The NEW Build Your Own Arcade Controls

Main => Project Announcements => Topic started by: gamecreature on May 21, 2006, 10:04:17 pm

Title: Gamecreature Arcade: Exterior Complete
Post by: gamecreature on May 21, 2006, 10:04:17 pm: I'm going to take an old Robotron (I think) cabinet and turn it into a Mame machine. I'm not concerned about the wiring (I made a desktop control panel previously) but the box has some dings and dents around the control panel that I hope I can get some helpful advice on cleaning up - wood putty should work, right? I'm going to cover it with a new overlay, but I know I should have a smooth surface underneath. At any rate, here's the raw materials:

(http://www.gamecreature.com/uploaded_images/cab06052101-720225.gif)
Title: Re: Taking the plunge
Post by: IG-88 on May 21, 2006, 10:19:43 pm: A Robotron ?? Watch out.....you might catch some :censored: for that.
Title: Re: Taking the plunge
Post by: gamecreature on May 21, 2006, 10:32:55 pm: Quote from: IG-88 on May 21, 2006, 10:19:43 pm
A Robotron ?? Watch out.....you might catch some :censored: for that.

Trust me, I would never deface a gem like a Robotron. But as you can see from the picture, I'm not 100% sure what this thing started out as. But the construction on the inside is pretty solid, so maybe someone did something right in its past.
Title: Re: Taking the plunge
Post by: miles2912 on May 22, 2006, 12:16:41 am: People have used Wood Putty and bondo. I would leant towards wood putty for smaller dings and holes.. and just get some laytex gloves and pack it in there. Forget a putty knife. Bondo on the bigger gashes. Search for bondo there are a lot of great ideas and tricks.

D-
Title: Re: Taking the plunge
Post by: Dervacumen on May 22, 2006, 12:26:17 am: I had a whole corner missing from mine and I used wood filler. Built it up over 5 or six coats letting it dry a couple of days in between each application and then sanded off and shaped the excess. Works great.
Title: Re: Taking the plunge
Post by: SuperGunGuru on May 22, 2006, 02:22:59 am: Quote from: IG-88 on May 21, 2006, 10:19:43 pm
A Robotron ?? Watch out.....you might catch some :censored: for that.

Heh I wouldn't think so since this one is already converted. Some might feel differently though.

I can't tell for sure, but that looks like a Williams style cab (maybe Joust?) You might find some kind of ID sticker on the inside of the cab or maybe on the back somewhere if you're curious what it started out as.
Title: Re: Taking the plunge
Post by: Havok on May 22, 2006, 08:31:32 am: Looking at the cab in it's current condition, Mame away!
Title: Re: Taking the plunge
Post by: gamecreature on May 22, 2006, 09:53:53 am: Thanks for the tips. The dings are pretty shallow so I'll go ahead with the woodputty. I'll check out the bondo threads, because I'll probably want to fill the old controller holes before drilling the new ones.

Speaking of threads, can you folks point me to some good ones on removing the side art and putting in some speakers? I've got an old PC sound system with a busted speaker - I'm thinking of salvaging the amp and just find some car speakers to add to the mix - that should work, right?
Title: Re: Taking the plunge - Identity confirmed
Post by: gamecreature on May 23, 2006, 10:56:38 am: Turns out that taking off the decal was very easy. And I was able to confirm that this was indeed a robotron cabinet.

(http://www.gamecreature.com/uploaded_images/cab06052301-742965.gif)

I'll see about removing the CPO next...
Title: Re: Taking the plunge
Post by: theCoder on May 24, 2006, 02:21:52 am: Quote from: miles2912 on May 22, 2006, 12:16:41 am
People have used Wood Putty and bondo. I would leant towards wood putty for smaller dings and holes.. and just get some laytex gloves and pack it in there. Forget a putty knife. Bondo on the bigger gashes. Search for bondo there are a lot of great ideas and tricks.

D-
I'd go with the Wood Putty. I recently filled a large 4x4 hole on my porch. I put in a backing plate, then a few layers of the stock stuff. I then watered some of it down a bit and used a wide putty knife (6" I think) to get it very thin smooth coat. Dervacumen is right regarding letting it dry a few days between coats.
Title: Gamecreature Arcade
Post by: gamecreature on May 29, 2006, 10:16:16 pm: One thing led to another and I'm going to make this a Gamecreature themed cabinet. Here's an initial sketch for the marquee (yes, it's inspired by Moon Patrol).
Title: Re: Taking the plunge
Post by: theCoder on May 30, 2006, 09:14:43 pm: Quote from: gamecreature on May 29, 2006, 10:16:16 pm
One thing led to another and I'm going to make this a Gamecreature themed cabinet. Here's an initial sketch for the marquee (yes, it's inspired by Moon Patrol).
That has the potential to really rock. It also has the potential to take a huge amount of time. I take it you have a lot of experience with Photoshop or equivalent?

Thanks again for the input on the PartyBox sideart !
Title: Re: Taking the plunge
Post by: gamecreature on May 30, 2006, 10:01:00 pm: Quote from: theCoder on May 30, 2006, 09:14:43 pm
Quote from: gamecreature on May 29, 2006, 10:16:16 pm
One thing led to another and I'm going to make this a Gamecreature themed cabinet. Here's an initial sketch for the marquee (yes, it's inspired by Moon Patrol).
That has the potential to really rock. It also has the potential to take a huge amount of time. I take it you have a lot of experience with Photoshop or equivalent?

Thanks again for the input on the PartyBox sideart !

Yep, I know my Photoshop. Project like this will take me a couple of weekends, depending on how much other stuff I need to finish. I've been using Photoshop and Illustrator for over a decade. I'm not very good with woodworking and power tools, but I think I make up for it with the pencil. Maybe when I finish this project I'll update the gallery on my website (here's a link (http://www.gamecreature.com/toonzone/tzgallery.htm) to the old one).

But back to the marquee. I want to make it sort of tongue in cheek so I'll be using a lot of flat shading, similar to the screen-print look of the old marquees. I think it needs some focus on the right side, so I intend to add a fleet of ships, each piloted by a familiar character (only a dozen will be seen clearly).
Title: Re: Taking the plunge
Post by: gamecreature on May 31, 2006, 10:03:42 pm: Here's the marquee with the space fleet:
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: gamecreature on June 18, 2006, 08:49:41 pm: I had the CPO printed at MameMarquees. Many trials and tribulations, but I got the thing reassembled. Don't know about the rest of the box, but the CP looks nice if I do say so myself.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: Ninten-doh on June 18, 2006, 09:01:03 pm: That looks fantastic! :applaud: :applaud: :applaud:
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: Crafty on June 18, 2006, 09:27:45 pm: Awesome effort !!!!

Can't wait to see more photos...
:applaud: :applaud: :applaud:
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: leapinlew on June 18, 2006, 09:32:57 pm: Very nice! Lookin good.

I tackle art last. It's not what I'm good at. What kind of color scheme is the overall cab going to be.

Also, is that polycarbonite?
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: MameMaster! on June 18, 2006, 09:37:53 pm: that control panel looks fantastic! :applaud:
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: theCoder on June 18, 2006, 10:49:02 pm: You've inspired me to revisit the artwork I'm planning on my project. I take it this is vinyl sticker material?

Very nice.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: gamecreature on June 18, 2006, 11:03:39 pm: The CP is plywood from the original cab. I just laid the CPO on top of it. Yes, it's a vinyl print from MameMarquees and Scott did a fantastic job. I'm very happy with the way it turned out.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: Timoe on June 18, 2006, 11:13:47 pm: I too am happy with the way it turned out. It looks really slick. good for you!
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: gamecreature on June 19, 2006, 09:48:51 am: Quote from: theCoder on June 18, 2006, 10:49:02 pm
You've inspired me to revisit the artwork I'm planning on my project.

That's one of the reasons I post these things. ;D BTW, let me know if you need a hand. I find you can't go wrong if you've got a good color scheme. I use the color schemer (http://www.colorschemer.com/online/) frequently.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: theCoder on June 19, 2006, 10:57:38 am: Quote from: gamecreature on June 19, 2006, 09:48:51 am
BTW, let me know if you need a hand.
You read my mind. I'll post a couple of drafts to my project blog later this week. Thanks for the offer.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: BlinKY1337 on June 19, 2006, 11:27:34 pm: great job :cheers:
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: psychopanda on June 21, 2006, 12:04:43 pm: Now, that's just Amazing! :)

I'll hopefully finish the art for my cab someday, but yours just knocks my socks off! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with for Sideart. :D
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: gamecreature on June 21, 2006, 12:14:33 pm: Quote from: psychopanda on June 21, 2006, 12:04:43 pm
Now, that's just Amazing! :)

I'll hopefully finish the art for my cab someday, but yours just knocks my socks off! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with for Sideart. :D

You know, I've been on the fence about covering up the Robotron paint, but it really doesn't match the rest of the art. (I hid the "W" and "2084" in the CP as an homage to it) After finishing the CP and the Marquee, my budget for printing art is pretty much blown, so it may be a few weeks (and a few freelance art projects) before I can scrape up the cash to get Scott at MameMarquees to print up some cool vinyl for the side. That should give me plenty of time to finalize my design.

On the plus side, I've got the artwork finished for my FE (I'm using Mala) and it's looking great. I'll upload it when I get home.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: psychopanda on June 21, 2006, 01:32:30 pm: Ah cool, I've been thinking about using Mala too once I get everything together. Nice to know that I can add my own art. :)
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: Knievel on June 21, 2006, 02:03:44 pm: You've gotta get going on that cabinet.
Having that beautiful CP alongside that ratty t-molding is just WRONG. :)
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: gamecreature on June 21, 2006, 02:48:34 pm: Quote from: Knievel on June 21, 2006, 02:03:44 pm

You've gotta get going on that cabinet.
Having that beautiful CP alongside that ratty t-molding is just WRONG. :)

Yeah, I was going to order some from Arcade Shop when I ordered the CP molding, but I didn't know what color to get...
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: cyberphox on June 21, 2006, 02:50:36 pm: god that is cool artwork..I wish I could make something like that with a cartoon Fox for my theme
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: leapinlew on June 21, 2006, 03:04:25 pm: Poor Gamecreature...

This should've been the crowning glory to your machine. Being the first peice, now every peice after needs to be just as good - or better!
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: gamecreature on June 21, 2006, 03:08:20 pm: Quote from: cyberphox on June 21, 2006, 02:50:36 pm
god that is cool artwork..I wish I could make something like that with a cartoon Fox for my theme

You can't. But I can do it for you. ;)
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: cyberphox on June 21, 2006, 03:39:51 pm: sounds good to me
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: leapinlew on June 21, 2006, 05:01:03 pm: You two get a room.

Lets get back to talking about how nice the CP is and how crappy the T-molding is.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: cyberphox on June 21, 2006, 09:29:05 pm: lol...nice one
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: gamecreature on June 21, 2006, 10:59:46 pm: Quote from: leapinlew on June 21, 2006, 05:01:03 pm
You two get a room.

Lets get back to talking about how nice the CP is and how crappy the T-molding is.

One place in the whole cab where there's a chunk missing out of the T-molding and it happens to be next to the CP. :cry: But yeah, it needs to be fixed.

Oh, and as promised, here's the Mala skin I put together:
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: leapinlew on June 21, 2006, 11:20:00 pm: Seriously... thats a nice skin. You did a good job with it. Isn't Mala awesome for making skins? Looks like your going Horizontal?

Looking at your game list... Did you know you can remove everything in brackets/parenthesis from all your games in 1 fell swoop? Just curious. I know setting up the roms can take some time.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: DigDreams on June 22, 2006, 12:24:42 am: Your artwork is fantastic, are you a professional artisit/graphic designer? Also, I can't tell from looking at it - is that raster or vector?

- DigDreams
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: Crafty on June 22, 2006, 03:52:19 am: The artwork is top notch....

It sets the cabinet apart from others.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: gamecreature on June 22, 2006, 09:55:06 am: Quote from: leapinlew on June 21, 2006, 11:20:00 pm
Seriously... thats a nice skin. You did a good job with it. Isn't Mala awesome for making skins? Looks like your going Horizontal?

Looking at your game list... Did you know you can remove everything in brackets/parenthesis from all your games in 1 fell swoop? Just curious. I know setting up the roms can take some time.

Yep, I'm going horizontal with this. I'm sort of used to playing Mame this way. I did the screen grab as soon as I got the thing up and running - I hadn't done any editing with the list at that time.

DigDreams - Yes, I started out as an illustrator, now I just free-lance. I use both Illustrator and Photoshop for my work, but in these cases, pretty much everything you see is the result of Photoshop.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: theCoder on June 22, 2006, 10:51:28 am: I'm amazed at the things you can do with Photoshop. I wish I had spent the time to learn it MUCH earlier. I can see how a person could make a decent living using it.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: gamecreature on June 22, 2006, 11:04:46 am: Quote from: theCoder on June 22, 2006, 10:51:28 am
I'm amazed at the things you can do with Photoshop. I wish I had spent the time to learn it MUCH earlier. I can see how a person could make a decent living using it.

I've been using it since the mid-90's and I think I've barely scratched the surface of what it can do. I wish I could say that I make a comfortable living with free-lance art, but it's really just something I do after I get home from work.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: johnperkins21 on June 22, 2006, 01:20:37 pm: I think your stuff is awesome, but what this guy (http://www.bertmonroy.com/) does is truly awe-inspiring. I never would have guessed that you could make PhotoShop do this stuff. I'm sure there are other people out there doing extraordinary work with PS, but this guy really impressed me a few years back when I saw him on The Screen Savers when TechTV was still around.

I am extremely envious of people with the skill to create anything more than fancy wordart with PhotoShop.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: jcroach on June 22, 2006, 01:46:42 pm: Quote from: gamecreature on June 21, 2006, 10:59:46 pm
Quote from: leapinlew on June 21, 2006, 05:01:03 pm
You two get a room.

Lets get back to talking about how nice the CP is and how crappy the T-molding is.

One place in the whole cab where there's a chunk missing out of the T-molding and it happens to be next to the CP. :cry: But yeah, it needs to be fixed.

Oh, and as promised, here's the Mala skin I put together:

Thanks for the tip about http://www.colorschemer.com/online.html
Great site.

Fantastic skin. I'm not familiar with Mala. Is it a front end or a design program? Can somone give me a link to more info on it? If it's a design program, what front end are you using?
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: gamecreature on June 22, 2006, 02:12:50 pm: Quote from: jcroach on June 22, 2006, 01:46:42 pm

Thanks for the tip about http://www.colorschemer.com/online.html
Great site.

You're welcome. I use it mainly for web design, but I find it handy for just about any art project.

Quote

Fantastic skin. I'm not familiar with Mala. Is it a front end or a design program? Can somone give me a link to more info on it? If it's a design program, what front end are you using?

Mala (http://mala.arcadezentrum.com/) is a front end, one of many supported in the software forum on this board. You can see how it stacks up against the others on the wiki (http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/wiki/Front-Ends). It comes with a nice little layout editor, which allowed me to set up the skin the way I wanted it to. BTW, the snapshots are behind a mask that makes them appear to be inside of the circle instead of lying on top of it. I planned on doing marquees the same way, but ultimately decided against it.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: swindus on June 23, 2006, 04:41:37 am: @gamecreature
Awesome artwork!!! I really like your cp and of course your MaLa layout!

Quote from: leapinlew on June 21, 2006, 11:20:00 pm
Looking at your game list... Did you know you can remove everything in brackets/parenthesis from all your games in 1 fell swoop? Just curious.
This can be done with MalaGamelist. Check this site: http://mala.arcadezentrum.com/malagamelist.html
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: gamecreature on June 23, 2006, 09:40:31 am: Quote from: swindus on June 23, 2006, 04:41:37 am
@gamecreature
Awesome artwork!!! I really like your cp and of course your MaLa layout!

Thanks. I'd like to keep this one exclusive for my machine, but when I'm done, I'll be happy to put together a variation to put on your site.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: KillerArcades on June 23, 2006, 10:06:03 am: Quote from: leapinlew
...you can remove everything in brackets/parenthesis from all your games in 1 fell swoop...

I didn't, how do you do that?
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: leapinlew on June 23, 2006, 10:18:17 am: Looking good GC!
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: gamecreature on June 23, 2006, 10:41:58 am: Quote from: SKondris on June 23, 2006, 10:06:03 am
Quote from: leapinlew
...you can remove everything in brackets/parenthesis from all your games in 1 fell swoop...

I didn't, how do you do that?

Right here (http://mala.arcadezentrum.com/malagamelist.html).
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: javeryh on June 23, 2006, 03:05:55 pm: So wait, using MaLa as a front end I can design my own layout AND have it display horizontally or vertically for my cocktail table depending on which controls are pressed?

Sick.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: loadman on June 24, 2006, 01:34:48 am: Quote from: javeryh on June 23, 2006, 03:05:55 pm
So wait, using MaLa as a front end I can design my own layout AND have it display horizontally or vertically for my cocktail table depending on which controls are pressed?
Sick.

Fully sick..Look here:
(http://mala.arcadezentrum.com/screenshots/ctrl2.gif)
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: loadman on June 24, 2006, 01:40:58 am: Quote from: gamecreature on June 21, 2006, 10:59:46 pm
Oh, and as promised, here's the Mala skin I put together:
That is some nice work.

'give me a ballpark figure gamecreature'

How much would you charge to create a custom skin for MaLa.?
I would supply a basic sketch and some elements to work with.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: Ninten-doh on June 28, 2006, 01:48:40 pm: Gamecreature, when do we get to see a pic with the marquee installed? ;D
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: CP installed
Post by: gamecreature on June 28, 2006, 02:07:20 pm: Quote from: Ninten-doh on June 28, 2006, 01:48:40 pm
Gamecreature, when do we get to see a pic with the marquee installed? ;D

When I get the replacement plexi for it. Don't worry, I'm as anxious to share as you are to see!
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Marquee installed!
Post by: gamecreature on July 03, 2006, 10:52:35 pm: Here you go - Marquee finally installed. Now it needs a bezel and new molding...and a better CPU!
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Marquee installed!
Post by: theCoder on July 03, 2006, 11:54:08 pm: Looks like crap. Did you use Microsoft Draw or Crayons? Get a real job..... awesome as usual. :notworthy:
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Marquee installed!
Post by: leapinlew on July 04, 2006, 12:39:54 am: Quote from: gamecreature on July 03, 2006, 10:52:35 pm
Now it needs a bezel and new molding...and a better CPU!

And a better home. You live close enough I might even drive up and take it off your hands.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Marquee installed!
Post by: psychopanda on July 04, 2006, 03:47:48 am: Cool design GC. :)

Weren't you going to have some flying ships or something...or is that going to be the side art?
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Marquee installed!
Post by: gamecreature on July 04, 2006, 08:39:31 am: Quote from: leapinlew on July 04, 2006, 12:39:54 am
And a better home. You live close enough I might even drive up and take it off your hands.

If you do come over, bring your tools - I'll probably make you redo the paint job on the sides!

Quote from: psychopanda on July 04, 2006, 03:47:48 am
Cool design GC. :)

Weren't you going to have some flying ships or something...or is that going to be the side art?

You're right, I had planned a whole mess o' space ships for the marquee, but I wasn't happy with the way the space city was turning out (I'm my own worse critic). Plus, it didn't match the CPO. An artist friend suggested the design I currently settled on - fewer headaches and it really pops! :)

My son wants me to print up side art, but I need to save up more money. And what good is a Mame machine that doesn't have the juice to play any games? (300 Mhz, 64 Megs Ram, 8 gig HD) Ah, priorities...
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Marquee installed!
Post by: Ninten-doh on July 05, 2006, 01:14:49 pm: GC, what size monitor are you using?
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Marquee installed!
Post by: gamecreature on July 05, 2006, 02:38:45 pm: It's only a 19", which is what the cabinet originally held. Oddly enough, the back of this thing is sticking out the back. Other than that, it seems to fit pretty well.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Marquee installed!
Post by: theCoder on July 06, 2006, 11:55:07 am: On my first cab, the monitor just barely interfered with the back door. I routered out a pocket right where it hit and everything was fine. Are you so lucky as to be able to get away with such a solution?
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Marquee installed!
Post by: gamecreature on July 06, 2006, 12:10:49 pm: Quote from: theCoder on July 06, 2006, 11:55:07 am
On my first cab, the monitor just barely interfered with the back door. I routered out a pocket right where it hit and everything was fine. Are you so lucky as to be able to get away with such a solution?

Possibly. But I don't have a router. Or a back door!

To be accurate, the cab originally had a back door and a back panel. The door is in place and functions, but the panel is missing. Don't really notice it's missing, so no big deal.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Exterior Complete
Post by: gamecreature on July 30, 2006, 10:25:24 am: Replaced the T-molding and added a bezel. This baby's ready for prime time. I'll post more pictures when I get a chance.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Exterior Complete
Post by: leapinlew on July 30, 2006, 10:51:25 am: Star Trek Pinball looks good! Is this the official game room?

I'm liking the bezel a lot! Good work. What method did you choose? Is that a peel and stick vinyl bezel, did you sandwich some print outs, did you have the bezel created somewhere?

Looking Good!
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Exterior Complete
Post by: gamecreature on July 30, 2006, 11:06:59 am: Quote from: leapinlew on July 30, 2006, 10:51:25 am
Star Trek Pinball looks good! Is this the official game room?

It is for now. :) I wish I could take credit for the quality of the pinball game, but I bought it from a fellow who restores pins. He did a fantastic job, it looks like new!

Quote
I'm liking the bezel a lot! Good work. What method did you choose? Is that a peel and stick vinyl bezel, did you sandwich some print outs, did you have the bezel created somewhere?

Looking Good!

The bezel was done by a friend at a local print shop. I wanted something I could easily modify in case I wanted to put in an instruction card later. But I'm pretty happy with the way it's looking so far. ;D
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Exterior Complete
Post by: BlinKY1337 on July 30, 2006, 05:53:48 pm: :applaud: :notworthy:
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Exterior Complete
Post by: gamecreature on July 30, 2006, 06:32:41 pm: More pictures on my website. (http://www.gamecreature.com/arcade.html) :)
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Exterior Complete
Post by: loadman on July 31, 2006, 02:33:44 am: Nice, What other toys do you have in that room?
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Exterior Complete
Post by: javeryh on July 31, 2006, 10:04:58 am: Awesome awesome work! :notworthy:

I love your original design and color scheme. It must be nice knowing you have a one-of-a-kind! The TNG pinball machine is pretty sweet too.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Exterior Complete
Post by: theCoder on July 31, 2006, 10:12:32 am: I love the bezel. A 21" monitor would probably look better, but the bezel does a great job of making the 19" one well proportional.

Very professional looking.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Exterior Complete
Post by: gamecreature on July 31, 2006, 12:49:40 pm: Loadman: As far as games, you're looking at 'em. It's a multi-purpose room in the house, which sort of means it has no purpose at all. As for toys, there's a whole bunch of Legos for my Brikwars (http://www.brikwars.com) games. :)

javeryh: You bet it's sweet! Nothing like getting your name in the Q continuum. ;D

theCoder: Yeah, the cab originally had a 19" so I figured that was good enough. Especially with the way that Dell monitor is hanging out of the back. But like I said, I'm going to start upgrading the computer components. There's a good chance I'll be upgrading the monitor before long. The whole purpose of the bezel design was to create the illusion that the monitor was larger as well as make everything look like part of an integrated whole. I'm quite happy with the results.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Exterior Complete
Post by: theCoder on July 31, 2006, 04:33:31 pm: I've got a great idea for you. You can get rid of the monitor hanging out the back by dropping $450 on a 21" LCD. Bigger monitor, less heat, less weight, less hanging out the back, less money in your wallet. What do you think...
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Exterior Complete
Post by: gamecreature on July 31, 2006, 05:27:19 pm: Quote from: theCoder on July 31, 2006, 04:33:31 pm
I've got a great idea for you. You can get rid of the monitor hanging out the back by dropping $450 on a 21" LCD. Bigger monitor, less heat, less weight, less hanging out the back, less money in your wallet. What do you think...

Brilliant! I will become a supervillain to support my videogame habit! Tomorrow, the world!
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Exterior Complete
Post by: Chris on July 31, 2006, 05:40:13 pm: Geez... you have me wanting to completely redo the art on MY cabinet now... you evil fiend!

Very nice work... especially that bezel.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Exterior Complete
Post by: BlinKY1337 on July 31, 2006, 06:00:23 pm: It might be the sexiest bezel of all time ill start searching :cheers:
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Exterior Complete
Post by: leapinlew on July 31, 2006, 06:50:05 pm: For some reason.... I just noticed the starburst thing you got going on. Awesome!

well? share! Tell us how you did it and what kind of paint you used. I'm assuming some sort of painters tape and multiple days of painting?
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Exterior Complete
Post by: gamecreature on August 01, 2006, 10:06:06 am: Quote from: leapinlew on July 31, 2006, 06:50:05 pm
For some reason.... I just noticed the starburst thing you got going on. Awesome!

well? share! Tell us how you did it and what kind of paint you used. I'm assuming some sort of painters tape and multiple days of painting?

Pretty much, yeah. I'm not a great painter - Photoshop is the only way I can paint without covering myself in the stuff. In this case, I put down a coat of primer, then a coat of yellow. Once that was dry, I put down the painter's tape to make the stripes. I overlapped the tape at the origin node for my burst and trimmed off the overlap to make a nice point. I didn't bother to cover the entire yellow area, just left a tape hashmark to say "don't paint in this place." It was surprisingly easy. The green was too light, in my opinion - I really should have made the guy at the paint store make it darker when he was mixing it and he insisted it matched my chit. At any rate, the tape did a great job. Just make sure it's making good contact to prevent any paint from seeping underneath. If I had to do it again, I might go with the spray paint technique that MYX used on his blackout cab.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Exterior Complete
Post by: leapinlew on August 01, 2006, 01:32:32 pm: 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.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Exterior Complete
Post by: gamecreature on August 01, 2006, 01:41:14 pm: Quote from: leapinlew on August 01, 2006, 01:32:32 pm
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.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Exterior Complete
Post by: CheffoJeffo on August 01, 2006, 04:16:08 pm: 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.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Exterior Complete
Post by: MYX on August 02, 2006, 03:10:57 pm: The Bezel is friggin genius! Nice job.

Quote from: gamecreature on August 01, 2006, 10:06:06 am
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. ;D
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Exterior Complete
Post by: javeryh on August 02, 2006, 03:22:11 pm: What kind of joysticks are you using and how do you get around the 4-way/8-way "issue"?
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Exterior Complete
Post by: gamecreature on August 02, 2006, 03:54:52 pm: Quote from: javeryh on August 02, 2006, 03:22:11 pm
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.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Exterior Complete
Post by: gamecreature on August 02, 2006, 04:02:55 pm: Quote from: MYX on August 02, 2006, 03:10:57 pm
Quote from: gamecreature on August 01, 2006, 10:06:06 am
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. ;D

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!
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Exterior Complete
Post by: zenmasterbooty on August 03, 2006, 03:11:30 pm: I dig your art..... love the bezel design.

I say avoid paint alltogether...use large format prints on adhesive vinyl w/UV stable ink.
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Exterior Complete
Post by: gamecreature on August 03, 2006, 04:07:26 pm: Quote from: zenmasterbooty on August 03, 2006, 03:11:30 pm
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?
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Exterior Complete
Post by: gamecreature on August 17, 2006, 03:37:43 pm: 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... :hissy:
Title: Re: Gamecreature Arcade: Exterior Complete
Post by: theCoder on August 18, 2006, 02:26:21 am: 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.