TobiKomi Scratch Build - -7/20/2021 - 100% Complete

[wp34]

My daughter's favorite movie is Wreck-it-Ralph and her favorite game is Donkey Kong.  So you can see where I am headed with this. 

We have been planning a build for several years and have finally made some sawdust fly today.

The goals: 

- Make the cabinet look like new.  Neither of us care for the fake "lived in" look of the Disney built cabinets
- Use an original Donkey Kong joystick
- Use an arcade monitor
- Don't get carried away trying to replicate a Nintendo cabinet perfectly
- Get the cabinet built at a significantly faster rate than my previous efforts   

[wp34]

Save it for later.   

[wp34]

I picked up a beat-up Nintendo Unisystem off CL a couple of years ago with the idea that I would use it as a template for this project.  My play was to sell the game for what I paid for it after this project was completed but now I'm thinking about restoring it as well.  But that is another story.



Making copies...


The corners on this cabinet are really mangled making it near impossible to make a good template.  I ended up squaring off the bad corners with the intent of "manually" making the rounded corners after the fact.

[wp34]

A year or so ago I made a trace of the front corner of a DK cabinet that was at our local auction.



Turns out the PVC template I used for my Tron build is an perfect-enough match for the radius.

[wp34]

Template done.

[wp34]

Had a very odd thing happen today when I was cutting the sides.  The bearing came apart on my pattern bit while I was copying the 2nd side.





Fortunately I was almost done cutting when this happened.  Unfortunately it mangled not only the side I was cutting but the original as well.  It is the lower back side so it should be easy enough to fix with bondo.

[leapinlew]

MAJOR BUMMER!

At least it didn't fly off and hurt someone. Everytime I'm trace routing something it's at the family jewels level...

Good work. You ever think when you're building and spending all the time to get the radius of the corner right, "no one is going to notice all this hard work". lol

[wp34]

You ever think when you're building and spending all the time to get the radius of the corner right, "no one is going to notice all this hard work". lol

The first thing my daughter said when I showed her the messed up corners was "I'll never notice that".   

[yotsuya]

You ever think when you're building and spending all the time to get the radius of the corner right, "no one is going to notice all this hard work". lol

The first thing my daughter said when I showed her the messed up corners was "I'll never notice that".   

Good for her. She can throw a fit when all the interior wiring doesn't match colors.

[ChanceKJ]

Awsome! 

I've added this to the Nintendo build thread.

[DeLuSioNal29]

Subscribed!  It's the year of Nintendo and I'm really falling in love with these cabs!

D

[talkgeek]

Awsome! 

I've added this to the Nintendo build thread.

+1   

[jdbailey1206]

Yah the bit blowing up on you sucks ass WP.  Had it happen to me.  Wood filler and everything should be good.  Love your progress.  Glad to see you are building one.   

[wp34]

Yah the bit blowing up on you sucks ass WP.  Had it happen to me.  Wood filler and everything should be good.  Love your progress.  Glad to see you are building one.   

Thanks JD.  I was able to repair the damage but it still torqued me off when that bit flamed out.   

[wp34]

My CP overlay turned out to be slightly smaller than the CP.  I'm trying to decide if this will be an issue or if I should just leave it that way.  I bought my artwork from RidicRick a while ago and didn't notice it was smaller until now.




What do you think?

[leapinlew]

Not worth the work. The original Donkey Kong machine has the plexi just bolted to the wood. Doubt anyone would notice the extra work.

[wp34]

Thanks Lew.  My concern is more for the protection of the plexiglass. I'm wondering if it would last better if the edges were protected.

[ChanceKJ]

.

[leapinlew]

I did notice today that the CP plexi is smaller than the control panel.  For some reason I thought that with DK's the CPO was the same size as the CP

I remember being surprised too! I've done 2 DK's and I took some freedoms with my last one (red ball top joystick and red button). The most brittle area on mine seemed to be the speaker grill and some chipping there. The bases seem to always be trashed for some reason too.

Like Chance said, I'm sure the first person that tries to put their cigarette on the CP will get a thwack on the back of the head.

[wp34]

I did notice today that the CP plexi is smaller than the control panel.  For some reason I thought that with DK's the CPO was the same size as the CP

I remember being surprised too! I've done 2 DK's and I took some freedoms with my last one (red ball top joystick and red button). The most brittle area on mine seemed to be the speaker grill and some chipping there. The bases seem to always be trashed for some reason too.

Like Chance said, I'm sure the first person that tries to put their cigarette on the CP will get a thwack on the back of the head.

The bases do seem to get thrashed pretty good.  I'm kicking around not even building a base for this one and putting casters on it.  The cabinet is for my daughter and even though she is years away from moving out I'm trying to build it such that she can move it around easily and also doesn't have to worry too much about maintenance. 

[ChanceKJ]

.

[wp34]

HERESY!!!

Ha ha!  I know, I know.

[ChanceKJ]

.

[wp34]

Finally got the main carcass together and standing upright today.  She is about 1" shorter than my Nintendo cabinet at this point as I haven't built a base yet and have casters installed.  My daughter is lobbying for me to leave it this way because she likes the cabinet shorter.  I'm likely going to build a base and raise the height though.  Someday she wants her own DK cabinet and I told her it would look funny if the two cabinets were side-by-side.   



Here is a picture with the speaker grill from my Nintendo cabinet.  I was just curious what it would look like.


I spent a little time practicing with the router today as I need to make the speaker grill next.  Routing 3/4" birch is not proving to be as easy as routing 3/4" MDF.  When I first plunge the bit I get a little blade creep.  The cut itself is straight but it is almost like the router is having trouble plunging through the wood initially.

[jdbailey1206]

Yikes...  I don't even know where that came from!?

her·e·sy
ˈherəsē/Submit
noun
noun: heresy; plural noun: heresies
belief or opinion contrary to orthodox religious (especially Christian) doctrine.
"Huss was burned for heresy"
synonyms:   dissension, dissent, nonconformity, heterodoxy, unorthodoxy, apostasy, blasphemy, freethinking; More
opinion profoundly at odds with what is generally accepted.
"cutting capital gains taxes is heresy"
Origin

Middle English: from Old French heresie, based on Latin haeresis, from Greek hairesis ‘choice’ (in ecclesiastical Greek ‘heretical sect’), from haireisthai ‘choose.’

Thats where heresy comes from yo.

When I first plunge the bit I get a little blade creep.  The cut itself is straight but it is almost like the router is having trouble plunging through the wood initially.

Dont worry.  Mine did it too.  You probably notice it more on the birch since it is denser than MDF.  You put anything traveling 5400 rpms into something its going to tweak.  Thats just Physics mah friend.  I used a file and some patience and it was all good.

[wp34]

Thanks JD.   That is likely what is happening.

I did notice that the grill I'm copying isn't perfect either having been made in the days before CNC.

[johnrt]

I spent a little time practicing with the router today as I need to make the speaker grill next.  Routing 3/4" birch is not proving to be as easy as routing 3/4" MDF.  When I first plunge the bit I get a little blade creep.  The cut itself is straight but it is almost like the router is having trouble plunging through the wood initially.

Take a look here:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,147025.msg1542564.html#msg1542564

[wp34]

Thanks for posting that John.  I wish I would have seen it this morning.  I've been working on mine most of the day.  What I ended up doing was drilling a pilot hole for each vent using a bit which is the same size (5/16") as my router bit.  Then I used that hole to line up my router/edge guide.  I fired up the router with the bit already plunged into the pre-drilled hole.  This eliminated the issue of "startup creep" and also made lining up the edge guide a breeze.





Here it is sitting on top of the original.  It is an almost perfect match. 



The router did creep a little to the side on one of the vents (4th from the bottom).  I'm going to try and patch that with some bondo.  If I can't make it look good I'll try again but this time I may use John's method.

[johnrt]

Also, remember to screw a scrap piece of wood on the back side. Check this:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,142992.msg1494987.html#msg1494987

[jdbailey1206]

I did the pilot holes also with mine WP.  It helps.  Once she sanded and painted you probably wont even notice.

[wp34]

JD - you are correct it looks a lot better with paint on it.  I'm still not sure if I'm 100% happy with it. It needs a little more filing.  Also I found a scrap piece of 3/4 MDF and may try cutting one more before I move on.




Tonight I also installed the marquee shelf.

The vents are in a tight spot so I decided to hit the area with a little black paint and then installed them before I installed the shelf rather than after I was done painting the cabinet.







It looks like I may run out of good weather before I'm ready to paint.  My plan was to try oil-based paint (at least for the black) but I may have to move the cabinet in the basement and use latex depending on the weather next week.

[wp34]

I need some help pulling my head out of ---my bottom---.  I'm up against the clock and have spent the afternoon trying to get this monitor to fit.  Do I need a vertical mounting bracket? I've tried moving the monitor down and a little closer but then it gets hard to see through the bezel.

[johnrt]

Really? The monitor doesn't fit? Have you got a picture from the front?

[ChanceKJ]

.

[ChanceKJ]

.

[DeLuSioNal29]

Get rid of the metal case and it will fit.

Take some 1x2 pieces of wood and mount them to the inside of the cab.  Make sure to drill pilot holes first so they don't crack in half.  Then take the advice outlined in this the thread below to mount 4 brackets to the 1x2 pieces you just made.  Again, drill pilot holes so the screws do not crack the wood in half.  The chassis can then be mounted on that shelf you have there.  I did something similar with my 27" monitor to make it fit in my cabinet:


The bracket method:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,147025.msg1530314.html#msg1530314

D

[wp34]

Chance - I very much appreciate you taking the time to confirm this for me.  My family was pretty impressed that some dude in Canada would confirm my mistake at 3am.       Seriously thank you very much.

Delusional - Thanks for that tip.  I'll look into it but may not have time to implement it initially as I have to get the cabinet in the basement ready for paint today and have all my sawdust making tools put away for the winter.

Nothing like waiting until the last minute.   

[wp34]

John - Here is a picture from the front.  This is from my second attempt to move the monitor close to the front and a little lower.  This attempt did not get the frame in the cabinet and made it harder to see the monitor over the lower bezel bracket.

[ChanceKJ]

.

[wp34]

Yeah it is a brand new monitor.  It is supposed to go in my scratch build Multi-Williams eventually.  For that reason I really don't want to screw with the frame. 

I'm not sure I want to "waste" such a nice monitor on this cabinet though.   

[ChanceKJ]

.

[wp34]

I'd love to but that monitor is a mess. Needs a cap kit and has horrible burn in.  If I end up restoring that cabinet I'll need to do something with it.

[ChanceKJ]

.

[ChanceKJ]

.

[wp34]

Think you could retrofit that 20EZ frame onto your new tube and Chassis?

That might be a good idea.  It will depend on what I end up doing with the RBI baseball.  Right now I'm trying to leave it playable in case I decide to just sell it.

Here is the monitor that is going in my Q*Bert.  I'd like to find a frame like it for this build.

[ChanceKJ]

.

[wp34]

I'm going to put an LCD in it for now.  This way I can finish the cabinet and look for better options in the spring.  Worst case I think my father-in-law can weld me a smaller frame.  I've also got another burn-free monitor that needs a cap kit that might be a better option that this NOS one.

I played around with HLSL settings in Mame a little today but didn't care for what I saw.  Granted I didn't spend a ton of time tweaking the settings.  Using CraftyMech's scan line generator seemed to be a better option.  My daughter gave her seal of approval after seeing the SLG in action.  She was kind of amazed that someone would make such a thing.  To help her decide I set up the LCD next to my dedicated Galaga so she could compare the two.  The Galaga of course looked much better but the LCD will do for now.

[DeLuSioNal29]

Good call on the SLG. That thing is great!

[ChanceKJ]

.

[wp34]

Thanks guys.  The SLG really is an amazing little piece of hardware.  My daughter's reaction to it was priceless.

[vwalbridge]

Hey wp34, couple questions:

1. What make/model SLG are you using?

2. What resolution are you running the SLG in? 640x480 or 1024x768   (I think 640x480 is preferred right?)

3. Could I bother you for a picture of the LCD screen with the SLG running? Curious how it looks.

[wp34]

Hey wp34, couple questions:

1. What make/model SLG are you using?

2. What resolution are you running the SLG in? 640x480 or 1024x768   (I think 640x480 is preferred right?)

3. Could I bother you for a picture of the LCD screen with the SLG running? Curious how it looks.

I'm using the Mini SLG.  I'm running it in 1024x768.  With my current driver I can't get down to 640 so I haven't tried that yet.

I had some trouble getting clear pictures but here are the best of the lot.

Before


After

[vwalbridge]

Thanks for the info. The SLG looks very nice. 

[wp34]

Several of my cabinets have casters and I find it really convenient.   Even though this is not "standard" on a Nintendo cabinet I am giving them a try. 







I was worried the front casters would be too close together and make the cabinet unstable.  So far (on even concrete) they work great.  We shall see how it works on carpet.

[wp34]

If you don't already have a T-bevel I highly recommend picking one up.  They are so choice.  I used one to copy all of the odd angles on a Nintendo cabinet. 



You can copy an angle by laying it against the board you are copying.


Then use the T-bevel to set the angle on your saw. 


I used it to help make the cuts on all of these odd ball piece as well as the marquee area.

[harveybirdman]

Very nice! I got's to get me one of those.

Looking forward to seeing this one alive and kicking!

[johnrt]

I didn't know that the control panel part could be detached like that. Nice work btw! 

[wp34]

Thanks guys.  I made a lot of progress this week but am behind posting.

I didn't know that the control panel part could be detached like that. Nice work btw! 

I didn't know it either until I started messing around with my cabinet.  My original plan was to try and use a spiral flush trim routing bit to copy the speaker grill but that attempt failed miserably.

[wp34]

The back door is done.  I really don't care too much for the original Nintendo door so I improvised.  It is just a square piece of 3/4 plywood with no rabbit joints.  For the vents I just used the same pattern I used for the top of the cabinet.



It fits a touch too snugly so I may trim it a blade length.  Once there is paint on it I'm afraid it will not fit.

[johnrt]

Thanks guys.  I made a lot of progress this week but am behind posting.

I didn't know that the control panel part could be detached like that. Nice work btw! 

I didn't know it either until I started messing around with my cabinet.  My original plan was to try and use a spiral flush trim routing bit to copy the speaker grill but that attempt failed miserably.

I wish I knew this. I have glued everything in that area!

[johnrt]

The back door is done.  I really don't care too much for the original Nintendo door so I improvised.  It is just a square piece of 3/4 plywood with no rabbit joints.  For the vents I just used the same pattern I used for the top of the cabinet.

I totally agree. And it's on the back. There's not a soul on this planet who could care less about that back door.... maybe except for Chance... 

[wp34]

The back door is done.  I really don't care too much for the original Nintendo door so I improvised.  It is just a square piece of 3/4 plywood with no rabbit joints.  For the vents I just used the same pattern I used for the top of the cabinet.

I totally agree. And it's on the back. There's not a soul on this planet who could care less about that back door.... maybe except for Chance... 

Ha Ha!  True dat.

[wp34]

Since I'd like to put an arcade monitor in here eventually I decided to build a "frame" for the LCD and use the same monitor shelf I plan to use for the CRT.  That should hopefully make it easier to swap out in the future.

Similar to what I did on my Pac Man build I used the case to drill out the vesa-mount holes.


Using the Kreg jig it was pretty simple to throw together quickly.






I put a little lip on the front so it can rest at the top of the shelf. 

[ChanceKJ]

.

[wp34]

nice monitor mount! Brilliant.

I loves my T-bevel. Best tool I own.

Thanks Chance.   

[wp34]

I found a 2x4 sheet of I-dunno-what at Menards for $10.  It looks like wood paneling on one side and a nice satiny black on the other.  Seems like a great option for a bezel.

Since I'm using the same type of monitor I used for my Pac Man cocktail I used the template from that project to route the opening. 





My daughter touched up the inside edge with a black paint pen.






For $10 I'm happy with it.

[wp34]

Felix is in the house!  There is nothing more exciting in this hobby than getting a new cabinet into the basement. 



Now on to the paint. 

[wp34]

Since zinger found laminate that matches the DK blue we decided to go that direction instead of painting. 

So that means pulling the cabinet back out of the basement.  A great side benefit is that I can now spray the black trim which is not something I was going to try in my basement.

Using a Kreg jig meant I could partially disassemble the cabinet to remove the front panel.  I could have applied the laminate with it still installed but it will go much easier this way. 



I did have to remove part of the bottom skirting to get at the Kreg screws but that's okay.


The coin mechs have been sand blasted and painted.  They may get replaced with new ones if I don't like the results.


The inside of the back door has been painted black.  It isn't perfect but it is the inside of the back door so it will be fine.  Also Nintendo back doors aren't all that nice looking anyway.

[vwalbridge]

Also Nintendo back doors aren't all that nice looking anyway.

Aint that that truth man. Never seen a very clean looking Nintendo door.

Looking real nice. Enjoying your progress. 

[wp34]

Thanks vwalbridge.  I considered laminating the door briefly before I came to my senses.

Also Nintendo back doors aren't all that nice looking anyway.

Aint that that truth man. Never seen a very clean looking Nintendo door.

Looking real nice. Enjoying your progress. 

[zinger]

Awesome, I'm excited to see this! Do you already have the laminate or have you ordered it yet?

I may steal your LCD mount design. I'm interested in a Sanyo 20EZ if I could find one cheap enough. So will use an LCD for now and then switch later if I can find one.

[wp34]

Awesome, I'm excited to see this! Do you already have the laminate or have you ordered it yet?

I may steal your LCD mount design. I'm interested in a Sanyo 20EZ if I could find one cheap enough. So will use an LCD for now and then switch later if I can find one.

I ordered them yesterday but they were down to one sheet so shipping will be delayed a week.  I wonder who cleaned them out? 

[zinger]

Awesome, I'm excited to see this! Do you already have the laminate or have you ordered it yet?

I may steal your LCD mount design. I'm interested in a Sanyo 20EZ if I could find one cheap enough. So will use an LCD for now and then switch later if I can find one.

I ordered them yesterday but they were down to one sheet so shipping will be delayed a week.  I wonder who cleaned them out? 

Hmmm... I recall they told me they had around 10 in their warehouse.

I read through this build and its really good! I definitely need to buy a T-bevel. I used trig to figure out the angles and it didn't come out to a clean number. My answer was between 14-15 degrees. I chose 15 and found that it was actually closer to 14 but you can't really tell the difference.

[wp34]

Thanks zinger.  The cuts on your build turned out great the way you did them.  I like that you used multiple passes instead of a dado.  I've got a dado stack but for tricky cuts like that lower bezel/cp bracket I feel like multiple passes gives me more control.

[zinger]

I almost bought a dado stack just for that cut but decided it was too expensive. My original budget was $500 and was trying to save money. I was naive then.

[wp34]

I was able to get the inside and top primed over the weekend but it has either been windy or rainy since then---when I've had time to paint anyway.   Hopefully I can get a couple of coats of black sprayed tonight.

[bplail]

which kreg jig do you have? ive been looking for an excuse to buy one for ages! wish i did my build with pocket holes now. would have made life alot easier.
build is coming along nicely though!

[wp34]

I have the Kreg K4.  The K5 had just come out when I bought mine and I decided on the K4 after reading some mixed reviews for the K5.  YMMV though.

I'm real happy with the K4 and have used it on several projects.  Since the K4 doesn't have the "wings" of the K5 I use Bench Dog "cookies" to support my workpiece. 

[wp34]

The black might be done.  I was painting until dark tonight and will know for sure tomorrow when I can check in the light.  Since the sides will be laminated I'm not bothering with taping anything off except the marquee area.  I'm going to leave that white.





And here are some ducks that came to help.

[vwalbridge]

This build is looking ducking good man! 

EDIT:

It's a sign...you need to make it a duck hunt machine.

[tomstewdevine]

Quack... I mean nice work man, I like the casters.

[wp34]

This build is looking ducking good man! 

EDIT:

It's a sign...you need to make it a duck hunt machine.

That actually would be hilarious.  We have ducks at our house all the time.   

Quack... I mean nice work man, I like the casters.

Thanks!

[zinger]

Nice! Where you spinning around in circles when spraying? Not sure how you got a circular ring on the plastic.

So what's the plan for the laminate? Next weekend?

[wp34]

My daughter made the circle painting a hovercraft she and a friend are making for a physics final.

The laminate depends on the weather. I'd like to at least get the coin door area laminated by Wednesday. We shall see.

[wp34]

The laminate came in on Tuesday but I ended up needing to touch up the black on the top of the cabinet and didn't get to work on the laminate until last night.



I forgot how much fun it is to laminate.


Since I had already drilled the coin door holes in the wood I carefully drilled through the back of the laminate.   There is a backer board under the laminate and I used a smaller bit to start the hole and a larger bit to finish it.  I'm not sure the two bits were needed but I was trying to avoid splits.





I can never resist seeing how the coin door will look.




There was enough time to laminate the grill area but not enough to flush trim it.  I let the piece sit over night and will route it today after work.

[wp34]

Mixed results on the grill tonight. 

My 3/8" flush trim bit would not fit in between the grill so I had to use my 1/8" spiral trim bit.  It is an upward bit and I was concerned this would lift the laminate off the wood.  Adding a sacrificial board on the top should alleviate this concern. 

I pre-drilled between each grill a hole big enough for my bit to fit in.






I'm not super happy with how this turned out.  Trimming the laminate actually went quite well but the original grill I routed wasn't perfect and the laminating process highlights some of these imperfections. 





Since the grill comes off pretty easily I may redo it at some point using Johnrt's method.  Right now I'm going to focus on getting the cabinet done.

[zinger]

Bummer about the speaker grill! I think you should redo that once you get your energy back up for it. You'll feel better about it and you have plenty of laminate left over too.

I'm routing my speaker grill out this weekend with the laminate already on it. I'm probably going to have similar results. I'm building a rather intricate jig with different size spacers to try and get it right the first time. We'll see! Otherwise, I have enough wood and laminate to redo it like 3-4 times.

[wp34]

Bummer about the speaker grill! I think you should redo that once you get your energy back up for it. You'll feel better about it and you have plenty of laminate left over too.

I'm routing my speaker grill out this weekend with the laminate already on it. I'm probably going to have similar results. I'm building a rather intricate jig with different size spacers to try and get it right the first time. We'll see! Otherwise, I have enough wood and laminate to redo it like 3-4 times.

Cool.  Post some pics when you are done.  I'd like to see how it goes.

Right now I'm trying to get the cabinet done before my daughter's graduation party next weekend.  When I start working on my Pac Man cocktail this summer I'll redo the grill. 

[wp34]

Here are some shots of laminating the sides. 

I kept the template I made in case I wanted to do another Nintendo cabinet later.  It also made cutting the laminate much easier.  Zinger mentioned he only needed two pieces which surprised me at first.  But you can see here there is plenty of laminate left over.



I can never get all the air bubbles out just using a j-roller so I like to let the laminate rest under some weight for a couple of hours before I route.  First I placed a piece of plywood down and then found anything heavy in the garage to put on top.  No kitchen sink but I would have used one if there were.



My daughter helped me with the second side and suggested we use boxes of tile we have for a kitchen project I haven't gotten to yet.  This worked fantastically.







Here she is in the house waiting for assembly.  A while ago I picked up some repro Nintendo flat t-molding from Chomping Quarters.  This stuff is really great and I highly recommend it.

[wp34]

I decided to redo the computer for this and use Windows 7 with AttractMode.  I'm running into some issues wiring up a button to start the computer and would like some advice.

There is a detachable PCB that is connected to the motherboard with a ribbon cable.  The PCB controls the power and front USB/Sound inputs.  The CPU temp cable also plugs into it.

I can get the computer to start up by jumpering the two posts I circled.



Here is a shot of the other side of the PCB.  The black button in the middle is the power button and correlates to the posts on opposite side.


I made a stab at soldering some wires to the posts I circled last night without much luck.  Any suggestions on how I should wire this power button?

[Le Chuck]

desolder the switch and stick the wires through the holes and solder as usual. 

BTW, just seeing this for the first time.  Looking good my man

[wp34]

Thanks Le Chuck.  The "solder as usual" part is new to me.  Do I need to insert another pin or can I just stick the wire through the hole and solder it?

desolder the switch and stick the wires through the holes and solder as usual. 

BTW, just seeing this for the first time.  Looking good my man

[yotsuya]

Stick them through,  then solder.

[wp34]

Stick them through,  then solder.

Thanks.   

[wp34]

You guys are as good as your word.  Thanks Yots and Le Chuck.   

It doesn't look pretty but it worked the first time.

[wp34]

My daughter's favorite movie is Wreck-it-Ralph and her favorite game is Donkey Kong.  So you can see where I am headed with this. 

We have been planning a build for several years and have finally made some sawdust fly today.

The goals: 

- Make the cabinet look like new.  Neither of us care for the fake "lived in" look of the Disney built cabinets
- Use an original Donkey Kong joystick
- Use an arcade monitor
- Don't get carried away trying to replicate a Nintendo cabinet perfectly
- Get the cabinet built at a significantly faster rate than my previous efforts   

[jdbailey1206]

Stay away from the forums for a couple of months and wp34 sneaks a Fix It Felix build under my nose.  Nice build!

[wp34]

Thanks JD.  I appreciate it.  Hoping to get her finished here in the next few weeks now that the weather is starting to improve.

[Wyo]

I've been watching this thread for 2 years.  looks great so far! When do you think the other 14.4% will get finished? Or is it done? 

Edit: Duh, you just answered my question. Haha

[wp34]

I've been watching this thread for 2 years.  looks great so far! When do you think the other 14.4% will get finished? Or is it done? 

Edit: Duh, you just answered my question. Haha

I made the ago-old mistake of making it playable for my daughter's graduation party.  A partially finished playable cabinet is a bad thing.

Also had to build a deck and tile a kitchen before I would let myself work on any arcade projects.  Those are both basically done so...

[jdbailey1206]

Those are both basically done so...

So let us see your cabinet 100% finished!

[wp34]

So I decided to get this one finished.  The two issues I've had with it were the coin door and the front grill.  I've used Anycoins on several of my cabinets and really love them but just couldn't get the ones made for Nintendo coin mechs to work well. A couple of weeks ago while looking for parts for another build I saw that Arcadeshop had replacement coin mechs for $18 and I decided to bite the bullet and spend the money.

These are advertised as being adjustable for tokens but I had to file the openings slightly so that tokens would fit.


Once the opening would take tokens it was just a matter of adjusting this stop slightly.  Much easier than getting the Anycoin to work consistently.


I sold the Nintendo cabinet I was using to base FiF on so I had to build the coin box and holder from pictures and measurements I found online.  It isn't exact but I'm happy with it.








We glued a token from a favorite local barcade to the knob.  Nobody will see it but my daughter and I but we thought it was a fun touch.


I know it seems dumb but I am so excited to have this cabinet accepting tokens.  Our guests were forever confused by the shifted combination of buttons to add credits.  Next I'd like to find a method for exiting to the menu that is more straightforward than hitting Player 1 and Player 2 at the same time.   I really don't want to add another button to the control panel though.

The front grill did not come out as well as I would like.  Nobody notices but me but I'm going to fix it anyway once the weather is consistently warmer.

[javeryh]

Hey - great build.  I would have loved those mechs for $18 when I built mine!  I think I paid close to $100 for them.

For the admin stuff, I used the lip of the DK and added an Exit button to the far left and Coin and Pause to the far right.  You can’t see them at all (and the coin door still works).  The link is in my sig if you want to see some detailed pics.

[Arroyo]

Well done wp34, I didn’t even know this one still needed work.  What I’m most jealous of though is that your daughter is into it, enough that she asked you to build a cabinet.  Mine appear to be most interested in climbing them, and occasionally entertain dads enthusiasm with an obligatory game.

Nice work!

[wp34]

Hey - great build.  I would have loved those mechs for $18 when I built mine!  I think I paid close to $100 for them.

Thanks!  I don't recall seeing those mechs for sale when I started the build.  I spent quite a bit of time "refurbishing" the original mechs and even bought a few replacement parts.  It was with some reluctance that I gave up and bought these replacements. 

For the admin stuff, I used the lip of the DK and added an Exit button to the far left and Coin and Pause to the far right.  You can’t see them at all (and the coin door still works).  The link is in my sig if you want to see some detailed pics.

Actually I put my power button under the lip and I got stole the idea from your build.      

I have debated putting the exit button on the other side as you did but have wondered if my guests will find it easily.  Do you have issues with folks using your hidden admin buttons without assistance?

BTW - It sure was fun going reading through your build log.  Brought back a lot of great memories.

[wp34]

Well done wp34, I didn’t even know this one still needed work.  What I’m most jealous of though is that your daughter is into it, enough that she asked you to build a cabinet.  Mine appear to be most interested in climbing them, and occasionally entertain dads enthusiasm with an obligatory game.

Nice work!

Thanks Arroyo.  I feel pretty blessed that each of my family members has an interest in some part of the hobby.  My wife and two of my three kids each own a cabinet.  My daughter though is the most interested.  She will text me pictures of games she has played when her and her friends are out at a barcade.  The best part is when she complains that someone has put the wrong joystick in a cabinet.  She gets so disgusted I love it!

[javeryh]

Actually I put my power button under the lip and I got stole the idea from your build.      

I have debated putting the exit button on the other side as you did but have wondered if my guests will find it easily.  Do you have issues with folks using your hidden admin buttons without assistance?

BTW - It sure was fun going reading through your build log.  Brought back a lot of great memories.

Putting the power button there is a much better idea than where I put mine... on the back of the cabinet in the most out of reach place.  Need to fix that some day...

Guests usually "get it" after explaining once how credits and exiting back to the gamelist work.  I keep a bowl of quarters next to the cabinet and encourage guests to use that instead of the credit button, which helps too.  I isolated the exit button on purpose so it wouldn't be hit by mistake but for yours with the power under there too I'd be a little afraid of people turning it off accidentally.

I can't believe it's been 10+ years since I built that thing.  It still works great and I still don't play it enough.  The family likes it but only when I'm down there playing on it.  It is rare to come home from work and see one of the kids using it. 

About 6 years ago we went through a renovation so the cabinet was in storage and the temperature change caused one side of the t-molding to split and the side art to peel completely off.  I need to fix those things as well as relocating the power button one of these days.  Maybe I'll carve out a weekend this summer and freshen things up a bit.   

[meyer980]

Oh man, how did I miss this build as a fellow FiFJr. person myself!

What version of the game did you end up running (software)? The DragonKing edit on top of the disney leak? Or something different?

The cabinet looks great. I used those same coin mechs, they're a great deal.

[wp34]

I ran into focus issues using the leaked version, Howard's wrapper and AttractMode.  For now I'm using Sjaak's version but I haven't requested an unlock key for it.  I'm still hoping to get the focus issues figured out at some point.

Your Coleco build is pretty freaking amazing by the way.   

[wp34]

There were a few things left on this I was planning to do but my daughter got a place of her own and asked to have it.  I buttoned up a couple of little things and we delivered it yesterday.  Time to let it go.  She's already attacking my high scores which makes me happy.

[javeryh]

Freaking beautiful.  I love this and I really love that your daughter wanted it for herself.  I'd give up my DK in a second if my daughter wanted it in her place someday.   

[wp34]

Thanks Javeryh.  I'm going to miss the cabinet but am really happy she wanted it and will enjoy it.  Now I need to decide what to do with the newfound space.   

[meyer980]

Still a great looking machine. Congrats to your daughter on making space for the important things (dog and arcade) in her new place!

[wp34]

Still a great looking machine. Congrats to your daughter on making space for the important things (dog and arcade) in her new place!

Thanks!