Author Topic: Centipede conversion... progress so far... (Read 6710 times)

Justin · « **on:** June 22, 2003, 10:01:06 am »

OK, time to post some pics of progress...

CABINET ARRIVES... it was converetd to a Double Dragon. Need to sand and prime this baby.

Justin · « **Reply #1 on:** June 22, 2003, 10:02:50 am »

SANDED THE SIDES... artwork was unrecoverable

Justin · « **Reply #2 on:** June 22, 2003, 10:03:40 am »

WOOD PUTTY... on some of the borders and edges.

Justin · « **Reply #3 on:** June 22, 2003, 10:04:54 am »

PRIMED... nice white almost looks like painted. Will apply artwork over primed surface at a later time, so will not paint any further.

Justin · « **Reply #4 on:** June 22, 2003, 10:05:39 am »

T-MOLDING... starting to look good.

Justin · « **Reply #5 on:** June 22, 2003, 10:06:53 am »

COIN DOOR... bought this one from Bob Roberts. I sanded a little rust out, and painted with rustoleoum. Lights and mechs have all been wired to 12V and IPAC, and work!

Justin · « **Reply #6 on:** June 22, 2003, 10:10:05 am »

CONTROL PANEL... rather ambitious control panel shape. This is going to be quite hard to finish. I'm going for a Dynamo type box. the angled cuts on the 'box' are going to be next to impossible, but I'll give it a try.

The panel is a little 'deeper' than most... this gives a lot a resting space for the palm of your hand etc. while playing, especially when using the trackball. I suggest you give this a try sometime, because it makes a big difference (vs palm hanging in the air)

Not shown in the pic, but the TrackBall bolts perfectly underneath. I'm using a Kensington PS/2 mouse given space constraints in the panel. Works pretty well if you go easy on it. (Missile Command, Centipede, etc. -- No good for Golden tee though... ball gets jumpy)

Justin · « **Reply #7 on:** June 22, 2003, 10:12:22 am »

TV SHELF... mounting a 24" TV here. Inside of the cab looks like hell just now. All black portions to be painted this afternoon.

AlanS17 · « **Reply #8 on:** June 22, 2003, 10:14:54 am »

Looks like you've got your basics and you're ready to go with it. You're not gonna add a Neogeo button to the right side controls?

Justin · « **Reply #9 on:** June 22, 2003, 10:20:34 am »

Quote from: AlanS17 on June 22, 2003, 10:14:54 am

Looks like you've got your basics and you're ready to go with it. You're not gonna add a Neogeo button to the right side controls?

I guess I could have added that, but truth be said I only added it to the left side to play Stargate/Defender (the reverse button).

I can add a second thumb at a later stage if needed.

Molloy · « **Reply #10 on:** June 22, 2003, 11:18:44 am »

I like the white sides and black front combination. You don't get it on MAME cabinets that much.

You should see if you can get a copy of Quantum sideart. It's nice and abstract stuff so it wouldn't look out of place.

I hope the control panel isn't too huge. Centipede cabs have a wonderful profile it'd be a shame to mess it up.

AlanS17 · « **Reply #11 on:** June 22, 2003, 11:22:33 am »

You're gonna cover that thing from head to toe in sideart? I'd have a heart attack just thinking of how much that might cost! How I'm not expert, but I'm thinking you're talking about over $200.

People get marquees printed for $25 and $25 and that's just alil strip.

Mine is like a poster and it wasn't cheap, either. And it doesn't cover even half the side.

paigeoliver · « **Reply #12 on:** June 23, 2003, 12:54:01 am »

Just curious about something.

Did you replace the front of the game? I thought all Atari cabinets had over/under coin doors, but that has a cutout for a midway sized one.

EDIT

Oops, never mind. Just went picture hunting, it appears Atari switched from square doors to over/unders sometime during 1981 (after Centipede). So Centipede, Missile Command, Tempest, and Asteroids have square doors (along with the rest of the less common early Atari stuff), while all the other Atari games have over/unders.

Justin · « **Reply #13 on:** June 24, 2003, 11:36:30 pm »

Quote from: AlanS17 on June 22, 2003, 11:22:33 am

You're gonna cover that thing from head to toe in sideart? I'd have a heart attack just thinking of how much that might cost! How I'm not expert, but I'm thinking you're talking about over $200.

People get marquees printed for $25 and $25 and that's just alil strip.

Mine is like a poster and it wasn't cheap, either. And it doesn't cover even half the side.

You can buy Centipede repro sideart for $100-$125. That includes both sides... that's a greta deal IMHO. I'm not in a hurry, and this can wait, so I plan on doing it couple months down the road after my wife gets through the initial shock.

Justin · « **Reply #14 on:** June 24, 2003, 11:40:34 pm »

Quote from: Molloy on June 22, 2003, 11:18:44 am

I like the white sides and black front combination. You don't get it on MAME cabinets that much.

You should see if you can get a copy of Quantum sideart. It's nice and abstract stuff so it wouldn't look out of place.

I hope the control panel isn't too huge. Centipede cabs have a wonderful profile it'd be a shame to mess it up.

I agree. Centipede cab is actually one of my favorite shapes. VERY classic.

However, I cannot possibly fit everything I want on a std size panel for this cab, so I decided to go with a Dynamo shape.

This is what I have in mind:
http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=6207

Justin · « **Reply #15 on:** July 04, 2003, 01:29:51 am »

More progress... Mounted the TV today! Fits like a glove. This is the biggest TV that will fit in a Centipede cab.. 24" !!

Justin · « **Reply #16 on:** July 04, 2003, 01:31:10 am »

One more pic for the fast and the curious...

SirPeale · « **Reply #17 on:** July 04, 2003, 06:24:10 pm »

Quote from: Justin on June 24, 2003, 11:40:34 pm

Quote from: Molloy on June 22, 2003, 11:18:44 am
I like the white sides and black front combination. You don't get it on MAME cabinets that much.

You should see if you can get a copy of Quantum sideart. It's nice and abstract stuff so it wouldn't look out of place.

I hope the control panel isn't too huge. Centipede cabs have a wonderful profile it'd be a shame to mess it up.

I agree. Centipede cab is actually one of my favorite shapes. VERY classic.

However, I cannot possibly fit everything I want on a std size panel for this cab, so I decided to go with a Dynamo shape.

This is what I have in mind:
http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=6207

There we go with pics of the inside of my house again.

The CP doesn't look like that anymore. Two weeks ago I got sick of looking at it, and stripped the CPO off. I'm not sure what I'm going to cover it with, yet.

Justin · « **Reply #18 on:** July 08, 2003, 11:26:02 pm »

Time for an update. Progressing quick!! Almost there now.

Justin · « **Reply #19 on:** July 08, 2003, 11:26:46 pm »

Justin · « **Reply #20 on:** July 08, 2003, 11:27:08 pm »

Justin · « **Reply #21 on:** July 08, 2003, 11:27:27 pm »

Distortion · « **Reply #22 on:** July 12, 2003, 06:34:19 pm »

I must say, that's most definitely one of the most beautifully reproduced cabinets I've seen. It keeps the centipede look/feel but has everything else. Maybe it just seems that way to me since the buttons and joysticks aren't in place yet. That seems to be the thing that detracts most from the originality of a cabinet. I would definitely take my time in deciding on the colors of my controls. Make sure it adds to the feel of it instead of subtracting.

F|end · « **Reply #23 on:** July 24, 2003, 06:02:29 am »

Quote from: Justin on July 08, 2003, 11:27:27 pm

...

Alright! You might win some money with this if you tried to make this for other people!

Justin · « **Reply #24 on:** July 27, 2003, 11:55:41 am »

Quote from: Distortion on July 12, 2003, 06:34:19 pm

I must say, that's most definitely one of the most beautifully reproduced cabinets I've seen. It keeps the centipede look/feel but has everything else. Maybe it just seems that way to me since the buttons and joysticks aren't in place yet. That seems to be the thing that detracts most from the originality of a cabinet. I would definitely take my time in deciding on the colors of my controls. Make sure it adds to the feel of it instead of subtracting.

I had to change the original panel shape in order to put all the controls I want (2-players, spinner and trackball.
Here's what I've got so far! What do you guys think?

tmasman · « **Reply #25 on:** July 28, 2003, 10:49:12 am »

I think we've found a winner!
I've been trying to figure out what I want to do for my project.
First I wanted to build my own cabinet...
Then I realized that was going to cost alot more that getting a gutted cab locally.
Then I wanted to get a bigger cab. But I think I'm sold on this layout!!!
I love what you've got going on with this cabinet. I've always liked
that style of cabinet, it just seems... well... just right. And I too will
want a very similar CP layout...

Keep us updated. I can picture the end product in my mind, but I'd much
rather see pics of the real thing.

Justin · « **Reply #26 on:** July 28, 2003, 12:29:43 pm »

OK, here is another pic now with the controls. I couldn't wait, and had to beta test this thing before painting! I'm real happy with the layout! 8)

I plan to paint the control panel black, and possibly place a very thin plexiglass sheet on the top (1/16" if available)

I also need to cut out two triangles to cover the opening on the sides.

J_K_M_A_N · « **Reply #27 on:** July 28, 2003, 01:16:44 pm »

Are you going to use that spinner with your right or left hand? Just curious as to what buttons you are going to use. I have been trying to think of where I would like a spinner but I am not sure where to put it so it could be right OR left handed. Also, how is it being off to the side for games like tempest? That is my other concern. If it would feel to weird being off to one side. I have to say, it does look GREAT though. I really like the colors and the marquee. Great job.

J_K_M_A_N

Justin · « **Reply #28 on:** July 28, 2003, 01:23:37 pm »

Quote from: J_K_M_A_N on July 28, 2003, 01:16:44 pm

Are you going to use that spinner with your right or left hand? Just curious as to what buttons you are going to use. I have been trying to think of where I would like a spinner but I am not sure where to put it so it could be right OR left handed. Also, how is it being off to the side for games like tempest? That is my other concern. If it would feel to weird being off to one side. I have to say, it does look GREAT though. I really like the colors and the marquee. Great job.

J_K_M_A_N

I'm clearly using the spinner with my right hand. The fact that it is off to the right does not mean I will have to stand on the right hand side of the cab. This cab is only about 24" wide... I stand in the middle, and easily reach the spinner. For games like tempest, this works fine. Also works OK for racing games. The only drawback of this positioning is that your palm with rest on the buttons below the spinner. but if they're inactive buttons (not used for the game) it won't matter.

I had very very little space to work with in this cab for the panel. if I had more space, I would have opted for a center location of the spinner. Left hand side is out of the question for me though.


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