There is a phrase to the effect that
good artist copy, great artists steal. While I’m probably neither good nor great, I’ve tried to leverage (some might say steal) as much as can from those that have come before me. I have to give special props to Jarrett for his wonderful
Space Paranoids artwork that he, graciously, shared with the community.
Now, about the build: nothing revolutionary, just a modification to existing themes with some of my own (fun?) modifications thrown in. However I had several goals in mind:
- Virtual Cab –To display bezel and marquee artwork on a per game basis.
- Franken Panel – To play a majority of MAME games (I know, I know).
- Driving Games – To play Super/Championship Sprint (and similar games) with “authentic” controls (or as close as possible)
Virtual CabMy thought was to use a 55” TV in portrait mode to achieve my desired results. Long story short I was able to pick up a cheapo 55” 4K TV last December for a reasonable price. All I can say is the bezel and marquee artwork look awesome on it! I was planning on a slim design, but ended up changing that so that I could have storage for swapping a driving control panel.
Cabinet design with TV placement:
Cab with the side art:
Franken PanelWhat more is there to say? It’s a ye’old Franken Panel. I’m Going to be using leaf-switches all around; for buttons and joysticks. The P1 & P2 joysticks are both 8-way with the left one being a rotary. Plus a Push/Pull spinner, Tron Flight Stick and 4-way Joystick. If things work out I’ll have some little goodies to share later, but here is a pic of the CP artwork:
Driving GamesAs mentioned, I wanted to be able to play some driving games, specifically Super/Championship Sprint. Also I thought it would be cool to get a Star Wars yoke. As luck would have it (or not) it took me forever to get driving parts. I’m sure I was looking in the wrong places, but it took me about a year to gather the parts. Luckily everything fell into line and I was able to get some pedals (from Badlands I think) and I got a Championship Sprint CP with 2 wheels and the fixings. The Yoke I bought didn’t have the handles/grips. At that time, I didn’t know the handles were so expensive to buy. Luckily, I found a Road Blasters CP for cheap that had handles and I think I’ll be able to repurpose the control panel to use with the yoke. Basically, taking the Championship sprint CP, cutting it in half and inserting a portion of the Road Blasters CP in the middle. Think of something similar to a three player Super Sprint, but with a yoke in the center. Here are some pics of the parts:
Pedals as I received them:
Pedals after some TLC:
I have the wood for the cabinet cut and laminated (at least what I can before assembly). So, assembly will begin this weekend. Then I’ll work on the control panel.
I have some other goodies I’m working on that I’ll share soon.