Flynn's Barcade - My Build

[FlynnsBarcade]

Flynn's Barcade - My Build - FEB 2, 2016 to JUNE 28, 2016.


This isn't a bar top console, but rather a whole damn bar based on a Tron theme.

Tron Recognizer (wood inlay) on the front, with Discs on the sides.

The bar is trimmed in blue led lighting (since this photo I added a dimmer to the LEDs)  The photo doesn't do the disc inlay any justice.

[FlynnsBarcade]

So you are probably say, yeah cool, but where's the game system.  Well, it all started out with this simple idea, a small minimal system, it had to be fun, easy to setup, cheap, and no fuss to keep it running (i.e. eliminate the Windows world of updates and BSOD).  I thought about a Raspberry Pi, but opted for a Game Elf instead.

Here is the first prototype:
plywood, lots of buttons, 2 sticks, spinner, track ball, 19" monitor, power supply and the game elf.

Next step was to build a box for it.   Not any box, as I enjoy wood working and wanted to take things one step further.  Here was my inspiration photo: TRON!  on of my favorite movies growing up.

[FlynnsBarcade]

Onto the wood inlay (based on the Tron console).  It took a few iterations in a drawing program, but finally ended up with this design.  Inlay was mostly done with a router bit, some was done by hand.  I included the "T" for the newer Tron logo.

To bring in the "80s", I found some 7 segment displays and hard wired them to spell out "Flynn's Barcade".

[FlynnsBarcade]

Now on to the bar it self.  It ended up being bigger than I originally wanted. 
Not that I was worried about regulation heights and stuff like that, but I wanted to be close to the normal upright console heights.  The side wood inlays were easy to produce, just took some time and practice on junk wood.
On the front we have Tron Recognizers (image borrowed from the web somewhere) and discs, my design based on several borrowed from the web somewhere.

[FlynnsBarcade]

Next came the bar top.  I wanted something really cool.  I went all out and probably found my limitations on wood inlaying, but this was fun to make and will last a life-time.  The bar top is about 2 x 5 ft.

I present.... Tron Light Cycle on the Grid!

[FlynnsBarcade]

Here are some finished shots of the bar.  With a 40" LCD TV.
Since the Game Elf supports Vertical and Horizontal games, I actually found a wall mount that allowed me to rotate the monitor 90 degrees.  It makes playing games like Galaxian and Frogger quite interesting due to large screen real-estate.

Finally, I also make my own wine, so I topped off the bar with a bit of Recognizer Red and Light Cycle White to celebrate the completion and to enjoy this barcade for years to come.

Hey, did I mention that the wife loves this too?  Granted she's is as much of game geek as I am.

Cheers and comments welcome.

-Eric

[Mike A]

I really like the way it all comes together. Bonus points for wood inlays. Super bonus points for taking the term barcade literally.

[FlynnsBarcade]

I really like the way it all comes together. Bonus points for wood inlays. Super bonus points for taking the term barcade literally.

Thanks.  I've done lots of cabinet type work before, but this was the first time I didn't wood inlay work.  Lots to trial and error that I didn't post.  It was a fun working experience to say the least.

I'm actually thinking of taking a typical arcade cabinet and doing some inlay on it instead of the common art work.