Control panel assembly

Putting the control panel together, everything except the I-PAC and wiring for now. I had to drill the 8 bolt holes in the plexi overlay a little bigger, to 5 mm. So I could fit and sink the bolts I have purchased at www.starcab.net (Arcadeshop in France, Europe). Never drilled plexi before and it is said to break pretty fast, but it worked out fine. Left the protective layer on the plexi when drilling. And drilled slowly with several different drill bits (increasing in size) till I reached the needed 5 mm.

Next up, aligning the paper Donkey Kong instruction sheet underneath the plexiglass. Screwing the bolts tight so the paper sheet can't go anywhere. Sticking the buttons through the holes and mount the joystick. The buttons aren't leaf-switches like the original, just Happs Competition pushbuttons with micro-switches. I might change from micro-switches to leaf-switches sometime after reading a bit about them :) They seem more responsive and quieter. And after all, are more authentic ofcourse.

The joystick I am using is no original either. It's my fourth (!) set of sticks I have bought and tried since I decided to built this cab. But it is the best, a Sanwa JLF. For mounting the joystick, is just used screws, not bolts all the way through like the original panels. But this seems strong enough.

Then cutting the T-molding to size and push it in the slot. It looks really tight all together! The red of the control panel, black paint and white T-molding really compliment eachother very well.