My Cabinet plans.

[Isometric Bacon]

Hey guys, I've drawn up a (very rough, but workable) idea of my plans. The design is pretty much my own refined version of the "Die Hard Arcade" cabinet I saw in Dickinson's Amusements, Adelaide earlier today.

If anyone recognises the cabinet/style plus design, could you PLEASE send me some pictures? It'd be a great help. I think I'm going to have to get a digital camera and go back, just to help with sizes etc. I don't think it's the original Die Hard Arcade Cabinet style, it was instead a swap. It was a nice cabinet too, a nice size without being too big or too small.

The bottom (base) part acts as a support for the rest. It will be made of pine, as my dad reckons that it will be strong enough to hold weight and won't crack easy if being kicked etc. The rest of the cabinet however is made of 16mm MDF. Wheel's will be placed at the back with appropriate holes for pulling.. plus other minor aspects not included in the design.

Please tell me what you think of the actual cabinet design. (constructive criticism is welcome, unless it's something along the lines of "Your cab sucks!" )

The plans don't show all the aspects, there's alot to come. The control panel size hasn't been determined yet, and it doesn't show aspects like sliding doors/keyboard trays... etc. It's just to get a basic idea of what wood to cut. I've taken the liberty in changing all the sizes to inches as well as centimetres, so all you yanks can get an idea of the size .

[Isometric Bacon]

Side pics

:edit: The Monitor on there is 50 by 50cm, which is 19.68" x 19.68"

It also isn't the full size of the monitor, it's just a general size assumption that includes wires etc that stick out the rear..



*EDIT* I replaced the old sketch with a new one. Scroll down to see it.

[Isometric Bacon]

*bump*

[southpaw13]

No offense, but I would buy a used cab.  I used to build my own which usually took 3 months.  Now i can totally restore a cab in one month.  I have found out that all the little details to actually build your own can really be a pain.  Plus, restoring an original actually keeps another cabinet alive!

[Isometric Bacon]

No offense, but I would buy a used cab.  I used to build my own which usually took 3 months.  Now i can totally restore a cab in one month.  I have found out that all the little details to actually build your own can really be a pain.  Plus, restoring an original actually keeps another cabinet alive!

Believe me I would, but i'm actually doing this for a school design project. And doing it as a School design project entitles me to around 50% of the expenses being paid by them.

Maybe in the future i'll consider restoring a cabinet, but for now... I think i'll stick with this. I've made a crappy scale model (1:5) that's on my desk at the moment out of cardboard, which i'd photograph for you guys... but our camera is broken. Hopefully we'll get a new one tomorrow, and it will give you a better idea of what i'm trying to achieve here.

What are some of the little details you mention? Please enlighten me, as I want to learn how to make my cabinet best as possible. (I can't afford laminate, which is a ---smurfette---, but I still plan to use T-molding and high gloss paint.)

[Molloy]

Even if they pay half it's still cheaper for you to restore one.

Build a double arcade stick for your project.

[jakejake28]

Even if they pay half it's still cheaper for you to restore one.

Build a double arcade stick for your project.

i think a school design project involves design. thus, Bacon needs to design it. and we all know that a used cab has already been designed.

 

[night]

your 'joysticks'..... scare me...  

[Molloy]

Well, design an arcade stick is what I meant. An arcade cabinet takes too much time and other school subjects would suffer.

[AlanS17]

Your cabinet looks like some fat guy sat on a Ms Pacman machine and squished it. No offense or anything. Just seems to me that if you wanna make your own machine you would start from scratch. Plus if you want to follow another machine's design I would suggest a more recent machine (like the Midway cabinets).

[Isometric Bacon]

Your cabinet looks like some fat guy sat on a Ms Pacman machine and squished it. No offense or anything. Just seems to me that if you wanna make your own machine you would start from scratch. Plus if you want to follow another machine's design I would suggest a more recent machine (like the Midway cabinets).

LOL, I like your analogy of it

You all are looking at the ---smurfy--- drawing I drew in about 20 seconds. Don't. Look at the plans for what the thing is actually going to look like. That picture was enlarged from a 6cm or so quick sketch that wasn't to scale. I've made a 1/5 scale model now, and believe me, it looks fine (no scary sticks either .)

I just wish I had a digital camera so I could show you what i'm talking about.

And yes, I originally was going by the midway design, but it's too tall. This is a nice compromise because it's around human height, and a common style of design seen in Australia. Hopefully I can get a camera before the end of today....

I might just draw up another sketch to show you what it would really look like.

[Isometric Bacon]

OK I've deleted the original sketch, and I drew another quick one  

It still looks kinda crap, but it's much better than my old sketch, and a more accurate representation. (The final thing would look MUCH better.)

[meta87]

Looks good! I always liked that design as well.

Don't let these other guys discourage you. I love working on my cabinet, and getting half of the expenses paid sounds like a good idea.

Not sure why everyone discourages people from building a cabinet when this is a build it yourself website?  

It may cost alot more, but the feeling of playing a cabinet you made yourself is like nothing else

[Isometric Bacon]

Looks good! I always liked that design as well.

Don't let these other guys discourage you. I love working on my cabinet, and getting half of the expenses paid sounds like a good idea.

Not sure why everyone discourages people from building a cabinet when this is a build it yourself website?  

It may cost alot more, but the feeling of playing a cabinet you made yourself is like nothing else

Thanks I appreciate the warm words.

I don't mind the criticism either, it's good as I can see faults with my design and work against it. Most of the criticism earlier though was of the crappy sketch I had, rather than the actual cab design. Hopefully this new sketch is better.

If anyone is able to find pictures of similar styled cabs, (or even knows what games they were on) I'd love to know, as I'd like to use them for a reference.

The cab is fairly small (about human height) as I discovered moving and building the midway style cab's is just too impractical. (maybe if I build a second one )

[night]

i wasnt discouring him, just pointing out his joysticks looked like.... ahummm.. wangs . wasnt sure it was supposed to be a joke or not. i thought it was funny.

sounds like a good party joke to me. go buy some 'toys' put them on your arcade and see if the girls wanna play with your 'joysticks' .


i am building my own from scratch too. will be done after this next weekend. having taken me 3 full weekends of work. wish it didnt take so long, but its gonna be pretty cool and well worth it. my roommate and his friend have everyone taking about it now.

[RedSquirrel]

Building your own is more satisfying (sp) plus you can make it exactly how you want it.

I'm making one, although at the moment Im getting the control panel done first. Pretty much done the construction, just have to drill the holes and fit the buttons.

I expect the cab will be a pain in the ass, but hopefully it wont be too bad to do.