Taito inspired first build [Finished!]

[stripe4]

I actually rough cut the sides last autumn before the winter kicked in. Unable to do woodworking until spring, now I can devote more time for everything else - artwork, choosing parts etc.
I've spent some time working in SketchUp and Illustrator, and here are some renders in their sterile glory:













Still many things to decide on though:

• air vent placement
• access to the inside of the cab (front door)
• how to open the control panel?
• make a keyboard and mouse drawer or not?

Anyway, suggestions welcome!

[SpaceHedgehog]

Looks great - Vewlix panel suits it. Is it going to be dark grey or black (gotta say, I like grey with the red)? What size screen are you going to put in there? I think something slightly larger than that shown would be good.

[PL1]

Looking good.

Have you tested the flipper button placement on a 1:1 cardboard mockup?

They look like they may be a little low and forward for comfort.   


Scott

[stripe4]

Looks great - Vewlix panel suits it. Is it going to be dark grey or black (gotta say, I like grey with the red)? What size screen are you going to put in there? I think something slightly larger than that shown would be good.

Thanks!
Originally it was black but I had to change the color in SketchUp to charcoal because the renders turned out too dark to distinguish the edges of panels. I must say that the dark grey is slowly growing on me, too.
I have a spare Samsung SyncMaster 214T (21", 4:3), so I will use that (and it is exactly the same size display in the renders). I do agree that it is still a little too small (the cab is a bit wider than the original, too). OTOH, the only other option is to use a widescreen display because anything too tall will be obstructed by marquee...

[stripe4]

Looking good.

Have you tested the flipper button placement on a 1:1 cardboard mockup?

They look like they may be a little low and forward for comfort.   


Scott

Thanks!
I did test the flipper button placement, and that is the best I could come up with considering the constraints (please view the attachment and you will see what I mean). Yeah, I might revisit this sometime later...

[Azure]

I'm loving the idea, old and new Taito:) I've been diddling with a similar design on my Taito cab, but all black/white/grey. It fits together nicely. I will be watching this with interest.

[Le Chuck]

Love me some taito cabs. Can't wait to see more.

[yotsuya]

Not bad, but I'd put a real door on the front or lose the mechs altogether. They look odd otherwise.

[edekoning]

That black/white/red color scheme looks fantastic 

Still many things to decide on though:

• air vent placement
• access to the inside of the cab (front door)
• how to open the control panel?
• make a keyboard and mouse drawer or not?

• Place airvents on the back and top.
• I would add a door to the back and leave the front as clean as possible.
• Lots of options: some type of hinge, clamps, velcro, magnets, bolts and insert nuts.
• Skip the keyboard drawer. Why would you ever need a keyboard after the initial setup? Just use 'remote desktop connection', vnc or some other tool afterwards to manage the cab remotely. Alternatively you could also just buy a bluetooth keyboard/mouse, or put some USB ports on the cab and plug a regular keyboard in there.

So when can be expect the 'finished' pics 

[stripe4]

Not bad, but I'd put a real door on the front or lose the mechs altogether. They look odd otherwise.

Thank you for your opinion! I agree that the mechs are kinda small but I can get these fairly cheap. Another route I'm considering is getting a coin door and installing GGG credit pushbuttons.
Hmm, some front art could also make those coin mechs seem not that small. Decisions, decisions...

[stripe4]

That black/white/red color scheme looks fantastic 

Still many things to decide on though:

• air vent placement
• access to the inside of the cab (front door)
• how to open the control panel?
• make a keyboard and mouse drawer or not?

• Place airvents on the back and top.
• I would add a door to the back and leave the front as clean as possible.
• Lots of options: some type of hinge, clamps, velcro, magnets, bolts and insert nuts.
• Skip the keyboard drawer. Why would you ever need a keyboard after the initial setup? Just use 'remote desktop connection', vnc or some other tool afterwards to manage the cab remotely. Alternatively you could also just buy a bluetooth keyboard/mouse, or put some USB ports on the cab and plug a regular keyboard in there.

So when can be expect the 'finished' pics 

Thank you! Great info on the questions I posted earlier!
Actually I do have a plan to put two USB ports for gamepads, I just did not realize up until now I could use them for keyboard/mouse, too! Silly me! And using RDC/VNC for the maintenance is a great tip, too!

I hope that spring/summer/autumn will be enough for finishing this thing but you never know...

[stripe4]

The rough cuts I had from last year are proper cabinet sides now. Obligatory pics:



Before flush trimming:



Both sides identical:



T-molding slot done, too:



Being the scariest of all router bits I have, good thing it struck me to check the rotational speed for the slot cutter bit. As there was no info about max RPM on the bit itself, and also none on GroovyGameGear product page, I started with the lowest RPM setting at ~11 000. The bit cut just fine, so I finished both sides at this speed.

[emphatic]

Nice design, great workmanship! 

[stripe4]

Thanks for the compliment! I'm by no means a woodworking pro. Actually, I bought and learned how to use a router mainly because of this project!

[Minwah]

I really like it, the screen size looks perfect to me - most old machines have a good size bezel around the screen.

I would probably use a coin door, but front art instead would look good. I'm working on a small machine and decided not to use a coin door since it looks too big for the scale of the machine, but would suit yours fine.

[Seith]

Yes, I will also second the thoughts about going the coindoor route instead of individual coin mechs front-mounted like you had in your renders.  Is this project going to take actual coins/tokens, or are you installing them just for looks and plan on wiring the coin-up to the reject button on your mechs?

[stripe4]

Minwah, Seith,
the method of adding credits to games is the only major thing I have not decided on yet, mainly due to cost.
I've already bought GroovyGameGear's NovaGemCDR pushbuttons, and I just also ordered a used coin door that does not cost a fortune to ship to my neck of the woods. Here's hoping that the shipping price was correct, and not a mistake on the seller's part.
If I receive the coin door, I will probably install it together with those NovaGemCDRs.

[stripe4]

After gluing and screwing the parts together I've finished the base. Managed to kill a mosquito swarm in the process, too.

[cmoses]

Looking good. Glad your back to working on it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

[stavros693000]

Not bad, but I'd put a real door on the front or lose the mechs altogether. They look odd otherwise.

this is actually how most cabs were/are in Australia with just the mech and a insert coin sticker. I agree with you though I think the happ coin doors look really nice. just to bad I couldn't find one with an aussie coin mech attached

[rablack97]

plans, plans, love this design, size and shape....

l

[stripe4]

I see that I've been neglecting my build thead for almost a year now, time for an update!

This is how the cab looks today:





Hopefully it will be finished by the end of July!

By the way I also attached the SketchUp file to this post if anyone wishes to build a cab like this one. Please note that the side measurements are not precisely the same as for a real Taito cabinet because I do not have access to one.

[edekoning]

Good to see you this project had not been abandoned 

[stripe4]

When I initially planned the different parts of the cab, I did not foresee that the shape of CP would severely limit my hinge choices, as there is nothing on the front side of the cab to attach them to (only the side panels). For a while I thought that pivot hinges are the best way forward, but it turned out that the local hardware stores had a really limited choice if any at all.

Luckily I ran into a solution I had not even thought about in the first place: swing-up fittings. All I can say is that they function really great and give an easy access to CP internals.

Swing-up fitting:


CP open:


CP closed:


I have not added additional supports and latches yet, but that is a minor issue.

[gabrielmtl]

Looking very good, I love the shape and proportions.

How wide is your CP?

[stripe4]

Thanks! The CP is 724 mm wide. Cabinet sides are 18 mm wide each, so the total width of the cabinet is 760 mm. That's just a little below 30 inches.

[Le Chuck]

Never would have thought of those swing up fittings.  How much bounce is there in the down position?  Any play at all or are they rock solid? 

Are these the ones you used? http://www.amazon.com/Selby-Hardware-Swing-Up-Fitting/dp/B0006LBUCU

[stripe4]

Never would have thought of those swing up fittings.  How much bounce is there in the down position?  Any play at all or are they rock solid? 

Are these the ones you used? http://www.amazon.com/Selby-Hardware-Swing-Up-Fitting/dp/B0006LBUCU

I haven't tried them with a fully populated CP, because I'm still in the middle of painting process. Right now it does not take a lot of effort to open a bare CP. They are stiffer than eurohinges, that's for sure.
The combined added weight of trackball, joysticks, buttons and acrylic will require more effort to lift it up. However, I'm still going to add latches to prevent the CP from accidental opening (because when it opens, it pops up!)

I bought Häfele brand swing-up fittings:
(PDF) http://easylink.hafele.com/is-bin/intershop.static/WFS/HDE-INT-EasyLink_HDE-INT-Site/HDE-INT-EasyLink_HDE-INT/en_EN/pdfcatalog/TCH-FF2009/blaetterkatalog/pdf/save/bk_627.pdf

[stripe4]

...aaaand it's done!

Obligatory pictures:






Switched on:






As usual, photos do a poor job showing how well the marquee looks in real life:




Control panel (a little disappointed about alignment issues: not sure whether I drilled the holes imprecisely, or the vinyl stretched during the application process):




CP wiring:






Inside:




DIY smart strip (used the great guide here: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,128892.0.html):




Another shot from a different angle:

[EMDB]

Nice job! Amazing how close the final result is to the render in your fist post. Good to see you used a coin door in the end.   

[stripe4]

Nice job! Amazing how close the final result is to the render in your fist post. Good to see you used a coin door in the end.   

Thanks! Yeah, I must agree that it's the various details that add to that retro feeling of a cab, and a coin door is one of them.

[Typefighter01]

Hey Stripe,

Nice job, looks good. What material is the cab cut out of? I get that it is a type of plywood, but it looks like it comes laminated and the coating looks pretty thick.

[Generic Eric]

noice!  You are going to have fun with that!  What is your favorite game?

[stripe4]

Hey Stripe,

Nice job, looks good. What material is the cab cut out of? I get that it is a type of plywood, but it looks like it comes laminated and the coating looks pretty thick.

Thank you. This is the material I used to build this cab:
http://www.finieris.com/en/products/birch-plywood/riga-preprime
It's birch plywood, but the film (primer soaked paper) is not thick - sand it a little, and you can already start to see the first layer of ply. It is a pleasure to paint it - a smooth, even surface that doesn't soak up paint. The downside is that you cannot rely only on glue to hold the cab together, I used it just to stick pieces together, so they don't move while I'm attaching the supports and screws.
I sourced it locally, directly from the manufacturer's warehouse, so unfortunately I'm unable to advise where to source it abroad...

Here's a video how they actually make plywood. I've been inside the factory once (the company I work for supplies computer hardware for them). That birch log being transformed to a layer of ply in a matter of seconds looks impressive!

[stripe4]

noice!  You are going to have fun with that!  What is your favorite game?

Thanks, will do! KOF series hold a special place in my heart, but I also enjoy the simplicity of classics - the best choice for a quick game after a day at work.

[mgb]

This cabinet came out great.
Very nice work. 

The KOF series is very good. I only could fit 4 buttons per player on my setup so when it comes to fighters, the Neo Geos become the default fighters but they really are some great games.

[edekoning]

That's one hell of a nice looking cab you build I really like the clean black/white color theme with the only colors being used in the CPO and marque. It really draws the attention to the CP .
There is even a bit of white on the inside of the bezel, or is the monitor you used white?