Ok, decided it was about time to make an educated guess on the end product size so I can start to make the "beehive" structure for the system; even if I need to change it later, because we are talking about the internals to the Alpha Omega system, if I need to make amendments as I go along no issues.
The "beehive" (ie vertical slots within a frame, for best airflow, etc) is made out of 6mm thick thin sheets of plastic with foam inside - it barely weighs anything, yet is strong and flat. Got them from a hobby shop in large sheets, one sheet gives me 6 sheets for my project, so 12 in total. I can also mount consoles to both sides of the foam sheets too to save overall thickness. The foam material is easy to cut and also hot glues very well too. For smaller consoles, I can get two side by side, like in the picture below with an SMS and NES motherboard; some like Intellivision, Amiga CD32, etc i'll only get one per side; so with 18 consoles, I might only need about 14 sheets or so.
The measurements of the white foam sheets cut are about 27.5cms x 29cms; by the time i've allowed for a casing around the structure and game carts, etc the final length of the Alpha Omega will be between 32-36cms long, about 32cms wide, no idea of depth but probably about the same with the CD drives included - in other words, i'll probably end up with a cube; probably 36 x 36 x 36cms or thereabouts. I think this is quite small given what is going in there. Of course, it is all subject to many changes as the project develops, but its a goal.
1st board section - the Intellivision will go on the back of this board, that way as a system gets completed I can construct the sections.
It will be a good idea after making the 2nd foam section (ie 2 or 3 more consoles), to make a base unit structure to start mounting the sections and power banks in place, to grow as the system grows.
