Big Blue MVS

[theAEoN]

Okay, looks like I'm re-posting since the original thread was lost when the servers went down.

I grew up playing Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, House of the Dead and Alien vs Predator in the arcades by my house and when I was in college, we had an MVS cabinet in the Student's Union lounge that had Metal Slug 2 on it - I lost an awful lot of time and quarters to that machine. Wanting to have something in my home to recreate that experience, I researched MAME cabinets and I stumbled upon Arcade Controls and some of the project logs on here that inspired me to want to start one of my own.

How hard could it be, it's just a big box, right?

Initially, I wanted to start with a bar-top cabinet and procure a kit from a local business here (Retro Active Arcades in Edmonton, AB). After some careful though, I opted to just go with a full-size cabinet of my own design. Specifically, I landed with a hybrid design from Jakobud with the NeoGeo MVS-4-25 version 3. I didn't really like how the top of the cabinet was seperate from the bottom though and the massive size of the marquee so I modified the plans to reduce the marquee size and made the side panels flush with the bottom resulting in a design similar to this:



I began collecting components for the machine and concluded with:

• Intel Core i3-2100
• 6GB Memory
• 1TB Hard Drive
• PowerColor Radeon HD 6750
• 24" Sony Trinition CRT TV (KV24FS100)
• CVS287 SCART-component converter

All this running on Windows 7 and Groovymame/ATOM-15.

I had to create a custom cable for SCART to VGA and luckly, I had an extra SCART sleeve from a console project I was working on a year ago.



So a few weeks ago, I bought the sheets of 3/4" MDF and began measuring and planning.



With the primary usage of this cabinet being fighting games and beat-em-ups, I went with a Sanwa JLF with an octagonal restrictor plate, but ran into an issue with buttons.While on vacation in Minneapolis, I visited Paradise Arcade to test out different buttons. Ultimately, the IL convex buttons won out with cherry switches. Mostly because it felt the closest to the Sanwa OSBF-30 I was used to while allowing a tight screw fit to the 3/4" MDF.

Test fitting the buttons and layout on cardboard:



Building the CRT frame and mount (thanks markc74 and your Blip build for the idea!)



And here's where I am right now:



Pro tip: You can never have to many clamps. Also, buy that router and 1/16" slotting bit - it makes t-moulding grooves a 10 minute job and effortlessly perfect.

[theAEoN]

Progress has been slow. I couldn't decide how I wanted to mount the casters on the bottom then when I finally figured it out, I bought bolts that were too short. I was also hoping on getting levelers on the bottom as well but that just isn't happening with the casters being 2".

People always say that these projects look easy and nobody links mistakes...



This is me gluing a chunk I accidentally mitered off from the sides on the roof piece instead of the top-front. It worked fine, but now leaves me with a 1/16" gap on one side that I'll need to figure out how to fill in.



Casters came on though (fixed at the back and swivel on the front so when you tilt it back, the fixed casters take the weight). I also put in the speaker plate and cut out the holes using (with different measurements) johnrt's guide.

I've also managed to cut out templates for the Sanwa JLF.



Next things to do:

• Euro-hinge the control panel
• Bore out button holes and route a surface mount for the Sanwa (using Franco B's guide)
• Finish the back panels
• Sanding/Priming/Paint

[Slippyblade]

I had to create a custom cable for SCART to VGA and luckly, I had an extra SCART sleeve from a console project I was working on a year ago.

Once again, painfully jealous of the rest of the world.  SCART just seems so universally useful, and we got saddled with ---That which is odiferous and causeth plants to grow--- connectors.

[Malenko]

Bondo on the 1/16" gap.

Good for you showing mistakes too. 

[markc74]

Niiice.  Love the shape - it's one of my favourite profiles. It just shouts out retro goodness.

Good to see a CRT build for a change too. I cant help hoarding old 21 and 25" tvs while they're around. SCART is a godsend.

[harveybirdman]

Couldn't see the pictures at work but now that I have checked it out on mobile, bravo! 

Looking forward to your progress.

[theAEoN]

So the control panel got done and I was hoping to sand and put on the first coat of primer but the weather wasn't cooperating.

The inlays for the joystick mounting plates look janky because the collet lock on my Dremel  was being difficult so I had to use another spare rotary tool with the 654 bit.

But for those who want to cut out control panels, a 1-1/8" spade bit (used the Bosch Daredevil with a small pilot hole) for the buttons and a jigsaw + Dremel is good enough for the joystick holes. A spade bit made nice and clean holes so if you don't have a forstner bit for the job, don't worry about it and just use a spade. Note that sometimes the drill tip of the Daredevil got gummed up with fiber from the MDF - just have a scrap piece of 2x4 ready, and between each button (or as needed when you see it's not pulling in) drill into that to clean it up.

DON'T FORGET SCRAP MDF/WOOD BEHIND YOUR CONTROL PANEL. YOU WILL GET TEAR-OUT OTHERWISE.

The gap at the top of the panel will hold the plexi/lexan/tempered glass (I haven't decided which one yet) monitor overlay. I'll also be putting in euro-hinges for the control panel, but my Home Dept was sold out of the ones I wanted.

[theAEoN]

Right! I forgot something, I picked up a coin door while I was down in Minnesota. I was looking on eBay and saw that shipping to Canada was brutal so had it delivered to where I was staying and packed it in my checked luggage to bring back home.

Yes, my bag was inspected. I choose to believe it's because the TSA guys thought the door and my bag of Cherry switches/IL buttons looked cool and wanted to check them out.

It actually did not look cool thought when I got it...



It was rusty, dirty, and the P2 coin mech was jammed. It required a decent amount of "encouragement" with a steel brush, a thorough washing, and a few coats of Rust-Oleum Hammered Black. The new paint made the tiny dents in the coin retrieval door a bit more noticeable, but I left them there for fear of making it worse.



My evening has been busy though. First coat of primer on!



After a lot of hand-wringing and careful deliberation, I opted with the Kilz 2 Latex. Yeah, yeah I know it's not as durable/smooth/magnificent as the oil based primer, but my cabinet will be enjoying a pampered life. Also, oil-based primer is difficult to track down, awful to clean up if you make a spill, and I didn't feel like huffing paint thinner in my evenings. The con's very much outweighed the pros but we'll see when I try and sand this... I'm giving it a solid 24 hours before I try.

[theAEoN]

More on paint:

So I guess Canada doesn't have Rust-Oleum Satin Black paint in the 1 quart tins, only in spray cans. It works out to be a can per coat on my cabinet, where I've been wet sanding with 400 grit after each coat. The results have been pretty excellent so far after 3 coats:




Dust has become my worst enemy, and I made a terrible mistake and cut the last t-moulding groove for the control panel... in the garage... after I spent a solid hour and a half vacuuming/dusting before I started spraying. Therefore, I got to spend ANOTHER hour and a half vacuuming/dusting today before I put on another coat.

End result though? Euro-hinges!



Notice something with the hinge cups? My friend was helping me with the hinges and it didn't occur to either of us that the hinges were really long and reached in to the P1 joystick mount. He thought he could fix it by moving it over closer to the edge... then realized half way in that there wouldn't be room for the right screw on the hinge plate. Those crimes are happily hidden in the control box. Hope someone reads this and learns from my mistakes though!

I'm starting to feel the crunch to pick a color for the sides/coin door protrusion and a marquee. "Big Blue MVS" came around as a medley of my love for the Capcom Marvel cabinets and the SNK MVS cabinet. I've been scratching my head on how to marry the two together in a theme...

[harveybirdman]

Great progress.  Just don't go with roidy side art and you'll be fine in my book.

[theAEoN]

As everyone says, painting turned out to be the worst. Painted, sanded with 220, painted, sanded with 220, painted... and on and on. Each time I was getting brush/roller marks which proved to be seriously irritating and I thought more sanding would help. Adding a little water to the latex paint helped a bit, but one the paint on the roller started to dry you will get roller marks again.

Finally, after watching a video from John's Arcade on painting, I went out and bought some 2000 automotive sandpaper and did a final sanding. Wow, it got rid of the brush strokes and the end result looks fantastic! So smooth!

After a final cleanup, I had to bring a friend to assist with the heavy lifting to tilt the cabinet to bang in the t-molding (flush trim cutters are your friend here and if you want a cheap rubber mallet, buy the white one at Home Depot and cover the face with electrical tape so you don't get white rubber residue on the t-molding).

 

Middle set of buttons are blue and the cabinet in general is a little darker (florescent lights washed it out).

[harveybirdman]

Looks cool, I like the blue.

[opt2not]

I was wondering how the capcom blue would look on a Neo Geo cabinet... i think it looks pretty great.

[markc74]

Nice profile. Uses CRT. Cool front panel. Sensible panel layout. Check. Check. Check. Check.

Lovely cab. I do really like it when cabs look like cabs should do. Really nice work. Don't forget the golden rule and don't play it till the artwork is on 

[elvis]

Great to see a sensible project like this.  Well done.

[Malenko]

I love it, great work so far.

[yotsuya]

Nice profile. Uses CRT. Cool front panel. Sensible panel layout. Check. Check. Check. Check.

Lovely cab. I do really like it when cabs look like cabs should do. Really nice work. Don't forget the golden rule and don't play it till the artwork is on 

Secondy-thirded!

[Martijn]

Nice! got a nice rockman feeling looking at it

[theAEoN]

Thanks everyone for the compliments/support!

I'm moving this weekend so I don't think I'll get much done in the next few days. I've already warned my friends who are helping that there is this "very heavy thing" I need a hand getting in to a truck and up a flight of stairs.

I agree with not playing it until the art is done, I've read about a few projects on here stall because of that 

[jackiabu]

Nice cab men keep the good work

[n3wt0n]

Looks great! I think the blue looks really sharp. 

[snoopy7548]

Thanks everyone for the compliments/support!

I'm moving this weekend so I don't think I'll get much done in the next few days. I've already warned my friends who are helping that there is this "very heavy thing" I need a hand getting in to a truck and up a flight of stairs.

I agree with not playing it until the art is done, I've read about a few projects on here stall because of that 

Any progress on the cabinet?  I can't wait to see the finished product!

[theAEoN]

Finished the move. It look four of us pushing the cabinet on its' side up a flight of stairs to get it into the apartment, but the casters were a godsend!

It's heavy. I pity the movers next time who will have to get it out/in to wherever I go next.

• I ordered some led strips from Aliexpress for the marquee
• I need to make my way to a plastics vendor here in the city to purchase the plexi for the control panel and likely have them cut out the holes.
• I need to pick up lexan for the marquee and maybe have an acrylic bezel made for the crt.
• I honestly haven't really worked on the marquee or control panel art yet. I know I want to do the SNK vs Capcom theme for the marquee but I'm stumped on the control panel design.
• I've been playing with the interface, adding games, and although I've been working with Mala - I might move to Hyperspin. Mala is clean and fast but I might want to work with other emulators that I hear Mala doesn't like since...
• I picked up a Namco Time Crisis lightgun and will be working on fitting that in the cabinet sometime after Christmas. I wanted to play some House of the Dead 1/2 and preliminary tests have it running/looking great on Model2 and Demul with the CRT. I'm waiting to pick up the AimTrak innards and recoil kit from Ultimark and I'll be retrofitting that into the Namco.

[deepblue]

Oh man - I moved a few years ago and had the movers take the cabinet up a flight of stairs and through some narrow corridors. Surprised they did it - had to tip them well after.

Cabinet looking good fellow Canuck!

[Locke141]

Looks good.

I did not know that SCART was a thing in CA. Are you going to leave the bolts around the monitor as is?

[theAEoN]

No, a bezel around the screen is also on the agenda - likely out of black acrylic. I'm sitting on that for now since the screen pokes out 3/4" from the frame. I could inset it with some washers and may do that when I work out the bezel.

SCART isn't a think in Canada, but I jumped down the rabbit hole of RGB/SCART video in consoles a few years ago and had some left over SCART cables kicking around. I just applied that knowledge to my build here (to good effect).

[theAEoN]

It's been a busy couple of weeks for me as I've been jumping into two kinda niche and daunting areas:

1. Light Gun games and their quirks.
2. HyperSpin/RocketLauncher

First, over the holidays I picked up my Namco recoil gun and brought it back home to work on and ordered my UltiMark Aimtrak OEM kit w/ recoil board. I also needed a power supply and a cord that was long enough to carry both USB signal and power to the gun (Thanks RetroActive!)

I initially got the gun working, but quirks with Demul and Model 2 emulators had me scratching my head for weeks trying to figure out how to fix random minimizing - THANK YOU argonlefou for making DemulShooter!

The other part has been the tedious process of adding art, configuring HyperSpin to work with DemulShooter, tweaking AimTrak calibration, and cleaning up cables inside my cabinet. So far so good and so rewarding to play Virtual Cop, Time Crisis, and House of the Dead with (sort-of-but-not-really) realistic slide recoil!

This was a nice diversion but next up is finishing artwork. I has computer issues before the holidays and lost all My Documents and templates I had been working on so I'll be starting from scratch re-measuring the control panel and marquee. So close!

[theAEoN]

So finally got the art completed for the marquee and control panel! I can really appreciate the work artists on here go through to make something look awesome. Between settling on a concept and finding good source material (or making your own!), it's time consuming and I easily killed a few days laboring over details.

I went to Home Depot and bought a sheet of acrylic after no hardware store here would do any acrylic cutting for me. If I had the patience to wait for a plastics shop to custom cut a panel I could of done that, but I also work during the days and it would be tough to pick up.

Instead, I gave it a go on my own with:

- Plastic cutting knife
- Dremel with routing bit
- Cordless Drill with unibit

This is a MESSY job and I'll be finding plastic pieces for the next 6 months in every nook and cranny of the room.



But the end results look great!




The SV-001 vector is by alexsanlyra. I'll post the art as well, but it might just be the pdfs I sent for printing as the raw eps files are 100+ megs. Also, a thank you to Malenko and this thread.

I have the marquee plexi cut and I'll be doing the LED wiring tonight. I've also sent the marquee graphic to the printers who is printing it on laminated vinyl. I later found out that they do backlight film, but that takes about a week and a lot more money to do so I'll see how the vinyl turns out.

[Malenko]

Also, a thank you to Malenko and this thread.

Awwwww shucks, I'm blushing! Cab looks amazing mang, I can't wait to see it get finished!

[mourix]

I really love the American Neo Geo shape and this build looks great! Got any plans for side art or decals?

[theAEoN]

I think I'll pass on the side art. I may someday get die-cut vinyl SNK and MVS logos and put them on, but where the cabinet is now you wouldn't see them.

The marquee came back and doesn't look good. The colors are dull (I think the fault of the laminate) so I'll be sending it back to get printed again. I saw a video showing the marquee reverse-printed on clear vinyl (no adhesive) and is then backed by white vinyl that looked great so I'm going to give that a go.

[theAEoN]

So this is it. It's pretty much done. I'm not crazy about how dull the laminated vinyl marquee turned out but it's fine for now. It actually looks good during the day but in low light, the dull colors really show.

I know, I know. "But the bezel isn't done!"

I'm fine with it as it is right now, the CRT is incredibly close (basically pressure fit) to the frame so there isn't any unsightly gaps. As well, the IR sensor above the TV for the Aimtrak needs some tinted film that I need to source and research so it doesn't impact tracking of the IR light.

[snoopy7548]

  Looks awesome!  You should totally install a dynamic marquee!

The blue looks really nice in the sun.