Project: 'Troy's
Pinball' - Bar Top MAME Sequel Build
Before I ever plunked a quarter
into any video game as a kid I had already played a fair amount of
pinball, but it wasn't until I found a
Williams
Whirlwind machine in the early 90's that I truly knew how much I
loved playing.
This article served as inspiration for my latest project, a
proper sequel to my bar top MAME build. Based off a Williams
wide body machine my Google Sketchup design is now final, all the
hardware/parts needed for the build are here, the build is fully
underway and it is starting to look like a pinball machine.
Project: 'Troy's
Arcade' - Scratch Build Bar Top MAME
I have wanted to build my own arcade machine for quite some time,
with no room in my home for a full size stand up cabinet I decided
to create something smaller. The only plan I had for building the
cabinet consist of an idea and a couple Google SketchUps - so I've
been designing and refining some stuff on the fly. I've been working
on this project for a long time and I thought it was finished, but I
realized there still were a few things I could do to improve on the design.
I had originally planned on building an arcade
style machine, but early into the project I decided that the parts I
had on hand were better suited for a small and modular living room
entertainment PC to connect to my 46" 1080P LCD TV. I had also
planned to include the building of a home brewed joystick with the
TroyBox project log, but decided better to use those parts in the above MAME project instead.
I made a five minute video which showcases some of the
features and fine details of the Hellusion case mod and covers all the stuff that
just doesn't come across quite as well in pictures. It concludes with a
brief explanation of the illusion and a demonstration of the "tool free" case removal and reassembly. If a picture is
worth a thousand words then this case mod video must be
worth a thousand pictures or like a million words.
Sequels as a rule suck, especially horror movie sequels. HellRaiser is
the exception because HellBound is every bit as good as the first movie
- so in the tradition of HellRaiser I set out to create a non-suck sequel case mod.
I
completely concealed the
computer using an optical illusion to make the whole thing appear as
though it's nothing more than an empty box containing a levitating
HellRaiser puzzle cube. From initial sketch to completed project,
follow along as the case mod comes together in this in depth and easy to
follow work log.
Here's your chance to own something awesome, a one of a kind, fully
functioning and wonderfully unique work of tech infused art.
Professionally designed and hand built, this completely self
contained, fully upgradeable (water-cooled) PC has over the top
features that include a built in
LCD monitor, remote controlled
UV eyes and
lasers
that shoot out of the head. This heavily modified computer has
seen media exposure spanning numerous web sites, print publications
and even
television - all verifiable facts that transform an already kick
ass mod into an historically relevant item.
This was my first go around with 6"
LCD modding and the finished mod resides in my daily driver PC MOBY2.
Having a small LCD in the computer case that can be used as a secondary
display without having to mirror your main monitor opens up a lot of
possibilities, it works so well that I have added a 6" LCD monitor to
every mod I've done since. Making a six inch monitor fit into and slide
out of a 5.25" bay is no easy feat... but it is really sweet, if you
decide to build one for yourself then this guide should help.
You have by now probably seen many different drive stealthing guides on
a lot of other modding sites with difficulty ranging from fairly easy to
downright ludicrous. This guide is guaranteed easy and will show
what I consider to be the hands down absolute best way to stealth a
drive. The end result looks awesome, is entirely functional and
it's completely removable... this mod won't even void your
warranty.
If you have more
than one light in your case and are tired of having to reach around to
the back of your case to turn them on or off you need to read this
modding how-to guide. This is a very simple and affordable mod that adds
functionality and class to a 3.5" floppy bay cover, plus the guide
contains a template layout for up to four switches.
There are a lot of really cool bay devices on the market, whether they
have a finish similar to your case or are completely different - as in
the case of the Zalman fan controller I used - this super simple guide will show
you how to make it precisely match the rest of your case. The
Zalman ZM-MFC1 is transformed from something ordinary into something
awesome with an easy mod that takes just over an hour to do.
