Donkey Kong Jr. Project - COMPLETE!!!

[audiomidiman]

Well, on my quest to find a MAME cabinet I came across a nice DK Jr. It's an early build so it's made out of Plywood versus particle board. Works but have a little bit of work.











I will need the following.

1) New Marquee
2) New CPO
3) New Instruction Graphics
4) New Side Art
5) T-molding

I might repair and repaint the cabinet and rebuild a new pedestal. Will keep everyone up to date on my project. Just hope I can fit my MAME project in my basement. If worst comes to worst I'll sell this to my dad at cost because he seemed to want it.

Bill

[Dervacumen]

One of my all time favorite games.   The cabinet looks like it's in great shape.
Are there any internal parts, or is it just the cabinet?

Are you installing MAME and keeping the original boards, or just going with MAME?

[Havok]

With a truck like that you only picked up one cabinet? Shame on you!

 

[audiomidiman]

One of my all time favorite games.   The cabinet looks like it's in great shape.
Are there any internal parts, or is it just the cabinet?

Are you installing MAME and keeping the original boards, or just going with MAME?

Everything is there. The cabinet needs a little work but luckily it's plywood. I think it's staying dedicated w/ the possibility of a double donkey kong upgrade which gives you DK and DK Jr. just haven't decided yet. I'll do a separate MAME cabinet in the future. I was thinking about figuring out how to get a MAME in there allowing a quick switch between the two. However, that doesn't make sense seeing I have a Win98 PII and a nice 19" CRT ready to put into a nice cabinet. I think my MAME will look dedicated w/ a custom control panel.

Bill

[audiomidiman]

With a truck like that you only picked up one cabinet? Shame on you!

 

Yeah, the guy I got it from had TONS of cabinets to fill that truck. It is my neighbors truck and he offered to take it so if we found anything else that we wanted. Luckily for me I only had enough $$$$$$ for DK Jr.

Bill

[audiomidiman]

Have a few little things I need/want to take care (Need new plug w/ ground, replace cardboard bezel, replace bezel in back of cabinet and replace instruction card in cabinet) of but as you can tell my Donkey Kong Jr. Project is 99.9% complete. The wiring made me a little nervous because it wasn't as simple as an edge connector. However, after getting into it and looking at the manual it was pretty simple.



The only thing that really gave me trouble is the hammer finish on the coin door but after I gave it a light sanding and a couple of more coats of paint it looks great. For the Coin Slot metal plate I ended up using "Metallic Silver" from Krylon and it gave it a nice look IMHO.



Next thing on my list is sending the board in for a Double Donkey Kong upgrade from Mike's Arcade. However, he's a little backed up so I'm going to hold off until after my kids 2nd birthday in April so our families can enjoy it.

Looks as great as my Ms. Pac Man restoration.

Bill

[javeryh]

Simply stunning.  You did an amazing job - it looks like it rolled out of the factory yesterday.  I love the artwork and the CP came out great too.  Fantastic job all around.  Do you have any pics of the restoration process?  I'd be curious to see how you cleaned it up so nice.

I've always loved the look of the DK/Nintendo cabinets and every time I see one built/restored on here I want to get one myself.  I am coming to the realization that I need a bigger house...

 

[audiomidiman]

Sure. I'll see if I have any other photos when I get home but here are a few.

Repaired Cabinet with plastic wood and Wood Filler. Sanded w/ 220 and clamped and separated plywood. Primed and applied two coats of DK Jr. Orange (had mixed from the inside of the control panel seeing there was MINT Formica in there.

 

Before photos of the control panel overlay.



Photos of the original marque which is slightly warped. Could of been repaired but I ended up buying a new one.



Original Bezel w/ has nice colors but bought a NOS bezel from the guy I bought my cabinet from.



Photos before monitor, pcb, t-molding and rewiring done.



I bought a completely NEW control panel from mikesarcade.com because I really don't like the nintendo joysticks. Not to mention, the time I got a new control panel overlay, buttons and instruction card I would still have paid $40-50 and still had old dirty Formica and a crappie joystick. So, I spent the extra $$$$$ for a new complete one w/ a nice 4/8 way joystick. Side art I bought off of e-bay and was from arcade renovations (now quarter arcade) and they look PERFECT!!! I was about 1-2 hours late buying a NOS marquee so I had to buy a reproduction which looks great as well. All in all I am very very happy with my restoration. I think I need to take a small break before starting my MAME project. I'll take some time getting the front end working and start working on the design. I will probably have a 2 player Demolition derby cabinet in the next week. However, I'm starting to think a bar top will keep my wife happy seeing I already have a Ms. Pac Man and a Donkey Kong Jr. taking up space. At least for the first project.

I'll see if I have anymore photos but I'm not that great at documenting my restorations. The inside was completely cleaned before putting everything back in there so I'll get some photos later of the inside and the wiring.

Here is a photo of my Ms. Pac Man restoration.



Bill

[javeryh]

Awesome - thanks!  How did you apply the orange paint?  It looks almost laminated - you can't see any brush strokes or "orange peel" from spraying.  Very nice!

[am_monkee]

great find and even greater job restoring! why is it that coin doors seem to be so difficult to deal with?

[audiomidiman]

Awesome - thanks!  How did you apply the orange paint?  It looks almost laminated - you can't see any brush strokes or "orange peel" from spraying.  Very nice!

Well, Nintendo uses a very thin Formica type covering on their cabinets. So, I used 220 to rough the hell out of it. Primed it w/ a latex based primer (1-2-3 I believe) and then rolled the semi gloss orange w/ a 1/4" nap roller. If you get up to it you can see a slight texture. However, it looks pretty smooth. Spraying isn't my forte so I just avoid it. Rolling is a good alternative if you take your time and use a low lap roller. The only way to get it smoother is to spray or put on new Formica.

Bill

[audiomidiman]

great find and even greater job restoring! why is it that coin doors seem to be so difficult to deal with?

I used a hammer finish from Rust-O-Leum and it kept getting shinny spots. Ended up roughing it up and putting on two more coats 24 hours apart and all went good. I think my spray booth at work sucks too much out of the air. Including the paint. So, I painted the final two coats in my basement which sucked because my wife wasn't too happy because of the smell.

[kizer]

Nice work man. Donkey Kong Jr. would be a cabinet I buy if I was to buy one. Has been my favorite for years.

As well the Mrs Pac Man cabinet looks great.

[audiomidiman]

Thanks for all the comments. I really love the look of the cabinet in my basement. I like the fact that it's bright and nostalgic looking. I will get some photos of the inside because it cleaned up great in there and there is the original wiring harness and power supply in there that look brand new.