The Legend of Zelda. Calling it finished.

[Wyo]

Hey Guys.  Im new here.  I was posting a lot over at KLOV but I think my builds belong more over here.  I love retro arcade gaming....well, actually I think I love the process of building retro arcades more than I actually love the games themselves. Haha.  Ive owned two original games in the past two years...a Ms Pacman cocktail table and an original red DK....but I ended up selling those.  Ive found as I progressed in this hobby that I actually like the challenge and process of making the games myself than just buying them...they mean more to me that way.  I guess a lot of us are like that here. 

Anyway, so I spent about 18 months obsessed with the idea of building my own Donkey Kong, Fix It Felix and DK:Pauline.  Last summer, I completed two of the three....a FIFJ and DK:Pauline.  I had a red DK at the time that was orginal...but I sold it...I plan to build another as the summer progresses with a few custom twists.  You can see those builds here.....

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=321508

So DK:Pauline and FIFJ were my first builds...and the first time Id done real wood working and learning the arcade/electronics of the hobby.  It was a lot of fun.  Not soon after I finished them last August, I got the idea to build another custom Nintendo cab....The Legend of Zelda.

I started racking my brain on how I was going to do this....as far as the electronics aspect of it.  An original NES inside with a hacked controller?  A Playchoice PCB with a NES adapter card on it?  MAME? I went back and forth for months.  Well, at the end of the day I want the machine to coin up like a real arcade, so I decided MAME would be the best solution.  I also dont want to spend a million dollars on the internals as far as electronics....so I chose not to the Playchoice PCB route.

Over the past six months, I have accumulated most of the parts I need for this build.  I will have to design the graphics myself which shouldnt be to difficult.  My last builds were 5/8 plywood from Home Depot....which sucked because of the amount of prep work involved.  I wanted to use 5/8 on this build too....and I went back and forth on what would to use....but since I want to use gold chrome t molding...and that is only available in 3/4 I opted to use 3/4 plywood.  I thought about trimming the t molding to make it smaller....but the core of the gold chrome t molding is raw plastic...not chrome...so I just chose to go with the wider wood for a cleaner, smoother look.  In the end, Im glad I did.  The pine 3/4 plywood I picked up from Home Depot is so awesome to work with!!! Its so smooth, cuts great with minimal chipping, and awesome to sand.   

Okay, so here we go with the build as far as where I am at today.  I started about 2 months ago working on the weekend, now that the weather is getting better in Colorado Im gaining momentum on the build.  Im almost to the point were Im ready to design the artwork.

Over the winter I cut the speaker panel.  Instead of making in round like the original Nintendo panels, I decided to have some fun with it and cut it into a triangle like the Tri Force.  Once I got it cut out and was happy with it, I thought about how NES Zelda game was so different and awesome from the rest of the NES carts at the time because it was gold.  I thought that I would paint this cab gold as well....but then I had the idea to wrap the cab in gold chrome vinyl.  Ive never done a wrap before, so I figured it would be a good challenge.  I picked up some gold chrome vinyl on ebay.



After priming the speaker panel, blocking 150, priming, blocking 320, priming, sanding 320 again, and finally 400 to remove the sand scratches, I applied the gold chrome to the speaker panel...and here is the result.



The clear protective film is still over the gold chrome...so there looks to be scratches in the chrome...but those will go away once the protective layer is removed.  The reason I wrapped the speaker panel before I built the cabinet is because I figured it would be easier to cut the speaker slots off the cab on a workbench.  It was a tedious task...so Im glad I did it that way.  I will install the speaker panel once the cabinet is painted and wrapped as the finishing touch. 

[Wyo]

Once I had the speaker panel finished, I began the construction of the cabinet.  Just your standard Nintendo cabinet build here at this point....so I will just attach the pictures of my process as I went....

Making the base...



Cutting the sides and adding the batons....







Cutting the slots for the gold chrome tmolding....

[Wyo]

Beginning the assembly of the cabinet....





Building the marquee area....



Starting to add the parts.  I actually made another identical Zelda speaker panel to help out with the mock up.  You can see this one has primer and guide coat on it.

[Wyo]

Details of where the back door fits into the back of the cabinet...



Everything fits pretty good....



Everything glued and screwed.  Only thing not glued is the speaker panel, which Ill swap out with the chrome wrapped one once its done...



Yes, I know that I didnt cut the hole for the coin door before I assembled it.  Its a bad habit from my other builds...haha.  Not a big deal, I cut it here...



Coin door fits great.  Using a mock up door here, I have a brand new Takeman repro that will be in the finished cabinet.

[Wyo]

With pretty much most of the construction done, I went ahead and got a jumpstart on the primer.  I rolled on a coat of sandable oil based primer for the first coat.  I will rattle can spray on the rest since this wood is so awesome it doesnt need that much primer to get it smooth and flat.



As far as primer goes....this cabinet needs to be smooth and flat.   The chrome vinyl will show any imperfection in the wood...so I had to get it as smooth as possible.  Which means the inevitable...lots and lots of block sanding.  But, it really wasnt that bad.  I just primed, blocked 150, primed, blocked 240, primed, blocked 320, and one more coat of primer and blocked with with 320 and finished it with 400.

So here we go....sanding, sanding, sanding...I prepped this cabinet pretty close to how you would a car for paint to try and get it as smooth as I possibly could.  I used black rattle can paint on top of my primer as guide coat and then got to work sanding...

I used a 12 inch block when I prep.  You could go with a longer block, since its a bigger surface...but this block is what I like to use at work due to its maneuverability so I use it here too.  Making sure to sand in as big as a 45 degree X as you can going across your body.  With this technique, you expose all your high and low spots.   



Here you can see all the high spots after one time blocking with 240.  The white areas are the primer underneath that are now exposed due to being higher than the new layer of gray primer.  There are also low spots that are harder to see that are still black from the black guide coat...



Here you can see the white high spots and the black low spots....



So I need another coat of primer and that is exactly what I did. 

[Wyo]

After another coat of primer, blocked with 320 here is the result.  Less white high spots, and less black low spots...so Im getting somewhere....



I put on one more thin coat of primer and broke through only a few small areas, so I just spot primed those and sanded those down 320.  After those were sanded down, I finished the whole thing off with 400 on the sides.  The front of the cabinet which will be painted, I finished with 600 to make sure there were no visible sand scratches.

[Wyo]

My intention is not to chrome wrap the inside edges of the cabinet....or to wrap any of the metal parts.  I feel that would be to much. I thought it would be cool to paint all those parts and the inside edges with gold spray paint....so it would have some contrast and still be uniform in gold goodness like the NES cart......but after thinking about it and sampling it...I opted not to do that.  I chose to use the standard satin black on all the contrasting parts and areas and just chrome the sides and the front of the cabinet.



I turned my attention towards the frame for the 19" LCD I will be using.  The LCD will have a Craftymech scanline generator like my FIFJ build.  Amazing product.





After that was done, I started to spray the black.  I just used Satin black in a rattle can, and here are the results.  The prep payed off.  Im not worried about the overspray on the front of cab, Ill just lightly sand it away before I lay the vinyl.

[Wyo]

The back painted, still need to paint the door.



So here is where Im at.  I need to build a coin box shelf, but that is pretty much it as far as construction goes.  I just need to paint the bottom of the cabinet black and Im ready to wrap the cabinet which I hope to do this weekend.  After that, I can cut the plexiglass and then start designing the artwork in illustrator...which I have a jumpstart on I just need to sit down on and finish it.  I will be using the artwork mostly from the NES Legend of Zelda and Link to the Past....since that artwork is pretty similar.   Still not sure who I will use for a printer....may use someone local.

Anyway, more pics to come as work progresses.   Thanks for looking. 

[jmike]

 
This looks great! Loving that speaker panel.
Looking forward to your next update.
Never thought of Zelda on a Nintendo cab.

 

[johnrt]

I can't wait to see the progress on this one! 

[ChanceKJ]

What the...

 

/Subscription Mode: On.



Oh, and I'm adding this the the Nintendo Upright thread...

[ChanceKJ]

You will (already do) have the most unique and awesome Nintendo row out there. I can't wait to see this along side your Pauline, FIFJ, and red DK. So awesome.

[Locke141]

That gold vinyl came out well. Am looking forward to see the rest.

[Buick455]

Awesome idea to do a Zelda cab. I'll be watching 

I had it but didn't play it much. I have good memories of coming home from school to find my dad (on his off duty days) playing it, in my room, in my bean bag chair, mapping out the castles on loose leaf paper, lol..

[Wyo]

Thanks guys!!! Yeah, I have great memories of Zelda growing up as well.  I remember the day we got it my brother and I stayed up until 2 am playing it....which never happened.  It was because it was a payday friday and we didnt have school the next day.  Haha.  My brother played and I was his navigator....it was a good time.   Zelda was one of those games that obviously could never be a Nintendo arcade game due to the nature of the game play.....but man, Punch Out has its own arcade cabinet so I thought Zelda should too. Ha.

So today I made some progress with the vinyl.  During the application, I got a few bumps from dirt under the vinyl in some areas....so it isnt totally perfect.......but in the end it turned out pretty nice.  Its really shiny. haha.  While I was applying the wrap to the one side I kept asking myself why I didnt just paint it gold? It would have been so much easier...and cheaper. Haha. 

I still have one side left to do and need to finish attaching the speaker panel.  Hope to get the wrap finished in the next couple weeks as time allows....Ill post up when I do.  Then I need to get serious about finishing the artwork.  I want to have this cabinet ready for the Rocky Mountain Pinball Show in the first half of June...so I have a lot of work to do to meet the deadline.

Anyway, heres todays progress....

Laying out supplies for the wrap....



Trimming the vinyl to fit the shape of the cab....



Wrapping the edges with a heat gun....

[Wyo]

Getting the vinyl smooth.  The clear protective layer is still on the chrome at this point.



Here is is with one side done and the t-molding applied (I couldnt wait)

[Wyo]

Since the one side seemed to take forever and I was running out of daylight I decided to install the vinyl to the front....



And here is where I am currently at with one side and the front coin door panel wrapped.  The protective layer was peeled ( I couldnt wait. Haha) 


More next weekend.  Thanks for looking.

[05SRT4]

  Beautiful

[Slippyblade]

First time something scratches or dings that, we're gonna find you crying in the corner...

[yotsuya]

Looks good, Wyo.

Slippyblade kinda beat me to it. How study is that foil? Most foil I've seen doesn't take too kindly to bumps and scratches. Is it pretty thick?

[camperman73]

That looks amazing. The speaker cover is a great. Loving the design too.

[Wyo]

Looks good, Wyo.

Slippyblade kinda beat me to it. How study is that foil? Most foil I've seen doesn't take too kindly to bumps and scratches. Is it pretty thick?

Yeah, I thought of that too.  Its pretty much like any other vinyl....I'm sure it'll eventually scratch just like any other printed vinyl artwork or paintjob.  But if and when it does, I can just peel and stick a new one on.

[Buick455]

Awesome 

[Wyo]

First time something scratches or dings that, we're gonna find you crying in the corner...

   

You will? Well, I guess I'd better find new homes for my four dozen cats then.....want one?

[Brouhaha]

Mind: blown! 

This is amazing!

[Rick]

I am in awe. The originality on this one, and the high skill level are amazing.

[pbj]

I want to hear more about the 48 cats.

[Wyo]

Only if you take 5 of them. haha 

[pbj]

Eh, if you live in Texas, have an orange one, and promise to get the rest fixed we can talk.

[opt2not]

Interesting project. I *think* I like it, but I'm kinda on the fence.  Part of me is like "hmm, zelda isn't really an arcade game", and the other part of me is like "that gold foil is pretty awesome".

I don't know, I'll wait till this is finished and see what other choices you make before casting my judgement, but it sure is an interesting project.  subscribed. 

[Wyo]

Eh, if you live in Texas, have an orange one, and promise to get the rest fixed we can talk.

Haha, Im more of a dog man actually.  I cant stand cats....so I should be good to go as far as them trying to use Zelda as a scratching post.

[Wyo]

Interesting project. I *think* I like it, but I'm kinda on the fence.  Part of me is like "hmm, zelda isn't really an arcade game", and the other part of me is like "that gold foil is pretty awesome".

I don't know, I'll wait till this is finished and see what other choices you make before casting my judgement, but it sure is an interesting project.  subscribed. 

Thanks for the compliments guys...and the feedback.  I appreciate it.  Im kinda winging this as I go like my other builds.  I have an idea of how I want it to look in my head....hopefully the finished result will match. Haha.

As far as it not being relevant as an arcade game, yeah...I get that.  Its kind of a novelty build.  I think it would be rad to do other Nintendo themed games as well, like Mega Man.  I have a great idea for Duck Tales themed cab that I hope to do someday.

My plan is to use this Zelda cab as a Mame machine for NES and possibly SNES games with a hyperspin menu.   What do you guys think?  Should I have a classic NES control panel with 2 buttons or open it up to SNES games with 6 button capability?  Im on the fence with that.  I would be rad to be able to play the SNES Link to the Past....which is actually my favorite NES game. 

[edekoning]

That gold 

My plan is to use this Zelda cab as a Mame machine for NES and possibly SNES games with a hyperspin menu.   What do you guys think?  Should I have a classic NES control panel with 2 buttons or open it up to SNES games with 6 button capability?  Im on the fence with that.  I would be rad to be able to play the SNES Link to the Past....which is actually my favorite NES game. 

Are you going with a 1 or 2 player control panel? How wide is the control panel? Oh and you also need start/select buttons per player. If you have the space (this includes artwork space) than I would target the snes. Its what I did on my NES themed bartop.

[Vigo]

GOLD!

 

[Nephasth]

Man... That's a lot of gold...

[Slippyblade]

[yotsuya]

... a Mame machine for NES and possibly SNES games with a hyperspin menu.   What do you guys think?  Should I have a classic NES control panel with 2 buttons or open it up to SNES games with 6 button capability?  Im on the fence with that.  I would be rad to be able to play the SNES Link to the Past....which is actually my favorite NES game.

Speaking from my own experience, keep it NES. You can get away with NES on an arcade panel. SNES, not so much. If you grew up playing F-Zero and using those rear buttons on the back of the controller to hug those turns, it's a HUGE disappointment looking for the button you mapped to act as the rear buttons. I QUICKLY got rid of all the console stuff on my MAME cab and never looked back - and this was in 2010.

[wp34]

The gold is fun. It reminds me of so sosummy's Ark of the Covenant cocktail that is still a WIP.  The Zelda theme is great for NES but I agree with yotsuya about the SNES not being great for a cabinet.

[opt2not]

The gold is fun. It reminds me of so sosummy's Ark of the Covenant cocktail RIP. 

FTFY. 

[Wyo]

... a Mame machine for NES and possibly SNES games with a hyperspin menu.   What do you guys think?  Should I have a classic NES control panel with 2 buttons or open it up to SNES games with 6 button capability?  Im on the fence with that.  I would be rad to be able to play the SNES Link to the Past....which is actually my favorite NES game.

Speaking from my own experience, keep it NES. You can get away with NES on an arcade panel. SNES, not so much. If you grew up playing F-Zero and using those rear buttons on the back of the controller to hug those turns, it's a HUGE disappointment looking for the button you mapped to act as the rear buttons. I QUICKLY got rid of all the console stuff on my MAME cab and never looked back - and this was in 2010.

Thats great advice Yotsuya and wp34, I will take that to heart.  Ive honestly been back and forth about the electronics end of the cabinet....I even considered using an old NES coupled with an Everdrive N8.  The only reason I didnt go that route was because of the lack of ability to coin up and the fact that the NES doesnt sync with a LCD computer monitor....and Id really like to use a 4:3 computer monitor.

So Mame and Hyperspin it is....which I know nothing about so Im gonna have to learn that on this build.  This cabinet will only have one joystick.   Ive done some research and it looks like I will need a joystick, an A and B button, a 1P and 2P button.....and what else?  Menu and Exit?  Will that cover me for a simple single player Mame set up?

Thanks! 

And as far as the "GOLD! GOLD! GOLD!" goes....remember,  its going to get broken up with a lot of black, side art and the like....it should balance out.  But Im not going to lie, I do like the shiny gold chrome. Haha