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Author Topic: javeryh's Donkey Kong Plus [FINISHED]  (Read 149370 times)

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javeryh

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javeryh's Donkey Kong Plus [FINISHED]
« on: July 15, 2009, 07:45:05 pm »
EDIT: FINISHED.





-------------------

Over the past few months I've been working on restoring a Donkey Kong cabinet to its former glory... well sort of.  I plan on running MAME inside and about 20 or so one button 4-way games.  Everything will look authentic including the control panel and I'll set it up to boot straight to DK.  No visible admin buttons either.  I was going to try a 60-in-1 or something but funds are tight right now and I've spent enough on this.

Anyway, I'll post a write-up of all the junk I've done but I've basically been following the excellent blueprint that Neilyboy laid out.  Bender was kind enough to send me an actual DK control panel to copy which made life easy on me for sure.  Anyway, he has inspired me to make this thread so here's a sneak peek of my cab.

More later.

:laugh2:

« Last Edit: February 28, 2022, 06:16:58 pm by javeryh »

ivwshane

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #1 on: July 16, 2009, 12:11:53 am »
OMG!!

Come on!!!

You can't tease us like that!!


Well, if it's like your past project I think this will probably kick ass too!

system01

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #2 on: July 16, 2009, 01:03:35 am »
Holy ess, jav!  That's sweet!  How do the kids like it?

XeviouS

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #3 on: July 16, 2009, 03:34:02 am »
Bender was kind enough to send me an actual DK control panel which made life easy on me for sure.  Anyway, he has inspired me to make this thread so here's a sneak peek of my cab.

Don't you go following that bad Bender boy with his evil picture-teasing ways!  :angry:


DaOld Man

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #4 on: July 16, 2009, 07:59:30 am »
Great job JH!!

But please tell us, how on earth did you make that 90 degree angle so.....
90 degree angleish?

javeryh

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #5 on: July 16, 2009, 10:34:37 am »
Great job JH!!

But please tell us, how on earth did you make that 90 degree angle so.....
90 degree angleish?


It wasn't easy - there was measuring, cutting, biscuits, glue, primer and paint involved.  It was the most difficult thing anyone has ever built in the history of the world!   ;D

Nemss316

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #6 on: July 16, 2009, 10:40:15 am »
Man! This is like going to the strip club, paying my money, and she shows me her ankle.

MOAR PICS!

Namco

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #7 on: July 16, 2009, 10:54:39 am »
 :pics

Neverending Project

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #8 on: July 16, 2009, 11:51:19 am »
It wasn't easy - there was measuring, cutting, biscuits, glue, primer and paint involved.  It was the most difficult thing anyone has ever built in the history of the world!   ;D

Maybe that was because of all the of the sniffing and huffing you did prior to the build? I like the fact that you took a snack break in the middle, though.

LeedsFan

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #9 on: July 16, 2009, 12:30:05 pm »
Anyway, I'll post a write-up of all the junk I've done but I've basically been following the excellent blueprint that Neilyboy laid out. 

Hmmm.... what is this "blueprint" you speak of? I'd be very interested in any DK cabinet info as I'm planning a replica bartop at the moment. I look forward to seeing your pics.   :applaud:

Bender

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #10 on: July 16, 2009, 02:30:23 pm »
Bender was kind enough to send me an actual DK control panel to copy which made life easy on me for sure.  Anyway, he has inspired me to make this thread so here's a sneak peek of my cab.

More later.

:laugh2:



:laugh2: :laugh2:

javeryh

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #11 on: July 18, 2009, 10:03:08 pm »
OK, here's a real shot of the control panel.  I've got a TON of construction pics which I'll start posting soon.

More later.   :cheers:
« Last Edit: July 18, 2009, 10:05:20 pm by javeryh »

severdhed

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #12 on: July 18, 2009, 10:17:06 pm »
i can't wait to see this
Current Projects:      Zak-Man | TMNT Pedestal | SNES Pi | N64 Odroid
Former Projects:     4 Player Showcase | Donkey Kong | iCade

Bender

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #13 on: July 19, 2009, 05:49:02 pm »
Hey Javeryh,

you have inspired me to post another revealing picture of the build right here!


Franco B

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #14 on: July 19, 2009, 06:24:45 pm »
You really have been taking lessons in the 'Art of Teasing -  à la Bender'  :)

Even the camera angles are the same :)

Looking forward to more bud  :applaud:

javeryh

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #15 on: July 27, 2009, 12:35:24 pm »
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:
« Last Edit: July 27, 2009, 12:36:57 pm by javeryh »

MaximRecoil

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #16 on: July 27, 2009, 02:18:41 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.

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

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #17 on: July 27, 2009, 03:25:27 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.

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).

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

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #18 on: July 27, 2009, 03:32:04 pm »
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

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #19 on: July 27, 2009, 05:38:17 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.

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. 

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.
« Last Edit: July 27, 2009, 05:40:30 pm by MaximRecoil »

javeryh

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #20 on: July 27, 2009, 05:42:49 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.

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. 

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.

Hmmm.... maybe I am wrong then.  It was just a guess based on all of the monitor support holes in the side of the cabinet and the Nintendo Vs. side art.  Maybe it was converted into something else in between the DK and the Vs.?

javeryh

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #21 on: July 27, 2009, 07:36:20 pm »
As I mentioned before, Bender was kind enough to send me a DK control panel he had laying around.  Here is what it looked like when I got it:



As you can see, the top is actually laminated because the control panel overlay does not completely cover the plywood and you can see the outline of where the control panel overlay used to be.  Someone also drilled an extra hole in this thing for god knows what.

Here is a shot from underneath:



I am actually quite surprised how well it has held up considering it is 25+ years old. The edges on all 4 sides are still very crisp and it was easy to copy it with a pattern bit and my router.
« Last Edit: July 27, 2009, 07:38:04 pm by javeryh »

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #22 on: July 27, 2009, 07:47:11 pm »
Got my popcorn...keep the pics coming! :)
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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #23 on: July 27, 2009, 10:31:42 pm »
your showing way too much  :badmood:

seriously though lookin' good!

javeryh

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #24 on: July 28, 2009, 09:44:49 am »
Thanks guys.

Making the control panel should have been very very easy but of course, the old control panel was made out of 9/16" plywood which Home Depot doesn't carry.  In order to get the required 9/16" thickness I decided to use 1/2" MDF as the base and then laminate the top with 1/16" black ABS plastic.

The first thing I did was trace the outer shape of the control panel onto the sheet of MDF.  Then I cut it out with the jigsaw leaving about 1/8" around the edges.

 

After that was finished I used some double sided tape to secure the old control panel to the MDF and then cut the exact shape out using my router and a pattern cutting bit.

 

Next up - laminating the MDF panel I just cut out, mounting the joystick and a bunch of other fun stuff!


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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #25 on: July 28, 2009, 11:09:39 am »
Next, I had to lay out the button locations and the holes for the control panel bolts which hold down the plastic control panel overlay. This part was simple. Using the old control panel as a guide, I placed a 1-1/8" Forstner bit in each hole and gave it a light tap with my rubber mallet to mark the center point of each button and the joystick hole.

 

Then, I used my drill to bore out the holes I just marked.



Once that was finished I installed the buttons I ordered in the holes I just drilled with the control panel overlay in place. I wanted to make sure the art would line up with the button holes and...



... this allowed me to layout the holes for the 8 control panel bolts that will secure the plastic overlay in place.



Finally, I removed the plastic overlay from the MDF and drilled out all the holes I just marked.
« Last Edit: July 28, 2009, 12:26:37 pm by javeryh »

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #26 on: July 28, 2009, 12:04:30 pm »
You know, I don't think I can ever get sick of Donk Kong Restoration/Build threads. There is just something about Donkey Kong and its pleasing nostalgic colours...

Looking good so far! My next build I will be using my router's pattern cutting bit "way" more...takes a lot of the stress out of matching sides doesn't it?
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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #27 on: July 28, 2009, 12:14:35 pm »
Looking good!

Where did you get the CP overlay from? I'm gonna get mine from MameMarquees but on their site the CP artwork looks to be all one thing (including the instruction card). Whereas I see you have a space to put a separate instruction card in.

javeryh

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #28 on: July 28, 2009, 12:22:44 pm »
You know, I don't think I can ever get sick of Donk Kong Restoration/Build threads. There is just something about Donkey Kong and its pleasing nostalgic colours...

Looking good so far! My next build I will be using my router's pattern cutting bit "way" more...takes a lot of the stress out of matching sides doesn't it?


Thanks!  Donkey Kong was my absolute favorite arcade game when I was a kid.  I never thought I'd actually have one in my house to play whenever I wanted.  I think it's the best looking cabinet out there but I'm probably biased - I'd put it in the middle of my living room but my wife probably doesn't see it the same way I do!

Looking good!

Where did you get the CP overlay from? I'm gonna get mine from MameMarquees but on their site the CP artwork looks to be all one thing (including the instruction card). Whereas I see you have a space to put a separate instruction card in.

There is a seller on eBay who always has them listed.  You can get it from him HERE.  It is EXCELLENT quality - I don't know if you can see in the pictures but there is a plastic film on top of it.  When I took that sucker off the thing really popped!  It may be a bit large for your cab though since it isn't scalable.   :cheers:
« Last Edit: August 13, 2009, 09:36:08 am by javeryh »

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #29 on: July 28, 2009, 01:16:14 pm »
I'm curious as to your gamelist for this cab.....

javeryh

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #30 on: July 28, 2009, 01:52:40 pm »
I'm curious as to your gamelist for this cab.....

This is my working list.  Please add to it if you think I'm missing something!

- Donkey Kong
- Donkey Kong Jr.
- Donkey Kong 3
- Pac-man
- Ms. Pac-man
- Jr. Pac-man
- Super Pac-man
- Pac & Pal
- Pac-man Plus
- Frogger
- Dig Dug
- Mr. Do!
- Mr. Do!'s Castle
- Galaxian
- Galaga
- Galaga 3
- Crush
- Space Invaders
- Ladybug
- Burger Time
- Mappy
- Pengo

I really with there was a vertical version of atetris (that isn't cocktail).  Am I missing anything?  This was just off the top of my head...

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #31 on: July 28, 2009, 01:57:32 pm »
I used Romlister to slim my Mame install down to vertical games only using 2 buttons or less. From version 132 that gives me 1301 Roms (of which many will be clones ofc.) Your install would be less with only one button... but you'd still have a good few hundred. From that full list pull out your faves. You can go back to the full list to try out games you don't know much about... but safe in the knowledge they will all play perfectly on your cab. :)

javeryh

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #32 on: July 28, 2009, 02:18:59 pm »
I used Romlister to slim my Mame install down to vertical games only using 2 buttons or less. From version 132 that gives me 1301 Roms (of which many will be clones ofc.) Your install would be less with only one button... but you'd still have a good few hundred. From that full list pull out your faves. You can go back to the full list to try out games you don't know much about... but safe in the knowledge they will all play perfectly on your cab. :)

You also need to sort 4-way games.  I did a quick run through MAWS and didn't really see anything of interest that I'm missing - maybe Ali Baba, Journey, Pooyan, Block Buster or Circus Charlie but those games are all meh to me... I don't know... around 25 games is a nice number...

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #33 on: July 28, 2009, 05:20:52 pm »
I used Romlister to slim my Mame install down to vertical games only using 2 buttons or less. From version 132 that gives me 1301 Roms (of which many will be clones ofc.) Your install would be less with only one button... but you'd still have a good few hundred. From that full list pull out your faves. You can go back to the full list to try out games you don't know much about... but safe in the knowledge they will all play perfectly on your cab. :)

You also need to sort 4-way games. 

Ahhhh I forgot. You using a dedicated 4-way only on your cab. I'm going with a U360 for 8-ways as well.

javeryh

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #34 on: July 28, 2009, 06:06:17 pm »
I used Romlister to slim my Mame install down to vertical games only using 2 buttons or less. From version 132 that gives me 1301 Roms (of which many will be clones ofc.) Your install would be less with only one button... but you'd still have a good few hundred. From that full list pull out your faves. You can go back to the full list to try out games you don't know much about... but safe in the knowledge they will all play perfectly on your cab. :)

You also need to sort 4-way games. 

Ahhhh I forgot. You using a dedicated 4-way only on your cab. I'm going with a U360 for 8-ways as well.

Yeah, that really limits me but I'm OK with it.  Initially I was going to install a DK board but it was too expensive.  THe 20 or so extra games will be a bonus!

javeryh

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #35 on: July 28, 2009, 08:19:46 pm »
Next up was the lamination process.  As I mentioned earlier, the original Donkey Kong control panel is 9/16" thick to accommodate the t-molding which goes on the front edge.  In order to get this thickness I decided to use a 1/2" piece of MDF and laminate it with a 1/16" piece of ABS plastic. This stuff is available in lots of different places (eBay and Amazon have it) and isn't too expensive.

The first thing I did was cut out a piece of the ABS plastic about 1/2" oversized all the way around:



I used my trusty contact cement to bond the plastic to the MDF:



I used a foam brush to apply the contact cement to both mating surfaces. I probably went a little overboard but it didn't make a difference - the MDF is porous so I wanted to be sure I had enough on there.

 

After waiting 20 minutes for the glue to dry I placed a scrap piece of MDF on top and used a cinder block to apply pressure in order to achieve a tight bond.



It worked! After about 10 more minutes I used my router (with the pattern bit again) to trim the ABS plastic flush with the panel. You can see what a clean job the router does - it came out perfect.

 

The next thing I had to do was trim around the button holes. I used a drill and a step bit to start and then when the hole was big enough I stuck the pattern bit in there and flush trimmed the button holes just like I did around the outside.

 



After that was finished I used my drill bit to drill out the 8 holes in the ABS plastic for the control panel overlay.

We are almost there. Next up is routing the recess in the back for the joystick and routing the groove for the front latch to rest in.

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #36 on: July 28, 2009, 09:12:22 pm »
Looking good there buddy.  Keep posting updates.

Michael

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #37 on: July 28, 2009, 09:53:00 pm »
I wish I had the time, access, and skill to go all out like you are doing.  I am very pleased with my Donkey Kong MAME though, and it looks good enough for my needs.  I may make it more authentic down the road if I build another full sized MAME cabinet, but that will not be for a long time now.  Right now my focus is similar to your projects, I want to build a Princess Bartop for my girls, and right now it is time to gather the parts and go from there.  I want to make it very portable, but not too small so that down the road when they will let me, I can finish the design in the fashion that I want.  Maybe I can convince them to let me do a Ms. Pac-Man theme though, that would be a good compromise. 

Anywho, I though Journey would be a good game for your list, but I remembered that it is 8 way, not 4.  There is only a couple of levels that use the 8 way mode though, so it's easy to forget.  I would suggest Qix, that is one of my all time favorites.  I know I will get chastised for this, but Tempest is really not that bad on a joystick, if you adjust the analog down to like 30%, it can really play solid.  And I love that you have Mappy on the list, another classic that doesn't get enough love in my opinion.  I even have it on my Palm TX.  Maybe I'll theme that with my bartop, the girls love that game as well.

Good luck on getting the Wife to let you put it in the living room, I barely got away with that.  And my situation is that the basement is not finished, and I wanted to play this with the girls.  They both have allergies, and all the dust (the house was built a year ago) and stuff is not good for them down there.  It is clean, just not livable right now.  I already have my dedicated P.O.W., Space Invaders Cocktail (was in the kitchen until this was done,) my POTC and Superstar home size pinball machines down there.  But once the basement is done enough, it's outta the living room.  But that is fine by me, that is what I want, I plan to have a pretty stellar game room.  It should only be within a couple years.

Keep up the great work! 

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #38 on: July 29, 2009, 11:23:15 am »

This is my working list.  Please add to it if you think I'm missing something!

- Donkey Kong
- Donkey Kong Jr.
- Donkey Kong 3
- Pac-man
- Ms. Pac-man
- Jr. Pac-man
- Super Pac-man
- Pac & Pal
- Pac-man Plus
- Frogger
- Dig Dug
- Mr. Do!
- Mr. Do!'s Castle
- Galaxian
- Galaga
- Galaga 3
- Crush
- Space Invaders
- Ladybug
- Burger Time
- Mappy
- Pengo
Donkey Kong 2 jumpman returns read more about it here: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=74719.0

javeryh

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Re: javeryh's Donkey Kong +
« Reply #39 on: July 29, 2009, 12:00:01 pm »
Donkey Kong 2 jumpman returns read more about it here: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=74719.0

I don't have a board and as far as I know it isn't emulated in MAME.  I'd love to give it a try someday though!