Nintendo Theme Build

[villageidiot333]

I've been a lurker here off and on back when I was learning how to build. I made a bartop with an old PC I had and turned on well. It was Nintendo theme also. Sold it to a coworker just recently. So then I went on to my next build for myself...something where I can plug in to any tv. And this is what I came up with. Pandora's box isn't exactly the best in emulation but wife and I still have a lot of fun with it. Next build is stand up arcade to play: Marvel vs Capcom, Mortal Kombat X, Injustice 2, and the new Dragon Ball Fighter Z. Need to find a decent GPU to run all these games decently and a slim looking cabinet to build. Space in limited. For now, here is my latest table top build.



All this was scap I had. Time to start measuring and fitting.


Test fitting and arranging to see if buttons don't bump into Pandora.




Wound up with two extra holes on top. Mid build I thought of going to Raspberry PI and was going to use the two middle as exit and pause. Have to buy button plugs now for now.








I need to fix up all these wires at the end.


HDMI and Power plug fitted in.




Thought I was done at this point but went a bit further.


Added carbon fiber wrap. Had to go back and countersink all the screws, fill in all holes and rounded over all the edges.


Never have applied wrap so this was my first go at it.


Added T-moulding.


Ordered a Nintendo sticker on ebay.


Final product. Came out pretty good I think.

[jmike]

Looks good. I really like that nintendo logo in front.
Is it the angle of the pic or is the plexi above the t-molding?
You can always use those 2 center buttons for volume up/down.

 

[villageidiot333]

Looks good. I really like that nintendo logo in front.
Is it the angle of the pic or is the plexi above the t-molding?
You can always use those 2 center buttons for volume up/down.

 

Thanks! yeah it sits above t-moulding. I beveled the plexi after ward and sanded it smooth cause it was sharp on the wrists. It's all good now. 

[jmike]

Next time cut the tmolding slot a little higher on the cp to cover the plexi edge. And bevel the bottom of the cp so it doesn't show. I would have suggested to get a thicker tmolding but since you already beveled the plexi it might not look right.
Nice build either way. 

[leapinlew]

The real work of art here is that garage floor. What kind of car is that?!

Very nice build. Good job.

[villageidiot333]

Next time cut the tmolding slot a little higher on the cp to cover the plexi edge. And bevel the bottom of the cp so it doesn't show. I would have suggested to get a thicker tmolding but since you already beveled the plexi it might not look right.
Nice build either way. 

If I redo the top I'll do route you told me. I already had that t-molding from my previous build just sitting there so I went with it. But i made the mistake like you mentioned of putting it in middle instead of a bit higher.

[villageidiot333]

Looks good. I really like that nintendo logo in front.
Is it the angle of the pic or is the plexi above the t-molding?
You can always use those 2 center buttons for volume up/down.

 

How would I wire wire up volume up/down in those 2 center ones? That's a good idea.

[Ian]

The real work of art here is that garage floor. What kind of car is that?!

Very nice build. Good job.

Garage Floor is a waterbased 2-part epoxy coating you can get at your local big box store or Sherwin Williams. Comes in a kit that contains a roller and the flakes... etc. Durability is 100% prep work on the garage surface. If the surface is slick it will fail. Best to rent a grinder an give that surface a bit of a profile so the coating has something to bond to. Works better in some parts of the country than others. I live in WI, so we get snow, with salt, with wet cars getting parked on it all winter, it holds up well for the most part, but if you have any lift in that coating the whole thing is coming with it. Water gets underneath mixed with the salt and bam she will lift. Other problems include hot tire pick up. So those folks that come from areas of the country that get very very hot in the summer, you probably know that your tires get crazy hot driving on hot roads all day. So when you park your car on that coating the hot tires will soften the coating. Next thing you know you are backing up and the coating will start to lift.

Moral of the story is prep...if you prep correctly this coating will last you a long long long time. If not, it could last a couple of months, maybe a couple of years. Then it has to be redone.

[JDFan]

Next time cut the tmolding slot a little higher on the cp to cover the plexi edge. And bevel the bottom of the cp so it doesn't show. I would have suggested to get a thicker tmolding but since you already beveled the plexi it might not look right.
Nice build either way. 

^ Agree - Also there really is no need for the 4 screw holes in the top to hold the plexi in place - the buttons will hold it in place fine when tightened down and it would look cleaner without the screws there !

But overall a very good build !

[leapinlew]

Next time cut the tmolding slot a little higher on the cp to cover the plexi edge. And bevel the bottom of the cp so it doesn't show. I would have suggested to get a thicker tmolding but since you already beveled the plexi it might not look right.
Nice build either way. 

^ Agree - Also there really is no need for the 4 screw holes in the top to hold the plexi in place - the buttons will hold it in place fine when tightened down and it would look cleaner without the screws there !

But overall a very good build !

I disagree. If you are going to have the plexi sit above the t-molding, it's easy to snag it and lift it. If anything, the bolts need to be closer to the edge to ensure if anyone snags it, it doesn't lift up too much plexi.

My experience is based on 1/8" plexi on a 26" control panel. Maybe this is thicker plexi and not anything to worry about. I turned away from plexi due to the scratches and cleaning required.

[villageidiot333]

The real work of art here is that garage floor. What kind of car is that?!

Very nice build. Good job.

Pretty much what Ian said above. I had someone do it so they can prep the concrete right since I had oil stains on it from previous owner. My neighbor did the do it yourself kit and it started to peel up pretty quick. So when my guy was prepping mine and finished he went next door to see if his was still fixable. Mines 3 years going strong. Just mop it off and on to keep it clean. Oil just wipes right off.

Car is a '97 Z28.

[villageidiot333]

Next time cut the tmolding slot a little higher on the cp to cover the plexi edge. And bevel the bottom of the cp so it doesn't show. I would have suggested to get a thicker tmolding but since you already beveled the plexi it might not look right.
Nice build either way. 

^ Agree - Also there really is no need for the 4 screw holes in the top to hold the plexi in place - the buttons will hold it in place fine when tightened down and it would look cleaner without the screws there !

But overall a very good build !

Thanks! The 4 screws actually secure the top to the base. So far plexi hasn't snagged anything when we're playing it. I didn't know how else to secure top to base with stuff I already had in gararge. I thought of piano hinge and some sort of latch in front.

[villageidiot333]

Next time cut the tmolding slot a little higher on the cp to cover the plexi edge. And bevel the bottom of the cp so it doesn't show. I would have suggested to get a thicker tmolding but since you already beveled the plexi it might not look right.
Nice build either way. 

^ Agree - Also there really is no need for the 4 screw holes in the top to hold the plexi in place - the buttons will hold it in place fine when tightened down and it would look cleaner without the screws there !

But overall a very good build !

I disagree. If you are going to have the plexi sit above the t-molding, it's easy to snag it and lift it. If anything, the bolts need to be closer to the edge to ensure if anyone snags it, it doesn't lift up too much plexi.

My experience is based on 1/8" plexi on a 26" control panel. Maybe this is thicker plexi and not anything to worry about. I turned away from plexi due to the scratches and cleaning required.

The screws actually secure top to base. I was thinking if using a piano hinge in back and a latch in front to secure it to base. So far the plexi hasn't snagged or lifted up in corners. It's pretty snug down.

What else do you use besides plexi? I had this piece laying around so it's scratched up already and has a chip. I'm going to wind up replacing it I'm sure down the line and integrate improvements from those mentioned here.

[Ian]

Next time cut the tmolding slot a little higher on the cp to cover the plexi edge. And bevel the bottom of the cp so it doesn't show. I would have suggested to get a thicker tmolding but since you already beveled the plexi it might not look right.
Nice build either way. 

^ Agree - Also there really is no need for the 4 screw holes in the top to hold the plexi in place - the buttons will hold it in place fine when tightened down and it would look cleaner without the screws there !

But overall a very good build !

I disagree. If you are going to have the plexi sit above the t-molding, it's easy to snag it and lift it. If anything, the bolts need to be closer to the edge to ensure if anyone snags it, it doesn't lift up too much plexi.

My experience is based on 1/8" plexi on a 26" control panel. Maybe this is thicker plexi and not anything to worry about. I turned away from plexi due to the scratches and cleaning required.

The screws actually secure top to base. I was thinking if using a piano hinge in back and a latch in front to secure it to base. So far the plexi hasn't snagged or lifted up in corners. It's pretty snug down.

What else do you use besides plexi? I had this piece laying around so it's scratched up already and has a chip. I'm going to wind up replacing it I'm sure down the line and integrate improvements from those mentioned here.

I used plexi the first time.... wasnt a huge fan to be honest. It looked great, but my plexi also rested above the T-molding and yes snagging was an issue, also cracks started up around the screws.... I really got screwed when a buddy dropped his beer on my control panel and it got in between the plexi and the artwork... Yuck.

Anyway my machine uses printed polycarbinate laminate which you can get at  gameongrafix (http://www.gameongrafix.com/). All you do is submit the file for artwork and they print it up. Stuff is super durable and scratch proof. It has great adhesion. A+ stuff!

[Ian]

The real work of art here is that garage floor. What kind of car is that?!

Very nice build. Good job.

Pretty much what Ian said above. I had someone do it so they can prep the concrete right since I had oil stains on it from previous owner. My neighbor did the do it yourself kit and it started to peel up pretty quick. So when my guy was prepping mine and finished he went next door to see if his was still fixable. Mines 3 years going strong. Just mop it off and on to keep it clean. Oil just wipes right off.

Car is a '97 Z28.

I am a sales rep for Sherwin Williams... so I got into salesman mode. Sorry. Glad you had a professional do it. Best way. That is money well spent.

[leapinlew]

I've used the polycarbonite stuff from Gameon and it's the best stuff for sure.

I've also had pretty good luck using self stick vinyl (the same stuff as the sideart). Since my machines don't get hours of play a day, it's been holding up for years. The cost is considerably less. I've used Souldraw (http://www.souldraw.com/) which is a direct from china printer. The only issue is it has a minimum order (used to be $65). I had full side art, a couple marquees, and a couple control panels done for $65.