Ultimate Pacman / Space Invaders Gaming Chair With Speakers

Little intro into this. 
Pacman, space invaders, namco chair.
this took about 4 weeks, lots of work.
i wanted a chair to put in my room for when i play my playstation and stuff.
i looked online and i couldnt find any chairs the suited my taste. i wanted a chair that showed my love for video games.
the closest thing i could find was a large pacman chair that was about $5000, i thought. 
i could make a better chair for much less then that. and know you can too!!
materials you will need.
-Large sheet of Primed MDF board. (sides, front, top, armrest)  
-plywood. (sides, top and front)
-striaght wood (i used about 70mm x 50mm i think) about 15 - 20meters.
-non primed mdf board. about 600 x 600 (seat)
-about 30 metal 90 degree elbow joints.
-gloss black 2 pack paint.
-oil or water based paint, light blue, dark blue, red, orange, yellow.)
-red vinal.
speakers and a sub.

Step 1: Step 1 !! Design!

i made the chair exactly to my size. i used a computer chair to find out how much lean i like to sit at. 
measured the size of my legs so i know that my feet would be flat on the floor but still having my legs on the chair.

i used a computer to draw up exactly what i wanted. i wanted pacman sides, namco front and space invader middle.
i origonaly wanted Nintendo at the front, but realised nintendo didnt do any of them so changed it to namco.
after hours on the computer i knew if i had too much on the sides then it would just look way to crowded.
and with the odd shape i designed would be hard to get pacman level to fit in.

so you have to make sure you know what all the measurements will be to match your size the best. 

Step 2: Step 2!! Starting the Build.

First thing i had to do was to make a base using the wood.
make sure the ground is level, using a shed should be level but use a level to make sure it is level.

make the length larger then the width. i used 100mm screws. then knowing how high each bit would need to be take off the base size and the size of the mdf. 
the front wood that is sticking up in the photo, the top is cut on the angle that the bottom part will be at, (depending on your size will change that degree.)
and the longer back parts are cut square. and was all re-enforced with a smaller bit of wood screwed through both the bottom base and the sticking up side bits. 

That front part is part of the finished design. i had all the boards made and then made the rest of the chair to fit.

Step 3: Step 3!!

in this step alot getts done, so bare with me here.

on the top of the large back parts a small flat bit is added on top, this will allow the board (that pacman one in the second photo to sit flat) make sure you re-enforce everything, at the end of this the chair will weigh a tonne! 
after that the long back rest parts will be the backbone of the chair.
best idea to add that middle wood in the center of the base, useing metal elbow joints to re-enforce anything you can. 
when you make the chair to your size it will change what angle it will be at.(backrest part)

once you have the two sides of backrest, in photo 2 on this step, from the small top part to the bottom base, that bit of wood will support the part of the chair that you will be sitting on.  from the short front part of the chair from step 2 make a peice of wood sit on that front part that is angled. the part of the chair that hits the backrest part, cut it too the angle to make it fit and re-enforce with elbow joints and 100mm screws.  once both sides are done then the chair should taking shape.

from the 3rd photo you can see that the chair is matching up to the boards that have been cut (will get to those boards in a later step)

Step 4: Step 4!!

once those sides are done the next step is to re-enforce the chair. at the moment youll probobly find that the sides are a little wobly, you wouldnt want to be sitting on it yet. 
in this step you need to insert center bits of wood to stop the whole chair from moving. 
the front wood that crosses from side to side will need to be flush with the front and the top, that way the boards sit snug upto the chair.

the middle wood helps keep the backrest part and the seat from moving, the chair boards will sit between the front and that middle boards. so make sure it is screwed in tight.. and yet again RE-ENFORCE EVERYTHING!! 
the board on the backrest is what the back board sits on to stop from falling back. 
Dont worry about placing one at the top because the boards will sit on frame wood.
(that wood supporting the back of the chair is just for added support, the back will be open, or you can choose to put a board on it. since my chair sits against a wall there was no need to put a board on the back)

the plywood on the sides is what will be blue, the other boards that sit on it will be black, and where the holes and gaps are you will see through, so to stop you being able to look through the whole chair the plyboards are needed.
the plyboard needs to be flush to the wood on the BACK and the BOTTOM! all the rest will need to be higher, since my boards are 16mm i had to put 16mm higher on the ply boards. which will about everything to fit snug and not show edges.

Step 5: Step 5!! THE BOARDS!!

now i know what your thinking, Wow look how many boards there are, thats alot of work.
these are 16mm MDF board, but i bourght it already primed, which made it easy to paint later.

luckly i have a mate who owns his own sign writting business and he owns a huge machine, like a cnc machine. which can cut out large shapes in wood boards. 
it took about 5 hours on the computer designing all the boards, most of the things like the pacman top and space invaders middle was easy, just took pictures off the internet and while knowing how large i wanted the center seat i knew how much each board had to be. the sides took the longest, since i had to make the total size of it (the frame) and then draw in the inside, hard to explain how to do it, but i spent years in Graphics classes so it was just simple maths/design. 
after about an hour of the machine cutting i had all my boards done.
everything had to exactly the right size to the millimeter, except the middle parts (next to the seat, the space invaders bits) i made them a little longer, that way i could cut them down the exact right size.

Step 6: Step 6!! Checking How the Boards Fit.

as you can see from the picture those middle space invaders boards are too long.
but you can see that once those middle boards on the top, front and middle are correct size they will fit into the plywood boards great. 
when looking from the side you shouldnt be able to see the edge of those boards.

make sure you havent painted anything yet... although you can paint the liitle pacman ghosts if you want.. just not the main boards.

tip the chair onto its side and start alligning the boards (take off the otherboards otherwise they will fall off onto the floor)
once you can see that all the boards fit then you are ready for a little work before the painting stage. you can screw everything down now. the best way to do this is to draw an outline on the plywood of where everything will be, that way you know where will be say to drill a hole without it being visible.. dont worry about the pencil marks, once those inside bits are painted blue you wont see it.

flip over and do to the otherside. 

Step 7: Step 7!! Making the NAMCO and Top Pacman Look Good.

to get this effect what you need to do is cut out some plywood, and doing the same kind of thing as the sides.
make sure the wood covers all the holes, from the back side screw it onto the boards.
with a pencil mark where each hole will be in the wood. unscrew the plywood. now with water or oil based paints, paint the correct bit the correct color.. of course pacman in yellow and the backing on namco is red.
after about 3 or so coats you can screw it back on.

the Namco sign is in 4 peices.. the large outside bit, the word namco and the center of the 'A' and 'O'..
start off by having the red backing screwed onto the large outer board, line up perfectly and draw where itll fit. take off the namco and drill wherever wont be shown. i used about 10mm screws
.NOTE!!! make sure you put a screw in a offcut board, just incase the screw makes the otherside bubble or shows where the screw is.
do the same with the center of the "a' and 'o' (carefully)
once thats done yours will look just like mine in the photo... now unscrew everything! 
next step the speakers and Sub..

Step 8: Step 8!!! Speakers and Sub.

IMPORTANT!! make sure that the speakers and sub that you buy have the controls on a remote and not on one of the speakers.. since you wont be able to touch it once its together.

the speakers and sub i got were 2nd hand, because i knew that its remote was a seperate plug in. that way i could change the setting and place the remote anywhere (back inside it or on top of the chair)
the sub has a AUX input.. and is powered by the walls AC power and not usb (thats important too)
when the chair is in my room i ran a aux cable from my Amp to it, so i can play music, tv and games through the sound on it.

the sub and seakers are very well secured. which is important because you dont want things rattling once you turn it on. the speakers have two elbow joints and heaps of glue, the sub was jammed in that gap in the middle and screwed in well.
leaving the back open helps plug things in and make sure all connect etc when its complete.

Step 9: Step 9!! PAINTING!!

Now this is where it is important to pay attention!
there are two ways to paint this... now i stuffed up the first time and had to sand everything back and paint the second way
paint the main part with 2 pack FIRST!! 
important step.. so read the whole thing before doing anything


the first way it to use a fine Nap roller.
i look i wanted was the finish to look nearly like glass, like a mirror effect in black... think its called piano black.
used a nap roller and 2 pack paint (very tough, used for cars and stuff) 
we did this in my parents garage with the help of a mates dad. (scene in the photo)
with everything wiped down with prepsol (important) it removes all the hidden grease and stuff.
used a light coat first and then a heavy coat when its just drying.. but we didnt get the effect i wanted. from the photos you can see its all wooply, wavy and has small air bubbles.. we thought it would flatten out.. since it didnt we had to wait till dry, sand back with a sander and then my mates dad took it to his mates spray booth and spray painted it..

I KNOW I KNOW!! we should have done that in the first place but for some reason we didnt.
when i got all the boards back it was as shinny as a piano, looked like glass. very happy with the finish.. 

we think the reason the rolling didnt do it well because we think we didnt add enough hardener to the mixture. 
the garage door was shut and no dirt got on it which was good. made the garage smell like bad for days. was like a gas chamber in there. 

when its all dry, all those bits in the holes and stuff need to be painted too. although you must use the 2 pack FIRST!!
then with a paint brush paint the inner bits with a matte black, watter based.. if you get any on the main shinny black it just rubbs right off without marking it. if you use a gloss black it doesnt give it enough depth.. which is important!!

Step 10: Step 10!! Little More Painting and Assembly.

nearly done!!
those plywood sides that you have screwed or nailed onto the chair..
you already have holes in it for the screws, and you have it all marked out for painting... if you havent already painted those plywood bits with a light blue (or darkish if you prefer) dont go too dark or you wont be able to tell the difference between bits.

the little pacman ghosts are painted... the boards all painted... make sure you screw back that namco front board.. looks amazing once done. in the photo there are lots of finger marks on it. when its wiped done with a cloth its very shinny. the paint is tough and doesnt chip.
after about 3 coats of blue on those sides you can screw the boards on. its a hard job lining it all up so use a ruler and make sure its perfect before screwing it fully down.

you can also screw in the front board, using elbow joints to screw it from the back to the foot support.
do the same with the top board... 

Step 11: Step 11!! Space Invaders Finish.... Silicon Edges

nice easy step!!
get some white fabric, cut it so it fits around the back of the space invaders enimys.
using a staple gun, put a staple in it and pull the rest of the fabric tight and continue to staple.
do the same with the space invaders character and bullets as well. allows the sound through and gives it a clean flat white finish.

those boards are sitting on eachother and tucked in the top boards and fit in the front board too.

for all those little ugly edges, gaps, slit that should be there.. buy some Black silicon. place tape around the cracks that you want to silicon (so you dont get silicon all over your nice paint job) fill will silicon and wipe flat with your finger then wet your finger and slide down the silicon, should leave a nice glassy finish without lines and fingermarks. then quickly take the tape off the chair andlet dry, if not filled fully then you can redo when dry.... and if any does go on the chair you can easly rub it off with a firm finger when its dry...
NEARLY DONE!! ONE LAST STEP!!

Step 12: Step 12!! Get That Seat Done!

get some mdf board, doesnt need to be chipboard since it wont get wet anyway.
we also bought red vinyl, thickish stuff, leather sowing machine needles and strong red thread.

measure the boards so they fit in that gap with about 5mm gap each side.
once you have the board the right size measure it. then divide it into four parts. (3 lines, 4 segments)
those 3 lines will be where the trim lines are..
the get it you need to sow about 3mm crease from the bottom.. no need to cut the material and sow it back together, gives the same look, but less strength.
use a staple gun (got ours for like $20 from spotlight)
place foam, we used 120mm thick foam. Get this,
would cost $80 for the two bit of foam 100mm thick, cut to size from Clark rubber
OR
$70 for a single foam mattress from A-mart that is 120mm thick and with heaps to spare.

keep the foam pressed down slightly to keep some tenson in the material when done. staple the sides nicely (we used heaps of staples, is mega tough and wont come out.)

do the same with both boards and use elbow joints to screw it to those center boards.

and your done!!