Opinions: Is this too horrible?

[Chris]

I'm still trying to figure out how to integrate my new 3" Happ trackball into my classic-style control panel.  At 23" by 7", the CP just isn't going to be deep enough to properly hold the 3" trackball, plus I need run-off room for games like Golden Tee, ShuffleShot and World-Class Bowling so I don't slam my hand into the glass...

I can't figure out a way around this without extending my control panel forward.  My cabinet currently looks like this:



What I think I need to do is double the depth of the control panel; the front half would angle inward, so the rear and center of the CP would be 23" wide, and the front would be about 16 to 18 inches wide.  The current 2-player controls would slide forward slighhtly, and the trackball would go front and center.  Here's a mock-up of what I'm thinking of:



Is this too horrendously ugly and Frankenstein-ish, or do you think it'll work?  My other option would be to sell this and start over with a new, larger cab, probably based on the design in The Last Starfighter...

Thoughts?

Thanks!

--Chris

Here's a mockup

[bionicbadger]

Well, You would have to do something about the side (pinball?) buttons on your cab if you do that, because they wont be practical anymore.  And the coin door will be hidden under the overhang and hard to see/reach.  

It doesn't look that bad, but I don't think it would be that practical.

[rampy]

Hey chris,

I'm a fan of your cabinet, to begin with.  And I've frakensteined a similar cabinet.

But I have some questions... why?   Are you going to be adding more controls or just looking for more elbow room?

I thought I *had* to have SFII layout  + T-ball + spinner + 4 way (to be installed still) is why I "T'd" out mine, inspired by ArcadeFX ed's  CP.

I don't think what you are proposing is ugly cosmetically at all.. it's reminiscent of the dynamo cabinets which have that little triangle point extender thingie...  *shrug*

Good luck!

rampy

[Chris]

But I have some questions... why?   Are you going to be adding more controls or just looking for more elbow room?

Some sort of change is necessitated by the new trackball.  I'm using a PC trackball in there now, which has a tiny footprint (about 3" x 4").  I've bought a Happ's trackball that has a 6.5" by 6.5" footprint, and it will physically not fit into the same space.  In addition, thye most popular trackball games at my house are Shuffleshot, World Class Bowling, and Golden Tee PC, and we get our fair share of fingers banged into the glass, so if I have to extend my CP anyway, I'd like to give it enough room for follow-through (my testing seems to indicate that I really need a minimum of 8" between the center of the ball and the glass).

So I have three solutions: extend the panel, build the panel like a drawer and pull it out farther for trackball games, or scrap the cabinet and build one more suited to a larger control panel.

As it is, I'm using the Happ trackball externally for now as a handheld controller; after using it, I just can't go back to the Logitech ball in the control panel... I need to get it solidly mounted so I can play Marble Madness!

As far as extra controls, they are not the reason for doing this, but if I find the room on the enlarged panel I may add a 4-way stick and/or a hard drive spinner, but that's just frosting...

--Chris