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javeryh's Donkey Kong Plus [FINISHED]
javeryh:
OK here goes... I'll keep posting when I get the chance and I'll start from the beginning. There may be some value here for people looking to build or restore a DK but I'm not breaking any new ground here. My control panel build will probably be the most beneficial once I get to it since I took a ton of pics... I'm also not finished with it yet - I still need to figure out the monitor and computer situation (I don't have either but I'd like to place an order this week). Anyway...
... back in September of 2008 I managed to score a gutted DK cab for $36 off of eBay - it was about a 90 minute drive to go pick it up in south Jersey. I am still amazed how cheap it was - and it came with a Nintendo coin door in great shape. It was the laminated version but it was in pretty bad shape cosmetically. Here is what it looked like to start:
I don't know if you can see but there are multiple holes punched through both sides that I had to patch. Even though I'm going for authenticity, I made some minor design "improvements" along the way and this was one of them - no bolts through the side panels! It appears as though this cabinet was converted from a Donkey Kong to a Nintendo Vs. cabinet at some point which means the vertical DK monitor was replaced with two horizontal monitors stacked on top of one another - tons of holes to drill I guess.
There was no back door so I have to make one but that will be one of the last things I do.
:cheers:
MaximRecoil:
--- Quote from: javeryh on July 27, 2009, 12:35:24 pm ---It appears as though this cabinet was converted from a Donkey Kong to a Nintendo Vs. cabinet at some point which means the vertical DK monitor was replaced with two horizontal monitors stacked on top of one another - tons of holes to drill I guess.
--- End quote ---
Two monitors in a DK cabinet?? I'd like to see what that looks like. Too bad the monitors aren't still in there.
I wish I had a Nintendo cabinet like that. I have one that I got for free, that is gutted to the same extent as yours is, but it is in much worse shape (the plywood is delaminating around the edges).
javeryh:
--- Quote from: MaximRecoil on July 27, 2009, 02:18:41 pm ---
--- Quote from: javeryh on July 27, 2009, 12:35:24 pm ---It appears as though this cabinet was converted from a Donkey Kong to a Nintendo Vs. cabinet at some point which means the vertical DK monitor was replaced with two horizontal monitors stacked on top of one another - tons of holes to drill I guess.
--- End quote ---
Two monitors in a DK cabinet?? I'd like to see what that looks like. Too bad the monitors aren't still in there.
I wish I had a Nintendo cabinet like that. I have one that I got for free, that is gutted to the same extent as yours is, but it is in much worse shape (the plywood is delaminating around the edges).
--- End quote ---
I had to sand the laminate into oblivion - there was no repairing it. The pictures actually make it look way better than it was when I got it. There were dings and dents all over the place and sections where the laminate was chipping.
As for the 2 monitors, I would have liked to have seen that too. There were 6 mounting bracket holes on each side of the cabinet and I can only guess they were from the original vertical monitor and then the two horizontal monitors for the Vs. configuration.
javeryh:
The first thing I did (other than vacuum out the inside) was remove the existing side art. This was very very time-consuming. It came off in about an hour per side but it took twice as long to get the glue off. My arms were ready to fall off after I was finished. In hind sight I probably could have taken a belt sander to the entire surface but I was trying to be all nice and neat...
This is what I started with:
Even though the art was mostly peeled off of this side there was still leftover glue all over the place which had to come off. I decided to try a heat gun and lots of patience... except I don't have a heat gun but I do have a hair dryer (well, my wife does >:D) so used that. It worked quite well. I put the hair dryer on "hot" and turned it all the way up. This melted the glue just enough for the art to be peeled off. I started of by gently scraping with the end of a flat head screwdriver and when I got enough of the art up to grab onto I started peeling. It didn't come off all at once - there were lots and lots (and lots) of little pieces to pull off.
After removing the side art it was time to remove all of the excess glue. There was an outline on each side where the side art used to be:
My wife suggested trying Goo Gone which I had never used before. It worked but it took a lot of elbow grease to get rid of all of the glue. The process was spray on the Goo Gone, let it sit for 5 minutes and then rub it off with a cotton rag. This was the key - for some reason paper towels weren't working - at all. Once I switched to the cotton rags I noticed an improvement right away.
If you look close you can see all the glue balled up - this stuff was extremely sticky and was tough to get off of my hands even with a towel. I was constantly running inside the house to wash my hands and then continue (I had to pick up the glue balls with my fingers to get them off of the cabinet). Once I thought everything looked nice, I washed the entire side using soapy water (per the Goo Gone instructions). This was the finishing touch - everything came off!
Here are some final shots of the sides - it doesn't look like much but this was after about 6 hours worth of work.
Nice and clean! Next up - using some bondo to fill all the holes and imperfections.
MaximRecoil:
--- Quote from: javeryh on July 27, 2009, 03:25:27 pm ---I had to sand the laminate into oblivion - there was no repairing it. The pictures actually make it look way better than it was when I got it. There were dings and dents all over the place and sections where the laminate was chipping.
--- End quote ---
I mean the actual layers in the plywood are coming apart around the edges in my cabinet. I think some wood glue and clamps could fix it though.
--- Quote ---As for the 2 monitors, I would have liked to have seen that too. There were 6 mounting bracket holes on each side of the cabinet and I can only guess they were from the original vertical monitor and then the two horizontal monitors for the Vs. configuration.
--- End quote ---
Vs. machines only had one monitor, except for the "Vs. DualSystems"; but those had a separate control panel for each monitor; like two machines melded into one. Maybe it was set up for Playchoice? It would have been interesting to see Punch-Out, Super Punch-Out or Arm Wresting running on such a machine too.
I'm still amazed that someone managed to fit two monitors into a classic Nintendo cabinet. Even the taller Punch-Out machines which were designed for two monitors; are a tight fit for the monitors.
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