Q*Bert Restore - 5/23/2016 - 94.9% Complete

[wp34]

I’ve decided to try and bring a Q*Bert back from the dead.  My original plan was to scratch build a horizontal cabinet based around a D9800. 

The “planning stage” has been going on for well over a year during which I came to the conclusion I wanted a vertical cabinet as well.   

This cabinet showed up on Craigslist and I decided a restore would be the path of least resistance for me. 

I'm still going to tackle a scratch build at some point.  Hopefully the experience I gain with this project will make that one even better.

[wp34]

The cabinet was originally a Q*Bert that was converted at some point to a 1942. 

My goal is to restore it as much as possible.  Initially I’ll power it with Mame but eventually would like to convert it back to a dedicated cab.  To that end it will look exactly like an original Q*Bert when I am done with the exception that the control panel will be two player. 

[wp34]

Gottlieb Serial Number:

[wp34]

1942 plays which is slowing me down.   

Kids love playing it as well.  My wife called 1942 "Galaga with planes" which made me laugh.

There appears to be something wrong with the board.  It will play fine for a little while and then the screen starts to look like this:



The sounds cuts out after a while as well. 

I'm not overly interested in getting the 1942 working but if anyone has any simple suggestions I'll give them a try.

[Number21]

1942 is cool.  Q-bert is better.  Lotta stuff out there to restore that cabinet.  Cool project!

[wp34]

That's why I picked Qbert.   All of the artwork is available and easy to obtain.  Also several documented examples to follow.

I am little surprised how much fun 1942 is.  I didn't play it much in the arcades but your right it is really cool.

1942 is cool.  Q-bert is better.  Lotta stuff out there to restore that cabinet.  Cool project!

[wp34]

Just a little progress in the last week.  Thanks to help from folks here and a tutorial from The Real Bob Roberts I was able to discharge the monitor. 

[wp34]

Removed the bezel only to find it has been repaired at some point.

[wp34]

After removing the CP I was very pleased to find a lot of leaf-switch goodness.   

I won't use the Wico joystick for this project but would like use it in another down the road. 

[thecornishhen]

Looking forward to this project.. I bought a qbert bootleg that turned out to not be the original cab, so I snagged the innards, control panel, and marquee.  Can't wait to start a similiar project..

[saleem]

so you want to restore a qbert?

why are you not in the restoration part of the forum?

thats the place to be.

[wp34]

Looking forward to this project.. I bought a qbert bootleg that turned out to not be the original cab, so I snagged the innards, control panel, and marquee.  Can't wait to start a similiar project..

Do you think you will build a cabinet from scratch or look for one to restore?  I'd be happy to take better pictures and send you some measurements if you are building from scratch.

[wp34]

so you want to restore a qbert?

why are you not in the restoration part of the forum?

thats the place to be.

I debated that mainly because I gained a lot of my inspiration for this project reading through the Restorations thread.  From what I can gather the fact that I will be running Mame (at least initially) makes this a Project and not a Restore.

[Malenko]

Id rather have 1942

[DaOld Man]

Any progress on this project?
I have a Q*Bert too, would like to have links to more info on it, i.e. what shade of yellow for the original, where to get parts, etc. Ebay searches dont show a lot, neither does craigslist for my area.

[wp34]

Any progress on this project?
I have a Q*Bert too, would like to have links to more info on it, i.e. what shade of yellow for the original, where to get parts, etc. Ebay searches dont show a lot, neither does craigslist for my area.

No progress.  I had a serious family medical situation this summer and had to put it on hold. Also when the D9800 was discontinued I bought one to make sure I did not miss out.   Having spent that much on the monitor I decided to start on my scratch build and have put the Q*bert in the shed for now.  That project is currently stuck in artwork hell and I almost wish I had just finished the Q*Bert. 

What condition is your Q*Bert in?  I'd like to see how your restoration goes. I've seen a number of Q*Bert parts go through eBay this summer but nothing I'd call a real deal.

You may have seen these already but here was what I was planning on using -
Monitor Bezel - http://www.quarterarcade.com/Game.aspx/4356

Vector Art - http://vectorlib.free.fr/QBert/

Color codes - http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=72034

Q*Bert Side-Art - http://www.arcadeshop.com/parts.htm

Interesting information on the history of Q*Bert side-art
http://www.rotheblog.com/2008/08/classic-arcade-games/qbert-sideart-comparisons-and-history/

[DaOld Man]

Im at work now and cant check out the links you posted, but will when I get home.
I bought my cab a couple of years ago and it was a Capcom Bowling then.
The guys on here told me it was probably an original Q*Bert.
I am just now getting back on this cab and I have just found Curve Ball art under the Capcom Bowling control panel overlay.
So Im not sure what I have or what Im going to do with it now. I do not have any of the Q*Bert hardware or artwork, just a cabinet that looks like a Q*Bert.

I started a thread over in Restorations if you'd like to check it out:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=81518.0

[wp34]

Im at work now and cant check out the links you posted, but will when I get home.
I bought my cab a couple of years ago and it was a Capcom Bowling then.
The guys on here told me it was probably an original Q*Bert.
I am just now getting back on this cab and I have just found Curve Ball art under the Capcom Bowling control panel overlay.
So Im not sure what I have or what Im going to do with it now. I do not have any of the Q*Bert hardware or artwork, just a cabinet that looks like a Q*Bert.

I started a thread over in Restorations if you'd like to check it out:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=81518.0

I took a look and from the pictures yours looks just like mine.  Interesting it was a Curve Ball at one time.

[wp34]

My scratch-build is going slowly so I decided to start on the Q*Bert again.

The sides had been painted red at some point and then laminated over. 

The laminate had been stripped off by the previous owner but there was still a ton of glue on the sides.

My brother in-law is a professional carpenter and suggested using Xylol to remove the glue.

[wp34]

Here is a picture of the glue as I am removing it.  I put the Xylol on with a paper towel and then used a plastic putty knife to remove the glue.

[wp34]

Here is an after picture.  The stuff works great but the smell is pretty intense.  I ended up doing all my work outdoors as we had a few days of decent weather.  I think a person could be overwhelmed by the smell very easily indoors.

[wp34]

I'm working on the Q*Bert at my mother's place as my dad had a heated workshop with about every tool a guy could want. 

While I was working she accidentally backed into my truck.   

Probably my fault for parking where I did but it still stinks.  Worse part is that her car is only 2 months old.

   

[wp34]

Time for sanding...

[LOOTER]

I'm working on the Q*Bert at my mother's place as my dad had a heated workshop with about every tool a guy could want. 

While I was working she accidentally backed into my truck.   

Probably my fault for parking where I did but it still stinks.  Worse part is that her car is only 2 months old.

   

They might be able to buff off the paint @ a auto detail shop. GOOD LUCK

[wp34]

Winter is over, school is out and the last kid's activity is done.  Time to get back on my project. 

Only been a year since I brought the cabinet home. 

Starting off again with the base which like most cabinets this old has seen better days.

[wp34]

I decided to go with 2x3's to build the base.  Make four miter cuts add some glue and nails then bake.

[wp34]

You can barely see it but I traced an outline of the new 2x3 base on the bottom of the cab.  I then went back and drilled pilot holes so that I could easily drill a few screws from the bottom of the cabinet down into the new base.

[Hoopz]

Good to see some progress.   

[wp34]

Good to see some progress.   

+1

Thanks Hoopz.

[wp34]

Here is the new base attached to the bottom.  I used angle brackets and wood glue as others have done in the past to secure the base.  I also  put a few wood screws through the pilot holes I drilled earlier so that baby is secure.

[wp34]

She's loaded in the truck and ready to bring home to paint.  I did the prep work in my dad's shop.  My wife is going to do the painting which will be much more convenient at home.

[DaOld Man]

Looking good!
Did you replace the plywood bottom panel or just clean it up? If cleaned up, what did you use? The panel looks a lot better than it did before.

[wp34]

Looking good!
Did you replace the plywood bottom panel or just clean it up? If cleaned up, what did you use? The panel looks a lot better than it did before.

Thanks!

I just wiped it down with a rag.  It must be a trick of the light.  The bottom (particularly in the outdoor picture) does not look that nice in real life.

[wp34]

Four-year necro bump. 

This cabinet has been sitting so long it became a decoration in the basement.



I tried repairing the front corners with just bondo but they would not hold.  This one got bumped when I tried to move it in the basement. 


Ultimately I decided to do it right and patch the corners with plywood.  Using a straight bit I took 1/4" off the corner.





Then I glued and nailed a slightly oversized piece of 1/4 plywood in place.



To get the corner square again I clamped a piece of plywood to the cabinet.  By lining it up with the edges of the cabinet I was left with the pattern for a perfect corner.



Now it is a simple matter of routing off the excess with a pattern bit.

[yotsuya]

Faaaaaaaancy!!!

[Vigo]

  Gonna go look for a Mellow Yellow to crack open. Good to see you pick this up again.

[harveybirdman]

Way to make that damaged corner your ---smurfette---!

[wp34]

Thanks guys.  It did feel good to get the corners done properly  I broke them twice moving the cabinet before I decided to stop and do it right.
 

[BGoulette]

Corner looks great! Nice routing, too!

[johnrt]

That's the bump of the year! 

Great repair job! Looking forward to see more.

[wp34]

This project has taken so long I've not done a real good job of taking pictures.  Here are some random shots on the painting process.

[wp34]

I picked up a reproduction CP from Takeman over on KLOV.  Here it is primed and painted black.





After letting it cure for a few days I'll attempt putting the CPO on.

[vwalbridge]

Looking good. 

Who is doing your CPO?

[yotsuya]

The title of this thread reminds me of this song...

[cw]

reminded me of corvette summer with mark hammil

[Vigo]

This is the song running in my mind, I was just replacing the word cruel with Q*bert



It's a Q, Q*bert summer.

[wp34]

Looking good. 

Who is doing your CPO?

Thanks.  I purchased one from a member on KLOV. 

[wp34]

reminded me of corvette summer with mark hammil

We have a winner!  I have no idea why I went with that at the time but there you go.

[wp34]

@yotsuya - I like to call myself a Kool and the Gang fan but must confess I've never heard that song before.   

@vigo - That is the second ear worm you have dropped on me in this thread.  I've had the Mello Yello "World's fastest softdrink" commercial jingle stuck in my head ever since your original post.  Now it is getting pushed out of my head by Bananarama.   

[vwalbridge]

Are you going to spray your sides or roll them?

[wp34]

Are you going to spray your sides or roll them?

Roll.  I really, really struggled with this because I want to learn to use an HPLV sprayer and enjoyed spraying the black parts of the cabinet.  But I needed to get on to a couple of other projects and am taking the easy way out(*).




(*) Really easy because my wife is painting the sides for me.   

[harveybirdman]

Are you going to spray your sides or roll them?

Roll.  I really, really struggled with this because I want to learn to use an HPLV sprayer and enjoyed spraying the black parts of the cabinet.  But I needed to get on to a couple of other projects and am taking the easy way out(*).




(*) Really easy because my wife is painting the sides for me.   

REAL MEN OF GENIUS

Mr. Got my wife to paint my Arcade cab for me!

Here's to you for exploiting her love of pintrest and redoing furniture for your own selfish needs!

 

[wp34]

Are you going to spray your sides or roll them?

Roll.  I really, really struggled with this because I want to learn to use an HPLV sprayer and enjoyed spraying the black parts of the cabinet.  But I needed to get on to a couple of other projects and am taking the easy way out(*).




(*) Really easy because my wife is painting the sides for me.   

REAL MEN OF GENIUS

Mr. Got my wife to paint my Arcade cab for me!

Here's to you for exploiting her love of pintrest and redoing furniture for your own selfish needs!

 

Ha ha!  She is a much better painter than I am.  She practically ripped the roller out of my hand when I was botching my Total Carnage restore.

[vwalbridge]

Are you going to spray your sides or roll them?

Roll.  I really, really struggled with this because I want to learn to use an HPLV sprayer and enjoyed spraying the black parts of the cabinet.  But I needed to get on to a couple of other projects and am taking the easy way out(*).




(*) Really easy because my wife is painting the sides for me.   

I really battle with myself on this too. Spraying small areas is easy enough but I can never bring myself to deal with all the prep work and carnage left behind from spraying. Not to mention the cost of even a cheap HPLV sprayer.

[wp34]

Are you going to spray your sides or roll them?

Roll.  I really, really struggled with this because I want to learn to use an HPLV sprayer and enjoyed spraying the black parts of the cabinet.  But I needed to get on to a couple of other projects and am taking the easy way out(*).




(*) Really easy because my wife is painting the sides for me.   

I really battle with myself on this too. Spraying small areas is easy enough but I can never bring myself to deal with all the prep work and carnage left behind from spraying. Not to mention the cost of even a cheap HPLV sprayer.

For what it is worth your Q*Bert looks sprayed.   

[vwalbridge]

Thanks. With the right tools and some patience, rolling can look quite good. I'm enjoying your restore. The world is just a little better every time someone restores a Qbert. 

[harveybirdman]

@!#?@!

[opt2not]

Thanks. With the right tools and some patience, rolling can look quite good. I'm enjoying your restore. The world is just a little better every time someone restores a Qbert. 

I agree with this. I tend to like rolling for the ultimate control of the surface. It takes longer, and requires a bit more sanding work, but I feel I am much more cognizant with how the paint surface develops. I have a closer feel to the surface due to the nature of being more hands-on with the sanding and paint layering.

[Malenko]

great work mang, keep the momentum going.

[wp34]

great work mang, keep the momentum going.

Thanks.  It is amazing what losing a little momentum will do to a project...mine anyway.   

[wp34]

This weekend I worked on the coin door.  My wife's step father has a sandblaster--among many other cool tools.  He blasted the coin door on my Asteroids Deluxe a couple of years ago and I was very happy with the results.  This time I got to get in on the fun.



You put your hands in it using the attached gloves.  It reminds me of the machine they used in Mission Impossible II to handle the Chimera virus safely.   



There is a vat in the bottom of the case that holds the media.  In this case we were using fine glass instead of sand.  The air compressor blows the glass through the nozzle and the paint comes off very much like reverse spray painting.









I was thinking about having them powder coated but it looks like I'm going to have to do a little body work to fix some dents. Not sure if bondo can survive that process or not.

[vwalbridge]

That sandblasting is sahweeet.

Allegedly, regular bondo will not withstand the heat. But this stuff is supposed to handle temps up to 1000 degrees F.

[wp34]

That sandblasting is sahweeet.

Allegedly, regular bondo will not withstand the heat. But this stuff is supposed to handle temps up to 1000 degrees F.

I did not know that stuff existed.  Thanks!   

[vwalbridge]

All-Metal is another product that is supposed to work because you are filling metal with metal.

Both are expensive products but I guess that's the price you pay to have it withstand the heat.

[wp34]

Finally got around to painting the other side.  I'm only posting this so when I look back on this thread later I can remember my slow progress in detail. 



It has been almost warm enough here to paint so I'm going to try and get this coin door and the one for my Felix build done this week.

[wp34]

The cabinet was originally a Q*Bert that was converted at some point to a 1942. 

My goal is to restore it as much as possible.  Initially I’ll power it with Mame but eventually would like to convert it back to a dedicated cab.  To that end it will look exactly like an original Q*Bert when I am done with the exception that the control panel will be two player. 

It is funny how things change and people evolve. This went from a multi-player Mame project to a restore that will run JROK's Q*Bert board.  Maybe it is a good thing this project has drug on for so long.   

[wp34]

Here is some unsolicited advice.  Do not tear a cabinet completely apart and then wait 5 years to put it back together.   

I've been using the pictures and resources I can find on the Internet to help put Humpty-Q*bert back together again.  This one has been particularly helpful. I'm pretty sure this is ArcadeNut's site as it also advertises the amazing AnyCoin product.

http://www.arcaderestoration.com/Journals/1/Restorations/33/QBert.aspx

Here is a good example.  The speaker is held in place with CP lock-down latches.  I didn't even remember taking these off BITD but ArcadeNut mentioned them on his site.  Low and behold he was correct.




After dinking around with LED's on my Tron build I decided to rebuild the original flourescent light.  I also found a matching molex connector in case I (or someone else) down the road decide to put an original harness and boards back in the cabinet.





For the knocker I also found a matching molex connector--this has zero value though since the knocker needs to be swapped out if using an original power supply and PCB. 

The knocker currently is not working.  Based on some assistance I received on KLOV I believe the problem is a bad power supply.  I'm waiting to see if there are any other items I need to order before purchasing a new power supply.



She's playable at the moment which is exciting after all this time.  Most of what is left is cleaning up the wiring and applying artwork. 

[yotsuya]

Looks good, my friend. I have a Jrok multi-Q*Bert board and would love to find something to do with it. Keep us updated.

[wp34]

Thanks Yots.  It is a great board.  At one point I was going to put it back to original but only got so far as purchasing a harness and knocker before the JROK board came out.  Never say never but I doubt I'm going to bother at this stage as I really like this board.

[yotsuya]

Thanks Yots.  It is a great board.  At one point I was going to put it back to original but only got so far as purchasing a harness and knocker before the JROK board came out.  Never say never but I doubt I'm going to bother at this stage as I really like this board.

From what I've heard, no one who owns an actual Q*Bert board blames you for going that route.

[wp34]

The coin door has been quite the adventure.  Working on two projects at once can lead to some interesting mistakes.  My coin return flaps got mixed up with some Fix-it-Felix parts and were accidentally painted chrome.



I also lost the insert after I sandblasted everything.  There was a member on KLOV selling a repro Gottlieb insert so I ended up buying that.  Then six months later the original insert showed up under my chop saw.   



One exciting surprise was that the AnyCoin V2 coin mech insert fit!  I happened to have a pair around for just such an emergency. 



The coin return lights need wired as do the coin-up switch but it feels great to have the coin door back in the cabinet finally.


Because I wasn't planning on being able to use tokens I hadn't given any thought to a coin box.  Turns out a standard over/under coin box fits perfectly.  I just pulled the one out of my Total Carnage to see and will now order a replacement.

[harveybirdman]

Gangsta!

[wp34]

Gangsta!

 

[yotsuya]

Those black AnyCoinMechs look tight.

[wp34]

Those black AnyCoinMechs look tight.

What's funny is that I was going to order orange or yellow ones to replace the black.  But they were kind of a PITA to install.  Not because of the AnyCoins but because of the coin door.  I'm real happy with the black now.

[wp34]

For the control panel I bought one of Takeman's reproductions.  Q*Bert joysticks have gotten crazy expensive but someone on KLOV mentioned that the Euro-Stik is a cheap alternative.   So far I'm real happy with this joystick especially for just $16.



The decal on the back was shot so I ordered a replacement set from etienneodk on KLOV.  His quality is top notch and he really should charge more money.




I would have liked to have gotten a better job on the back door but it was really beat up and at some point enough has to be enough.






All I have left is to apply the CPO, side-art and fix the knocker issue. 

[Vigo]

  That is slick!!

[vwalbridge]

Looks really great! Another Q*bert saved!

Definitely a favorite game of mine.