All That’s Needed Is A Retro Paintjob, MiniMAME

[Tim’s] miniMAME‘s construction follows the “light and cheap” approach, using foam core board and hot glue. Sure it won’t last a nuclear attack, but at least it’s light enough to carry to a friend’s house.

With a removable netbook at the core, CCFLs, speakers, trackball, and mini arcade fighting stick, the project completely surpassed our expectations. For those looking to build a miniMAME, [Tim] includes lots of pictures, details, and plans allowing anyone to make their own in about an afternoon.

22 thoughts on “All That’s Needed Is A Retro Paintjob, MiniMAME

  1. love it :)

    it makes Mame cabinets alot more accessible, not to mention that I own that exact same netbook

    nice work cutting an acrylic cover for the ‘control deck’, makes a big difference although cutting in acrylic accurately can be annoying/hard

  2. @kirov

    They sure seem functional to me…

    You could always, you know, not bother clicking on the article if you’re not interested in it. That’s usually what people with at least a little common sense do when they’re not interested in something.

  3. Cool Hack, I dig the pictures of each step. I usually forget to take pictures of the progression in my own projects.

    When did Hackaday pick up so many complainers? Egads, and the editors thought they were doing something wrong… It’s all in the commentors :/

  4. Ok I love the entire idea of it but for your foam boarders out in the world, there is a better solution

    for a few bucks at your local big box hardware store you can get fine tooth hand saws, or even coping saws, these tools will last a lifetime if not abused, and blades are cheap

    get some 1×1 or 1×2 pine stock for framework, you will burn through it like nothing by hand power

    also while your there scope out the super thin plywood paneling, if you cant find something you want to hand saw with lazy arse effort check out your craft store for balsa wood

    its stronger, finishes nicer and holds up better over time, with minimal investment in inexpensive hand tools

  5. Guys, stop building out of foam board. go to a sign shop and get the stuff they use. It’s easy to bend with a hairdryer really easy to cut and is 8000X stronger and durable. It’s like foamboard but made of plastic. works GREAT.

    Go past the paper mockup stages and build it in something that will last more than 30 minutes. You will suddenly become a uber haxor instead of staying in the newbie category.

  6. Signshop material, you mean Coroplast? I’m gonna build a kayak outta that stuff next. It wasnt appropriate for this build. This is a mockup of one that will be cnc’d from acrylic or polycarbonate, thus the foamcore was cheap and available. Walmart @ 12:30AM.. lol try and find an open sign shop wher you really need an extra piece to finish.

  7. No offense but I think hackaday might be overdoing the articles on retro, I don’t mind an occasional thing on it but it seem like 25% is on retro, 35%+ if you count nixie tubes :)
    And is that what technology and hacks are about? Retro?
    But if people really like it then so be it, I for me like it in moderation and not quite so much of it.

  8. IDK about retro, netbooks have only been around for a few years. As far as hacks.. I have been hardware hacking since 1988 (i’m a F.O.B) I have always though of hacks as being a way of modifying something to suit a purpose for which it was not designed. Or taking something which does a little and modifying it so it does alot more or compares/serves purpose of a more expensive/capable item.

  9. @Punkguyta

    Sorry man, but I’m sure my netbook beats yours. MSI Wind U100 with 2GB RAM, Atom CPU overclocked to 2GHz and GMA graphics overclocked, 500GB 5400 rpm hard drive, linux-compatible wi-fi card, set up to dual boot Crunchbang linux and Windows 7, and a Windows XP virtual machine installed on top of #! so I don’t have to restart to run windows programs. Booyah.

  10. I don’t think your overdoing the retro type articles at all. I love them and so do many of us. You give us a pretty good mix regardless.

    That said I’m liking this design because they weren’t afraid to mount a keyboard for added input help. When your going for accuracy on an arcade box the keyboard should be left out but when your going for fun it’s helpful.

  11. @ Brennan – No need to apologize, I have a laptop with great specs. Not to worried about being out done with my netbook, which cost me a total of $50 bcuz i repaired it. I bet my car is faster than your tho. lol. I can also pee further.

    lol j/k mods

  12. OK, so we all love our netbooks :) I first used this one (with a broken keyboard and lcd) for my WHS (Windows Home Server)with (2) 1TB external drives. Worked quite well for all 120 days of the trial :)

    This is my 2nd Acer Aspire One, my other one is tucked away for safety.

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