on a 6 button layout with 8-way joysticks, a dedicated 4-way, spinner, and flush-mount trackball. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I also redesigned the marquee and came up with a name for my machine (Space City Arcade - after the arcade I went to growing up). I drew the "ARCADE" label to match the basic design of the old Centipede lettering and the rest of the logo is meant to be Robotron-like. I drew the planet based on an old Moon Patrol ad, added the little moon rover thingy, the stars, and the shuttle (loosely based on the X-33 design). I may add a little moon base if I can draw one I like. Overall, I'm pretty happy with how it all turned out. After messing with some printouts on my cardboard mockup, I don't think I'm going to have anything but a basic instruction sheet on the bezel. I'm still trying to decide what to do for side-art.

Anyway, that's it for now.  Thanks for all the help BYOAC folks.

Kiatuthlanna:
Opps, I posted the Marquee with the old font. Here's the updated one.

Kiatuthlanna:
I've made quite a bit of progress on the build, but I haven't been able to post photos in a while. I finished framing up most of the cabinet and put it all together last week. Things went relatively smoothly though I made a few modifications to the design as I went. I.

One thing I learned in the process of laminating and fitting the front panels is that it is really hard to get a good fit for outside corners. I made several attempts and though a few were serviceable, I ended up going with another solution. I cut the MDF panels for the area under the control panel using the angles measured from my original drawing and then used a straight cut bit and a simple router jig to cut a small amount of material off the angled end of the cut. I then applied the laminate on those pieces and trimmed the edges, using the same jig for the angled edge. This left a very small gap between the two pieces which I plan on filling with 5/8ths black t-molding. I've got a small sample piece in the picture below as an example. It actually holds tight entirely by friction and I think it looks pretty nice. I'm happier with this than any of the angled joints I tested.

I built the control panel box and top today. The box was a bit tricky because there were several somewhat complex angles. I actually ended up scrapping a first attempt because the angles on the front piece and the sides didn't match perfectly. For the second attempt, I actually just cut one side and the front and used the router to clone cut the other side and all but one side of the back. That worked way better. I also cut the CP top, drilled all the holes, laminated it, and routed the insets for the two 8way joysticks and the trackball. I got my CP artwork from Game On Grafix a while back and I was really pleased with how it turned out. Applying the artwork was actually the step I was the most nervous about as I thought it would be hard to get everything lined up. It was actually way easier than I expected following tips I found on several posts here. I can't remember where I read this, but someone recommend attaching a couple of buttons before applying the initial edge of the artwork to make sure it was lined up well. That worked well for me.

I attached all of the buttons, joysticks, and track ball and did the t-molding around the edge. I ended up simplifying the controls from what I had originally planned. I scrapped the dedicated 4 way for now and am building a second interchangeable top with two 4-way sticks instead. I also decided to scrap the spinner for now, though I may put that on my second control panel top as well.

Finally, I installed the MAME coin door I got from X-Gaming. It came ready to go and seems sturdy. It was pretty easy to install as well using the template provided online.

All and all I'm pretty happy with how things are going and can't wait to work more next weekend. Thanks to everyone on the boards for all the help and inspiration.

MacGyver:
That looks great so far.  :applaud:  I was thinking of a dedicated 4-way, then Ultimarc released their ServoStiks, and I hear Paradise Arcade will be releasing one of their own soon.  It looks like we no longer will have to decide. 

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page