Keeping things flowing

Today I decided to order some leather textured t-molding for the Dragon's Lair cabinet from t-molding.com. I bought 20 feet and sure hope its going to be enough. At some point I'm either going to have to buy or borrow a router and bit to cut the slots for it. Oh wait, that means I really need wood a.s.a.p.! Now I'm debating whether or not to cover the cabinet with leather textured vinyl or just slop on some black paint. As much as I want the cabinet to look arcade accurate, it might come down to cost.

Finding some reproduction marquee brackets are next on the agenda, although the few I've found online are insanely expensive. I hear that original brackets are even more! Further complicating the matter is the funky angles and bends to the marquee plexi. Dragon's Lair marquee plexi is extremely difficult to find, so I'm hoping my local plexi supplier won't mind experimenting.

I haven't forgotten about my existing cabinet. I'm currently watching an ebay auction for an original Capcom diamond plate control panel overlay. Its about 1/3 the cost for the same item I found at QuarterArcade. At least I have a backup plan should I not win the auction. QuarterArcade also has a sheet of official Capcom control overlay stickers for a very reasonable price. I won't know for a couple more days which option I'll be facing. I can't begin constructing the Marvel vs Capcom control panel until I have both items in hand so I can ensure proper hole drilling.

Arcade Shock has some original Capcom metallic reflective stickers commonly used as side art on Capcom cabs. Because one side of the cabinet currently faces a wall, I may just snag one for the time being. I still desperately need a Marvel vs Capcom marquee, or at least a hi-res image to get professionally printed. Its a real good thing I received a (cash) Christmas present from a good friend this week, along with some Paypal cash from my recent ebay sales. Money is going fast and I hope the final results are worth the financial drain.

I did manage to find some scans of the Marvel vs Capcom bezel cards. Being the OCD anal neurotic spaz that I am, I’ve been spending the last few days cleaning them up in Photoshop. These should cost me about $6.00 to have professionally printed, compared to $35.00 for NOS. I think the printed ones will work out just fine, considering I plan to mount them from behind the bezel plexi.

I really can't wait to get hands-on with both projects! Did I mention that I still need wood? Ah, little things...