50s style Boop cabinet

[Nannuu]

I am trying to get together some artwork here for my mother's cabinet.  She has a 50's style arcade and wants a Betty Boop cabinet.  I have the sideart figured out but the marquee and CP are not going well.  I was able to pick up an non-working cabinet for $25 that is almost unblemished.  Should be easy to convert.

The marquee.  The plan is to NOT print the BOOP lettering.  I will be making (or trying to make) neon using clear tubing, polyethelyne tubing and EL wire.  This will set in front of and be mounted to the lighted marquee.  I want a really dark marquee on the left side so that the neon looks lit.  On the right I want Boop sitting.  I'll most likely add a chair or maybe a cane and top hat (not sure about that yet).  I also want to mount a motor behind the marquee so that one foot moves up and down at the knee.  I'm not sure how well the lighting is going to like this idea but I want to do it.  I'll most likely only have one printed so if the moving leg doesn't look right I will probably stick with it anyway.  I guess I'm just excited about having a neon and moving marquee.  I'm also thinking that putting smoked plexi in front might give it a better look but I'll have to experiment with that.

Next the CP.  Since it's a 50's feel I am trying to make something similar.  It doesn't really have to match anything since nothing from her game room matches but I'd prefer an older style look.  I have the basic layout of the stick and buttons but can't decide on colors.  The stick I'm using is a 4/8 way from Groovy Game Gear, it is switchable from the top.  I like it because of the 4/8 way and the feel of each mode.  I like the diamond for Pac and other 4 ways.  I doubt my parents will care much, but I do.  On the left is a 2" Penny Giles trackball.  The buttons are 3 red transucent and 2 white to be lighted.  The front of the CP will have 1 3/4" table chrome T-molding just like the game room's countertops.  I wouldn't mind routing and embedding some EL wire under the lexan of the CP either, that could look really neat if done right.

The sideart shown is just my mockup.  I haven't officially started vectorizing that yet.

Any opinions are welcome.

My parents are coming to Texas at the end of April so now I'm scrambling to try and get this done.  I just hope I can make some decisions soon so I can get started!  Lot's of vectorizing and work to do.

[pcates]

I like the 1st CP with the "neon" running through it. As far as the marquee... I would just print it like your sketch with neon lettering, or if money is no object, have a real neon sign made (probably about $150 - $200).
Side art looks awesome..

Patrick

[Nannuu]

I like CP 1 too.  I'm thinking that I can change the backgrounds of the side art to more closely match the colors in the control panel better.  Right now they seem a bit hodge podge color wise.  As you can tell I'm an engineer and not an artist .

[Steve B.]

Very nicely done. Put down another vote for control panel 1. Nothing says 50's diner like chrome, neon, and a black/white checker pattern.

-Steve

[jcroach]

I like #1 also.  The only other comment would be in the picture labeled "sample 6" you need to flip the "B" in betty's letter jacket.

[lovespicyfood]

How would you print that sideart to be that large and fit that perfectly?  Is that something that is "doable" from mame marquees?  It looks pretty cool....

[Bones]

I absolutely love the theme idea and am also a fan of CP 1.

[Nannuu]

Thanks, I picked #1 as well.  This is what I am using as my final copy of CP and marquee.  Had to scrap the idea of the fake neon due to time constraint and the fact that I'd have to redo a major portion of the interior of the cabinet I already have.  Brackets and such in the way  .  I guess I'll be using all of that EL wire for something else.
The side art is being vectorized and printed by my parents (I wouldn't get it done in time myself) since they own a sign company have have a large format printer (50" wide).  The printer is mostly used for very large prints so it is not at all good enough for CP or marquee size jobs but for side art it will be perfect.  It is a CMYK heat transfer directly to vinyl so basically as an indoor job it will take a LONG time to fade, not sure of indoor life.  So, that's how I'm getting a full side art print.  Not even sure what the cost of that would be.
Mamemarquees (from what I've heard here) does a fantastic job.  So I trust I'll be impressed with the CP and marquee I receive.

[dirkamiss]

Wow looking very fine.

The only complaint I would have is that betty seems a littly out of place on the marquee.  It just kinda seems like she should be standing on something.

But that's hardly an error to get all worked up about.

Great Job!

[Nannuu]

The cabinet has the retainer on the bottom of the marquee.  My hope is that I measured it right so that her feet on on the retainer.  3/4" of the bottom of the marquee are covered by the retainer.

[Nannuu]

Well mamemarquees came through in a big way for me.  I had the marquee and CPO printed.  SO much better than the Costco photo print.  Better color, better resolution and a general better brightness to the print.  I am a terrible photographer and can't seem to get any good comparison shots between the costco print and Scott's print.  The small Betties next to the buttons are like little blurs in the C print and look every bit as good as they did on the computer with Scott's.
The marquee print is also awesome, definitely up to the quality I've heard of on the board.  He even printed 2 of them for me at different contrasts.  I ended up choosing the lighter of the two even though my original artwork was darker.  It just seemed to look better on the cabinet.
I took these pics late last night and they aren't the greatest but I'm just excited to post them.  I'll try to get some better shots during the daylight hours.  And the marquee really does look nice, NOT washed out like it looks in the picture.
Lighted buttons also rule.  Definitely one of the better additions to the hobby
And that is 1.5" metal t-mold on the front of the CP, awesome.

All I can say is thank you Scott for saving me.

My parents arrive tonight and they didn't finish the artwork so I have no prints for the sides.  This is disappointing since my parents are notorious for not finishing anything.  It would have been nice to see the side art and silver t-mold on there to finish it up but hopefully they get that done within a year so I can post some finished pics.  Hmm, maybe this should have been in project announcements, oh well 

[escher]

That marquee turned out awesome with the "neon" and the spotlight.

Very nice.

[Ninten-doh]

The cab looks awesome!  How did you end up mounting the P&G trackball?

[Nannuu]

I just routed the underside of the panel and countersunk some bolts to mount it.  Worked really well.  I epoxied the bolts in as well.  The P&G trackballs are really nice.  They also have all 3 mouse buttons.

[NIVO]

Nannuu, excellent job. I think its "spot on" for the theme.