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SeverdHed's Donkey Kong project...OFFICIALLY DEAD
kjeffery:
dang..looks good..im thinking about ditching the cardboard bezel im making and just use tinted glass.is it completely black until the monitor is on, any idea what % tint that is.i guess i should go to a glass shop and tell them what i need and see what they can do
severdhed:
Well guys, it's been a while since i've done anything with this project..but i'm slowly getting back into the swing of things. Due to budget issues, this could be a slow process. I haven't done too much since my last post all those months ago, but even just a little progress is worth sharing.
I finally got around to ordering the controls for this cabinet. previously i had a really horrible betson 4way stick that completely sucked. I decided to go with a Sanwa JLW stick, because we have one as a dedicated 4way in our mame cabinet at work and I absolutely love the feel of this stick. I picked up some blue and orange happ buttons, but i also decided to try some Sanwa buttons as well. I hear alot of people talking about these Japanese style buttons and i've been wanting to give them a try. i figured since i was placing an order at lizardlick anyway, i should just throw on a few sanwa buttons. I didn't know how they would work, since they are designed for a metal panel, but they are a little larger in diameter than the happ buttons, so they fit in the existing button holes very tightly...they seem to stay in there very nicely. I have only had them in the cabinet for about 2 days now, but i really like the feel of them...they are so different than the happ buttons. I'm not sure which way i will end up going in the end, but so far, i'm thinking the sanwa buttons will stay.( i know that they arent exactly like the original nintendo buttons, but then again, neither are the happs, and it is my cabinet, so the only thing that matters is that i like them). i know it is stupid to mount them in the DK Jr panel when i know i will be replacing that soon, but i just had to see how much better it plays with a real joystick.
I also decided to tackle the side art, since it will have to go before i can start the bondo/paint process. I went to harbor freight and picked up a heat gun for $10, it has 2 settings, hot and really damn hot. the highest setting pretty much just melted the side art almost instantly...it took about 10 minutes to get the whole piece off, and that was taking a few breaks to separate my fighting kids, and to pull the battery out of the smoke alarm :) I also removed the 5 bolts on either side, since i no longer need them to mount my monitor.
here is a before and after...
There is still alot of glue left behind, so i'm assuming the best way to deal with this is to lay the cabinet on it's side and soak it with goo gone...but that would mean i would have to gut the cabinet and i just want to have a few more days to play with these new controls. fortunately the other side of the cabinet already had the side art removed when i got the cabinet.
after removing the glue, i guess i need to bondo and paint...i'm really not looking forward to this part...painting sucks. javeryh was kind enough to provide me the color codes to take to sherwin williams for the DK blue...so that will be a big help. The first week of the month is always really busy for me at work, there will be quite a few late nights, so i probably wont get alot done this week, but i figured if I resurrected this thread, then i would be motivated to keep the progress updated. plus i have to fix a leaky drain pipe and finish the ceiling in my dining room before i do too much to this cabinet (gotta keep my wife happy...she isn't exactly thrilled about how much i need to spend to replace all the artwork on this cabinet)
well, that's it for now
mr_doles:
--- Quote from: severdhed on May 02, 2010, 10:01:23 pm ---Well guys, it's been a while since i've done anything with this project..but i'm slowly getting back into the swing of things. Due to budget issues, this could be a slow process.
--- End quote ---
Ever since I started my DK Jr restore I LOVE reading these Nintendo restores/builds. Glad to see you are back at it. Believe me I feel the pain of the budget.
--- Quote from: severdhed on May 02, 2010, 10:01:23 pm ---I went to harbor freight and picked up a heat gun for $10, it has 2 settings, hot and really damn hot. the highest setting pretty much just melted the side art almost instantly...it took about 10 minutes to get the whole piece off, and that was taking a few breaks to separate my fighting kids, and to pull the battery out of the smoke alarm :)
--- End quote ---
I actually used the wife's hair dryer...it worked really well. I did have some glue to deal with but not a lot. Goo Gone, small scraper, a rag, and some patience.
LeedsFan:
I missed this thread when it was first up. That is such a score you got there for $50!!! I never even saw a genuine DK cabinet here in the UK... all we got was the game in generic cabs. That Mala layout is just awesome. I tried to download it from the earlier link but it's not working any more. You still got the files to share perhaps? :-*
severdhed:
yeah, i was pretty happy to find that cabinet. i'm glad you like the mala layout...here is a link to download it (i may have moved it a while back)
ftp://nickf.dyndns.org/Dkong.zip