Fade to Black

Now this $h!t gets real!

I was never big on shopping as a kid and avoid the mall at all costs (even to this day), but there was something about the prospect of picking up the paint and brushes that really made me excited. My wife and I picked the kids up from school and headed to Home Depot to get the paint.  The sales guy was very helpful and even though I went in there with a plan in mind to buy primer (tinted grey as the plans prescribed), in the end he steered me towards a beautiful primer and paint in one.  Once we chose the finish we wanted we poured over swatches in various shades of dark grey and black until we found THE one.

Paint and brushes in hand we headed home.  It was at this point we decided on which graphic we would use for the marquee. The machine was going to be black there really was no other choice for me, but it is nicely set off by the light and bold marquee that Missy suggested we use.  The two I had printed were polar opposites.  The first was a stark black image with MAME in the standard font surrounded by characters from the various games, but the image below just said so much more in its simplicity.  We both loved the font that was used in it and it maintains a retro-feel through it's use of the Galaxian colors and font style.

All day long I was pacing like a lost puppy -- threatening to paint this cabinet before the day was through.  When in the early afternoon my wife said to me: "What is the reason why you want to paint it?  Is it because you want to have done the whole thing yourself?"  I thought for a moment and replied that no, it wasn't that.  Instead it was just that I wanted to do it right then and there; even though we had so many other things around the house that needed doing.  It was at that moment that Missy offered to paint the whole thing for me if I could put the kids to bed.  And she did.  In all she must have spent 6 hours painting it.  I felt like Miyagi in the Karate kid watching her technique and bellowing encouragement.  I kept the kids at bay and put them to sleep as promised and kept her coffee mug topped up and in return she took this chunk of wood (or several I guess) and transformed them into a living, breathing thing that surpassed my wildest hopes for this project when I started.

The early evening consisted of setting out drop cloths and painting the remaining pieces that were not yet attached to the cabinet:  the speaker grill, the front panel and the rear panel. While these dried Missy proceeded to paint the entire cabinet top to bottom, inside and out and despite the fact that I told her that some parts that were getting paint didn't need it, as they would be covered up by other pieces anyway, she insisted that every nook and cranny be painted.  It was at this point that I shut my big mouth and let the master work.

When the loose pieces had got a 2nd coat and dried I proceeded to affix the speakers to the grill piece.  I took some cloth from an old pair of black dress pants and stretched it over each grill and stapled them in place.  Once the squares of fabric were tacked down I screwed one end of an L bracket into the speaker and the other end into the wood.

Next I started to install the remaining pieces and then step back and look at my handiwork and Missy's Sistene Chapel.  Wow!  I could not believe how much difference the paint made. I couldn't help but snap a bunch of pictures of the process including a before/after shot of one side.  

Once I was satisfied the paint had dried I test fit the controller again and then put the tower and monitor back in place and fired it up for another software preview. The system stayed this way for about another week before the final few steps were undertaken. But that... is a blog for another time.

My wife worked diligently on this project until the wee hours of the morning and I think when she took a step back and looked at her paint job I think she fell in love with the project too.  The fact that she is going to let it reside in our dining room until it finds a permanent home out in my workshop speaks volumes on how much she believes in what we created and how cool she is.  Thank you!