My Dragon's Lair Themed Retropie Build
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First off, an introduction!
Loved arcade machines since I was little (now in 40's) and always wanted a machine at home and last weekend finally grasped the nettle and thought - let's do it!
I got a plan from an Instructables which got me most of the way there in the design. I also should have stated that my tool kit and DIY skills are approaching zero. Being UK based, our local BnQ offers a free cutting service so I got a sheet of 12mm MDF from them and handed my sketch to the guy on the saw.
10 minutes later I had this:
..and about 30 minutes later I managed to sneak it all into the shed without the wife seeing.Most of the wood was cut to shape (the rectangles) which left me with the curve on each side. I did this one by one as there was no way my cheapo jigsaw would cut two pieces at once.
I then had planned to lock it all together with plastic blocks but this quickly looked a bit flimsy so I used some off cuts to make the internal bracing.
Here is a shot of the inside of one of the side panels (decal applied, I couldn't find a "before").
(Yes I applied decals to the insides too! This was done primarily as practice for the main event on the outsides).
The box assembled with relative ease to give me this:
The screen was an old 19" monitor I had lying around - I plan on upgrading this to a 19" in the future. Holes where drilled using a controller layout I got from the instructables site.
I always had the fondest memories of Dragon's Lair and love the artwork so I decided that was to be my theme, I couldn't find hi-res enough original artwork so got some images off the web, a hi-res logo and put them together in Photoshop.
I then got to do the exciting design and print of the decals:
and then took everything apart to apply them:
Everything went back together hunky dory:
I don't have a router so couldn't cut out the slot for the T Mould so I got some chrome edging from Amazon which is sticky back (the sticky wasn't quite sticky enough so I had to use a few chrome tacks).
Turned out quite nice and gave a nice finish to the edges:
I ordered the buttons, sticks and an IPAC-2 controller online. I already had a RPi 2 left over from an upgrade to a Pi 3 so quickly got Retropie install using PiBaker on the MAC and added one of two roms.
The joysticks arrived yesterday so I spent an hour or so on the wiring, installed the control panel and as it was getting late I called it a day.
So this is currently where I'm at with it:
I need to finish the screen off (perspex sheet with decals) and also spray the silver bezel to black to completely hide it). And more importantly I need to turn the whole thing on tonight and check everything works OK!!
I'll update the pics when I get the screen on and the machine running.
A few things I would have done differently / better but in the main for a first time cabinet things have gone OK. For anyone interested here is a list of what I used with prices (UK £).
12mm MDF Board (BnQ inc free cutting service) £16.50
Chrome Edging (Amazon) £8.50
Buttons, Joysticks, Ipac-2 board, wires - £80.00 (I could have gone for a cheaper board such as the Xin and this could have been ~ £60)
Raspberry Pi - already had one but ~ £35 inc PSU)
SD Card - already had one but ~ £10
Perspex sheer to cover the controller and front £10
Monitor - already had but can find similar on Ebay for ~ £20
HDMI to VGA adapter - £5
Decals - I have access to large format printing so no charge but expect to pay ~ £15Total build cost £200.00
Putting it like that it actually seems a large amount but as I had a lot of the components already my estimated costs are:
£120
which is a much more wife friendly figure.
Almost forgot to mention, software costs - thanks to the awesome Retropie project - completely free!
Thanks for reading.
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Oops, almost forgot I added a USB light in the marquee - cheap colour changing USB powered thing from Amazon - cost was £4.50
I'll try to get a video of it when I update later.
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Really beautiful work.... I always like dragons lair. =]
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Really nice cab. Love the decals.
Always remember to divide the total cost by 3 to calculate the figure for spousal consumption!
How easy/difficult was it to drill the button and joystick holes in the perspex over the control panel and have them match up with the MDF?
Good advice on the chrome strip from Amazon, I was looking for some of that myself, but could only find the t-moulded stuff.
I'm assuming you've got perspex on the marquee as well - did you get it cut to size somewhere?
What are you doing for sound?
The artwork really makes that cab something special. Very nice work.
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Hi,
Thanks for the comments.
Maybe I hit lucky but it was really easy. I used a paper template to mark the holes in the MDF and used the same printout for the perspex. I got the perspex from a local sign shop and cut it myself but have since found lots of onlines shops that will cut it to order and post it out.
I think I'll be going that route for the screen.
Yes, the marquee is perspex too (I'll get a video up later of it in action).
For now the sound will come from the monitor speakers but I do plan to upgrade this in future ~ wife depending!
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Ah, the initial case/box is always the difficult part!
I once built an entire PC by stealth over the course of about 6 months, after proving to my girlfriend I had only purchased 'an empty tower case for no specific use' and then sneaking all the other components in one by one!
These are the additional required project skills they don't mention on instructables!
:-)
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Nice build! I always like bartops. Those decals are fantastic.
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Very nice build !!
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Looks great!
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Very cool. I love that you skinned the inside panels too. Nice extra touch. Cant wait to see it finished.
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@GtBFilms said in My Dragon's Lair Themed Retropie Build:
Ah, the initial case/box is always the difficult part!
I once built an entire PC by stealth over the course of about 6 months, after proving to my girlfriend I had only purchased 'an empty tower case for no specific use' and then sneaking all the other components in one by one!
These are the additional required project skills they don't mention on instructables!
:-)
Ha ha ha, i did the exact same thing with my barrel build. Had it all sorted out on the sly then one day... bam she all came together. Some people will say get ya gonads out of the missus' purse but happy wife happy life... 'n all that*. :D
*Definitely helped that everyone else thought it was amazing once built.
Fantastic build btw OP. Nice job.
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Looks great @BigLarry !
I'd love to know where did you get the design from? I'd like to do the same (get B&Q to cut the majority of the wood for me), as my previous attempt at a 3/4 height cab using a Jigsaw to cut the wood wasn't that great (required lots of reinforcing.
Any advice would be great.
Si
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Hi Si,
I can't find my original scribblings but I think I have a copy at work I can upload for you in the morning.
It's nothing special but it was enough for the guy at BnQ to cut all the major pieces.
I based it mainly on these plans:
http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/
(The refsheet pdf) - I basically just organised it so that he had to do one main cut of 500mm wide which covered all the main bits and then the other at 454mm wide (and subsequently into rectangles of 636mm high which would become the sides).
For £16.50 for the sheet and the lion's share of the wood cutting it was a bargain compared to the £69.99 they want on ebay for a similar kit.
Need anymore help / tips just shout and I'll help where I can.
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This looks fantastic, and I really love the decals.
I must run with the wrong crowd because no one I know has access to printing stuff like that but it seems quite a few people on here either work in or know someone at a print shop.
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Here's the print off I gave to the guy at BnQ.
Obviously it's not all lined up etc - but it was enough for him to get the idea and do the cuts :)
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