My first Dreamcab. Almost complete

[mako72]

I have been looking at this site for a while now but this is my first post. I thought I would share with you the project I have been working on for the past few weeks. Its a Dreamcast themed arcade. The dreamcast has been one of my favorite game systems for many reasons. The graphics are very impressive when hooked up through a vga cable, way better than a ps2 and almost as good as my xbox360. Yes they are that good. Anyways, the system was ahead of its time and that why I like it. It is known for having some of the best top down shooter and fighting games. Recently Mame has been ported to the dreamcast and also hundreds of nintendo and sega games. So I figured why not use the dreamcast as the theme for my arcade.
 




 
I am just a college student renting one room in a house so I had to make this thing small. Luckily I had a perfect spot just waiting for and arcade cabinet. The spot was only 20 inches wide. My roommate was going to throw out an old 15 inch computer monitor, so I was originally going to use that but well once I had spent so much time building it, I wanted something nicer. So I shopped around and found an awesome deal on a 22 inch wide screen gaming monitor (Velocity Micro). It normaly sells for $350 but I got it on clearence for $164 brand new! Since the screen was actually wider than the cabinet, Ihad to cut slits in the walls to make it fit. Its so big that it actually doesnt need a frame around it. Its wall to wall screen.



I bought the controls from HAPP. and got the super joystick. I gutted an aftermarket controller and wired it to the buttons. It was a big pain. I actually had to wire it twice cause I broke the first controller after I fished hooking it up. I found the graphics online and had them printed out at kinkos. No I did not draw it myself, and I give credit to the great artist that drew it. The picture features many popular dreamcast characters. The joystick buttons match the colors of a dreamcast controller. I bent plexi-glass over the control board with a heat gun.
 

[mako72]

I wanted to integrate the memory card some how cause it is pretty unique in that it has a little lcd screen that displays video while you play. So I mounted it on the top of the cab and made it removable.





 
I covered the LCD screen with plexiglass and painted the top and bottom black from the backside. I installed a pretty nice sound system of 2 speakers and 1 subwoofer.






I wrapped the whole thing in white vinyl rather than painting it cause I think it gives it a very nice finish and covers up any imperfections. I didnt want ANY screws to be seen from the outside and I couldn't put it together and wrap the vinyl over it so I had to screw everything together from the inside. The shape of the whole on the bottom is an exagerated shape of the dreamcast when viewed from the front.
 
I am still not done with it. I have some more finishing touches to do like adding red neon lighting to shine down on the dreamcast system. I also want to enclose the system with a drop down plexiglass door.
 
Everything is powered on with one switch under the control board. Well thats about it, and again I still need to do a few more touches to it. sorry for the long post. Here are some more oics of the build and stuff.

[mako72]

more pics..






anyways, thanks for reading.

[CheffoJeffo]

I like the size and form factor -- nice lines.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Lutus]

Wall to wall screen is pretty awesome.

Maybe I missed it, but you plug in another controller for the 2nd player?

[superart]

edit

[mako72]

thanks for the feedback. Im glad ppl seem to like it. Im really impressed with what people can do on this site. So yeah, if a second player wants to play he has to use a controller. I didnt have enough room to make two joysticks. Maybe on my next arcade. I suppose you could do this with contact paper but it would have a completely different look. I just like the look and feel of the vinyl. Its also very easy to apply cause you just staple it on the inside. It was actually my brother that convinced me not to paint it. He used vinyl on his arcade.

I dont think he has ever posted pictures of it anywhere so here are some pics of his.

[BORIStheBLADE]

Nice work, is it hard playing with the buttons at that angle?

[mako72]

Not sure which cabinet you are talking about, but both of them feel comfortable while playing.

[mako72]

oh yeah, and vinyl can be bought at fabric stores like jo-ann fabrics or hancock fabrics.  I waited till they had a sale (usually every sunday) and got my material for 40% off

[SNAAKE]

awesome pwesome 

[The_Tyler_Black]

That is really Awesome ! Always wondered what i can do with my dreamcast... If i did it it would be Dynamite Cop Themed...!

Great idea on the widescreen to side 2 side screen is cool!

[Don]

Looks great. I'm planning on making a dreamcast cab soon.

How did you extend the VMU connector to the top of the cab?

[emphatic]

Very nice. The DreamCast is a lovely console with awesome graphics. The only thing I would do differently is to have the monitor rotate for the vertical shmups. 

[skinz]

Great job.  Love the use of vinyl.  It's actually a great idea for a cab and a great suggestion.  An easy and cheap way of finishing a cab.  I have some xtra vinyl from a job - I'll save it for a rainy day build.  Putting it on in advance upholstery style is the way to go for sure.  Your brothers came out great as well. 

[BurgerKingDiamond]

Very nice. I saw this thing on YouTube like a year ago, and I was very impressed. The one thing I don't like from the pictures is that you can see the staples above the monitor plexi.