Gamecreature Arcade: Exterior Complete

[leapinlew]

I put the paint on pretty heavy with my driver cabinet. Using latex paint too. Did you pull the tape off after you painted or did you let it dry? I made the mistake of letting it dry and pulling it off it sort of tore the paint.

[gamecreature]

I put the paint on pretty heavy with my driver cabinet. Using latex paint too. Did you pull the tape off after you painted or did you let it dry? I made the mistake of letting it dry and pulling it off it sort of tore the paint.

I let it dry for a few hours. There were few imperfections, if any. The only fault would be the quality of my coverage, which looks a little uneven in spots.

[CheffoJeffo]

I love this cabinet -- clean, classic cabinet lines and fun artwork. No attempt to overengineer or frankenpanel so everything looks like it belongs.

Really, really nice work.

Cheers.

[MYX]

The Bezel is friggin genius! Nice job.

Pretty much, yeah. I'm not a great painter - Photoshop is the only way I can paint without covering myself in the stuff.

Yeah, amen to that. I am a lousy hand painter (brushes). It is why I had to do the spray thing because it actually works much the way photoshop feels like when using selections and masks. Ghaw I love photoshop. Wish I could paint with it. Even beter would ne painting with After Effects. 

[javeryh]

What kind of joysticks are you using and how do you get around the 4-way/8-way "issue"?

[gamecreature]

What kind of joysticks are you using and how do you get around the 4-way/8-way "issue"?

They're Wico 8-ways that came with the Robotron cab. It's not perfect for 4-way games, but they're playable.

[gamecreature]

Pretty much, yeah. I'm not a great painter - Photoshop is the only way I can paint without covering myself in the stuff.

Yeah, amen to that. I am a lousy hand painter (brushes). It is why I had to do the spray thing because it actually works much the way photoshop feels like when using selections and masks. Ghaw I love photoshop. Wish I could paint with it. Even beter would ne painting with After Effects. 

It's probably a good thing that I didn't try to spray paint it - I probably would've done something stupid like get some spray on the glass. And I never would've thought to spray while the first part was still wet, like you did. Genius!

[zenmasterbooty]

I dig your art..... love the bezel design.

I say avoid paint alltogether...use large format prints on adhesive vinyl w/UV stable ink.

[gamecreature]

I dig your art..... love the bezel design.

I say avoid paint alltogether...use large format prints on adhesive vinyl w/UV stable ink.

I'd love to, particularly if I can get the same discount you did. Care to send your printer over here for a few days?

[gamecreature]

Something I've been resisting for fear of shorting-out-my-CPU/electrocution/small-fires/plague-of-frogs was connecting the power to my coin door lights. Turns out it wasn't such an ordeal after all. I found a power extension cable that I wasn't using and ran the wires to the coin door. Then I plugged it in and turned on the computer and there was light! Of course, now it shows off how worn the plastic is on those 20-year old coin return buttons. It's always something... 

[theCoder]

This is where the $2.00 power transformers from Goodwill come in.  You can find practically any voltage power brick for cheap.  Just find one that outputs approximately the voltage you need, cut the end off, and wire it up, plug it in to your power strip, and off you go.  Its much safer than pulling power from your CPU power supply.

Second hand stores are a gold mine for saving money on electronics.  Its good for speakers, motors (buried in blenders, cassette players, and the like), cables, plugs, keyboards, switches, knobs, etc.   Its also a great poor man's hardware store.  Need that special spring, hinge, clear tube, thin plastic thingy, check the kids toys section.  How about a strip of leather, small mirrors, sheet copper, check accessories (belts & purses).  I also frequent the dollar stores for similar items. 

Regarding your buttons, you might try tracking down an arcade distributor/repairman somewhere in your town.  Through a little research, I found two in my small 35K population town.  They are both elderly guys, one out of a warehouse, and the other out of his house.  They both have boxes & boxes of various arcade parts.  You've probably got someone like that within 10 miles your house.

With your artwork, you could make an old coffee table look hot.  I can't wait to see your next project.