Moon Patrol scratch build - 100% complete

[elvis]

tl;dr - complete build image



Build log:

Building this as a surprise gift for a friend.  It was his favourite game growing up as a kid.  He's been a hugely motivating force in my life over the last 3 years, and this is a small token of my thanks.

I've been at this a couple of months.  With three kids and a very demanding job, I only have a couple of hours a week to put towards this.

Plans are based on Jakobud's.  Using MDF because it's cheap, and sealing it early on to avoid swelling.  An old CRT TV will be de-cased and used as a monitor.













Raspberry Pi will be driving the system.  It'll play Moon Patrol of course, but also a handful of 4 way games from that era.



Main shell upright and assembled:



Putting on the base and wheels:







Dummy bezel art printed out to figure out the placement of the monitor:





Building the monitor frame:



Bought some original marquees off a local arcade forum.  This cabinet will sport an original print Moon Patrol marquee!



Control panel getting built:













De-cased the television, and installed it in its new frame:



Building the bracket to slide the monitor frame into:











Painting time:



In order to save a bit of cash, this steel access door will be cut up and turned into a coin door:





Blue coat down on the sides:





After the first coat, a bug decided to land in the wet paint.  Hence the dot in this photo.  It's since been fixed.



Artwork was printed at a local OfficeWorks.  They were kind enough to print it on a single A0 sheet, cut to colour and laminate it for me.  $33 for the print, $22 for the laminate, $55 total.  The quality was pretty nice considering the very low price.



A friend of mine was previously a sign-writer.  I asked him for some advice on doing the side art (the $70 people are asking for online is insane for $5 worth of stencil wrap).  After telling him the story, he got very excited, and offered to cut the stencils for me for the cost of materials only! 





An old USB gamepad gets hacked up and soldered to as the control input:



Joystick and buttons purchased, to be connected to the control panel shortly.



Artwork goes down on the control panel:



More later!

[menace]

Nice job so far!    This cabinet has always been on "would love to own or build" list

I am mad that I don't have friends that build me arcade cabinets when I do nice things for them though ...

[markc74]

Looking very nice chap. Moon patrol was one of my favourite cab shapes and I used it for the basis of mine. Yours is looking pretty dead on too. Especially with the side art. 

[Le Chuck]

What a great build, good thread too!  Looking forward to the next update!

[DaOld Man]

I agree with the above comments, nice job so far.
Looking forward to seeing how that coin door turns out.

[adder]

hey nice work and good on you for doing that for your friend
so that raspberry pi thing, does that output composite video it looks like?
i expect u will be running an interlace mode then? eg. 640x480, through the scart socket of the tv.
actually might that be a problem with moon patrol, as that game in mame runs around 56.7 hz but the raspberry pi might output a 640x480 resolution set at 60hz, so you might end up with the game not running (scrolling) smoothly like it should.
ive not used those raspberry pi things though so im no expert, .. something to consider/look into perhaps anyway

[elvis]

so that raspberry pi thing, does that output composite video it looks like?
i expect u will be running an interlace mode then? eg. 640x480, through the scart socket of the tv.
actually might that be a problem with moon patrol, as that game in mame runs around 56.7 hz but the raspberry pi might output a 640x480 resolution set at 60hz, so you might end up with the game not running (scrolling) smoothly like it should.

Yup, just composite out.  NTSC 480i out of the RPi to the TV, running AdvanceMAME which will probably scale everything to 60Hz (or lots of triple buffering / vsync).

While I'm keen to do the best job I possibly can, budget constraints are big on this one.  The goal is to spend as little as possible but still deliver something fairly decent.

Compromises include:
* 480i out of the Raspberry Pi over composite (would have preferred a Linux PC with RGB and real modelines, or better yet a real PCB)
* Access panel hacked into coin door (would have preferred a real coin door)
* Printed + laminated artwork (would have preferred vinyl CPO and screen-printed bezel)

A big part of the problem is I live in Australia, and there's a lot of these items that I can only get from the US.  Shipping from the US is insane (I don't know why - shipping from countries geographically further away is cheaper), and it's particularly bad on heavy items.

Hopefully it will all come together though, and pass as an acceptable substitute when it's all finished and done. 

[adder]

cool i was going to suggest that, to use advancemame or something which allows the games to run at 60hz but without losing that arcade smoothness we all love 
ive noticed that some tvs handle interlace better than others ie. the later crt tv's dont flicker as much when running interlace modes as opposed to older tv's, so if u have too much flicker with your tv try to get a later generation crt eg. one with quite a flat screen

[elvis]

I initially tried using MAME4ALL (RPi port), but was getting inconsistent image scaling.  Vertical games scaled well (puckman, dkong, etc), but horizontal games would add pillarbox boarders down the sides, squashing the game.  Using the various overscan/underscan options for the RPi didn't fix the problem either.

AdvanceMAME is much slower (it couldn't play titles like Puzzle Bobble at full speed, whereas MAME4ALL could), but it gets the image scaling right.  It means I've had to sacrifice a few games off the list that this cabinet will be capable of playing, but that's OK.  Moon Patrol playing well is the main concern, of course.  Anything else is a bonus.

The controls are being configured as 4-way, so that will be the limit of the titles played. 

[DeLuSioNal29]

Subscribed!  You need to let us know the total cost of the build at the end too.  Looks like you are doing extremely well for being on a budget.  Looks PRO!

Great job so far!

As for the coin door, what exactly will you be doing for that?  I modded a Stern coin door, removed the mechs and drilled holes big enough to install GroovyGameGear's Credit pushbuttons.  I will be posted how I did it soon.  But your door is perfect for it.  Let me know if you need the Templates I created in Photoshop to make the coin door graphics horizontal.



DeLuSioNaL29

[elvis]

You need to let us know the total cost of the build at the end too.  Looks like you are doing extremely well for being on a budget.

Cheers.  I'll ask the wife (professional book keeper) to dig out all the costs for me.

As for the coin door, what exactly will you be doing for that?

I've cut a hole in it, and there'll be an all-metal mechanical coin mech going in.   Nothing terribly fancy.

[elvis]

Peeled off the first stencil tonight.  There's a fair few bits of bleed around the place (can't see them in the photos, but they're very obvious up close).  Pretty sure I went too thick on one of the coats, and at the same time had a bit of turps left on the roller from a previous coat.

I'll wait for the yellow to go down, and then touch up the bad bits by hand.

[AzureKnight]

I think that looks great.  Nice work! 

[talkgeek]

Looking excellent!!     has given me the bug to get back on to mine

looking forward to the next updates

[Vigo]

Not a moon patrol fan, but I know quality work when I see it! Great work and attention to detail. 

[yotsuya]

Not a moon patrol fan

[Vigo]

In the town where I grew up, there weren't any moon patrols in the wild. It's a hard one to appreciate after the fact.

[elvis]

Sadly, I've never played an original Moon Patrol.  I first saw it on Commodore 64 way back when, and then only on MAME many years later.  Growing up in a small country town, I only ever played arcades when we visited larger cities.  For me, arcades hold a huge nostalgia of holidays, travel, and special occasions.

I'm madly in love with stencil art, however.  This cabinet has been a pure joy to work on the whole time.  While the cabinet will ultimately be given away as a gift, just the fun of building it and doing the stencil art has been enough for me.

[DeLuSioNal29]

Keep up the good work.  Looks great!

D

[nitrogen_widget]

I initially tried using MAME4ALL (RPi port), but was getting inconsistent image scaling.  Vertical games scaled well (puckman, dkong, etc), but horizontal games would add pillarbox boarders down the sides, squashing the game.  Using the various overscan/underscan options for the RPi didn't fix the problem either.

AdvanceMAME is much slower (it couldn't play titles like Puzzle Bobble at full speed, whereas MAME4ALL could), but it gets the image scaling right.  It means I've had to sacrifice a few games off the list that this cabinet will be capable of playing, but that's OK.  Moon Patrol playing well is the main concern, of course.  Anything else is a bonus.

The controls are being configured as 4-way, so that will be the limit of the titles played.

I found the same thing with mame4all pi with an LCD panel using an HDMI to dvi adaptor.
Could not get the majority of games to fill the screen.
The ones that wouldn't always left between half an inch to an inch of black border on one axis or the other.
I suppose with some tinted glass over the screen you'd never notice.

[opt2not]

Excellent work so far.

Just wondering if you can explain the process of getting from this:


To this:

[yamatetsu]

Control panel box painted black + laminated CPO glued onto it ?

[opt2not]

    Compare the two images. Does that look like a simple paint and stick operation? 

What did he do about the edge of the top panel, right before the round-over corner piece?  The laminate printing doesn't look that thick that it would hide that ridge. So either he sanded down and bondo/wood filled the crevice, then directly applied the artwork to the surface after painting it black, or there is a heat-bent piece of plexi/lexan over top sandwiching the artwork between the plexi and wood (which is what I'm assuming he did).

But I'd like to see the OP's process.

[yamatetsu]

Well, it's obvious that the box had to be sanded down. I didn't see the pic of the CPO and just assumed that it is thick enough to be glued directly to the box     

[Automark]

wow that alryeady looks great

But I hope that getto style coin door wont ruin the result.
Cant you find something el cheapo on the ebays?

[elvis]

Quick photo update.  I'll answer questions and PMs tomorrow.

[elvis]

But I hope that getto style coin door wont ruin the result.
Cant you find something el cheapo on the ebays?

Not in Australia.  I'd be set back $100+ for a decent coin door combo, with another $30 or so for postage.  Hence why the self-made alternative.

   Compare the two images. Does that look like a simple paint and stick operation? 

What did he do about the edge of the top panel, right before the round-over corner piece?  The laminate printing doesn't look that thick that it would hide that ridge. So either he sanded down and bondo/wood filled the crevice, then directly applied the artwork to the surface after painting it black, or there is a heat-bent piece of plexi/lexan over top sandwiching the artwork between the plexi and wood (which is what I'm assuming he did).

But I'd like to see the OP's process.

Just a simple putty and sand job.  I'm using MDF which is pretty soft, and easy to shape with a sander.  The rounded piece is just a bit of pine moulding I bought from my local hardware store that was nailed and glued in place.  Once everything was puttied, sanded and smooth, it all got a few more coats of sealer/undercoat, and then a couple of blasts around the edges of the black top coat.

The artwork went on with some 3M Super 77, and then was left under pressure for a few days to cure and permanently bond.  No idea if it will hold long term or not, but so far so good.  Buttons are on now, anyway, and holding everything down extra tight.

On the sides I've just stuck some black cardboard with spray adhesive.  This is less about aesthetics (you can't see it once the CP is shut), but more designed as a buffer to stop the CP scratching the sides of the cabinet during assembly.   On my first dry run, I scratch the inside wall of the cabinet quite badly, which annoyed me.  It had to be sanded back and re-painted.  The cardboard acts as a nice soft buffer while I mount the CP on hinges.  Once mounted, there's a 1mm gap either side, so it just moves harmlessly as intended.

[emphatic]

Looks great!

[yotsuya]

Love the stencil job. I have a cab that needs to be rebuilt and restenciled - I only hope it looks as good as yours! 

[elvis]

Yellow layer was a complete bastard.  I'm moderately successful at joining bits of wood together, but I had to call on the delicate hands of my wife to help me out with this layer.

[talkgeek]

That looks fantastic 

[lettuce]

How are you going to be connection the Raspberry Pi up to the CRT TV?

[yotsuya]

I need to pay you and your wife to come on out and repaint mine for me. Looks awesome! 

[DeLuSioNal29]

Looks great!

[Automark]

wow, I hope mine is gonna look as nice as yours 

[elvis]

I need to pay you and your wife to come on out and repaint mine for me.

Hahaha, both my wife and I cringed at the thought.  I'm really happy to have had this experience, but I don't think I ever want to do stencil art again.  It's tough!

[jennifer]

    If you pull the stencil off while the paint is still wet its ALOT easier, and less paint ridge... Fun build though ,that's actually one of Jenn"s dream list games.

[emphatic]

Looks smashing!

[AzureKnight]

Awesome stencil work 

[mvolke1]

I love this cab! The artwork is awesome.

So how do I get on your list of friends who get arcade cabs?

[PixelPaul]

WOW, your stencil job looks awesome! You're doing justice to one of the all-time classics!! Well done. 

[elvis]

Warm test with everything in the cabinet.  Getting internal wiring done slowly.

[elvis]

It was pointed out I don't have any good shots of the monitor mounts.  Here's an older one I took, but I'll try to get some better ones later.

[mvolke1]

Been enjoying your build! The art is gorgeous. Glad to see another Raspberry Pi builder out there, too.

[stefano]

 
Awesome build!!! Awesome painting!!! And congratulations for your family united in such great project!

[elvis]

Brisbane storm season sucks.  The cabinet survived this round, however.  Although it was a close one.

[swaffar]

great stencil work there!  i might do an original retro-style stencil sideart when i finally get around to building an upright.

[elvis]

Another step closer to completion.  Getting excited!

Terrible lighting/reflections in these images.  Apologies.

[adder]

superb

when your friend sees it for the first time can u film it so we can see his reaction      it could be quite emotional

[elvis]

superb

when your friend sees it for the first time can u film it so we can see his reaction      it could be quite emotional

He's a pretty private guy, so I won't be filming him.   

But I can already see what his reaction will be.  I'm really looking forward to giving this to him.  The plan is to just leave it at his business (I can get one of his employees to help me put it on site when he's not around), and wait for him to find it.

[yotsuya]

Not using T-molding?

[elvis]

Not using T-molding?

My router literally exploded and nearly killed me on my last project. I'm using iron on moulding for this cabinet, until I can get the nerve up to buy another router.

[Frank Drebin]

Not using T-molding?

My router literally exploded and nearly killed me on my last project. I'm using iron on moulding for this cabinet, until I can get the nerve up to buy another router.

yeesh, what happened?  Was it something preventable?

[elvis]

yeesh, what happened?  Was it something preventable?

I fired up the router as normal - nothing out of the ordinary.  I'd done an entire cabinet before that project, and this was the second cabinet I was getting through.  I'd done nearly all of the cabinet, and was just routing out a few pieces for the control panel. 

As soon as I hit the power switch, the router shook violently and I heard a really loud sound.  I powered down immediately and the bit was completely missing.  It had torn one of the three chuck teeth out and gouged a huge track around the chuck. 

I then saw the bit across the other side of the shed.  It had narrowly missed me, and embedded itself deep into a piece of timber on the other side of the shed.  Had it been off by a few degrees, it would have torn through my mid section like a bullet.   The stainless steel shaft had bent 90 degrees, and the bit was pretty badly mangled.

I'm extremely safety concious.  I check all my tools regularly, and ensure bits are in straight and tight before I fire up any rotary tool (hand drills, drill presses, routers, etc).   This was just a freak accident.  I've met one other person who had the same thing happen to him on his CNC machine, putting a hole in his shed wall.  Similarly, just a freak accident.

It was a few years back now.  I still haven't had the guts to go out and buy another router.  For now, I'll stick to iron-on molding until I specifically need a colour I can't find.

[elvis]

So I can't figure out if this is the most useless idea I've ever had or not.

I was wandering around Officeworks the other day, and spotted some cardboard that was extremely reflective, for about $4:



I decided to see if it would make a nice reflective backing for the marquee light.  So I cut a chunk out, and decided to test it behind my fluorescent light:



Here's it without (the marquee is an original 1982, which is a nice touch for this cabinet):





And here's it with the reflective backing:





The light is definitely more direct.  Without the marquee, and standing directly infront, it was much brighter.  Also there was a lot less ambient light spilling back into the cabinet, which I liked.

The end result, however, wasn't that big of a difference.  The marquee isn't lit up that much more than before.

Anyways, it was a fun waste of 15 minutes.

[elvis]

Complete!  More photos with internal detail coming soon.

[opt2not]

  Very nice! 

[talkgeek]

That looks fantastic 

[emphatic]

Love it.

[markc74]

For a second I thought you'd used an LCD because of the screen squareness.  Nearly had a 'whhhhhyyyyyyy!!!' moment but then realised it was a flat crt. Bonus points.

Looks amazing. Definately the best repro I've ever seen and and my favourite classic cab to boot 

[elvis]

Definitely a regular curved CRT, not a flat one.

[jennifer]

     That really did turn out nice.... I do feel the cardboard marquee reflector is a bit sub-par however, It would be better to chop up a cheap shoplight (or some other kind of reflector) rather than start a fire.

[elvis]

     That really did turn out nice.... I do feel the cardboard marquee reflector is a bit sub-par however, It would be better to chop up a cheap shoplight (or some other kind of reflector) rather than start a fire.

I don't think there's any risk of fire.  There's nothing in that top section that gets even remotely warm.

The aim was to keep costs down as far as possible.  To get some other sort of reflector, I'd be looking at $30-$50 minimum (yeah, welcome to buying stuff in Australia), versus the $5 I spent on that.

Either way, it added little to the light output behind the marquee, so if it's a risk I'll just remove it.

[jennifer]

    Im not saying it is, just doesn't seem real safe to me.... The rest of the cab However, is really cool.

[elvis]

Some internal detail:

Glass removed, control panel open, coin door open:



The budget coin door in action.  It's a steel access panel with a hole cut in it, and a regular mechanical coin mech.



Peering behind the control panel (and my terrible wiring), seeing the clips that hold the control panel down, and clamp the glass down as well:



Inside the cabinet, and more ugly, ugly wiring.  You can also see the CP clips again.  RPi on the wall powering the game.  The buttons on the back of the coin door are for the TV and volume controls, as well as an "exit game" button.  My budget coin box is there, in all it's glory.



Heading up a bit, wide shot of the back with the monitor exposed.  Wires running up the side power the fan and light.  Molex connectors on everything so that the monitor can be removed on a sliding shelf with ease for future repair.



I've soldered some extension wires to the TV controls (the buttons are visible in one of the photos above).  Lots of hot-glue "spider web" in that shot.

[yotsuya]

Looks awesome, my friend!

[elvis]

Cabinet was delivered today. My friend returns from holiday on Saturday, and will find it waiting for him then. I'm very excited.

[elvis]

Loaded up, heading to it's new home.

[whitebabylon]

Hi,
Nice cab build. I am a noob and I was wondering a few things.
How did you round the corners of the entire 'cade. Was it just cut like that? What did you cut it with.
How did you screw all your parts together while hiding most of the screws?

[elvis]

How did you round the corners of the entire 'cade. Was it just cut like that? What did you cut it with.

Circular saw for the straight cuts, jigsaw for the curves.

How did you screw all your parts together while hiding most of the screws?

Countersunk holes and putty.  Remember to putty after at least one undercoat, which will prevent the putty from shrinking back too far into the timber after your final paint job (a handy tip from a builder, who gave me the same advice when gap sealing architraves).

[elvis]

Delivered to one very happy recipient. 

[shrunkenmaster]

Great job dude, he must be very happy!

[taylormadelv]

Looks a nice! I love Moon Patrol!

[elvis]

All CAD, artwork, etc is up on GitHub now:
https://github.com/danmons/arcade