El Diablo Mechanico - Complete!

[opt2not]

How it looks now:




______________________________________________________________
After scouring Craigslist, I found a $100 Golden Axe machine that was converted from an old TMNT 4-player game. The machine doesn't work, the seller said that the monitor should be still functional, but it seems that the power unit in there isn't.
No matter, this machine is getting Mame'd the F*** up!!

Not bad for 100 bucks.


No sides!  Awesome, that's one less step for converting this thing!


The joysticks are Happs Comp sticks, and are still in decent condition. Though I'll probably switch them for U360's. I'm going to keep it a 4-player CP, with possibly squeezing in a spinner somewhere.  I don't really care for a trackball.


Notice the TMNT CP underneath.


Marquee still in good condition!


There are 2 coin mechs on this thing, I'm probably going to try to convert this to a one coin mech machine.  If it's going to be for show, one coin mech is enough.


I plan on stripping this cabinet down and throwing in a PC for some mame action.  If the monitor still works, I'm going to grab an ArcadeVGA card and keep that monitor in there.  I gotta think up more solid plans for this thing, I'll update this post as I start up the process!

[Octo]

What a shame, if it still had the original TMNT art I would keep it as it is. Good find for $100, hope that monitor works for ya.

[SavannahLion]

There are 2 coin mechs on this thing, I'm probably going to try to convert this to a one coin mech machine.  If it's going to be for show, one coin mech is enough.

If you're going to do that. How about saving a bit of work cutting or fabricating a new front panel and install a subwoofer on the side where you take out the coin mech.

I figure the amount of work doing whatever it takes to center a single coin mech or filling and smoothing over the gaping hole is probably about the same (or even more, all that sanding) as it would to drop in a sub woofer and fabricate a custom grill.

Just a thought.

[cmoses]

If you are keeping it as a 4 player are you going to add more buttons for player 1 and 2?

Have you given any thought to making it a 2 player control panel and having plenty of room for a spinner and a trackball?  How many times will you really have 4 people playing?

[opt2not]

What a shame, if it still had the original TMNT art I would keep it as it is. Good find for $100, hope that monitor works for ya.

Yeah, that's what I thought too, but I specifically looked for a cabinet that can be a donor for a mame machine. Didn't want to upset the retro-gods by mame'ing a restore-able classic.

There are 2 coin mechs on this thing, I'm probably going to try to convert this to a one coin mech machine.  If it's going to be for show, one coin mech is enough.

If you're going to do that. How about saving a bit of work cutting or fabricating a new front panel and install a subwoofer on the side where you take out the coin mech.

I figure the amount of work doing whatever it takes to center a single coin mech or filling and smoothing over the gaping hole is probably about the same (or even more, all that sanding) as it would to drop in a sub woofer and fabricate a custom grill.

Just a thought.

That's a great idea! What I was thinking of doing was routing the middle section between the coin+mechs out, and putting in a piece of wood to patch it up, with 1 coin-mech installed onto it. I'll be covering it with laminate afterwards.

But having a speaker grill there for a subwoofer is an excellent alternative. Could save me a bunch of work, and still look pretty cool!  Thanks for the suggestion!

If you are keeping it as a 4 player are you going to add more buttons for player 1 and 2?

It's going to be kept as a 4 player machine, but P1 and P2 will have the full gamut of street-fighter buttons.  P3 (on the left) and P4 (will be on the right) will have only 4 buttons each.

Have you given any thought to making it a 2 player control panel and having plenty of room for a spinner and a trackball?  How many times will you really have 4 people playing?

Yeah I thought about it, but this is meant to be a 4-player cabinet. This cabinet is going to be in a common area that will see a lot of people go through, especially for parties, so having the option for 4 player games is a must!

We already have a machine that has a trackball on it, so I was thinking that we could fit a spinner somewhere on this CP.  I've entertained the thought, but will have to think about whether or not I want to go that route.  Currently I'm in a planning stage, so suggestions are gold right now! 
Thanks, and keep'em coming!

[opt2not]

Been doing some concepts of what I want to do for the artwork.

Before:

After:

Outline:


The CP will be completely replaced, I haven't figured out if I want to keep the same shape, or if i want to rebuild it with a bit of a bowed-out curve (for more separation of the control space).
P1 & P2 will have a 6-button layout, whereas P3 & P4 will have a 4-button config. There will be an Exit Button, 4 (not yet fully decided) service buttons as well.

I haven't figured out what the marquee will look like, nor the art for the monitor bezel, yet. But I definitely want to go with chrome t-molding as it classes the thing up a ton! Class, class, class!  I'm pretty happy with the colour scheme thus far.

I'm going with adhesive printed vinyl, and will have to put some research into where I can get a good (and hopefully cheapest) solution for this. As much as I can tell so far, I'll probably need 3 peices of vinyl, 2 for the sides and 1 for the CP that I'd cut up.
I'll do a search on this forum to see what the guys that went this route went with, as well as cutting and application solutions.

More updates to come.

[ivwshane]

I like it!

[YoGaBaR]

I like it. On players 3-4 are the sticks going to be turned at a 45 or are they going to be positioned like the others?

[opt2not]

I like it!

Thanks!

I like it. On players 3-4 are the sticks going to be turned at a 45 or are they going to be positioned like the others?

Thanks as well!
Yes, they're going to be turned, and I hope to elaborate on the CP art a bit more and put a rose dial to show what the cardinal directions are. I'll probably cut a bowed-out panel top, (like ellipse shaped) that would make the 3 and 4 player positions feel less awkward then it currently does due to the rectangular CP's corner. Concepts to come!

[opt2not]

I haven't updated this post in a while. This cabinet has been coming along slowly but surely. It's a project some fellow employees and I have taken on for the company we work for, and it's been going pretty smooth so far.

Here's the progress that has gone into this cabinet so far:

- Re-enforced the structure of the cabinet. Went around the cabinet and tightened/installed screws and glue to have it a lot more solid feeling.
- Re-capped the monitor, colours are more vibrant now, but there's still a brightness issue. We'll have to fiddle with the control knobs to see if there anything we can do to fix that.
- Fixed wood blemishes with wood-filler. Man, i love that stuff.
- Primed and Sanded the sides for Vinyl Application
- Cut out a new Control Panel. Now incorporates a new shape for a more comfortable angle for 4players.
- Cut out new CP layout, kept it simple.  1P and 2P have 6 buttons, 3P and 4P have only 4.  There are start buttons for each player, and only one exit button.
- artwork was created for sides, marquee, and CP top. I got a local vinyl printing shop to print out the side art, and had Mamemarquees print out the marquee and cp artwork (yet to arrive)
- Applied side art vinyl to cabinet, looks awesome!
- Applied Chrome t-molding, also looks awesome!

Here's the artwork we're using, drawn up by myself and an co-worker of mine:







Here's how it looks on the cabinet (sorry for the crappy cellphone pictures):





All that's left is the CP top, marquee and CP wiring before it's fully functional!  We're looking to get it functional by this weekend, and do the additional finishing touches the following week!

The finishing touches include:
- Single switch powering using a smart-strip hack
- Apply corner protectors
- Apply Cup holders (the guys like to drink stuff while playing, so I figured cup holders would be cool to attach to the backside of the CP - the parts that stick out)
- Remove one coin slot, replace it with just doors. Create service buttons panel within that space so that it can be accessed by opening the "service door".
- Front End menu work needs to be done.

Once it's done, I'll throw some higher-quality pictures of the cabinet on here.  Stay tuned!

[Gatsu]

Dude. I love the artwork. Just really friggin cool. Now I've got a few ideas for my next cab. hehe.

[opt2not]

Dude. I love the artwork. Just really friggin cool. Now I've got a few ideas for my next cab. hehe.

Thanks Gatsu!  Yeah, it was a bit intimidating using Illustrator for the vector artwork, I'm a photoshop guy and like regular raster art since it's easier. But learning how to create artwork in vectors isn't so bad after all, it just takes a bit of forethought on how you setup your shapes.

I look forward to seeing your next cab!  You do great work on those fight-sticks, would love to see your cabinet's finished product!

[Benevolance]

Holy hells, that artwork is terrific. I can't wait to see it with the finished CP. Good job.

[opt2not]

Crappy cellphone pictures again, sorry!

The CP and Marquee artwork arrived!  I ordered the prints from Mamemarquees, and I got to say, it was worth it. I opted for the Premium material, the marquee is fabulous and the CP looks AND feels really great.  I was pretty excited to finally see all the artwork together on the cab, so we applied it immediately.





The red looks like it's turning pinkish because of the cellphone pictures and the matte glare, in real-life the red is consistent with the rest of the cab.

The buttons and joysticks were thrown in right away, for now we're going with the red and yellow theme, but I'd like to change out the buttons with transparent pushbuttons. I can insert artwork into the tops so the artwork continues throughout without being completely covered.


Another thing I'd like to add:  Latches and anchor chains are a real great feature of these midway cabs, I should have put them on my other cabs...(in fact I think I will!), this makes it really easy to access when wiring.  Here's some shots!





Just the wiring left, and some small finishes and it's done. Getting close!

[danny_galaga]

Very nice (",)

[polaris]

the artwork is amazing, i really like it. 1 small criticism , i don't think the marquee is as great as the rest of the artwork.
 

[Gatsu]

damn thats looking sweet. Makes me wish I had room for a full cab like that.

[opt2not]

Here's some higher quality images of the complete and functional cabinet, installed beside our Arcade Legends machine. There are still a some small additions I wanna do to it, but for now it's usable and pretty looking!

[javeryh]

Wow looks awesome.  The artwork is stunning.  Is there any reason why you spell "Mechanico" differently on the marquee than on the front end?   

[opt2not]

Wow looks awesome.  The artwork is stunning.  Is there any reason why you spell "Mechanico" differently on the marquee than on the front end?   

Heh, good eye. The only reason being that it's an error!
That's an easy fix.

Thanks!

[spOOf]

I love it.  I didn't post before but I was definitely following this one as I also have a 4-player cab I'm converting.  This turned out incredibly sweet.  Do you mind sharing how much the side vinyl was and how difficult it was to apply?  You're giving me ideas... 

[opt2not]

I love it.  I didn't post before but I was definitely following this one as I also have a 4-player cab I'm converting.  This turned out incredibly sweet.  Do you mind sharing how much the side vinyl was and how difficult it was to apply?  You're giving me ideas... 

No problem. 
The side vinyl cost us about $180 CAD altogether, it was a deal since a buddy of mine's wife works at a printing shop. I'm really happy with the material since it feels really durable, and the adhesive didn't give us any trouble at all.

We unraveled a couple inches from one end, stuck it to the cabinet, then while keeping the vinyl taught, slowly pulled the backing off while pressing the vinyl down onto the surface simultaneously. We used a flattening tool (just a flat plastic "scraper" looking thing) to massage the air bubbles out.  The worst thing with applying vinyl is the air bubbles!

Make sure to go slowly to make sure the vinyl is being applied evenly.

I recommend getting a helper to give you a hand, makes it easier to keep the vinyl tight while applying. Also, make sure you print your artwork with a little bit of "bleed" or "overhang", so that you can trim the vinyl down enough to tuck under the t-molding. Keeps things looking clean and professional.

Good luck!

[billpa]

Love the design!...looks like you are using HyperSpin.

[Gatsu]

so cool. so very very cool.

[spOOf]

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it!

[opt2not]

Love the design!...looks like you are using HyperSpin.

Yeah, we initially thought a wheel FE would be nice, but I'm not convinced I'm comfortable with it. I have Mala set up at home and like it a lot.  We might switch it up later.
My major problem with Hyperspin is that the wheel speed setting is too fast, even when put to a low setting. As well, the gamelist is much more cumbersome to edit, whereas Mala's gamelist-editor is pretty simple to use.

We'll see how this FE goes for a little bit till making a decision on switching.

[skyblast]

My wife saw your Ultimate Arcade in a sky mall (airline) magazine for $3,700 dollars???

Did you have to pay that much?

[opt2not]

My wife saw your Ultimate Arcade in a sky mall (airline) magazine for $3,700 dollars???

Did you have to pay that much?

I certainly did not.  But my employer might have...that's one of the reasons we decided to make this...$3,700 for a mame cabinet that could have been done for an 1/8 of that price is just ridiculous.

[opt2not]

Old project update.

Not sure if I mentioned it before, but this cabinet was for a company I used to work for a little while back. I was recently approached by them to re-do a new Control Panel, among a couple other things.

The feedback I got was:
- Replace the hardware with all Japanese parts for the controls, Sanwa JLF sticks and Sanwa buttons. Most of the time people played competitive 2-player titles, mainly fighters and puzzle games.
- remove the 3P and 4P controls. They didn't get much use, and the fact that the joysticks were angled made people not enjoy their gaming experience that well. (this was actually the project that made me realize that angled P3/P4 joysticks is ergonomically wrong. I should have fixed it back then...but oh well)
- Put more space between P1 and P2
- remove the old KeyWiz encoder, and replace it with a XinMo. The KeyWiz is read as 1 controller, so for modern games it's a huge PITA to set up for 2-players. The XinMo reads as 2 separate controllers, and is pretty much Plug-n-play. Plus is ships with pre-crimped wires, which saves me a step.

I ended up cutting a whole new panel, priming/painting, re-applying artwork and wiring up the new controls. Being that this is a wood panel I had to route the bottoms out for the japanese controls.


I updated the artwork as well, just a bit of a pose update really, and added Player 1 and 2 designations to the controls.

The bottom was sprayed black, unlike last time where I wrongfully opted for the lazy route and just applied tacky vinyl to the underside. All wired up with the XinMo:


As for the CPO, this time around I went with Print Shock, who hails out of Ontario, Canada. I've ordered from David before, and have been really happy with the prints and cost he's supplied me. Needless to say, he's my go-to guy for printing from now on and I would highly recommend him to anyone looking for a printer this side of the border.
I mentioned I needed tougher material for the CP, something akin to a Polylaminate material supplied by GameOnGrafix. But that stuff is a bit pricier, so he recommended his Vinyl Prints with Floor Laminate applied to it.
I was pleasantly surprised on how awesome this material is for CP's. It's tough enough, and has a bit of flex...which is nice for me because I like to fold the CPO over the edges and tuck it under the T-molding when I apply it to the panel.

Here's a few close-ups of the texture of the vinyl w/ floor laminate:




This was a small update that'll make this cabinet much more enjoyable for people to play on, especially for fighters. And hopefully 6 years from now I won't need to do another update to this thing.

[Malenko]

still one of my fave cabs to this day 

[SpaceHedgehog]

Very nice upgrade. The vinyl/laminate looks fantastic.

[yotsuya]

Old project update.

Not sure if I mentioned it before, but this cabinet was for a company I used to work for a little while back. I was recently approached by them to re-do a new Control Panel, among a couple other things.

The feedback I got was:
- Replace the hardware with all Japanese parts for the controls, Sanwa JLF sticks and Sanwa buttons. Most of the time people played competitive 2-player titles, mainly fighters and puzzle games.
- remove the 3P and 4P controls. They didn't get much use, and the fact that the joysticks were angled made people not enjoy their gaming experience that well. (this was actually the project that made me realize that angled P3/P4 joysticks is ergonomically wrong. I should have fixed it back then...but oh well)

Wait, you mean that's true? I thought it was an old wives tale that we purists told n00bs to screw with them during the planning process.... 

[yotsuya]

Oh, and this was unveiled before my time, but it's a really nice cab. I love the artwork.

[eds1275]

I sure hope you've got Guacamelee on that thing!

[opt2not]

Thanks guys, I haven't been doing much project work in the last few years, but was happy to bang this CP out quickly. 

Here it installed onto the machine. The monitor has been swapped out with an LCD (not my choice), and the bezel is temporary:





I'll upload another picture of it later on when I get to playtest it. For now, we're planning to remove Mame from the PC, and just have it run Steam games/modern titles (Guacamelee included @eds1275) .  The Arcade Legends cabinet next to El Diablo is running a Pandora's Box 3, so we're covered for most of the Mame'ing needs.

[SpaceHedgehog]

...  just have it run Steam games/modern titles (Guacamelee included @eds1275) . 

Interesting. Which other ones are you planning on installing and what's the Frontend you're intending to use?

[opt2not]

Interesting. Which other ones are you planning on installing and what's the Frontend you're intending to use?

A few games were mentioned like Nidhogg, Broforce, Monico...pretty much indie titles, and arcade friendly mainstream ones as well.
For the Front-end, fortunately this cabinet was built for a game studio, and I believe they plan on making their own custom FE to launch games.  I don't know any more details than that.

[SpaceHedgehog]

Thanks for the info 

[opt2not]

Just wanted to report, the game studio I built this for has closed it's doors as of today. RIP UFG.  

http://www.kotaku.com.au/2016/10/united-front-games-has-closed-down/

[yotsuya]

Just wanted to report, the game studio I built this for has closed it's doors as of today. RIP UFG.  

http://www.kotaku.com.au/2016/10/united-front-games-has-closed-down/

It's all because you angled the joysticks, brah.