Arcade Cabinet Case mods?

[Sylentwulf]

Well, it's only natural. Authenticity is nice, but since most people end up going with a mame machine anyways.....

Does anyone have any good pictures of cabinet case mods? EL Lighting, Cold Cathode tubes, fans, hamsters running in circles, 3 foot plexiglass window on the side, all the usual good stuff  

Trying to think of something TASTEFULLY cool I can do when I start making my mame machine (just have a jamma cab right now that I want to stay "authentic looking")

[SilverVice]

Dont worry I'm going this way for the rest of my showcase. You can see it in the Project Announcements forum.  

[NoOne=NBA=]

This one is from before I installed the coin door, but shows the cold cathode I used to light it.
I made the front piece hang down about two inches below the bottom of the control panel box, and just mounted the cold cathode to the bottom of that piece.
I covered it with some lexan to keep it from getting bumped while playing.

I also put some lighted 80mm exhaust fans in the sloped portion of the cabinet top; but they put out more noise than light, so I disconnected them.

The cold cathode on the coin door is really nice when you have the room darkened though.
I'd highly recommend it, if you can work it in.

[Brad Lee]

^^Nice
Im gonna have the same kinda bottom marquee like you got, but was thinking of using a sound-sensitive ccfl tube, with the sensor next to the sub

Also, I replaced one of the blanks, the big 3"x5" dollar bill(?) slot with one of the scraps from my tinted plexi bezel. Ive got some switches mounted thru it, but its like a window when theres light behind it

[Sylentwulf]

That's a nice place to put one, hdan't even thought of it, I have an extended 4-player type CP so maybe I'll try to squeeze a couple in on the sides as well. Good job! (even if there;s an APPLE on your screen!, heheh)

[OSCAR]

I put red cold cathodes in the pedestal of my 2-piece upright cab.  Instead of a traditional coin door, I installed a plexi window to see the guts of the cab.  The website for this project is www.oscarcontrols.com/unnamed

[NoOne=NBA=]

Mine happened entirely by accident.

I was doing something down there while building it, and looked up, and said "Hey, you know, I think I could fit a cold cathode up there?".
I briefly considered putting one under the marquee, but never really liked the ones in the arcade that had lights there reflecting off the bezel, so I opted against it.

The only problem it caused is that it threw off my original plans for a teal duotone motif (where all my art was going to be white/teal/black).
I had to switch to full color because the blue cold cathode made the teal look really out of place when it was all by itself.

[Zombie]

here's my casemod. Cold Cathodes and everything!
http://home.tiscali.dk/8x050662/casemod.html

used some of the spare LED's for the coindoors.

[DrewKaree]

if I give my approval, you must call me "Modfatha"!  
I've got an idea, gonna see if I can type it up somehow and drop it on ya and see what you guys think....this'll take some time to put down in writing

[DrewKaree]

Ok...My idea is this:  Take a cold cathode, place it inside the CP.  Using a layer of plexi UNDERneath the CP should allow the light to show as a thin (1/4-1/8")  line all around the perimeter of your CP.  

Why not use the wire stuff?  If you've ever seen any mods using this stuff, NO ONE seems to be able to get a clean line that doesn't look like it was ho-made.  It's like asking your goober cousin to pinstripe your car; he can do it, but it'll show!
                                  ____________________
perhaps a diagram:               plexi overlay          
                                   MDF/tempered hardboard
                                           plexi UNDERlay      

The idea is not to light up the buttons, but to have the bottom layer of plexi lit up with whatever color you prefer.  

I've seen the threads about lexan/plexi letting minimal light show through, but they seem to be referring to a BLACK light which wouldn't shine as brightly as a cathode.  

If someone wants to take this idea and run with it, I don't care.....I don't need to have the first example, I just have to have MY example!  If someone's already done it, I am unaware of it.  Please post a picture of your example if this is the case so I can see what it'll look like.  

The ideas, they come easily.  Executing them properly is a whole other story!

[Zombie]

i tried the Glowpad mod:
http://metku.net/index.html?sect=view&n=1&path=mods/glowpad/index_eng

didnt get a bright glow around the edges untill i switched to some insane bright LED's (22.000 MCD).

drewkaree, maybe the cold-cathodes would work.
i think if you want the whole thing lit-up (not only edges) you should sand/scratch the surface of the plexi.

good luck, sounds cool idea

[DrewKaree]

Gotta fix that link.  I copy/pasted it, and it worked. SWEET link, too, BTW.  What I'm trying to accomplish is in the 10th picture down, right hand column.  The red...just a sleek line under the CP.  

I've actually really gotta thank you for that link!  I'm thinking I can use the plexi left over from the CP overlay in that same fashion!  cheep-n-ez.

I've got access to a buffer, so I was gonna implement the tip from a website (Zakk's?) to polish the edges.