***** Interest: Virtual Boy Cabinet

[Tighe]

I am not taking pre-orders or anything, I just want to get a better idea of interest if I were to make these for sale. I have had quite a few people ask me to build one for them, but I don't know if they are serious.

These units would be slightly different from the original. Please let me know if you don't like these changes.

• The cabinet would not be painted, but I would use either melamine or vinyl. The color scheme would be the same.
  • 
    
    
• I would most likely use plywood instead of MDF. This is easier to work with and would be much lighter.
  • 
    
• I might build the cabinet as one piece instead of two pieces.
  • 
    
    
• I would use a custom printed circuit board using two NES controller chips instead of hacking up a Virtual Boy controller. Of course that doesn't solve the problem of not having a Virtual Boy connector. I might put a break away connector (like on the xbox corded controllers) on the controller cord so you can still use your original game pad too.

Just understand that this these will not be cheap, the 2 joysticks alone are $72, once you factor in labor and shipping this could be an expensive venture.

I am going to price out what everything out, also what do you guys think is fair in terms of labor costs? $40/hour? Too high? It has to be worth my time, using melamine or vinyl would cut the labor costs quite a bit, but those materials cost more than paint. I have also thought about giving the designs to DPtwiz and having him produce the cabinets, but they are pretty simple I could do them myself. The real time sucks will be the custom parts like the mounting bracket for the VB which requires welding and custom machined parts.

Here is the original thread:
http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=180916

 

[Tighe]

I was thinking about using a red laminate material for the outside

http://www.cabinetparts.com/g/mandarin-red-laminate-pattern-wilsonart

http://www.lowes.com/webapp/wcs/sto...Laminate Countertop Sheet&CAWELAID=1024251360

 

[billybob2236]

Depending on price I might want one.

-Jake

 

[disjaukifa]

Depending on price I might want one.

-Jake

Agreed, pending price I might get one as well. Would the placement of the gear be adjustable?

 

[Evilcactuar]

Same

It would really depend on price, but one of these would be awesome to have. so many awesome projects going on lately....

 

[KeithApicary]

I am beyond interested. Regardless of price. I NEED one of these!

 

[smeagolsama]

Like most I'd be interested, depending on price.

Could this come in a kit to do ourselves? I know welove80's would probalby like one of these as well, so if they came kitwise we could work on them together, which would save you time, but might also save us a bit of money. I collect a lot of Nintendo items so almost always have access to parts.

Kitwise what I'd be interested in would probalby be like the marquee, nameplate, joysticks, boards for controller (if you went that route), control panel, front art, push buttons.

I'm thinking I can get an extra head unit, and have wood work done at my buddies cnc shop.

 

[Tighe]

Like most I'd be interested, depending on price.

Could this come in a kit to do ourselves? I know welove80's would probalby like one of these as well, so if they came kitwise we could work on them together, which would save you time, but might also save us a bit of money. I collect a lot of Nintendo items so almost always have access to parts.

Kitwise what I'd be interested in would probalby be like the marquee, nameplate, joysticks, boards for controller (if you went that route), control panel, front art, push buttons.

I'm thinking I can get an extra head unit, and have wood work done at my buddies cnc shop.

Well, it might end up with assembly required, not sure yet. What determines the price would be how many I am making. But the important parts are where the labor come in, like the headset sliding mount point, and the controller and wiring harness.

I am not doing this to make money, just to provide the people who want one with one. Of course I want to be paid for my time, but I think that is reasonable.

 

[Mattroid]

I would love to have one, but I think getting one down to TX would be a bit unrealistic. I think this is amazing and would love to see others out there, though.

 

[Tighe]

I would love to have one, but I think getting one down to TX would be a bit unrealistic. I think this is amazing and would love to see others out there, though.

I don't know about that, it isn't huge like a full-size upright cabinet.

 

[trickman]

I am beyond interested. Regardless of price. I NEED one of these!

Hahaha, you know I was just going to say, "Hey, Nathan...err...Keith Apicary would be interested in one of these." Totally beat me to it.
Interested as well, price pending. Would you have enough Virtual Boys to fill the orders?

 

[Tighe]

Hahaha, you know I was just going to say, "Hey, Nathan...err...Keith Apicary would be interested in one of these." Totally beat me to it.
Interested as well, price pending. Would you have enough Virtual Boys to fill the orders?

I am thinking it will be you supply your own VB. It just snaps in anyway. As for the controller I would provide a set of connectors to splice into the cord. Like the xbox ones, just imagine no usb connector on the end.

 

[ReWrite]

I too am in depending on price. Way cool.

 

[Mitsurugi-w]

I too am in depending on price. Way cool.

Ditto this.

 

[racer_x]

I too would be interested dependent on price. This could get me motivated to crack my VB open to fix my ribbon cables.

 

[Tighe]

I too would be interested dependent on price. This could get me motivated to crack my VB open to fix my ribbon cables.

Before you open it, plug it in and leave it on for a day or longer (disable auto pause) and use a game like Mario Clash or Wario. It should get warm enough to reseat the cable. It worked on both of mine.

 

[racer_x]

Thanks...I'll give that a try. I've never had the stones to bake it in the oven, and I wouldn't mind catching some Virtual Fish this weekend.

 

[elekTRONarcade]

Tighe, have you considered selling them as unassembled kits? That way your labor costs would only be in the production of materials, they could be more easily shipped and your time would be freed up substantially. I'm sure someone on the boards (myself included) would be willing to create a detailed instruction sheet/assembly manual for free.

 

[keithsarcade]

Like most I'd be interested, depending on price.

Could this come in a kit to do ourselves? I know welove80's would probalby like one of these as well, so if they came kitwise we could work on them together, which would save you time, but might also save us a bit of money. I collect a lot of Nintendo items so almost always have access to parts.

Kitwise what I'd be interested in would probalby be like the marquee, nameplate, joysticks, boards for controller (if you went that route), control panel, front art, push buttons.

I'm thinking I can get an extra head unit, and have wood work done at my buddies cnc shop.

I like the idea but I'll probably have a hard time finding the funds for it anytime soon.

If you were to produce these as piece-together cabs (comparable to buying a dresser-in-a-box like you would buy at a department store), you could easily market this and ship it out. If the cost is a concern, why not draw up a second option of acually mounting a VB controller insterad of the arcade panel?

 

[dr. mr. pants]

cool!

i would be into one, like others said depending on the price. very cool!