Asteroids Deluxe Hyperspin Cabinet

[Snakerake]

Hello! First post!

 

After many years of procrastination, I'm finally starting my Arcade Cabinet build! So I've decided to start a thread to document my build.

 

I decided I wanted to build a reproduction of one my favorite cabinets... not necessarily favorite game.  Tempest, Asteroids, Space Invaders, Centipede and Defender were all close contenders... but I've settled on Asteroids Deluxe.  I love the side panel art and was able to find high res scans of all the art at http://www.arcadeartwork.org ... but I do really like the game.  Im a little worried about the side panels interfering with 2 player play.  Im going to do a mockup this weekend to test if thats the case.

 

I've built the cabinet in Sketchup, I tried to say as close to the original cabinet as possible so I wouldn't have to modify the side panel art. However, I've made a few changes since this is a multicade. I moved the glass back several inches to accommodate a larger control panel. And the bottom of the control panel doesn't angle back.  I did this so I can install a large drawer with keyboard, mouse and probably PS3 controllers. I'm not going to do a coin door at the moment, but I may change my mind.

 

Im considering redesigning the base to include a pull out step at the bottom for my young son. Currently it will just be a storage cabinet, but it would be nice to quickly pull it out for him to play.  Though it may not be worth the trouble when I could easily store a step stool in the cabinet.

 

At the moment I'm planning on a 6 button setup so I designed the art for the control panel with the same look and feel as the original control panel, but rearranged for 2 joysticks and many buttons.

 

I'm going to use a 4:3 20" Dell monitor for the screen.  My boss has several arcade cabinets in his basement and has successfully scared me off using a CRT monitor. He told me a story about setting a small fire while messing with a cabinet's monitor.

 

Ive got Hyperspin and Mame up and running on an old ASUS laptop I will use in the cabinet. Many thanks to SimplyAustin for his top notch videos, they were a great help!  

 

I'll be configuring other console systems in the coming weeks after I make some progress on the build.  Currently I have 90% of what I need purchased and ready for the build. I have rough cut some of the plywood into smaller pieces for easier handling, and plan to layout the side panels tomorrow.

 

Wish Me luck!

 

 

 

[kylecp1979]

Good Luck on the build!!!

 

Post pics when finished if you can

[Snakerake]

I made some great progress on the cabinet this weekend.  Sides cut, most of the angled cuts done, and a lot of assembly done.  I've run out of plywood and will need 2 more 2'x4'sheets. 

 

The straight front really feels like its going to be a problem for 2 person play... at least for two adults.  I think I have three options. but I have to decide quickly which to do.

 

1. Recut sides to be a Centipede cabinet. Asteroids Deluxe and Centipede cabinets are nearly identical in dimensions, so I wouldn't lose too much work... I would have to take apart and reassemble, but hopefully my screw holes would line back up. I really like the Asteroids Deluxe art better and how the straight sides kind of block out the world around you when you are playing... but it makes sense why not many games had cabinets shaped like that.

 

2. Redesign control panel to slide out 6-8"on drawer slides.  Might be tricky, would have to find a way to lock it in position easily. But it would be a neat feature.

 

3.  Just not worry about it. 

 

Any suggestions?

 

[kylecp1979]

WOW!!! Nice progress!

[Snakerake]

Not as much progress tonight on the Cab.. mostly fiddly bits to do, and I had to take off the bottom shelf... forgot to cut the slot for t- molding.  

 

I'm just going to press ahead with the control panel as is. I don't think I want to switch to a centipede cabinet, so figure if I need to design a slide out control panel, it will be simpler to modify something, than start from scratch.

 

[Snakerake]

Not as much progress as I hoped this weekend, but I had a pretty sizable Honey Do list to get through.  I got the cab primed and sanded and Front door cut, edge banded and installed.  

 

But more importantly, I found an original marquee on ebay, and it got here fast! But I had to make some adjustments, as it was taller than I anticipated. I ended up moving the top panels up about a half an inch.  

 

I tried making a marquee retaining clip across the top from a thermoformed sheet of ABS.... it worked great, I heated the plastic In the oven, clamped it into a mold and let it cool, and the angle fit perfectly.... BUT, the plastic contracted about 1.5" so now its too short, the largest sheet I could get was 24" so I guess I'll have to figure out something else. In the mean time I've made a temporary clip from 3/16" plywood.

 

I hope to build and install the keyboard drawer tonight.  Then I'll have the bezel support, monitor mounting, speaker and electrical installation left to do before final painting.

 

 

[juicelee]

looks well phat mate, keep it up

[gec5741]

Looking good!  Can't wait to see more! 

[Metalzoic]

Not as much progress as I hoped this weekend, but I had a pretty sizable Honey Do list to get through.  I got the cab primed and sanded and Front door cut, edge banded and installed.  

 

But more importantly, I found an original marquee on ebay, and it got here fast! But I had to make some adjustments, as it was taller than I anticipated. I ended up moving the top panels up about a half an inch.  

 

I tried making a marquee retaining clip across the top from a thermoformed sheet of ABS.... it worked great, I heated the plastic In the oven, clamped it into a mold and let it cool, and the angle fit perfectly.... BUT, the plastic contracted about 1.5" so now its too short, the largest sheet I could get was 24" so I guess I'll have to figure out something else. In the mean time I've made a temporary clip from 3/16" plywood.

 

I hope to build and install the keyboard drawer tonight.  Then I'll have the bezel support, monitor mounting, speaker and electrical installation left to do before final painting.

 

IMG_0950.jpg

For my marquee clip/holders I picked up an aluminum L bar from Home Depot, cut it to the correct width/length, painted it flat black. The top clip I put two flat hinges on (held on with strong epoxy tape) so it can be flipped up to remove the marquee when needed.

[Snakerake]

Thanks Metalzoic, I'll probably give that a try, I've got a friend thats a engineer/foreman at a fabrication shop.  I thought about asking him to bend two pieces of sheet metal for me at the correct angles (top is 110° and bottom is 100°)  But thats probably overkill and I kind of want to save that favor for something more important.

[Metalzoic]

Thanks Metalzoic, I'll probably give that a try, I've got a friend thats a engineer/foreman at a fabrication shop.  I thought about asking him to bend two pieces of sheet metal for me at the correct angles (top is 110° and bottom is 100°)  But thats probably overkill and I kind of want to save that favor for something more important.

The aluminum is easy to work. It's thin, light, pre-bent to 90 degrees and about 1/2 inch wide in each leg. I cut it with a hacksaw and filed it smooth until it fit in flush, primer, paint, dry, done.

[Snakerake]

Great Progress tonight, 

 

I got the control panel support bracket, the bezel glass support pieces, glass and monitor installed tonight.  Not bad for a weeknight.  Hopefully I can get the drawer built tomorrow night, because after that I'll be on a week hiatus to drive about 12 hours to my wife's cousin's wedding. I may have to feign an illness or injury to stay home and work on the Cab.  

 

Next up more fiddly bits... Fans, power supply, speakers, on and on.

 

[ChrisKant]

nice

[Anon512]

Nice build!

Keep the posts coming!!

We are enjoying the process!

It must be exciting!

 

Did you paint on the primer with a paint roller or spray?

How many layers of primer did you put on and did you sand between layers?

 

It looks like you purchased veneered plywood!  Nice! 

 

Are you painting it black and then adding the side art?  How are you going to paint it? Roller or spray?

[Snakerake]

Hi Anon,

 

The primer is Rustoleum spray can Filler primer. Very good product, fills the pores in the wood well. But Ive gone through way too many cans... if I do this again Im going to try to roll or brush on, the spray cans have been very pricey.

 

I'm sanding smooth between layers, but only two layers, this stuff builds quickly so I don't need a lot of coats.  

 

Yes its veneered Ply, I'm not crazy about MDF, it dulls blades so fast and requires many extra steps in my opinion.

 

I'll be painting the cab satin black with an HVLP gun then rolling the sides with white and lightly sand out the roller bumps smooth.  (Side art, will fully cover sides and has a white background, I don't want black under the vinyl ), Im gonna try adding penetrol to the white paint... its supposed to help it self level smooth

 

I hope to get some work done this week, back from the road trip from hell.

[Snakerake]

I finally got back on the cabinet last night.  I've been traveling and have had a pretty long list from my wife of projects to get through, so I don't think I've touched it in almost 2 weeks.

 

It doesn't look like I've done much, but I got some good stuff done.  I had to fix a mistake I made where the front of the control panel was too tall, thus making the plexi bezel too small (this was an easy fix, but very time consuming).  I've gotten the power supply and cord in, fans installed, and built and installed a keyboard drawer.

 

Next up is installing speakers, cutting holes in control panel, figuring out marquee retainers, and prepping for paint.  I also probably need to add a vent to the top rear, but I don't think it has to happen before paint.

 

[THK]

Cool, good thing the artwork for the sides is freely available in hi-res

[griffin518]

Great Progress tonight, 

 

I got the control panel support bracket, the bezel glass support pieces, glass and monitor installed tonight.  Not bad for a weeknight.  Hopefully I can get the drawer built tomorrow night, because after that I'll be on a week hiatus to drive about 12 hours to my wife's cousin's wedding. I may have to feign an illness or injury to stay home and work on the Cab.  

 

Next up more fiddly bits... Fans, power supply, speakers, on and on.

 

IMG_0970.jpg

 

I'm curious what you ended up using for the bezel support. I'm going to start my own build soon and want to explore options.

[Snakerake]

Cool, good thing the artwork for the sides is freely available in hi-res

 

 

 

Indeed, many thanks to all those before me who persevered the art

 

 

I'm curious what you ended up using for the bezel support. I'm going to start my own build soon and want to explore options.

 

 

Here is a detail from my plans of how I did the bezel support.  Im using 1/4" plexi so it only has to be supported from the top and bottom.  I'm using a piece of 1/8" as a mockup, it works, but flexes if you put pressure on it.  The 1/4" doesn't flex

 

The plexi rests in a rabbet at the bottom and is supported from behind with an angled strip of plywood. The rear support may be unnecessary in the long run.

 

At the top its supported by an angled piece of plywood and a small retainer piece in the front made from solid wood.  I did this since its thinner has such a large bevel on it, I didn't want plys showing through or cracking.

 

 

 

SaveSave

SaveSave

[Snakerake]

Inching along...

 

I got speakers installed last night, and crafted marquee retainers tonight.

 

 

I used the leftover ABS from my failed thermoforming attempt and simply cut pieces at the correct bevel, and glued them together with some ABS weld glue. I'm really happy with how it turned out... It was probably overkill, seeing as I sunk an entire night into it, but at least I didn't need to buy anything else

 

I'm hoping to get some paint on it this weekend, Im tired of looking at gray. Needs more black... and white... which consequently combine to make gray... but whatever. Then to finalize my control layout and start thinking about graphics.

 

 

[Metalzoic]

Looking really good man.

 

My glass sits in almost the same way you did yours. The bottom rests in a horizontal notch (rabbet you called it?). The top simply leans back against a top support like yours. However there is no retainer piece needed on mine.

Over the glass I have an additional outer bezel of aluminum (painted flat black) about 1/2 inch wide that frames the glass and fits flush with the cabinet. This hides the glass edges and really helps give it a commercially built look.

 

You're going to use plexi instead of tinted glass?

[Snakerake]

Looking really good man.

 

My glass sits in almost the same way you did yours. The bottom rests in a horizontal notch (rabbet you called it?). The top simply leans back against a top support like yours. However there is no retainer piece needed on mine.

Over the glass I have an additional outer bezel of aluminum (painted flat black) about 1/2 inch wide that frames the glass and fits flush with the cabinet. This hides the glass edges and really helps give it a commercially built look.

 

You're going to use plexi instead of tinted glass?

 

That aluminum bezel sounds really interesting, do you mind sharing a picture. As far as tinted glass or plexi. I'm not too savvy on the purpose of the tinting the glass or plexi.  I've heard it mentioned here and there... but not quite sure what purpose the tint will serve. I am however interested in what its all about.

 

I am hoping to apply my bezel graphics to the back of the plexi so that it has that glossy look.  I chose plexi since I could cut it on my table saw and get it to fit just right without having to deal with a glass cutter/shop.

 

Progress wise, I did some painting this weekend.

 

I rolled white on the sides, but I hate the way it came out.  Very orange peel texture, gonna have to sand that down and probably spray on a new coat.

 

I sprayed the black today with my HPLV gun and it came out fantastic.  Im using Rustoleum Satin since its the only oil based black paint I could pick up off the shelf, and since I can grab a few cans of the same paint in spray cans for touch ups.

 

I've got to paint the backs of a few panels and touch up a few mistakes tomorrow, then reassemble once its all dry. I hoping to have my control layout sorted out by then so I can start on the control panel.

 

 

( the white sides are still masked under plastic)

[Snakerake]

So close!

 

Painting is complete!  Touch ups were a nightmare, I shouldn't have bothered with the spray paint... I should have just fixed my mistakes and set up the HVLP again for a final pass.  Oh well live and learn.

 

I've gotten everything reassembled, Just need to finalize Graphics and send to Brad for printing.  Then I can get all of the buttons installed and drop the computer in.

 

I printed some graphics on the laser printer at work to get a sense of how they will look, I'm a little worried the control panel looks too busy, so i may have to simply.  The green circles are button holes.

 

[Metalzoic]

Looking good. Is that CP a copy of the graphics on the actual Asteroids machine?

Seems like it would look a bit better if you matched it a bit more to the colors on the marquee.

Also, coin door?

[Snakerake]

Thanks!, not a copy of the CP, but designed in the style of it, I tried to use slot of the same elements.

 

The original CP had a more washed out orangy-red ... but then bright red on the bezel. Color consistency didn't seem that important to Atari back in 81 apparently.  

 

But yeah.. I agree ,I made the red brighter to match the buttons, but I'm gonna try it with the OG color tomorrow, see if I like it better 

 

No coin door at the moment, or at least not a functional one. I'm gonna use the bottom for storage so I don't want to lock the door.  I'm afraid my 2 yr old son will mess with it and break it if he can get to the rear of it. (And probably eat the coins.)

 

I'm thinking on building something to mimic the look of it though... it does needs something on the bottom.