Custom Built Q*Bert themed cab

[beernut]

Finally finished my custom built qbert themed cab 14 years after starting.  I moved not long after starting and the cab layed buried in the new garage until this year when I finally finished it.

Based the dimensions on the specs of an original qbert cabinet but resized it to take a Wells Gardner D9200 monitor and made it taller for more comfort.

These are my original notes (this was years ago so I don't remember how I did the math):


I then shaped with a jigsaw, rasps, files and sandpaper my template for the sides:


It took a bit of shaping to get all the curves the way I wanted:


But once I did I rough cut out the MDF and used the template to get a perfect routed side.  A flush cut bit with upper guide bearing made this very easy:


Painting all the parts to get a really nice glossy finish was a serious pain in the ass and took 7-9 coats I think.


The cab assembled and finally moved into the basement of the newer house (7 years after moving in).


Control panel all wired up.  Using Happs/Midway 49-way sticks with rotary adapters and leaf switches on all control buttons.  Spinner and trackball for tempest, centipede and others.


One thing I am particularly proud of is my method for powering up the cab which I haven't seen done elsewhere.  I wired two switches in the normally closed position against the coin returns.  They are wired in series.  This way you can power up/down the cab by pressing both coin return buttons in simultaneously but can still use the coin return buttons as normal when needed.  Also, the coin mechs are wired up to the controller and are the only way to insert a coin for Mame.  My kids hate it but I love it.  Pumping in the tokens is all part of the experience.


Replaced the lights with yellow leds which are powered right off the computer power supply.


An internal pic showing the control panel mounting system.  I can reach in from the coin door and pop the latches if/when I need to remove the panel.


Finally getting the side art on that I have had in storage since 2007.  It got some minor damage but still looks pretty great.  Used dry method on this side, HATED IT, and switched to wet for the rest.


Cabinet all together also showing the sweet yellow car stereo speakers which get nicely backlit.  The marquee looks washed out in this pic but it looks perfect in real life.

I customized the control panel, kick panel, marquee and bezel graphics from vector art easily found online but sized it to my cab.  The bezel obviously needed the most work.  All these pieces printed by gameongrafix



Next project virtual pinball!

Any questions welcome.  Stuff your suggestions as the cab is done :-)

[yotsuya]

Any questions welcome.  Stuff your suggestions as the cab is done :-)

I like your style, my friend!

[meyer980]

13 years later?? Kudos on seeing it through!

[wp34]

That's a really fun cabinet.  I take it because you used 49-ways you were able to map one to play Q*Bert?

[Arroyo]

That’s my kind of perseverance.  Well done seeing it though. CRT, and authentic lines, is my cup of tea.  Nice work!

[beernut]

That's a really fun cabinet.  I take it because you used 49-ways you were able to map one to play Q*Bert?

Yes.  Actually both map to diagonals so I can play with the right side one with my right  hand and not feel like I am off the side of the cab. 

And thanks!

[beernut]

Forgot to post a pic of the knocker setup.

Super simple setup with a dc relay, ultimarc pacdrive a 12v qbert knocker assembly and a 12v power supply (kept it separate from the pc power supply just in case).

[javeryh]

Wow you did a great job building this.  That monitor is super sweet.  I also like your on/off solution - I have never seen that before.  I use coin return buttons as my "insert coin" button and hide the on/off button usually on the back or top of the cabinet.  Forcing the kids to use real coins is great haha

 

[bperkins01]

Nice looking cabinet   

I've never played Qbert..  now I want to try it.
well done

[javeryh]

I've never played Qbert..  now I want to try it.

Q*bert is a lot of fun but it gets hard pretty fast (at least for me).  The levels where you turn the blocks on and off hurt my brain.

[Vigo]

Beautiful. QBert is one of my favorite cab designs.

[beernut]

Q*bert is a lot of fun but it gets hard pretty fast (at least for me).  The levels where you turn the blocks on and off hurt my brain.

You should give Faster, Harder, More Challenging Q*bert a go then :-)  It's a never officially produced version created because the original creator of Q*Bert thought that it was too easy.  It's great!