Hurry up and wait

I ordered an original LED scoreboard from a guy through the Laser Disc Games Classifieds over at the Dragon's Lair Project. As much as I want this cabinet to look arcade accurate, it’s unfortunate that the scoreboard is original. The scoreboard connects to the PC parallel port, but requires a custom cable. I've never made anything of the sort, so I'm still holding out for the chance someone might have one available for sale. Little things aside, it seems I kind of lucked out in the end because the guy also had an original marquee plexi for sale. Unfortunately the plexi has a Space Ace marquee attached, so some cleaning will be necessary. The guy recommended I apply some heat (like from a hairdryer) and use rubbing alcohol to remove any residual adhesive. I'm considering having some repro marquee plexis made once I receive this one. I guess it all depends on how difficult and/or expensive it'll be at my local plexi supplier.

I received the reproduction control panel today via USPS. It's a heck of a lot heavier than I imagined it would be, but definitely very well constructed. It was originally constructed as a Space Ace conversion control panel, so there are three unnecessary holes that need filling and sanding. I plan on stopping in at my local auto parts store in the morning to pick up some epoxy and Bondo to remedy this minor issue. I can't wait to attach the control panel overlay. I'm off tomorrow night, so I should be able to have it done by sometime Friday.

Since I've ordered just about everything I need to assemble the cabinet, I decided to go ahead and buy a coin door from a seller on eBay. Ironically this is the only eBay purchase I made for this project. I'm still awaiting the marquee rails (and now the marquee plexi) to verify my measurements before I start screwing everything together. As frustrating as it is for me to wait even longer to see my dream realized, I still feel it’s in my best interest to ensure an accurate assembly. The only other critical component I need is a pair of speaker grills. I was offered a set for $50, but that seems insanely steep. I've been looking for a similar type of metal to make my own, but haven't had any luck yet.

I'm still waiting for the digital camera to arrive so I can post some pictures. It’s almost a good thing that I'm also waiting on some critical components, as it allows me to take pictures while still in the early stage of construction. It looks like it could potentially be a couple more weeks before the cabinet is standing, but I can't really complain. As I've said before, I still have the Marvel Superheroes cabinet to finish up during my down time.