First time builder, upright Ultimate Mortal Kabinet 3!

[get2daachoppaaaa]

Hey guys, now that I have made a little progress I figured I would put my cab on here. I have no woodworking exp, and all I have is a jigsaw to cut with so please excuse the rough cuts!

I used 3/4" MDF, 2x4s and 1x2s. Computer is an old XP machine, 19" 4:3 lcd (was free, monitor too).

I have not ordered any buttons yet, or started on the CP.


This is after I cut the sides out. Used OND's plans. Thanks OND! 






This is the base, 3/4" MDF with 2x4s.



Attaching the base:



Standing it up:





Putting the front on (I plan on getting the coin buttons instead of an old coin slot mechanism)



The top of the marquee:



Back of the CP:



The bezel (checking the angle)





Is my monitor too small? (Im using it anyway!)



Bezel cut out:



Bottom of marquee installed:




I'm still pricing buttons out, I am going with the IPAC2 (still need to order it). Thanks for looking!

[yotsuya]

Naw, your monitor is just fine. Look at a real arcade cab bezel - there's plenty of proportional space.

[reptileink]

Any reason for the 2x4 studs? Bit of an overkill really. However, I guess it would be a beefy cabinet after. Nice work!

[brihyn]

2x4s are going to make this a solid beast.
Pro tip... If you're going to add plexi over the bezel, leave a small gap between the bezel and marquee lower panel. Figured this out after making a couple of the OND cabs. Easy to slide the plexi in, up, and drop behind the cp.

[get2daachoppaaaa]

Any reason for the 2x4 studs? Bit of an overkill really. However, I guess it would be a beefy cabinet after. Nice work!

Yea I agree 2x4s were overkill, I used them for the base, and front panel, but I used 1x2s for the back of the CP, bezel, and lower marquee, and I think I will replace the 2x4s on the top marquee board as well. It's pretty beefy though! Very sturdy! Thanks!

[get2daachoppaaaa]

2x4s are going to make this a solid beast.
Pro tip... If you're going to add plexi over the bezel, leave a small gap between the bezel and marquee lower panel. Figured this out after making a couple of the OND cabs. Easy to slide the plexi in, up, and drop behind the cp.

I ran into this problem..The bezel is 24" x24", so I had the plexiglass cut to 23 7/8". However I still will have to adjust the lower marquee panel because it's still too snug of a fit unfortunately. Width-wise is perfect, but from top to bottom it is a tad too long.

[Malenko]

so, I made this for you

[get2daachoppaaaa]

YES! This looks awesome!! Thanks! 

[deano71]

Looking good mate.

[get2daachoppaaaa]

Quick update, printed out the marquee, thanks Malenko! It looks good!



Now still waiting on the buttons and IPAC2 to come in the mail. Might start on the CP tonight.

EDIT: Picture might look washed out.... but it looks good!

[Malenko]

looks good, hope it fits. I never got dimensions from you 

[get2daachoppaaaa]

I needed to scale it down to 24x8, thankfully you made it bigger than that!

[get2daachoppaaaa]

Christmas came early!



I'm looking for a tutorial on how to mount the Happ Ultimate joysticks.

[get2daachoppaaaa]

A few more update pictures:



Not very happy about this one...the CP back piece is leaning. Need to get that fixed. Makes it look like the CP is leaning.



Seeing how the buttons look




The joysticks are not mounted, They are sitting really low because they are just hanging in place




With Plexiglass

[get2daachoppaaaa]

Painted it over the weekend. Just black.




Tesdting the controls out:



Before I tied the wires up, still need to finish 2nd player joystick:

[Malenko]

those buttons are at a pretty heavy angle, are they comfortable to use?  I personally would have moved player 2 over to the right a bit. (see attachment)

for the holes on the side, you going to bondo them? I'd suggest putting down a primer coat too, you'll get a MUCH better finish

[get2daachoppaaaa]

Is there like a wood filler I can use besides Bondo? Yea, the 2nd player controls are a little bit too close to the center, I might have to redo the top CP piece.

The buttons are comfortable to me, I played UMK3 for a while last night and it felt alright, not the exact MK layout obviously but my hands were comfortable.

Do you know how to reconfigure the IPAC 2 by chance? I do not have coin buttons yet, so I wanted to configure a shift button to insert coins.

[Malenko]

player 1 start + player 1 button 1 should coin up. you need the software from ultimarc's site to reprogram the IPAC ( http://ultimarc.com/download.html )

Im a HUGE fan of the SF+1 aka SFNeo aka "the 7 button layout"


It allows street fighter games and neogeo games to be played in their native layouts. For Mortal Kombat (specifically 3) the red button acts as the run button, and the middle 2 buttons from of the SF layout(green and middle orange) both block, just mentioning this incase you redo your panel. You can use the existing one to drill the 7 button layout and se how it feels before you drill the new one. I know curving the buttons is a preference thing, but its just not for me.

As for filler, Im sure any wood filler would do, just make sure its paintable. For me, bondo is the easiest to work with.

[get2daachoppaaaa]

Ok looks like I should just go ahead and redo the CP. I am going to drill out the 7 button layout and see how that feels before I get too comfortable with the angled layout., I might need to order 2 more buttons. Tonight I am going to try and mount the monitor and marquee, and go ahead and bring it inside the house.

[conker]

Yeah I think restarting the CP is for the best. http://slagcoin.com/joystick/layout.html Check these out

[Ond]

Is there like a wood filler I can use besides Bondo?

Wood fillers are OK for small holes but Bondo yields better results in almost every scenario compared to most wood fillers.  It has a bit of a learning curve and some getting used to but is well worth it.  Bondo and MDF are especially well matched.  See my videos for plenty of info on its use and advantages.