Long time listener...first time caller.

[ktulu]

Hey guys. I have really enjoyed reading this board over the years. Was a lurker forever and this board gave me lots of good ideas...and someday maybe I will use them! 

Well I thought it was time to give back. Here are some pics and a link to my cabinets so far.

The first one I did was a  full size and it is sold. I am really going to miss it. It is definitely a BEAST and is built like a tank!

My second was a last minute job  this past Decemeber. A mini. Perfect size for a 4 year old. ANd made a great X-mas gift!

And my latest are 3 cocktails. The first is almost done and the other two are waiting to be assembled. It has been a lot of fun so far and I have learned a lot. I am making 2 in head to head mode and 1 in a combo of side by side and head to head for true versatility.

Hopefully someone will get an idea on what not to do!
Enjoy!

Here is a link to more pics of my first cab.
http://geocities.com/bimmerfreak2006/beast/

[danny_galaga]

my, you ARE the quiet acheiver! nice work (",)

[vrf]

Great work! It's neat to see the stealth projects come out into the open.

Love your subject line, by the way. Brought back warm fuzzies of American talk radio.

[eccs19]

What is that on the floor beside the mini machine?  Did you also make a wall mount marquee?  Nice idea if thats what it is.

[ktulu]

Thanks for the kind words guys! I still plan on throwing some side-art on the mini and need to do some work around the bezel. It has  a 17" SVGA monitor in it and it proved to be the hardest part of the project. Trying to stuff it in such a small space. The upright and the cocktail both have 21" monitors in it and while the upright looks like the monitor is small, its not. It is about the perfect size for the classic games. The monitor in it also rotates for vertical or horizontal play.

A few things I have learned doing the 3 different sized cabinets:
No matter what size it is they are all heavy, cost roughly the same to make, and it pays off finding the best plywood you can. Sanding and filling Home depot brand ply sucks! Of course you can use fiberboard but I wanted to make a cabinet that is as sturdy and durable as it is fun to play. I also like the idea of having the cabinet look like a real video game. Obviously that is very opinionated.

I think my next upright will try to incorporate more controls such as a spinner and a flight stick. Maybe even a REAL trackball. The trick for me will be craming all that in there and still have it look like a classic cabinet. Eventually I am sure I will build a 4 way frankenpanel but for now I am still learning the basics.

BTW. did anyone notice the color on the mini? Donkey Kong blue! OR close. Took me 3 trips to Home Shitpo before they got it close enough. Still wasnt close enough to use on my DK refurb project so it wound up on the mini. I think it will look great once the side-art gets installed.

Love your subject line, by the way. Brought back warm fuzzies of American talk radio.

Oh yes. Back when talk radio was fun!

What is that on the floor beside the mini machine?  Did you also make a wall mount marquee?  Nice idea if thats what it is.

Yes. Scott at mamemarquees.com was nice enough to double print the marquee for the same price since it was so small. 6" tall. It works well as a night light and looks good sitting on my sons desk.

[javeryh]

I love the mini!  Nice work.