1st cab build. Mickeys Arcade . New Update 8 november

[PsychoMikey]

Hi Guys,

Lets start this topic off with a brief introduction. Im 27 years old, live in the Netherlands and always have been a big (arcade) gaming fan. Until stumbling on to this forum I never toughed I would ever own a cab myself, let alone build one.

After reading and following a lot of threads on BYOAC I finally decided to really join the club and start building my very first Mame Cab. I started off with the control panel. Unfortunately I lost the pictures of building the CP but then again, you all have seen the "making of" pictures a thousand times before so you pretty much know how it's done.

this is the control panel overlay im going to use (the final version has a little more detail to it, but i cant find the psd file right now.)


I know it's some sort of sin not to use a real arcade theme for the cab, but i'm going with a Disney/Mickey themed arcade cab.
I started off with google sketch up and made a few designs based of "Martijn's SF cab" because i really love the rounded shapes on that one. Also made a little cardboard mockup.



I first wanted to use a X-arcade to keep things more simple but the more topics I read, the more I wanted to build everything from scratch.

For the control panel I am using 2x u360's (hard springs), a Utrak trackball and standard concave pushbuttons (8 buttons per player). For player 1 i'm using red buttons and blue buttons for player 2. The control panel is made from mdf with plexi on top. Im using red and blue t-molding.


It's the first time i ever used a router so there was a small learning curve to get things clean.

Today i finally started building the actual cab. and when i started drawing the lines on to the wood i noticed that i dident like the way it was turning out. So then i changed the design towards the slimline Terminus. (almost exact copy, if it ain't broken, don't fix it).










The cab is gonna be fitted with a 26 inch LG widescreen tv (want to keep it slimline).

That's it for update number one!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Update!

Been pretty busy with work lately (and playing on the cab, instead of building  ) but last weekend finaly had some time to make get make some progress.


CP up close, got the CP art test fitted (still gone make some small adjustments and reprint it)


Added some more pinball buttons and decided to add the back white buttons for admin (on the left side of the cp for pause and on the right for exit)


The coin and start buttons on the CP centered in the Mickey silhouette


Monitor fitted


Under the control panel


panel can fold down. Gives me a nice space to put a Wii and some controllers + volume knob out of sight.


From the right


And finaly from the left!

That's it for the new update.

[eclipso]

Looks like your off to a good start.

[YoGaBaR]

Oh man don't show my mom. She will want one.

Great job and theme.

[oldgamesrbetter]

Very cool! Are ya a big disney fan or are you designing it for your kid if you have one? Either way nice job so far! 

_____________________________________________
ARCADE VORTEX http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=99724.0

[PsychoMikey]

I'm a big fan myself.

Spend quite some time cleaning up some edges. Sanding MDF still take's a pretty long time  
I also started building the bottom panel yesterday but still haven't decided if i'm going to place some wheels underneath.
I'm gonna put the cab on a tile floor so I want to know for sure it's stable and not riding around while playing it.

[WhereEaglesDare]

love your CP design

[PsychoMikey]

Small Update:

Yesterday i made the back panel and cut out two doors witch really was a lot harder then i expected. The router left some pretty bad marks on the mdf a couple of times because i was routing the wrong direction, to quick etc. won't make that mistake again i hope

Here are some more pic's to enjoy (sorry for the bad iPhone quality)

Got the CP overlay printed (with a marquee mockup on top)



Fitted the plexi and t-molding to the CP. Not sure about the color's yet.



A shot of the TV i'm going to be using.



and last but not least, the sidepanels finaly can stand on there own. (the pic is taken from a very weird angle and the panel under the control panel wasent screwd on right.)

[Kurt]

Looks like your off to a great start very clean cp.

[PsychoMikey]

update in start post

[eds1275]

the only problem I see is that you've got it up and running before you even put it together! How is it ever going to get finished?

[emphatic]

Love the artwork! Have you considered doing something funny with Mickey and the trackball? Or is it too late?

[PsychoMikey]

@eds1275 >  That is a very good question. Yesterday i removed the control panel, so that should probably do it. Back to work

@emphatic > It's never to late, this was only a test print of the artwork.  (i forgot the ' in  mickey's arcade  )

Of course i have been thinking about it, but i haven't quite figured it out yet.

Options at this moment:
Mickey ears around the trackball
align mickey's belly more towards the trackball
different mickey pic (haven't quite found a better one)

or maybe i have to find an artist that can draw up a custom Mickey for me.

[PsychoMikey]

Well today i finally bit the bullet and ordered two sheets of high pressure laminate in a dark red color

(Rosso Oriente http://www.klushandel.nl/product_info.php?cPath=3_913_914&products_id=39702)

I also ordered a ethernet and a power wall socket so i can just plug in a network/power cable on the side of the cab without opening doors etc.
I'm also not very happy with my wiring so far so i am thinking about redoing that to.

I have to strip a part of the cab to apply it tough, so still allot of work ahead to get this project finished.
I sort of stopped making progress from the second i connected my CP and booted up MALA.

But first we have to win the Soccer World Cup!! 

[XNIF]

And we will win! Tuurlijk! No octopus can stop us!

following your project btw... like it. Nice to see more dutch people here.

Btw this is a nice tutorial in dutch about how to apply HPL: http://www.westerhouthandel.nl/Links-menu/Zo-werkt-dat/Zo-plak-je-Hpl.html

[PsychoMikey]

Yeah, even with octopus paul against us we will be victorious.

Thx so much for the link to the guide. I think i will be alright. Can't wait for the HPL to arrive.

You don't see arcade cab's that much in Holland but the response i get when people see what i'm building is amazing. Already had allot of fun playing it.

When i started out i just wanted to build a strait forward cab with an integrated x-arcade control panel , nothing special. But once you start to get into it, it really takes over. Right now i'm trying to find a balance between what i could do and what i'm going to do. 

All in all, it is well worth it.

[PsychoMikey]

Got my two sheets of laminate today! 3050x1300x0,9mm.

http://www.klushandel.nl/product_info.php?cPath=3_913_914&products_id=39702

Gonna put it on this weekend, exciting times indeed. Hoop it Will stay dry outside because i still have some routing for t-molding to do.

[PsychoMikey]

Wanted to keep my thread updated but have been so busy lately.

Before i could start putting the laminate on I had to take out the front and some other parts that i already glued together with wood glue 

That was quite a bit harder then expected and left me with some bruises on the wood. well, most of that would be covered with laminate so no real harm done.


Flat on the floor, removing the front panel


Why did i already glue everything together? 


can't wait for everything to get covered up by laminate.


tracing the side panels to the laminate.


rough cut out made with a circle grinder (if that is the correct english word for the dutch "Slijpschijf"  )


applying the Bison Kit contact glue with some help from my dad. Sometimes you need some help, right!


All the cut outs for the different parts.


Some laminate applied to shelf's .


Board with laminate clamped to a workmate.


Applied some tape to the router so it would glide smoother. (didn't really work well.)


laminated the inside of the side panel's in visible areas.


routed the side panels with a flush trim bit. Very cool 


The cab in its new state still covered with protective foil.


The result of a weekend filled with hard labor. I would definitely use laminate again, it look awesome but it was a lot more work then i thought it would be. All that counts in the end is the result of course and for a first time builder i'm pretty happy. The whole build is so much fun.

Hope you guys enjoy the update. next weekend i hope to get some more work done.

[XNIF]

wow man! this is starting to look really nice! how hard was it to uhm...  cut the remaining parts of the laminate? translated for me better to explain:  Hoe kreeg je die randen van je kast zo netjes? Heb je dat met een frees gedaan?

[PsychoMikey]

@XNIF  eerst wat grover uitsnijden met een slijpschijf. Vervolgens verlijmen met Bison kit en daarna met een kant frees afwerken (heeft ff geduurd voordat ik wist hoe dat in het Nederlands heet.).  Als je laminaat wilt gebruiken kan je het beste de hele kast eerst alleen met schroeven in elkaar zetten. Alles los halen, lamineren en vervolgens weer in elkaar zetten. Anders krijg je het niet netjes.

Het frezen van de kantjes is uiteindelijk niet zoveel werk. Zorg dat je de folie op het laminaat laat zitten, onderkant van de frees geen krassen achter kan laten, de goede kant op freest.

[Stobe]

Right now i'm trying to find a balance between what i could do and what i'm going to do. 

This has got to be one of the best (and most honest) quotes I've seen around here.  It really hits home

Great work so far.  Its looking great.  Can't wait to see it all together.

-Stobe

[Kman-Sweden]

Looks good. Any lesson learned about laminating you'd care to share?

[PsychoMikey]

look at this guide: http://www.ehow.com/how_16755_install-sheet-laminate.html

it's pretty much what I did, except for the brown kraft paper i used pieces of wood (bars). When the laminate and the wood are pressed together it stick's almost instantly. so watch out that everything is lined out properly.

Wear gloves while applying the glue because it will get a little messy.

Take as much of the cab apart as possible because it's a lot easier applying laminate to separate pieces.
I decided to work around some parts, but would not do that again. It's a lot more work, and very hard to get it to fit nicely.

for small pieces i just applied pressure by hand pushing from center to sides to get it smooth. For the large side panels i used a roller to apply pressure.

and again -> it will take quite some time but it's well worth it!!

[Epyx]

Awesome job, love the colour!

Only recommendation I would make is apply laminate in a rectangular sheet just over the size of the edges, glue, then trim. In my opinion it's a lot easier than cutting to match and then applying like this:

Lamination Tutorial

[Rick]

Only recommendation I would make is apply laminate in a rectangular sheet just over the size of the edges, glue, then trim. In my opinion it's a lot easier than cutting to match and then applying.

In the case of applying the contact cement to both sides, how would you recommend going about that?  I assume you would have to 'over-apply' the cement around the proposed area, so that you don't miss any sections, but I think applying some type of marking/taping to the edges might help in this case...

[Epyx]

Its in the tutorial link...you basically apply the contact cement to both sides...let it dry then join.  By trimming after the fact you don't have to be concerned with lining the pieces up and have it join prematurely etc....just join and trim and be done with it

[jholman76]

those are the instructions I followed and mine turned out great. I did rough-cut down a little, but over-shot so I didnt have to line it up perfectly. Flush-Trim router bits are the best!

joe

[PsychoMikey]

Well guys, Mickey's Arcade is back with a new update.

Last few weeks finally had some time to make some progress.

I rewired the CP (first used cat5 cable, was not happy with the results).
Made a first attempt for a screen bazel, still needs some work.
Installed speakers and mounted volume control on the top of the cab (extended the cables and just glued the controller on).
Added a SpinTrak Spinner 
Wired the coin mech.
Tweaked my u360's + added circular restrictor plates and hard springs.
and spend allot of time on software tweaks and changes. (Hyperspin theme's, custom logon screen, no boot animation autohotkey scripts etc.)

also bought two stool's so i finally can play longer sessions of DK 

Enough talking, lets see some pictures.

The Cab


The coin mech and keyboard/console door.


The spinner with a nice red knob.


The new wiring.


Mickey Windows 7 Logon Screen.


Hyperspin Theme

[severdhed]

that looks great, good job. 

[BlasterMaster]

Very Nice! Simple, clean and safe for all ages.

[Malenko]

black start and coin buttons with white labels would look killer. looks REALLY good so far