Author Topic: Australian Cocktail Pac-Man Project (Read 5101 times)

holdennut · « **on:** October 16, 2004, 05:03:20 am »

OK, I've finally finished my first arcade cabinet. Since I build this project from the ground up myself, I found this board invaluable for information and advise during the build. I thought I should post a few pics to inspire those just starting or not finished yet.

It was a hell of a lot of work but well and truely worth it in the end :-D

--- There are some more pics and info on my website below ---

http://www.modnet.com.au/pacman/

Craig · « **Reply #1 on:** October 16, 2004, 05:18:08 am »

Great job! I hope my Pac man based cocktail comes out looking good like that.

Apollo · « **Reply #2 on:** October 16, 2004, 07:02:48 am »

Wow, that is one fine looking cocktail cab. Good job, love it.

stuzza · « **Reply #3 on:** October 16, 2004, 09:18:08 am »

Fantastic cab, well done! Great stools too, very retro.

javeryh · « **Reply #4 on:** October 16, 2004, 11:07:03 am »

Awesome! I love the color choice. It looks great and very different from other cocktails....

RayB · « **Reply #5 on:** October 16, 2004, 02:42:38 pm »

Very nice. I like your stools too.

EEWWW! Not those kind of stools! The ones in the photos!

rchadd · « **Reply #6 on:** October 16, 2004, 08:22:14 pm »

nice colour - is it paint or laminate?

holdennut · « **Reply #7 on:** October 16, 2004, 10:24:45 pm »

I chose to use paint as opposed to laminate, the colour chosen is "Affinity" by Dulux and was applied with a good quality roller.

rchadd · « **Reply #8 on:** October 17, 2004, 08:18:39 am »

hey...its the same colour theme as this message board's titles!

have you been psychologically affected by BYOAC?

i like it... now thinking my next cab might be painted instead of oak.

http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=10;action=display;threadid=25687

i would like laminate but i think that will be quite expensive vs painting.

what wood did you use? i figure MDF will give best surface for painting but ouch...the weight!

wow just seen you website - nice job!

i love the fire button layout on the CP. was the CP custom made? is it metal?

your internals are much tidier (sp?) than mine!

danny_galaga · « **Reply #9 on:** October 17, 2004, 10:20:48 am »

can't be said enough, great colour scheme!!

holdennut · « **Reply #10 on:** October 17, 2004, 10:03:15 pm »

Yes it is made from 19mm MDF (3/4") and it's damb heavy, being a cocktail and it's smaller size it needs the weight to keep it steady during heavy game play :-)

Yes I designed the control panel myself and had a local metal fab company fold and punch them for me. the artwork I designed in Illustrator CS and had a local printing company print them for me on laminated vynal.

As for the tidy internals, I would have spent 3 or 4 hours once it was all built just on arranging it all to fit nice and neat.

Thanks again for all the great compliments. All credit goes to my wife for the colour scheme, as it had to fit in with the rest of the house and still look quite retro.

javeryh · « **Reply #11 on:** October 17, 2004, 11:02:29 pm »

Quote from: holdennut on October 17, 2004, 10:03:15 pm

Yes it is made from 19mm MDF (3/4") and it's damb heavy, being a cocktail and it's smaller size it needs the weight to keep it steady during heavy game play :-)

Do you think the MDF is neccesary? The reason I ask is because I'm thinking of using MDO which has a similar surface but is not quite as heavy (about 1/2 the weight). I don't want my cab to be too light so it moves around during gameplay... Should I use MDF or will MDO do the job? The monitor and stuff are going to be heavy too...

Craig · « **Reply #12 on:** October 17, 2004, 11:05:01 pm »

What does MDO stand for? If it's cheaper then it might be worth looking at.

javeryh · « **Reply #13 on:** October 17, 2004, 11:29:56 pm »

Quote from: Wonder Boy on October 17, 2004, 11:05:01 pm

What does MDO stand for? If it's cheaper then it might be worth looking at.

Medium Density Overlay. It's like regular (light) plywood in the middle but it has a very smooth surface like MDF does so it's easy to paint. This makes it much lighter than solid MDF. I'm not sure you are going to find it cheaper - in fact it is probably more expensive. Cabinet makers use it in most of their projects...

holdennut · « **Reply #14 on:** October 17, 2004, 11:53:50 pm »

I've never heard of MDO before. I went with MDF as it's easy to work with and paint. Also, how well would the screws hold into the ply part? I had no external screws on my unit (no need to backfill with putty) so I needed the screws to grip the MDF nice and firm.

Ps. You can never use too much wood glue. I used about 1 litre (3 bottles) for my cabinet.

The weight isn't an issue for me as I don't intend to shift it around the house. But it was a two man job getting it into the games room.

My monitor came in at 20Kg plus glass, plus MDF etc, probably weighs at least 50-60Kg. But it doesn't move around, even when I get a bit over excited playing galaga or 1942.

Craig · « **Reply #15 on:** October 17, 2004, 11:58:51 pm »

Did you use oil or water based paint?

holdennut · « **Reply #16 on:** October 18, 2004, 12:11:36 am »

Waterbased, so much easier to cleanup.

Craig · « **Reply #17 on:** October 18, 2004, 12:18:49 am »

Yeah that's right. I was going to use only oil based on my cabinet because I need to paint some metal plates. What is water based paint like on metal? Would it scratch badly?

holdennut · « **Reply #18 on:** October 18, 2004, 12:43:57 am »

For the metal I would use oil based. It will give you a much stronger finish since it can't soak into the surface like it does on wood.
Water based paint will certainly scratch off the metal much easier than oil based.

RayB · « **Reply #19 on:** October 18, 2004, 12:54:32 am »

1. Properly clean and dry the surface prior to painting.

2. use Enamel or Melamine

Craig · « **Reply #20 on:** October 18, 2004, 12:56:19 am »

Ok thanks. I can get a small sample pot for that job. Thanks for the tip. Did you notice any swelling in the wood with water based paint?

rchadd · « **Reply #21 on:** October 18, 2004, 05:35:40 am »

Quote from: Wonder Boy on October 18, 2004, 12:56:19 am

Ok thanks. I can get a small sample pot for that job. Thanks for the tip. Did you notice any swelling in the wood with water based paint?

did you use primer/undercoat?

holdennut · « **Reply #22 on:** October 18, 2004, 05:48:17 am »

Water based paint works a treat on MDF, it certainly won't cause the MDF swell. I have worked with MDF quite a few times before on other projects and water based paint works real well.

A sample pot is the way to go if your doing small areas. I bought a 1 litre tin and only used 3/4 of it on the whole project.

I didn't use a primer, everyone said to, but the surface of MDF is actually quite dense and didn't such up the paint much at all, that said, I did put on 2 coats and each was quite thick as I used a roller. If you needed to paint open cut ends, then a primer may be a good idea. In my project the t-moulding covered all the end cuts.

Craig · « **Reply #23 on:** October 18, 2004, 06:08:55 am »

Thanks again for the info. I may not use a primer now.

Craig · « **Reply #24 on:** October 18, 2004, 09:28:34 am »

One more question. Is the paint low sheen or is it semi gloss?

holdennut · « **Reply #25 on:** October 18, 2004, 07:54:24 pm »

I used low sheen, the same stuff you paint your house walls with.

cdbrown · « **Reply #26 on:** October 19, 2004, 04:56:54 am »

Hooray - someone else from Perth! (just an assumption based on the printers)

That's a sweet looking cocktail. That's some of the neatest wiring I have ever seen - great work.

Cheers
-cdbrown

Santoro · « **Reply #27 on:** October 19, 2004, 06:07:48 am »

Wow, really nice work. I like it!

holdennut · « **Reply #28 on:** October 19, 2004, 10:16:09 am »

Quote from: cdbrown on October 19, 2004, 04:56:54 am

Hooray - someone else from Perth! (just an assumption based on the printers)

Yes I certainly am from Perth, it's only about the worst place to find parts for your arcade machine :-(
I spent a lot of time finding people with the expertise to do what I needed. It took the glazier 5 attempts to cut the glass properly.
Sun Industries rocks for the artwork, such good quality work.

rchadd · « **Reply #29 on:** October 19, 2004, 11:45:32 am »

pity the coindoor is not operational

also you need to have some CP lighting like mine

its great makes a big difference (well in my opinion)

it was pit of a pain finding the white plexi though

making the LED lighting board was relatively easy and cheap.

Tilzs · « **Reply #30 on:** October 19, 2004, 12:19:48 pm »

Looks good

Stingray · « **Reply #31 on:** October 19, 2004, 02:20:21 pm »

That is one seriously good looking cocktail! Outstanding job!

-S

javeryh · « **Reply #32 on:** November 01, 2004, 05:32:20 pm »

What type of Front End are you using (if any)?

holdennut · « **Reply #33 on:** November 04, 2004, 02:56:03 am »

Rchadd, I was going to light up the CP, but I had trouble finding plexi, and now it's fixed in for good so I can't change it.

Javeryh, I'm using Game Launcher, I found it so easy to use and configure.

javeryh · « **Reply #34 on:** November 04, 2004, 10:32:51 am »

Thanks. I'm trying to use Game Launcher myself but I am having problems getting it to work properly. I'm using mame .87 and the most recent glaunch file. I can configure everything but once I start it I am only allowed to select the first game on my list. When I try to scroll down it always returns to the top. I'm destined to play 1942 forever!!!! Any ideas on what might be causing this? Everything works fine if I manually type in the commands in the dos window...

Bomber · « **Reply #35 on:** November 04, 2004, 02:44:14 pm »

Quote from: javeryh on November 04, 2004, 10:32:51 am

Thanks. I'm trying to use Game Launcher myself but I am having problems getting it to work properly. I'm using mame .87 and the most recent glaunch file. I can configure everything but once I start it I am only allowed to select the first game on my list. When I try to scroll down it always returns to the top. I'm destined to play 1942 forever!!!! Any ideas on what might be causing this? Everything works fine if I manually type in the commands in the dos window...

Maybe a silly question...but do your controls work properly when you are in the game? Sounds like it could be stuck on up or left?

javeryh · « **Reply #36 on:** November 04, 2004, 04:17:38 pm »

Quote from: Bomber on November 04, 2004, 02:44:14 pm

Maybe a silly question...but do your controls work properly when you are in the game? Sounds like it could be stuck on up or left?

heh, yeah, the controls work perfectly... The only time I have a control issue is when I'm at the game selection menu in game launcher. It just won't scroll down! It is making me mental!!!!

Bomber · « **Reply #37 on:** November 04, 2004, 04:28:03 pm »

I guess the next step is to check the key mappings in glaunch.cfg in case thay have been changed?

Sorry this post has got so off-topic (its not even in the right forum!!)

whammoed · « **Reply #38 on:** November 04, 2004, 04:30:55 pm »

Quote from: javeryh on November 04, 2004, 04:17:38 pm

Quote from: Bomber on November 04, 2004, 02:44:14 pm
Maybe a silly question...but do your controls work properly when you are in the game? Sounds like it could be stuck on up or left?

heh, yeah, the controls work perfectly... The only time I have a control issue is when I'm at the game selection menu in game launcher. It just won't scroll down! It is making me mental!!!!

try plugging in a keyboard and unplugging your encoder, at least this will narrow it down to either hardware or software

javeryh · « **Reply #39 on:** November 04, 2004, 04:48:19 pm »

yeah, sorry about the off-topicness ... I posted my question a while back here but had no luck... anyway, I'm not using the encoder yet - just the keyboard. I'm trying to set everything up before construction begins...


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