First Cab - Coney Island Arcade

[NYSubway18]

Thanks to a buddy of mine, I have been bitten by the bug to build my own Arcade Machine.  He got me started by finding me an old cabinet that had been pretty poorly converted, but nonetheless was in pretty good shape for a good deal.  While I have done a decent amount of reading here and around the web since the cab came into our possession, I will be relying heavily on him for a lot of the details in getting this done...especially on the software side.  I'll let him chime in if he cares to identify himself...may depend on everyone's feedback of my plans. lol.  

Here's basically what it looked like when we got it.





We had just started stripping the side when we thought to grab some pics.  As we started it was a poorly converted X-Men vs. Street Fighter.  Sloppy textured black paint all over it, poorly converted control panel from 4-player to 2-player.  The plan was to strip it, save the monitor which seemed in pretty good shape and after some tweaking from another friend really looked good, sell the actual game guts and re-finish the control panel.  



As stripping began, I found out that the game was originally an NBA Jam which had been converted to an NBA Hangtime prior to being converted to its current state.



We got it stripped down, and my buddy did some major bondo work to repair some various damage.



So while the original plan was to re-do the CP using the current box, and just do a new panel, my buddy had this Gauntlet CP box laying around that he planned to strip for parts.  The box was much better, and it was a perfect fit!  Since I planned to create a brand new CP anyway, I like the shape of this one much more so plan to build a new CP using this box instead of the square NBA Jam box.



He also got the first few coats of black paint on it for me.  Needs some more sanding and another coat or two, but a good start.



Now I get to start working on the part I will enjoy the most.  The basic design and look of the new unit.  While the cab is in my buddy's garage, I took the Gauntlet CP home to strip and start my planning in earnest.    More to follow... Need to focus on the end of the Giants game right now though.  

[jipp]

hey, welcome to the forum.  and you are off to a fine start.  yeah i like the look of the cp your friend has laying around over the box! heh.. what i find the most interesting about old cabs being rescue.. is what there past was.  always amazes me, sorta follows trends.. what was popular, latest and greatest..  humans are so predictable at times..  will look forward to your build.  before i started my project.  i looked around for a cab.. cause i thought the be the cheapest way to get into a arcade cab.. but strangely enough i could not find anything..  at any rate, im very happy you found one rock on man.

chris.

[yotsuya]

jipp-

I ended up finding a cab locally in the Phoenix area this summer through eBay. Haven't seen one since, but the guy I got it from had three storage bins full of old games.

[jipp]

jipp-

I ended up finding a cab locally in the Phoenix area this summer through eBay. Haven't seen one since, but the guy I got it from had three storage bins full of old games.

ok i do not feel so bad about not finding one.. 3 bins full, wow. 
yeah, all the cabs i see are on the east coast.. like what the heck.. 
im in apache junction, so i would of drove to phoenix in a heart beat to get one.
but it all worked in the end.. i learn a lot from building mine.. and can use that info over and over. 
chris.

[Garza]

I am from Peoria, and yes it is hard to find cabinets. I got lucky and found one after months of looking on craigslist from an amusement company. I had to go downtown Phoenix but it too was worth it! It came with all the coin doors and mechs bezel origial glass for the marquee and monitor and a trackball. Bought it for 40 bucks! It does seem though that the majority are on the east coast. Glad to see others in my area!  I just finished my first cabinet came out ok for being a virgin!  I am in the process of putting the pics up here just have to shrink them first.

[yotsuya]

I am from Peoria, and yes it is hard to find cabinets. I got lucky and found one after months of looking on craigslist from an amusement company. I had to go downtown Phoenix but it too was worth it! It came with all the coin doors and mechs bezel origial glass for the marquee and monitor and a trackball. Bought it for 40 bucks! It does seem though that the majority are on the east coast. Glad to see others in my area!  I just finished my first cabinet came out ok for being a virgin!  I am in the process of putting the pics up here just have to shrink them first.

I got lucky too. I was all set to build my own from scratch (and I will do that for the next one), but time and $$$ got in the way. My wife suggested I look for a cab that needed work, and I found a generic one on eBay that had everything but didn't work. Guy wanted $75 for it, I offered $50, we settled on $60. It needed a lot of work and a lot of TLC, but I ended up saving and learning by going that route.

I'm also in the process of wrapping it up and posting pics.

[Garza]

Great to hear! Especially the Wife actually agreeing with you and helping by suggesting that! My wife however didn't complain too tooo much  but she also doesn't agree too much  Can't wait to see the pictures!

[yotsuya]

Funny thing about my wife-

When I told her I was going to build the cab, I said I would keep it out back, on the patio. I kinda envisioned it as a summertime pool party entertainment item. I figured she would be fine with it there.

Once I built it, I had it inside to put in the components and apply the artwork. She looked at it and said, "This is too nice to put outside." So now it's in the family room, where I can play without fear of the elements! It also helps she like to play Centipede and Ms. Pac-Man!

[Garza]

  Kinda just the diff for me I had the woodwork part done in the garage and then put it in my "Game Room" and she saw it and said " I thought you were going to keep it in the garage?" Well I had to reexplain to her what the Game Room is, LOL But she didn't say too much.... Sometimes thats worse! 

[jipp]

i guess being single it has one advantage..  no need to ok it!  dates on the other hand may see a arcade cab and the womens run for the hills..  I raised my sister so she is just a female version of me.. better looking and smarter of course. laughs.. however, when she saw my cab in the house.. she was all BUILD ME one.  i originally thought it was for her husband.. but she was over this weekend with her new born.. and you should of seen her eyes light up playing around with the joysticks at the control panel ( in process of stripping the ground wire right now..  its brain dead work so can be at the pc and make a mess. what a pain.. next time i will buy a harness ) anyhow,  her husband is indeed luck. he will enjoy the cab I build for them too.  just which one will more him or her.. laughs.  glad to see some desert rats here.. i swear the only people who live by me are snowbirds..  snowbird season is open!!  grab your light guns!

chris.

[NYSubway18]

Thanks for the welcome.  Guess I'm lucky...getting a cab around here didn't seem to be much of a problem.

So my next step was to take the Gauntlet CP home, stripped it bare, and started mocking up a new panel  - part in cardboard...the rest in Photoshop.





I spent a lot of time trying to decide on the configuration, and my plans are for a pretty standard 2 player set-up, using 7 buttons each in the curved pattern.  A trackball in the middle.  At the top, a 4-way, with 2 buttons, a spinner, and then an additional 8 buttons for various functions.

While I do enjoy the gaming, it is not my primary hobby.  The arcade will be one more element that will be integrated into my eventual ultimate basement.    My primary hobby is model trains - in particular New York City Subways.  I'm also a big sports fan so this needs to fit in with that overall NY theme.  To give you an idea, myself and a friend built this Yankee Train bar in my current house.  I plan to move and the bar can't go but I plan to build something similar in feel at the next place.




Keeping this in mind I wanted to integrate a New York / Train / Arcade feel.  That brought me to my plans for my Coney Island Arcade.  Here's my first draft of what I envisioned for the CP panel.



I almost immediately wished there was a way to get the Ferris Wheel where the track ball was, but it just didn't seem easily feasible.  The images I was working with just didn't seem to easily lend themselves to do that...but I have already done some major Photoshop re-construction...update on that coming soon.

The marquee itself seemed to come together a little faster. Went through several variations but have pretty much settled on this...



Still need to do the side-art.  Haven't had much of a chance to think about that just yet.  Revised CP artwork coming soon...Complete noob to the arcade world so looking forward to your comments, and if there are any glaring problems with the button layout.  I think I covered my bases, but you never know. 

[Mr Wilson]

cool cp and marquee even cooler bar

[yotsuya]

Cliff Lee said he would have signed with you guys if Cashman had only thrown in a MAME machine. 

[NYSubway18]

Cliff Lee said he would have signed with you guys if Cashman had only thrown in a MAME machine. 

Glad Cashman didn't have one to give him!    You'd be surprised how many of us didn't want him...and as long as he's out of the AL, it's not that big of a deal.  7-year deal for a 33-year old with a bad back, and a .500 record???  He had Kevin Brown and Carl Pavano all wrapped up in one written all over him.  I know the Yanks went after him hard, but that's typical - overpay a guy off of 7 starts?  Wish we had dodged the same bullet with AJ. 

[yotsuya]

Cliff Lee said he would have signed with you guys if Cashman had only thrown in a MAME machine. 

Glad Cashman didn't have one to give him!    You'd be surprised how many of us didn't want him...and as long as he's out of the AL, it's not that big of a deal.  7-year deal for a 33-year old with a bad back, and a .500 record???  He had Kevin Brown and Carl Pavano all wrapped up in one written all over him.  I know the Yanks went after him hard, but that's typical - overpay a guy off of 7 starts?  Wish we had dodged the same bullet with AJ. 

Heh- you said Kevin Brown.

Well, I'm a Diamondbacks fan, but I've always admired the Yankees of old (that 2001 WS was mind-blowing). I'm an A-Rod hater, though, so I can't root for them until he leaves. You have a nice bar though!

[NYSubway18]

My sister lived in Tempe for about 6 years until moving to NM last year, so she and her husband (big Yankee fans) adopted the D-Backs as their local NL team.  I visited a couple times and went to a couple games.  She even got me a D-Backs shirt...but I think the only reason I was able to put it on was because they completely changed their colors so it didn't feel like the '01 D-Backs...amazing W.S....painful, but still amazing.

[jipp]

nice bar.  as for baseball once they went on strike in the 90s i was like whatever..  but i use to root for the mariners ( before A rod got the attitude. )  as i grew up in the great northwest.  i moved here in 2000 and randy Johnson followed heh.

my step dad is into model trains too..  he tries to get me into them but blah.. i just cant get into them.  he converted his whole garage into a train room. laughs

chris.

[THE POKER BRAT]

All i can say is,..WOW!..Im already drunk from looking at the great looking bar!,..wheres the topless barmaid?? lol
anyway,...i live 10 minutes from coney,..ahh,..the memories!,..i loved " FABERS FACINATION ARCADE" back in the 80's on surf avenue,..that arcade housed at its peak time ,..NO-JOKE,..OVER 150 MACHINES!!!!.. i included a sad vid from that once famous arcade,..heres the video...



note the place now is much smaller than what it used to be,..they sold floorspace to other vendors over the years,..the arcade used to take up 90% of the building floor,..now its only at 10 % and then today closed forever,..sigh!,..    Lucky me,..i was there in the 80's were the best times for me as a kid,..nowadays,.. coney island amusement park is nothing but a toilet!..thanks to>>>>"THOR EQUITIES REAL ESTATE' <<(i hate them    

And whatever you do,..if anyone comes to visit NATHANS,..dont eat there!,...food tastes like crap!,..trust me ,..im in coney ever spring/summer,..ive tried out all the food in the nieghborhood ,.though its nice to stroll on the boardwalk to the baseball stadium,..(BROOKLYN CYCLONES)
And the aquarium,.and to play some handball and poker that im a champion at,..across from the famous asser levy park, which gives outdoor concerts every summer,..seen some great shows there,...anyway,..im just blabbin!..        
keep up the great work on your bar,.ld like i to visit your bar sometime and get plasterd drunk there.  

[yotsuya]

BTW, with all the baseball talk, I forgot to tell you that I LOVE the artwork. The nod to Coney Island, particularly the shoutout to Steeplechase, is awesome!

[NYSubway18]

Thanks!  I was born in the city, and used to live in Inwood...just north of Washington Heights so we used to ride the subway out to Coney Island all the time.  Moved to Yonkers, but spent many summer days in high school driving out to Brighton Beach/C.I.  I still take a couple trips a year out there.  Often on special subway trips that use the vintage cars from the Transit Museum.  While not the best food, a Nathan's hot dog is always mandatory during the trip.    Despite being a Yankees fan, I think going to a Cyclones game is about as much fun as you can have for minor league baseball.  So much better than treking out to Staten Island. 

[yotsuya]

I've never been to NYC, but in HS I saw this wonderful documentary by Ric Burns about Coney Island on PBS and fell in love with the place (obviously, it doesn't exist anymore the way it used to in it's heyday, but still...). I rewatch that DVD at least twice a year.

[NYSubway18]

I'll have to find that DVD...

Here's my updated plans for the CP.  Quite a bit of extra Photoshop work, but I think I am pretty happy with it. Gives the overall feel I was looking for, but seems a bit more polished

[yotsuya]

Here's the link on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/American-Experience-Island-Philip-Bosco/dp/B000CNEQWS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1292425524&sr=8-1

The redesign looks good!

[NYSubway18]

Thanks!  Just found one on Ebay for $13.

[yotsuya]

Awesome! You won't regret it.

What fascinates me the most are the clips taken around the turn of the century (uh, the last century, not this one  ). It's cool seeing those people having a good time a hundred years ago, and the photographs really make the place come alive. I would have loved to have seen Luna Park in its heyday.

[THE POKER BRAT]

YO,..That control panel looks,.. dope!...magnificent ,..fresh, amazing,..spectacular!..love the artwork,..hey,..can you make me a control panel for my mame games i have on my laptop? something small and simple,..2 players, 2 joysticks 4-5 buttons each, easy usb plug to hook up,..what would it cost me?

I'll have to find that DVD...

Here's my updated plans for the CP.  Quite a bit of extra Photoshop work, but I think I am pretty happy with it. Gives the overall feel I was looking for, but seems a bit more polished

[NYSubway18]

Hahaha..thanks.  I haven't even built this one yet.  Got most of the Photoshop work done, but now have to do all the woodworking, electronics and software configurations.  I'm completely new to all this stuff so not sure how its going to go.  Keeping my fingers crossed and will be relying heavily on my buddy to help me get it together.

[DeLuSioNal29]

Hahaha..thanks.  I haven't even built this one yet.  Got most of the Photoshop work done, but now have to do all the woodworking, electronics and software configurations.  I'm completely new to all this stuff so not sure how its going to go.  Keeping my fingers crossed and will be relying heavily on my buddy to help me get it together.

I guess this is where I let the cat out of the bag that I'm the one helping him with this.  

The cabinet is in my garage.  It's taking longer than expected to paint.  There's only so much one can do when it's FREEZING outside!  LOL.  But it'll get done.  I'm also going to start on the coin door.  It's going to be a complete mod (similar to my Green Invader cabinet on Youtube).

In the meantime we can work on the software aspect of it.  Hardware is last, since prices will only go down over time.  You'll get your best bang for your buck if you wait.

DeLuSioNaL29

[brock.sampson]

You may want to slide that spinner over a little more.  If you play any trackball games golden tee, bowling, horse shoes, etc.  You may jam/break your fingers or f up your spinner.  My brother in law smacked my spinner so hard it now wobbles a bit and it was machined from tool steel.

[portugese pirate]

dude as a misplaced newyorker I love what your doing with the cabinet......but i must say I am more impressed with the yankee stadium white railing over the bar.....now living in ohio where there is no baseball......lol.....I agree with you on Cliff Lee

[taylormadelv]

I really like the artwork, very nice! Very original! I'm sure Coney Island is a fun place to go in the 21st century after all the rejuvenation in the last few years in NYC. When I grew up in NYC in the 70's-80's, Coney Island was a bit...ahem...different... a la "Warriors" movie.

[TOK]

This is the freshest, coolest "theme" type cab I've seen in years. Can't tell you how much I love that control panel art and marquee. Fantastic. 

[SNAAKE]

boss artwork

I live around coney island

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

As usual, I'm late to the party, but I'd nevertheless like to say how awesome your cp design is. The way you incorporated the trackball is just great.

One question though, wouldn't yellow instead of green buttons for the right side fit the colour scheme better? Or are you going for an overall blue/ green colour scheme... apologies if I missed that...

[NYSubway18]

Thanks...yeah I pretty much hate yellow, and orange. ;-)  I originally thought I would do Left side blue, Right side red, and top middle green, but had trouble finding the 4 way I wanted in green, and then decided I liked the classic red on the 4 way better anyway.  I like to stick with the classic R-G-B.

[mgb]

The artwork looks great. very original and nice theme

[DeLuSioNal29]

So are you thinking of a round shape for the side art sticker or a rectangle shape?  If you go with round, maybe you can incorporate the ferris wheel in there somewhere.

Also, with your Avid/Vegas editing skills and my Aftereffects skills we can probably make a cool little intro video for your cabinet.

By the way, assuming the weather cooperates, the cab's paint job should be done by next week.  But you'll need to come over to throw out some ideas for the modded coin door.  It's slightly different from the Stern door I'm used to.

D

[Mr.Ian]

Nice theme, Cant wait to see the finished CP.

Will it be lit ?

[NYSubway18]

8 of the 10 buttons across the top are planned as translucent colored buttons with LEDs.  (Not lighting the two butoons for use with the 4-way.  Also plan to have a lit trackball, but not the regular game play buttons.  I tried to "brighten" the buttons a little that will be lit in the pic, but guess it's not real obvious.  Basically the ones that have labels, plus trackball is all.

[BobA]

Love your control panel theme and artwork.   Makes me want a hotdog