Author Topic: Nostalgia - Done and delivered! (Read 23055 times)

dkersten · « **on:** July 11, 2014, 06:57:26 pm »

Well, I ordered all the parts for my next cab, a single player cab for my parents, titled: Nostalgia.

The day after I got my tankstick and had it set up on my dining room table, my parents (67 and 72 years old) came over for my daughter's b-day and I couldn't pull them off it longer than to sing happy birthday. This was before I even had my first pre-fab cabinet, the one I sold to my brother (along with that tankstick). Now that my personal cab is done, I will get one built for them.

Theme-wise I am shooting for some mix of a classic "pac man like" arcade look with some 50's type jukebox style. I have no idea if I can pull it off. When I asked my dad what he wanted for a theme, he said "This all makes me 'remember when', so go with something like that." I decided "Nostalgia" fits, so I am running with it. Of course, it is a mame cab with modern technology (LCD, RGB lit buttons, trackball), so I can go slim and will likely do something close to what I did on my first one, maybe close off the sides a little more so I have more room for artwork.

I am using one servostik and 7 player buttons, even though they will probably never use more than 3 buttons. There are still plenty of grandkids who come to visit, so I will probably have some of the shmups, vs fighters, and maybe even some nes and snes (mostly Mario) stuff on there, and I wanted to make sure I have enough buttons. I will throw side buttons on so I can add a couple pinball games for the heck of it. 4 service buttons, 2 player buttons, and 2 credit buttons round it out. Mostly RGB with an ipac ultimate to control it all. Also a utrak trackball with the RGB lights.. I would have done just solid color non lit buttons, but my mom LOVES the lit trackball on mine, so if I was going to do that, I might as well add a few more lights.. Plus this way only the buttons they will use will be lit, and that will help.

I figured the servo stik so they can play the 4 way games better but have the 8 way game options without them having to know about switching the restrictor around. Chances are they will play pac man mostly, but they wanted it to be able to do other things, more for bragging rights, lol.

I will probably do a base of black with yellow t-molding and yellow and red artwork, but I might go with yellow base and red t-molding, I will decide after the art is done. That will be the biggest challenge, I have to come up with a lot of art, and it will mostly have to be hand drawn.. I can't just take some stock art and throw some extra stuff in it like my first one..

Anyway, I will post pics and all that once I have something more to show. This is far from revolutionary, but it should be fun nevertheless. I tried to convince them to go with a vertical monitor and only the ultra classic games, but they want to play golden tee too, lol, so a 27" it is..

UPDATES: Details are below, but here is the current state of the artwork, layout, and state of construction:

Slippyblade · « **Reply #1 on:** July 11, 2014, 09:10:35 pm »

Your parents rock.

dkersten · « **Reply #2 on:** July 17, 2014, 02:20:13 pm »

OK, Parts are starting to show up, picking up wood today, but still have a TON of decisions to make.

I just drew up my idea for a marquee, and I think I like the retro style of something like the old coke machines.. bold colors, chrome strips, and script fonts.. But I want to go primarily black and yellow, with some red thrown in for accent. I will incorporate some pac-man art into the side art to tie it together. I have no idea if I can pull this off in a way that doesn't clash too bad. I am totally mixing eras here, but I think it will come out pretty cool.

I am going to paint a base of black for the cab, and I haven't decided on red or yellow t-molding yet.. I got the yellow in, and I like it, but red with all that yellow might work out really well too.

Here is the first draft of my marquee:

I would LOVE some feedback.

Here is more of a traditional red version while keeping a splash of yellow.

yamatetsu · « **Reply #3 on:** July 17, 2014, 02:44:43 pm »

I like the second one more. If you put a light behind it, the "Nostalgia" will really pop,
while in the first one everything BUT the "Nostalgia" will pop.
Depends on which effect you want to achieve.
I'd just print both and put a light behind them to see which one fits.
Remember to use a darker red as the light will make it lighter.

dkersten · « **Reply #4 on:** July 17, 2014, 02:50:22 pm »

Actually my folks don't want it backlit.. lol.. so the yellow with a gloss clear laminate would probably pop more. I do like the red one a little better by itself, but when I think about it on a sea of black and yellow, it won't really go well. At least that is my line of thought right now. But I posted both to get opinions to see if that thinking will be swayed..

yamatetsu · « **Reply #5 on:** July 17, 2014, 03:05:34 pm »

Sooo ... What about the red one and a sea of black and red then

dkersten · « **Reply #6 on:** July 17, 2014, 03:10:08 pm »

Just not sure if I incorporate some of the pac man side art how it would go with a primarily red background..

I'll give it a shot though..

yamatetsu · « **Reply #7 on:** July 17, 2014, 03:20:12 pm »

Something like yellow sides / red front perhaps ?

Rick · « **Reply #8 on:** July 17, 2014, 03:32:42 pm »

Sticking with the nostalgic theme (which I LOVE) why not incorporate something like this?

Nothing like a classic car motif, although I have no clue as to how you might pull this off...

dkersten · « **Reply #9 on:** July 17, 2014, 04:27:37 pm »

I like the idea of something with the flames, but it wouldn't really be to my parent's tastes, even as a "retro hod rod" type theme.. Maybe I will have to tackle something like that for my race cab build though.. pretty badass..

I have a couple ideas that I will work on later today and tomorrow.. Not sure how it will come out, but the best way to find out is to try it..

dkersten · « **Reply #10 on:** July 17, 2014, 07:11:36 pm »

Here is a fairly rough draft of a side in red. I am still way into the early stages of this, and I haven't filled any details in, let alone decided on the overall layout or anything.. Not sure I want that much red in it, and if so, I might go with a darker red.. starting to feel really orange after looking at it for too long..

yamatetsu · « **Reply #11 on:** July 18, 2014, 03:28:59 am »

My interpretation. Although to be honest, the chrome bars don't really fit to the 'flat' style of the other graphics.

Le Chuck · « **Reply #12 on:** July 18, 2014, 07:50:04 am »

If you're doing some classic Pac Man on the sides but not doing the exact original I'd take a design cue from Mrs. Pac-man and do the lines with curved rather than angular corners. Also stroke the color bars with another color to give it a bit of pop.

The three bars underneath the main graphic don't look good with the raised and shadowed effect, but the bars themselves will look good. The way they are rounded off should be the same for all the other bars. It looks a bit unseemed right now.

dkersten · « **Reply #13 on:** July 18, 2014, 10:21:40 am »

I think the striping is way too thick.. it works in the marquee because it is fairly subtle but still stands out. The problem with the sides is the sheer size of the real estate. I just don't want a massive sea of red.

I am worried about any lines that follow the cabinet lines. In just 48 inches on my CP for my first cab, the vinyl stretched enough during application to be off by over 1/8th of an inch, and since the buttons had the outlines, those outlines are very obviously off. I wouldn't want to apply a 68" long graphic and end up a quarter or half inch off and have a curve that follows the edge look way off. The straight lines along the back should be easy enough to keep straight, but I want it to run off the front without any lines following.

I have a couple ideas I will try..

I agree that the "flat" arcade graphics with the "3d" looking chrome bars don't go together well.. Still working on that one.. I know there is a way to integrate the two..

dkersten · « **Reply #14 on:** July 18, 2014, 11:23:56 am »

OK, I like this one WAY better.. I might try to do something in the top section, but I haven't figured out what might work yet.. WAY more of the theme I did on the marquee with a little of the arcade thing thrown in.

dkersten · « **Reply #15 on:** July 18, 2014, 11:30:07 am »

And I just ordered chrome t-molding.. yellow or red just wouldn't work here, and chrome will fit it to a T (pardon the pun)..

yamatetsu · « **Reply #16 on:** July 18, 2014, 08:04:15 pm »

That's the way to go. The upper section definitely needs something though.

An idea :

yotsuya · « **Reply #17 on:** July 18, 2014, 11:52:12 pm »

Quote from: dkersten on July 18, 2014, 11:23:56 am

OK, I like this one WAY better.. I might try to do something in the top section, but I haven't figured out what might work yet.. WAY more of the theme I did on the marquee with a little of the arcade thing thrown in.

I like this one. Don't worry about plastering every inch with characters.

dkersten · « **Reply #18 on:** July 19, 2014, 12:29:06 pm »

I don't have it here at home with me, but I added a contour line in the top part that makes it look like part of the panel is recessed slightly, and I am happy with it, so that is all I will add to that.

Now I need to get the CP artwork done, and get that side printed full size so I can transfer it to wood and start cutting. With the curve I can't just draw it out on the wood, I need a template. I might even hit my buddy up for use of his cnc router and bring the scale drawing and see how it works out.. Pinning him down is the tough part, he is one of those guys who is always super busy. Took him 3 months to get me a title for a truck I bought from him.. lol.

dkersten · « **Reply #19 on:** July 25, 2014, 01:05:58 pm »

Got the basic CP layout done. Single servostik, decided to go with 6 instead of 7 buttons, mostly since nearly all games played will likely never even require more than 3, so a seventh is just overkill and doesn't look right. The other 3 are for "just in case". Stuck to the one player setup because I can't think of a game my parents will play that supports a second player simultaneously, and this way they are centered on the screen while playing and not off to the left. I went with the straight button layout from slagcoin for the cleaner layout (will match art better I think) and realistically, 95% of the time they will be playing pacman.

The bottom part is so big because the CP will wrap down and I needed room for the art. The bottom edge of the CP surface will actually be about 3 inches up from the bottom of this pic.

The 4 buttons on the left are P1, P2, coin1, coin2. I was going to hide the coin 1 and 2 buttons, but they balance with the other 4 buttons so I left them up top. The 4 on the right are admin buttons. I might make the setup a shift function just to keep them from accidentally getting into it (key the unshifted to do nothing), but I like having a select button to launch games instead of using the P1, and a pause button is always good, as is a dedicated exit button. I don't like using shift functions to multipurpose buttons, particularly when people who are not very tech saavy (ie can't remember how to use their remote for their tv) are going to be using this. If I made exit and pause shifted functions of other buttons, I would be getting a call about once a month to ask how to get out of a game again.. I thought about doing the admin buttons with smaller buttons, but this way the size balances out and keeps it from looking too "frankenpanel"

The service buttons and the credit buttons will be black. I might change that to red considering I decided to go red with the art, but either way I am not lighting those up. The credit buttons are the chrome trimmed with rgb in the centers so they can blink and all that in the games. The buttons 1-6 are all rgb lit as is the trackball. I will also add side buttons so I can throw a few pinball games on there just for fun, and those will be lit too.

All I have left to do with this is print it at full scale (it is 26.5" wide, 12" deep for actual CP top) so I can set it at the right height and make sure I like the feel of the layout. I hope to knock out the art today as well, then finalize the art by next Monday and get it to the printer.

Unfortunately I have some work to do this weekend both at my office and for some friends, so while I hope to get started cutting wood, I probably won't make much headway.

dkersten · « **Reply #20 on:** July 28, 2014, 07:18:58 pm »

I made a little progress this weekend, but then I ended up helping some friends paint their house and had to work pretty much all day Sunday doing some server rack maintenance and swapping out the entire power system of my rack. By the time I got home Sunday night I was only ready to sit in front of the tv and veg out, not make any more dust.

But I did manage to get the template for the side cut out based on the full scale printing of the side I designed in Illustrator. Then I rough cut the two sides from the 3/4 inch MDF. I am ready to use the router to clean them up and get them exact, which I might do tonight.

I tweaked the CP layout a little more and art is just about done. I tweaked the colors a little on the marquee and sides. Here is the art as it stands (since I used my own webserver to host pics, it updated a couple up above with the tweaks). I might as well edit the first post too to include final art as I go.

Marquee:

Control Panel - keep in mind the bottom ~3" is wrapped down the front of the cabinet. I centered the buttons and reconfigured based on that layout. Aesthetically it looks far better than having the buttons off center, and because it is a "one player at a time" setup, this way the player is centered on the screen regardless of if using the joystick or trackball:

And side art (mirrored on the other side):

Again would love feedback on the art before I finalize it and send it off to be printed. Aside from a Tim McGraw concert tomorrow night, I intend to work pretty hard on this the next couple weeks. A buddy wants a cabinet now, and he is out showing off what I already built and might have a couple more lined up for me.. lol. So I want to get this one in the bag before September hits.

Slippyblade · « **Reply #21 on:** July 28, 2014, 08:11:38 pm »

I don't know if it's been mentioned yet but this artwork has a VERY 50's diner vibe to it. I'm liking it, reminds me of a diner I used to work in as a teen.

ViriiGuy · « **Reply #22 on:** July 28, 2014, 11:13:12 pm »

It looks great!

One thing I noticed, you have two credit buttons and two start buttons. If it is a single player, you will only need one of each.

dkersten · « **Reply #23 on:** July 28, 2014, 11:45:29 pm »

Quote from: ViriiGuy on July 28, 2014, 11:13:12 pm

It looks great!

One thing I noticed, you have two credit buttons and two start buttons. If it is a single player, you will only need one of each.

Thanks!

MOST games that they will play will be 2 player capable, but none are simultaneous 2 player, so while only one set of controls is necessary, I will need 2 start and 2 credit unless I want to add shift functions, and I really don't want anything more complicated than pushing a single button.

yamatetsu · « **Reply #24 on:** July 29, 2014, 01:52:20 am »

Wow ! The artwork certainly has come a long way from the initial concept. This just looks great.

I especially like the consistent way the chrome bars are done (same pattern on the side, same pattern on the front).

One very minor thing about the CP : How about coloring the button texts in the marquee's yellow ? Would be slightly more
consistent in regard to the marquee and it would also set the text a bit more apart from the chrome bars next to it.

jaharr01 · « **Reply #25 on:** July 29, 2014, 03:57:00 am »

I love that retro art deco look. you know what would look really cool is if you used plain base baseboard molding. around the base instead of the printed relief molding on the vinyl. they sell it dirt cheap and some matching chair rail with some thin chrome t molding. Painted red that thing would look awesome.

rtkiii · « **Reply #26 on:** July 29, 2014, 09:29:29 am »

I dig the side art with the transparent game behind the characters. that is slick.

dkersten · « **Reply #27 on:** July 29, 2014, 10:23:23 am »

Quote from: yamatetsu on July 29, 2014, 01:52:20 am

One very minor thing about the CP : How about coloring the button texts in the marquee's yellow ? Would be slightly more
consistent in regard to the marquee and it would also set the text a bit more apart from the chrome bars next to it.

That's a good point and one I am struggling with.. usually the dark red with the chrome is highlighted with a cream or white lettering and pinstriping, and while I have the whole black and yellow striping going on, I sort of like the white as a contrast, at least in small amounts. Plus the white for smaller lettering will be more legible I think. But then the theme does have the yellow lettering, so I am not 100% yet. I will mess more with it today, and hopefully get the basic layout for the FE put together to tie it all up. I need to get art out soon.

dkersten · « **Reply #28 on:** July 30, 2014, 08:51:59 pm »

First draft of the FE layout (Mala). I am not 100% on it yet, although the basic design is what I was after.. I might tweak the "display" part, and I think I will go with a cream colored backdrop on the text with some generic typeface font to make it look like it is an old machine with a mechanical display for the game choice.. maybe something more like an old jukebox..

Having issues with the computer and mala.. it crashes if I try to go into the mame config from mala, and I can't figure out why. Mame was giving me problems too until I switched the video to direct draw instead of d3d, but I am not happy with that. So I am thinking I might throw a graphics card in it, even though the intel g33 chipset should be more than sufficient.. it supports all the directx stuff from what I can tell, but it is not working right. Clean windows 7 64 bit install and the latest driver straight from Intel, so who knows what is up with it... frustrating.

Anyway, here is a capture of the layout. I only have pacman set up so far, so no other games on the list. I am not quite to the point where I can start getting roms and art loaded up, I just threw this together to see how the layout looked. Would love some feedback.

Still no progress on the cab, but maybe tonight. Still tired from the concert last night, lol.

I did order red buttons for the CP for the admin and credit buttons. Oh, and I changed the font on the CP to yellow instead of white.. definitely goes better.

dkersten · « **Reply #29 on:** August 01, 2014, 08:13:05 pm »

Wasn't happy with that layout, so here is the new one. I only wish I could add an HLSL filter to the oval area.. looking for that retro futuristic tv look. Again only got one game in the list, so the list doesn't have the games above and below the selected game, but it looks good with that impact label font..

yamatetsu · « **Reply #30 on:** August 02, 2014, 01:05:01 am »

Sorry to say it, but the first draft fits way better.

In the second one, the gray 'noise' background in the oval is just jarring. That doesn't fit at all.
The logo looks like it's slapped on just for the sake of being there and it also looks like the oval is going to push it off the screen the moment
you look away

Also, the turn knob is off center to the right, with the little arrow pointing to the right and thus emphasizing it. The idea behind the text box is
good, but you are using that Nostalgia-font all over the cab and then have one place where you use another. Not a deal-breaker, but it's inconsistent.

I would use the initial draft, move the game selection box a bit to the left and center that turn knob to the chrome 'buttons'.

Here's something to compare the overall look :

One small thing : You might want to apply the color gradient you used in that layout to the marquee and possibly to the CP, again for the sake of consistency

dkersten · « **Reply #31 on:** August 02, 2014, 07:52:10 pm »

Thanks for the feedback

. I will make some adjustments before it goes to print on Monday. The first draft of the layout was WAY too big with the game list, and my inspiration for the layout is actually closer to the second than the first. The "snow" idea was better in my head, so I will rethink that. The first one I threw the pattern behind the snaps just because I didn't want it to be black, but overall when it is on a 27" screen it just wasn't right. I might swap the list back to the left and move the oval to the right again because it does line up better with the round trackball in the CP. I just eyed the knob and buttons when moving them, I still need to throw up some guides and get them perfect, lol.

dkersten · « **Reply #32 on:** August 02, 2014, 08:32:04 pm »

OK, I spent about 5 more hours in the shop today, 2 hours last night. Here is the play by play:

First I layed out the structure for the top on the scale printout of the side. If I could offer any advice to anyone building a cab from scratch, it would be to draw as much out on a side with a computer (I use illustrator, but anything that allows you to draw to scale) and get it printed out on a large format printer. I am lucky enough to have access to one at work, but office depot, kinkos, staples, and a bunch of places offer printing services for technical drawings and it isn't that expensive.

I had already added the key measurements and lines on the drawing, but I hadn't taken the time to draw the full dimensions of the wood, so I did this first. This gave me a great template to make each piece. It was especially helpful on the angles.

I did the top structure first, the board that goes above the monitor with the speakers in it, the marquee light box (although I wasn't going to light this one, it would be a super easy matter to do), the top of the cab, and a piece in back just for structure. I got the 4 pieces cut, routed the speaker grill in, and started putting it together.

Then I lined it up on the drawing after gluing and nailing it together and it lined up pretty perfectly! You can't really see my lines I drew, but that's because the piece covered all the lines

I have seen a LOT of people using the same 2.1 Logitech speakers I used on my last cab and am using on this one. Here is the method I used to mount them: First I cut small blocks of MDF that are about 2" wide and just a little over an inch deep with about a 5 degree bevel on them (cut with a miter saw). I lined up the speakers, marked it, and glued and nailed the blocks in place. (yes, I missed with a few brad nails, just ignore them, they will never be seen and I was in a hurry, lol)

You can see I painted a little from behind to get the paint in the grill slots, this will help a lot later.
So here is a speaker next to the block:

And here is how it looks when I press fit the speaker on:

Since this will sit upright, the friction fit is good enough, but if I wanted to make sure they never came off even in transport I would just add one screw to each and they would be permanently mounted.

This morning I got started on the base. I am using corner casters this time, with adjustable feet in front. So where the casters are, I wanted it to be stronger since this is where the weight will be in transport, and it can take some good shocks. Oak, glue, and screws is about as strong a joint as you can get, and the corner made of oak could take a truck driving over it without breaking, so it should be strong enough to last. I cut the slots for the wheels on the table saw with a miter gauge, then cut the tabs out with the jigsaw. I had to open them a little more for the axels of the casters.

The top of the base doubles as the shelf the computer will sit on.

Wheels and feet are installed.

Now I cut the front of the lower cab out, and mounted it to the base. But I had to decide on the service door. My mom didn't care about a coin door, but I didn't want to do art on the front, and needed some kind of service door anyway, so I said screw it and cut the hole for the coin door. I will order it up and just take the hit (it is not in the budget). You just can't have an arcade cabinet without a coin door. The ones from x-arcade are $50 shipped and work with quarters.. I have found just the fronts without the mech for about $40-50, but heck it's the same price and you get the mech too, so I might as well.. If I could find a blank door I could stick a credit light on for $20-30 shipped I would do that in a second.
Anyway I went ahead and cut the hole for that.

Next I worked on the CP since it was easier to do it now rather than after the base was installed in the cab. The CP top and front is about an eighth inch narrower than the base.

And here is how it opens!

so with that done, I went ahead and started laying it all out on a side. Got the base and front lined up and glued and nailed. Then I got the CP base laid out and used that to get the keyboard door mounted and mocked up

Once that was all glued and nailed in, I got the top section lined up and mounted.

The next step took a while. My "bench" was just a couple sawhorses with the remaining MDF as a surface. It isn't perfectly level, so with the different sections all mounted to the one side, the other side wasn't going to just line up perfectly, and the thing is you have to glue it all at once. Furthermore, the sides are all curves and angles, and NOTHING just squares up to them.. This is where using battens would have been superior. Although things lined up pretty close on their own, I needed it to be perfect or it would be noticeable once it was all together. This was tricky but eventually I got my marks all set up and was able to glue it up and brad nail it to hold while the glue set.

So here it is, standing up and ready for the last couple parts before paint (keyboard door is off for paint, too much of a pain to remount it just for a pic, lol.) :

And here it is with the CP hinged open. I am VERY happy with this mechanism.. it is super simple, super stable, and looks good.

So the heat got to me and my girlfriend got an unexpected weekend off, so I am taking the night off, but tomorrow I will tackle the marquee mount, the bezel and monitor mount, the keyboard shelf and slides, and the back. I should also be able to get a coat of primer on it. Sides won't need paint, just primer because they are getting totally covered in vinyl, so I am just going rattle can this time. The setup and cleanup with the gun is overkill for the small areas, and I was very unhappy with the 2 month cure time on the latex paint. Mine is almost fully cured after 2 months, and it pisses me off, lol.

Xiaou2 · « **Reply #33 on:** August 02, 2014, 08:49:51 pm »

IMO, the red is a bit harsh on the eye. Might really clash with deco. (which is another consideration.. of where its to be put)

Im thinking a nice Teal (Blue green) that you usually see on classic cars, and other older classic stuff.

That goes good with pink... and so a Ms. Pacman theme might even be better.

Though, I suggest changing color palettes to match.. if you are going to use stock art. Otherwise, colors might Pop too much, and stick out as if they dont belong.

Another thing.. is the lack of crasftman ship. The 50s era went balls out for ornate detail. Look at the furniture. Ball gripping tallons, Curvy wood accenets. And the cars.. Ornate detail trim, chrome plated to be shinny as a mirror.

If you choose to stick with the gold.. at very least, I would use actual goal leaf. Fake painted gold looks gaudy. Even pretty much the same for faked silver. Tacky.

The display artwork.. has some issues too. Not really digging any of the designs. Might want to do a little more digging through various images of things from that era, and see if you cant clip together a more accurate and more visually appealing artwork layout.

yotsuya · « **Reply #34 on:** August 02, 2014, 10:08:13 pm »

Don't worry, Dave, he's just trolling you. He does that from time to time.

I think it looks good. ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---, if you're going for 50s authenticity, make sure you use lead paint and line that sucker with asbestos.

dkersten · « **Reply #35 on:** August 02, 2014, 10:47:03 pm »

Quote from: yotsuya on August 02, 2014, 10:08:13 pm

Don't worry, Dave, he's just trolling you. He does that from time to time.

I think it looks good. ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---, if you're going for 50s authenticity, make sure you use lead paint and line that sucker with asbestos.

Oh I am not worried about X2, we are having some nice spirited conversations in other threads, so I am well aware.

lol, I already ordered my asbestos sheets and dammit, if I have to melt some old tire weights, I am GONNA have leaded paint in there, especially on the buttons and joystick where the grandkids can get good exposure to it..

dkersten · « **Reply #36 on:** August 02, 2014, 11:24:09 pm »

Quote from: Xiaou2 on August 02, 2014, 08:49:51 pm

IMO, the red is a bit harsh on the eye. Might really clash with deco. (which is another consideration.. of where its to be put)

Im thinking a nice Teal (Blue green) that you usually see on classic cars, and other older classic stuff.

yeah but that isn't really the theme I was looking for... I wanted to go red, yellow, and black. I ended up dropping a lot of the yellow, but the last thing I want to do is start in with another color like teal.. And personally I am not a fan of Teal, even on a nice 50's classic car.

Quote

That goes good with pink... and so a Ms. Pacman theme might even be better.

If I were doing a 50's deco Ms. Pacman, then it could work..

Quote

Though, I suggest changing color palettes to match.. if you are going to use stock art. Otherwise, colors might Pop too much, and stick out as if they dont belong.

The only stock art I am using (aside from images in the FE for each game) is the pacman and ghost characters on the side.. the rest is all original and drawn from scratch. And the character colors don't clash with the red theme. I do want them to pop out though, the red, chrome, and even the pinstripes are all the "base" of the art, the "canvas" if you will, and the characters and the game are the real reason the cabinet exists to begin with.

Quote

Another thing.. is the lack of crasftman ship. The 50s era went balls out for ornate detail. Look at the furniture. Ball gripping tallons, Curvy wood accenets. And the cars.. Ornate detail trim, chrome plated to be shinny as a mirror.

If you choose to stick with the gold.. at very least, I would use actual goal leaf. Fake painted gold looks gaudy. Even pretty much the same for faked silver. Tacky.

Since I am not looking for the 50's era craftsmanship, I don't need to worry about that. This is a 70's arcade inspired cab (with that size of footprint) with a "nostalgia" theme.. but since this is for my parents, they are huge fans of the late 50's era, so I wanted to mix that in. Google image search "nostalgia electrics".. it is a company that makes retro inspired kitchen appliances, and it is more or less my inspiration here.

as for the chrome, I considered getting a hold of some actual chrome trim, and someone even suggested using real trim for the "3d" areas of the art.. but in the end the budget dictated how far I am going to go with it.

Quote

The display artwork.. has some issues too. Not really digging any of the designs. Might want to do a little more digging through various images of things from that era, and see if you cant clip together a more accurate and more visually appealing artwork layout.

I am not "clipping" together anything.. Like I said, aside from the pac man and ghost, this is 100% hand drawn in photoshop by myself. Considering I am not a very artistic person and I am only self taught in everything I do, I think it is coming out pretty well. But regardless of that, I thank you for your feedback. And I am not trolling you here. I love positive criticism as much as anyone else, and I have a ton of appreciation for all the positive feedback here, it keeps me striving to do more and push to do more that normally I would consider "good enough". But I also appreciate negative feedback. It allows me to look at my work from a different perspective and see places I can improve.

Believe me, there is nothing you could say about this that would upset me or make me feel bad or anything like that. There is only three people who have to be happy with it - my mom, my dad, and me. And I am already pretty happy with it, lol. Heck, try writing a book once and then put it out there for others to critique.. you spend countless hours writing hundreds of pages, hundreds of thousands of words, and then someone who has never written anything longer than an email starts picking it apart.. talk about having to have thick skin, lol. Thankfully 99% of the feedback I had was positive, and the rest actually inspired me to go back and refine the book. Lately I have been wanting to get back to writing, but now I have 3 more people literally throwing money at me to build them a cabinet. And I just got my g25 setup so I am itching to start building a sit down race cab for myself.. and one of my friends is pushing me to start selling more, so I could be busy with this for a while, lol. Doesn't leave much time for other hobbies.

Slippyblade · « **Reply #37 on:** August 03, 2014, 12:34:25 am »

Holy crap! I just looked up that Nostalgia Electrics company. I want one of those hot dog toasters!!!!

Hot Dog Toaster

Speed Racer · « **Reply #38 on:** August 03, 2014, 06:28:02 pm »

Quote from: dkersten on August 02, 2014, 10:47:03 pm

Quote from: yotsuya on August 02, 2014, 10:08:13 pm
Don't worry, Dave, he's just trolling you. He does that from time to time.

I think it looks good. ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---, if you're going for 50s authenticity, make sure you use lead paint and line that sucker with asbestos.
Oh I am not worried about X2, we are having some nice spirited conversations in other threads, so I am well aware.

lol, I already ordered my asbestos sheets and dammit, if I have to melt some old tire weights, I am GONNA have leaded paint in there, especially on the buttons and joystick where the grandkids can get good exposure to it..

If you really want authentic 50s you should find one of these bad boys for the screen... the "Radiation King"

Jokes aside, I think you are on the right track with your cab and artwork. I really like the combination of the 70s style cab with 50s style art theme

dkersten · « **Reply #39 on:** August 04, 2014, 12:56:20 am »

It is amazing how one day you can work for a few hours and see tons of progress, but others you work twice as much and it doesn't feel like you make much at all. Details take the time I guess.

Today I worked on details mostly. At least things that took time to do. I started with the control panel. Because it doesn't have any edges showing to grab and open it up, I needed a way to do that. I didn't want any kind of handle or hole to use as a pull, so I needed a way to lift it from the inside. Well, after a little thought, a stove bolt in a metal sleeve would do nicely. So I picked up a 6" bolt and a metal sleeve when I went to get paint and keyboard slides. I cut a small piece of wood, drilled a hole in it on the drill press, slid the sleeve in, and then placed it in the right hand back corner of the CP housing, then drilled it out, glued and nailed it in, and there you go. I had to chop the bolt down a little to keep it from protruding too far under the CP and potentially get in the way of the keyboard, but that was easy enough. I used a couple nuts to retain it, and now I can just reach inside the keyboard drawer area, press the bolt up, and the CP pops up enough to easily open it up. Then just because I had it lying around, I used a Blum soft close damper so when I close the CP it doesn't bang down.
Here is a composite pic of the damper, the top of the bolt in the CP housing, and a shot of the bolt head under the CP.

In retrospect, I should have mounted it at a slight angle back to match the angle of the CP. As it is, it does just barely catch the edge of the CP top, but it works well enough.. Still super happy with it. Unless someone knows it is there, they would never figure out how to get into the CP.

I then went on to the monitor mount and bezel. If you ever looked at my first cabinet project post, you would see how I did this, I made it nearly identical with only a couple minor changes. Why change what works? This time around I used a 45 degree bevel on the outer bezel, and made the inner bezel about 1/8" narrower. On my cab, the inner bezel is super tight because of the paint, I made the tolerances too close. This time I adjusted for it. Here is a pic of the back of the mount, and a pic of the front with all installed. The front bezel is glued in to the cab, and has the brass threaded inserts to allow the inner bezel/mount to screw to it from behind. This allows me to take the entire mount out very easily yet is rock solid inside. I did it this way because you never know when you might have to replace the monitor, and if the one I used is no longer available, dimensions will change and I will end up making another mount. If the mount is built in, I would have to have a removable bezel instead, and in my mind that is more work since it is the most visible piece in the entire cab.

Then it was on to the marquee holder. I used the same technique as on my first one: 1/2" x 1/2" poplar with a kerf cut into it the thickness of the plexi. In this case, the thin plexi from Lowes is exactly the width of my thin kerf tablesaw blade (3/16) so it fits perfect. A little tight once art is installed, but still fits nice. The bottom and sides is glued and pin nailed in place, and the top just friction fits so you can change it if you need to. Again, I made it able to be backlit but they don't want it lit up so I won't add the LED lights. If I want to down the road, 10 minutes and $20 in parts and it is done. I never turn mine on unless I have guests anyway, so I am OK with this.

I added a little more structure to the back, cut the slot for the t-molding, and went ahead and started priming. Got a coat of primer on the main cab and the monitor mount and keyboard cover. I still have to cut a keyboard shelf and mount it, which is about 20 mins worth of work but I need to lose my "work bench" to do it since I am about out of 3/4" mdf. I will do it later this week so I can at least hit it with some flat black before it goes in. I also have to cut the back covers and cut in some venting, but that is detail work that can be done any time. I got 3 coats of primer on the bezel edges so they are nicely sealed up. Tomorrow after it is very dry, I will sand it a final time and if it is smooth I will be ready to paint the semigloss black. if not, I will hit it with one more coat of primer. Sides will be sanded and should be sealed enough for artwork to go on, but if it doesn't feel smooth after sanding I will hit it with another coat too. I would rather go to bed with the comfort of knowing the art won't start to peel in a year because I left it too porous than cut corners to save a day and $10 worth of primer.

I started working on the CP top, but ran out of steam. I think I sweated about 20 lbs off today, lol. It was only 95 degrees again, but the humidity was higher than normal and it got to me a few times. I keep thinking that one day I will put A/C in my shop, but I normally don't use it much in the summer, and the dust would probably wipe out a wall mounted A/C unit in about a month. I still might try to tackle it one day, but not this season. It is nicely heated in the winter, and this weather will only be around another month or two.

I reinforced the CP top and just have to put the big roundover on the front corner now (Got a big 3/4" radius roundover bit that will be perfect) and then I am ready to drill holes. It is simple enough that I would be wiring it by Wednesday if I had the art done. My goal is to be pretty much ready to assemble by next Sunday night. Might not work out because my girlfriend is throwing a party for my bday next Saturday, and if it is anything like last year, I will be too hungover Sunday to make any serious progress. But I might make some decent progress this week and get ahead, who knows.

Xiaou2 · « **Reply #40 on:** August 04, 2014, 01:33:29 am »

Quote from: yotsuya on August 02, 2014, 10:08:13 pm

Don't worry, Dave, he's just trolling you. He does that from time to time.

I think it looks good. ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---, if you're going for 50s authenticity, make sure you use lead paint and line that sucker with asbestos.

Not at all. Was just giving my honest opinions and feedback. I think Ive only trolled Malenko.. and only because he just wouldnt stop being a troll.

I appreciate that you are able to see whats important. And realize I wasnt trying to be a troll. Didnt even realize, but I think it was you whom jumped on me over another post. But either way, I dont hold grudges like that. Genuinely interested to give feedback. Im a creative person, and I like to see creative things form.

Ok, after looking at the site.. I see what your going for. The color red you chose in your drawings, is way off from the look of the devices on the site. Seems they are using a sort of Metallic Candy-Apply, with a clearcoat gloss finish. If you can get your hands on that color, then its gona look quite nice.

But as said, the color of the pacman graphics on the side, were a bit off in tone and saturation compared to the rest of the cabinet colors.
When that happens, it creates a sort of visual clash. If I have a free moment, Ill show a visual of what I mean.

dkersten · « **Reply #41 on:** August 04, 2014, 02:39:29 am »

I originally used the red from the original pac man, but it was too bright so I darkened it until I liked it. I am not looking to COPY the inspiration pieces exactly, they are inspiration. When I started, I had in my head what I wanted it to look like, but I couldn't quite put it on paper because I am not an artist. I needed to look at something that was similar to what I was thinking, and the nostalgia electrics stuff is close enough that I rolled with it. I am happy with the red I ended on, and once it is in place with a lot of black on the cab to offset it, I will be happy I didn't go too dark. If I were painting the cab that kind of dark candy red, that would be one thing, but it is going to be semigloss black with the red vinyl art. I intend to go with the glossy laminate on the artwork (except the cp, I will stick to the polycarb finish for durability and fingerprint management there). The sides will look good, but it will still be just flat side art in vinyl, nothing crazy like OND's retro futuristic cab http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,88912.1480.html which would look awesome in that darker candy red.

It's OK that you don't like it, everyone's tastes are different. I used to hate lighter reds like the one I am using, but the last 3 years my car has been a color very close to that, and it has grown on me.

dkersten · « **Reply #42 on:** August 04, 2014, 03:19:06 pm »

OK, final run at graphics, made some adjustments. Added some gradient to all and tweaked it just a little. Redid the layout for Mala once more, not completely satisfied but I think it is kinda cool. CP is off to print, gonna double check my measurements on marquee and then I will get the marquee and sides to Brad. He is going to send the CP artwork right away so I can get that done this week, and the rest later in the week since I won't need it until Sunday at the earliest.

And the side:

yamatetsu · « **Reply #43 on:** August 04, 2014, 04:55:15 pm »

This is looking good ! You will soon reach the point where your parents will have to wrestle this thing out of your dead hands

dkersten · « **Reply #44 on:** August 04, 2014, 05:13:49 pm »

lol! Thanks!

You know, the cool thing about building something for other people is you don't see it every day, so when you go over to their place and see it, you get to rediscover that great feeling from the work you put into it all over again. My folks have a half dozen of my various furniture projects around their house from over the years, and each time I go to visit, I see one and stop to admire it. The stuff at my house that I built I seldom give a second glance because I am so used to seeing it..

rablack97 · « **Reply #45 on:** August 05, 2014, 08:50:28 am »

Keep up the good work...........

dkersten · « **Reply #46 on:** August 06, 2014, 11:40:41 am »

Got some paint on the cab last night, and whipped out the CP layout. Went to see Guardians of the Galaxy with my daughter last night, so I didn't spend too much time on it, but got done enough to be happy. Great movie by the way, I recommend it highly.

So I started with the layout. I printed the layout from illustrator onto just some 11x17 paper since I didn't get to it until after hours at work and didn't have time to send it over to our large format printer. It is small enough where it only took 2 sheets. Got it lined up perfectly and ready to mark holes.

I drilled the centers of each hole with a small (like 3/64" I think) bit. I found this is the perfect way to do it because it makes a great guide for the forstner bit, and you can just drill the tiny pilot holes through the paper template. Took about an hour to drill all the holes and get the trackball hole cut, and countersink the joystick a little. Had to make room for the servo too.

I also sanded the cabinet and bezel down to 220, dusted it off, wiped it with tack cloth, and shot some of the paint. I was impressed at how quickly the rattle can laid it down on the primed surface. In fact it went down so fast that I got a couple heavy spots I will have to sand.

A word about the primer and paint: I primed one heavy coat on Sunday evening and then let dry until Monday afternoon. I attempted to sand a little but it was too soft and was gumming up my sandpaper. I did some light touch up with the primer and gave it another day. Night and Day difference after 48 hours vs 24 hours. It sanded very well, didn't gum anything up, and made for a nice surface. The primer was supposed to be completely dry after 24 hours, but even in low humidity high heat, it took nearly twice as long. The paint from a can is curing about 100 times faster than latex too. I shot latex nearly 10 weeks ago on my first cab and it is still not 100% cured (at about 95% now). Although the rattle cans are more expensive than latex paint and primer, and you make one heck of a big toxic cloud, I am sold on using it versus latex. I really didn't want to have to clean up my HVLP guns after shooting oil based enamel, so the rattle cans are the way to go.

Anyway, I went semi-gloss black for the front of the cab, and I am pretty happy with the results. It lays down so well that every tiny detail is coming through. Unfortunately spots I thought I had filled and smooth are not as good as I thought, but unless you get real close you don't see them. I never would have gone full gloss black unless I spent a few dozen hours with a good automotive filler primer and a LOT of sanding. The semi gloss shows enough flaws as it is, lol..

I ordered a coin service door (just a service door, no holes or mechanism) and I thought when I ordered it the dimensions were a little bigger than my hole. But upon further investigation it looks like the hole is perfect. I had held off on painting the "kick" area of the cab because of this, but I will go ahead and lay down a good coat tonight.

Art should be here tomorrow. CP is ready for art and then buttons. I will probably be wiring tomorrow night!

I also documented my method for cutting the hole for the trackball and I will post it in the woodworking section. I had sort of documented it in another thread, but this time I have pics of each step.

dkersten · « **Reply #47 on:** August 08, 2014, 11:31:32 am »

Well, art didn't show up yesterday, damn the usps!

So I spent a couple hours cutting the last few pieces: keyboard tray and the back pieces. I used some scraps of oak for cleats on the back side for the recessed 1/4" panels. Then I cut a 4.5" hole at the top for a vent, cut the hole from the CP housing to get my wires into the cab, got all the rough stuff painted up, painted the backs and keyboard tray (just flat black, nothing special), and finally got the keyboard slides mounted. I went ahead and assembled the keyboard door since the paint on the front of the cab is done, got the tray installed, and then just to see how I like it with color on it, I placed the CP and took a pic. I am happy with it.
I also cut the hole for the power outlet, which I will hardwire to a power strip this weekend when I get the CP done. CP art should arrive today, so I think tonight I might be applying that and getting the controls wired, and tomorrow during the day I will likely get software for the controls set up (install ledblinky and get the servostik working). Then it is just hurry up and wait for the side art to show up next week, get that on, put the t-molding on, and deliver.. after a few pics of the final project of course

Pics didn't come out good with shiny black paint against a night background, lol, but here is where it is at..

rablack97 · « **Reply #48 on:** August 08, 2014, 12:18:10 pm »

Very nice work man....

Can you provide the links for your front levelers, i'm using the same casters on a build myself.

rablack97 · « **Reply #49 on:** August 08, 2014, 12:21:29 pm »

Quote from: dkersten on August 08, 2014, 11:31:32 am

Well, art didn't show up yesterday, damn the usps! So I spent a couple hours cutting the last few pieces: keyboard tray and the back pieces. I used some scraps of oak for cleats on the back side for the recessed 1/4" panels. Then I cut a 4.5" hole at the top for a vent, cut the hole from the CP housing to get my wires into the cab, got all the rough stuff painted up, painted the backs and keyboard tray (just flat black, nothing special), and finally got the keyboard slides mounted. I went ahead and assembled the keyboard door since the paint on the front of the cab is done, got the tray installed, and then just to see how I like it with color on it, I placed the CP and took a pic. I am happy with it.
I also cut the hole for the power outlet, which I will hardwire to a power strip this weekend when I get the CP done. CP art should arrive today, so I think tonight I might be applying that and getting the controls wired, and tomorrow during the day I will likely get software for the controls set up (install ledblinky and get the servostik working). Then it is just hurry up and wait for the side art to show up next week, get that on, put the t-molding on, and deliver.. after a few pics of the final project of course

Pics didn't come out good with shiny black paint against a night background, lol, but here is where it is at..

Um just a suggestion lose that chrome handle man, that totally looks out of place and takes away from the arcade feel, get you some push magnets instead of that handle.

dkersten · « **Reply #50 on:** August 08, 2014, 01:11:05 pm »

I think the chrome handle will make more sense once the art is on.. I picked one that felt "50's" to me, and it should blend in well with the art directly above it. I just got the art a few minutes ago and I think the chrome stripes came out great. Plus I am using self closing euro hinges, and once the CP is in place, there is no way to really open it up with a push mechanism. The only alternative would be a hole or recessed pull of some kind, which is one option if the chrome doesn't work for me. Or I can shoot it flat black and it wouldn't be noticed after that..

Edit: And here is the link to the levelers. I got them off amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ATUE3M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

rablack97 · « **Reply #51 on:** August 08, 2014, 01:56:50 pm »

Ah ok.........i gotcha...

may something more low profile or with a little character to it.....a few suggestions...thanks for that link

rablack97 · « **Reply #52 on:** August 08, 2014, 02:09:40 pm »

FYI found those levers here for 4.00 a piece.

http://www.wwhardware.com/heavy-duty-leg-leveler-sygheavy-m10x75

yotsuya · « **Reply #53 on:** August 08, 2014, 03:32:45 pm »

I'm with my man Rodney's initial thought - handles never look good on a cabinet. IMHO, stuff like that breaks the illusion. That is, if you are going for authenticity. I get you might want stuff like that to make it easier for your parents to maintain, and that's cool, but just thought I'd add $0.02 to Rodney's $0.02. Now you just need $3.96.

dkersten · « **Reply #54 on:** August 08, 2014, 04:39:08 pm »

I hear ya.. on my other cab, the giant CP covers the handle so you can't really see it.. on this one it is more obvious, so I tried to make it fit the style... Authenticity is sort of a double edged sword here, lol, not many arcade cabs in the 70's and 80's made to look like a 50's diner.. Or had flat screens and all that.. So in that regard I am OK with mixing up the elements. But at the same time, I always want to make it more obvious that this is an arcade cabinet, so I try to get the major elements the same..

I have been thinking about it and I am going to see how it comes out with the art on the CP, and if it does stand out even a little, I will switch to something different..

As always, I am grateful for the feedback, without this forum and those of you who comment on my work, my stuff wouldn't be nearly what it is..

Oh, and on the levelers, I know I could have found cheaper, but I love my Amazon Prime and the free 2 day shipping.. Usually spend a few more dollars but I know it will ship that day and I will have it in 2.. I only order outside Amazon when I either can't find it there or when I don't need it for over a week.. UPS ground from either coast is usually a week to here, and I have found so many online retailers who will not ship the same day... Often when I go to unknown retailers it is 10 days before I see the product, and I am not patient with shipping, lol.

dkersten · « **Reply #55 on:** August 11, 2014, 12:39:11 pm »

Well, it as an interesting weekend... I got the art for the CP on Friday so when I got home from work I decided to start in on it. It was kind of a challenge because of the front of the CP being curved down. I couldn't lay it flat and tape the artwork to the surface I was using, and I couldn't wrap the art around the CP to tape it in place once it was lined up, so I had to hold it firmly in place with one arm while using the other hand and some help from my son to get one half started.

Overall the alignment worked out, but it isn't perfect. From left to right the alignment is off by about an eighth inch.. fortunately the only place where it is noticeable is around the joystick. But then there is the joystick hole, which I must have changed slightly on the photoshop art and not updated on my illustrator layout because it was quite far off. Fortunately there is a dust washer, so I was able to chisel out the recess for the stick, drill out the holes on the stick mount plate and align it within about a 16th of an inch. Close enough for me..

But then once the art was cut and completely on, I noticed a fatal flaw. Looking back I think the problem stemmed from setting up the original bleeds on the photoshop side of things. My template for drilling holes somehow was 1/2" off between the illustrator and photoshop files. Since I aligned the vinyl using the trackball hole, the entire art was shifted 1/2" to the left. I had more than enough bleed on the art to cover it, but it meant that the admin buttons and the elements in the art were all 1/2" further from the right than from the left. This was a mistake I simply couldn't just "let pass". It was too noticeable and while my parents probably would never notice or even care if they did, I would know it was like that and I just couldn't let it sit.

I had three choices - start over on the CP, get new art printed, and delay everything another week, ignore it and move on, or narrow the CP and account for it on the cabinet. I couldn't ignore it.. I even lost sleep over it Friday night. Saturday I finished wiring everything with the intent of building a new CP after everything was done and transferring it all to the new one. Spacing wouldn't change so it would only take an hour or so to move everything from one CP to the other. I got it all set up, wired, and then fired up the PC and got it all configured.

Andy has been fantastic about getting me new firmware updates for the ipac ultimate to fix a few minor issues, so I loaded the one he sent me on Friday that fixes the animation performance issues, and spent about an hour getting it all set up and configuring a simple but nice animation to run while idle in Mala. The only issue I have now is Mala is really slow to launch a game sometimes when the animation is running.

Everything was working great on that end, so I set the CP in place on the cab to get a couple pics and called it a day. I was having a couple dozen people over that night so I had to stop. One of those friends showed up first, and we ended up in the garage talking about the issue with the art. He recommended shortening the CP and putting some kind of filler strip in. Sunday, while I was quite hung over, I had made up my mind and decided to cut the CP down.

I made a jig to lay the CP on while it went through the table saw so I only had to remove the joystick and trackball to lay it flat. The table saw cut the art very cleanly so that went well. I then used some oak scraps to make some 1/4" strips, cut them to length and got the profile right, and then painted them and attached them to either side. The CP is now 1/2" shorter and the art is centered, and it looks just fine.
So here is the before pic:

And here is after:

It doesn't capture real well on camera, but here is a closeup of the spacer on the right

Anyway, I got the service door in place, had to get a lock for it and modify it to be tight. I installed the monitor, speakers, power strip, outlet and switch, and back panels. I should have side and marquee art tomorrow, and once it is installed I can bolt in the side buttons and get the PC installed and do final testing and tweaking, and then deliver it. Just about to the finish line.

Oh, and I swapped the pull for the keyboard door to a flat black pull. I was tempted to go with a long chrome handle that would match up better with the chrome stripes in the art, but then I would have had to fill and repaint the door, and I wasn't sure if it would stand out too much or not. I opted for subtlety.

markc74 · « **Reply #56 on:** August 11, 2014, 02:13:35 pm »

Nice fix :-) I don't think anyone other than you would even notice it wasn't supposed to look like that.

Great cab btw. Loving the curves.

dkersten · « **Reply #57 on:** August 11, 2014, 02:33:54 pm »

Thanks! I probably could have left it, but it was eating away at me like cancer.. lol. The fix worked out really well though so I am satisfied.

rablack97 · « **Reply #58 on:** August 11, 2014, 02:47:44 pm »

Better on the handle selection, i would still go for a lower profile, it sticks out alot.

Only reason why this is a sore spot for me is that the craftmanship and the lines on this cab are phenomenal. The drawer handle takes the whole concept of a manufactured look to an oh yeah i made this one in garage myself.

If you had some other noticable DIY qualities on the cab i'd leave it alone, but everything else is done so well, its hard to no comment on those hideous handles.

Other wise awesome recovery on the CP, great work...

More i think about it, i would have the handle underneath the base, so you could pull out the tray from the bottom instead of the front. If you configure it well that wont happen very often, so its a shame to see a handle there and it probably wont get used much once the build is complete.

yamatetsu · « **Reply #59 on:** August 11, 2014, 03:23:24 pm »

Two suggestions for getting rid of the handle :

- use the holes for the handle to thread some kind of string through them (black leather perhaps), inside the cab tie weights to the ends.
The weights keep the string tight, when you pull the string they help pull the drawer out.

- Replace the handle with a piece of black metal or do the entire front of the drawer in metal, use a magnet to open the drawer and store
the magnet somewhere when not needed, perhaps attached to the inside of the coin door.

dkersten · « **Reply #60 on:** August 11, 2014, 04:34:39 pm »

Yeah this one does stick out further than I would like. It was the best I could get at Lowes over the weekend, lol. I thought about cutting it shorter and drilling and tapping it so it only stuck out about 1/2", but I haven't had a chance to get back to address it. Ideally I want to find something that is just a slight lip to get your fingers under to pull it down. My clearances are tight, 1/8" all around, and since the CP hinges right on top of it, I can't do anything hidden above or on the sides, and since they are euro hinges, they are spring loaded and that means no hidden latches, which would be ideal in this case. The handle area is very visible on this cabinet, so anything I do has to look good close up.

Thank you for the compliments on the craftsmanship. The camera hides a lot of the flaws, lol. Granted, most people would never spot the flaws, but I know they are there and it eats away at me.

yotsuya · « **Reply #61 on:** August 11, 2014, 04:41:23 pm »

Yeah, other than the keyboard tray/handle, I really like a lot of what I see here. Your parents will love it.

dkersten · « **Reply #62 on:** August 11, 2014, 05:02:41 pm »

just ordered a flush mount pull. I couldn't find black so I will just shoot it flat black so it blends in and get it flushed in with the router. Love my Prime, it will be here tomorrow

rablack97 · « **Reply #63 on:** August 11, 2014, 10:49:09 pm »

Quote from: dkersten on August 11, 2014, 05:02:41 pm

just ordered a flush mount pull. I couldn't find black so I will just shoot it flat black so it blends in and get it flushed in with the router. Love my Prime, it will be here tomorrow

I didn't mean to push the issue, and i usually dont say much, cause folks do what they want anyway. I kinda figured that's what you wanted, something just to be able to pull out the tray. Just wanted you to think on it more, you will be happier with your new idea. Once you slap on the rest of your aesthetics, that chrome handle would of had you doing this

and the rest of the forum like

and me

for not listening

.......

markc74 · « **Reply #64 on:** August 12, 2014, 07:35:06 am »

On an old build instead of a handle I just drilled a button sized hole, inserted a normal black arcade button and removed the plunger. Worked ace and has a nice finish too.

dkersten · « **Reply #65 on:** August 12, 2014, 11:07:52 am »

It's all good, I wasn't all that happy with it and even if nobody had said anything I would have likely wanted to swap it out. Frankly my parents would never have cared in a million years, but I care so I will change it. The simple black handle is "good enough" but still sticks out a little too far for my tastes. But what I really want to use would require me remaking that panel - not something that is difficult per se, but I want to be done with this tonight. When the art arrives I will get it applied, install the t-molding, wire the side buttons, install the new handle, plug the computer in and do final testing (gonna test a new firmware for the ipac ultimate real quick) and then deliver the cab to my folk's house and be done with this one. If I leave it at my house any longer I will be tempted to "improve" on it or fix some other super minor issue that is purely cosmetic and known only to me...

I kind of like the idea of an arcade button, but I am thinking if I did that I would modify the button to still have a plunger but one that goes way in so I can plunge it down and then bend my finger and pull to open. But then of course they would be calling me asking what the button on the front does, lol.

PL1 · « **Reply #66 on:** August 12, 2014, 11:31:47 am »

You could use a spring-loaded magnetic latch like this or this.

Scott

rablack97 · « **Reply #67 on:** August 12, 2014, 11:37:29 am »

Quote from: PL1 on August 12, 2014, 11:31:47 am

You could use a spring-loaded magnetic latch like this or this.

Scott

that's what i said, he said that wouldn't work...

dkersten · « **Reply #68 on:** August 12, 2014, 11:43:38 am »

Again, it would have to be a strong spring on that kind of latch because the euro hinges are pretty strong to keep it closed. PLUS, it would have to have at least 3/4" of travel for me to get it far enough out to get a grip on the door and pull it down. The door is recessed under the CP by 3/8" with less than 1/8" clearance. Most of those latches I have seen push it out about 3/8"-1/2" at most. And inch would be better, but 3/4" at a minimum..

Plus it would require redoing the panel, which only takes a few seconds to cut, but would take a few days to prime, let dry completely, sand, and then apply 3 coats of paint and let dry.

dkersten · « **Reply #69 on:** August 12, 2014, 12:04:38 pm »

I would also have to cut out my strike plate, which would be quite difficult as it is the entire length and glued in place. Otherwise the door would not be able to push in to unlatch. Longer throw switch latches would work for the throw but since the door is very short, at 1 inch out it would be way out of alignment and might bend the latch instead of pushing it in (they are made for wider doors, not a 5" door).

I considered a "pull tab" type pull that mounts on top and behind the panel, but having it protruding out from the top of the door would interfere with the control panel being folded out, so that is out. I searched for a pull tab style pull that was front mount and could be mounted lower, but couldn't find anything I liked. If I could tig weld I would use some flat aluminum stock, bend a 90 in it, roll one edge, then weld on some studs at 3" on center to slide it into the existing holes and bolt it on from behind, but alas I don't have a tig welder available, and having a one off made would be out of the budget. I think overall the flush mount pull I ordered on Amazon yesterday (with $3.99 next day shipping, love my Prime, lol) will work out fine. I will route out the mortise for it which will cover the holes I drilled so I won't have to remake the panel, I will paint it black so it blends in, and it will be flush and partly tucked away and practically invisible from the front, but will function perfectly.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the ideas, and in the future I might consider a different route (I have 3 more cabs to build after this one). Over the years I have built quite a few different kinds of cabinets, and I tend to favor the euro style self closing hinges. There are so many different ways you can go with doors like this, but most choices require some pre-planning. I didn't think about it too much because on my last cab the CP overhung so far that it covers the handle completely. I figured if I went with something chrome it would blend with the chrome stripes in the art, but in the end the protrusion was too much and I decided against it. I considered a 20" chrome bar handle that would have looked good straight on and lined up really well with the chrome art, but it would have been spaced too low so it would be slightly out of place and again the protrusion made it look wrong.

dkersten · « **Reply #70 on:** August 12, 2014, 02:13:08 pm »

Well, it looks like the art isn't going to make it today.. 2 day priority mail sent Friday the 8th, expected delivery Monday the 11th, here it is Tuesday the 12th and it just left Mississippi this morning.. Thing is, it said it departed yesterday too, so someone screwed up, no big surprise there..

I got the new drawer pull though.. maybe Amazon should take over for USPS, they seem to be pretty good at getting packages where they are supposed to go on time, and for less money, lol. I guess I will get the pull installed tonight.. I guess it is time to start planning the next one out too..

dkersten · « **Reply #71 on:** August 13, 2014, 02:33:29 pm »

With nothing else to do last night, I went ahead and routed out the keyboard drawer door. Since I knew I had at least another day, I went ahead and painted another coat on it after routing it out. Got the handle painted too.

Also looks like the USPS has again dropped the ball, so I am at a complete stand still waiting on art to arrive. I am thinking that my next few projects I will just find a local printer.. Brad does a fantastic job but I simply can't wait a week each time I need art.. Took 3 days for the first 2 day priority package, and at 5 days and counting on the second.

I would have been done with this Sunday if I wasn't waiting on this.. And they leave for 2 weeks on Friday, so even if the art gets here Thursday, I might as well just set it aside until they are back.. Guess I will be hauling it into my house so it doesn't get all messed up in my shop.

So here is a couple boring pics of the "progress".....

rablack97 · « **Reply #72 on:** August 13, 2014, 02:40:27 pm »

yep pretty boring.........nothing to see here......

dkersten · « **Reply #73 on:** August 13, 2014, 02:44:45 pm »

lol, I only posted it for you, since you had such a problem with the handle..

dkersten · « **Reply #74 on:** August 13, 2014, 07:22:34 pm »

Better?

My art arrived at the post office finally.. I could have walked to the east coast from Montana to get it faster, but at least I will get it tomorrow evening and not next month sometime..

rablack97 · « **Reply #75 on:** August 13, 2014, 09:06:15 pm »

Well i'll be damned he finally listened.......muuuuuchhh better....

in case you get anymore bright ideas..

dkersten · « **Reply #76 on:** August 15, 2014, 01:03:02 am »

Well, art showed up and I got it all finished up!

layed the side art out:

Got it stuck on, trimmed, and installed the t-molding:

Flipped it over and repeated the process, got the marquee art on, and here it is:

And here it is with the software fired up:

First off, I realize now that I should have planned the art a little better, I didn't even think about how the sides would relate to the control panel and marquee. If I had thought about it, I would have lined up the chrome strips and done 3 on the sides instead of 2 to match the front. I am kinda bummed about it because it was a simple oversight. It just would have flowed so friggin nicely if I had done that. I designed the pieces completely separately though, thinking they would be so far apart that they wouldn't blend together. Live and learn though. No way I am spending another $200 and waiting 2 more weeks for new side art.

I set up 40 games total, although I might throw in some NES and SNES stuff this weekend, just because everyone loves playing Mario, lol. I was going to add a couple overlays for games like space invaders, just to get the background, not the bezel, but Mala doesn't want to remember where the artwork folder is for some reason. I add it and it doesn't save it, and then I go into the mame.ini and add it there and Mala still doesn't launch it right, and I can go to mameui64 and it works fine but still not in mala.. not even sure how I got it working on my first cab to be honest.. not a big deal though, with the widescreen I am short on vertical real estate, so no big loss.

I still have one issue I am trying to troubleshoot. When I fire up Mala, the LEDblinky animation sequence starts. It doesn't stop looping though for about 2 minutes, regardless of if I select a game or even launch a game. It is supposed to stop and light the game controls. After about 2 minutes it finally stops and works fine after that. And if I try to launch a game during the first couple minutes, it sits there for about 60 seconds, then finally launches the game but the animation is still running. Eventually the animation stops, switches the colors to the game buttons, and switches the Servostik to the right mode, but until it decides to finally stop the animation, it just ignores everything. After this is done once, it works perfectly. You can switch games and the right lights light up for 6 seconds like I have set, it will go back to the animation after that, and the moment you switch games, it does the set delay and then runs the colors again. If you launch after this, even with the animation running, it immediately stops like it is supposed to and sets the buttons to the right color and switches the joystick mode. Not sure what happens after a wake from sleep mode yet, I will dig into that this weekend.

And finally, here is an un-narrated video of the cab. You have to forgive the quality, I just got this Galaxy S5 and I am not happy with the camera or color quality.. it makes my screen look pink when it is the same red as the rest of the art. I didn't show the back of the cab because the panels are off and the wiring is a mess still. Nothing much to see there though, lol. I have a second video where I went through more games and showed the RGB buttons and how LEDblinky changes them per game, but unless someone is interested in seeing more detail on it, I am not going to take the time to upload it to youtube. In this one the basic animation I set up is running, it just cycles a few colors on the 6 buttons and trackball in a circle before returning to red. Kinda hard to see the colors on the video because of this crappy camera.. sorry.

Aside from some basic bug hunting this weekend and a couple wire ties, it is done. On to the next one....

yamatetsu · « **Reply #77 on:** August 15, 2014, 01:37:01 am »

johnrt · « **Reply #78 on:** August 15, 2014, 03:02:56 am »

That's a very nice and clean build!

Great job!

rablack97 · « **Reply #79 on:** August 15, 2014, 10:43:09 am »

yesss...handle blends nicely........

Blasphemy

yotsuya · « **Reply #80 on:** August 15, 2014, 11:06:00 am »

Aw, I wouldn't beat yourself up too much over the number of chrome bars on the side art. It's honestly a non-issue. Only the OCD would care.

For future builds - figure out a way to ditch the keyboard tray altogether.

dkersten · « **Reply #81 on:** August 15, 2014, 11:39:50 am »

Thank you ALL for the feedback! Everyone's comments have helped me in some way, even if I didn't take the advice. It is always a little tricky posting the half baked ideas - you get good feedback that helps to get you to the end result you really want, but you also tend to feel a little judged based on ideas that are only experimental, as if it is the final work or something. It can be both encouraging and discouraging all at once. But I believe the end result is worth it. If anything, listening to what other people think I should do will solidify what I was already thinking, even if it is in the opposite direction of what they think.. I spent so many years doing things like this on my own without feedback DURING the project, and I have to say that getting some feedback while still developing it definitely makes a difference. So I am thankful for this community.

Quote from: yotsuya on August 15, 2014, 11:06:00 am

Aw, I wouldn't beat yourself up too much over the number of chrome bars on the side art. It's honestly a non-issue. Only the OCD would care.

For future builds - figure out a way to ditch the keyboard tray altogether.

lol, I am far from OCD, I haven't seen my desk through all the clutter in a year.. I just see the potential for this cab being that much better if I had some forethought on the art.

I find myself always pulling the keyboard tray open to do things - adding games, updating firmware, transferring files, etc. Last night I didn't have a keyboard or mouse hooked up and I was able to troubleshoot and fix 3 issues without it (using the trackball and side buttons as mouse buttons). But I couldn't update the firmware on the controller because to do so it shuts the controller off, so I need a mouse at the least. I suppose I could just have an external USB port for mouse/keyboard and keep it tucked away, but this way the cab could be used as a computer workstation in a pinch. I have spent probably 60 hours in front of my cab with a chair and the keyboard tray out using it as a regular computer. I think I might redesign the entire mechanism on the next one though. I have an idea that might work out well and blend in to the point where you would never see it if you didn't know it was there.

yotsuya · « **Reply #82 on:** August 15, 2014, 11:42:01 am »

Quote from: dkersten on August 15, 2014, 11:39:50 am

I have spent probably 60 hours in front of my cab with a chair and the keyboard tray out using it as a regular computer.

See, I build the entire game setup on my main computer, then transfer the setup to the cab computer once done. Works easier for me that way. I rarely, if ever, need to get "out" of the game setup on the cab.

dkersten · « **Reply #83 on:** August 15, 2014, 12:06:08 pm »

Really hard to set up LED's when you don't have the controller plugged in to your computer, lol.. And to troubleshoot issues with the controller or specific buttons. Or to set up new emulators to work with the specific hardware in the cab. Of 5 computers I have tried it on, Demul only worked on 3, and it took completely different configurations to get it to work on 2 of them. BUT that being said, if I can build the control panel separately and then plug it in to the computer I will be using at a desk and get it all set up there, I technically won't need a keyboard or mouse in the final build. The latest firmware Andy sent me will allow the ipac ultimate to wake the computer, so I don't need a keyboard or mouse for that any more, where it was a requirement before. My own cab I have experimented on quite a bit, and it is all specific to the cabinet hardware (driver changes for various hardware, new firmwares, light gun configuration and troubleshooting, multiple emulator configuration, etc.), so it comes in handy to have that functionality.

yotsuya · « **Reply #84 on:** August 15, 2014, 12:09:34 pm »

Quote from: dkersten on August 15, 2014, 12:06:08 pm

My own cab I have experimented on quite a bit, and it is all specific to the cabinet hardware (driver changes for various hardware, new firmwares, light gun configuration and troubleshooting, multiple emulator configuration, etc.), so it comes in handy to have that functionality.

That's probably the biggest difference. I try not to overcomplicate my builds. I use a I-Pac or J-Pac, so it all just "works", pretty much plug and play.

Malenko · « **Reply #85 on:** August 15, 2014, 12:10:53 pm »

for the handle, I would have just put a pacman on the left, and made the "handle" 2 pellets, then you could put a ghost or MsPac or whatevs on the right for symmetry

Le Chuck · « **Reply #86 on:** August 15, 2014, 12:58:22 pm »

Quote from: Malenko on August 15, 2014, 12:10:53 pm

for the handle, I would have just put a pacman on the left, and made the "handle" 2 pellets, then you could put a ghost or MsPac or whatevs on the right for symmetry

dkersten · « **Reply #87 on:** August 17, 2014, 03:39:36 pm »

I delivered Nostalgia yesterday, and I have to say that just hearing my dad tell me how impressed he is with the quality and craftsmanship made it all worth it. My mom is the one who really wanted the arcade, and while my dad gravitates toward my arcade when he is here, I got the impression that he didn't really think that having an arcade cabinet at his house was something he really cared about or even wanted. But the moment I got the cabinet inside, that changed. Whatever he was envisioning was not what he was looking at when I rolled it inside. I have worked for him for 15 years now and handled every aspect of technology for the family company as it has tripled in size in that time, from advertising, to website development, client and server computer setup, maintenance, and repair, to every aspect of telecommunications, network engineering, and even designing and building our corporate building. Over the last 25 years since moving out on my own, I have built a half dozen pieces of furniture for them, built and installed a rather nice theater for them, fixed countless computers and helped with hundreds of technical and mechanical issues, and I don't think there is a single thing I have ever done that garnered that much "awe". I have never seen him so thrilled with anything I have done for him either personally or professionally. And he has always been very complimentary and very encouraging, so to me, that is saying a lot.

Once I moved it into place and got the unit fired up, I didn't even get a chance to show him how it all worked before he had ms. pacman fired up and was playing. I finally had to reach across and exit the game so I could show him how everything worked before leaving him to play. I snapped a pic of him engrossed in the game, and it is the final shot for this project.

The cabinet fits wonderfully in the room they chose to put it in, the red works well with the rest of the décor, and it looks as if it was made for the room as a whole. The only downside is there is a table next to it covering part of the lower artwork. If I had known where it was going to end up (they originally planned a whole different room for it), I would have altered the art to put the pac man art up higher so it would be visible, but just like the way it flows from the sides to the front, I just couldn't see it coming when I was drawing it up. That aside, there are no regrets here, I am happy with how it turned out, and while I could point out a dozen minor flaws, they will never see a single one, and that is what matters most.

SpaceHedgehog · « **Reply #88 on:** August 17, 2014, 03:51:28 pm »

I'm not surprised it's been so well received. Great work and what a thoughtful gift.

Malenko · « **Reply #89 on:** August 17, 2014, 04:38:02 pm »

I knew they would love it. You did a fantastic job with the build and it's great you got a shot of the machine in its new home and being used by your pops

Ond · « **Reply #90 on:** August 17, 2014, 06:31:59 pm »

Great work and very nice to see your dad enjoying it. You obviously have some valuable skills across a a broad range of areas - very useful around here!

Ond

yotsuya · « **Reply #91 on:** August 17, 2014, 06:35:34 pm »

Great job, Dave!

johnrt · « **Reply #92 on:** August 17, 2014, 06:39:07 pm »

That's the best gesture to any man's parents I have ever seen.

What a great job!

Le Chuck · « **Reply #93 on:** August 17, 2014, 08:07:23 pm »

You rock man!

yamatetsu · « **Reply #94 on:** August 18, 2014, 03:52:09 am »

Nice to see a beautiful specimen of the rare Nostalgia breed in it's natural habitat. Congrats on a job very well done !

dkersten · « **Reply #95 on:** August 18, 2014, 10:29:16 am »

Thank you all for the positive feedback! I couldn't have done this without this forum and all your contributions.

rtkiii · « **Reply #96 on:** August 26, 2014, 07:47:47 am »

very slick and even better ending pic! Very well done!


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