Author Topic: Saucer Invasion - Upright following Saint's Book (Read 27589 times)

MPTech · « **Reply #40 on:** December 09, 2007, 02:37:00 am »

Got your PM, Thanks, I'll call him tomorrow.

GAtekwriter · « **Reply #41 on:** December 09, 2007, 04:16:47 pm »

Sides - two coats (of many):

This will be a two-tone cab, so I decided to start with the sides first - everything else will be black.

I'm using foam rollers which are working great BUT... I didn't realize the first coat would be so thin. The foam rollers definitely don't coat like a normal "fuzzy" roller for painting walls and such. After the first coat dried, I put on a second coat and the color really came out nice. I realize now that after sanding, it will probably take numerous coats to get the consistent color and smoothness. I'm not going for glass-finish, just smooth with no jaggies. (Definitely recommending the foam roller treatment to anyone preparing for this portion - the application looks nice and it doesn't have that textured look using 'fuzzy' rollers or brushes.)

Jim

MPTech · « **Reply #42 on:** December 09, 2007, 11:13:30 pm »

That's looking really nice. The green is eye-catching.
What are you planning to do for buttons? I'm assuming some green/lit buttons, or better yet a green trackball.

leapinlew · « **Reply #43 on:** December 10, 2007, 01:43:33 am »

Quote from: MPTech on December 09, 2007, 11:13:30 pm

That's looking really nice. The green is eye-catching.
What are you planning to do for buttons? I'm assuming some green/lit buttons, or better yet a green trackball.

Your right, that IS looking good. Keep up the good work.

MPTech · « **Reply #44 on:** December 10, 2007, 01:52:55 am »

The blue T-Molding really sets it off nicely.

(sorry, couldn't resist)

GAtekwriter · « **Reply #45 on:** December 10, 2007, 09:45:54 am »

Yeah, nothing says high quality like tape-t-molding.

I've collected 14 NovaGems and 1 Happ 3" trackball that will all light up on the CP. I've also got a GGG spinner that'll go on there, too.

I ordered two 20' rolls of Galaxian Green t-molding, but the two rolls don't quite color-match so I'm going to contact t-molding.com today and find out what to do. The two rolls definitely look like they came from different productions and I didn't notice it until my wife pointed it out.

Hoping to have the green sides sanded, repainted, etc. and completed by next weekend so I can do the black panels.

Jim

MPTech · « **Reply #46 on:** December 10, 2007, 01:39:06 pm »

Nothing says ALIENS like Green & Black! Sounds like a good plan. Is this your first Cab?

So are you a big Space Invaders / Asteroids fan?

There are also some Alien themed PinBall tables too. Alien Poker and Mars Attacks are a couple of my favorites, but there are several more.

I think you'll really like the Klipsch speakers (I thought that's what you said you were using, correct?)
I bought a set for a Juke I'm building and the sound is great!

Is this saucer going to launch by Christmas?

GAtekwriter · « **Reply #47 on:** December 10, 2007, 07:31:13 pm »

I'm hoping to have it done on or before March/April. I have a feeling the CP is going to slow me down a bit. I've got the sideart almost done and will be ordering from mamemarquees.com - already have the marquee, all buttons/joysticks/spinner. Need to order the "innards" of the CP, though...

I've always had this thing for 1950's style rockets and flying saucers (Forbidden Planet is on my Top 10 Movie list) and just figured it would make a nice theme for my first cabinet. Heading down to the basement in a few minutes to start painting again...

Jim

GAtekwriter · « **Reply #48 on:** December 18, 2007, 09:31:57 pm »

First black coat of paint is on... very thin, though. The foam roller still doesn't put much on the surface on the first coat... not really even the 2nd. It took 3 coats of the green before I started noticing a consistent color... an additional 2 coats before I was happy with it.

In the pic you can see the front of the cab with the circle cut out - that's where the green 12" Luminglas circle will be mounted... speaker panel is also being painted and to the right of the cabinet. I drilled some air holes in a nice little pattern on the top angled piece and you can see some blue tape on the back of the cab - that's a hole I cut out so I could access the monitor controls if necessary. I'm going to mount another speaker grille over it and it'll look fine.

I'm hoping to have the black coat completely done by this Saturday so I can put on the t-molding. After that, I'm going to mount the Luminglas, speakers, marquee, and get a monitor bezel completed. Then it'll just be the CP and PC.

Jim

GAtekwriter · « **Reply #49 on:** December 31, 2007, 06:52:49 pm »

Well, I didn't get to do much during the Christmas break, but New Year's Eve was productive.

Today I was able to get the t-molding on... what a pain. But it does look nice. t-molding.com was able to get me two matching rolls of Galaxian Green (the previous 2 rolls sent to me were slightly different) and I lucked out in that they are almost an exact paint match to the sides.

I also got the GGG LED bar installed and it is BRIGHT! My only complaint is the 3" of wire they give you and it's very thin gauge... but I can work with it. I had a 12V harness from another project (8 AA batteries) that I was able to hook up to it and test it out with the marquee in place.

Tomorrow, weather/wife permitting, I plan on getting the Luminglas mounted in the front hole, wire up the speakers, mount the marquee (picked up the L-shaped molding from Home Depot and need to spray paint black), and mount the SmartStrip inside the cab.

I'm debating working on the bezel first or jumping straight to the CP. I have to admit the CP has me a little frazzled as I'm not good with electronics or drilling straight/vertical holes. That said, if I ever want to play this thing, I'm going to have to do it sooner or later...

Happy New Year, all!

Jim

GAtekwriter · « **Reply #50 on:** January 02, 2008, 05:56:19 pm »

Hooked everything up for a test run... marquee works, Luminglas works, speakers work, monitor works. Now I've got to get the CP working.

Jim

MPTech · « **Reply #51 on:** January 02, 2008, 07:35:18 pm »

Make sure you get everything else done before you finish your CP!
Once you start "Testing", you may never finish!

The cab looks GREAT!

The Marque and LuminDisk with that Alien Green paint, looks awesome!

Quick question, I'm looking at buying a Blue lumin disk for a Jukebox I'm building, what size is the one you installed and any advice?

GAtekwriter · « **Reply #52 on:** January 02, 2008, 09:11:38 pm »

You can find the Luminglas in 6" and 12" circles all over the Internet. Blue seems to be the more easily available color, though, and green the least available. 6" circles are, I believe, around $20-30US and the 12" can be $100US or more. I lucked out in finding my 12" green for around $90 on clearance but the guy only had one left in green.

There is a company out there that does custom Luminglas in whatever shape you like... I got a quote for an equilateral triangle with 8" sides and the price was over $300US... so I stuck with the standard production line circle product.

Yes, I know all about the risks of doing the CP first... that's why I've put it to last. The cab is done and now it's time for the CP. I can't wait to see the green glow of the 3" trackball and the NovaGem buttons.

sparcade · « **Reply #53 on:** January 02, 2008, 09:49:38 pm »

Jim,

Nice job on the cabinet. In some ways, it reminds me of mine.
(Must be the green t-molding :-) ) Wish I would have done more with lighting
like you plan on doing.

If you care to have a look, it's here....
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=74861.0

rick

GAtekwriter · « **Reply #54 on:** January 03, 2008, 09:20:28 am »

Thanks, Rick...

Part of me wishes that I had put in a keyboard/PC access panel like you did... oh, well

Yes, the green t-molding looks really sharp and bright. I've almost got the sideart completed and will be sending that off to mamemarquees soon.

Jim

GAtekwriter · « **Reply #55 on:** February 02, 2008, 09:21:06 pm »

Business was crazy for the start of the new year, so the month of January was a bust for getting anything done. I was able to get the bezel template cut and then transferred it to a black 1/4" foam board. The foam board is from Elmer's (the glue people) and was 32" x 40" for only $5.50. Just cut it with a box cutter.

I've found a couple of glass shops nearby that have given me some nice quotes on tempered "smoke glass" - I'm going to run out this next week and check them out before purchasing, but I'm hoping to have the glass in my possession for insertion next weekend. I'll be doing a search of the forums for possible options to secure the glass but if anyone knows off the top of their heads a great discussion thread that covers this, please feel free to point me to it...

I took everyone's advice and finished my cab BEFORE touching the Control Panel. Now the motivation to get the CP done is high and I'm ready to start.

Sideart is completed and I'm also preparing to upload and order it from mamemarquees.com.

Jim

darkje · « **Reply #56 on:** February 06, 2008, 07:29:04 pm »

That foam board looks really good!

I always thought you would mount two strips on either side of the cab, protruding just a little bit, on which the glass would rest.

Then at the bottom where the monitor shelf is, put two tabs that would hold the glass from slipping out.

Did that make sense? I am having trouble myself finding the right size glass or plexi glass, it's hard to find a 26 inch wide

If you got a custom order, what price range were you quoted?

Oh and where did you buy the elmers foam board? Looks like a good option versus the Happ bezel.

Thanks

GAtekwriter · « **Reply #57 on:** February 06, 2008, 08:04:14 pm »

The foam board was purchased at a local Atlanta art store called Sam Flax - normally you have to buy this stuff in boxes of 10 or 20 sheets, but they sell it individually. They might be willing to ship flat for you... they also have it in 1/8" , 1/2" and I think I saw 3/4", too...

Sam Flax
1460 Northside Dr NW
Atlanta, GA 30318
(404) 352-7200

I haven't really found a solution that works, but I know it needs to be easily "removeable" for access to the monitor - for this reason, I'm thinking about mounting something on the sides of the cabinet to hold the glass in place. One up high and one down low on the left and right sides.

GAtekwriter · « **Reply #58 on:** February 07, 2008, 02:35:17 pm »

Ordered 1/4" smoked glass today from a local glass shop - I shopped around and the cheapest I could find for 26" x 23.75" tempered glass in light/med grey tint was $52.00. They said it'll be ordered and available next Tuesday.

I went lighter rather than darker given that my bezel is black and the cab will be in the basement where lighting isn't as bright. I used a test piece they had to put up against a color monitor displaying a lot of colors and it looked fine, so I think it'll work great for the cabinet.

GAtekwriter · « **Reply #59 on:** June 25, 2008, 09:07:05 pm »

My apologies for the long absence - my little boy (13 months now) started crawling... then walking... life took a detour for a bit. But I'm back and ready to finish this project. As it stands now:

1. I purchased my Lexan for the CP
2. Purchased a few router bits for doing flush mount work on joysticks and trackball.
3. Got started on my CP layout (see images below)
4. Have my PC configured and ready to start installing and config

The first problem I (re)-encountered upon working with my CP template was that the measurements on the U360 mounting plate don't match those on the Ultimarc website - so I took my own measurements and created my own. The Ultimarc site shows that the U360 uses the standard Happ Competition template, but when I printed it to actual size, removed my U360 plate and compared them, they didn't match up - my plate measure 3-1/16 x 3-3/4, not the 3.15 x 3.6 shown in the image below.

That said, I'm now contemplating whether to add a 4-way to the mix with 2 buttons for the 4-way (similar to the layout for Knievel's Blue Neon Mame cab). Opinions welcome.

Of course, I'm going to take the full size template and have it printed so I can test the layout before drilling begins... is it print twice, drill once?

Glad to be back - hope to show some progress on the cab.

images below:
1. Ultimarc's U360 measurements
2. My actual template - note ruler on top and side with my measurements
3. Current layout - three buttons along top left and top right are (p1 coin, p1 start, lft mouse) - (p2 coin, p2 start, right mouse) and that angled hole to the right of lft mouse will be my spinner.

Jim

GAtekwriter · « **Reply #60 on:** June 28, 2008, 03:43:20 pm »

Two possible cp overlays below... I've also got a third idea which is to add some robotic style arms to the left and right of the central saucer with pinchers on the end... I'm just playing around right now - it's so hard to finalize graphics, isn't it?

Green lit trackball fits in the center of the saucer.

Jim

Havok · « **Reply #61 on:** June 28, 2008, 06:00:11 pm »

Cool idea to have the trackball be the saucer center!

The only input I have on the control panel is I would seriously consider dropping the 7th button. I did my fighter panel with 7 buttons, and I find that I just don't use it...

GAtekwriter · « **Reply #62 on:** June 28, 2008, 07:52:53 pm »

There's a current discussion in another thread about the value of the 7th button and most of the posters replying seem to be in favor of it... I'm an old school arcade kid (80's basically) so it may be possible that most of the games I'll play will only require 2 or 3 - I do like Mortal Kombat series, though... 6 or 7 buttons for those? Anyway, adding the 7th buttons isn't an issue for me in terms of parts or layout, but maybe you've got a strong argument against them?

Jim

GAtekwriter · « **Reply #63 on:** June 29, 2008, 11:28:02 am »

Still debating dropping the 7th buttons, but I did decide to keep a minimal CP and will not be installing a dedicated 4-way. I'm also planning on putting some admin buttons on the sides of the CP.

The saucer by itself just didn't have a punch - so I added some arms, alien text... and this is what I have so far... I'm planning on adding some "alien" like embellishments to the CP... just small green lines maybe encircling the CP... not sure. Opinions are welcome.

It's going to rain today so I'm not sure if I'll be able to route the t-molding and chamfer the bottom of the CP - since I'm adding 1/8" Lexan on top of the CP, I bought a Chamfer router bit to cut at 45 degrees below the edge of the t-molding.

Since the weather isn't holding up, I'm heading to the printshop to have them print me out a fullsize drill template so I can test the placement of the components.

Jim

GAtekwriter · « **Reply #64 on:** July 06, 2008, 03:03:57 pm »

Rainy weather today so I worked on the frontend stuff. I like MaLa and Maximum Arcade and am having some fun customizing MA with my own sound effects, logo, and background - fairly easy to customize using the \skins subdirectory and just renaming originals to "*_old.png" and replacing with my own images. I also replaced the startup sound and the left/right selection sounds with my own "hovering saucer" and "laser" sounds.

I'm running a P4 3.0 Ghz and am running (for now) emulators for MAME and Atari2600 - Maximum Arcade has a very easy interface and I'm leaning towards it for my front end solution simply for the ease-of-use for wife and kid(s). I'm hoping my 13 month old boy will enjoy playing these Atari 2600 games in a few more years... the graphics are old school, but the games are easy to master and kid-friendly.

I've got my paper template printed and will be testing the button and joy layout for usability - I'll take some pics and post shortly. If the weather improves this afternoon, I'm hoping to route out the t-molding slot for the CP and use my Chamfer bit to angle the bottom edge...

edit: including new CP overlay that I'm going with...

jeffhlewis · « **Reply #65 on:** July 06, 2008, 09:01:27 pm »

GAtekwriter:

I used to have one of those same 25" Sony Pro Monitors. I got mine off eBay when Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base in Virginia Beach decommissioned a bunch and sold them off cheap (like 50 a piece...they were in mint condition). I used it as a TV for a long time but always though that it would make the perfect MAME monitor. That thing was a beast though; weighed a TON.

Did you actually wire it in RGB or are you using the S-Video?

GAtekwriter · « **Reply #66 on:** July 07, 2008, 09:21:20 am »

S-video is what I'm using... and yes, the sucker weighs a ton. It looks great, though, behind the smoked tempered glass.

Jim

BASS! · « **Reply #67 on:** July 07, 2008, 11:40:34 pm »

Quote from: GAtekwriter on July 07, 2008, 09:21:20 am

S-video is what I'm using... and yes, the sucker weighs a ton. It looks great, though, behind the smoked tempered glass.

Jim

DOOOOOD you are runing svideo on a monitor that can run vga? $20 and I'll get you a cable to run vga.

GAtekwriter · « **Reply #68 on:** July 09, 2008, 09:09:56 am »

Sorry for the confusion - with testing right now, I'm using my laptop and s-video - the desktop PC I'm configuring is VGA and that's how the final cab will run. Any images you see me post now or earlier were s-video.

Jim

GAtekwriter · « **Reply #69 on:** July 21, 2008, 12:57:47 pm »

Received my CPO and template from mamemarquees.com - the quality is top-notch and the colors are very vivid. Definitely happy with the product. Just got back from vacation and ready to start drilling this weekend.

GAtekwriter · « **Reply #70 on:** July 22, 2008, 01:13:14 pm »

Just a quick FYI - while working on my CPO and CP template I took plenty of screenshots and have created a PDF tutorial for using Inkscape (OpenSource vector graphics program, totally free) that can be downloaded here:

http://www.marsbasecommand.com/cptutorial.zip

It's a 2MB zipped file (virus free) and the PDF is in color.

GAtekwriter · « **Reply #71 on:** August 09, 2008, 08:15:23 pm »

My neighbors heard a sonic boom today - it was me heading to the garage when my wife said "Go work on your cab" - BOOM!

Got a lot done today. First, as someone who is NOT a woodworking expert, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by what I got done today. I've been dreading the control panel for some time, especially drilling the button holes and using a flush bit with my router to shape the Lexan.

Well, the LEXAN cut like butter - my feed speed was about 1" per second and there was no burn or melting. I used a double-flute flush bit with a pilot - I had ZERO clue what this pilot thing was until I just sat down and examined what I needed to do and how this bit would help me. I hope that one of my images here will help someone else in my shoes - it shows that the pilot (a little silver spinner at the end of the bit) is rolling against the 3/4" plywood and the blade is cutting the Lexan. I just had to figure out how to properly clamp the pieces and give myself a gap between the CP and the spare pieces of 3/4" I used to support the Lexan that would become waste.

I know a lot of people have said that using a portable-drill-press-plunger (the kind that attaches to your electric drill) isn't the best way to go, but it's all I actually own. I don't have room (yet) for a full size drill press, so I pulled out the device, attached my drill, put the Forstner 1-1/8" in the chuck and used my center marks on all the holes for accuracy. I had to put a little more energy into pushing down on the drill, but it worked and my holes came out great (I used a spare piece of plywood on the bottom to prevent splintering).

Tomorrow I'll use these holes as pilot holes to drill the Lexan button holes. I also drilled to holes that will hold the trackball plate in place (I'm going to route out the plate space so it is flush with the CP surface). I inserted the trackball plate just to make certain all my drill holes were dead-on and they were... so I know that using the trackball plate as a template for routing my trackball hole will be perfect with my CP overlay.

Had fun - the afternoon went too fast but I did a lot of "measure twice" type work and took my time. I should be able to do some more routing tomorrow - I'm anxious to get this CP done! I've got all my electronics now, so it's coming together...

Jim

Buga8tr · « **Reply #72 on:** August 10, 2008, 12:11:44 am »

Lookin good. I love the paint scheme.

GAtekwriter · « **Reply #73 on:** August 10, 2008, 05:26:22 pm »

Got a little done today - routed the t-molding slot around the CP and then used my new chamfer bit to shave about 1/8" from the bottom at a 45 degree angle... tested it with some spare t-molding and the Lexan and it turned out great. I'll be painting the CP black to blend with the overlay as well as to hide any mistakes.

Some photos below. In the last one you can just see a hint of the chamfer bit's work...

Jim

GAtekwriter · « **Reply #74 on:** November 28, 2008, 05:08:13 pm »

After quite a long delay, I was able to take advantage of free babysitting (aka in-laws) over this Thanksgiving break and I'm hoping to push through and get the CP done before the weekend is up. Below are some images.

Today was basically finishing drilling all the button holes in the Lexan, routing out areas for the joystick and trackball mounting brackets, cutting out areas for the electronics to mount up-from-bottom, and then routing the hole for the trackball in the Lexan.

Even though I took fairly accurate measurements of the U360 mounting bracket, the holes were still off, so I'm going to have to redrill those... no big deal.

Tonight I'm painting the CP black (so any areas the overlay might miss won't be too noticeable) and then tomorrow I'll mount all the hardware, apply my overlay and the Lexan, and try to get started on the wiring.

MrDo · « **Reply #75 on:** November 29, 2008, 02:14:31 am »

Great Job! Your persistence is inspiring me to start my cab. I have amassed most all parts to include a CP cut out by Knievel himself. (Easy way out I know, but he has skills I do not have...

Thanks for sharing and keep it coming.

GAtekwriter · « **Reply #76 on:** November 29, 2008, 11:11:44 am »

I started out knowing nothing about using a router and very little woodworking skills... I'm fairly happy with how I've progressed. I've learned a LOT, especially with using a router. The best thing I've learned is to simply look at what I need to do carefully and I can usually make sense of the type of bit I need as well as how to do it - the routing of the trackball hole had me stymied... I wanted to do it right the first time. I finally realized I could use the mounting plate hole as my template and I needed a router bit that had a pilot near the base of the bit that would follow the template hole... I had to dial-in the depth of the bit carefully but it worked like a charm.

Good luck with your build - I never had any idea my cabinet would take this long to build, but it's been a fun project that's nearing completion.

Jim

ivwshane · « **Reply #77 on:** January 03, 2009, 02:48:53 am »

So whats the status?

I'm almost catching up to you!!

GAtekwriter · « **Reply #78 on:** July 18, 2009, 03:16:25 pm »

Having a 2 year old boy, I think some of you will understand my long absence... but I'm glad to finally have the energy, time, and resolve to get this thing finished! When we last left Batman and Robin...

Okay, so I've painted the control box, followed Saint's instructions for attaching the CP top to the box, and am ready to get the CP rolling. Random photos here, but I managed to get the CP Overlay trimmed up and the joysticks and buttons mounted to get the CPO oriented properly. The trackball fits perfectly and there's no lip to get your hand/fingers pinched in, so I lucked out there.

As you can see, I'm fast approaching the WIRING STAGE... sirens... sirens... I wish I had bookmarked all the great examples of wiring on this site, but if anyone off the top of their heads can point me towards the best tutorials/examples of clean wiring, I'd be eternally grateful.

I have purchased the LEDWiz to light up all those buttons and give them some animation... looking forward to that. The U360s now have the stiffer springs - not a HUGE difference but I'll take it.

I've got the computer configured and ready to install... all that's left is this darn CP. Need to install the t-molding around the edge, wire up the controls, get the trackball and spinner locked in, and start testing.

Jim

AMDman13 · « **Reply #79 on:** July 18, 2009, 08:03:16 pm »

Very nice work! I especially like the two-tone paint scheme. Your cab is going to look sweet!


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