Just wrapped up my first cabinet build last week. It’s been functional for a while and my kids and I are having a blast with it. But the final aesthetic touches got put off a few times.

I always loved arcade games but my parents giving me quarters to feed the machines was a non-starter so after all these years of pining for one I decided to just build my own.

I had a lot of fun building it and learned a lot along the way. I fully expect I’ll do another one sometime down the road. This one isn’t perfect but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.

About 10 years ago I bought an arcade1up MK2 machine. That started me down the path of home arcades and emulation. Since then I have acquired a total of 5 machines that are all either customized or modified in some way by me. Roughly 5 years ago I found batocera while googling how to fix a cheap KinHank super console and thought immediately that this was how I was going to round out my collection with a shooter arcade. I currently have a 2 player fighter, 2 player multicade, driver, 4 player and single player machine.

I bought a refurbished dell optiplex 7010, a Seagate 2TB USB SSD, and an 8bitdo sn30 remote and set off on my journey. I'm a mechanic and don't know jack shit about programming of any kind. I'm also not a carpenter and I can't cut a straight line to save my life. 4 years I worked on adding games and bought 2 sinden light guns for it. Had everything pretty well dialed in and then I changed the theme and it was stuck in a boot loop. I talked to the good people on the discord server about it and nothing would get it out. So 4 years flushed down the drain but I was back to almost where I was in about 3 month after I nuked the drive and started over.

Sitting in my garage 1 night with a glass of whiskey I looked at some left over lumber in the corner and thought maybe I could make something. I wasn't planning on an arcade at the time, just felt like building. My son came out and saw it and asked if it was going to be an arcade. He likes to tear down pallets and build stupid shit when he's bored so we decided to call it the "The Pallet-cade". I used furring strips with the rough side out to make it look like pallet wood and used a MAP gas torch to char and weather the wood. I thought the 50x30 deck was going to be too big, but thus far it appears to be just about perfect sized. I added an external HDMI port to the back wall of the deck and 4 USB to the front was to plug in controllers in the event you want to sit down or just not play with joysticks. I also have a remote power button that I have a plan to put center in between the 2 center USB'S.

Its almost done at this point and I have verified the machine is functional and plays games very well to this point. I have about 12 more button holes to drill (start and select for each player, 3 buttons for the trackball harness and 1 button hole spinner) and then I can seal and paint the mdf. It does have 2 lift struts or gas springs under the lid to open it for service and storage that i am really anxious to hook up and test out.

Connect two or more together to do head to head pinball battles

I want to clear up some past issues I thought I had with Rec Room Masters (RRM). Most of them came down to me not following directions, and I sincerely apologize to Danny and Carlos, the owners. I went to the site and immediately clicked on the cabinet I wanted, which was my first mistake. So here's an accurate walkthrough of the right way to order, followed by how they handled the problems I did run into.

How to order the right way

1. Start at the homepage. Go to https://recroommasters.com/ and scroll near the bottom to the "Popular Products" section (which I didn't do!).

2. Find your product, then scroll to the very bottom of the product page. This is where the info I said was missing actually lives. There's a tabbed section with Description, Reviews, Add-On Details, Artwork Details, Size Information, and Shipping Information, plus a full feature list and recommended monitors/TVs. My earlier statement about a lack of communication was incorrect, and I apologize for that. Also check the Artwork and Add-Ons selectors at the top of the product page before you order, since they affect what you're buying.

3. Use the official Instructional Videos page. This is where my earlier info was most off. Instead of using the Instructional Videos page on RRM's site, I went straight to YouTube, and that was my biggest mistake. You'll find it under Support → Instructional Videos in the top menu. It has assembly videos for each cabinet style, plus guides for the monitor/TV install, artwork, speakers, coin mech, and more. The Support menu also has FAQ's and Assembly Docs & Product Manuals if you prefer written instructions.

The issues I ran into

At RRM's request, I emailed them specific photos and a description of my problems:

1. Amplifier/control board: The screw would not tighten in this hole.
2. Cam lock panel: The cam lock wasn't flush and didn't align, so the screw couldn't catch.
3. Side panel: Two open holes because the cam locks didn't align, leaving no screw support.
4. Bezel/plexiglass: The bezel was warped and didn't sit flush. It appeared too long for the plexiglass slot, and you could see a gap along the edges.

https://preview.redd.it/lw038fzkswsh1.png?width=954&format=png&auto=webp&s=42f6cd9ab7a886565c9de8c7cc897fd799b78db2

How they made it right

After some back and forth and a few troubleshooting attempts, I was ready to skip the fixes and leave everything as is, since none of the issues kept me from enjoying the cabinet. Danny and Carlos were adamant about resolving them. After a bit more discussion, they asked where I'm located (not far from RRM headquarters, btw) and offered to swap my cabinet for a new one. I agreed and was told it would take a while.

About two weeks later, Danny or Carlos (I can't remember which) reached out to ask what the rest of my week looked like. Once we confirmed a time, they headed to my place with the replacement cabinet, which already had the base and top portion installed and the artwork applied.

Meeting both of them was awesome. They're stand-up guys and super friendly, and we chatted about the business and why they decided to buy Rec Room Masters from the previous owners. They assembled the rest of the cabinet and made sure the bezel fit and the monitor sat flush (it does). They also gave me a new amplifier and let me keep the old one. Carlos wiped down the front and back of the plexiglass, cleaned the bezel, and reinstalled my mounted monitor.

Carlos did mention that he and Danny can't do this for every customer, since not everyone is local or within a couple hours' drive. But he said they'll do everything in their power to resolve every customer's issues, and after today I have no doubt in my mind that they will.

Takeaway

The ordering confusion was on me, but the hardware issues were real, and they handled those exceptionally. If you run into a problem, contact them directly and send photos. Check the Support section first, since most of what you need is there.

My dad used to tell me, "You get one chance to make a first impression, but there is always room for redemption!" Danny and Carlos from Rec Room Masters proved that. Thank you, and my apologies again.