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Author Topic: Now named Bartop ThunderKade (Finished)  (Read 6594 times)

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Egg UK

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Now named Bartop ThunderKade (Finished)
« on: May 05, 2013, 12:48:58 pm »
This is my take on on a classic, the Weecade.

Started building yesterday, yes on Star Wars day. Not too sure on styling as of yet, my intention was to keep it quite sleek, I've ordered some graphite black laminate, but I'm open to most suggestions.

Controls of choice shall be 2 x U360's, kept toying with the idea of a trackball and/or spinner, but given limited size not sure thats practical.



Going with a NEC EA 190M as my screen choice, partly due the the bargain price I got a brand new one on eBay for. Size wise it pretty much fills the carcass, there was a worried moment when I thought it was going to be too big.



I shall make an attempt to keep this upto date with my progress and answer and question that might crop up along the way.

« Last Edit: July 07, 2013, 04:12:47 pm by Egg UK »

Egg UK

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Re: My Bartop (WeeCade Clone)
« Reply #1 on: May 06, 2013, 03:50:00 pm »
Got the monitor mounted today, fits nice and snug, looking forwrd to it powered up for the 1st time.



As previously mentioned, I'm going to be using U360's by Ultimarc, I however have a question, it there a preffered method for wiring this up, ie USB vs Ipac ?

Still no ideas as to artwork at the moment, I'm thinking of just laminating the CP, possibly just adding a plexiglass overlay for added protection. Still cant make up my made on button, tempted to splash out on RGB classics hooked up to a PacLED64 and have a play with LEDBlinky.
« Last Edit: May 06, 2013, 03:59:40 pm by Egg UK »

lordnacho

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Re: My as yet un-named Bartop.
« Reply #2 on: May 06, 2013, 04:50:02 pm »
First off, looks good so far.

As previously mentioned, I'm going to be using U360's by Ultimarc, I however have a question, it there a preffered method for wiring this up, ie USB vs Ipac ?
I used to have a u360 but switched to something with switches, I preferred the clicky sounds.

Easiest is to get the button harnesses for the u360's and go usb with no Ipac.  Saves you some money too.
I recall some people having issues with some PC games, so they use software like joy2key or xpadder.  Guess that was because some pc games don't have full joystick support or is it 2 joysticks(not entirely sure). 

Egg UK

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Re: My as yet un-named Bartop.
« Reply #3 on: May 07, 2013, 11:33:26 am »
First off, looks good so far.

I used to have a u360 but switched to something with switches, I preferred the clicky sounds.

Easiest is to get the button harnesses for the u360's and go usb with no Ipac.  Saves you some money too.
I recall some people having issues with some PC games, so they use software like joy2key or xpadder.  Guess that was because some pc games don't have full joystick support or is it 2 joysticks(not entirely sure).

I was probably going to order an Ipac anyhow, I want the flexibility, and at the moment not totally decided on what admin buttons I actually want, I know the u360 has a shift function, but I cant see me using this at the moment.

On a build note, had a bit of a splurge, bought myself a Makita trimmer/router, a RT0700CX2, http://www.axminster.co.uk/makita-rt0700cx2-router-trimmer-prod875577/, looking forward to trying that out  :lol

Also some screw inserts, some unequal aluminium angle for a marquee retainer, and some aluminium 'U' channel I plan to utilise as support for a glass screen bezel.

DeathDealer

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Re: My as yet un-named Bartop.
« Reply #4 on: May 13, 2013, 10:42:41 pm »
 :applaud: very nice! keep posting more info. :cheers:
Foot steps on the sand.

Egg UK

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Re: My as yet un-named Bartop.
« Reply #5 on: May 16, 2013, 03:33:25 pm »
Made some progress, its been parcel after parcel coming through the door at, the local DIY shop has been completely useless ....  :laugh2:

Heres the mother board and CPU, decided to go with something new, just for ease. Cpu is an i5 3470, and the motherboard is microATX to assist with squeezing it all in.



That being said, I had originally planned to use the motherboard's intergrated graphics, however I discovered I had a Nvidia 8800 GTX put to one side from a previous desktop build. Anyone who know's theses cards will know just how big they are.



I think I've gotten away with it. I dont think heat will be an issue, but I guess we shall see soon enough, I've a few ideas if it proves the case.

Received my delivery from Ultimarc yesterday, very swift, can't praise enough. I've decided on 2 x u360's, RGB classics for the most part, I've gotten a spinner, not completely sure how I might fit this on the control as of yet.




sabreerbasAlpha

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Re: My as yet un-named Bartop.
« Reply #6 on: May 16, 2013, 04:06:50 pm »
some nice kit there. Did you build the bar top or is it a kit of Ebay?.

Egg UK

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Re: My as yet un-named Bartop.
« Reply #7 on: May 16, 2013, 04:08:47 pm »
some nice kit there. Did you build the bar top or is it a kit of Ebay?.

It was a kit from eBay, 12mm mdf. I had intended on creating my own, but for the price it was perfect.

sabreerbasAlpha

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Re: My as yet un-named Bartop.
« Reply #8 on: May 16, 2013, 04:10:57 pm »
some nice kit there. Did you build the bar top or is it a kit of Ebay?.

It was a kit from eBay, 12mm mdf. I had intended on creating my own, but for the price it was perfect.

ye ive just seen them Pretty decent price your right. Anyway looking good. What theme are you going for any ideas.. ::)

Egg UK

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Re: My as yet un-named Bartop.
« Reply #9 on: May 16, 2013, 04:15:18 pm »

ye ive just seen them Pretty decent price your right. Anyway looking good. What theme are you going for any ideas.. ::)

Not much of an artist myself, still giving it some thought.

All I plan to do so far is laminate it inside and out with some dark graphite (almost black) laminate I also got from eBay.

I was hoping some of the good BYOAC folks might come up with a few ideas  :cheers:

sabreerbasAlpha

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Re: My as yet un-named Bartop.
« Reply #10 on: May 16, 2013, 04:28:14 pm »

ye ive just seen them Pretty decent price your right. Anyway looking good. What theme are you going for any ideas.. ::)

Not much of an artist myself, still giving it some thought.

All I plan to do so far is laminate it inside and out with some dark graphite (almost black) laminate I also got from eBay.

I was hoping some of the good BYOAC folks might come up with a few ideas  :cheers:

Wow well there will be plenty of ideas floating around that's for sure. If your looking to keep it plain and simple then laminate is cool, But why not laminate then get some cool graphics or art to put straight over the laminate. Why not black or colour carbon fibre on the CP then a nice Plexi over the top. There are so many things you could do. Id go for a full on Carbon fibre wrap cab with some nice Plexi And led light action. It will look sweet. But what ever you choose just take your time its not a race man. Enjoy it  :applaud: :applaud:

Egg UK

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Re: My as yet un-named Bartop.
« Reply #11 on: June 22, 2013, 04:52:09 pm »
Been a bit lazy on keeping this thread updated.

Hopefully some photo's of progress will make up for it  :cheers:

One of my intentions at the project's conception was to try to produce something fairly sleek and proffesional looking in appearance, I'm pretty pleased so far with the results.

Feel free to ask any questions, or even scrutinise, all input is welcome  ;D


















Just waiting on the arrival of a smoked grey plexi bezel. in the meantime I need to figure what sort of graphics I want to utilise as a marquee, this will be the hardest part of the build lol .....  :dizzy:
« Last Edit: June 22, 2013, 04:55:47 pm by Egg UK »

Hornet

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Re: My still as yet un-named Bartop. (New Pics)
« Reply #12 on: June 22, 2013, 05:53:10 pm »
Doing a good job there Egg, can't wait to see the name you come up with. What is your favourite arcade game?
ME- Its a bartop.
WIFE- But we don't have a bar.
ME- That's my next project! ;-)

Egg UK

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Re: My still as yet un-named Bartop. (New Pics)
« Reply #13 on: June 22, 2013, 05:56:44 pm »
Doing a good job there Egg, can't wait to see the name you come up with. What is your favourite arcade game?

Cheers fella, funnily enough was just eyeing up your thread.  :cheers:

My favourite game, now thats a hard choice, for some reason I always find myself returning to Rolling Thunder.   ;D

Hornet

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Re: My still as yet un-named Bartop. (New Pics)
« Reply #14 on: June 22, 2013, 08:11:35 pm »
Rolling Thunder, I don't know this game, I will have to check it out. Rolling Thunder is a great name for an arcade game/machine, how about that or Thunder Cade?

I quickly cleaned the Rolling Thunder logo up in Photoshop, probably needs some more work and to be bigger but it gives you an idea of what it could look like. I think the yellow would look really classy against your all black bartop.
« Last Edit: June 22, 2013, 08:15:11 pm by Hornet »
ME- Its a bartop.
WIFE- But we don't have a bar.
ME- That's my next project! ;-)

GIZMOGAMES

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Re: My still as yet un-named Bartop. (New Pics)
« Reply #15 on: June 23, 2013, 02:01:11 am »
call it simple but what about
EGGSTREME-GAMES  :dunno just a play on the name u chose for the forums :)  ??? ??? :dizzy:
or CHUCKIE EGG
« Last Edit: June 23, 2013, 02:06:34 am by GIZMOGAMES »

Chris John Hunter

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Re: My still as yet un-named Bartop. (New Pics)
« Reply #16 on: June 23, 2013, 06:05:41 pm »
Chuckie Egg was a great game mate

TheDude

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Re: My still as yet un-named Bartop. (New Pics)
« Reply #17 on: June 24, 2013, 11:50:37 am »
Looking real sweet with that lamninate !
Might I ask you your ebay vendor for it ? I'm interested !

Also I must ask you your permission : would you kindly let us publish pics of your finished build at
bartopmania ?

cheers

Egg UK

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Re: Now named Bartop ThunderKade
« Reply #18 on: June 29, 2013, 06:30:47 am »
Well after thinking of it for a few days, I've come round to the idea of playing homage to one of my favourite games Rolling Thunder, its just a tweak and a little play on the original marquee, but I'm now ready to present my first attempt at artwork for some critique  :cheers:



I value some honest opinions, you guys always seem to come through :)
« Last Edit: June 29, 2013, 06:34:39 am by Egg UK »

Egg UK

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Re: My still as yet un-named Bartop. (New Pics)
« Reply #19 on: June 29, 2013, 06:33:54 am »
Looking real sweet with that lamninate !
Might I ask you your ebay vendor for it ? I'm interested !

Also I must ask you your permission : would you kindly let us publish pics of your finished build at
bartopmania ?

cheers

Thanks for your comments, I'm sure something can be arranged once its completed.

As for the laminate, heres the exact stuff

 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1200-x-1200-Sheet-of-Graphite-Black-Veneer-Formica-Laminate-0-5mm-thick-/261236798310?pt=UK_BOI_Building_Materials_Supplies_Carpentry_Woodwork_ET&hash=item3cd2ed3366




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Re: Now named Bartop ThunderKade
« Reply #20 on: June 29, 2013, 08:09:56 am »
Thanks for the link. Unfortunately, delivey in uk only... I'm in France  :'(

I'll try to look for the same kind of product on ebay.fr

 :cheers:

Hornet

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Re: Now named Bartop ThunderKade
« Reply #21 on: June 29, 2013, 11:38:37 am »
Its a great name Egg, but I feel your marquee is a bit dark towards both ends. How will this look with light behind it? I would also continue the fire line so that it goes off the edge. Other than that it looks fine.  :cheers:
ME- Its a bartop.
WIFE- But we don't have a bar.
ME- That's my next project! ;-)

Egg UK

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Re: Now named Bartop ThunderKade
« Reply #22 on: July 07, 2013, 04:12:24 pm »
Marquee printed. Pretty pleased with the outcome



Fitting the marquee was the 'last' job of the actual build.



So now its just tweaking the software, getting LED Blinky all set up and running satisfactorily, and shelling Win 7 to boot straight into Hyperspin.



How's it looking ? .....  :cheers:

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Re: Now named Bartop ThunderKade (Finished)
« Reply #23 on: July 07, 2013, 04:32:15 pm »
The Rolling ThunderKADE is looking pretty sweet!  Did you use T-molding?  Also, how do you like the U360's (I've been thinking about upgrading my cab with them)?

Cheers!
 :cheers:
« Last Edit: July 07, 2013, 05:16:33 pm by a1pharm »

Egg UK

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Re: Now named Bartop ThunderKade (Finished)
« Reply #24 on: July 07, 2013, 04:42:06 pm »
The Rolling ThunderKADE is looking pretty swee!  Did you use T-molding?  Also, how do you like the U360's (I've been thinking about upgrading my cab with them)?

Cheers!
 :cheers:

Thanks for your comments, they're much appreciated. Never was much of an artist, but I'm pleased with the outcome.

I did indeed use T-molding, 12 mm. The fit on it is pretty good, I was expecting to have to use hot glue to secure it in a few spots, but no it fit nice and snug all the way round.

The U360's, atm I have one setup as it arrived as standard, the 2nd stick is set up with a round restrictor, and harder spring. I personally like the short throw and stronger return to centre. They are never going to be in my eyes as good as a true 4-way or 8-way sticks. That being said, I'm more than happy with them, they are performing superb with LEDBlinky switching maps on the fly. I may even make a few custom maps for the odd troublesome game.  :applaud:

Learn't a good few lessons along the way on this build, I can totally understand how people become 'addicted' to building cabs, I'm already giving a few ideas some thought.  :dizzy:

Hornet

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Re: Now named Bartop ThunderKade (Finished)
« Reply #25 on: July 08, 2013, 06:56:34 am »
Hi Egg that looks pretty good, well done!
ME- Its a bartop.
WIFE- But we don't have a bar.
ME- That's my next project! ;-)

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Re: Now named Bartop ThunderKade (Finished)
« Reply #26 on: July 08, 2013, 07:10:58 am »
Very nice bartop.
Like the name and artwork aswell.
 :applaud:   :cheers:

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Re: Now named Bartop ThunderKade (Finished)
« Reply #27 on: August 24, 2013, 11:13:20 pm »
How did you attach the glass/plexi over the monitor?  How did you create the bezel?

Thanks!
AJ

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Re: Now named Bartop ThunderKade (Finished)
« Reply #28 on: August 25, 2013, 12:25:42 am »
Nice finish and details!

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Re: Now named Bartop ThunderKade (Finished)
« Reply #29 on: August 25, 2013, 10:17:58 am »
Cool bartop !
I especially like the dark laminate contrasting with the marquee !
Awesome job !  :applaud: