My Pacman Cocktail Quasi-Replica

[the720k]

This is still a work in progress, but thought I'd share what I've been working on.  This is my first attempt at building an arcade cabinet from scratch.  I converted an Asteroids machine to MAME last year, which turned out great in my book, but ever since, oh, when the tax fairy visited my bank account, I've been itching to build a cocktail.  I mostly followed Kyle Lindstrom's plans, but made a few small changes here and there.

I built the cab all from scratch out of 3/4" pre-finished cherry plywood from the bountiful dumpsters at work.  I know that Pacman was never made in cherry, but it's my favorite wood species, and if there's going to be a large wooden object in my living room, why not cherry?

I joined the panels with 1 1/4" dowel pins and Tightbond II wood glue (that stuff is awesome!)  For support, I used angle brackets where I thought they were needed.  Perhaps overkill, but I'd rather build it too strong than too weak. 

I still need to paint the top black before the artwork goes on permanently, install the 1" T-molding, clean up the monitor cutout with my router, and measure/mount it to the hinged door panel.  The control panels aren't finished, but I wanted to test fit everything before I started diving into the nitty-gritty details. 

I also need to make the cutout for the speaker and install the grille, scrape off the rest of the unsightly peeling interior veneer on one panel (hey, it was scrap plywood,) install CP stop blocks, install the milky plexi, attach lights behind the pieces, and pick up a coin door cheaply.  Don't want to make the cutout until that's here. 

I've redesigned an Adobe Illustrator file I found of the original Pacman CPOs to allow two additional buttons while retaining the same feel and most of the graphics of the original overlay.  This results in the joystick being shifted to the left.  I'm not 100% sure on how well that will work yet, but it looks good in my head and in Illustrator.    As long as that turns out well, I'll have it printed and use it as my CPO.  I should post it somewhere for anyone to use, too.  Any ideas on where I should send it, anyone?

I'll post more pics as development continues!

[the720k]

And this one showing the inside.  Don't mind the sawdust.  My baby will get a full cleaning and polishing as soon as she's done.

[the720k]

And here's another angle showing the hinged door panel.

[theCoder]

Looks great!  How did you get the rounded corners on the glass?  Tempered glass I hope.  That must have cost you a pretty penny.

[NiteWalker]

Awesome job so far. The prefinished cherry plywood is really nice. And again, I envy your job.

Can't wait to see it finished.

[the720k]

Thanks!  Yes, the glass is 1/4" tempered glass.  I found a place on eBay that had the glass for $80 shipped.  Pricey, but less than anywhere else I found.

I'm not going to be able to work on the machine tonight, since it's at my friend's shop, and my girlfriend's been getting annoyed with me coming home at 11pm almost every night.    Tomorrow's another day, though!

[the720k]

I have a couple spare Ultimarc Mag-Sticks sitting here, but I was never really impressed with their responsiveness.  I'm considering getting an Ultimarc J-Stick (Ball Top,) but I worry that the shaft may be too long.  Has anyone used a J-Stick on a Pac or Ms. Pac cocktail?  Maybe there are other sticks I should consider?

[Crowquill]

Can you take some pics of how your CP's attach? That's' the one part of the Pac plans that I was a bit confused about.

Lookin' good!

[the720k]

Can you take some pics of how your CP's attach? That's' the one part of the Pac plans that I was a bit confused about.

Hehe... you're not the only confused one, methinks.    I'm actually out of town right now, but when I get back I'll post some pics of what I've been able to put together so far.  I have the rest of the cabinet done except for the CPs, so it's still in progress.

I'm not 100% sure on how accurate with the original design this is, and I hope it makes sense without pics.   

I countersunk the CP sides and base, and just glued/screwed them to the cutout section of the cabinet.  I attached the bottom of the metal CP to the 11" wide plywood control panel base with some wood screws.  From there, I have cut some blocks to allow the white plexi to slide into the back.  I still have to make stop blocks so that it doesn't drop all the way down, as well as get some 1/2" plywood for the underside of the CP.  I'm thinking that I'll just drill through that to allow the screws on top to secure everything to the interior stop blocks.  Maybe use some machine screws and wingnuts to fasten it all in place. 

This still leaves the back screw holes on the metal CP piece, which must be intended for something.  As long as there's enough space on the white plexiglass, I'm going to drill those holes out and attach the CP directly to the plexi.  The plans say that the plexi should sit about 1/4" higher than the cabinet, if I remember correctly, so all that's needed is to align the stop blocks to account for that.  Then, I just have to route a 1/4" groove on the underside of the cocktail top.  When the top closes, it should all lock into place pretty well and allow for little to no movement of the plexiglass. 

I realize that I could have eliminated the plexi altogether and gone the Arcade Depot route, but I really think it looks much nicer to have the white backlit plexiglass behind the CP, and it's worth the extra effort.

If this sounds like gibberish to you without some visuals (and it probably would to me!) I'll have some pics up when I get home this weekend. 

[NiteWalker]

Can't wait to see some more pics. 

[the720k]

Ok, I know it's been forever since I posted here, but my girlfriend has had some rather major health problems, so I've been working, taking care of her, and trying to do my little improvements to my cab at the same time.  End result..... S...L...O...W progress.  Oh well.  I'm really happy with how it's been turning out.  It's nearly complete at this stage.  All the T-Molding installed, speakers mounted and grilled, computer and monitor mounted and working, and control panels finished save the wiring.  I started mapping out a keyboard encoder, but it's such a pain.  In my impatience, I ordered an I-Pac, and I think I'll save the KB encoder for another project that won't be likely modified... ever. 

Crowquill: If you're reading this, I'm posting pics of the control panel assembly.  I was pretty unclear myself on how it should be constructed from Kyle Lindstrom's plans, but with a little patience and improvisation, I was able to come up with a decent solution.  You should be able to see that I did not use the original Midway recessed brackets to hold the milky plexiglas in.  Rather, out of being a cheap bastard, I just cut some small 3/4" plywood blocks and routed out a good sized section to make a wooden "L" bracket, which looks great from the front.  Any plexi that leaves open space behind has the uniform cherry plywood behind it, and it makes for a very sturdy stop block for the plexi.

I had mentioned before that I intended to route out a groove on the underside of the top to allow the plexi to lock into place, but this didn't work out in practice.  I drilled four small holes in the plexi and screwed them into the back of the metal control panel, and this left about a 1/2" gap between the top of the plexi and the cocktail top.  My solution to this was to cut 1/2" strips for each panel and glue/clamp/staple them to the CP sides.  I'm not completely happy with the stability in the center of the plexi, but it will never be a problem.  It just leaves a bit more flex room than I'd like.  Next model will be an "L" shaped piece that acts as more of a stop block.  This works great for me, though, plus it made for a very easy installation of the backlights!

The insides of the CPs (not really visible) have a piece of 3/4" wood to keep the whole assembly nice and sturdy.  I measured and cut out the holes for the buttons and joystick with a hole saw and spade bit.  Then I just removed the wood and used it as a template for the second panel, so that both CPs are completely identical.  My joysticks are surface-mount, so I routed a very shallow recess to allow the top plate to be flush with the rest of the wood, and voila!  A nice and functional CP.  I only went for two buttons and a start button for each player, because I intend to really only play older vertical games on this machine.  My upright Astroids-to-MAME conversion is for all the games that require heavy lifting anyway.

I'm just using an SVGA 19" Dell monitor.  DirectX isn't the best solution (my upright has a Kortek monitor with an ArcadeVGA card.... */me drools in awe of its splendor*) but it is definitely the most cost effective selection (free!)  The computer is an older Dell P4 motherboard.  Probably overkill, but it was a spare anyway, and it powers this beast quite well. 

I can't wait for the I-Pac to come in so I can play!  Ever since I conceived the idea of building a cocktail, I've fantasized about sitting down, setting my beer on the glass top and playing a good old game of Pac Man.  You know, the American dream.  That dream is close to becoming a reality thanks to all the friendly help I've received from you guys.  You're the best!

Anyway, I'm done rambling.  Here are the pics!

[the720k]

Here's the inside view.  Still have a little bit more tidying up to do with the wires.

[the720k]

Front of the CP with the top flipped up.

[the720k]

Inside view of the CP assembly, not wired up yet.

[the720k]

Player's eye view.  All that's missing is a second player and a couple beers.   

[NiteWalker]

Awesome job.
So what's the next project?

[the720k]

Thanks!  I'm glad to show it off, especially at this stage!

The next project is another one of these, but in oak and with Ms. Pacman artwork on the top.  I showed a buddy of mine this cab while it was in progress, and he begged me to build one for him.     I've found that I really enjoy woodworking, plus this cabinet was nothing but fun to create, so I'm more than happy to make his cabinet.  Luckily, he was willing to pay me in advance for the parts. 

As for my next project for me, I'm thinking about building an environmental or sit-down racing machine.  It'll be a few months from now, so I've got time to seriously weigh my options. 

Oh, almost forgot to tell you.  I remade my templates (again.)  I found some scrap 1/2" plexiglas at a local surplus store for $3.75 and decided to see how it would work.  Not too shabby.  The carpet tape sticks to it well, and it's nice to be able to see through the template.  I kinda dig the overall look of them, too.  Makes me feel like a product development engineer at some company or something. 

[NiteWalker]

Sweet. Plexi makes great permanent templates for the reasons you listed. I made a few too out of scraps that were too small for a project.