Gamester's ARCADE GALAXY

[Ond]

Don't let painting challenges discourage you.  Laminate (as anyone that's laminating their cab will tell you) comes with it's own set of challenges.  I've had to cut back many hours of hard won surface finish when I wasn't happy with the result, all the way back to bare timber.  Not sure what sanding equipment you have access to, but at some stage you might want to invest in a good mechanical sander.  A palm sander has been mentioned but I prefer a more powerful full size orbital sander to work with. Cutting back paint goes much easier with one.  It's a slog sometines to get a good finish (I'm facing my own surface finishing hell soon) but it's what everyones eye is drawn to the first time they check out your work.  Keep at it, you've made great progress otherwise.

[Epyx]

Laminate (as anyone that's laminating their cab will tell you) comes with it's own set of challenges

Perfect example, is screwing on the bracings for the base on my cab...I drilled a little too deep and created a slight bulge into the laminate on the other side (im lucky as hell I didn't break through...).  I also had the roof fall on me when I was adjusting it and splinter some of the laminate (thankfully on the front edge so I can still trim it back more). But ya one slip up with laminate and you can go back to the drawing board

[Gamester]

Get yourself a palm sander Gamester!  It makes the sanding process go a lot faster!

That's the thing...  I DO have a palm sander, and I did try using it.  Problem is, the sandpaper would get buildup on it within about 10 seconds of use.  I ended up just wet sanding just so I wouldn't have to change the sandpaper constantly.  

Though, that large amount of cracking is concerning. How is the temperature in your workspace?

It was about 75 degrees.

I dunno, there's so many variables that could have factored in to it.  Could have been one or any combination of the following:

a) Bad choice of primer.
b) Applying too much before sanding.
c) Wet sanding causing moisture buildup.
d) Using 3 different brands/types of primer.
e) Not letting it dry long enough before sanding
f) Not letting it dry long enough before recoating (even though I followed the directions).
g) Not using a coarse enough sandpaper.
h) Bad luck.

I dunno, it gives me tired head just thinking about it.  At any rate, I'm moving forward with more success now, so I'm not going to bother speculating anymore.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for the encouragement.  It is definitely appreciated!  

[Ryglore]

d) Using 3 different brands/types of primer.

I was thinking this may have been a cause, especially since one was a spray.

[opt2not]

I dunno, it gives me tired head just thinking about it.  At any rate, I'm moving forward with more success now, so I'm not going to bother looking back anymore.

I know you're probably sick of talking about the primer stuff, so I won't "beat this dead horse" after this post.

That's the thing...  I DO have a palm sander, and I did try using it.  Problem is, the sandpaper would get buildup on it within about 10 seconds of use.  I ended up just wet sanding just so I wouldn't have to change the sandpaper constantly. 

Hmmm,  that sounds to me that the primer wasn't completely dry throughout, if it's caking up your sandpaper.  Also, IMO you shouldn't be wet sanding on any base coats. Wet sanding should happen more towards the end of your coat-count, because helps the finish more so than keeping the surface even. As well, if the base coats are too smooth, you might have a hard time getting additional coating to stick properly to the surface. For evening out primer, dry sanding with 80-120 grit should be sufficient till the painting starts, then progressively moving up in grit count on each paint coat.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for the encouragement.  It is definitely appreciated!   

Keep on the keepin'-on my man, take these little set-backs with a "grain of salt". They're minuscule in comparison to the gaming-joy this cabinet will bring when you're completely done with it! At least, that's what I tell myself when I eff up stuff...
 

[Ryglore]

Keep on the keepin'-on my man, take these little set-backs with a "grain of salt". They're minuscule in comparison to the gaming-joy this cabinet will bring when you're completely done with it! At least, that's what I tell myself when I eff up stuff...

Yup all the minor setbacks I caused myself aren't as bad as I remember them being when they first happened. Just gotta put one foot in front of the other. 
 

[Gamester]

Here's (hopefully) the final artwork for the marquee.

In the previous version, I didn't like the fact that the centerpiece (the Galaga ship) was off center, and was having to compete so much with the lettering behind it to stand out.  I decided to move the ship and the rays behind it up to the center, then push the title outward some so that it's no longer covered up.  I had to reduce the size of the ship a little to pull it off, but honestly even though it's a bit smaller, I think it stands out better, and the scale looks good in relation to the rest -- it's the centerpiece, but it doesn't completely dominate the entire image.

I also had an issue with the rays in the background printing out as purple, so I adjusted the color for that (to blue).

Other than that, I just fixed a few tiny defects that would have been visible, to me anyway, on the full-sized marquee.

I printed out a full sized mock-up today, and it looks fantastic, IMO.  Looking forward to getting it printed for real so I can see how it looks lit up.

I have Daddy duty tonight, so I can't go camp out in the garage to work on the primer.  I'll probably take the opportunity to try to finish up the CP wiring, which I've been putting off for quite some time.  Might do me good to step away from the priming for a night anyway...

[Ryglore]

Oh that looks much better, I like that it's all centered now it make it look way nicer and the ship does stand out a bit better. Did you decide how you were going to attach the marquee to the cab? and also, did you compensate for it? Nice work! 

[Gamester]

Did you decide how you were going to attach the marquee to the cab? and also, did you compensate for it?

That's a good question, and one I thought I had answered... until now.  I bought some angled aluminum at Home Depot that I was planning to screw on from the top of the cab and underneath the speaker shelf.  But when I started thinking about it more, I realized I designed myself into a little bit of a hole.  The aluminum angle brackets have 90 degree angles...  my speaker shelf is definitely not a 90 degree angle.  if I screw the L bracket to the bottom it's going to angle inward, making it all but useless:




In hindsight, I should have made a lip on the speaker shelf that comes out parallel to the top, like this:



If I had a way to bend the aluminum, uniformly, into the correct angle, it would be fine.  I don't have the means to do that...

For the bottom bracket, I'm probably going to need something that can screw into the front edge, as opposed to attaching to the underside of the speaker shelf.

Hrmm....

[Ryglore]

Aaah that sucks! Luckily for me, we have a bunch of special tools and I was able to bend my aluminum for the proper angles. But you could try clamping a piece of aluminum in between a couple of boards and jury rigging a metal break out of it.... not sure how well that would work though.

Would it be possible to add the lip section after the fact?

[Gamester]

Would it be possible to add the lip section after the fact?

Well, the only problem is, as you can see in the picture, there's not much room left.  I definitely want the marquee to be recessed from the from the front edge of the cab some.  If I do put a lip there, it's going to have to be a pretty thin piece (like .5" or so).

I may experiment a little bit and see if I can bend the bracket without screwing it up.

[Epyx]

But when I started thinking about it more, I realized I designed myself into a little bit of a hole.  The aluminum angle brackets have 90 degree angles...  my speaker shelf is definitely not a 90 degree angle.  if I screw the L bracket to the bottom it's going to angle inward, making it all but useless:

Not at all...easy to fix...in fact most people build their cabs with the bottom speaker shelf not at a 90deg angle.  Ill post  you a few links that illustrate this from this forum but generally people will cut at a 45 at the end and just either bend the aluminum or affix a piece of wood to the end of the speaker shelf. Easier to link some to you but that is how i did it for my bartop and how I will do it on my current build.

You could do something like this:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=92716.0

[Gamester]

Thanks for the ideas guys.  I think I may have come up with a good way to bend it.  If it works like I hope, I'll post my solution.

[Ryglore]

Ha, ask Epyx. I'm all about ideas.

[syph007]

I used angle trim from Home Depot too, but its short on one side the fact that it's 90 degrees really doenst cause a problem. 

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=95768.msg1023725#msg1023725

I originally had bigger stuff but its impossible to bend.  This small stuff for carpet edging was perfect.

[Gamester]

That stuff does look like a decent solution.  The only problem I have with it is that it doesn't cover the area of the marquee where the wood is behind it, so you can see "shadow lines" on the top and bottom.  Maybe I'm just being too picky, but I'd rather have the marquee evenly lit, and if there's an area that's not going to look uniform, I'd prefer it to be covered up.

Hrmm....  I wonder if, instead of mounting my marquee light strips directly behind the marquee, if I actually mounted one LED strip high, shining diagonally at a downward angle, and one mounted low, shining upward diagonally, if that would illuminate those edges.  Maybe a little sanding to the back piece of plexi to also diffuse the light would help too.  If that would work, it would let me keep more of the marquee exposed, which I'd rather do.

EDIT: or maybe just strategically placing reflective material inside, in addition to diffusing the back piece of plexi would do it...

I'll have to experiment a bit when I get my plexi.

[syph007]

You could also thin the wood edges on an angle down to 1/4inch or so, that would block less light.  I did notice the slight shadow with my setup, but its pretty minor and doesn't 'yet' bug me enough to rip it apart.

[spOOf]

Here's (hopefully) the final artwork for the marquee.

Love the changes.  The ship really stands out better this way and the overall layout looks great.

[Gamester]

Just a small update:

Got the paint completely applied finally.  Had some challenges with it...  I won't go into any detail other than to say that condensation in your clear coat is a bad thing.    

Got all that straightened out and am now waiting for the finish to cure so I can do a final high-grit wet sanding, then machine polish it.  Crossing my fingers that it turns out like I hoped.  I won't bother to post any pictures 'til it's done (probably mid-next week).

Got my marquee, 120mm fans and chrome t-molding ordered today too.  Those were the last significant pieces to the puzzle.  If all goes well, I should be able to go into hyper-drive next week on assembling everything.

For the marquee, I ended up going with MameMarquees.com.  I got the "Ultimate" version, and the pre-cut plexi.  It really turned out to be a convenience thing.  His prices are more expensive than I would have paid if I had gone somewhere local, but after all the suffering I just went through during the painting phase, I didn't want to deal with the hassle of cutting my own plexi and running around town to get my marquee printed.

Anyway, getting close......

[Ryglore]

For the marquee, I ended up going with MameMarquees.com.  I got the high-end version, and the pre-cut plexi.  It really turned out to be a convenience thing.  His prices are more expensive than I would have paid if I had gone somewhere local, but after all the suffering I just went through during the painting phase, I didn't want to deal with the hassle of cutting my own plexi and running around town to get my marquee printed.

  You'll be happy with Mame Marquees, I love how mine turned out and I also got the pre-cut plexi and ultimate finish. It looks amazing and with the darker colors of your it should look even better than mine when lit. Keep it up!

[Gamester]

Thanks Ryglore.  I'll definitely keep it up...  I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel now... 

Yeah, I've heard nothing but praise for Scott's products, so I'm pretty excited to see how the marquee turns out.

[Ryglore]

Ya, we Scott's are pretty awesome.

But seriously, I'm totally impressed with the way both my CP and marquee turned out. If I ever build another full size cab, I'll be sending work his way for sure.

[Gamester]

Ya, we Scott's are pretty awesome.

Indeed, we are...     

[Ryglore]

Ya, we Scott's are pretty awesome.

Indeed, we are...     

[Gamester]

While I'm waiting for the paint to cure on the cab, I'm working on getting all the parts ready for installation.  The plasma discs were problematic in that they are somewhat transparent, therefore any light or shadows inside the cab would have shown through.  Another issue is that the electronics on the back side showed through as  a 4" diameter dark spot when viewed from the front.




I decided to kill two birds with one stone, and set out to paint the back of the glass.

Basically, I just taped off the electronics, sanded the glass to try to give the paint something to grab onto, cleaned it with alcohol, then sprayed it with 3 coats of Rustoleum Semi-Gloss spray paint.







Worked great and now prevents any light from penetrating from behind.  Also made the view from the front more uniform (no more dark spot in the middle),  and had the additional benefit of improving the contrast so that the electrical discharges actually stand out more than they did before.  Unfortunately the camera didn't capture how good it really looks.

[emphatic]

Wow, at first I thought you were a bit crazy to paint them, but it does look very nice!

[Gamester]

Wow, at first I thought you were a bit crazy to paint them, but it does look very nice!

Thanks emphatic.  Admittedly, I was a bit nervous about doing this at first, but I'm definitely pleased with the results.

[n88n]

very cool!  You are getting so close.

[Ryglore]

Nice! That turned out way better than expected for sure. Can't wait to see it in place! 

[Gamester]

@n88n - Thanks!  Yes, getting close.  I have family coming from out of town to visit this Sunday, so it has been mandated by the wife and kids that the arcade needs to be ready by then.  It's going to be grind to get it done, but I *think* I can make it.  

@Ryglore - Thanks.  I can't wait to see them mounted myself.

[Gamester]

So, another little bit of progress tonight...  

I didn't like the standard "HAPP" coin reject inserts, and the fact that they said "25¢", considering my machine will be set to accept both tokens and quarters.  So I decided to make my own, and pay homage to another one of my favorite classics.    




And here's what they look like installed... (hard to capture well with a camera -- the black definitely does not look that washed out in person)




My wife is into scrapbooking, and when I told her what I was doing, she suggested that I use some of her vellum paper for the inserts, which worked GREAT!  It's pretty much white, but it is much more translucent than normal paper and "glows" better.  I have to give her props for that idea.  I initially did them on normal printer paper, and the vellum is definitely an improvement.  I'm pleased with how they turned out...

While I was at it, I also replaced the amber reject buttons with red ones to match the color scheme of the cab.

[Jefferson]

Nice work man!

Has anyone else noticed the Pac constellation on the CP? Very cool way of getting another nod in, esp with the 'fewer characters' CP

[Gamester]

Nice work man!

Has anyone else noticed the Pac constellation on the CP? Very cool way of getting another nod in, esp with the 'fewer characters' CP

Thanks Jefferson.  

Not sure if anyone else noticed the Pac-Man constellation or not, but you're definitely the first one that's pointed it out.  Good eye!

If you look carefully, on the other side of the CP you might notice another familiar "constellation"...  

[Epyx]

Ya, those look great! 

[Gamester]

Thanks Epyx!

My excitement level got a small boost today, as I received shipping confirmation from Scott for my Marquee, and the T-molding should be here on Friday.  (woot!)

I also FINALLY finished the CP wiring Monday night (pics to follow later), and I'll be wet sanding and polishing the paint on the cab tomorrow.

Going to be a flurry of activity over the next several days, as I'm now headed down the final stretch...

[Ryglore]

Wow, how did I miss this? Those look awesome! I'm actually still working on getting my coin eject labels looking right. I may have to take your wife's advice and go with vellum, luckily I have some laying around the house.

[Gamester]

Thanks Ryglore.  Can't wait to see yours when you get them done!

MONSTER update coming later, when I have time to put the post together.  Lots of shiny, sparkling, glowing goodness....   

[Ryglore]

Thanks Ryglore.  Can't wait to see yours when you get them done!

MONSTER update coming later, when I have time to put the post together.  Lots of shiny, sparkling, glowing goodness....   

Sweet! Can't wait for the MONSTER update! 

I'm printing them on a higher end laser printer so the black is as opaque as possible. Originally I used card stock, and that was too dark with the blue buttons and barely shined through, even with the LEDs behind it. Now I am using regular printer paper and I like the way those look so far, but you still can't see the whole label. I think I'll cut some of these sheets of vellum I have down to 8.5" x 11". I'll take pictures of each and post them to the SHMUP thread so you can see the difference.

[Gamester]

Now I am using regular printer paper and I like the way those look so far, but you still can't see the whole label. I think I'll cut some of these sheets of vellum I have down to 8.5" x 11". I'll take pictures of each and post them to the SHMUP thread so you can see the difference.

I haven't swapped out my lights yet, so I'm not sure how much difference in brightness there is with the LEDs, but if you find that the black gets too washed out on the vellum, you might want to try doubling them up.  Obviously the key to that is to be sure you have the two pieces matched perfectly.

I definitely noticed that the vellum paper has properties that make it seem to "glow" better than normal paper. 

I'm curious to see what you come up with...

[Ryglore]

I haven't swapped out my lights yet, so I'm not sure how much difference in brightness there is with the LEDs, but if you find that the black gets too washed out on the vellum, you might want to try doubling them up.  Obviously the key to that is to be sure you have the two pieces matched perfectly.

I definitely noticed that the vellum paper has properties that make it seem to "glow" better than normal paper. 

I'm curious to see what you come up with...

Vellum does seem to have a nice effect to it when you backlight it, instead of using normal paper. But from swapping out the standard #161 bulbs with my Happ LEDs you can really see a brightness difference.

So far from what I see working with it here in the office at work. 1 sheet thickness of Vellum may be too thin when you put an LED behind it, especially the 3 cluster replacement I am using. Doubling up the sheets will work since the stuff is the same thickness, if not thinner than regular office paper. You could also just double up the vellum w/o doubling the images. But I think you'll end up with a nicer effect when you double the image so the black is darker.

I plan on trying it three ways with 1 sheet thickness, 1 printed w/ 1 blank and with 2 printed layers and see how they all look. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get around to it tonight or if it will be tomorrow, but I'll try to get to it asap.  I'll definitely let you know what I find out.