First Build - Multicade!

[Kodaxx]

Hello all, I would like to start by saying that I am not an expert builder, and did not have any plans when starting this project so please be gentle with feedback lol. I started this project recently at 19 years old as a way to manage my anxiety and it has worked wonders so far!

Second, I would like to say wow! I wish I had found this website sooner! There are so many great projects here to use as inspiration for my next build (I know, already thinking about the next one...). Lastly, I'd like to apologize for the lack of detailed pictures - as I was never planning on posting online or making such a thread. I did get a few shots though!

This build is not completely finished, but it is a decent portion of the way through - I realize I still need CP artwork, bezel, and t-molding at the very least. Please give feedback on my first build that I can use to help me finish this one and also to use for my next build. Thanks again, and enjoy the pics!

[smass]

Nice work!  I just finished a multicade project two weeks ago and wish I had found this site before I started.  Mine was a low budget build using an x-arcade tankstick that I had purchased years ago on CL but never put to use.  It was a fun build.  I used an extra 19" Dell LCD in mine - what type of monitor is in yours?

[harveybirdman]

You're doing lots of things right, very good job so far.

I don't usually like character montages, but this one isn't horrible.

The TV is a little small, but even a smallish CRT looks so much better that a flat screen it's not even funny.  And bonus, the thing isn't so wide you can't fit it through a door.

Also I commend you on your button choice and layout.

Looking forward to your progress.

[reptileink]

For not having a set plan, this thing is YEARS ahead of my first build. Nice work! I echo Harvey in the "multiple arcade characters" normally being a blight, but not too shabby with what you've put together.

Just not sure how you can see building an arcade as "therapy".......lol 

[rablack97]

For not having a set plan, this thing is YEARS ahead of my first build. Nice work! I echo Harvey in the "multiple arcade characters" normally being a blight, but not too shabby with what you've put together.

Just not sure how you can see building an arcade as "therapy".......lol 

It is therapy, i suffer from anxiety as well, it alleviates alot of the cray thoughts that go through your head, thinking the worst of everything.  Its a focus thing really, when i feel a wave coming on, i build.  Odd part is you build stuff you would of never thought you could do.  It brings out some crazy ingenuity and creativity.

So I can identify with him.....

[yotsuya]

For not having a set plan, this thing is YEARS ahead of my first build. Nice work! I echo Harvey in the "multiple arcade characters" normally being a blight, but not too shabby with what you've put together.

Just not sure how you can see building an arcade as "therapy".......lol 

It is therapy, i suffer from anxiety as well, it alleviates alot of the cray thoughts that go through your head, thinking the worst of everything.  Its a focus thing really, when i feel a wave coming on, i build.  Odd part is you build stuff you would of never thought you could do.  It brings out some crazy ingenuity and creativity.

So I can identify with him.....

I agree with my homeboy Rodney on this one. I find restorations very therapeutic and relaxing. It's a stress reliever. In fact, I'm doing a cap kit this weekend for a buddy "just because".

[rablack97]

For not having a set plan, this thing is YEARS ahead of my first build. Nice work! I echo Harvey in the "multiple arcade characters" normally being a blight, but not too shabby with what you've put together.

Just not sure how you can see building an arcade as "therapy".......lol 

It is therapy, i suffer from anxiety as well, it alleviates alot of the cray thoughts that go through your head, thinking the worst of everything.  Its a focus thing really, when i feel a wave coming on, i build.  Odd part is you build stuff you would of never thought you could do.  It brings out some crazy ingenuity and creativity.

So I can identify with him.....

I agree with my homeboy Rodney on this one. I find restorations very therapeutic and relaxing. It's a stress reliever. In fact, I'm doing a cap kit this weekend for a buddy "just because".

[Kodaxx]

Nice work!  I just finished a multicade project two weeks ago and wish I had found this site before I started.  Mine was a low budget build using an x-arcade tankstick that I had purchased years ago on CL but never put to use.  It was a fun build.  I used an extra 19" Dell LCD in mine - what type of monitor is in yours?

Thank you! My monitor is just an old television that I had lying around, I believe it is 20" but I am looking for something slightly larger. Old square TV's seem to be hard to find in my area...do any companies make them anymore I wonder?

You're doing lots of things right, very good job so far.

I don't usually like character montages, but this one isn't horrible.

The TV is a little small, but even a smallish CRT looks so much better that a flat screen it's not even funny.  And bonus, the thing isn't so wide you can't fit it through a door.

Also I commend you on your button choice and layout.

Looking forward to your progress.

Thanks! I agree the TV is a little small, I'd have made the machine smaller, or the TV larger if I'd have planned this out from the beginning. The basis for this idea was actually the coin door. I was walking home one day through an alley way near my house and I had found an old arcade door laying next to the trash can. So I took the coin mechanism off and decided to build a cabinet around it! I went with the CRT TV because I wanted a more "classic" look to the games. It actually looks quite nice! Besides, in a widescreen monitor, the games have black bars on the screen. I didn't want the arcade to be wide enough to accommodate screen real estate I wasn't going to use, it just didn't make sense.

For not having a set plan, this thing is YEARS ahead of my first build. Nice work! I echo Harvey in the "multiple arcade characters" normally being a blight, but not too shabby with what you've put together.

Just not sure how you can see building an arcade as "therapy".......lol 

Thank you also! I think the very thing that makes the build frustrating (ohhh man do I get frustrated...) is the very same thing that keeps me out of my head. With building this project, I've been forced to think about the problem at hand, instead of....whatever else lol.

For not having a set plan, this thing is YEARS ahead of my first build. Nice work! I echo Harvey in the "multiple arcade characters" normally being a blight, but not too shabby with what you've put together.

Just not sure how you can see building an arcade as "therapy".......lol 

It is therapy, i suffer from anxiety as well, it alleviates alot of the cray thoughts that go through your head, thinking the worst of everything.  Its a focus thing really, when i feel a wave coming on, i build.  Odd part is you build stuff you would of never thought you could do.  It brings out some crazy ingenuity and creativity.

So I can identify with him.....

Of course, I will agree wholeheartedly! Haha

[Kodaxx]

Sorry, I did finish this but never posted pics! Let me know what you guys think
http://m.imgur.com/gallery/357BL4L

[ppv]

For not having a set plan, this thing is YEARS ahead of my first build. Nice work! I echo Harvey in the "multiple arcade characters" normally being a blight, but not too shabby with what you've put together.

Just not sure how you can see building an arcade as "therapy".......lol 

It is therapy, i suffer from anxiety as well, it alleviates alot of the cray thoughts that go through your head, thinking the worst of everything.  Its a focus thing really, when i feel a wave coming on, i build.  Odd part is you build stuff you would of never thought you could do.  It brings out some crazy ingenuity and creativity.

So I can identify with him.....

Anxiety's a b*tch to deal with, I've got three in the family... Nice to knows you guys have an outlet to pour it on! 

[ppv]

For a buld that started without any plane this one is quite impressive!