Check my cabinet upgrade

[AlanS17]

Well upgrading has finally started! The first (and probably most important) step is upgrading the control panel. Thanks to Doug Hansen for the "bumpout" idea. Check out my cabinet (pictures included) at:

http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=10;action=display;threadid=8798;start=new;boardseen=1

More pictures will come soon as I make more progress. I still need to place my order to Bob Roberts, though.

Yall all ahve really raised the bar. I hope I can meet up to the new stndards some people have set in here. I've sen some cabinet on this site that dont' just rival dedicated arcade machines... they beat them.

P.S. I still need help with the artwork. Sideart is taken care of. (You can see it stuck to the wall for now behind the machine in the pics.) However, I still need a marquee and CPO. Anybody wanna help???   (It needs to be blue and red to bring everything together.)

[spidermonkey]

Nice job Alan
It doesn't look like an add-on at all.  Very tastfully done. You've integrated an oversized control panel onto a regular sized cabinet and it doesn't dwarf the cab like some I've seen. Well done.

[AlanS17]

Thank you very much! I built the CP to look like it already belonged there. I didn't want it to look like a modification.

(I hope ya'll don't mind my patting my own back. People in south Texas just don't understand. They're like "Uhhh... that's... great? I think?")

[jhsmith321]

I like it a lot!!! I love the rounded CP, Nice work!!!

[kspiff]

Yeah, nobody down here seems to 'get' it.. I would guess it's the same all over, though -- looked upon as a geek thing.

...

So, seriously, where are the babes?

[IG-88]

Thats sweet. What did you use for the front of the CP to make your curve? Some kind of thin particle board? Also will this be detachable?

[AlanS17]

I used something my friend refers to as masonite, but at Home Depot they just call it "hardboard". It's really not that hard, though. It's like peg board without the pegs in it. It bends pretty well and it's sturdy at 1/8". That stuff isn't going ANYWHERE.

The whole thing will be detacheable to get through doorways. I used carriage bolts to mount it. Breaking it down would probably take 10 minutes, though, because the top and bottom portions of the CP aren't connected to each other. They each attatch seperately to the cabinet. When the CP is closed it screws down in a several spots, but in an open position the 2 halves aren't connected. Does that make any sense?

[IG-88]

Hardboard! That's right. I thought it looked familiar. That is nice. I like how it "incorporates" the sides of the cab, even as you open it up. What kind of cab did that used to be or did you make that as well? I have a gutted cab that looks similiar, don't know what it is tho, I may use your idea for it's CP, it's the best I've seen so far!

[AlanS17]

Well when I grabbed it from the local vendor it was a really bad conversion to a Batman game. However, when I pealed back the control panel overlay and chipping away at it I found a Data East sign underneath. I also found the original buttons configuration has been different.

I went diggin and found out it was originally a Bad Dudes game. That's when I recognized the odd "ambidexterous" controls.

You can see an original Bad Dudes at:
http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=B&game_id=6991

P.S. Thanks for the compliments.  

[Molloy]

That's one bad dude of a cabinet. I wouldn't like to see to run into it in a dark alleyway.

Nice work on the control pannel. The curving edge makes it fit in so well. It's just the right size too.

[rampy]

Good job man...

The bump out came out pretty well.  Look forward to see it when it's populated with controls.

Rampy

[AlanS17]

Well I'm still trying to find a way to incorporate a steering wheel. Mounting it underneath requires a person to sit down, but it works. We'll ahve to see what happens...

[AlanS17]

Anbyody had any success mounting a steering wheel to a cabinet?