New cabinet build named... 'ehukai !

[bobbyb13]

Thanks for the great compliment 

I REALLY agonize over control panels actually (and screen spacing/viewing angle too) so hopefully you will be surprised!

The panel for this is an expansion of one I have made a few of previously and was very happy with.
I freely admit that it looks a bit chaotic (since I like so many classics with different controls) but you actually don't feel that any one control gets in the way while you are playing something using the other ones.

I'm 6'0" and weigh 185 lbs and have medium/large hands and this layout comfortably covers all of my real favorite games (which don't require a yoke or steering wheel that is-)

To my regular multi-game CP layout, this one got the addition of 2 more sticks for 2 player simultaneous mayhem like Smash TV and Total Carnage.

The panel is 33.5" wide so it is pretty roomy.

At least it should be good enough to show my 11 year old what's up! (after he continuously beats ---my bottom--- at every modern game we play)
 

[bobbyb13]

Still recovering from whatever I did to my neck a few weeks ago so a little time for more 'ehukai work.

Found a piece of "shattered ice" milky plastic stuff in small sheet form at Home Cheapo while shopping for a job so figured I would give it a shot.
I was guessing that having this layer underneath some regular clear stuff could give the desired effect (eventually)

Not hard to cut with the template I already made- and the proper blade.


One might think that a diamond blade would be overkill for cutting plastic- but since it doesn't have teeth it doesn't tear or crack anything!
And this small form circular saw is great if you go slowly enough to cut clean lines.


I layered the pieces into the marquee zone to see if they would fit.
They slide into the upper slot enough to clear the bottom panel and then drop into place quite nicely.


Finally got to use these LED rgb strips that the lady of the house got me years ago.
Using two separate units to get a color mix that looks like the ocean out here on a sunny day, and...
Viola!


Now if I can get some Schwepps style effervescence into this whole get up it will be just what I wanted.
Any suggestions on bubbly or foamy light motion are quite welcome!

After I saw how the light acts around the sides I may try to etch the backside of the plexi where it will overlap with the bezel side flanges and see if it will telegraph down the sides too if set up properly.

[Zebidee]

I know you were worried about the marquee being too small, but I actually think it looks perfect!

I can really imagine this placed in a fish 'n' chip shop down at the beach! <sniff> <sniff> Is that a salty sea breeze I can smell?

[bobbyb13]

I know you were worried about the marquee being too small, but I actually think it looks perfect!

I can really imagine this placed in a fish 'n' chip shop down at the beach! <sniff> <sniff> Is that a salty sea breeze I can smell?

Mahalo nui loa!
In spite of my efforts, it keeps coming together (mostly!) to plan.

A bit vulgar maybe, but that salty smell very well may be my sweat on this one!
 

For bonus ridiculousness, after I packed up the lights so I don't accidentally glass them to something I decided I should take another shot at bezel molding.
Round One was rather unsatisfying so I flipped the thing over to try another way and decided to live dangerously and didn't wrap it in plastic this time.



So either the stuff I sprayed on it first actually acts like a mold release and I win, or I just succeeded in perma-gluing this otherwise perfect bezel to 4 sheets of wax paper and a pile of newsprint crap.
Won't know until the morning- kinda adds to the tension, don't it?!


 

[bobbyb13]

So I was 10 minutes down the road on my way to work when it occurred to me I hadn't checked on my bezel blob.

When I got back up to the shop (6 hours and a few chewed nails later) I discovered that I was-

Winning.......


It did make some disturbing crackly noises as I separated the two but it did come apart with both pieces in top shape.
As an added bonus I only had to bleed a little bit 

My initial layup wasn't full size (in case it made it more of a ---smurfette--- to get the thing to release) so I needed to add another layer of laminate to make it wide enough to fill the entire console face and also to fill up the void inevitably left by removing the original.
This second round is far less scary except that I need to hope the naptha I used to clean off the silicone I used as a mold release in round one actually did its job so that subsequent layers actually stick.

Since this is only effectively a two dimensional lamination really I got to use thicker cloth (one layer of 6 oz instead of the three layers of 4 oz on the previous run) due to the lack of compound curves.
Also a good opportunity to start introducing white pigment.
I measured out and marked my base so I was sure to line things up properly- so I only had to do this part once.



After I pulled that together and was waiting for that batch to go off I took the time to mix a another batch with some surfacing agent in it to fill the fabric on the backside- and add yet more white pigment.



I thought the front facing part of this was going to need to be matte finish but it may not matter.
Hopefully that last lam comes out as good as the initial one.

[bobbyb13]

Straight to the meat with the bezel from hell.
I nearly didn't work on this tonight, but I'm glad I decided to go look at it.

After some nervous measuring, trimming to width with my teeth clenched, and a bit of height adjustment (since this has about half the flexibility of the real plastic one) I got it.



And it fits!



And with the bottom corners cut out to clear the control panel supports on the cabinet, it even gets in and out the way I intended

Whew- 

Gave it what should be the last fill coat to sand out for a nice smooth finish and then the last bit of white again and this part at least is done.


This endeavor alone is the only argument necessary for ownership of a vacuum table apparatus!

[Zebidee]

nicely done! I never would have thought of doing a fibreglass bezel.

I actually have some heat-moulding plastic sheets at home I got from a friend who's a VP of an aerospace parts company, which I intend to use for bezels one day, but I have no idea how to actually use the stuff beyond apply heat.

[bobbyb13]

Thank you Zebidee!

After a not so satisfying effort using foam core board on my first build the only method I could think of to make a good 3 dimensional bezel was resin and cloth,especially given that I had a good piece to clone.

When all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like...
a fiberglassing project 

It's coming out fairly well, but not sure I will do it again unless absolutely necessary.  Between time and material it would be reasonable to say this was a $750 piece! 
The whole cab is just so demented that I couldn't just order one anyway I suppose, and if I could have I'm sure the shipping $$ would be horrendous.

Heat moulding looks fun though!
I'm sure there is a magic formula for temperature and exposure time for different materials and a requirement for what your pattern is made of but can't be too hard if you can control the environment.

Probably a few hundred BoobTube videos about it by now?!

I worked for a company that pioneered some cool surfboard building technology at a place in Thailand named Cobra- although I never got to visit.
Wouldn't surprise me if your friend has connections to that facility!

[Zebidee]

Yeah I dunno where to start, YT videos might be a good place. I imagine I need some kind of mold to press into it, but exactly how to manage that with heat in a controlled way (outside a factory) so it doesn't make a complete mess, I'm not sure. Not something you can just have a go at, need to have at least some idea what you're doing.

Guess would need a frame (with a rectangular hole) as well, to support the outside of the plastic sheet while you press the mold into it. Otherwise you won't get those nice edges

Unfortunately my VP friend is more the pen-pushing kind than the workshop kind. She has no idea how to use it, she just ummmmm..... procured it for me.

Fibreglass seems a reasonable alternative.

Ko means island in Thailand, maybe the surfboard place is at Ko Phra Thong (means island of the Golden Buddha - as you can imagine there are a few golden Buddhas in Thailand https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ko_Phra_Thong
People do surf there apparently, though the waves may not be enough to impress you

[mgb]

I really like where this cab is headed.
Awesome design. I love the curves.

[bobbyb13]

Thanks mgb 

I'm starting to get impatient about being able to play it so the challenge at this point is going to be staying calm enough to get good fit and finish of the other panels before I start stuffing electronics in it.

[mgb]

Thanks mgb 

I'm starting to get impatient about being able to play it so the challenge at this point is going to be staying calm enough to get good fit and finish of the other panels before I start stuffing electronics in it.

I know exactly what you mean. Back when I built my first controller, I had the controller setup on an air hockey table with my arcade monitor on a cart and we would play games like that while I was doing the cabinet.

[Arroyo]

I can’t believe you made your own bezel   Never seen anyone do that before.  I was wondering how you were going to incorporate the black one you showed as it was too narrow.  Your solution is inspiring.

[bobbyb13]

I'm genuinely flattered by the compliments- most especially from this crew.
 
If not for what I have seen so many here execute on I may not have thought of a lot of what I'm doing- or have tried to do it!

Outstanding group- and highly motivational forum.

The bezel has been quite an endeavor.
Less than $40 in material all in, but heavy on the man hours!
There is a lot of hurry up and wait with glass work so it is easy to lose teack of how long something is taking.

But I know I could've shaped, painted and glassed an entire surfboard in the time just the bezel has taken me.
 

[Zebidee]

Getting bezels right is like getting the holy grail around here.

One guy once posted on this forum a method of making a "3D" bezel out of cardboard which was pretty impressive. But fibreglass, if you have the skills, totally awesome.

[javeryh]

I spent 2 hours trying to make one out of matteboard and gave up so... yeah making one out of fiberglass is nuts

[Laythe]

I really like your artistic use of concavity.  This is a really cool cabinet.    

Enjoying watching it come together!

[bobbyb13]

Thank you Laythe!
It is proving to be fun to do, even if a test of constitution.

I spent 2 hours trying to make one out of matteboard and gave up so... yeah making one out of fiberglass is nuts

The main reason the bezel is coming together as it is was because I had a legit one to mold from.
If not for that it I'm sure it would have taken five times as long and probably not be as satisfying a result.

The true test will be can I make one totally from scratch for a smaller monitor in a future project now that this seems to have worked.

Getting bezels right is like getting the holy grail around here.

One guy once posted on this forum a method of making a "3D" bezel out of cardboard which was pretty impressive. But fibreglass, if you have the skills, totally awesome.

Working with fiberglass is like anything else all the craftsmen (and women) on this forum do.
From what I see, MANY here have the ability to work with polyester resin and cloth already, just need a familiarity with the materials and technique and a bit of practice.

I can work at a real glassing tutorial if anyone has the interest.
The tool and material list is quite short and inexpensive compared to so many of the other things I see here!

I think I'm a pretty terrible carpenter compared to most here so having resin to cover my transgressions is helpful.
 

[bobbyb13]

In spite of our 100% humidity I got some work done.

I knew from the get go that I was due for a good corn-holing somewhere with this cabinet because of the whole "want a bunch of curves in it" spec (say that with a good nasal whine for full effect-) and so it has arrived- the back panel.

Figured the only way I was making something to work was layers of 1/8" ply that I somehow molded to shape and then glassed to fight the spring-back.

And so, a lot of Titebond, drywall screws, and some added weight?!


I let it sit for a day and holy crap, I think it is going to fit.


While I was sorting out getting the first layer of cloth onto that I figured I may as well try for last coat of pigmented resin on one of the main body sides.



For all the freakin bugs that decided to come party in my nice smooth layer I may have to rename this damn thing Beetlemania.
5 of the little ---daisies--- committed suicide in my work tonight.   

That irritated me enough that I decided I deserved a reward and should sand out the control panel as I had already given it two hot coats of clear yesterday.
Got through wet sanding and first round of compound at least.



With one round of polish left to go I am always happy to see that the self flagellation of working with glass does have a reward.

[Zebidee]

Spotted your vertical games station (with rotated LCD) in the corner. Nice.

Loving the glass work. Looking slick.

We have plenty of bugs here in Thailand if you want some! Is actually a local delicacy. Locals will eat almost anything that moves, and quite a lot of what doesn't move too. Fried grasshoppers for the win! Stink bugs to make a special condiment. Green ant nests and cicadas, all on the menu. Environmentally friendly animal protein. Yum.

[Ond]

This has my attention!  Great to see molding techniques being used for fabrication. Will be watching.   

[thatpurplestuff]

This is looking REALLY nice, love the profile and I'm a sucker for the glossy look.    Great work!

[bobbyb13]

Spotted your vertical games station (with rotated LCD) in the corner. Nice.

Loving the glass work. Looking slick.

We have plenty of bugs here in Thailand if you want some! Is actually a local delicacy. Locals will eat almost anything that moves, and quite a lot of what doesn't move too. Fried grasshoppers for the win! Stink bugs to make a special condiment. Green ant nests and cicadas, all on the menu. Environmentally friendly animal protein. Yum.

Playing with the idea of a 60 in 1 bartop for my sister.
Got a board in a parts lot on fleabay and have never messed with jamma before.

And I can eat all kinds of things but insects are not on the list!
I've eaten all the bugs I need while on bike rides
 

And thank you both Ond and thatpurplestuff   

I'm getting more anxious to get playing it but there is a bit of work left on front and back panels still before the real fun starts.
And the closer I get to the end the more I don't know what to do with accent art for the side panels though.

Thus far I have only played with white pigment for this project so I need to get some cool tone resin tints and begin experimenting.

[yamatetsu]

Couldn't resist.

[javeryh]

If you are going to do a resin pour over the side panels, you have to do something like this:

[Zebidee]

Couldn't resist.

I'm imagining a stencil something like this but maybe in ... oh the colours are in my brain but... a sky blue that is a little purple and a yellow/orange somewhere between a bright sun and a sandy beach, but not quite either. The wave and rider are both more like suggestions, so quite abstract. Now I just need someone to pull that out of my brain and put it on Bobby's cab.

OK, Moon Patrol is very close to the colours in my mind. Except the blue purpled just a teeny bit more.



That image is not mine, grabbed from another older Moon Patrol recreation thread:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=141846.0

[bobbyb13]

All three of you are onto what I was thinking/feeling for this!

And wish I had your illustration skills yametetsu.  The sweep of that wave and also the texture is absolutely the idea- but without my sillouette 
Something of similar tone- but pure abstraction.
Maybe along the lines of this?


I did actually get to pick up some tints (not pigments, but tints!) at my local surfboard candy store today so we'll see if I can get into something good and ridiculous before the weekend is out.

The fun of working with tints is that they are inherently translucent and if layered with various rounds of clear you can get a lot of depth and color blending (as referenced in javeryh's link.)

Could be fun, could just get messy.  I'll post my experiments for some proper community abuse!

Art criteria is organic, suggestive of a wave, and less is more.

I'm no Hokusai, but I think it may turn out pretty cool with some practice.

[yamatetsu]

And wish I had your illustration skills yametetsu.

Thanks for the praise, but there is little to no skill involved. I just traced the cab's outline, told a program to put a clipart pic inside and then resized/moved it around until it fit. The hardest part was to find a pic that kind of fits the cab's shape.

You can do amazing abstract waves to using the acrylic pouring technique. It can be done on wood, I don't know if it works on resin. It's easy to do and can turn out really cool results.

[Zebidee]

You can do amazing abstract waves to using the acrylic pouring technique. It can be done on wood, I don't know if it works on resin. It's easy to do and can turn out really cool results.

I suggest: Do a rough drawing on paper first of what you want (real size if poss), and then just set yourself up and pour/sweep it out, Jackson Pollock style! Layering the colours will look awesome. After any toning undercoat over your white (such as light magenta, or whatever or none at all), Do darker colours lower to deepen shadows and depth (e.g. deep water), lighter colours on top to emphasise highlights (e.g. wave foam). Sorry if you already know not wanting to sound like mansplaining, I know painting and layering but I don't know your medium like you do so ignore as necessary. The art will be truly unique whatever you do.

[yamatetsu]

Hmm, that's not what I meant at all. I'm thinking of something like this:

[bobbyb13]

Hmm, that's not what I meant at all. I'm thinking of something like this:

Yes!

You can do amazing abstract waves to using the acrylic pouring technique. It can be done on wood, I don't know if it works on resin. It's easy to do and can turn out really cool results.

I suggest: Do a rough drawing on paper first of what you want (real size if poss), and then just set yourself up and pour/sweep it out, Jackson Pollock style! Layering the colours will look awesome. After any toning undercoat over your white (such as light magenta, or whatever or none at all), Do darker colours lower to deepen shadows and depth (e.g. deep water), lighter colours on top to emphasise highlights (e.g. wave foam). Sorry if you already know not wanting to sound like mansplaining, I know painting and layering but I don't know your medium like you do so ignore as necessary. The art will be truly unique whatever you do.

And thank you for the technique tip Zebidee.
I have been wondering about the dark vs light tone layering thing actually so that is actually very helpful.

I have some work for other people to do and then hopefully I can start experimenting!

[Zebidee]

Hmm, that's not what I meant at all. I'm thinking of something like this:

Yes!

You can do amazing abstract waves to using the acrylic pouring technique. It can be done on wood, I don't know if it works on resin. It's easy to do and can turn out really cool results.

I suggest: Do a rough drawing on paper first of what you want (real size if poss), and then just set yourself up and pour/sweep it out, Jackson Pollock style! Layering the colours will look awesome. After any toning undercoat over your white (such as light magenta, or whatever or none at all), Do darker colours lower to deepen shadows and depth (e.g. deep water), lighter colours on top to emphasise highlights (e.g. wave foam). Sorry if you already know not wanting to sound like mansplaining, I know painting and layering but I don't know your medium like you do so ignore as necessary. The art will be truly unique whatever you do.

And thank you for the technique tip Zebidee.
I have been wondering about the dark vs light tone layering thing actually so that is actually very helpful.

I have some work for other people to do and then hopefully I can start experimenting!

Cheers Bobby. I've never "painted" with fibreglass resin before, but I virtually grew up in artrooms and the basic principles still apply

You can see that cool lady (in the yamatetsu video linked above) applies that same principle to colour layering with her work. She starts with a white base, adds her light background tone first, then layers on the colours progressively from darker to lighter to give a sense of depth and create highlights.

[Zebidee]

Oh yeah and see how she added just a touch of purple with one layer? That will really make it pop 

[bobbyb13]

Looks like very fun stuff to play with (as I have only done full laminations with solid tint previously.)
I got some purple, green and blue tint so I'm going to experiment on an old board to find color tones I like and see what amount gets the saturation I'm hoping for.

A little goes a long way (especially on opaque white) so it shouldn't take much.

I am shooting for more of the hint of a wave then actual smack you in the face kind of "I'm a wave dammit!!"

I would NOT refer to myself as an artist, but I really like shades of indigo so this should be fun.

And I absolutely will post progress so you guys can tell me what I am screwing up!
 

[Zebidee]

Looks like very fun stuff to play with (as I have only done full laminations with solid tint previously.)
I got some purple, green and blue tint so I'm going to experiment on an old board to find color tones I like and see what amount gets the saturation I'm hoping for.

A little goes a long way (especially on opaque white) so it shouldn't take much.

I am shooting for more of the hint of a wave then actual smack you in the face kind of "I'm a wave dammit!!"

I would NOT refer to myself as an artist, but I really like shades of indigo so this should be fun.

And I absolutely will post progress so you guys can tell me what I am screwing up!
 

Sounds like a very sensible approach, also a lot of fun too. You have a perfect excuse to get messy!

[bobbyb13]

I made an excuse to put the last coat of white on the other side of the cabinet and figured it was time to start playing with tints for the side panels while waiting for resin to cure.
Was reminded once again how alarmingly little material it takes to get a LOT of color (and also how the ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- gets absolutely EVERYwhere unless you are very careful.)

A little playing around on a cutoff piece of the bezel build and some wax paper to think about possible color usage.



I was ready to use a really old (and pretty yellowed) board I had lying around and then remembered that I had a board I broke last winter that would be a much better candidate for experimentation.



Funny how much this tint blends into the 'grape popsicle' color I picked for my shaping bay this time around (got tired of the standard blue everybody seems to use!)

I'm trying to use styrene to thin the resin out so the colors fade out more smoothly but it tends to induce some curing drama and also to yellow the finished product if you use too much so I am trying to find a good middle ground.

We'll see what it starts to look like with some green overlapping it tomorrow- as long as this layer actually kicks.
 

[Zebidee]

How about using an air blower (instead of a brush) like in that earlier video. Will that work with resin?  Would take a bit of practice to get right.

[javeryh]

Oh man I can't believe you are going to do it.  This is going to be sick!

[bobbyb13]

How about using an air blower (instead of a brush) like in that earlier video. Will that work with resin?  Would take a bit of practice to get right.

I have tried using air before but as I type I recall that it was just compressed air- and I wasn't satisfied with the result.
A heatgun is being used in those videos, so maybe a little heat is the difference.
Also, she is using epoxy resin and polyester resin cures a lot faster and is far more heat sensitive so who knows how it may effect things.

I do kind of like the wispy nature of what pulling with the brush does so we will see which technique wins out here over the next week.

Oh man I can't believe you are going to do it.  This is going to be sick!

Hopefully!

Now that my box of treats from Andy at Ultimarc has arrived (and thus I have ALL the parts to make this thing functional) it will be a test of emotional fortitude to not stuff it all in there and start playing it!

[Zebidee]

I have tried using air before but as I type I recall that it was just compressed air- and I wasn't satisfied with the result.
A heatgun is being used in those videos, so maybe a little heat is the difference.
Also, she is using epoxy resin and polyester resin cures a lot faster and is far more heat sensitive so who knows how it may effect things.

I do kind of like the wispy nature of what pulling with the brush does so we will see which technique wins out here over the next week.

Yeah... I noticed that she was using what looked like a heat gun, was reluctant to suggest that because your stuff is fast drying. Maybe a little heat would make it work? Maybe a hair dryer instead of a heat gun? You'd have to work fast. An air compressor would be too powerful I think. Experiment and get dirty, you are the artist here!