New game owner. Looking for input/guidance on cabinet/MAME conversion.

[gedman]

I just got my first game and I plan to convert it to a MAME arcade, and I'm looking for input from the Arcade Controls community.

My new game
I got Midway's golf game Skins Game in nearly mint condition, original (not a conversion kit), 25" Wells Gardner K7401 monitor (horizontal mount) with zero burn. The game was made in 1999 or 2000. The cabinet for this game is identical to Mortal Kombat (aside from control panel layout).

What I plan to do with it
I bought this game with the intention of making it into a MAME machine, so I can enjoy playing dozens 1980s games with my kids. I envision converting the game to MAME using a Windows PC, J-Pac, ArcadeVGA video card (or maybe Soft 15KHz), and building my own control panel with 2 joysticks, 6 buttons per player, and a trackball. (Yeah, I know J-Pac doesn't support trackball; I'm sure there's a solution to that but I haven't looked into it yet.) I envision replacing the existing marquee and side art with a custom marquee and some generic side-art.

Questions
1) What does the Arcade Controls community think of my plan?  What considerations should I be thinking about that I may be overlooking?

2) For the new side art, I'm thinking of painting the existing sides a solid color and then applying a handful of generic side art "pieces" (logos or characters from various classic games). Should I attempt to remove the current side art and then paint the particle-board directly, or paint over the existing side art?  (Since particle-board isn't perfectly smooth and my new side art "pieces" won't cover the entire surface, maybe the outcome won't look/feel right?)

Thanks!

Gedman

[NIVO]

well the purist in me says this(based on your statement): if it is in near mint condition i wouldnt hack it up or change it. However, if space permits, and you love the cab design, I'd copy every dimension be it tracing it out or writing it down. I'd then make an exact replica and finish/alter it the way you see fit to your liking. Another route could be to sell the contents of the cab(all its guts) to someone looking to restore a cabinet of the same. Use the $$$ to fund your project further with the cabinet itself.

[gedman]

I had the same "purist" feelings, but this isn't a popular game - so I don't feel bad about my decision. (I do intend to sell the PCM board, marquee control panel and some special harness wiring to anyone looking to do a conversion.)

My first step is to refinish the exterior of the cabinet. Once that's done, I can bring the game inside and do work on creating the new control panel, MAME, etc.

What is the best way to paint the exterior of the cabinet? Should I try to remove the existing side art first and the paint the particle-board, or should I paint over the art?

[paigeoliver]

I had the same "purist" feelings, but this isn't a popular game - so I don't feel bad about my decision. (I do intend to sell the PCM board, marquee control panel and some special harness wiring to anyone looking to do a conversion.)

My first step is to refinish the exterior of the cabinet. Once that's done, I can bring the game inside and do work on creating the new control panel, MAME, etc.

What is the best way to paint the exterior of the cabinet? Should I try to remove the existing side art first and the paint the particle-board, or should I paint over the art?

The collector community is much like the console collector community, they just don't care about most sports titles unless they are gimmicky in some way. The only Golf titles worth saving are last version of each generation of the Golden Tee hardware, VS. Golf and Sente Mini Golf (some people claim to love Birdie King, but those people never show up when you go to sell one). Basically, you made a good choice of donor cabinet. I would actually save the original parts inside the cabinet, they aren't worth much now and would add more value to your cabinet (and all the parts to turn in back are inside) down the road then it would bring you now.