LeapinLew: Tempest Bartop - Completed! Video Added

[leapinlew]

Hey all...

Been a while. I built a few things over the winter that I sold. I converted this:



To this:

Everyone else had a Donkey Kong, so I figured I needed one too. Turned out decent.

I just don't have the room for the games I want, so I plan on building a few specialized bartops. I'm concurrently building a few projects. I don't plan on showing too many build pics, but I felt the overall project should come out pretty neat and worthy of some documentation.

I want a dedicated spinner arcade. My favorite spinner game is Arkanoid, but there are tons of games that I really enjoy playing. Tempest, Gyruss, Time Pilot, and Camelty to name a few. I plan on using a Tempest inspired design with a vertical monitor orientation.

Here are some pics

First I laid out a design


Cut it out and assembled it


Marquee space


One trick I use when building cabinets is to have Home Depot cut a 4x8 sheet of plywood to the appropriate width. In this case, I plan on building a few bartops at approximately 16" wide. So, I had them cut a sheet in 3 equal strips. Three 8' strips (comes out to almost 16" wide). The beauty of this, is they have a good saw that cuts straight lines, and it's less cuts for me to make.

This cabinet will have a turbo twist 2 spinner, a 17" LCD, and laminated with vertical grade laminate. Right now I'm building the funky shaped control panel - it's clamped and glued right now...

[leapinlew]

Tempest Sideart doesn't seem to be available. This isn't necessarily bad, since it'll save me money, but it won't have the exact same look/feel.

Here is what I'm thinking of using:


or this

[RetroJames]

lew - saw this - http://www.mamemarquees.com/tempest-sideartl-p-571.html

They might do a custom crop / print for you?

[leapinlew]

Edited - removed for now. I'm going to post 1 project at a time.

[leapinlew]

lew - saw this - http://www.mamemarquees.com/tempest-sideartl-p-571.html

They might do a custom crop / print for you?

Thanks... I'm going to consider it. Financially speaking... err... I don't know. 

[Donkey_Kong]

Everyone else had a Donkey Kong, so I figured I needed one too. Turned out decent.

Righteous, dude! congrats.   

From here the conversion looks mint.

[TOK]

Gyruss and Timepilot are 8 way games. Do you play them with the spinner? Seems like it would be frustrating since the movement speed is fixed vs. something like Tempest where the spinner speed correlates directly to movement speed onscreen.

Love the Tempest profile bartop. I find bartops that mimic the shape of a "real" cab very appealing.

 

[leapinlew]

Did some work today and the only real challenging part is the control panel shape on this cabinet. Here are some pics to show what the CP looks like. It's attached with a couple pocket screws and glue.


Good ol' gorilla glue. I had to sand this down.


Pocket screws


This is a good shot to show the overall shape of the CP.


I used Bondo and sanded it to shape.


I used a couple 1/2" hinges and I'll add a third to the middle. I wish I could've found a 14" piano hinge at Home Depot, but the smallest they had was 30".


Laminate installed. Next to a soda can for scale. It's 24" tall.

I'm working on the computer and artwork now...

[IG-88]

I've heard you can cut those piano hinges to whatever size you want. Never tried it tho....

[leapinlew]

Thanks IG-88. If anyone wants to confirm what he's saying, I'd love to know.

Here are the marquee candidates. The size of the marquee is 3" X 16". It's not proportionally correct, so I'll need to figure something out.

This one uses the proper proportions, but has black space on either side:


This one fills up the whole area, but is stretched


I'm leaning towards stretched...

[leapinlew]

CPO

[RetroJames]

Thanks IG-88. If anyone wants to confirm what he's saying, I'd love to know.

Here are the marquee candidates. The size of the marquee is 3" X 16". It's not proportionally correct, so I'll need to figure something out.

This one uses the proper proportions, but has black space on either side:


This one fills up the whole area, but is stretched


I'm leaning towards stretched...

local arcade has a tempest marquee image, might be be a better size/res for your use.

http://localarcade.com/arcade_art/details.php?image_id=315&mode=search

[leapinlew]

Thanks - thats where I got the marquee I'm using. The problem is the size of the marquee isn't large enough. For me to do the full marquee, I'll need it to be almost double the space I have available.

[mountain]

Looking great, I Love the shape of the Tempest bartop.

I have cut several piano hinges for custom projects in the past without any problems. Go for it.

[leapinlew]

Looking great, I Love the shape of the Tempest bartop.

I have cut several piano hinges for custom projects in the past without any problems. Go for it.

So... just a hacksaw/jigsaw?

I was under the impression there was a long pin inside that would fall out if I cut a 30" piano hinge in half. No one ever told me that, but I just assumed. Good news. I'll pick one up and use it instead. Thanks. 

[mountain]

I always used an air grinder with a cut off wheel, but a hacksaw should work fine. I don't recall any issues with the center pin. I am sure it would come out if you tried, but it should stay put.

[SavannahLion]

Thanks IG-88. If anyone wants to confirm what he's saying, I'd love to know.

Here are the marquee candidates. The size of the marquee is 3" X 16". It's not proportionally correct, so I'll need to figure something out.

This one uses the proper proportions, but has black space on either side:


This one fills up the whole area, but is stretched


I'm leaning towards stretched...

Uh... Didn't the original marquee sport the speaker to the left (as you're facing it)? If you're building a modernized bartop based on the Tempest cabinet, shouldn't there be a speaker... or two? PC speakers are pretty tall/long so they might be able to fit on either side. Create appropriate borders, fashion a custom grill, and away you go. Better than placing the speakers in the usual spot on a cab when your head isn't really going to be in the right place anyways.

[leapinlew]

Uh... Didn't the original marquee sport the speaker to the left (as you're facing it)? If you're building a modernized bartop based on the Tempest cabinet, shouldn't there be a speaker... or two? PC speakers are pretty tall/long so they might be able to fit on either side. Create appropriate borders, fashion a custom grill, and away you go. Better than placing the speakers in the usual spot on a cab when your head isn't really going to be in the right place anyways.

Yes, it was a speaker (as seen in the pic). I had considered putting the speaker inside the marquee, but decided against it due to the time it would take. The speakers will output sound from underneath.

[ablizno]

Where did u get your black laminate, i was going to use it but couldn't find it any where.

[IG-88]

I always used an air grinder with a cut off wheel, but a hacksaw should work fine. I don't recall any issues with the center pin. I am sure it would come out if you tried, but it should stay put.

I should think friction and the fact that it will be in between each side of the cab should keep it in place nicely. It's not like you'll be opening and closing it alot anyways.

[leapinlew]

Awesome... thanks a lot IG-88 and Mountain. I really liked the look of the piano hinge, but thought you had to have the exact size.

I cut a piano hinge with a jigsaw. Love it - looks great.

[leapinlew]

It's a sad day... one of my favorite drills died on me. It's not a high end drill - just a 9.6v Black and Decker but it's been with me for a house rebuild, several cabinets and countless projects. Both batteries I purchased will no longer hold a charge and I think it just makes more sense to get a different drill. I got this drill because of it's light weight and low cost - I didn't know it would become my primary cordless drill.




Farewell! You will be missed. 

 

I completed all the wood construction today. Everything is laminated, cut, fitted and secured. Using the piano hinge, I attached the CP and back door:



Shot of the side and back laminated.

[leapinlew]

Next important thing is to get the artwork ordered. I have asked for a quote already and hopefully can get that in soon.


Working on the computer now. It's just about done.

[BUCKETHEAD]

Damn this looks good!

I love me some TEMPEST !

[leapinlew]

I think this marquee is as good as it's going to get. This is a quick and dirty mockup.

[dmworking247]

Oh please make CNC plans for this! I love Tempest!

[IG-88]

Judging by the depth I'm guess you are going to go with a LCD panel right? That, and the fact that laminate isn't too cheap either leads me to the question; Are you independently wealthy or something Lew? I know these things aren't cheap. And the way that you keep crankin' them out begs me too ask. Or is there a way that you fund this crazy hobby of ours that I could use? 

[Spyridon]

I think this marquee is as good as it's going to get. This is a quick and dirty mockup.

Nice work.  I like what you ended up with on the marquee.  This is going to look great.  How are you going to handle the non-spinner games you mentioned?

[theCoder]

Long time since logging on / posting.  Surprise, surprise, you're building another cab.  Great theme for a bartop.  Looks like this one is going to be your best one yet. 

Tempest & Future Pinball gets the most playtime on my TimeSink vertical cab.  I used to play Tempest a lot back in the day.  It's just not the same on a PC.  Having a dedicated spinner brings the game back to life.  Good stuff.

Any plans for putting in a joystick?  You would open the door for lots of additional vertical games with one JS and two buttons.

Laminate huh?  Not going with 10 coats of paint, followed by massive amounts of sanding/polishing? 

I've got to ask...  Any plans for pinball on this box?  Future Pinball on a vertical screen is awesome. 

Keep up the good work & good luck on this one.

[leapinlew]

Long time since logging on / posting. 

I'll say, where have you been the last 5 months and 21 days? Yes, I was counting.

[theCoder]

I've been busy lately getting ready to move.  My job is moving to Austin Texas, and I've been given the option to either move or quit.  Unemployment is no fun, so we're moving.  I've been taking care of all the home improvements/maintenance projects that have taken a back seat to my cab building projects over the past 3 years.  With every finished project my wife says something like "well, if you would have spent less time building those darn arcade cabinets and more time on...."  I'm now paying the price for my arcade obsession.   

I'm not sure what to do with my cabs.  My current house has a large day basement with lots of space for gameroom stuff.  I've got to find a good home for the Xcelerator driving cab & Foosball table.  I hate to see the driving cab go but I don't know how much room I'll have in my new place in Texas.  The Partybox and TimeSink are definitely coming with me.

[leapinlew]

I've been busy lately getting ready to move.  My job is moving to Austin Texas, and I've been given the option to either move or quit.  Unemployment is no fun, so we're moving.  I've been taking care of all the home improvements/maintenance projects that have taken a back seat to my cab building projects over the past 3 years.  With every finished project my wife says something like "well, if you would have spent less time building those darn arcade cabinets and more time on...."  I'm now paying the price for my arcade obsession.   

I'm not sure what to do with my cabs.  My current house has a large day basement with lots of space for gameroom stuff.  I've got to find a good home for the Xcelerator driving cab & Foosball table.  I hate to see the driving cab go but I don't know how much room I'll have in my new place in Texas.  The Partybox and TimeSink are definitely coming with me.

Oh, I see.

Well, from what I hear everything is bigger in Texas! You should have plenty of room for it. Of those 3 cabs, I would want Partybox and Timesink as well. Xbox is cool, but it's not my scene really.

Whats your son think about moving? That must stink a bit for him.  It a good move for the career? Temporary assignment?

[Jigenjuke]

Hey there Lew.  I was digging through my arcade art library and came across a few sideart pics for tempest that are better than most of what I have seen out there.  You could probably twist someone's arm for a little vector work, for that matter you could probably do it your self.  The Tempest tabletop lood awsome so far.  Anyway here are a coupld of pics for ya. 

[Jigenjuke]

This also might help if you.

[leapinlew]

awesome. Thanks. Those are the best images I've received yet. Unfortunately, they are 72dpi and just won't look that good printed. I'm considering making a medallion out of the 2nd one you sent me, but I'm still unsure.

[theCoder]

I've been busy lately getting ready to move.  My job is moving to Austin Texas, and I've been given the option to either move or quit.  Unemployment is no fun, so we're moving.  I've been taking care of all the home improvements/maintenance projects that have taken a back seat to my cab building projects over the past 3 years.  With every finished project my wife says something like "well, if you would have spent less time building those darn arcade cabinets and more time on...."  I'm now paying the price for my arcade obsession.   

I'm not sure what to do with my cabs.  My current house has a large day basement with lots of space for gameroom stuff.  I've got to find a good home for the Xcelerator driving cab & Foosball table.  I hate to see the driving cab go but I don't know how much room I'll have in my new place in Texas.  The Partybox and TimeSink are definitely coming with me.

Oh, I see.

Well, from what I hear everything is bigger in Texas! You should have plenty of room for it. Of those 3 cabs, I would want Partybox and Timesink as well. Xbox is cool, but it's not my scene really.

Whats your son think about moving? That must stink a bit for him.  It a good move for the career? Temporary assignment?

He has finally accepted the inevitable.  He and my 14 yr. old daughter as well.  It's not ideal for them, but beats the alternative.  It's not a career move, just survival.  The added bonus is that the company will help me get out of the rainy climate and back into the sun.  Temporary - no.  I'm afraid I'm there 'til the next big layoff.  And if/when that happens, Austin is a much bigger place with more employment opportunities than where I am now.  Life in corporate America these days...

[bvicarious]

leapinlew,

I'm about halfway through vectorizing the side art. The bottom half (the easy part) is done and I'm working on the top half (the hard part). I don't think it'll be an exact reproduction quality piece, but its close enough for my needs, and maybe yours too. I'll send it along when I'm done, hopefully in the next few days.

[leapinlew]

leapinlew,

I'm about halfway through vectorizing the side art. The bottom half (the easy part) is done and I'm working on the top half (the hard part). I don't think it'll be an exact reproduction quality piece, but its close enough for my needs, and maybe yours too. I'll send it along when I'm done, hopefully in the next few days.

Thanks dude. I'll hold up on the sideart and wait for you. I'll be shrinking the size down so that'll help if there are small quality issues.

[dmworking247]

leapinlew,

I'm about halfway through vectorizing the side art. The bottom half (the easy part) is done and I'm working on the top half (the hard part). I don't think it'll be an exact reproduction quality piece, but its close enough for my needs, and maybe yours too. I'll send it along when I'm done, hopefully in the next few days.

Great work! Any chance you could post it on localarcade.com?

[Twin-X]

Where can you buy this "laminate" stuff (online). (and i am looking for a dutch translation on this as i can't seem to find any of this over here)

*edit i found it!! with search. Sorry to bother.