Final Fight refurb

[mike boss]

So last year my buddy see's on the local Kijiji somebody clearing about project cabinets, $50.
Condition unknown, untested, first come, first serve.
He was one of the first guys to go and he comes home with this Final Fight.
It's a Final Fight in a Stargate cabinet.
It's dirty, it's messy, but IT WORKS ! The sound, the monitor, everything.
Monitor needed some adjusting, but none the less it works.
I was super stoked for him, this is one of my favorite games.
I remember playing this as a kid, Final Fight, Bad Dudes, NARC, NBA JAM all stand out to me as favorites.
When I explained to my buddy how excited I was he let me take it off his hands............@ cost !
Super stoked, cant argue with that logic.

So Final Fight made its home in my garage for about a year. I just wrapped up my Bad Dudes project and with my first child due next month I thought I should start the Final Fight.

I'm going to use basically everything that came with the cabinet as it was working and simply clean it up.
Body work, new paint, new t-molding, new power supply, new harness, new joysticks, new buttons, and new marquee fixture.
Some of the internal wiring I'm not familiar with, perhaps I'll take some pictures and post.
The inside has some big block with the plug, that goes to an isolation transformer and coming off that wires run to power switch, some other switch that I have no idea what it is. Anyway..............I'll fixate on that after.
Once confirmed what the wiring is I might eliminate it and use an additional isolation transformer that I had on hand.

So what have I done........................

Cabinet has been gutted and still needs to be cleaned, patched, sanded and painted.
The marquee however is all polished up and ready to go.
I've got the marquee retainers painted with semigloss black as is  the control panel hinge.
The coin doors are painted in a hammered finish paint that looks awesome. I think I'll do the bolts in the same way.
I painted the speaker grill red....which honestly I'm not sold on yet. It might go back to black.

Tomorrow I plan on cleaning the inside and outside, perhaps doing the body work and sanding.
I'd like to wrap this up for the end of July.





































** The above paint is the hammered finish I use, I really like the results **
** I should also add, I'm FOREVER losing parts when I work on these projects, really I'm just sloppy ! However I finally got SMART! I took an empty box, all the parts go into the box and every nut, screw, and washer go into a baggy! I'm a genius I know ! **

[chopperthedog]

I have a wood stargate control panel that has been through a ninja gaiden conversion by an op. It's yours for shipping. I'm in the states not sure what it would cost.


good day.

[mike boss]

@ chopperthedog

Thank you.

I actually have a panel for this that I pulled off and cleaned (not pictured).
It has some cracks in it and I'm trying to debate if I should order a CPO.
With the baby on the way I'm trying to keep my cost LOW!
Only reason I'm adding all new internals is because I have them. LOL

[chopperthedog]

Ah, gotcha.. carry on. Hope all goes well with upcoming birth.


good day.

[mike boss]

Thanks chopperthedog.
Appreciate the kind words.

Wife and I are both super excited. We tried for 4 years, four long ---fudgesicle---*NG years !
(that's a different story !! LOL)
For now I'd like to finish projects, make use of existing inventory, and sell whats left.

[mike boss]

Got a lil more work done on the cabinet yesterday (pics to come).
I'm planning on getting outside today and making another push.
I'd like to have this painted next week.
I'm leaning towards red and perhaps black t-molding.

I'm trying to sort out the wiring today, honestly I'm a lil confused by the internal wiring.
Sadly I've lost the clip (RGB/SYNC/GROUND) for my monitor. I'll need to ID this chassis.
I hate working with arcade monitors, I'm a lil unsure how to wire up this specific monitor.

[mike boss]

Pushing forward on this project the goal is to paint it on the weekend.
That however does depend on the weather here in town, if its too humid I wont be able to paint. I have however decided to paint the cabinet red and go with black t-molding.
I ordered a scanline generator and I'm now thinking of getting an RGB to VGA adapter and installing an LCD into this.

I'll get some pics of the progress up asap.

[mike boss]

No pics and real progress, from humidity to rain the weather has not co-operated.
However I did order my RGB to VGA adapter.

[Malenko]

you must have 2 threads about this, I could have sworn I posted that you should put the LCD in there vertically with a 60 in 1.

[mike boss]

I do indeed have two threads.
I was unsure how to proceed with this project and wanted to get a couple of opinions.
However with child number one due this month money and time both play a part in the outcome.
I decided I would keep the cabinet as is, Final Fight, but slap a coat of lipstick on it and dress it up.

Cabinet will remain JAMMA but will get an LCD monitor (with RGB to VGA adapter) and a scanline generator for the old school look.

I've been slacking on getting the pics posted, but I will update tonight.
The cabinet has been primed and I picked out Behr "chilli pepper" a really nice bright red paint.
All the coin doors are painted, as are the coin door bolts. The plastics and metals are cleaned up and painted. I want however to let the primer cure  for a week or so, getting the red on next weekend.

I still need to modify the base on the cabinet and installed some cold cathode lighting underneath, I'll power that via the 12V from the power supply. Seen this a few times now, where it gives that "floating" look. I like the way it looks and I hope the potential buyer does also.

Perhaps tonight I'll get some of the cabinet put back together also, not sure.

[mike boss]

WOW ! What a two weeks I've had.
My little girl was born July 17th, just two days after my dad was hospitalized.
Recent events have left me with no time and no desire to push thru the project.
For now it's family first and everything else second.

[dandro]

Congrats!!!!  July 17 is a great day to be born!

[mike boss]

Thanks ! Healthy happy girl so that I wont complain about !
LOVE HER !

[mike boss]

Got back to this, hoping to wrap it up soon.
Going to use an LCD monitor here, but did pick up a Mini-SLG to give it an authentic look.

I wanted to add some cold cathode tubes along the inside of the base, but the cabinet sits so low I think I'll pass on that.

Hoping to get the rest of the wiring this weekend.

[mike boss]

As shown above I made time again to work on this project.
I'm hoping to get it completed over the weekend.
The pictures aren't the best, but up close it looks pretty good.
It's a nice deep red color and I picked up some black t-molding, black and red is such a classic combo.
The hammered texture paint on the coin doors came out well, I've used it many times.
I really like the two tone look against the black cabinet.
The body work is by no means flawless, but the cabinet is 20 + years old, I have NO TIME or DESIRE for cabinet perfection.
I'll hang onto this for a bit then sell it.

I'm using all new parts on this, joysticks, buttons, harness, power supply, locks, etc.
I have a 19" LCD monitor and picked up (off eBay) a RGB to VGA adapter. I've used one prior in my Bad Dudes and I like them.
I think when selling the machines buyers like knowing they can swap in an LCD easily.
To give the cabinet an authentic look I also got a mini-SLG. I  think this is a nice touch that I might even pull and keep if the buyer haggles me ! LOL

I had wanted to add some cold cathode tubes to the inside base of the cabinet, but the cabinet sits so low that I don't think its worth it.
I have some extra RGB LED light strips that I purchased, they simply tape to the inside of the base and get power from the 12V.
I might give them a try and see if I get the desired effect.

[mike boss]

Almost done.
Installed the wiring today and set up the LCD monitor.
I need to install one piece of trim inside the bezel (to hide that it is a PC LCD). I purchased a Mini-SLG (scan line generator) that I'll likely use in this cabinet also. Over and above that all it really needs is me to install the t-molding, and better secure the monitor. Unsure if I'll use the cold cathode tubes I bought for this, or for Bad Dudes.

[severdhed]

looks good....i love the red sides

[Malenko]

I'd prolly swap out the black buttons for red (or yellow) to break up the control panel a little, matching balltops too. Even all black it looks really good. Block out that gap behind the monitor like you said, and add an SLG and no one would be any the wiser its an LCD.

[mike boss]

I actually have some spare Japanese (knock off Sanwa) buttons in red, yellow, and orange.
I never did try them out, but thats a good idea. I might do that.

Yesterday I blacked out the surrounding monitor area and it looks much better. I still need to add one more strip along the bottom to cover the monitor brand logo and the power light. I'll toss the molding on and finally plug in the mini-SLG.

Was a lil delayed in getting this done with family stuff, but I'm glad its @ 98%

[mike boss]

Getting everything done.
Button holes seemed larger than average so I couldn't do the button swap.
Need to still secure the monitor from behind and black out one more part.
I'll need to remove the shroud to get at it.

I also managed to wrap up my Bad Dudes today by installing some cold cathode tubes..... really looks cool IMHO.