New cabinets

Atlas100

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Hello,

About a month or two ago, I bought my first arcade game. Since then, five more machines have made their way into my home. I am officially hooked and I have only just gotten started.

I am a very DIY kind of guy and love to build everything. After really getting into this and reading everything out there, I decided I wanted to reproduce some cabinets for myself. I have already started building a few Donkey Kong cabinets as well as a Galaga cabinet rebuild. I've got other fun cabinets planned too!

After looking around at people's builds, I noticed that some guys have to search forever to find something they want in their area. There are no cabinets being manufactured anymore. at least none that are affordable uprights.

Yet, here I am cutting out a red Donkey cabinet on my CNC router. I just got to thinking, there has to be a lot of people who would be interested in something like this. I run a business and I know how to pack and ship big products for cheap. This might be a perfect fit for me to have a hobby on the side and make a lot of people happy.

Let's take a Nintendo cabinet for example. I see a "flat pack" of cutout parts. You could assemble everything at home with glue/nails/screws. The main part would be the big side panels with laminated blue/red on one side and black on the other. The other parts would have precut slots, etc. so it would go together like a big, beautiful puzzle with no external screw holes and NO PAINTING!!!!

I am wise enough to know better than to start one of those "HEY, WHO WANTS SOME F'ING CABINETS?!?!? I WANT TO SEE HOW MUCH INTEREST THERE IS OUT THERE!!!" They always end with nothing happening and a lot of poor souls waiting for vaporware. I realize that this is far from a trivial endeavor.

Any thoughts on this? Is this already being done? Did somebody try to do this and get sued? Am I insane? What kind of pricing would be fair? I should also mention that I purchase enough sheets goods that I can have custom material thicknesses and colors manufactured in custom runs.

All I know is that after taking a few of these cabinets apart for measurements, I wanted to start running them on my machine.

I am all ears guys.

Thanks for reading!
 
Personally, I think there is always room for more. Don't let the fact that someone else is doing it dissuade you. If nothing else, find another niche cabinet that the other guys aren't repro-ing.

For the record, there are also cabs available from ArcadeShop.com: http://arcadeshop.com/cabinets/cabinets.htm

Personally, I'd vote for some of the Nintendo cabinets. I don't think anyone is doing those (???), but could be wrong. The front speaker grille slots are particularly hard to cut by hand, so CNC would be very sweet. I also have a soft spot for the design of the Nintendo cabs.

Thanks.
 
Just some thoughts

Brett does Nintendos. Having helped him assemble a lot of cabinets and painted quite a few also, I can tell you that a "home assembled, already painted" Nintendo is a real tall order, if you want it factory accurate like Brett's are!! Brett puts a ton of work into every cabinet he sells, and still manages to keep the cost as low as possible, and people still try to beat him up about the money. Anyway you cut is, most cabinets have over $100.00 in just the wood. That is not counting how many router bits he goes through, how many staples, how much glue, and the countless hours of sanding and assembling! I am not tryiing to dissuade anyone else from getting in the repro cab market, because anything anyone is willing to do to try to help this hobby is a plus. Just make sure when all the price wars start with anyone new that is making cabinets, that you are comparing apples to apples!!
 
The only thing you didn't mention is where you are at? If I could pick up a new cab that would be awesome.
 
Repro cabs already being done by KLOV member DPtwiz. http://www.arcaderestoparts.com/

More to the point DPtwiz has been looking for members interested in colaborating with him to get repro cabinets into more areas. He has been posting about things like shipping them, and finding someone wanting to run their own CNC to cover another region.

I highly recommend you reach out to him..

Good luck!
 
More cabinets are always welcomed through my doors.

Just one question..
Where are you located? :)
 
Thanks for giving me some feedback. I also appreciate the links to the other cabinet vendors. I have seen the Arcadeshop cabinets for sale, but not the Arcade Resto cabinets. Very cool stuff.

I am located north of Chicago. I have learned how important location is in this hobby. I sadly watched several great arcade deals disappear because I wasn't close enough to pick them up!

I got the idea for building cabinets when I started taking my Nintendo vs. cabinet apart to restore it. I initially wanted to repaint and fix the cabinet. But after a closer inspection, it just looked like more work than it was worth. It would cost me less in supplies and labor to just build a brand new cabinet from scratch!

I have several ideas for reproducing cabinets, as well as shipping them. Cabinet materials can very effectively change the cost and weigh of the product. I just don't know what kind of demand there is for repro arcade cabinets. I tend to be the most drawn to Nintendo and Midway models for starters since their cabinets are the most popular and sought after. I have no problem finding Donkey Kong and Galaga cabinet restoration projects online all over the place. I myself want these games the most too.

I may contact DPtwiz to see what he thinks and if he wants to work together. I am always up for learning from somebody in the hobby and listening to what they have to say.

Either way I am going to start building some cabinets and see where it takes me. I think my Galaga machine has my attention right now. I guess its time to find out how nice a cabinet I can make for it!!
 
With my comparing apples to apples comment I was saying that the other businesses that are offering cabinets commercially such as Mikes and Arcadeshop, are not doing faithful reproduction cabinets. For just a few of the differences, on both the Nintendo and Williams style cabinets, the coin boxes are not built and included. The back doors on the Williams cabinets are not factory accurate. The sides of the Nintendos are made with 3/4 inch material. The list could go on. Now that is not saying anything bad about the other cabinets that are offered. They look the same from the outside. The difference is in the level of detail that Brett puts into his work. Every part that is found in the original is reproduced exactly by Brett, right down to the last tenon.
 
Also forgot to mention that Ms. Pac, Pac Man and Galaga have different cabinets. (primarily the coin door height) Brett has taken the time to make complete separate files for each cabinet instead of just saying, "well the Galaga and Ms. Pac look the same".
 
I would be highly interested in a custom built cabinet, I'm located in the midwest somewhat close to Chicago. I'm currently gathering parts for an original Bubble Bobble machine, but information about these cabinets is pretty sparse. From what I can tell Romstar didn't make a dedicated cabinet for these, I'm willing to help in any way I can.
 
Romstar wasn't the original manufacturer of the Bubble Bobble arcade games, it was originally developed by Taito, later licensed and bootlegged by Romstar. I've never seen an original dedicated Bubble Bobble cab. Did they even exist? Or are they like Arkanoid and were only developed as a conversion kit?

I played BB on a converted cab on Madeline Island last Fall. It's the only one I've ever seen in the wild. My wife and fed quarters into it all the way to level 60, and then we both mistakenly died at once and lost our level for continuing the game. Never did get to the end. Maybe I should fire it up on the Mame cab and play it out.
 
With my comparing apples to apples comment I was saying that the other businesses that are offering cabinets commercially such as Mikes and Arcadeshop, are not doing faithful reproduction cabinets. For just a few of the differences, on both the Nintendo and Williams style cabinets, the coin boxes are not built and included. The back doors on the Williams cabinets are not factory accurate. The sides of the Nintendos are made with 3/4 inch material. The list could go on. Now that is not saying anything bad about the other cabinets that are offered. They look the same from the outside. The difference is in the level of detail that Brett puts into his work. Every part that is found in the original is reproduced exactly by Brett, right down to the last tenon.

Yes its important to point out that Brett does EXACT copies of the original...he actually breaks down the original cabs to ensure exact copies..yes one cab sacrificed for the masses to ensure its spot on match...in a hobby where some people are extremely anal about every little detail...Brett's cabs are dead on...I have purchased several cabs from him and can't find a single flaw..his work speaks for itself...

Nothing against the other people mentioned..but those are just new cabs..not exact factory copied cabs..which is no big deal to most..but if your a hard core collector or doing a cab swap you need to have the cabs match exactly or you will run into issues when trying to swap in parts...
 
Romstar wasn't the original manufacturer of the Bubble Bobble arcade games, it was originally developed by Taito, later licensed and bootlegged by Romstar. I've never seen an original dedicated Bubble Bobble cab. Did they even exist? Or are they like Arkanoid and were only developed as a conversion kit?

I played BB on a converted cab on Madeline Island last Fall. It's the only one I've ever seen in the wild. My wife and fed quarters into it all the way to level 60, and then we both mistakenly died at once and lost our level for continuing the game. Never did get to the end. Maybe I should fire it up on the Mame cab and play it out.

I realize Romstar wasn't the original manufacturer, however, they were the only company to bring the game to the USA. As far as I know Taito never brought it over on their own (anyone know for sure?). All I was saying was that to my knowledge there was no dedicated cabinet for the game, and since I was somewhat young when it was still common to see it "in the wild" so to speak, I have nothing but vague memories to go on. And Romstar didn't bootleg it, they had it licensed for use in the USA...that kinda defeats the definition of a bootleg.
 
Shipping is the biggest issue that needs to be solved.

I cant justify paying 3-400 for a blank cabinet and then 200+ on top
to ship it. It would be cheaper to hunt down the real game.

I think your flat pack idea is great and could be made to work.

I'd say look into it more.. Other vendors are always welcome.
 
Shipping is the biggest issue that needs to be solved.

You hit the nail on the head.

I see three major hurdles to overcome:

1) Shipping. If it costs $300 to ship the cabinets, almost nobody will buy them. I use a freight company everyday at my business. I am working on quotes with them, and so far they are far less than what people here normally pay. It helps that I have an account with them and get good rates. :)

To cut down on weight I could also use Ultralite MDF. I use it a lot for this very reason. Imagine your arcade cabinet suddenly weighing half as much!! It does cost more than normal MDF, so I will need to see if it is worth it.

2) Material cost. Cabinet quality void-free plywood is expensive. MY Millipede game (which is my favorite cabinet by far) is made from particle board. So is my Galaga. It costs FAR less than void-free plywood, even when prelaminated. I think that using MDF or laminated particle board could drop cabinet costs by a sizeable chunk. I am awaiting several quotes...

3) Assembly and labor. As mentioned before, shipping the cabinets unassembled might be the perfect solution. But sometimes is is harder to make the cabinet ready to assemble with pre-aligned inner blocks, etc. than just putting it together on my end. It might even be easier to package when it is assembled.

Once I get these things figured out, I will be much closer to making this happen.
 
Yes its important to point out that Brett does EXACT copies of the original...he actually breaks down the original cabs to ensure exact copies..yes one cab sacrificed for the masses to ensure its spot on match...in a hobby where some people are extremely anal about every little detail...Brett's cabs are dead on...I have purchased several cabs from him and can't find a single flaw..his work speaks for itself...

Nothing against the other people mentioned..but those are just new cabs..not exact factory copied cabs..which is no big deal to most..but if your a hard core collector or doing a cab swap you need to have the cabs match exactly or you will run into issues when trying to swap in parts...

After shipping that's ~$700 for a single replacement cab with no paint. There are many people in this hobby who could NEVER justify or afford that kind of price for an unfinished cabinet. I am just trying to make something like this far more accessible and affordable. In the end, reality may rear its ugly head and I could find out that this is impossible. That doesn't mean that I won't try to make it work!
 
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