Konami Cab restoration (TMNT)

[Malenko]

So I for some stupid ---smurfing--- reason traded my pretty great MK1 restoration for this turd.


Here are the major things wrong with it, despite being told it was "in almost perfect shape"
1) Giant bolts and bolt holes sticking out of the 2 sides
2) Giant lock down bar bolted into coin door, that hid a random unused hole between the coin doors, and the 1" hold for the anchor bolt to the right of the coin doors
3) sides are beat up, tons of dents and deep scratches
4) water damage at the bottom of the cab
5) all along the base is pretty much destroy, not a single straight line to be found
6) Was told this was an Xmen cab, ended up being a TMNT cab (Only 1 speaker hole in the top of the cab)   I had already started buying Xmen items (like CPO and PCB)
7) Monitor is too big for the cab, as in, depth. the rear door was cut and boxed to compensate for the chassis sticking out of the back.
8) The wiring, was OF COURSE, all hacked up to make Rampage world tour work
9) etc


Here's a crummy side shot:



So I started removing the side art:



Little bit of heat gun, and elbow grease with a scraper and its all off:

[Malenko]

and heres whats left of the side art on this side:


There some little issues, like this:


but thats fixed thanks to gorilla glue:

sanded and prepped better but no pictures of that , yet.

Decided to countersink the monitor bolts:


drilled, hammered, and prepped for bondo:


first layer of bondo:


Most of the work on this side is done, still need to sand down the latest bondo then prep it for priming:

[Malenko]

bought an Xmen board, Xmen CPO, then found this in the bottom of the cab:


And this is the bondo I'm using:

[Malenko]

got the side pretty smooooooooooooooooth, so I tossed a coat of primer on it


then after it dried I 150 grit sanded it , then primed it again.


its drying right now, then I'll 150 sand it again and put the 3rd coat on.  If the 3rd coat looks good, I'll go ahead and toss the first coat of black on

[Cobolisdead]

Nice! I always love that cab design, and I can't wait to see what you do with it.

[Malenko]

Ive done a lot since my last update.

This is what I meant by "no straight edges":


And this is why Haruman calls me the "Bondo Whisperer":


And here's the right side mostly patched up:

[Malenko]

Here are some of the issues with the front:


specifically the "hole for no reason":


and the hole they drilled using an old baby spoon:



patch , sand , patch, sand, repeat as needed until:


Then I put a coat of primer on it:


and the font:

[Malenko]

Unfortunately , I didnt really take a lot of before pix of the coin doors but I did patch the hole and lay down a fresh coat of hammered finish paint:

[Malenko]

After the first  quick prime, it lets me see the areas that still need bondo work:


not shown: patch , sand, patch, sand , patch , sand , repeat.

Then its time for 2 or 3 more coats of primer:



not shown: prime, hand sand, prime, hand sand, prime

[Malenko]

so once the primer coats were smooth, its time to lay down the black.  I went with a semigloss as I think flat doesnt look good and gloss is just too shiny.




Now as you can see here, its going to take more than 1 coat to cover this cab:


Not shown: hand sand, paint, hand sand, paint, hand sand, paint

Final coat of black:


And to get you current, here is the yellow tmolding installed. This is actually the left overs from the MK1 restore. I had about 4" left over after molding this cab.

[Cobolisdead]

Nice work!

[opt2not]

Damn nice work. Straight clean edges, and nice work on the painting!    People don't get how a bit more time and effort spent in the priming/sanding/painting aspect will pay off in orders of magnitude towards the finished product.

So lemme get this straight, you traded your MK cabinet, which was in great shape (?) for a turd?  Was there anything else in the trade?  Seems like the other guy got a pretty great deal!

[Malenko]

So lemme get this straight, you traded your MK cabinet, which was in great shape (?) for a turd?  Was there anything else in the trade?  Seems like the other guy got a pretty great deal!

My MK was practically mint sans marquee light and it needed new side art : http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,139884.msg1447194.html

I and my nephews didn't play much MK1, since it was right next to MKII, so I thought Id trade it for Rampage World Tour.  Turns out, they dont like RWT, I prefer the original, and the cab wasnt quite in the shape I was told. I dont mind getting my hands dirty and restoring but they guy I did business with has pretty much made it that I'll never swap trade cabs again.  He definitively got the sweeter end of the deal.

Same guy got my B-E-A-Utiful KI cab for his busted ass RevX and some cash, which is the part of the deal I regret most. Not only because RevX has soda spilled all over the inside, but because the outside of the cab is more damaged than he told me. Also the recoil board is flaky (due to the soda) but I did get the sound board fixed!

Its in the past and I'll just have to live with it.

Feel like making me some custom Xmen art for this pig?

[opt2not]

You'd want to go custom art with this thing? I might be able to help you out a bit later on this year, but I don't think I can commit to any new work for the time being.

Too many things going on right now for me and I haven't been able to sit down and work on much of anything in the last half-year.

[ChocolateApple]

Feel like making me some custom Xmen art for this pig?

If you wait, I'll have the reproductions of the original art ready. I just need time that isn't dedicated to wedding planning.

[Malenko]

Feel like making me some custom Xmen art for this pig?

If you wait, I'll have the reproductions of the original art ready. I just need time that isn't dedicated to wedding planning.

I think I'm going to take it back to what it originally was, a TMNT.


Continuing the theme of "no straight edges anywhere on the cab.....

I put the first layer of bondo on:



when I got the edges "good enough" I put the first 2 coats of primer on:



If the edges look ok, I'll hit it with some black today. If the edges arent ok, I'll coarse sand it, and use more bondo. Im less concerned with the edges of the CP than I am the edges of the cab itself.

[Generic Eric]

... but they guy I did business with has pretty much made it that I'll never swap trade cabs again.  He definitively got the sweeter end of the deal.

Same guy got... which is the part of the deal I regret most. ...soda spilled all over the inside, but because the outside of the cab is more damaged than he told me. Also the recoil board is flaky (due to the soda) but I did get the sound board fixed!

So he's not getting a christmas card this year I take it?


Also:

Feel like making me some custom Xmen art for this pig?

I'm not gonna carrying on like I do art, let alone custom art, but I'm curious what you have in mind?  I've always felt the game didn't lend itself to being able to match the side art exactly, so why not have fun with it?

As to custom artwork for this cab you are rehabbing; to quote an X-men comic:

Such a serious effort, deserves an equivalent response.

[Malenko]

No Xmas card for him.  Also, I think you missed this part:

I think I'm going to take it back to what it originally was, a TMNT.

 

[Generic Eric]

No Xmas card for him.  Also, I think you missed this part:

I think I'm going to take it back to what it originally was, a TMNT.

 

It appears so.   

[JimmyU]

Are you going to put Turtles in Time in there too or just the original?

[Malenko]

Are you going to put Turtles in Time in there too or just the original?

If I find a board cheap enough, I'd love to have TiT in there but that board goes for $300+. I traded Xmen + cash for the TMNT board.  I am also getting a Simpsons board and trying to barter for a sunset riders over on KLOV. If you have a line on one, lemme know

[edekoning]

Sucks getting screwed over like that.

Fantastic work so far! Such a huge difference when comparing the first and last pictures

[Malenko]

finished up the CP box:


and bolted it to the cab.  I still need 6 feet of yellow tmolding.

[Malenko]

about to put in the order for the marquee and CPO, but I got the TMNT boards!

[JimmyU]

Somebody at KLOV has a Turtles in Time board for sale. It was a MMAO.

[Malenko]

Yeah I posted in the thread, Hope he isn't expecting $300 for it, I don't have that kinda scratch just sittin around.

[Malenko]

long time no update.

Thanks to MK3Fan aka Zenomorph I got the TMNT art. I used that to get the measurements for Haruman to make me a replacement CP. After the CP, CPO, and plexi all showed up I got to work.

Here is the new CPO art between the new CP and plexi, just sittin there:


Put the CP on the box and started putting in button n stuffs:


Got the marquee installed too:


since I didnt have purple buttons yet, I decided to install the green tmolding:


Got Leo and Mikey's controls in. Mikey has orange controls because I got an orange stick (also from haruman) and because I remember mikey wearing orange not yellow:


Donnie and Raphs controls added:


Here is how she sits meow:


and here is a close up of the CP:



I got all the art printed through stpcore, and while I have the side art printed, it hasnt been applied yet. Big thanks to him for the deal on the art, Haruman for the sticks and repro CP panel, and Tornado Terry for the Purple buttons. Im broke and I still dont have player 3 or 4 harness yet

[yotsuya]

Awesome job so far! That's what a 4 player cab should look like!

[edekoning]

Seeing those pics makes me want to play a few games on it 

[Cobolisdead]

It is looking great!

[yotsuya]

Yeah, restoration is becoming a lost art round these parts. When I first lurked on this site, projects like Spyrdon's kept me coming back to read ... nice to see some artists still around.

[JimmyU]

Yeah, restoration is becoming a lost art round these parts. When I first lurked on this site, projects like Spyrdon's kept me coming back to read ... nice to see some artists still around.

I think most restoration threads have gone over to KLOV.

[Malenko]

I know you guys are all thinking "come on with the side art already!"


So here's the bottom part applied:


and here's the middle:


and the top!


stood her back up:


And put the tmodling and control panel back on:



Still have to do the other side. Big props to my wife for doing the leg work of the side art application and big thanks to stpcore for the print!

[yotsuya]

That actually looks pretty seamless!

[pbj]

Trying to see down the front of that yellow jump suit and tugging one out in the pizza huts men's room....

Ah, to be in 1991 again.....

[yotsuya]

Trying to see down the front of that yellow jump suit and tugging one out in the pizza huts men's room....

Ah, to be in 1991 again.....

You rubbed out in public? That's pretty nasty, dude.

[nadcraker]

You rubbed out in public? That's pretty nasty, dude.

Pft, amatuer.

This thread has inspired me to strip off the black paint that is on my NBA JAB cabinet, since I have suspicions it was once a TMNT.

[Malenko]

yeah uhhhhh lets try to say both SFW and somewhat on topic.

so the artwork was applied to the other side:


and the CP tmolding was cleaned up:


I still don't have the extra scratch to buy 2 new harnesses for players 3 and 4

[yotsuya]

yeah uhhhhh lets try to say both SFW and somewhat on topic.

You think Jim's rubbed one out at work?

I'm still amazed at how seamless the artwork looks. 

[Malenko]

I'm still amazed at how seamless the artwork looks. 

That is mostly thanks to my wife, I'm pretty sure if I applied the art without her it'd look like ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- 

[AlienInferno]

Great work on the resto man.  Love TMNT.  It's one of the cabs I want to get once I get a space big enough to house everything I currently have in the garage (storage).  TMNT and The Simpsons are the reasons why my mame cab has the shape that it does.

[wp34]

That turned out great.  Now do mine for me.   

[Malenko]

That turned out great.  Now do mine for me.   

lol if its smooth you could just cover that with the art!  Just message stpcore to print it out for you.   You do need to take me a high res pic of that megaman though before you restore.

[yotsuya]

That turned out great.  Now do mine for me.   

That's asstastically awesome! 

[wp34]

That turned out great.  Now do mine for me.   

lol if its smooth you could just cover that with the art!  Just message stpcore to print it out for you.   You do need to take me a high res pic of that megaman though before you restore.

It is pretty smooth but there is some water damage and swelling at the bottom that needs repaired.  Also the surface is kinda chalky like they used flat latex paint.  I'll probably end up sanding and painting it first.

That turned out great.  Now do mine for me.   

That's asstastically awesome! 

It is kinda fun in a 20th Century Mame kinda way but it needs put down.   

[Malenko]

so its going up for sale, wifes medical bills are teh suck.  More projects gonna get unloaded soon too. Worst part is I never bought player 3 or 4 harnesses and ran through the game with 4 people.

Here is some picture porn:

[MK3FAN]

Turned out great! Nice job.

[Cobolisdead]

Man, I hate that you have to get rid of it, but at least its for a good cause!

It certainly looks nice!

[astroone]

Man you did a fantastic job on that tmnt bummer about the medical bill's I can relate on how those are

[Malenko]

So Jammaboards finally decided to send me the Donatello and Raph harnesses. So here is some more picture porn:

All 4 toitles coined up:


Donnie and Raph posing for the camera:


an inside shot:


the bottom inside:


and the back of the CP with all 4 players wired up:

[bulbousbeard]

[Cobolisdead]

That looks great man!