When my girlfriend broke up with me in the summer I needed distraction, so I went looking for appropiate distraction. I used my wandering of the internet to find something.
then I found MAME (multiple arcade machine emulator) again, I had seen it on the internets when i was not downloading emulators in 2000 and so. I looked around and found This site, I was amazed at alot of the projects that were there on the example pages.

After reading LOADS of guides and whatnot I decided to build one as well. I looked everywhere i Could for a old cabinet, I couldn't find one so i decided that i should build one from scratch.
Just when i was looking at wood at a DIY store I got a mail telling me i could pick a cabinet up for an ok price of 50 euros. I took the offer and told my grandma who whould have to drive me.

The place was next to rotterdam, in vlaardingen and I was aware it would be a good distance to get there, Me and my gran went at nine and after a lot of reading signs because of the lack of a GPS it took a little. when we finally got there I was surprised. It was an old warehouse in a harbour. The place was loaded with all kinds of cabinets, there were pinballmachines, jukeboxes, timecrisis, ridge racer and all things nice. there had to be at least 500 different cabinets stuffed in two warehouses.
I ordered the best shape i could find because condition did not matter alot to me.
My decision fell on a generic dutch cabinet missing alot and it was dusty as hell.
They told me they could deliver it to my house and I took the offer right away.

On the day it was coming, I was looking out my window waiting.then i heard a V8 I jumped to the window and saw a wide person from rotterdam step out. I knew right away it was for me so i went down stairs and we took the thing upstairs. It was as heavy as a fridge, even empty it was amazingly heavy.
after 3 flights of stairs I gave him the money and done. A giant cabinet in the middle of my small room dusty and dirty. my sister was right away looking in it. we took it apart and then cleaned the inside.
when done we put the cab where it will sit all this time.


here is the coin door


here is the victim stripped

now I couldn't do crap until I got my parts. I wanted to build the controls myself, and put in one of my pcs I had lying around. I had ordered parts from HERE and got them a week after. I had ordered :
1 x Pushbutton Nut Wrench (PBWRNCH01) = $2.00
6 x Green Horizontal Pushbutton - HAPP™ (PBGNHPLGHZ) = $8.10
7 x Red Horizontal Pushbutton - HAPP™ (PBRDHPLGHZ) = $9.45
7 x Yellow Horizontal Pushbutton - HAPP™ (PBYWHPLGHZ) = $9.45
1 x Player 2 Pushbutton (P2PB) = $1.59
1 x Player 1 Pushbutton (P1PB) = $1.59
1 x HAPP™ Super Arcade Joystick - RED (HAPPSPRRED) = $8.49
30 x Solar Yellow 3/4-inch T-Molding (TM34SOLYEL) = $12.00
1 x OMNI-Stik BASIC - BLACK (OMNIBBLACK) = $13.50
1 x HAPP™ Super Arcade Joystick - BLACK (HAPPSPRBLACK) = $8.49
1 x KeyWiz Max 1.5 (KWS00015) = $34.95
15 x Blue ButtonBlaster™ LED (BLUBBLED) = $7.35
7 x Black Horizontal Pushbutton - HAPP™ (PBBKHPLGHZ) = $9.45
1 x OMNI-Stik BASIC - RED (OMNIBRED) = $13.50
------------------------------------------------------
Sub-Total: $139.91
United States Postal Service (Priority Mail International Flat Rate Box (6 - 10 days)): $39.35
Total: $179.26


My old tv in the cab

When i first got the package my sister put the T-moulding on. it was applied with a hot glue gun.
I started with making a test panel. After I completed it I started making a real panel.

Test panel, you can see the spacing is not good.

Now it was time to get the thing as good as working. I made the panel with Mdf with some generic artwork and plaxi over that, the controls holds it together.


The glaas in this pic is tinted glass I got with the cab.


And now the near completed cab.

Here you can well see the t-moulding.

I really liked building the thing, it took my mind of my girlfriend and it kept me busy in the vacation. all in all it did't cost me alot and it is too much fun to absolutly destroy my friends with the king of fighters and get highscores in donkey kong.
It was well worth the money effort and the tv to build this and now the only thing i need to do is a few cosmetic and practical things.

hereis where my original log is