Time to "KICK" it up a notch

[Spyridon]

Another commission restoration.  This time Bally Midway's Kick.

This one is pretty nice to start with.

(I love having a vehicle that easily fits these cabs inside)


Look how clean that cab bottom is





Nothing to do on the coin door exterior as it is really nice.  Even the original logo plate is in good shape

Inside, however, no coin mechs so I'll need to order a pair

Control panel is decent, but this will get stripped down and repainted.  Once repainted, I'll be sending it off to have the graphics screened onto it just like the original


Bezel is in great shape.  I need to remove it and get a good look at the cardboard cityscape and see if that needs any work.  The monitor is actually mounted on the bottom and reflected up onto a mirror.


Marquee is perfect


From the back, you can see the mirror


Let's look inside...


Original power supply was removed and replaced with a switching power supple.  All AC wiring was completely redone, including adding in a new isolation transformer



An MCR adapter was used to connect the switcher

[Spyridon]

Okay, that was the good stuff, now let's take a closer look at what we have ahead of us.

The game has some graphics glitches in it.  Random balloons on the screen, disappearing and reappearing balloons, etc.  You can see some missing balloons in this last letter on this intro screen

Hopefully, pulling, cleaning and reseating the ROMs will fix that.

Game also has a very loud hum.  I've heard this is an issue with MCR cabs, but I'd like to see if there is a way to cut this down a bit.


Next let's take a closer look at the cab.  From a distance it looks great, but upclose, some of the flaws start to show




I'm not 100% decided on the best way to touch up those marks, but I have something I'm working on that may work nicely.  

...Stay tuned...

[Superully]

I'm not 100% decided on the best way to touch up those marks, but I have something I'm working on that may work nicely.  

i'm looking forward to finding out what that is you've been talking about since i have a couple of cabs with similar "errors" where i'm not quite sure how to fix them.

[Paladin]

Man, I thought the first pictures were the 'after' shots.  That cab is in amazing condition to begin with.

[Ginsu Victim]

Great game. Glad you're taking good care of it.

[Spyridon]

Man, I thought the first pictures were the 'after' shots.  That cab is in amazing condition to begin with.

Yeah, for a cab that was originally silk screened directly on the sides, it is really nice.

[TheShanMan]

Keep us up to date with how you do the touch ups. I'll be interested in this for my kickman. Also, it sounds like you're aware that Rich is going to be doing screening of the panels at some point. I scanned my panel and it's just a matter of when he can get the ball rolling. Just wanted to make sure in case you were going to get it done some other way. Would hate to see a duplication of effort for no reason.

[Spyridon]

Also, it sounds like you're aware that Rich is going to be doing screening of the panels at some point. I scanned my panel and it's just a matter of when he can get the ball rolling. Just wanted to make sure in case you were going to get it done some other way. Would hate to see a duplication of effort for no reason.

Yep, already in contact with Rich.  Just waiting for a response back from him on how soon he can take the panel.  Originally he said he would be ready after CAX so hopefully that is the case.  Thanks for scanning your panel as that is what is making the new one possible.

[Level42]

He told me he was really busy after CAX.....

Great cab, I just missed a Kickman by a few days....not sure it would be a keeper with my limited space, but I think it's a fun game.

[TheShanMan]

Also, it sounds like you're aware that Rich is going to be doing screening of the panels at some point. I scanned my panel and it's just a matter of when he can get the ball rolling. Just wanted to make sure in case you were going to get it done some other way. Would hate to see a duplication of effort for no reason.

Yep, already in contact with Rich.  Just waiting for a response back from him on how soon he can take the panel.  Originally he said he would be ready after CAX so hopefully that is the case.  Thanks for scanning your panel as that is what is making the new one possible.

No problem at all. I am happy to help Rich, as well as the community, when I have an opportunity to.

[Spyridon]

Took the control panel off today to start stripping it down.


My plans quickly came to a screeching halt, as I couldn't figure out how to remove the lighted Kick buttons.  Anyone know how to remove these?  The "nut" won't fit over the extended microswitch holder.


EDIT:  Got the buttons off.  The plastic housing pop right off with the bulb assembly

[Level42]

Yep, that was what I was going to say: Pull !

[FrizzleFried]

Nice looking Kick...

BTW - I had that very same adapter running on my Spy Hunter... and I too encountered some pretty hard-core HUMM noises.   The HUMM dropped in volume considerably when I removed ALL 12v lamps from the circuit... which wasn't going to cut it for me so I simply replaced the switcher/adapter with a rebuild linear PS and the humm all but went away.

[Spyridon]

I simply replaced the switcher/adapter with a rebuild linear PS and the humm all but went away.

Frizz, thanks for the info.   I'll see if it makes a difference with the lamps removed

[FrizzleFried]

Don't forget the coin door lamps!  Even just one of those plugged in and out came the hum in my Spy Hunter.

[Spyridon]

Removed all the controls from the control panel.  I had to pull out the soldering iron in order to remove the player 1 and player 2 start buttons as the wires were soldered directly to the button.


Panel with everything removed


Then applied a coating of CitriStrip to remove the paint.


After that soaks in for a bit, I'll scrap off the paint.

[Spyridon]

Citristrip = Magic



Once I clean up the small bits that didn't come off with the Citristrip it will be ready to paint.

[opt2not]

Seems like a good upgrade (though not original) would be a more durable overlay for the CP, rather than stenciling it...

What are your thoughts on this?

[Spyridon]

I think on overlay would look pretty ugly compared to the original.  Since this is going to be home use only, it will not get anywhere near the wear and tear it did while on location.  It should last a long time.

[TheShanMan]

Agreed. So either you don't mind waiting a while to get it screened by Rich or he hasn't told me that he's ready to start doing these panels. I'm hoping the latter?

[Spyridon]

Agreed. So either you don't mind waiting a while to get it screened by Rich or he hasn't told me that he's ready to start doing these panels. I'm hoping the latter?

I think he is ready for them.

[Havok]

Seems like a good upgrade (though not original) would be a more durable overlay for the CP, rather than stenciling it...

What are your thoughts on this?

If you really want it to be durable, how about a clearcoat once it's silkscreened?

[RayB]

Seems like a good upgrade (though not original) would be a more durable overlay for the CP, rather than stenciling it...

What are your thoughts on this?

If you really want it to be durable, how about a clearcoat once it's silkscreened?

Seconded. Just a quick glance at the space bar on your keyboard should show why this is necessary.

[Spyridon]

Used a wire wheel brush on my drill to clean up the spots that the Citristrip didn't take off


Then gave both sides a new coat of paint


Now to let it dry for a few days then ship it across the country for screening.

[FrizzleFried]

If you're going to have the panel screened... why didn't you get it powder coated rather than painted?

[Spyridon]

If you're going to have the panel screened... why didn't you get it powder coated rather than painted?

I would love to, but I haven't been able to find a powder coater in the area.

[Spyridon]

Finally some news on this...

Special thanks to The ShanMan for providing the scans to Rich at ThisOldGame


Rich than vectored the scans


Art screens were then aligned on the panel I shipped out to Rich

and the screen was created


Add some paint


and Voila...


Next add in the third color


and the final product


Comments from Rich:

Ive had several requests to do these and will have this added to my site later today.
Ill be keeping these screens on hand and the setup is pretty simple so will be able to rescreen these as one offs as they come in.

The panels need to be shipped, striped, painted or powder coated for screening.
and the turn time is 2 weeks.

Panel is being shipped back to me and I'll post more pics when I get it.

In the mean time, check out Rich's website for ThisOldGame.  It's really nice to have someone with this type of talent, equipment and experience helping out such a niche community like ours.  Support his site and buy some products!

For more details on the process Rich went through, read his blog over as COSP

[rikitiki]

Hey thanks, I guess I need to update my blog I thought this was powder coated-LOL
great paint job BTW.

though I just noticed something is/was that small white copyright text down under the right yellow arrow??
I cant tell for sure and the scan I had couldve just been worn completly off: (
hmmm

[Spyridon]

Yeah, it looks like it did have copyright info in that area.  Was barely visible on mine and was most likely rubbed off on most cabs.  You can see it on the flyer.
 

[opt2not]

In the mean time, check out Rich's website for ThisOldGame.  It's really nice to have someone with this type of talent, equipment and experience helping out such a niche community like ours.  Support his site and buy some products!

+1   

[TheShanMan]

Glad to help, Spy! I'm pretty sure the copyright text is completely worn out on mine, so I apologize that that was overlooked. I never knew it was supposed to be there. I haven't had my panel done yet. I'm hoping to go watch him screen it in person.

[Spyridon]

Glad to help, Spy! I'm pretty sure the copyright text is completely worn out on mine, so I apologize that that was overlooked.

No problem, I doubt that there is an original one out there that still has it.  Mine was barely noticeable.

And besides...look:



Rich just posted this updated shot.  Looks really good.  He did nice work recreating the copyright info.  This should be shipping back to me shortly.

[RetroACTIVE]

This is a really great game and that control panel looks fantastic!!!

[Spyridon]

Got a package in the mail a few days ago



Looks great and Rich even went back and added the Midway copyright after it was determined that it should be there


Now I can put this guy back together.

[Spyridon]

Installed the control panel today


It turned out really nice.  Also added a NOS bezel.  This one was different from the one I had.  The one that came with this machine had the instruction cards taped to the back.  This one has them screened directly on the bezel.


and with new bulbs in the Kick buttons

[RetroACTIVE]

Boy that looks nice ! 

[opt2not]

Lookin' sharp! 

[RayB]

WOW!   

Makes me nostalgic. (Kick-Man is one of the first games I dumped money in as a kid)

[MythTrip]

Wow! What a beautiful looking game.  Thanks again, Joe.


 

[VanillaGorilla]

FRIGGIN GAW-JUS! Just like the one we had at our bowling alley! I love how pac man was SOO popular at that point, he was used as a 'guest star' in kick..