My First Bartop

[ThomiG]

Hi everyone

I've decided to build my own bartop. First I only wanted to play Robotron with the right controls, you know: two arcade sticks. Then I've seen all these great projects in this forum and got inspired. So now I want a MAME machine too! Here's my design. It's not done yet but I successfully tested the system today and it works very well. Here a few pics of my bartop.

[yotsuya]

What are the dimensions? The scale of the keyboard and mouse in the photo above make it look really big. Just wondering.

What are your plans for art? 

[ThomiG]

It's about 22 inches wide and 34 in hight. I decided to make it large, so it's comfortable for two players to play side on side.
I will paint it gloss black and use the marquee you see here. The side art will be the cut out MAME logo. I plan to put el-tape on the edges of the font and plexiglass as sort of a background. The colors will match the joystick and buttons. At least that's the plan 

[talkgeek]

I really like the shape / approach, my only question is the reasoning for the MAME cut-out (excellent routing skills!) on the sides not being the same?

[ThomiG]

Thank you! Well, I wanted to have the MAME logo on both sides. Since the front and back panel of my cabinet aren't vertical, I tried to shape the logo in the same way. So I decided to distort it.

[Malenko]

Thank you! Well, I wanted to have the MAME logo on both sides. Since the front and back panel of my cabinet aren't vertical, I tried to shape the logo in the same way. So I decided to distort it.

I figured you did it to minimize "see through"  looks good. I look forward to looking at the completed pictures! 

[ThomiG]

So here's my confgured hyperspin. Finally finished 

[ThomiG]

 So, marquee arrived, primer is on, sanded, black paint is waiting...

[ThomiG]

So... lots of news. I finally painted the whole thing black. Was really a pain. Especially sanding the filler was very difficult. Behind the cut out MAME logo are two sheets of plexi glass. One is colored and the second is fully transparent. Both edged with red and blue LEDs. Furthermore there is a mirror plastic film behind the glass sheets. The edges of the logos are laminated with a film in fibre glass look. Also: cables are now in place, so are the screen and the main switch. I installed the marquee light and the bottom LEDs. Last internal connections: done.
Now I'll have to sand the edges for coloring. Then it's time for the main control panel and the perforated metal plate in the back.

[Generic Eric]

missed this.

I like the attention to detail on the cut out.  Adding that pattern was a nice touch!

[ThomiG]

Thanks!
I assembled a lot of stuff now. Also I painted the edges. It's almost finished... 

[ThomiG]

Now it's finally finished. Here some pics:

Front view with customized hyperspin running (I love robotron 2084, it's the reason I built the bartop )
Left and right side view with the cut out MAME logo glowing.
Back view. I decided to use a metal plate with holes to cover the backside. So there cooling issues, also you can't see into the MAME (at least you won't as soon as I cover the back reflection of the marquee light :p ). The plate is held in place by some power magnets hidden in the frame.
Control panel in the back: There is the main power swith, red button to start the pc and white button to turn on the monitor and sound system. Next to it you find the volume control and a headphone jack. Inside view. On the left side you see the subwoofer, on the right side is the pc.
The last image shows the wireless keyboard with integrated mouse pad, it's held in place by velcro fastener.
You also notice there are some LED stips. These are powered by a 12V battery. It turns on automatically as soon you remove the back metal plate. Therefore it's easy to maintenance the bartop with the powercord unplugged.