Vewlix Tournament Edition Worklog 01
Today I began working on my Vewlix Tournament Edition Arcade Cabinet. What is that you ask? It’s a Japanese style sit down arcade cabinet. The designs are based on the Taito Vewlix arcade cabinet, the very same cabinet used for Street Fighter IV. Unlike the real Vewlix arcade cabinet, I won’t be fabricating mine out of metal and plastic. Instead I will be using 3/4″ MDF (Medium-density Fiberboard), a 32″ Sony Bravia 720p LCD HD TV (KDL-32XBR4), a PlayStation 3, and (2) Mad Catz Tournament Edition Fight Sticks.
The actual work began a week ago when I fired up Google SketchUp 7 to create the cabinet in 3D, before beginning actual construction. This allowed me to play with the dimensions. Ultimately I created 3 versions: A pretty close Vewlix with metric dimensions, a pretty close Vewlix with imperial dimensions, and the imperial Vewlix with the control panel altered to accomodate the Mad Catz Tournament Edition Fight Sticks.
Why did I choose these components and materials?
- MDF – It’s very straight and smooth, and if you’re really good, can be finished to look like plastic. I’ve worked with it before and it’s relatively cheap.
- 32″ Sony Bravia – Simply enough, I had it as a TV in my office. I don’t use it that much and figured it could be put to better use. It’s a 120hz TV and games look really good on it.
- PlayStation 3 – Personal preference, you could use an Xbox 360, or hell, a Dreamcast if you wanted.
- Mad Catz Tournament Edition Fight Sticks – Say what you will about Mad Catz quality, or the debacle that was the launch of these sticks, but mine arrived in good and working condition. I chose them because they were cheaper than importing an actual Vewlix control panel, or the parts that make up the control panel. I also chose them because besides the extra 2 buttons, they are an exact copy of the Vewlix control panel layout.
Today’s accomplishments
Like I said, work began a week ago on designing the cabinet. Now that the design is finalized, what did I actually accomplish today?
- Hung sheets from the drop ceiling in the basement to section of a work area, hopefully they’ll keep the saw dust in
- Tore my old cabinet apart (for materials)
- Drew out several of the pieces on the old MDF
- Figured out how much more MDF I needed
- Bought 2 sheets of 49″ x 97″ MDF and had them cut to fit in my car
- Hauled it down to the basement
Next worklog: Construction begins! I’ll cover tool recommendations and construction of the base of the cabinet.
kool
i will follow with interest. just out of curiosity, how will you be dealing with the start button issue… as from memeory, they are on the top side of the stick base facing away from the player (i am guessing the sticks will be bolted down in some way or another).
Hobbyhero, Thanks for the comment. I’ve written a blog post about my design solutions so far.
Don, DM here. Looking good! Your first cabinet, as you know, inspired me to build ours! If you can use links, check it out > http://www.gamersreports.com/article/59/1/street-fighter-iv-arcade-machine-project — It came out great!
DM, It looks fantastic. Great job! And thanks for the shout out.
How do I get a set of plans
After I finish construction, I will edit my Google SketchUp file with what changes had to be made and release it on this blog. If there is enough demand, I’ll create some technical drawings of the pieces and release those as a PDF.
I really would like a set of plans with measurements for myself, I’ve been trying to get them with the google sketch up, but I am horrible with that application….
Im also very interested in a PDF of your setup. The Google Sketch up has a confusing learning curve. Nice Job. I purchased my tools, Just need some good PDF plans