My first build : Clint. Finished.

[Generic Eric]

Is this /mspaintbattles or what?  I can't do layers, but if you could just imagine your vent cover being secured over the jagged hole.  If you put rubbing alcohol on plexi it gives a look of frost in the early stages.

[yotsuya]

I don't get you guys. Things I work on for hours upon hours are meh, a joke I slap together in 10 minutes leaves you salivating.

Well, then now might be a good time to use that option to tell us to go ---fudgesicle--- ourselves. 

[yotsuya]

Just do the first one:



It's a joke, we all know it's a joke, no one will ever see it, but it's cool that it's there.

[Vigo]

We would also love you to add "Angry Birthday" Clint 

[Slippyblade]

I don't get you guys. Things I work on for hours upon hours are meh, a joke I slap together in 10 minutes leaves you salivating.

Sometimes the BEST ideas are off-the-cuff jokes.  These boards tend to be very organic - look at some of Tully's works as examples.

[Le Chuck]

"I put my pants on like you... one leg at a time. But when my pants are on i make gold records the most kick ass art recommendations evar." -Bruce Dickinson Le Chuck

[yamatetsu]

Well, then now might be a good time to use that option to tell us to go ---fudgesicle--- ourselves. 

You wouldn't believe how sorely tempted I am right now.

Sigh.

In order of appearance :

Go big or go home.

I shall be heading home, then. Bye.

You could also just print the black on clear transparencies, use clear coat to glue them to the back of the cabinet, and then encapsulate the top in a layer of clear.

The stuff I have available, though transparent, is clearly visible. I didn't go to such lengths to make the front art look as good as I can to have something on the back that just looks slapped on. Also, I can only print up to A4 size, so Clint & Clyde would consist of several pieces, with no chance of hiding that.

Hear me out.   Because with just a little more tinkering ^{and maybe cutting a whole new panel} you could have that top vent in the center of his chest.  Back light that separately and it would look like an arc reactor.  Maybe someone would notice but you could act like it was a happy accident. 

First of all, these holes are intend for passive cooling, so no vent. The whole back will be removable, so if possible I don't want any cables attached to it. Visually it would look arkward because Clint would have to be moved up and left, leaving Clyde too close to him and a gap on the right side.



So, while this is a neat idea, which could be simplified by just buying a neon-lit vent, it will probably not happen.

Or these:

Or these:

Bezel

The bezel will very probably have no art at all. I can't print anything that big, so it would look pieced together. Also, there is something like too much of a good thing. There's the coin door with the edge-lit Clint, the CP, the speaker covers and the marquee. I think that's quite enough art already.

I like # 3......however keep in mind this is the back of the cab, will hardly ever be seen, this needs to be seen all all times if possible.

I am inclined to do #3 ... On the back of the cab.

Stop making this darn thing better if your not gonna fix the CP.........dammit man


soooooooo





And clydes version of denied.....

And my version of denied ... I told you not to push it. The CP will be done as I showed you in the last layout. End of discussion.

Is this /mspaintbattles or what?  I can't do layers, but if you could just imagine your vent cover being secured over the jagged hole.  If you put rubbing alcohol on plexi it gives a look of frost in the early stages.

This doesn't work on multiple levels. First of all, it just looks like some pics randomly thrown together. Second, we are talking about stencils here, I'd never be able to cut out the cracked glass. Which brings us to point number three : The broken glass is cut off at the edges. I can only convert these pictures into silhouettes, I'm not able to do the missing cracks in the glass myself.
Fourth, how would you get the part of the gun that's covered by the vent ? This is meant for ventilation, so putting something over it which contains the art is not so smart.
Sorry, but that's a no.

Conclusion : Option #3 it is on the back of the cab.

[yotsuya]

Great.... You ---smurfs--- broke yamatetsu.

[yamatetsu]

Great.... You ---saint's minions--- broke yamatetsu.

Even better response time on this ... Are you training that ?

[yotsuya]

You just happened to post when I happened to check. 

If it's that unfun for you, bro, just tell us to get lost and build what you want to build. To be honest, your theme is so... offbeat, maybe we don't know how to handle it. Build it the way you want to build it.

[rablack97]

I honestly don't care which way he goes with it, its his cab, and he has to live with it and play it.

Posting your work leaves you open to criticisms and opinions, raves and kudos.  All in all I'm just having fun with this.

If you decide to go with CP #1 with the 3 sticks on it, what am i gonna really do about it, not a darn thing.  You'll be proud of your work and thats all that matters. What we think and comment on is because we've all built before and just like to see good stuff.

All i can tell you is dont pull out the tampon now and get cranky, have fun with it, do what you feel is best for your situation and roll on.

[yamatetsu]

Well, it gets a little old that this is ping-ponging all over the place. I just want to be able to finish the cab sometime. Possibly in the near future.

[rablack97]

Look at it like this.....you've got 2000 views and a alot of the major players and OG's in this forum commenting on your build, so your doing something right man.  Yes we all push buttons but thats because we like what your doing.  Anyway....be glad your not the guy that posted and only gets like 30 views after like a week and nobobdy even posts a response, thats when you know your project is straight trash.......

Do your thing man......take what you want out of our BS and ignore the rest.....

Well, it gets a little old that this is ping-ponging all over the place. I just want to be able to finish the cab sometime. Possibly in the near future.

Um who said you had to do what we said.....come on man, apparently you care too cause your making the changes......so don't blame us buddy, you want this to be the ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- too 

[yamatetsu]

Yokay, will do 

[Le Chuck]

All this upsetness from the guy that wanted to use color caricatures on a theme build around silhouettes of photo real images?

I'm not seeing how we're slowing you down man, its not like you have to check BYOAC before you make your next cut.  You don't even have to post.  We LOVE that you do, and enjoy thread jacking thread jackable threads from time to time but let's be honest bro, we're not painting mona lisas over here. So get in work shop, finish it your way and let us see it when its done...or, keep on posting and be ready for folks to do what folks do best.  Enjoy themselves with fellow hobbyists. 

[rablack97]

All this upsetness from the guy that wanted to use color caricatures on a theme build around silhouettes of photo real images?

I'm not seeing how we're slowing you down man, its not like you have to check BYOAC before you make your next cut.  You don't even have to post.  We LOVE that you do, and enjoy thread jacking thread jackable threads from time to time but let's be honest bro, we're not painting mona lisas over here. So get in work shop, finish it your way and let us see it when its done...or, keep on posting and be ready for folks to do what folks do best.  Enjoy themselves with fellow hobbyists.

Dang and Yot slapped my hand for being a meanie.....

+1 on this though.........Enjoy themselves with fellow hobbyists.

[yotsuya]

Well, it gets a little old that this is ping-ponging all over the place. I just want to be able to finish the cab sometime. Possibly in the near future.

When I was working on my Macross build, there were a few guys that tried to talk me into going full-size side art. I politely declined, though, because that didn't mesh with my vision. They gave me other pointers that I DID take into consideration, like the color scheme (battleship grey and gunmetal, which I NEVER would have considered on my own), and an graphic bezel, which I wasn't going to do. You can pick and choose from our advice whatever you want, really. Or you can just finish it and post pics when you are done and that's that.

I will say this, we might be having fun with this build, but I don't think a single piece of feedback has been purposefully malicious. No one's messing with you just for the sake of it. I have pretty much agreed with all the suggestions and criticisms, and I fully believe the guys suggesting them are trying to be helpful.

[Vigo]

I love Clint Eastwood, and I love your stencilwork. That is enough to keep me watching with anticipation. 

[PL1]

When I was working on my Macross build, there were a few guys that tried to talk me into going full-size side art. I politely declined, though, because that didn't mesh with my vision.

Fortunately, it was a vision, and not a putty nose.   


Scott

[Generic Eric]

+1 to what these guys said.  I've spent part of my night working on my tornado dude with my new to me dremel and the bits that came in the mail today.   Otherwise I would have chimed in sooner.   This afternoon, it was easier, though much lengthier, to toss together something in mspaint than a bunch of text explaining my idea. 

At this point I am interested to know what you are using to work the plexi?   What tool, which bit, & what depth are you cutting to?  Also what thickness of plexi again?

Best wishes.

[yamatetsu]

At this point I am interested to know what you are using to work the plexi?   What tool, which bit, & what depth are you cutting to?  Also what thickness of plexi again?

My main tools for the entire build are a jigsaw, a corded drill, a palm sander and a roller for the paint. I used 2mm lexan (or polycarbonate). Very easy to cut, also very easy to scratch.
The bit is a 30 mm forstner bit. No problems with the lexan, MDF is another matter. I don't know if I got a bad bit, for 15 euros (circa 20 dollars) it certainly wasn't cheap. I'd say it takes about three minutes to drill one hole into 12mm MDF, and besides drilling the bit is literally burning through it. The sides of the holes are all blackened and while drilling I get smoke like if I was having a small fire.

[yamatetsu]

All this upsetness from the guy that wanted to use color caricatures on a theme build around silhouettes of photo real images?

Sorry, did't know that you have to be a perfect designer to earn the right to be upset. My bad.

My main issue is rablack nagging me with the fricking CP. I explained that there are certain restrictions to what I can do, he kept nagging. I changed the layout and told him that I will redo the panel, he kept nagging. I told him to shut it, he kept nagging. Yesterday I modified the panel and used it as a template to drill the lexan. The three left admin buttons have to be moved a bit to the left.
The old holes can just stay as they are in the MDF. After having drilled a few holes into the lexan, I realized that I just had transferred the old holes to it, thus ruining it. This, of course, was my last piece of lexan. So I wasn't in a particular good mood when I checked the forum. First thing I see is rablack nagging again. That just blew my fuse.

For you, this goes on for two weeks and a half. For me, it's ten months in which not only the paint went wrong, that CP for example was the third one I did, and there were many other things. So, my level of tension about certain things is a bit higher than you might realize, hence it probably seems that I'm throwing a tantrum without reason, but sometimes it's just things adding up until someone discovers the trigger.

After cooling off a bit, I'm not mad at anybody. Keep posting your stuff and don't be surprised if after a while I cut you short 

[yotsuya]

After cooling off a bit, I'm not mad at anybody. Keep posting your stuff and don't be surprised if after a while I cut you short 

Actually, don't be surprised if the "stuff" dries up. 

[DaveMMR]

For the record, I started the thread thinking "okay, some offbeat theme for an arcade cabinet - problem some generic pics on the sides." But seeing the detail you put into this intrigues me.  I can't wait until the finished product.


Yeah, I did recoil a bit at the CP. Wasn't the worst layout I've ever seen (sticks aren't angled; buttons are arranged in a recognizable fashion - that's 75% of the battle right there) but it's easy enough to fix.


I see you're getting a bit frustrated. That goes with the hobby. Working on my projects, I've cursed enough to make God cry. But, if anything, you learned a couple of important lessons for the next time:
1. Hammer out the CP layout first before everything else, including artwork.
2. Sometimes you got to log off the forums if you ever hope to get work done. 


Good luck - looking forward to seeing more progress! 

[talkgeek]

re the feed back ..my projects fit into rablack97's comment below [unfortunately  ]

Look at it like this.....you've got 2000 views and a alot of the major players and OG's in this forum commenting on your build, .......be glad your not the guy that posted and only gets like 30 views after like a week and nobobdy even posts a response, thats when you know your project is straight trash.......

I really like your project!  I really like the stencil approach, I think it harks back to some of the original '70's arcade styling (yet original)
 
I have been watching from the start ..and to be honest have some misgiving's about the CP layout too (sorry)

However I own a Vinyl cutter, so if you would consider taking some of the advise being offered here to change the CP (and probably artwork placement or sizing etc), I'm prepared to cut the final stencils for you and send them to where ever you are located (PM me details and final artwork)

This is me offering to help you get the best out of your vision, offered with out strings (nor do you need to accept)

All the best - enjoying your project, looking forward to seeing it's outcome! 

[yamatetsu]

1. Hammer out the CP layout first before everything else, including artwork.

Well, I put the blame on the paint job. As it became apparent that I would be redoing that a lot, I didn't want to end up posting my project announcement and then giving weekly status updates about things getting messed up again and again. Also, I wasn't even sure if I would ever get it right. So, when I had nothing to do but waiting for the paint to dry, I did the stuff that has no paint job, including the CP.

I have been watching from the start ..and to be honest have some misgiving's about the CP layout too (sorry)

However I own a Vinyl cutter, so if you would consider taking some of the advise being offered here to change the CP (and probably artwork placement or sizing etc), I'm prepared to cut the final stencils for you and send them to where ever you are located (PM me details and final artwork)

This is me offering to help you get the best out of your vision, offered with out strings (nor do you need to accept)

All the best - enjoying your project, looking forward to seeing it's outcome! 

Thanks for the offer ! Appreciate it. I don't mind redoing the art, in fact, I bought the cardboard for that yesterday. I won't change the art, as I happened to have a really hard time finding a pic that looks good, does have a rectangular shape and still looks good with a bunch of buttons plastered over it.

The main discussion about the CP is about the joystick / button placement. This is a small panel, putting a trackball on it severely restricts the placement of the other stuff. Everyone seems to dislike it, but so far no-one has given me a better solution. Except for rablack, who recommended leveling the joysticks and moving the left admin buttons further to the left. This I have done.
If I hadn't screwed up the lexan I would already have presented you the new CP, which undoubtedly will be disliked aswell. But hopefully not as much as the first one 

[dkersten]

I know what you were feeling when you posted your rant (heck, read the "masterpiece" thread).  Just because other's might tell you how they think it should be done doesn't mean you have to take the advice.  The way I look at it is whenever you are given an alternative way to do things, or even just told that what you did isn't good enough, it makes you take a second look with a different perspective.  You look back at something you thought was perfect, or at least "good enough", and look at it with the idea that it isn't.  At that point you can decide for yourself if what you are looking at is still "good enough" for you, and if so, keep it and run with it.  But if you look at it and say "Well, ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---, I now see that it needs to be fixed or redone" then you are the one who has to live with the next decision.  I am one of those people who can't accept that something I could have changed got left alone because I just didn't want the hassle.  If I know it should be changed but I don't have the time or money to redo it, that is one thing, but if I could have and didn't, it will bother me.

The point is, you have to decide those things for yourself, and in the end take everything people say here as advice or opinion, not as demands.  This is your project and you are building it for you, so do what makes YOU happy.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with just not responding to someone's ideas, or to just respond by saying "I see what you are saying, but I want this to be the way I did it, so I will go with my plan." 

You didn't set out to build your "masterpiece", just a cabinet you wanted to build.  You wanted to make it the best you could with your skills, and you alone know of every single flaw.  Your perseverance and dedication to getting it the way YOU want it is what has brought so many to appreciate this.  You have some unique art, a couple "out of the box" features, and were willing to share with us not just the final product but the trials along the way.  That is what gains attention here.  It isn't about winning a popularity contest, and if it is, then you are doing it wrong. 

I am glad you decided to redo the control panel, but not because I think it would have ruined the overall build, but rather because I think you would have been disappointed in it yourself down the road.  I would love to see that clyde graphic in there somewhere, but if you don't feel you can fit it or have art you would rather use, then by all means, do what you want, if the finished product is something I like, it doesn't matter to me what "could have been".  On the other hand, if the finished product is something you DON'T like, then it DOES matter what could have been..

[Dalgaard]

1) Clint is bad ass!
2) Nice cabinet so far! (apart from the CP, but I shouldn't go there...oh wait, I already did).

3)

That chimp flipping the bird makes this entire project work, in my opinion.  You went from "nice but misguided" to "epic" in one jump.  That's a rare feat around here.

[yamatetsu]

It isn't about winning a popularity contest, and if it is, then you are doing it wrong. 

 

Wait ... You ... you are telling me that I won't win ?



In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have cut the Clyde 'discussion' (don't know hot to put it) short, as there are many creative guys here who just love tossing ideas around. I was in fact considering some art for the back, as it looks a bit lackluster with three vent holes and a serial plate. Clyde now finds himself on the back of the cab, with the first coat of black applied and the second will be done tonight. I hope that this will be the first time that I get it right at the first try, because cutting those small graphics sure is no fun and peeling off the tape was pretty difficult (read : a nightmare). If all goes well, I'll post pics tomorrow.

Thanks for your comment, I appreciate it.

[BGoulette]

In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have cut the Clyde 'discussion' (don't know hot to put it) short, as there are many creative guys here who just love tossing ideas around. I was in fact considering some art for the back, as it looks a bit lackluster with three vent holes and a serial plate. Clyde now finds himself on the back of the cab, with the first coat of black applied and the second will be done tonight. I hope that this will be the first time that I get it right at the first try, because cutting those small graphics sure is no fun and peeling off the tape was pretty difficult (read : a nightmare). If all goes well, I'll post pics tomorrow.

Thanks for your comment, I appreciate it.

But does Clyde's middle finger still look like a penis? 

I'm still in the process of trying to piece together some ideas myself, so observing the back and forth here has been instructive. You've got some mad patients patience with that frog tape and scalpel!

[yamatetsu]

But does Clyde's middle finger still look like a penis? 

Nope, I made that just a rounded shape. Can't say how it will look though as right now it is covered in tape.

You've got some mad patients patience with that frog tape and scalpel!

Well, at first it was patience, then it became pure stubbornness. I won't accept defeat from a lifeless object 

[rablack97]

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/Smileys/default/afro.gif

After cooling off a bit, I'm not mad at anybody. Keep posting your stuff and don't be surprised if after a while I cut you short 

Actually, don't be surprised if the "stuff" dries up. 

Yep, your complaining about all the comments about your work......It happens, and you will be like where the hell did everybody go, nobody is saying anything anymore.

[yamatetsu]

The serial plate.
I made a cereal plate.

The concept :



I took some thin sheet metal, cut it into a rectangle using shears (don't know if this is the right word for it), printed the art on a transparent adhesive sticker, cut it out and put it onto the sheet metal.

A horrible pic of it mounted on the back of the cab :



A larger view :



And a zoom :

[pbj]

Nice work.

 

[rablack97]

 

[yamatetsu]

I realized that Clyde somehow lost his nose in transit. Fixed that with two tiny stickers painted black.

[Vigo]

Clyde smells again!

[jongunz]

Really like your build, however i agree with most everyone else that the control panel needs to be fixed.  In the second mockup you did looks like you should try and spread player one and player 2 controls out some.  My cabinet was 28 inches wide so I was able to fit a third 4way stick in the middle plus 2 buttons for pacman, galaga, etc.  With the track ball I don't think you have the room.

Anyway Love the artwork, loathe the CP.

Hope you get it worked out as it's looking amazing.  I always like seeing the different talents of everyone on this forum.

[yamatetsu]

That is the problem. There simply is no room to do anything differently. I can't move the controls closer to the front because of the trackball housing / the P2 stick being too close to the trackball. I can't spread the controls out because the P1 stick already is pretty close to the side wall. The only thing to do to get the P2 controls closer to the front would be to mirror the P1 controls, meaning P2 would have to use the right hand to control the stick. That would give P1 an unfair advantage 

So, that's my dilemma. Everbody tells me to fix the CP, but nobody can tell me how to do that. 

Perhaps sometime in the future I will decide that the trackball doesn't get much use and can be ditched, but right now it seems that this will be the 'I like it very much, but ...' cab.

Anyway, my lexan has arrived, today I spent some time cutting the art. If I get good weather tomorrow I will drill the lexan and put the CP together, then it's time to start CP bashing round two 

[markc74]

Go with what you've got chap. Its your cab. If you don't like it down the line you can change it easily enough. Peeps obviously like what your doing but there's a MASSIVE amount of experience here and everything said is with best intentions.  If you ask for feedback your gonna get it :-).

Comfort over design tho. Every time.