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Outer Heaven: Metal Gear Solid themed MAME cab *99% done - art, TV & controls*
Timstuff:
I'm prolly going to post an update in the morning, but I found something online tonight that gave me one of those "small world moments." I was looking at the classic arcade game locater to see what's in my area (Connecticut), and I noticed that my local arcade, which folded about a year ago, was still listed. I never got a chance to go inside the place (I haven't lived in my current town too long), but I saw something very odd in the comments...
http://arcadelocations.classicgaming.gamespy.com/PlaceSearch.php3?code=ctderbil
--- Quote ---2007-01-19 STUART place is now closed ,i do now own 5 games from that place and they did need a lot of work they were worn out i own TIME PILOT 84, SEGA TURBO,BUMP N JUMP,TANKERS,AJAX
--- End quote ---
I can't help but wonder... Is the Ajax machine that this guy acquired the same one I've been working on? Like I said, I never went inside this place (:(), so I never saw the Ajax machine they had there. But really, how many Ajax machines could be in my dinky area of Connecticut anyway? Furthermore, is "Stuart" the guy who left the machine on the road for garbage pickup before I rescued it, or was he the guy who that guy got the machine from? It may seem kind of stupid that I show such interest in where this machine came from, but I can't help but be curious about it all...
Really, I can't blame this cab's previous owners from giving up on it. It's a generic model that seems to have undergone multiple conversions, and was in pretty awful shape when I got it. However, it makes me all the more happy to see how far it's come in the weeks I've been fiddling with it.
Timstuff:
Wee, I definitely can see a light at the end of the tunnel on this project. Today, I went to Home Depot and got a big sheet of plexiglass for $15, and I borrowed Leapinlew's technique for cutting out the plexiglass overlay for the control panel. I had enough left over that I was also able to cut out the two pieces to make the marquee "sandwich." There's a rough spot or two on the panel overlay's edge that I might straighten out tomorrow, but overall I'm very happy with how it all turned out.
I test mounted some controls to see how it all fits together. All the holes are in just the right spots, and the thing is the perfect size for my CP. I almost seriously effed up the plexi, because at first I was trying to drill my pilot holes directly ontop of the CP (BAD BAD BAD IDEA!). The plexi ended up cracking on the third or fourth hole, and then I realized how stupid I was and decided to do it the right way, on top of a piece of solid wood. Fortunately, the sheet was big enough that I was able to start over without mistakes.
You'll find carriage bolts or dust washers on top of my panel, because I did it the "correct way" and recessed them into the wood (also, I used machine posts instead of bolts since they're flatter). It'll all be nicely hidden under the CPO art and plexi, leaving a smooth and junk-free surface.
The trackball hole is perfectly lined up, and I used a bevel bit on the router to prevent palms from getting pinched during frenzied trackball use. I couldn't find a 45 degree angle, but I think 22.5 degrees should be plenty to get the job done. Basically, I cut out an appropriately sized hole in a scrap piece of MDF using a hole saw, then drilled a pilot hole in the plexi with a forstner bit and clamped it to the MDF. Finally, I used the router w/ the bevel trim bit and went around the circumference of the hole.
The marquee with no light-- (it's blue because I decided to leave the protective film on it until I get my marquee printed)
And with light
Even without any light-diffusing marquee material in it, the lighting looks pretty even, which I'm happy with. I need to get some foam or other such material to put on the sides though, since I don't want the light peeking through there. All in all though, this was a very productive day IMHO, and I can easily see myself finishing this project by mid July (possibly sooner, depending on my finances and free time).
jeffhlewis:
you're either slackin' or not posting pics.
love the theme by the way, I'm imaging this will be awesome for the old school konami games from the late 80's early 90's.
Timstuff:
Actually, the cabinet is almost done. The only thing left to do now is wire up everything to the Ipac, and then I'm going to stick a fork in it. Expect a huge update this week!
Glad to see you're interested in the project though! :)
P.S.: While I was waiting for the last parts to arrive, I ended up building a PS3 / PC compatible arcade stick from scratch. It was based mostly on the arcadecab.com plans, although I made a few tweaks to the button layout. It's not quite as pretty in person as the crappy Macbook camera makes it look (it's the webcam whore effect), but it works great. I'll probably get a CPO printed for it at some point, and I eventually hope to put a perfect 360 and some micro leaf switches in there.
Franco B:
I do like that chrome stripe t-moulding. I had considered using iot before but I wasn't sure how it would look. After seeing it on your project (and the Mario Bros. bartop??) I think I may use it for a future project.
Do you have any recent pictures of your build? Don't be greedy, share please! :)