Fix it Felix Jr. Junior -Almost Done

[jammin0]

I've noticed since PBJs hiatus that the weecades are now coming out of the woodwork.  I'll have to start thinking of a theme but I used HaRuMaNs cad plans to plot a stencil on poster board. (I have a big 30" vinyl cutter that I can put a pen attachment on to plot line drawings.)  I cut that out with a blade and scissors.   Then I carefully used my scrollsaw to cut a version out of 1/4" birch.(I. Just got the scrollsaw a month or so ago and by the end I think I finally had the hang of it so I might do another one.) 

I still need to cut the holes where the supports go but I might have a 1/2" pattern bit for my router that will make quick work of that with a straight edge.  I get about 2 weeks off for Christmas so I'll probably post bits and pieces until then.

[GnobarEl]

Congratulations,

I will follow closely your topic!

[Termin8tor]

Congratulations,

I will follow closely your topic!

+1

[GnobarEl]

@Termin8tor
Nice projects you have. Congratulations!

[PL1]

I've noticed since PBJs hiatus that the weecades are now coming out of the woodwork.

Maybe he foresaw the trend. . . . 


Scott

[Eldritch1969]

A trend it surely is. Now perhaps it is time to have specialized boards for it, too

Mode shameless plug on 

[jammin0]

Finally got around to doing something on his and cut out the side panels.  Actually we're in rainy season so it takes some effort to do everything in the garage.  I did get the brilliant idea to clean mdf dust with the vacuum but as a finisher I've started to blow out everything with my leaf blower.  The neighbors probably think I'm weird but I kind of am.

I wanted to do this in 1/2" mdf to make it less hefty but I'm starting to have some doubts.  Anyone have any experience using 1/2" on a Bartop?  I figured it was so small that I wouldn't get any flex out of it.

Here's a picture of the side panels alongside the template I made in case I want to do another one.  (don't mind the messy workbench.)

[Eldritch1969]

hi,
I think Termin8tor has built a  bartop using 1/2".
Might ask him about his experience

[ChadTower]

More useful than boards would be a prepackaged mame install for Weecades.  That was by far the hardest part of my MAME cab and I still don't have it perfect.  Paring down all of the ROMs for my cab was a nightmare.

[Eldritch1969]

Prepackaged with what ? Beauty of it is that not two mamecabs have the same list of games/sides and CP art/buttons layout and so on and so forth.
Moreover there are some people who have different cpu power, hdd...
Having mame available is already ablessing in itself

[Termin8tor]

I have indeed used 12mm (1/2") MDF in both of my weeclones and can vouch for it being strong enough. Once the top and bottom panels are added the thing is solid. 18mm (3/4") is just to thick and heavy to be practical for bartops.

[jammin0]

Thanks termin8tor,

I love your weecade clone so I'm glad to hear that it works well.  I guess now I just have to worry about finding the skinnier tmolding.  Looks like t-molding.com only has black and white.  I guess I'll take that into consideration as I plan the theme.

[Termin8tor]

Over here in the UK it seems you can only get black and red 1/2" T-molding. Try to get 15mm which relates to 0.590551181 inches you can get lots of different colours over here from places like Gremlin Solutions. You just have to trim off a bit.

I'am also  in the process of building a new weecade clone and have a thread on going here. I also a more detailed thread on the Bartopmania forum.

[jammin0]

I'm thinking about Fix It Felix Jr. for my artwork.  It is simple and my kids loved the movie.  Recognizable and arcadey.  Thoughts?

*edit*

I forgot to credit RidicRick at the hyperspin forums for the artwork.
http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showthread.php?19263-Wreck-It-Ralph-(Fix-It-Felix-Jr)-cab-project

[ark_ader]

Nice weecade.  The artwork looks great.   

Makes me want to go back to my Monkey Island project.

It's sitting here looking forlorn.   

[ChadTower]

Prepackaged with what ? Beauty of it is that not two mamecabs have the same list of games/sides and CP art/buttons layout and so on and so forth.

They could.  Generally, games with the same number of buttons/sticks end up with the same games list.  The list is basically every game in the romset that works with that CP layout.  The Weecades are trending to similar CPs.  It would be nice to have a package that can just be dropped into something like "Weecades with one stick and four buttons", etc.

[yotsuya]

I'm thinking about Fix It Felix Jr. for my artwork.  It is simple and my kids loved the movie.  Recognizable and arcadey.  Thoughts?

Looks great, Jammin0.

[jammin0]

Looks great, Jammin0.

Thanks, nothing super innovative here, just copying others' hard work.  Standing on the shoulders of giants I guess.  Took a cue from HaRuMaN and am trying to attach with only glue and clamps.  Such a wee little guy I can even bring it into the house.  Seems to help a ton on the glue drying to have it up to at least 68 degrees.

[mcseforsale]

subscribed....

AJ

[jammin0]

Any last criticism or suggestions before I get this stuff printed off? 

[jammin0]

Artwork shipped from souldraw.  Too bad I just realized that I didn't put in an exit button.  I'll have to get creative with the placement of that one.

[PL1]

I just realized that I didn't put in an exit button.

What about the P1 Start + P2 Start shifted function method using an I-Pac?


Scott

[mcseforsale]

That's how The Blue Pill is set up.  The only time it becomes an issue is if both players are mashing on quarters and 1+2P during play like TMNT.  Then, it goes back to menu. 

AJ

[Termin8tor]

I'd go with a direction i.e right+coin to exit

[jammin0]

Hmmm, interesting ideas but I'm using hacked game pads to do this on the cheap.  I will be running them through joy2key.  Anyone know off the top of their head if joy2key does multiple keys to initiate a different key press?

I'm trying to figure out how to hinge the back panel and came up with these hinges that cost $5 for the pair at home depot.

[Eldritch1969]

How are you going to put up your monitor ?

[jammin0]

How are you going to put up your monitor ?

Vesa mount with a  board that spans the width.  I have yet to find a good way of lining up the monitor and bezel other than having them all to push into place.  I decided to do something that would be a little bit nintendo-y for the speaker grills.  Since I haven't really contributed a ton to the community on this build I will put the template I used for those.  I'm using it for 3" speakers.

[jammin0]

Man this thing is going to be tight.  I started test fitting all the components and I think everything will just barely fit.  I'm mostly concerned about the clearance beneath the joysticks.  Might change which joysticks i use and how I mount them.  I'm glad I went with the. 17" monitor and not the 19".

[CoryBee]

I see some serial plates 

You might be able to rout out a motherboard sized chunk out of your base. Should be able to take just enough off to get good clearance on your sticks if it is an issue. Just a thought. I had to rout out a space in my bartops, a small square beneath the shafts so that they weren't touching the base.

[jammin0]

I see some serial plates 

You might be able to rout out a motherboard sized chunk out of your base. Should be able to take just enough off to get good clearance on your sticks if it is an issue. Just a thought. I had to rout out a space in my bartops, a small square beneath the shafts so that they weren't touching the base.

Yep, mad props to CoryBee on the serial plates, I promise to use a real camera one of these days and get some good pictures of those.  Yeah, I'm going to top mount the joysticks but that only buys me slightly less than 1/2".  I'm thinking about using these from paradisearcadeshop: http://www.paradisearcadeshop.com/en/imported-joysticks/79-classic-arcade-stick-zippyy-short.html

Anyone have any experience with these?

[PL1]

The Zippyys need just under 1.75" clearance from the top of the mounting plate to the bottom of the actuator.

Highly recommend this switch upgrade kit. (See the video on the product page to hear the difference.)

The only thing that some people don't care for on these is the "cloverleaf" 4-way restriction. 

Some people have modded the restrictor like this.

The mod might increase the odds of accidently hitting diagonals, but you can fine tune the arms of the switches as needed.  Details here.



Green zone = OK to bend
Red zone = Avoid bending


Scott

[jammin0]

My stuff from GGG shipped today so it should be here by the end of the week.  I have been on vacation and had the post office hold my mail so the artwork should have come in from Hong Kong while I was away.  I can hardly wait for it to be delivered today.  I decided to throw together the CP and figure out the plexiglass.  This is my first attempt at bending plexiglass and I think it turned out pretty good.  I had my wife hit  it with a heat gun while I wore my oven mitts and bent it.  Eventually as it got closer to the right shape I sandwiched it between some more MDF and clamped it down.  There are a few imperfections but I don't think they will be noticeable, plus I learned a lot for the next time.

I plotted out an ink version of the CP graphics and drilled everything at once.  The next thing is to paint the shell and then start mounting the insides.  I'll probably wait until I have the buttons and joysticks so that I can juggle the components and make sure everything fits ok.

[jammin0]

Artwork came in!!

The blues on stickers is a little dark and the yellow is not so bright.  Oh well, I guess you get what you pay for from Souldraw.  The marquee looks great.  I taped one in position to make sure I didn't have any hotspotting. 

I had another one made up if anyone wants it.

[jammin0]

I'm to the point in the project where I'm dinking around with a whole bunch of little things and trying to make sure everything looks right.  I want to make sure everything is perfect before I paint.  It seems like I am always ending up changing something after I paint and then touchup never looks as good. 

Cheap Chinese printing from Souldraw meets my needs/expectations except I realized for this project that I would need some contour cutting on my side decals since they don't cover the entire side.  Souldraw can't do that so I ended up putting a registration mark on the artwork to mark the origin point for an outline cut later on.  Luckily I ordered 6 of the side artwork stickers and ruined 3 of them before I had it dialed in.  I should have left a bigger margin.  I didn't realize that they would trim my decals so close to the edge and it didn't leave much room to feed through my vinyl cutter.  I ended up taping the decal to a piece of cardstock and feeding that.

I've also been using my cutter with a pen tool for this project a lot.  I've made templates for everything out of posterboard.  I find using illustrator way more accurate then my real life measuring skills.  The last picture is a plot of what the back should look like including some air vents, fan grills, and some other plugs.

[jammin0]

Got the backplate cut out.  A little bit of sanding to go and then ready for paint.  I missed the controls in the mail today and have to pick them up from the post office tomorrow.

[jammin0]

Waiting for paint to dry but all the hard stuff is done now.  I have everything to put it all together except the t-molding.  I'm out of cash for the project and not looking forward to spending $20 on t-molding.com but I haven't really found another source for 1/2" white.

[CoryBee]

Is this a horizontal cab?

It is beautiful by the way, the blue looks just perfect! I only ask because the felix game being designed is a vertical setup....

[jammin0]

Is this a horizontal cab?

It is beautiful by the way, the blue looks just perfect! I only ask because the felix game being designed is a vertical setup....

Yeah, horizontal.  4:3 17" monitor.  I realize the game is vertical but I wanted a 2-player which would be a completely different Bartop if it were vertical.  It's going to be a MAME cab running Hyperspin.  When I decided to make it I didn't even realize people where going to be redoing the game.  It's more of a tribute rather then stay true to the game.  Did you get my PM about artwork?

[mcseforsale]

What program did you use to do your art for printing?  Can you post the artwork in it's native format?  Puhleeeze?

Looking awesome!

AJ

[jammin0]

What program did you use to do your art for printing?  Can you post the artwork in it's native format?  Puhleeeze?

Looking awesome!

AJ

Ask RidicRick for access to the shared dropbox folder:
http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showthread.php?19263-Wreck-It-Ralph-(Fix-It-Felix-Jr)-cab-project

If you want the specific version that I created to fit the weecade then I can upload an illustrator file.

[mcseforsale]

Illustrator file would be awesome!!

AJ

[jammin0]

Illustrator file would be awesome!!

AJ

Here are the art files in .AI format.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hpap68eh5rxc1kn/fixitfelix.zip

[jammin0]

Well crap.  I was hoping to get everything mounted and running but no dice.  Something got screwed up in my PC setup and I can't get it to boot now.  Worked fine in the case.

Thermal grease was really old and when I went to take off the heat sink the entire processor pried out bending a few pins.  I cleaned her all up and put on new grease and used my hobby knife to ever so slightly get the pins back so that it would reseat.  After this whole unnerving process, I still have the same problem.  Reseated the RAM, only 1 stick of RAM, double checked all my power connections.

Here's what it does, power comes on when I hit the button.  Fans spin up including the processor fan that runs full speed.  That's it.  No beeps, no restarts, drive lights turn on but when I plug in a DVD drive the light stays solid and won't eject.  The only other thing I can think of besides this thing deciding to bite the dust on me is that it is because it isn't grounded.  Everything I read online says that the mobo grounds through the PSU power plugs but I remember having a ground issue about 15 years ago on an old P2 where the mobo wasn't grounded to the case because I had forgot 1 screw into 1 standoff.  For some reason that 1 screw mattered.  I was 15 at the time though so it could have been something else

Any ideas before I tear it all out and try a different PC?

[Furry131]

Waiting for paint to dry but all the hard stuff is done now.  I have everything to put it all together except the t-molding.  I'm out of cash for the project and not looking forward to spending $20 on t-molding.com but I haven't really found another source for 1/2" white.

hey could you take a picture of the color mix on the paint can.   I really like that color and would like to get it matched for when I break down and make a Felix bar top for my wife.   

I really like your build so far. I think my wife would love this for her birthday. I will have to build this too!

[Malenko]

sounds like a power supply issue to me.

[jammin0]

Yeah, I'm kind of thinking along those same lines right now.  I modded the PSU and added a tail for the LCD.  Basically soldered directly to the outside connector.  Hopefully I didn't screw anything up.  The LCD comes on fine and everything checks for continuity.  I wonder if having the monitor grounded directly to the PSU is causing a problem.  I guess I should try unplugging the monitor and see if I can get it to post that way.

Here's a picture of how I'm trying to power everything from a single plug.  The monitor is always on.  Pardon the drawing, I did it in word.  The motherboard is mounted to MDF so there shouldn't be any grounding except where it attaches at the connector.

[jammin0]

Waiting for paint to dry but all the hard stuff is done now.  I have everything to put it all together except the t-molding.  I'm out of cash for the project and not looking forward to spending $20 on t-molding.com but I haven't really found another source for 1/2" white.

hey could you take a picture of the color mix on the paint can.   I really like that color and would like to get it matched for when I break down and make a Felix bar top for my wife.   

I really like your build so far. I think my wife would love this for her birthday. I will have to build this too!

Here's the color information.  Malenko, you were spot on, it was a dead power supply.  I'm actually pretty relieved that it wasn't something more serious like the motherboard.  I already had the custom ports in the back based what was supplied through the motherboard.  There would have been a lot more wiring if I had had to replace something else. 

[Furry131]

Waiting for paint to dry but all the hard stuff is done now.  I have everything to put it all together except the t-molding.  I'm out of cash for the project and not looking forward to spending $20 on t-molding.com but I haven't really found another source for 1/2" white.

hey could you take a picture of the color mix on the paint can.   I really like that color and would like to get it matched for when I break down and make a Felix bar top for my wife.   

I really like your build so far. I think my wife would love this for her birthday. I will have to build this too!

Here's the color information.  Malenko, you were spot on, it was a dead power supply.  I'm actually pretty relieved that it wasn't something more serious like the motherboard.  I already had the custom ports in the back based what was supplied through the motherboard.  There would have been a lot more wiring if I had had to replace something else.

Rock on thanks!!!!!!!!!!

[404]

Well crap.  I was hoping to get everything mounted and running but no dice.  Something got screwed up in my PC setup and I can't get it to boot now.  Worked fine in the case.

Thermal grease was really old and when I went to take off the heat sink the entire processor pried out bending a few pins.  I cleaned her all up and put on new grease and used my hobby knife to ever so slightly get the pins back so that it would reseat.  After this whole unnerving process, I still have the same problem.  Reseated the RAM, only 1 stick of RAM, double checked all my power connections.

Here's what it does, power comes on when I hit the button.  Fans spin up including the processor fan that runs full speed.  That's it.  No beeps, no restarts, drive lights turn on but when I plug in a DVD drive the light stays solid and won't eject.  The only other thing I can think of besides this thing deciding to bite the dust on me is that it is because it isn't grounded.  Everything I read online says that the mobo grounds through the PSU power plugs but I remember having a ground issue about 15 years ago on an old P2 where the mobo wasn't grounded to the case because I had forgot 1 screw into 1 standoff.  For some reason that 1 screw mattered.  I was 15 at the time though so it could have been something else

Any ideas before I tear it all out and try a different PC?

sounds to me like you destroyed your cpu. what processor are you running? what motherboard do you have? double check for any other pins you may have borked although now it may be too late.

Alternatively, you can remove your processor and leave the fan on, fire up your pc. if you get the same symptoms then you can pretty much confirm that your processor is done for.

[jammin0]

I know right, that's what I first thought.  Read up though, it was a bad power supply.  Everything boots stable on a spare PSU.  The CPU incident happened after the initial symptoms.  I had no idea you could remove a chip from the socket while it was locked down but I did it.  Wouldn't want to do it again. 

[mike boss]

This is fantastic !

[Malenko]

glad I could help 

[jammin0]

This is fantastic !

Just saw your sweet gameroom pictures.  You'll have to find room for a Fix it Felix cab on your Nintendo wall.

[mike boss]

@ jammin0

Thanks !
I appreciate the kind words.
I'd love more cabinets...but sadly the 3 I have outside I want to sell. Same for my custom DK JR bartop !

Anyway......your project is awesome.
Super cool !
I'm yet to see the movie, but this game has got quite a buzz here on BYOAC.

[steveh]

I had no idea you could remove a chip from the socket while it was locked down but I did it. 

i used to work at a certain large electronics retailer in the computer service department.  I have done this a few times. It makes me wonder if the manufactures sometimes mistake thermal paste for glue.

good progress on the cab, good thing it was just a power supply.  bad power supplys can do some strange stuff, i always test with a good supply before i go crazy with anything else.

[jammin0]

i used to work at a certain large electronics retailer in the computer service department.  I have done this a few times. It makes me wonder if the manufactures sometimes mistake thermal paste for glue.

good progress on the cab, good thing it was just a power supply.  bad power supplys can do some strange stuff, i always test with a good supply before i go crazy with anything else.

I'll have to change my technique to a twist and slide to get it off, way back in the day I worked at a PC repair place during high school and I saw some crazy things when chips would have that rubber pad on them and then fuze to the heatsink when they burnt out.  I think that the motherboards have better heat sensing now or something.  The glue/thermal paste that was one it scraped off with a razor blade so I think it was fairly toasted no matter what.  Glad I took it off anyway.

Here's a crappy low res picture of some of the project.  I'm a little bit on hold now until I find another power supply.  I thought I had a spare but it is a 20-pin and I need 24.  I can't sacrifice the one from my full-size build.

I did something a little bit interesting and unintended with the marquee and retainer that I will have to take better pictures of and share.  I found some white vinyl 1/2" corner trim in the shower board section of Home Depot, cost me about $4.00 I think.  After getting 2 pieces of plexiglass in that I was worried that I wouldn't have much of a lip to secure that to the wood of the cab.  I decided that I would use a small bead of glue at the corner to glue the front piece of plexiglass directly to the trim pieces and then test fit it/drill holes to attach it.  Well, the fit was so tight that it goes on just like that.  I sandwiched the artwork and now I have to apply some pressure to get it on and off but it sort of just snaps on.  It's tight enough though that even if my kids were monkeying with it, I don't think they would realize that it wasn't secured.  Best of all, this material is white vinyl so I don't even have to paint it.

[jammin0]

Tight fit but it's going together ok.

[Termin8tor]

Awesome. 

[jammin0]

Awesome. 

Thanks man.  I have
Some gripes with the artwork.  Souldraw sent me some proofs and everything was the right size and looked good.  Then when it came back it was a fraction off.  Because I went ahead with drilling my control panel before the artwork came, it's a tiny bit off now.  Also, I lost a layer or something and the guy on the front's jacket came out yellow instead of blue.  All in all though I think it is a decent tribute to the game.  I'm trying to shell windows and sort out button mappings and stuff.

[mcseforsale]

Quick question...what type of hinge are you using on your CP? 

AJ

[jammin0]

No hinge.  It's held down with Velcro.

[jammin0]

Here are a few pictures of the back.  I don't think I've shown it yet.  Thanks to CoryBee for plates on the back.  They look pretty sweet.

[DeLuSioNal29]

Nice work!  Those plates are the attention to detail that I love about projects. It makes it pop. Well done!

D

[CoryBee]

I love it! 

The paint is amazing and the "I'M GONNA WRECK IT" dedication plate turned out well! Couldn't let you use my outdated thin soda can plates on this thing, wouldn't have done it justice.

Can't wait when I get home to make one for "Sjaaks" Fix it Felix remake. Maybe just dedicated to this or at least boot directly into the game.

[Termin8tor]

Love this build and the plates really do make it pop (well done cory).

[jammin0]

Can't wait when I get home to make one for "Sjaaks" Fix it Felix remake. Maybe just dedicated to this or at least boot directly into the game.

Thanks everyone, I need to touch up paint a few spots, the holes in that fan vent are a beast, I keep looking at them from a different angle and then realizing I missed spots. 

I like the paint but I don't like the primer I used.  It didn't soak into the wood as well as the gliden latex primer I used on my last build.  This time I used a water-based primer and it was kind of a bad idea.  Since this one is a bartop and is getting moved around more than my full size I feel like it is already more prone to scratches and knicks.  I'm wishing I could go back a few steps but I guess it is too late for that.  I'm thinking about selling this one to further the hobby and my expertise.

If sjaak gets the game done before I sell this one off then my plan was to boot into Hyperspin with his game as the default wheel.  I would probably just run that and MAME.  Maybe the console emulators but the more I use them the more I realize that there is an arcade version of most of the console games that I like equally as well.  The exception being CONTRA.  Alternatively I will just make a default theme for Hyperspin that is FIFJR.

[Baezl]

Does anyone have the AI files still available? The dropbox link is no longer valid. 

I kw this is an older thread but what a nice clean build!!!

Hopefully someone has the files.

Thanks

Luis

[JDFan]

Does anyone have the AI files still available? The dropbox link is no longer valid. 

I kw this is an older thread but what a nice clean build!!!

Hopefully someone has the files.

Thanks

Luis

They are posted on the Robotron2084 guidebook site - HERE ( http://www.robotron2084guidebook.com/home/starworlds/wreck-it-ralph/fix-it-felixjr-cabinetartwork/ ) Not sure if they are the exact ones used here but I think it is ! (they mention them being made by RidicRick )

[Baezl]

Thank you for the link. The cp is different but this helps a ton.  I'll keep looking for this cp overlay .  Seeking 2 player fix it Felix.  Thanks again


Luis

[JDFan]

Thank you for the link. The cp is different but this helps a ton.  I'll keep looking for this cp overlay .  Seeking 2 player fix it Felix.  Thanks again


Luis

Just remembered I had downloaded a Fix it Felix artwork package awhile back for this and it has the 2 player CP and is in eps and psd formats - so I think it may be the entire package you were looking for -- It is 174MB so will take a little time to upload to dropbox but once it uploads I'll post a link here for you. Here's a .jpg of the 2 player CP it includes so you'll know if you want to download.

[Baezl]

Thank you!!!!!!!

[JDFan]

Thank you!!!!!!!

No problem it says 11 minutes to finish uploading right now !

I also saw a better looking 2 player MAME layout on Racketboy.com that you might ask the poster about - ( http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=43240 )

[Mr Wilson]

very nice mate

[JDFan]

OK upload finished - Here is the dropbox link to the package I had (it was .eps and .psd) so still has all of the layers etc. in case you need to modify. Let me know if you have problems with downloading and I'll upload elsewhere.

Linkie -- https://www.dropbox.com/s/ms276eju43l4g8q/Fix%20it%20Felix%20cabinet%20artwork.rar

[johnrt]

I also have available some FiFJr artwork. Feel free to download whatever you want from my site:
http://www.379009.net/nintendo-bartop/

[Baezl]

Thank you to both of you!!!  It is highly appreciated. 

Thanks a million!

Luis