Galaxian -> MAME Arcade. First project!

[Jawn]

Backstory
Hey all, I'm pretty new here, although been lurking and reading and trying to pick up some knowledge for the past few weeks.  As a senior next year, I need to create a "Senior Project" so I decided on venturing into the world of the unknown. I'm going to be building a MAME cabinet for the "product", and write about the history and advancement of video games for the paper.
I have no previous experience with woodworking, electrical work (wiring, etc), or arcade cabinets. So here goes nothing.

The Plan
Really, since I have no idea how I'm going to pull this off, I'm starting out by compiling a list of things that I'll be needing to purchase to make this run.
So far I've come up with this (Suggestions/Advice VERY welcome):
Happ Universal Joystick x2
Happ Ultimate Pushbutton x14   (6 for each player, 2 for MAME controls-esc,enter)
Happ 1-2 Player Pushbutton x2
I-Pac
Matte Black Laminate Paper (for the monitor bezel/CP)
Red Paint (repainting t-molding)
23" x 9.25" Plexiglass x2
Bezel- stained Plexi x1
MDF wood (for the CP)
Printed Marquee x1
Wires - Dont know what I'm doing here either.
Flourescent light fixture x1         
Velcro

The Cabinet
I searched Craigslist for a few weeks and found someone with old cabinets gutted and for sale. I managed to pick up this freshly painted Galaxian cabinet for $75, and he gave me a free CRT monitor with it.

I have no clue what most of the wires are for. The coin mech appears to be broken, but i'm not very concerned with that right now. I need to add a few more braces in for the monitor, but that will be done later.  The outside of the coin door needs some restoration, as its a bit rusted/scratched. I'll probably be replacing the lights, and possibly the speakers.

Control Panel
I plan on having a generic 2 player set up. The Universal Joysticks are able to switch from 4-8 way (I think?) and I've heard good things about them, so they are my choice for now. 6 Buttons for each player, with 2 or 3 for "admin controls" or whatever you'd like to call them.  I also picked up a trackball out of a Golden Tee game for 20$ when I bought the cabinet. That will be installed in between the two player's areas.
I don't want the control panel to stick out too far, but i'm assuming it's going to be out a bit and roomy enough to be comfortable for 2 people, so it will probably wrap around the cab.  For using the arcade controls with the PC, do I want a Jpac, or an Ipac? I really dont understand which. Lol
I'll probably draw up a layout later on, as I have several months to build this and I want it to be decent.

Marquee
I'll be designing my own marquee. Is GameonGrafix good for printing, and should I do the plexiglass work myself or is theirs good?

More
I'll update this as I work on it. Feel free to comment with advice, suggestions, whatever. It's all greatly appreciated, as this is totally new to me. Thanks a bunch. I look forward to being part of the community

[csa3d]

Shout outs for the Galaxian mame make over.  Click link in my sig to see what you're in for.

[Jawn]

Great info ^
Update 1: Bought an 18 inch flourescent light from Walmart for $7. Going to install that on the inside top of the cab, using velcro for easy removal for transport. I'll also be using heavy duty velcro to keep my CP in place (among other things).