My cab "The Triforce", and my homemade Aimtrak Gun Holster :p

[Hituro]

So, I've actually been working on this cab since March of 2010.  I've been putting work into it little by little.  I had it fully functional at one point, but was still designing artwork, and decided to make some mods to it.  The cabinet itself was a kit I bought from Mameroom.  I have no experience with wood so for my first cab I thought it'd be a good idea.  I recently have taken the entire thing apart because I need to make some adjustments for myself to make it more my own arcade.  It is Zelda themed, here's a few shots of the control panel.

[Hituro]

Sorry it only let me add so many shots.  But I also wanted to show off my Aimtrak holster I made.  I couldn't find any side mounting holsters, so I figured, I'd make my own.  I wanted something simple, and something that would work.  I was just wondering around Home Depot, and my fiance was actually the one who helped me get this idea.  It's basically just a pimp mount, with foam insulation around it.  I know it probably looks crappy   The insulation is not very reflective, and is actually more black than it is Grey.  So it matches nicely.  Anyhow.  Let me know what you think.  Like I said... it's my first cab.  And I know it's not NEARLY as awesome as some of the cabs I've seen on here.  But I will definitely post more pictures once everything is complete.  Even plan to post a video.  Mostly just reconstructing everything.  I have a MA Front-end themed to Zelda, so hopefully it will be on par with some of the good cabs on here.  I'm new at this but I try

[wweumina]

Looks like nice artwork (I'd prefer an arcade theme but to each their own).  Good work on the holsters, a neat solution.

It might be the angle, but those sticks look like they should have been top mounted (or at least routed from below). 

Do your 4-way and spinner migrate south for the summer?

Might have been nice to flush mount the trackball and have it light up yellow to keep with theme. 

Sorry if I sound a bit negative, it's a nice first CP on the whole. 

[Hituro]

It might be the angle, but those sticks look like they should have been top mounted (or at least routed from below).

They are routed from the bottom actually.  They're Sanwa sticks.  They're shafts are short   They work perfectly fine though

Do your 4-way and spinner migrate south for the summer?

I'm not quite sure what this means?  could you elaborate?  Not quite sure I get the humor

Might have been nice to flush mount the trackball and have it light up yellow to keep with theme.

Actually I had thought about doing a flush mount, but decided against it.  I personally don't like sliding my hand across plexi while playing games like golden tee, I think the mounting plate provides a good surface and I never know what type of guests might play, so I just feel that a steel plate will wear out better than running hands along plexi.  Just my personal choice  

Sorry if I sound a bit negative, it's a nice first CP on the whole. 

It's ok, was just showing off my hardwork, wasn't expecting such sarcasm though

[Hituro]

I'd prefer an arcade theme but to each their own.

Also wanted to add that I went with a non arcade theme because I wanted to do something different.  And I have other systems on my cabinet besides Arcade games.  It is after all a MAME cabinet.  And I tend to have more games that are console related than arcade.  And besides, I'm a huge, huge, Zelda fan.  So why not make my artwork reflect something I enjoy?

[DirtyDachshunds]

I think it looks great.  Very clean, I really like the art.  You'll catch crap around here for not flush mounting the trackball, but since you chose not to, more power to you.  Make it your own.

I went away from the popular opinion a couple times on my cab as well.  And I'm glad I did.

Also, I might steal your aimtrak holster idea.   

[Hituro]

I think it looks great.  Very clean, I really like the art.  You'll catch crap around here for not flush mounting the trackball, but since you chose not to, more power to you.  Make it your own.

I went away from the popular opinion a couple times on my cab as well.  And I'm glad I did.

Also, I might steal your aimtrak holster idea.   

*gasp*  Millercade?  Blasphemer!  Miller isn't an arcade game!  j/k

I did notice though, that my joysticks might be off my like a couple mm :/  which means I'd have to route them deeper.  But they work fine and I'm actually more comfortable with a lower shaft.  Besides, they work fine and have played sturdy, so I don't think I'm too worried about 4 mm

When I have some time I'll probably post more details about the holster.  But It's either a 3inch or a 4inch pipe bracket.  Usually found in the plumbing section.  Gun fits snug with the foam insulation.  And protects it too!

[markronz]

Looks great!   I too thought of the U-bolt gun holder, never thought of foam around it, that might be nice!  Thanks for the idea!

[jipp]

neat idea for the holsters.  i have some leather from when i was making custom forged knives.  i figure id tool up some leather and do some kind of holster down the road.

dose the 4 ways tick in front of the trackball get in the way?  on my control panel its offset a bit.  would suck to hit one hands on anything using the trackball.

chris.

[Hituro]

dose the 4 ways tick in front of the trackball get in the way?  on my control panel its offset a bit.  would suck to hit one hands on anything using the trackball.

No actually, I've never hit the 4-way while using the trackball for games like golden tee.  The actual layout is the default layout that mameroom supplies with their control panel kits.  Just comes as the panels with the holes drilled, and you have to do everything else.  I didn't mind having a dedicated 4 way, especially for games like Pac-man and Donkey Kong.

[severdhed]

very nice.  i love how you used the two-toned graphics around the buttons and sticks to tie in with both the happ buttons and sanwa sticks.  It makes it much less noticable that the blue and purple joysticks are lighter in color than the buttons.  i may use that idea when i redo my panel in the spring

very nice.

[Nephasth]

Quick idea for your holsters. You can find a rubberizing dip at hardware stores. You can dip handles of tools (or in your case, your holsters) in it, and it will put a layer of "form fitting" rubber on the handles/holsters. This might add a clean look to your cab while still protecting your guns.

[Vigo]

This looks really awesome, Hituro! I have to ask, have you looked into getting 4 swords to work multiplayer on your arcade machine? I don't know if there is a way to do this, but that would be a must on your machine if it is possible. 

I also heard somewhere that someone was hacking ocarina of time to be multiplayer. That would be very cool as well! 

[Hituro]

Quick idea for your holsters. You can find a rubberizing dip at hardware stores. You can dip handles of tools (or in your case, your holsters) in it, and it will put a layer of "form fitting" rubber on the handles/holsters. This might add a clean look to your cab while still protecting your guns.

I think I will definately be looking into this, thanks!

[Hituro]

This looks really awesome, Hituro! I have to ask, have you looked into getting 4 swords to work multiplayer on your arcade machine? I don't know if there is a way to do this, but that would be a must on your machine if it is possible. 

I also heard somewhere that someone was hacking ocarina of time to be multiplayer. That would be very cool as well! 

Well I do have Ocarina of time on it, but due to the number of buttons, I have to end up using more than one player to play it   which isn't too hard.  Not sure how that would work with Four Swords unless I had actual game pad ports, which is an idea too

[Hituro]

very nice.  i love how you used the two-toned graphics around the buttons and sticks to tie in with both the happ buttons and sanwa sticks.  It makes it much less noticable that the blue and purple joysticks are lighter in color than the buttons.  i may use that idea when i redo my panel in the spring

very nice.

What's weird, is in the photo, I don't know if it was the lighting or the flash, but the purple buttons don't look that blue in person, they're more the darker color of the ring around them.  But I know what you mean, I like happ buttons, but I like sanwa sticks :p I know I'm weird, but it was tough because their colors don't exactly match, but I think with the CP art, it makes it not as glaring to the eye

[Vigo]

This looks really awesome, Hituro! I have to ask, have you looked into getting 4 swords to work multiplayer on your arcade machine? I don't know if there is a way to do this, but that would be a must on your machine if it is possible. 

I also heard somewhere that someone was hacking ocarina of time to be multiplayer. That would be very cool as well! 

Well I do have Ocarina of time on it, but due to the number of buttons, I have to end up using more than one player to play it   which isn't too hard.  Not sure how that would work with Four Swords unless I had actual game pad ports, which is an idea too

  too bad there doesn't seem to be an easy emulator solution. I saw that it is possible to link up the game on one screen using VBA, but it looks like a lot of work each time to set it up, making it not very feasible. It looked like 2 player link limit as well.

Here is to wishful thinking that Nintendo puts out a Wii 4 player sequel for one screen, like a "new super mario bros" kinda thing. 

[Hituro]

This looks really awesome, Hituro! I have to ask, have you looked into getting 4 swords to work multiplayer on your arcade machine? I don't know if there is a way to do this, but that would be a must on your machine if it is possible. 

I also heard somewhere that someone was hacking ocarina of time to be multiplayer. That would be very cool as well! 

Well I do have Ocarina of time on it, but due to the number of buttons, I have to end up using more than one player to play it   which isn't too hard.  Not sure how that would work with Four Swords unless I had actual game pad ports, which is an idea too

  too bad there doesn't seem to be an easy emulator solution. I saw that it is possible to link up the game on one screen using VBA, but it looks like a lot of work each time to set it up, making it not very feasible. It looked like 2 player link limit as well.

Here is to wishful thinking that Nintendo puts out a Wii 4 player sequel for one screen, like a "new super mario bros" kinda thing. 

Well, I invested in the adapters to hook up the PS3 to my arcade.  I did this based on the fact that I didn't want to have to take out my ArcadeVGA, but I still want to play games like SF4, and MvsC3 when it comes out, so if they do ever make a Four Swords on the Wii Virtual, I may have to look at getting that as well.  Because I admit, playing 4 swords on a cab would be pretty sweet, especially with my setup

[Vigo]

This looks really awesome, Hituro! I have to ask, have you looked into getting 4 swords to work multiplayer on your arcade machine? I don't know if there is a way to do this, but that would be a must on your machine if it is possible. 

I also heard somewhere that someone was hacking ocarina of time to be multiplayer. That would be very cool as well! 

Well I do have Ocarina of time on it, but due to the number of buttons, I have to end up using more than one player to play it   which isn't too hard.  Not sure how that would work with Four Swords unless I had actual game pad ports, which is an idea too

  too bad there doesn't seem to be an easy emulator solution. I saw that it is possible to link up the game on one screen using VBA, but it looks like a lot of work each time to set it up, making it not very feasible. It looked like 2 player link limit as well.

Here is to wishful thinking that Nintendo puts out a Wii 4 player sequel for one screen, like a "new super mario bros" kinda thing. 

Well, I invested in the adapters to hook up the PS3 to my arcade.  I did this based on the fact that I didn't want to have to take out my ArcadeVGA, but I still want to play games like SF4, and MvsC3 when it comes out, so if they do ever make a Four Swords on the Wii Virtual, I may have to look at getting that as well.  Because I admit, playing 4 swords on a cab would be pretty sweet, especially with my setup

You are planning on having SF4 and MvsC3 set up on your cab?

OK, I think I'm just gonna invite myself over to your place when you have your cab ready. 

[DirtyDachshunds]

I have SF4 running off my cab PC and it works great.  However, I wish MvC3 and the new mortal kombat would come out on the PC
...but I have enough games on this thing as it is

[severdhed]

very nice.  i love how you used the two-toned graphics around the buttons and sticks to tie in with both the happ buttons and sanwa sticks.  It makes it much less noticable that the blue and purple joysticks are lighter in color than the buttons.  i may use that idea when i redo my panel in the spring

very nice.

What's weird, is in the photo, I don't know if it was the lighting or the flash, but the purple buttons don't look that blue in person, they're more the darker color of the ring around them.  But I know what you mean, I like happ buttons, but I like sanwa sticks :p I know I'm weird, but it was tough because their colors don't exactly match, but I think with the CP art, it makes it not as glaring to the eye

i know what you mean, i had the same problem when taking pics of mine.  i am using the same setup as you, sanwa sticks with happ buttons...and pretty much the same colors in the same order, except i used orange instead of yellow, so they would match up with the ninja turtles

it looks very nice, i really need to do something like that because mine are against a plain background so the color difference is more noticable

[Creeper]

That CP looks great, don't let the nay sayers get to you. Nice theme, great art work. 

[Hituro]

very nice.  i love how you used the two-toned graphics around the buttons and sticks to tie in with both the happ buttons and sanwa sticks.  It makes it much less noticable that the blue and purple joysticks are lighter in color than the buttons.  i may use that idea when i redo my panel in the spring

very nice.

What's weird, is in the photo, I don't know if it was the lighting or the flash, but the purple buttons don't look that blue in person, they're more the darker color of the ring around them.  But I know what you mean, I like happ buttons, but I like sanwa sticks :p I know I'm weird, but it was tough because their colors don't exactly match, but I think with the CP art, it makes it not as glaring to the eye

it looks very nice, i really need to do something like that because mine are against a plain background so the color difference is more noticable

Funny you mention that, because I actually set up the colors the same order as the TMNT Arcade.  When looking at pictures though, I noticed on the TMNT cab, Michelangelo was yellow instead of orange, that's why I went with yellow.  But maybe I looked at it wrong.  But it's a subtle touch that I added due to loving that game as a kid.
i know what you mean, i had the same problem when taking pics of mine.  i am using the same setup as you, sanwa sticks with happ buttons...and pretty much the same colors in the same order, except i used orange instead of yellow, so they would match up with the ninja turtles

[pinballwizard79]

Looks like nice artwork (I'd prefer an arcade theme but to each their own).  Good work on the holsters, a neat solution.

It might be the angle, but those sticks look like they should have been top mounted (or at least routed from below).  

Do your 4-way and spinner migrate south for the summer?

Might have been nice to flush mount the trackball and have it light up yellow to keep with theme.  

Sorry if I sound a bit negative, it's a nice first CP on the whole.  

wweumina You sir are a d bag

Anyway to the OP thats a great looking panel & having a dedicated 4 way is awesome as is having room to use the trackball on GoldenTee, ShuffleShot, World Class bowling & etc.

Looks nice!

[Hituro]

Thought I'd post some more pictures of my cab that I'm reworking.  Almost finished making my adjustments.

Mainly spent the whole day adding extra support for the base due to the wheels I've added.  Also moved a lot of the interior pieces around, made an attempt at keeping the wires organized, and added a sub-woofer

[Vigo]

That is really badass, Hituro!

It looks like it is gonna capture the sheer joy of a four player cab. 

[jipp]

looks good inside.  yeah i like the idea of that compound stuff for the gun holsters.. i use it on tools.. you can get it at home depot for like 8.00 works like a charm.. yeah i went with a dedicated 4 way also.  i made mine offset cause i read people hitting the spinner.  but what i did not take into effect was the real-estate you have 4 player is quite bigger than my 2 player ( im a hermit,  would never have enough people over to play 4 players i hate to admit).  i just went with the basic classic design as mameroom calls it.  its generic enough to play any game i could ever want.    

i have a ps2 i have not used in a long time.. its on the floor collecting dust...  can you link me to the adapter you used?  as right now its collecting dust..  figure may as well throw it in my cab when its all said and done with.  if not the current one im working on build it into my second attempt at a cab.  may as well i own the thing right. heh.  i will have to tear it apart to dust it out tho.. heh.  i live in the desert and i swear dust loves me.  



chris.

[Hituro]

looks good inside.  yeah i like the idea of that compound stuff for the gun holsters.. i use it on tools.. you can get it at home depot for like 8.00 works like a charm.. yeah i went with a dedicated 4 way also.  i made mine offset cause i read people hitting the spinner.  but what i did not take into effect was the real-estate you have 4 way is quite bigger than my 2 way.  i just went with the basic classic design as mameroom calls it.  its generic enough to play any game i could ever want.   

i have a ps2 i have not used in a long time.. its on the floor collecting dust...  can you link me to the adapter you used?  as right now its collecting dust..  figure may as well throw it in my cab when its all said and done with.  if not the current one im working on build it into my second attempt at a cab.  may as well i own the thing right. heh.  i will have to tear it apart to dust it out tho.. heh.  i live in the desert and i swear dust loves me. 



chris.

http://www.ultimarc.com/JShopServer/section.php?xSec=8

You'll need the PS2 Control Adapter, and one of the PSX AV Adapters, depending on if you're using a PC monitor or an Arcade Monitor

[jipp]

cool, thank you.. using tv/monitor
hope to get it mounted this weekend in my cab.
chris.

[wweumina]

Looks like nice artwork (I'd prefer an arcade theme but to each their own).  Good work on the holsters, a neat solution.

It might be the angle, but those sticks look like they should have been top mounted (or at least routed from below).  

Do your 4-way and spinner migrate south for the summer?

Might have been nice to flush mount the trackball and have it light up yellow to keep with theme.  

Sorry if I sound a bit negative, it's a nice first CP on the whole.  

wweumina You sir are a d bag

Anyway to the OP thats a great looking panel & having a dedicated 4 way is awesome as is having room to use the trackball on GoldenTee, ShuffleShot, World Class bowling & etc.

Looks nice!

Nice to hear from you.

I wasn't trying to be mean.  It is a great looking CP and the artwork is very unique.  I just thought the images made the sticks look kind of short and I thought the trackball would look nice in yellow (and under the artwork).  The placement of the spinner and 4-way are questionable as to usability but this is not a comment on his handiwork as he had no part in the placement.  On the whole I think it would have made a great post in the control panel sticky.

[DirtyDachshunds]

I just finished copying your 'custom' aimtrak holsters.  Mine look almost identical.  Thanks for the tip

[Hituro]

I just finished copying your 'custom' aimtrak holsters.  Mine look almost identical.  Thanks for the tip

Sweet!  What kind of pip insulation did you use? The one I found had sticky tape on it, so it could wrap around and seal close without me having to try pushing the foam around the metal and risk ripping it.

[DirtyDachshunds]

Yea I wanted to get the kind you used, but the only sizes of it home depot had was way to large.  So I got a smaller (and lighter colored) pipe insulation.  There was not cut in it, so I just pushed it around the pipe bracket.