Nintendo .Vs Unisystem Restore

[DeLuSioNal29]

Does it count that I got this a while back before the Nintendo cab craze took place this summer?     Seems like it's the "year of the Nintendo cabs".     (ChanceKJ, add me to the long list on the other topic).

So I've always wanted a Donkey Kong in my Arcade but if I were to do one it would have definitely have to be Radar Scope Red.  However, I came across a Nintendo cabinet (big thanks goes to forum user jmike for PM'ing me that it was in my NY area) with a 2 player .vs control Panel already installed.  So it got me thinking - Maybe I can build a .vs only cab with all of the games on it using MAME.  (Quick note:  A guy over at KLOV (nazerine) is working on "UniVersus" multi PCB where you can program the board and pop it into the .vs PCB.  I plan to get one, but for now I'm doing this on the cheap since I don't have any .vs hardware in this thing.)

Since I already had a .vs CP in hand:  I decided to go with a custom Nintendo .Vs with a Radar Scope Red finish.  The one I obtained was suffering from an identity crisis though:  It had a .vs CP, Super Mario marquee, a Popeye Bezel and it was painted red on the sides and blue in the front.  Ugh!


I think the original artwork for this cab is so boring, so I want to take it up a notch:
Original:


[Edit:  Still not sure about what artwork to use just yet...
[Reserved for new artwork pic]

To me, it looked like someone sold it to the people I picked it up from and quickly "flipped it" to a multicade.  The horror!  It had a 60 in 1 in it!


Apparently the previous owner told me that it was under water at one point and it never got fixed.  Luckily for me this is a plywood Nintendo cabinet and not particle board, so there was no swelling and the base of it is in great shape.  :-)

Here are a few pics of the cabinet once I got it home:




Unfortunately, the monitor is RUSTED.  Not sure if it will be OK, but I decided to clean it up by giving it a wash.  I also grabbed a cap kit from Ian Kellogg here:  https://iankellogg.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1&zenid=7d2crbvoks2a6ecu1re254ohk1  I recommend his kits they are labeled for easy installation:

If all else fails I will throw a PC CRT monitor in there for now.

Here are the pics of the monitor:





Here's a video of me cleaning it with Simple Green and a garden hose:


Coin door was painted (including coin mechs):   I'll need to order new hardware (only the parts showing) from Mike's Arcade


Paint:  I grabbed the same one recommended here by Buckethead for his Radar Scope Red DK restore.
Here's a pic of the color from Lowe's (I ended up using Valspar Signature paint with primer built in - I returned the one shown here because the idiot paint guy tainted the paint by putting an eggshell cover on my semi-gloss paint after mixing it).


I also picked up Floetrol as recommended here on the forums.  Never tried the stuff, but I'm curious:


That's it for now, I still need to take the paint off.  Not sure if I should use Citristrip or just sand it all off.

DeLuSioNaL29

[yotsuya]

Ha! Good luck, I made major strides today with Janky Kong that I will post later.

[jmike]

 
Glad you're working on it. Looking forward to your progress.

 

[wp34]

Looking forward to this one.  Our basements may start looking the same between Total Carnage and this one.  I've had a VS in my garage for a couple of years that needs restoring.  I was planning to sell it until that multi board was announced on KLOV.  Now it is a keeper.

I've even been looking at that exact same artwork although my plan (at the moment) is black laminate instead of red.

[DeLuSioNal29]

Black laminate IS tempting. Dang it wp34!

D

[wp34]

Red is cooler though. Having nice bright colorful cabinets is becoming more appealing to me.  Painting is just something I like to avoid.

[DeLuSioNal29]

I've painted so many cabs that I've got it down to a science.  It's not so bad with a foam roller and some patience:
Paint; let cure for a day; sand by hand with a 3M sanding sponge, use a tack cloth to clean up the surface.  Rinse and repeat about 3 times.  Looks great afterwards.  The hardest part for me is bondo and power sanding prep outside since you are limited by the weather.  Everything else can be done indoors with a plastic painting drop cloth since you are gently sanding by hand (don't use power tools!).

Since I've already purchased the Red, I'm going with it.  :-)  I hope to sand the cabinet down next week if the weather cooperates.  See what I mean?   

D

[vwalbridge]

If you have never used Floetrol before, here are some tips I have discovered:

1. Only use it when it's room temp or colder. Floetrol needs time to do it's job and it can't do it if the paint dries fast. The slower the paint dries, the better.
2. Paint on the surface when it is parallel to the ground. This will allow gravity to help you as well. In other words, only paint the sides of the cab if the cab is laying on its side. (I know this could be a PITA)
3. Load up the roller with paint. Floetrol seems to work best when the roller is loaded.


I'm anxious to see your results!

[DeLuSioNal29]

Good tips!  I've never used Floetrol before but I plan to with this build.  I think I'm going to only use it on the sides and front.  The rest should be fine without it.

D

[wp34]

Good painting tips here.  Thanks guys.   

[ChanceKJ]

Thread added to the list!

I'd say go next level with the paint.  Do a Radar Scope Red with a black splatter effect, then clear coat it. Or a Black with red splatters. 

A couple months ago I did some tests on a few formica swatches, each a different colour from different manufacturers, all matte (except one the purple ones is high gloss) with a Matte silver splatter method.

[ChanceKJ]

Oh, and save yourself some headaches, take that coin door, the marquee/bezel brackets, Speaker grill, and the control panel (with brackets) to a powder coating company. There has to be one close by you with a reasonable rate. Trust me on this, you WON'T regret it.

[DeLuSioNal29]

I'm not a fan of the splatter effect.  Plus I'd like to be able to quickly touch it up if it gets nicked here and there in the future.  Solid red it is!   

As for powdercoating.  That may be how I go about this.  I've never done it before since I've always had success at refinishing my doors.  We'll see.  This thing is getting over budget as it is.  LOL.

D

[vwalbridge]

This thing is getting over budget as it is.  LOL.

I heard that.

That's why I'm strictly documenting exactly what I'm spending on my DK restore. I'm saving every receipt. I want to make sure that all the money I put into it doesn't exceed the current value of the cab.

These restorations can get really out of hand if you are not paying attention.

[yotsuya]

I'm not a fan of the splatter effect.  Plus I'd like to be able to quickly touch it up if it gets nicked here and there in the future.  Solid red it is!   

As for powdercoating.  That may be how I go about this.  I've never done it before since I've always had success at refinishing my doors.  We'll see.  This thing is getting over budget as it is.  LOL.

D

Not a fan of the splatter, either. Good call.

[vwalbridge]

I'm not a fan of the splatter effect.  Plus I'd like to be able to quickly touch it up if it gets nicked here and there in the future.  Solid red it is!   

As for powdercoating.  That may be how I go about this.  I've never done it before since I've always had success at refinishing my doors.  We'll see.  This thing is getting over budget as it is.  LOL.

D

Not a fan of the splatter, either. Good call.

Chance must be trying to figure out how to merge paintballin' with arcadin'

...but nobody is bitin'

[ChanceKJ]

haha!, you know, i never even had that thought.

Back in July, i had to distress a bunch of large picture frames for my aunt and her photo booth she set up during our big family reunion. and i came across the splatter by accident with the silver rattle can i was using, thought it would look cool across a cab so i went and picked up the swatches. It would be hard not to screw it up big time though.

[DeLuSioNal29]

Update:  I prepped the cab last week.  Got rid of all that mold and the crappy paint job.  (And documented it in my Youtube channel of course) 



Now I just need to move it to the basement for painting.

D

[vwalbridge]

Great video DeL. Man, you sanded a Sahara desert worth of dust off that cab!

I'll be doing the same repair/sanding on my DK soon so this video was timely.

I noticed you mentioned mold several times. This must be a problem on the east coast? Of course, I'm in Denver where it is dryer than a popcorn fart so I have never thought about it.

[DeLuSioNal29]

Not sure if it was mold exactly.  It's usually black, not white.  It may have been salt water deposits.  According to the person I got the cab from: Hurrican Sandy put it under water in the basement.  But better safe than sorry though!

I'm just thankful that it was a plywood cab.  No swelling and it's in great shape.   

D

[DeLuSioNal29]

Quick update:  I bought a Nintendo versus board from a buddy at KLOV.   

I'm not sure if I am going to use the original wiring harnes (rusted) or if I should get a new one.  Or rebuild one from scratch?   

Alternatively, I was thinking of maybe grabbing a Nintendo versus to JAMMA adapter.  That way I can pop in vertical JAMMA boards such as Arcade SD or the new JROK ZooQ board for Zookeeper.  :-)

For JAMMA adapters, I found two:
1)  Mike's Arcade ($85) - https://www.mikesarcade.com/cgi-bin/store.pl?sku=VS2JAMMA
2)  Cambridge Arcade Repair ($75) http://cambridgearcade.dyndns.org/?q=node/38

Ideally, I'd like the Cambridge adapter since you can utilize both sides of the board by holding P2 A + B + P1 Start.  That would be ideal until I get the Universus board (add on board which plays all games + NES).  But I hear that it's hard to reach the guy there (if at all).

What do you guys think?

DeL

[DeLuSioNal29]

Ended up going with Mike's Arcade JAMMA adapter.  I could have fabbed my own wiring harness and such, but that would have taken forever.  Plus I want to be able to pop in a JAMMA board every now and then for testing if I want to.

I ordered it today, along with the coin decal for the front.  I'm holding off on ordering the NOS coin mech plates for now.  I want to see how the existing ones clean up with Citristrip first.  One thing I need to mention, I called the guys at Mike's Arcade and they were super.  He tossed in some samples of white T-molding (various sizes) since I wasn't sure what size I needed for my plywood cabinet.  Free of charge.  Great customer service.  I'll be returning as a customer for sure.

As for the finish, I did do some additional research on red laminate based on VWbus' laminate topic, but I decided to go with the color matched red paint that I already had first.  If the results aren't what I want I will go the laminate route.  The extra money saved can go towards parts and artwork.

Stay tuned!

DeL

[wp34]

I missed your original post but for what it is worth I would have gone with Mike's as well.  I'd like to see pics of your coin mechs when you are done. I sandblasted and painted mine and I'm not 100% happy with the results.

[DeLuSioNal29]

I'm THINKING about powder coating them locally but not sure yet. Depends on price.

[DeLuSioNal29]

Boom!  My .vs board and Multi-VS add-on card have arrived!



DeL