Fin.

We are both really pleased with the final product. Two months of work and we have an arcade machine in our dining room!


Video of the startup (with custom graphics/sounds) to come soon!

Marquee

Installing the marquee wasn't the most fun thing to do, but I'm happy with the way it turned out. TIP: If you are building one of these things, print two copies of your marquee graphic. The guy at formerly-Kinkos accidentally printed two, and gave me both. I'm glad he did. What you see in the photo is both copies of the graphic stacked on top of each other, lit from behind. With just one copy, the paper isn't thick enough and the graphic gets washed out by the light. Just make sure they are lined up exactly. A thin strip of gaff tape held the 2 prints and a piece of acrylic on either side. The ribbing of the t-molding was stripped out and glued on, then the whole thing stuck on the front. Looking back on it, I would have rather used magnets.


Bo Jackson from Tecmo Bowl is the unofficial mascot of Return of the Super Kombat Turtles from Space II Turbo Remix. "So real it hurts" comes from an old ad for the Mortal Kombat arcade game.

The Guts

Here's the inside of the cab, under the monitor shelf. The PC with all the MAME software/roms, subwoofer (doom doom), speaker controls (in plastic baggie for dust protection), and Smart Strip to turn everything on at the same time.


We drilled a hole under the CP box and installed the secret power button. One push turns everything on, one push turns everything off.

Bezel

We trimmed down the monitor bezel and acrylic with the Dremel and a razor blade for a more precise fit. After giving the TV a good Windexing, we lined up both pieces, tucked them behind the speaker panel, and drilled 2 screws (bottom left, bottom right) into the 2x2s to keep everything in place.

Speakers

The first order of business after the paint was completely dry was to install the speakers. We used the screws that came with them, originally for holding them into the plastic cases. I extended the length of the wires so the control board (volume, treble, bass) could rest on the floor of the cab instead of dangling behind the monitor.


And from the front:

MAME Monitor Button from Dan Price on Vimeo.

Paint

Not much to say...high gloss, black, oil-based enamel. Used foam rollers.