New cab, nominally Gauntlet inspired

[NightGod]

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I decided to build a MAME cab after picking up a Midway Classics cab a month or so ago and stumbled across this site while looking for ways to mod it. I was immediately hooked and started reading up as much as I could to figure out what I would need to do to make my own.

I have no real theme, I have no side art ideas, I have no marquee in mind. I just know I want to get this at least mostly working by August 12th, when I have a huge party planned at my house. I figure I can make it look pretty anytime, basic functionality will come first. I'm definately looking for suggestions on possible artwork.

About two days after I started seriously planning things out, I was working at an customer's house updating their 52" Sony Wega LCD TV (crazy little firmware issue...if you own one, call the company and check yours out so you can get it fixed) and I noticed he had an old 27" TV sitting unplugged next to it. A bit of conversation later, it turns out he had been planning on selling it, but never got around to it, so after I confirmed it had an S-Video port on it, I offered him $100 and squeezed it into the cab of my truck to get it home.

The computer will be no issue. I own my own buisness doing PC repair and also do field tech support for a half-dozen major PC manufacturers and have enough spare parts lying around that the only thing I'm going to end up needing to specifically buy *might* be a new processor, though I'm pretty sure I have an old P4 2.8 lying around here somewhere

For sticks I went with 4 Ultimates and a Super to use as a dedicated 4-way. I decided to go with these instead of some of the new sticks because I personally feel there is a ton of new stuff hitting the market right now and I want to see what people think about these in a few months after they've had some time to use and abuse them a bit

No coin door yet, though I fully intend to add a 4-way door in the near future. As I mentioned-functionality now, beauty later (besides, I figure this way my cab will never truly be complete =p). For the time being there will be horizontal buttons mounted on the CP sides for each player.

Trackball and spinner will come within the next month or so. I'm waiting just a bit on the spinner to decide if I want a Slikstick or one of the new Apache Controls sticks. Trackball I'm planning on getting my CP laid out and then deciding if I want to go 3" or 2 1/4". Eitherway, I have the Optipac coming with my order, so I should be set no matter which way I go. I've also got a few ideas for some unique stuff to do with the trackball that I want a chance to flesh out before I make a final call.

Based off the Ultimate MAME, mostly because that one was designed for a 27" TV already and I liked the classic shape of it.

I went with this CPO because of my love of the Gauntlet series. Some of my best pre-teen memories involve a summer spent at the local ice cream shop/game room playing Gauntlet for literally days at a time. Though this is obviously not the original CPO, the colors definately invoke the game (a color scheme that will carry over to the buttons, though I decided to stick with black for all four joysticks) and the size is perfect for a spacious 4 player panel.

I know alot of people spend months and months planning out the perfect cab. I generally prefer to dive into things and see where it goes from there. So, a couple of weeks of reading and asking a few questions here and there, I started buying supplies. I was talking to a friend of mine and he foolishly generously offered to let use his garage and better selection of tools to build my cab. So, I went over there this morning and we proceeded to cover everything in his garage with a fine layer of MDF dust and work was begun.

First cut completed. My buddy's circular saw died half-way through the cut, good thing I had just bought a new one with a nice laser line system. A quick run to my house and we were back in buisness. Doesn't that floor look all clean and shiny? We'll take care of that REAL soon.


Ahh...now THAT looks like an arcade cabinet (or at least half of one). That's my buddy Scott in the pic.


And this is what sucks about MDF (note, this was before the T-molding routing and a dozen other cuts we had yet to do). We half-jokingly said we should sweep it into a mold, pour in some glue and make a few more boards to build with.


Something about that first coat of paint (well, primer) that just makes you feel like you have actually accomplished something. Note that there are NO screw holes on the outside (as witnessed by the fact that I didn't have to leave the the wood putty to dry overnight before I primed. I'm getting around that by screwing in braces from the inside (you can just see the edge of one of them on the closest board) to attach everything to, basically allowing me to leave all my screw holes in hidden places (top/back). I've also got a plan to avoid screws in the piece under the marquee, but it remains to be seen how that will ultimately work out-so I may yet end up with a few spots of putty to take care of.

[Crafty]

Looking good so far...

Keep the posts coming

Are you going with a Gauntlet Marquee and side art as well?

[NightGod]

All I have to say is  you humidity.

The panels were left in my friend's garage for about 22 hours after we painted them and I was moving them back home so I could continue work in the basement-apparently it was way too humid and the paint wasn't 100% dry, because they stuck together

I've filled in the missing chunk with wood filler-fortunately, its in the back of the panel, on the side that will be facing the corner when I get it in place, so it's not as bad as it could have been-more of an annoyance, really. And I guess one of these projects is never really complete until at least one visit from Murphy has occured.

As for the marquee and side art-I'm hoping to do something at least inspired by Gauntlet (but don't want to do repro art), but I have zero talent in the art department, so I'm holding off on that for a bit and hoping for suggestions in the mean time.

[NightGod]

OK, I've been neglecting updates, but I haven't been neglecting the cab! I am nearly done with the painting and should have the main body of the cab assembled and ready to go in the next few days here, and have been slowly working on collecting everything I'll need for the CP.

The parts list so far looks something like:
Sitting in house, ready to go:
CPO
4 Competition joysticks
1 Super joystick (4 way)
Electric ICE-T trackball
Slikstik spinner
A bajillion assorted buttons
I-PAC 4
Optipac (which it seems I may not be needing for this project, but I'm sure I can find something fun to do with it)
2 LCD Top-Guns
Speakers (went with Creative 340-has the controls right up on the satellite speakers-I would have prefered 330s with the remote, I think, but they're becoming nearly impossible to find without ordering on-line and I'm impatient  )
4 player coin door is in house and will spend this weekend getting refurbished

Ordered and awaiting delivery:
4 coin mechs
200 Tokens
2 competition joysticks (decided to go with 2 sticks for player one/two rather than trying to line up 3/4 to allow for 2 stick games)
Wiring kit
Marquee retainer (now I just have to figure out what marquee I want >.<)

I decided that, with all the lovely humidity and insane heat we've been having here in Illinois lately, I would be better off working inside the house in the air conditioned basement than outside in that crap, so I brought everything in and draped plastic around a small back room of the basement to give me a place to work while still maintaining some level of dust control in the rest of the house. Another nice thing about that room is that there is a ceiling fan for the light in the room so I can use that to help with the drying process.



For the paint, I used something I haven't seen used before, Dutch Boy Dimensions Metalic, which I picked up at Menard's (I'd give links for it, but damned if I can't find anything on it out on the web, even on their home page). Basically you put down a basecoat (the color of which can be seen above) and then top it with a paint that has metalic flakes in it (either gold or silver, depending on the final color you are aiming for). It is basically impossible to get a smooth finish out of the top stuff, but that's actually a good thing-I love the textured look, and it's great for hiding surface imperfections. You can use a few different techniques for the final coat, brush strokes, sponging, rag or, the one I went with, rollering.

Basically I put down three layers of basecoat (since I built with MDF, I also used the basecoat as my primer coat), two layers of metalic (would have been one, but I noticed that they MADE THE WRONG COLOR when I first bought it (it was a gun metal blue-really nice, but not what I wanted) and since I already had some painted, I did all the pieces to prevent matching issues in the future and then my final coat I put the paint down and then twisted the roller across the surface. This left a great buffed metal effect that I think looks awesome. Am currently following it all up with an acrylic clear coat that's designed to work over latex-have two coats down, going for a third and final coat tomorrow.

Here you can see the swirl effect I'm talking about:


And here's a testimonial to the ability to cover surface imperfections-this is the area that I had to fill in with wood putty. Honestly, it was a less than perfect job, but the paint does wonders to hide it, it actually looks even better without the massive flash on it, and it's going to be shaded in a corner when I get it in place:


Same area shown from a couple of feet away-the area I repaired is in between those two streaks of light on the far side cause by the folds in the plastic:


A word on sanding-this was easily the worst part of the whole thing-that dust is BRUTAL. I had a fan blowing out an open window in the room I was working in and wore a mask every time I fired up the sander-do yourself a favor and do the same when you are working on this crap. I sanded after every layer of basecoat (220 grit) and the first two layers of (wrong color and right color) metallic. (400 grit) I tested sanding the final 'swirl' layer of metallic paint on one of the back pieces and...it looked like crap. So, I've dropped two coats of clear on top of it, and am going to sand down before I add the third and final coat, which should get rid of all the little bumps and extra bits of paint without ruining the swirl effect like a direct sanding did.

Here's the piece I sanded over the swirl coat, with a clear coat layer over it, not sure how well you can tell there, but the piece has lost quite a bit of it's luster compared to the other pieces, good thing this is the bottom half of the back panel!:

[MYX]

Yay! another home paint booth user. Hey be careful. My kid was playing in the garage where my plastic paint booth was and he ran by the plastic and the gust of wind he made pushed the plastic into my freshly painted cab door. STICK  . Just FYI so you don't have the same issue. Keep it coming. Looks good so far.

[NightGod]

Heh, I thought about that, it's why I only place boards so the edges are facing the plastic. That and it's in my basement and my kids rarely go down there (basicly they only come down when they want to see how the cab is coming, and then they ask first).

Actually MYX, your booth pics are what put the idea in my head-couldn't remember who it was until you posted here. It's a great idea and only costs about 5 bucks for the plastic sheeting-I'm thinking the time I'm saving not having to dust a couple hundred books alone is worth that.

[Veinman]

For some Gauntlet inspiration, you might want to check out my cab.
http://www.hotseatgames.com/gallery/index.php?cat=3

[NightGod]

Update.

I've been alot better about building my cab than taking pictures and posting updates. I've currently got the cabinet together, support built for the TV, coin door installed and CP drilled and overlay in place (though I haven't attacked it with a X-acto knife just yet).

Marquee I'm still at a loss on-I'm planning on putting a generic MAME one up there until I can figure out something that I like...my total lack of artistic ability isn't helping matters any  Waiting on my friend with the wide-aspect vinyl printer to get some technical stuff resolved so I can get it done on the cheap.

[mmarx82]

Intresting CP, I've never seen a "Simon Says" appoach.

[NightGod]

Intresting CP, I've never seen a "Simon Says" appoach.

LOL-I picked it up off classicarcadegrafix.com because it had two things going for it-one was the massive size, two was the fact that it incorporated the Gauntlet colors.

Anyway, update time-I'm at about 80% completion.

Done:
- CP is wired, installed and programmed
- Mamewah is mostly up and running, though I may do a tweak or two.
- Beta Brite is in place and working with Mamewah.
- Coin door is mostly functional, though I'm still getting more rejects than I would like on tokens.
- Sears imitation Smart Strip in place and functional
- Kick-ass cup holders are mounted (must look after the important things in life). Couple of pics of them below-they close down and are hidden behind the CP when not in use, and spring up and open when you need them. It's very cool to see in action-nice, smooth almost pneumatic looking action.

To do:
- Computer needs to be mounted, currently it's just sitting loose in the cabinet (though it's on a metal tray, so it's usable).
- Trackball needs to be mounted-got some fun ideas with what I'm doing there, but need to spend a day or so getting it all built and up and running.
- Plexi needs to be coated and installed. (All materials in hand, just need to stop playing long enough to do it  )
- LCD Top Guns need to be re-installed tested-towers are in place, and I've had them working at least once, just need to get in there and make sure they're good to go still.
- Wire a power outlet into the cab because hanging a power strip out the back just looks ugly.
- Installation and configuration of console emulation.

Today I had a friend over and it was the first day I had everything put together. I had played some games here and there while configuring the Ipac, but this was the first time I put all of the pieces together and really played. It was definately a hell of alot of fun, and great for motivating me to finish off all the little junk I still have on my list.

[_) (V) (-)]

That is one massive control panel Nightgod, wow!
Must be a few pounds of wire under that sucker, eh?

I like the scrolling LED message marque light thingy too.
Is it a multi-colored display or single color?
(looks like a single in the pic)

[theCoder]

Now you just need to mess up Mamewah just enough to put off fixing it until you finish all items on your todo list.  I don't know how many of these projects linger for months because they just wired it up to see how it plays.  Looks good.

[NightGod]

That is one massive control panel Nightgod, wow!
Must be a few pounds of wire under that sucker, eh?

I like the scrolling LED message marque light thingy too.
Is it a multi-colored display or single color?
(looks like a single in the pic)

Right around 300 feet of wire  I try not to think about how many hours I spent stripping and crimping wire. The BetaBrite is one of the multi-color ones, that shot just happened to hit it when it was only showing a single one.

And I hear ya on breaking Mamewah-I went through ALOT of effort to keep the cab unplayable until the last possible moment. I even did my testing with the control panel sitting on a box that was too low to the ground to be comfortable for me to play on for any length of time-the kids loved it, though.

And got the LCD Top Guns both working now, one more thing crossed off the list-had a great time double-gunning some Area 51 to make sure they worked properly