Tighe
Well-known member
[FINISHED!] Arcadization Project - Virtual Boy! [FINISHED!]
Years ago before I got into this hobby was going to make a MAME (bleh) cabinet from designs I found on the web. The designs were really ugly and I cut the pieces and never finished it because of how ugly it was. So this project kills 2 birds with one stone, using up this material, and making use of an extra Virtual Boy I bought for $5 that was missing the controller and power supply.
Inspiration:
Back in 2001 I portabilized a NES which was fun, but now there really isn't much point as you can now buy portable versions of old consoles. And the Virtual Boy is already "Portable" so to say. The real issue with the Virtual Boy is its crappy stand. Recently, I was at SRW's storage space and saw a Battlezone, which I hadn't seen since back in the day it got me thinking how Battlezone reminds me so much of the Virtual Boy.
It is a work in progress, the influnces for this cabinet design are:
Photos:

Design:
The Virtual Boy Unit can be removed just like on the original stand, and the mount system is adjustable so you can set it for your height.
I decided to make it narrow so that the Virtual Boy isn't dwarfed by the cabinet, and so that it doesn't take of precious room for more REAL cabinets.
The cabinet breaks apart into 2 pieces so it can be moved easily, and because there wasn't enough material to make it one piece.
The upper part overhangs the control panel so that you can play comfortably without having to lean forward over the controls.
Controls:
The plans for the control panel are to use 2 top fire joysticks (the top buttons will be L and R) and standard buttons for A,B,Select, and Start. I am thinking I might mount the joysticks in the center and put the buttons on the outside, like battlezone. I just have to be careful about the distance between the 2 joysticks. I am planning on using the HAPP compact top fires.

I really need DogP to finish his NES / SNES Controller Adapter guide so that I can make the interface for the controls, I don't want to hack apart the controller from my complete VB, nor do I want to buy one to destroy it. I guess I would still need connector to plug into the VB, I wonder if there is some other connector that will fit in the plug...
Colors:
I am thinking right now that I will paint or vinyl the cabinet red on the outside, black on the inside (black bottom box too) and put black t-molding on the cabinet. I might reverse it though and have red t-molding. I was thinking of just putting a Nintendo logo on the sides and the marquee having the Virtual Boy logo.
Thanks:
Thanks go to my dad for fabricating the cabinet based on my designs. I already have 5 other projects right now and if it weren't for him this would never see the light of day!
Years ago before I got into this hobby was going to make a MAME (bleh) cabinet from designs I found on the web. The designs were really ugly and I cut the pieces and never finished it because of how ugly it was. So this project kills 2 birds with one stone, using up this material, and making use of an extra Virtual Boy I bought for $5 that was missing the controller and power supply.
Inspiration:
Back in 2001 I portabilized a NES which was fun, but now there really isn't much point as you can now buy portable versions of old consoles. And the Virtual Boy is already "Portable" so to say. The real issue with the Virtual Boy is its crappy stand. Recently, I was at SRW's storage space and saw a Battlezone, which I hadn't seen since back in the day it got me thinking how Battlezone reminds me so much of the Virtual Boy.
It is a work in progress, the influnces for this cabinet design are:
Photos:

- Battlezone - because of the similarities in controls and display
- Donkey Kong - Because it is a Nintendo
- Asteroids - because the amount of "wood" demanded a slanted top.
Design:
The Virtual Boy Unit can be removed just like on the original stand, and the mount system is adjustable so you can set it for your height.
I decided to make it narrow so that the Virtual Boy isn't dwarfed by the cabinet, and so that it doesn't take of precious room for more REAL cabinets.
The cabinet breaks apart into 2 pieces so it can be moved easily, and because there wasn't enough material to make it one piece.
The upper part overhangs the control panel so that you can play comfortably without having to lean forward over the controls.
Controls:
The plans for the control panel are to use 2 top fire joysticks (the top buttons will be L and R) and standard buttons for A,B,Select, and Start. I am thinking I might mount the joysticks in the center and put the buttons on the outside, like battlezone. I just have to be careful about the distance between the 2 joysticks. I am planning on using the HAPP compact top fires.

I really need DogP to finish his NES / SNES Controller Adapter guide so that I can make the interface for the controls, I don't want to hack apart the controller from my complete VB, nor do I want to buy one to destroy it. I guess I would still need connector to plug into the VB, I wonder if there is some other connector that will fit in the plug...
Colors:
I am thinking right now that I will paint or vinyl the cabinet red on the outside, black on the inside (black bottom box too) and put black t-molding on the cabinet. I might reverse it though and have red t-molding. I was thinking of just putting a Nintendo logo on the sides and the marquee having the Virtual Boy logo.
Thanks:
Thanks go to my dad for fabricating the cabinet based on my designs. I already have 5 other projects right now and if it weren't for him this would never see the light of day!
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