Custom NBA Jam bartop (First Build)

[brentnet]

I was around a few months ago with an idea for the Brentendo. I've had a few months to kind of rework things and I've decided that instead, I'm going to make a custom NBA Jam bartop machine.

It's my first build, so it's a little rough around the edges right now, but thus far I'm proud of how it's come out.

First, the design inspiration is based on my favorite childhood game - NBA Jam. Instead of doing a standard NBA Jam, I decided I wanted to do something a little different. The bones of the bartop arcade cabinet is a generic weecade design (simply because I had no idea what I was doing). Instead of doing vinyl graphics. I'm planning on taking all of my old mid-90s basketball cards that have been in boxes for 20 years and use mod podge / epoxy bartop finish. It's kind of unique, it's my favorite era of basketball, plus I think it'll be talking point (I mean, who doesn't love looking at old cards?!?) The inspiration is my favorite poster I had hanging on my wall when I was a kid:



So, I came up with a custom marquee. It's currently in the mail (thanks stpcore!) so I'm excited to check that out.



So here is a rough idea of what the design is going to look like.



I've been working on the project since January on and off. Started by cutting out the sides using 3/4" MDF



Added some battens for the back, front, control panel, and marquee holder



Since this is a first build, I had no idea what I was doing. So I decided to buy a control panel kit which I got for Christmas from my little sister. I'm using the X-Arcade DIY kit which includes the buttons/microswitches/wiring/control interface/joysticks for two players. Picked up a pair of Coin Drop buttons from Groovy Game Gear which will replace two of the twenty buttons that came with. Each player will get 8 buttons along w/ a player 1 and player 2 button. Used one of the extra buttons to connect to the power button which I'm relocating to the panel containing speakers underneath the marquee.



Here is the wooden frame nearing completion. The front control panel flips up using a piano hinge. I also added hinges and a locking mechanism for the back piece (the piece that appears to be missing in this picture) to allow for easy access.



Here is basically where I am at right now. I  sprayed the entire inside and outside w/ a flat black spray paint + primer. I'm not really concerned about painting really evenly as everything is eventually going to be colored by basketball cards with the exception of insides of the outside walls and the bottom of the marquee which I'm planning keeping all black. The only thing I've added since this picture is an old school bottle opener on the side and a bunch of magnets to catch bottle caps on the side of the machine.




Here's what I've got left...

1) Paint second coat
2) Cut slot for t-molding
3) Mod podge basketball cards
4) Epoxy/Resin bartop finish for entire machine
5) Mount monitor (20 inch Dell LCD monitor)
6) Paint and install acrylic bevel
7) Mount marquee light
Install Speakers / Speaker Grills / Power Button
9) Cut acrylic and install marquee
10) Install buttons / joysticks
11) Install computer (already setup)

DONE!

One thing I've got holding me up right now is my router. For some strange reason, the bit is stuck. To remove a router bit, you're supposed to press down the lock button and use an included wrench to spin a nut to loosen the button. Anyway, the problem I'm having is I press the lock button down, but it's not locking the collett in place.  I spin the wrench and even though the lock button is pressed down, it still spins. So I can't remove my router bit which is frustrating. I've had this problem a few times, but I just can't get this dang thing out. So that's the next thing I've got to figure out so I can use my slot cutter bit to cut the slot for the t-molding. I don't want to do anything before then because I don't want to have dust on my cards / monitor /etc. So I've got to figure that out before I can make anymore progress.

Anyway, I'll continue to update with build pictures as I get closer. I've read a ton of these project announcements to get ideas and tried to cherry pick a lot of my favorite features of other people's projects. Hopefully my project turns out alright and I can add a little to this community.

[JimmyU]

I do like the idea of reusing the old basketball cards as side art. I was wondering why you have eight buttons per player instead of the usual 6 or 7 pattern. It seems to me that that one extra one on the bottom might get in the way.

[Malenko]

I think having the CPO be all black or faux hardwood floor would look much better and far less busy.

[opt2not]

While I'm not into the super collage of random basketball-related pics, I do applaud you for taking on a theme that not many people choose.

[bulbousbeard]

The art is way too busy and messy. Clean it up.

[eds1275]

I also believe that the control panel would look better as a nice light coloured wood like a basketball court. Other than that, neat. I don't like sports, but some of the sports based video games are amazing. NBA Jam is no exception. I always play on the early versions so that I can play as Sub Zero!

http://www.gamefaqs.com/arcade/583606-nba-jam-tournament-edition/cheats

[Manorite]

NBA Jam was one of my favorite games growing up, so I'm excited to see how this turns out!  Are you going to put a lacquer or something over top of the cards?  I agree that a control panel that looks like a basketball court would be awesome.

Regarding the router bit being stuck, is it turning more than 360 degrees?  I know on mine you sometimes have to spin it quite a ways around until it slots into the locking mechanism and lets you release the bit.

[brentnet]

Thanks for all the feedback. Making a faux hardwood looking court for the control panel is something I've considered (and to be honest, not yet completely eliminated). I had an initial design that included that. The plan is to make the control panel the way've I've got it planned, but if I'm not happy with how it turns out, we'll grab a piece of hardwood and try to design a different control panel. I was actually thinking of getting a woodburning kit to try to emulate a read hardwood basketball floor by making "lines" that make it look like individual boards. We'll see. I'll make a decision before I finish everything with epoxy.

As for the 8 buttons - I have a few PSX games and a few N64 games I was hoping to play. Before I make the control panel, I tested it out and I was pretty happy with the layout, so I'm going to roll with it.

Got my marquee in the mail from stpcore. It's not perfectly centered here as I just put it up w/ a piece of tape on the back to test it out, but I'm extremely happy w/ how well it turned out.



Might have a few minutes to work on it tonight, but it's looking like next week is shaping up for time to start some of the "finishing" pieces.

[yotsuya]

I did this for my NBA Jam. It's authentic to the year the game came out. I had to revector it all myself, but I was quite chuffed with how it turned out.

[taylormadelv]

Gonna need to add LEBRON!!!!

[brentnet]

Took the collective advice here and created a new control panel. Decided with a logoless, simple red and black floor.



Threw on a first coat of stain. Was pretty happy with how the color turned out. Probably going to put one more coat on and then cover it with bartop epoxy that I'm planning on doing the entire machine in.



I actually think I'll have a few hours to work on it tonight. My wife is getting together with friends tonight, so after I get our kids down, I can hopefully plug away at this. The hardest thing for me is finding the time to dedicate to this. I'd have loved to have been done with it by now, but it just is really hard to do. I've got a 9 month old daughter that doesn't sleep and I'm a runner, so I'm up every day at 5 AM to get my 6-10 miles in. I really would like to have this done in the next month or so just so I can start to actually use it. I've had the computer side of things setup for about 4 months now (Hyperspin was a bear, but now it's pretty cool!)


Taylormadelv - I really like LeBron, but I've kinda decided to stick with an era-appropriate collection of basketball cards. So nothing but early-to-mid 90s...

Yotsuya - I had to google "chuffed"... I thought it meant you were pleased, but just needed to double check. That turned out really cool, though!

Manorite - I haven't had time to get the router bit out. Yeah, it turns more than 360 degrees. I hold the lock button down and it seems like it engages the lock function, but it definitely isn't. Might have to get Black and Decker support on the line because it's less than 6 months old (and I'm supposed to at least have a two year warranty).

[brentnet]

BTW - the control panel isn't fastened yet, so ignore the part where it looks upside down...

[Malenko]

I like it!

Its simple but effective, gets the point across without the clutter. 

[yotsuya]

Yotsuya - I had to google "chuffed"... I thought it meant you were pleased, but just needed to double check. That turned out really cool, though!

Yeah, our British friends here have introduced the term, and we Yanks have kind of run with it. A brother BYOACer texted me the other day that "chuffed" has started to inadvertently slip into his real life conversations. 

And I like the new idea you went with for the CP. I love seeing projects evolve.

[Manorite]

Good work on the CP, love the hardwood look!

I understand the finding time problem, I have a 10 month old and we don't even usually start cooking dinner until he goes to bed around 7ish, which doesn't leave me a lot of time in the evenings.

I got my Hyperspin functioning but still wanted to tweak it once I finished the cab, and now it's been a few months and now I'm afraid I'll never remember what I was doing!

[reptileink]

NBA JAM is a favorite of mine as well.

To toss my hat into the "free time" ring:

I have 3 kids and WAY too many hobbies to dedicate my couple of hours a night (including wifey time  ) to. Plus, I recently set up a work table in the garage and moved all the arcade stuff out there, so it's really tough to get out there every night.

That, and I'm procrastinating wiring the CP because I am scared....lol

[dkssprs]

At the time i was making my weecade clone which turned out with BACK TO THE FUTURE theme i was REALLY close to the NBA JAM theme.

NBA JAM is one of my favorite arcades.

So i had made a cp artwork based to the nba jam.

If you like it i can send you the ai file.

[brentnet]

Actually got a little time to work on the arcade machine last night. I was able to get the slot cut for the t-molding on the entire machine and I was able to get my basketball/mod podge collage installed on both sides. I've did a rough cut on a small part just to see how it looks next to the t-molding. I realized I might need to come along with a fine tipped black marker just to color the side of the cards black so that the cardboard outline doesn't appear to be white right next to the t-molding. Other than that, I'm pretty happy with how it's turned out. I've got to finish the front and the back and then trim up everything before I put a coat of bartop epoxy over everything. I'm debating what the best way to do this is? I'm guessing you want it to lay flat so maybe I'll do one side and let it dry for 72 hrs. Do the the side and let it dry for 72 hrs. Do the control panel and small front part and let it dry for 72 hrs. Finally, do the back and let it dry for 72 hrs. Anyone have any experience with bartop epoxy on an arcade machine they'd be willing to share?

[eds1275]

Anyone have any experience with bartop epoxy on an arcade machine they'd be willing to share?

Not on an arcade machine, but let me tell you about the time I buggered my kitchen table... I find that I am generally pretty good at things. Not bragging, but really I just have a knack for doing a pretty good job on my first try at stuff. Anyways I forget the wording in the instructions but it's basically push the stuff around to cover and it will level itself out. Well that is very true, but the actual technique is more like skim the top of the liquid to gently steer it all over. Don't dig too deep or else weird streaks of uneven height will appear.

[brentnet]

Just a little update... sorry, no pictures but I'm 2/3 done with the bartop epoxy. I've got the sides done. Up next I've got the control panel and the back to finish. Hopefully working on that tonight or tomorrow. It takes a lot of while for it to dry, so it's really slowed down my process. It's basically like work for a half hour, wait for 3 days. Then I've got to wait until the next day I have some time available to work (I've been working on this since January, so those days are few and far between!) Anyway, I've EXTREMELY happy with how the bartop epoxy turned out. Really gave the basketball card look on the side a professional look. It looks PERFECT! I have a little bit of cleanup to do with drips on the sides, but it turned out exactly how I was hoping.

On my list of things left to do after I finish the epoxy, here's what I've got left (in order)

-Mount monitor
-Paint/install acrylic screen bevel
-Install speakers/grills/power button
-Install marquee
-Install joysticks/buttons
-Install control panel cover
-Install computer

My big thing I got done this week is my custom intro video. Since I'm going with an NBA Jam theme, I thought it would be cool to have a custom Hyperspin intro video that went along with the 90s-NBA theme. I finished it up this week and was really excited with how well it turned out!

[reptileink]

Any updates on this? Had an idea to start an NBA Jam Bartop as well, and I really want to see those mod podge sides!