My first real Cab pick up, Nintendo DK restore.

[Locke141]

I ran across an add for a Street fighter 2 cab. After talking to the guy he wanted $250. I said ok and mad my way over, very excited for my first real cab. When I got there it seems to be a converted Nintendo cab. Is it? ether way I'm super happy.



Here is the in side.

[yotsuya]

Yeah, it is.

[dmckean]

Are you going to convert it back?

[Locke141]

Are you going to convert it back?

This was going to be a quick and ez first step into a beat up old cab into a Mame conversation BYOAC stile but now I feel obligated to restore. Any one know the pain code is for the blue and where I should look for DK art at a reasonable price?

When I thought it was a Street fighter I was going to clean it up and donate it to my Dad’s Elks lodge. If I can do this on a budget I’ll restore the out side and mame the inside to a short list of 4 way vertical games with only one button. Untill I can find a DK PCB in my price range.

[dmckean]

Start here:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=144583.0

[Nephasth]

It's just a Nintendo cab... Mame that ---smurfette---!

[Howard_Casto]

To fix it up you are essentially going to have to buy everything but the monitor and coin door, so you might want to have some fun with it instead of a full restore.  I'm normally not a fan of custom cabs for console games, especially lengthy ones, but these did turn out really nice:

https://www.retroist.com/2018/08/21/custom-built-ducktales-arcade-cabinet/

[Locke141]

Yea I’m a big fan of those. 

I need look around and see what’s what. My thinking as of now is to paint spend the time and money to do a good job paint it blue and getting qulity side art. I can do qulity non original button and joysticks from Grovey Game Gear and get it in the short turn get it play able and on its way to a nice restore.

If BYOAC has thought me any thing taking your time to go it right is key. I can peace together the bezel, CP, and marquee after it’s relayed out, painted, tmolded, and MAME is running.

Or I could stick an XXX-in one board in there untill next summer and tackle a full restor then. That way I can accumulate everything I need for a near full restore.

Ether way I want to get the SF3 board working be for I do anything.

[Buick455]

Try stripping the black paint first, DON'T start sanding it yet!! CitriStrip is amazing.

I cant believe there was more then one Ninty converted to SFII but I had almost the same mess as you, and I made it worse then it needed to be.



The sides of Ninty cabs (maybe not all) seem to be painted with more of a GelCoat (like a boat) then a paint. If I had realized this before I started sanding I could have just stripped the black off and been done (with minor dings, dents and age). I use to work at a boat shop and the second the sander heated up that blue I could smell it, by then it was too late to turn back.

[Locke141]

Try stripping the black paint first, DON'T start sanding it yet!! CitriStrip is amazing.

I cant believe there was more then one Ninty converted to SFII but I had almost the same mess as you, and I made it worse then it needed to be.



The sides of Ninty cabs (maybe not all) seem to be painted with more of a GelCoat (like a boat) then a paint. If I had realized this before I started sanding I could have just stripped the black off and been done (with minor dings, dents and age). I use to work at a boat shop and the second the sander heated up that blue I could smell it, by then it was too late to turn back.

Will do. Please share the like to that project.

Thanks

[Buick455]

Will do. Please share the like to that project.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,142495.0.html

Idk if I would call mine a project, more like a series of regrets. It was a mess. Plan was gut it, clean it, MAME it, paint it & call it a day. It stalled out when I decided I want the CRT back in, I just don't know where to start since the wiring was toast and the monitor didn't look right when I got it. That is a "HELP ME" post for the future, lol.

[yotsuya]

I’m just going to say Nintendo cabs look bad themed anything besides Nintendo properties. Maybe it’s an illusion, but that’s food for thought.

[Locke141]

I’m just going to say Nintendo cabs look bad themed anything besides Nintendo properties. Maybe it’s an illusion, but that’s food for thought.

Agreed, this on the out side going to be using original repo art/theme. But at least at as of now it will be MAME to play at least the other Nintendo arcade game of the time that fit the layout.

I’m picking it up from the guy on Saturday (needed a bigger car). Is there a way of tell what game it was originally? I thought I read that some cabinets were wider.

[Malenko]

easiest way is the plate on the back if its still on there

[Crowquill]

I'd say it's not worth restoring back to DK or whatever it was unless you are a big DK fan. Generally if you need Nintendo parts I'd check Mikesarcade.com since he specializes in Nintendo games. You can at least price out what you'd need that way. I'm not a huge fan of 60-in-1 boards, but if you can get SF2 running then it's already wired for JAMMA. Would be a simple swap with a 60-in-1 to get it going.

For me I'd want to ID what the cab was. I'm obsessive like that. Any chance the Nintendo serial number plate is on the top-middle on the back? I'd also loosen the coin door frame to see if you can see a color underneath. Might also be unpainted under the SF2 overlay on the front. Barring that I'd try CitriStrip or SafeStrip on a bottom-back corner where it'd be less noticeable.

Here's a list/picture of every Nintendo cabinet. Odds are it's DK, Popeye, or DK Junior: http://www.ukvac.com/forum/nintendo-video-arcade-machine-reference-19781985_topic352997.html

Is the speaker still behind the logo overlay on the front? That would have to sound horrible.

STANDARD CAVEAT: ELECTRICITY CAN KILL YOU. DON'T GO POKING AROUND IF YOU DON"T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND YOU'RE NOT PREPARED TO BE CAREFUL. IF YOU"RE CHANGING FUSES OR MESSING WITH THE POWER WIRING UNPLUG IT FIRST.

In most cases if I'm getting nothing out of an old conversion, there's a few steps to figure out where power is going wrong. If it's plugged in and you flip the switch, are you hearing the monitor get voltage? are you seeing the monitor's neck glow orange?  ON A NINTENDO CAB, DO NOT PLUG THE MONITOR IN AN EXTENSION CORD TO TEST IT! The Sanyo 20EZ in most Nintendo cabinets runs off 100v (less than your standard US 110v outlet) which is why it's plugged into that outlet in the bottom.

If you see/hear absolutely nothing from the monitor, check that the volume adjustment on the SFII board is not turned totally counter-clockwise You usually don't have to turn it much to get a suitable volume. if you crank it these games can get LOUD. Try adding coins and see if the game will play "blind". Adding multiple coins should make a sound if the board's working (and sound works on it).  If you still are getting nothing at all I'd unplug it and check all the fuses before breaking out a multimeter (If you don't have one, you'll need it eventually). Could also be an issue with the power wiring in general or a bad switch.

If the monitor is coming on but the game seems unresponsive, I'd suspect a bad power supply first. You can check the 5v at the power supply terminals with a multimeter to see what the voltage actually is or just spend the $20-$30 to replace it.

EDITED TO MAKE THE ADDING COINS COMMENT CLEARER

[paigeoliver]

It isn't worth restoring. Nintendo cabinets have probably peaked in value right now, their price has long been connected to the general value of Nes console games, which has been flat the past year and a half after quadrupling over the previous decade. Other demand, home users, probably peak as well, since your average kong player is going to be 50 years old now. Finally, barcades are probably also at close to their peak. Not to mention the fact that people are still deconverting these and even building brand new ones.

Meanwhile, Street Fighter 2 has been going up in demand and value every year. And even though I am not a huge fan of the genre, it is way more of a crowd pleaser than Kong is. You are never going to spend an entire evening with one of your friends just playing Donkey Kong, but you might with Street Fighter.

I priced it out at Mikesarcade. You are at $600 to turn this game back, not counting any possible monitor and power supply problems that the cabinet might already have.

[Locke141]

Thanks Page,

This is not going to be a KLOV quality restore. My original plan was to clean it up, sell the SF2 board and make it MAME or Pandoras box5 and give it to my Dads Elks lodge, for there members game room. I would be happy to make the paint look on point, add white T molding, adding reusable repo side art/CP/marquee/Beze and maybe adding an original part here or there if I snack somthing on eBay on the cheep.

Deftly going to use modern built 4way controls (something like Pac-Pro Leaf), MAME with a bunch of game that will play with the CP it has (like PacMan). It's probably still going to live in an Elks lodge members game room so resale is not the goal.

That just my thinking now. I may just clean it up a bit and try to resell to some one who wants to do a full restore and just start looking for the kind of 90's cab I was originally looking for.

Thanks Crowquill,

I will be carful and will ask for help as I go.

[Howard_Casto]

My 2 cents:   (Brace yourselves as some of you might die from shock.)  Imho Nintendo arcade games suck.  Dk will only distract you for 5 min at best as would other arcade titles like popeye ect.  Punchout and arm wrestling aren't very good either.  The only Ones that are any good are the VS and playchoice machines and you are really just playing NES with those.  Even taking that out of the equation I'm not super fond of the Nintendo joysticks.  YMMV though. 

[Locke141]

Even taking that out of the equation I'm not super fond of the Nintendo joysticks.  YMMV though.

The original cab's looked nice. I'm shooting for original look but with a vertical, 4way, one or less button MAME powered Arcade classics game list in side.

Again I need to research. I don't do this stuff to make money. I do it because I love the proses. If I can do something I'll be proud of, at a price I can live with I'll do it. If not, I'll just list it.

[Howard_Casto]

Yeah sorry about that.  I think we posted at the same time.

[Locke141]

Here's a list/picture of every Nintendo cabinet. Odds are it's DK, Popeye, or DK Junior: http://www.ukvac.com/forum/nintendo-video-arcade-machine-reference-19781985_topic352997.html

Based on that list and the fact mine has two coin mecks this cab was it's probably on of the following:

• Donkey Kong Junior
• PoPeye
• Mario Bros
• Donkey Kong 3

 

[Howard_Casto]

You need to get that paint off of it to see what color it is.  Heh, you could go the nerdy route and make it a Radar Scope. 

[Crowquill]

I'm going from memory, but I think all DKs besides the early red Radarscope factory conversions have 2-slot coin doors.

Although there were dedicated cabinets, I think most DK3s were conversion kits for DK and Junior. Mario Bros was also sold as a kit. Factory Mario Bros came in a wider cabinet with a different coin door.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

[Locke141]

I'm going from memory, but I think all DKs besides the early red Radarscope factory conversions have 2-slot coin doors.

Although there were dedicated cabinets, I think most DK3s were conversion kits for DK and Junior. Mario Bros was also sold as a kit. Factory Mario Bros came in a wider cabinet with a different coin door.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

Sweet, all I know is I want blue. Ordered CitriStrip. If blue and its recoverable, could it would be nice to just plug holes and do some touching up. The color may determine wether or not I restore. Could deniably live with Mario Bros art.

[Buick455]

I'm wondering what exactly was done/molested to change the monitor angle. Looks like the upper bezel/lower marquee bracket is there but the monitor should be tilted much further back & the bezel plastic should be almost vertical, not like it is in your pic.

Mine is setup with 4/8 way servo stick, 2 button and around 60 games. It looks like it was rolled down a hill, the coin door is still off and the coin buttons are on piece of scrap clamped were the coin door should be. It still gets turned on and played at least 2x a week which is part of the reason it isnt finished. I screwed up and made it playable 

I hope the CitriStrip works out for you. Like Crow said, try it on the back bottom corner. Idk if all Nintendo cabs were like mine, I just wish I knew before hand.

[paigeoliver]

It is actually really easy to change the monitor angle in most cabinets, just need a little wood and some screws.

[Locke141]

I'm wondering what exactly was done/molested to change the monitor angle. Looks like the upper bezel/lower marquee bracket is there but the monitor should be tilted much further back & the bezel plastic should be almost vertical, not like it is in your pic.

Was wondering the same after got home. It was not obvious from looking at the out side.

[Vigo]

Here's a list/picture of every Nintendo cabinet. Odds are it's DK, Popeye, or DK Junior: http://www.ukvac.com/forum/nintendo-video-arcade-machine-reference-19781985_topic352997.html

Based on that list and the fact mine has two coin mecks this cab was it's probably on of the following:

• Donkey Kong Junior
• PoPeye
• Mario Bros
• Donkey Kong 3

 

So you narrowed it down to every game that used that cab that wasn't ultra rare. 


Check for a plate like Malenko mentioned. Also if the monitor angle is off, it was probably rotated. Meaning that it wasn't a mario bros or a popeye. You can get a good guess by checking out the original mounting holes. I would guess a blue original DK.

[opt2not]

My 2 cents:   (Brace yourselves as some of you might die from shock.)  Imho Nintendo arcade games suck.

I agree with this, but I would give DK Jr. more play-ability credit than regular DK or DK3. 

[yotsuya]

Ugh. Jr is my least favorite one. 3 is worlds better.

[Locke141]

Like I said, I'm picking up on Saturday when I have access to a bigger car. Speculation is all I can do to with my excitement until then. I'll make a plane once I get the Cab home.

Most of the Nintendo cabs look great and would be happy to go with just about any of those themes. I'm super excited to have a real cab to work on. 

[Mike A]

Sorry Yots. DK Jr. Is pancakes and DK3 is broccoli.

[Howard_Casto]

DK3 isn't nearly as bad as everyone says, but I kind of like Dk Jr. more.  That being said neither are exactly on my top 10. 

I would like to see somebody make a custom VS. Castlevania.  Something super goth to offset all the pastels that Nintendo cabs normally have. 

[yotsuya]

Sorry Yots. DK Jr. Is pancakes and DK3 is broccoli.

[dmckean]

Donkey Kong is fun as hell. I probably have as many hours in Donkey Kong as I do Skyrim.

[leapinlew]

In order:
DK Jr
DK 3
DK

Yeah, I said it. I've actually had more fun with DK3 lately. The guy looks goofy, but the game play is good. 

I've restored 4 nintendo cabs in all. By restore, I mean, I painted original colors, put on original artwork and upgraded controls (4 way WICO) and went with Mame and a CRT. It's an expensive restore, but a Donkey Kong cabinet is just an awesome site to behold.

[Locke141]

I've restored 4 nintendo cabs in all. By restore, I mean, I painted original colors, put on original artwork and upgraded controls (4 way WICO) and went with Mame and a CRT. It's an expensive restore, but a Donkey Kong cabinet is just an awesome site to behold.

I like the DK JR art the best with DK a close second in that trilligy. What you did is kind of what I have in mind as of the moment. I'm not going to end up with 5 Nintendo cads and it would be nice to have a few select games the fit the controls of an original CP. I may decide to go all in and full restore.

[yotsuya]

Honestly, I preferred having a Vs cab to a dedicated DK when I did Janky Kong.

[Malenko]

Make it a Fix it Felix

Not that anyone cares but DKJr, DK-Pauline, DK3

DK3 isnt bad if you treat it like a shmup, I just think Jr is the most fun

[opt2not]

I should give DK3 another chance. I just found it weird that part of the gameplay is shooting DK up the butt.

[Locke141]

I should give DK3 another chance. I just found it weird that part of the gameplay is shooting DK up the butt.

Make it a Fix it Felix

Not that anyone cares but DKJr, DK-Pauline, DK3

DK3 isnt bad if you treat it like a shmup, I just think Jr is the most fun

From here?

Howard is your rapper still the way to play Fix it Felix?

[Howard_Casto]

Yeah as far as I know I'm the only one stupid enough to work on that.   Someone also made a genesis port of the game, but it has a few gameplay differences and obviously it's horizontal. 

[Locke141]

Picked it up and brought it to my dad's place. Could use some help getting it working in it's current configuration.

The monitor turns on but is white no sound at all.


There was no paint under the taped on side art posters.


The front art was in bad shape so didn't try to save.


Here is under they joy stick.


JAMA is disconnected in this photo because I tried my 60-in-1 to see if I would get a image.


Right before I lest to go home the citric striper came. I only had a dab on about a minute as I was in a rush but it did a good job only removing the black in my quick test.

[Crowquill]

Those are pretty good signs of life to work with. Due to the inverted video that the Sanyo monitors use, white is what it shows when there is no signal. That little board above the game board is an inverter so the monitor can use normal signals.

I'm guessing you got nothing from the 60-in-1 as well. I'd check power supply next.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

[Howard_Casto]

Heh.  I love how the jerk that converted it couldn't even be bothered to paint the whole thing and left a big spot where the side art goes.  I know it's a business, but sometimes operators are the worst. 


The good news is they didn't do a good job of painting it, so the citristrip is probably going to work really well like it did on your test spot. 


Btw, those crimp connectors on the invertor board look a bit janky, that could be part of your problem right there. 

[Locke141]

I'm guessing you got nothing from the 60-in-1 as well. I'd check power supply next.

Sweet, I'll bring my meter next time I'm out.

Howard, I'll put that on the list of thing to test.

Been looking for color codes for the touching up I'll need to do. Here are the two I found. Any helpful info welcome.

Code 1

[Buick455]

Its nice of the person who converted it to black saved you some CitriStrip by skipping that 1sft of space on each side

In all seriousness I'm happy the CitriStrip is working. Hows the sides look damage (dings & dents) wise?

[Howard_Casto]

I'm guessing you got nothing from the 60-in-1 as well. I'd check power supply next.

Been looking for color codes for the touching up I'll need to do. Here are the two I found. Any helpful info welcome.

Code 1

If you aren't going to repaint the entire thing it'd probably make sense to take in a piece of the cab (like the back door) and have it color matched.  It could have faded or the citristrip could effect the color.  I made the mistake when repainting my gorf to color match to a piece of the decal,  but it had faded and thus they don't exactly match. 

[Locke141]

Its nice of the person who converted it to black saved you some CitriStrip by skipping that 1sft of space on each side

In all seriousness I'm happy the CitriStrip is working. Hows the sides look damage (dings & dents) wise?

 It looks pretty good over all, some edge damage here and there. I'm glad you mad the suggestion.

Howard, that's a good point. I'll see what I can do.

I'm super torn. I want to do the DK but also tempted to make it a fixit Felix. That said, I already got a DK bezel on ebay for $42 shipped. Ether way this will not be a factor restore. I would be happy if it came out looking like a well keep 37 year old cab.

For now my priorities are to get ever thing working in the current config and to strip it completely to the original blue. 

[yotsuya]

Its nice of the person who converted it to black saved you some CitriStrip by skipping that 1sft of space on each side

In all seriousness I'm happy the CitriStrip is working. Hows the sides look damage (dings & dents) wise?

 It looks pretty good over all, some edge damage here and there. I'm glad you mad the suggestion.

Howard, that's a good point. I'll see what I can do.

I'm super torn. I want to do the DK but also tempted to make it a fixit Felix. That said, I already got a DK bezel on ebay for $42 shipped. Ether way this will not be a factor restore. I would be happy if it came out looking like a well keep 37 year old cab.

For now my priorities are to get ever thing working in the current config and to strip it completely to the original blue.

Just stick with the DK.

[Howard_Casto]

As cute as fix it felix is, I tend to agree.  The dk artwork is a classic.  Then again I always preferred the red radar scope conversions, so YMMV. 

[jdbailey1206]

I'm super torn. I want to do the DK but also tempted to make it a fixit Felix.

I'm saying DK but I have already built a FFJR.  My thinking is do one and if you want to do another from scratch you have the template.

[Buick455]

Your cab has a metal CP, mine was wood, so the following might not apply..

Under the CP attached to each side (inside cab) is a scrap of wood the locks are mounted to. The few cabs I have seen they were cut from scrap material the sides were made of so blue/orange. They would be the least faded to use for color match, but might be difficult to remove & take to the paint shop. I think they are just pin nailed in though.

As for the FIFJr vs DK, I started building a FIFJr bc it gives me a second button without looking out of place on the CP. Visually though, I'd rather build it out as a DK or even back to Popeye and lose a button.

[Crowquill]

Your cab has a metal CP, mine was wood, so the following might not apply..

As for the FIFJr vs DK, I started building a FIFJr bc it gives me a second button without looking out of place on the CP. Visually though, I'd rather build it out as a DK or even back to Popeye and lose a button.

The metal CP would have been an addition when they did the conversion. You'll need to replace it with wood and plexi if you want it to look right as DK. As for a second button, there's modified DK overlay artwork for multicades that have multiple buttons.

[Buick455]

Here is under they joy stick.

Looking at the old holes in this pic, it looks to be a VS Unisystem or PlayChoice CP, maybe?
Is there a tag on the back above the rear door?

edit: found pic I'm leaning towards the PlayChoice

[paigeoliver]

Yes, the holes looks like it was a Donkey Kong converted to a single screen Playchoice.

However what it was between then and now doesn't mean anything, this was a Donkey Kong.

[Locke141]

I tried stripping the pain on one side. I was at my Dad’s to help him with out. Did a quick once over to see what I’d get. Here the original paint was in good shape. However I can see spots where the blue is damaged. It looks like some touching up is the minimum that will have to be done.

Annoyingly I forgot my multimeter so could not test the power supply.

[Locke141]

I picked up a nice reproduction bezel.
Turned out to be an original. Was in really good shape.



May I request a mod move this thread to project announcements? I would like to keep this in one thread.

[Locke141]

Thanks Scott 

The metal CP would have been an addition when they did the conversion. You'll need to replace it with wood and plexi if you want it to look right as DK. As for a second button, there's modified DK overlay artwork for multicades that have multiple buttons.

Is this what you had in mind?

I think I'll probably go with a original stile CP. Then again this will be running MAME Are there any two player 4 way Vertical games I'm not thinking of I might want it to play?

[Crowquill]

Originally I was thinking an original DK layout with an extra button added next to jump. Not finding an example of one now, but I've seen vector art online that could be printed and put under plexi. If you can't find one PM me and I'd be happy to edit one together.

And now you've reached the big rabbit hole everyone here lingers over. What controls to add and what games do you value? How accurate do you want it to be to the original?

With your 60-in-1 a 4-way and 2 buttons will let you play probably 40. If you care about shooters go with a 8-way and you'll be able to play 85%. Or add a trackball and you can play everything but Commando. Those boards let you disable games from the menu you don't have controls for.

The average Joe who walks up to a machine doesn't like too many options. Give them too many j to pick from and they'll get frustrated and walk away. Or they'll just play Pac-Man.

If you're doing a full MAME setup then sky's the limit. MAME can scale and center the image, so you could even play horizontal games on it.

When I built my MAME cab 15+ years ago I wanted versatility. I went with the fairly standard horizontal computer monitor, 2-player panel with 8-way sticks and 7 buttons per side. It's a lot to squeeze onto a Frogger control panel. I've played LOTS of Donkey Kong with 8-ways and it's fine. If you hit a diagonal Mario will stop, but it's rare with the gameplay that you press diagonals outside of maybe ladder transitions.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

[Locke141]

All good points. I try to avoid fetcher creep. My goal it to have this look like a original DK and would like to keep it to just 4 way vertical games with 20ish games.

This will be going live in the game room of my dad’s Elks lodge, they are trying to attract new younger members and duds in there 50’s would qualify as younger. I’m hoping to add one or two dedicated cabs. I keeping an eye out for a cheep 90’s cab as I want a fighter.

[dmckean]

All good points. I try to avoid fetcher creep. My goal it to have this look like a original DK and would like to keep it to just 4 way vertical games with 20ish games.

This will be going live in the game room of my dad’s Elks lodge, they are trying to attract new younger members and duds in there 50’s would qualify as younger. I’m hoping to add one or two dedicated cabs. I keeping an eye out for a cheep 90’s cab as I want a fighter.

I would put all the vertical 4-way games in the all killer, no filler list on it. I would also use the GGG Pac-Pro leaf joystick and leaf buttons as a lot of those games will play best with those controls. Nintendo joysticks and buttons are best for DK, but would be frustrating for almost everything else.

[Locke141]

All good points. I try to avoid fetcher creep. My goal it to have this look like a original DK and would like to keep it to just 4 way vertical games with 20ish games.

This will be going live in the game room of my dad’s Elks lodge, they are trying to attract new younger members and duds in there 50’s would qualify as younger. I’m hoping to add one or two dedicated cabs. I keeping an eye out for a cheep 90’s cab as I want a fighter.

I would put all the vertical 4-way games in the all killer, no filler list on it. I would also use the GGG Pac-Pro leaf joystick and leaf buttons as a lot of those games will play best with those controls. Nintendo joysticks and buttons are best for DK, but would be frustrating for almost everything else.

This largely reflects my thinking. 

[Locke141]

Wether is getting nice and I have a week off work coming up, so am planing to get back to this.

Goal's for spring brake:

• Get it working as with the SF board.
• Get it gutted for stripping and paining
• Start Bondo painting

Anyone have any advice on molding, control panel, and side art? This will have to be on a budget so am willing to go a little cheeper on the side art as I can easily upgrade it later if I'm not happy with it. How ever, I do plan on taking my time and spending the money needed on the paint and body.

I'm definitely a little torn on wether to do an original stile CP or one of the two player versions. I want it to look original for the out side but it will be a MAME build for an all thriller vertical classics setup.

[wp34]

Glad to see you are back at this.   

Instead of paint have you considered laminate?  The Caribbean Blue looks very good on a DK cabinet.

https://www.skyskipperproject.com/lets-talk-laminate/

My only suggestion on the CP would be to find a joystick that works well for games other than DK.  My daughter is a purist and demanded we get an authentic DK joystick for our Fix-it-Felix build.  The Nintendo games play fine on it but the other 4-way games (Pac Man, Nibbler, etc...) not so much.

[Locke141]

Glad to see you are back at this.   

Instead of paint have you considered laminate?  The Caribbean Blue looks very good on a DK cabinet.

https://www.skyskipperproject.com/lets-talk-laminate/

My only suggestion on the CP would be to find a joystick that works well for games other than DK.  My daughter is a purist and demanded we get an authentic DK joystick for our Fix-it-Felix build.  The Nintendo games play fine on it but the other 4-way games (Pac Man, Nibbler, etc...) not so much.

I'll take a look at the laminate, I'm  a bit nerves to try something new on this one. My current thinking is the Pac-Pro for a joystick.

[Locke141]

Make it a Fix it Felix

Not that anyone cares but DKJr, DK-Pauline, DK3

DK3 isnt bad if you treat it like a shmup, I just think Jr is the most fun

I picked up an original DK bezel in good condition for a good price so I think this will remain ostensibly a DK. I’ll keep it two player but with pac pro’s or a like, so may have to costume make a CP. 

[Locke141]

Wow, it’s been a while. but this project is back from the to do later.

I haven’t working on it since brain cancer unexpectedly put this project on hold. This started years ago and I bought a lot of equipment. As for the control panels, I decide I’m gonna start off by completing the build with the vinyl control panel print I bought years ago. I’m gonna try to keep the outside of the machine as original looking as possible. For now, the inside will be a 60 in 1 and one four-way joy.

Long term, I may make a second control panel and make it MAME on the inside. But even then it’s going to be limited in the number of games.

[Locke141]

Pic’s!!!

I just did a test fit of the plexi cover I had. Looks good.

[Locke141]

Here is the cabinet gutted and ready to go for a paint. My dad‘s neighbor also my neighbor growing up, it’s a professional painter is going to do the job at a reasonable price.

I removed all the metal bars and the bolts that lead to the outside. I replaced the the transition from out to in  by gluing and screw in wood blocks internally to hold the frame of the top of the CRT. All the bolt holes are getting speckled and painted over. All screws are song below the external surface.

Also took the two side mounds that look like they were once one piece. I think they were ground in half to make two side. I reattach them with four screws and peace of a 2 x 4, this works for now. Let me see if I can find room of welder to do some quick welding.

The back cover is so shot that I am considering just making a new one. Check out the pics below and feel free to give me feedback.

[Locke141]

After sanding an sparkling on the sides for the first time.

I know the garage looks like a mess. My dad is a hoarder and it's getting done in his garage.

[Locke141]

Here she is after the paint job. It's not perfect but it's way better than when this project started.

[MartyKong]

Hey Locke, Congradulations on getting your project completed. I know - I've got a few staring me down that I have to get back on .

[Locke141]

Hey Locke, Congradulations on getting your project completed. I know - I've got a few staring me down that I have to get back on .

Thanks MartyKong,

It's not quite done, but I feel good again some progress made. I'm a little nervous to see how the monitor goes I might have to re-carpet.