Dragon's Lair Restore

[Jetson]

OK, this is my first project.  Thanks to Neilyboy (my co-worker and neighbor) , I have a serious case of the MAME bug.

My original intent was to build a cab from scratch and use an X-Arcade tankstick with a 21" VGA monitor that I found for $35.  I bought a cheap dell desktop off of Ebay for $20 and have MAME32 with my roms loaded and working. 

That was until I found an Express Raiders cab on Ebay for $0.99.

Now, it looks as tho I will be doing a conversion project.  Here are the pics of it's current state.

I figured since I have the Tankstick I'm going to run with the X-Arcade theme.   I plan on using an oversized X logo for sideart and getting an X-Arcade marquee from mamemarquees.

My two sons (ages 4 and 6) love playing it and beg me to play all the time.  This has been a great tool for discipline.  Don't listen to Dad = no playing the mame box.  I have found it to be very effective...LOL

I am anxious to get this together so I can enjoy a nice looking cab.

Any suggestions? Thoughts? Comments?

10/26/07

Well...Hold that thought.   Last night I was inspecting my cab a little further and to my surprise....I realized that this is a converted Dragon's Lair cab.

Needless to say, my project plans are going to change.

I'm still going to do the X-Arcade theme cab, but I'm going to have to build it from scratch.

I feel it would be a shame to further defile such an iconic game cab.

Anyone think a restore is on order for this one?

Know where I can find a DL marquee and marquee rails?

[leapinlew]

Cool looks good.

I would suggest you ditch the X-arcade theme and pick something that means something to you.

[Jetson]

Thanks LeapinLew....Yeah I thought alot about coming up with another look, but my whole goal with this cab is to do it as cheap and as simple as possible.

I knew I would catch some crap about the X-Arcade theme since this forum is all about building your own arcade controller. 

I figured I can make my mistakes and learn on this one so that when I decide to bulid another, I'll have a ton more ideas and can come up with a better look. 

[leapinlew]

Good luck - I'll be watching with interest.

[Rabbi Bob]

I haven't formally announced my project (see my sig line), but I'm working off an older defunct case also and am ordering a Tankstick (next week actually) to put in the cabinet.  I've been looking at my cabinet trying to figure out if a second output display (15" LCD) might be able to make into the mix, but it just doesn't seem like it would look good.  What catches my eye on your cabinet is that board that contains the speakers and how it faces you directly.

What you'd put on the display, I have no idea right now!  Just a random thought.  Good luck with the project!

[Jetson]

I've got to say that I have been very impressed with the play of my Tankstick.  I'm not quite the hardcore gamer as some of the other people on this forum, but I still think for the money and ease of connectivity, the tankstick is definitely is worth every penny...although I got mine barely used from Neilyboy for $150 (saved $50 plus shipping).  Since I had Mame32 already loaded it was super easy to setup seeing that it has an x-arcade preset.  I hooked it up and I was playing Streetfighter II in less than two minutes.

My whole goal with this cab is to do it super cheap and keep it simple (but still make it look good of course).  I guess I should of called my project "The Frugal Bastard's Super Cheap and Easy X-Arcade Cab"   Is that too much to fit on a marquee? LOL

 

[Rabbi Bob]

lol

Yeah, same here pretty much all around with the reasoning.

[Jetson]

Anyone know how to tell the difference between a Dragon's Lair cabinet and a Space Ace cabinet?

I've been looking all day for info, but can seem to find a definite answer.

[Steve]

Well it looks like the scoreboard overlay is still there (as seen in the shot from behind/inside the cab. Check out www.quarterarcade.com for parts/artwork.

For me, I did a Space Ace build and used Daphne to run it all. www.daphne-emu.com

If you need any help/advice please feel free to PM me

I also use Game Launcher as the front end so I can play Space Ace and Dragon' Lair. http://www.dribin.org/dave/game_launcher/

Hope this helps

Steve

[BUCKETHEAD]

I say do the DRAGON'S LAIR !!!

Woooo Hoooo !

[Jetson]

Steve,

Thanks for the emulator info.  I've already been checking out quarterarcade for the sideart.  Apparantly they're the only place you can get it.

The scoreboard in back was the first thing that tipped me off to it being a conversion.  It looks like they just put a piece of plastic laminate right over the front and put the speakers and grills back on.  I don't even think they glued it...at least I hope they didn't...I'll be taking that off tomorrow. 

I went out and bought a heat gun and took off the Express Raiders side art tonight.  I definitely think it looks better already.  I will PM you when I get to the emulator stuff.  Thanks for the help.   

Justin

[Steve]

I'm glad to see another Dragon's Lair saved from the scrap heap 

I LOVE my Space Ace, I for one and VERY happy I have one in my games room.

I also have a old Taito cab that I mamed up (retro 80's games)

Can't wait to see the pictures

[Jetson]

Does anyone know how to get spray paint of plexiglass without ruining it?

I pulled the speaker out and found that the plexi is original but has been spray painted over.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Steve]

On mine, the front is clear and the back of it has the details on it (lives, score) so you should be able to just rub the front to get it off.

[Jetson]

I used Goof Off to get the spray paint off the plexi...it cleaned up nicer than I expected

[metahacker]

might i recommend.............

[Jetson]

OK, need some help here.

The original DL marquee is 3 sided...when they converted this cab they just hacked it off.

Do you think I should restore it with new wood and retainer, or just go with a flat marquee?


BTW, does anyone have the measurements for the marquee layout?

Thanks

Justin

[Neilyboy]

Restore that baby Jetson! I attached the exact cab measurements for ya courtesy of jakobud.com

Neil

[Jetson]

Working on restoring the cp.  I bought an electrical box cover and cut it in half to use as a backing for the holes that were added when they converted the game.

Since I don't have a welder or easy access to one, I just used a welding epoxy to put them in place.

Next, I busted out the angle grinder to knock of some of the surface rust and to feather out the edges on the holes that will be filled with bondo.

After that I decided to take out the wood on the marquee top and bottom since I'm going to have to replace them to get the cab back to original specs.  Here's a before and after pic of the marquee area.

[Jetson]

Spent the weekend stripping the adhesive and paint off the control panel.  Filled, primed and sanded it.  I also cut new marquee top and bottom to bring it back to original specs.

[WCBoudreaux]

Awesome find! Wish I had see this earlier, I could have told u exactly what it was...

As far as the difference between Dragon's Lair, and Space Ace, there's a WORLD of difference... If that cab was infact a Space Ace, it was the conversion style... Meaning, in an original Dragon's Lair Cabinet... I built one from scratch, and am currently waiting on my artwork to arrive...

Also, here's another vote for restoration... I say do it man! And I love the way you're keeping us updated! Peeps here love pics! 

If you're looking for the marquee plexi, and rails, I make reproduction parts for these cabinets... Currently I have have 1 set of rails, and 1 marquee plexi left... I also have a run of speaker grilles left... Probably 6 or 7 pairs remaining... Keep in mind, that the marquee plexi I sell, doesn't include the artwork... Just the 3 sided plexi... Get with me for pricing...

I don't know if you know it or not, but u can get reproduction scoreboard plexis at Arcade Renovations, and a working scoreboard from Quarter Arcade... I also reproduce the scoreboard cable... hehe

Any way, good luck with the restoration... I'll be watching to see how things come along!

PS ~ How's the vinyl look? Still in good shape?

[Jetson]

I'm guessing you mean the vinyl on the sides?....for the most part it's in pretty good shape, there are a few knicks and dings here and there.  I was planning on using some wood filler and sanding and painting the entire cab. 

Since it's vinyl will the wood filler stick or will this be a problem?  Anyone have any thoughts on the best way to fix the vinyl (i.e. type of paint/primer)

Also, the front right corner has a good chunk missing at the bottom.  Thinking about covering it up the damage with some corner protectors. 

[WCBoudreaux]

Honestly, if it were me... I'd rip all of the old vinyl off... That way, you could better access the condition of the wood underneath... Then I'd do all of my repairs...

The vinyl is SUPER EXPENSIVE!! So I'd just grab a thick nap roller, some kilz, and some acrylic latex black satin paint, and go to town... It'll have a textured finish... Kinda like mine does... It's all on my thread "My First Project Announcement" I'm actually pretty impressed with the finish on my cab, and once it's dry it's pretty damn strong... And a heck of alot easier than applying the vinyl...

I don't know if wood filler would stick to the vinyl tho...

[Jetson]

The wood on the sides seems to be in excellent shape....but man ripping off all that vinyl seems like it would suck and take forever.  It seems like it's stuck on there pretty good.
 
Would a heat gun take that stuff off, or do you think I'll need to use a stripper of some sort?

Thanks for the paint info....btw, did you have them tint your primer?

[WCBoudreaux]

Yes, a heat gun will take that stuff right off... On the original DL cab, the sides and front are MDF, so be very careful with a scraper of any kind on the MDF...

I just bought some regular Kilz off the shelf at Wal-Mart... I had nothing at all done to it... And that's only 2 coats of paint on my cab... Of course, I did sand lightly between primer coats... 2 coats of primer, 2 coats of paint is all I used, and it's pretty thick... 

[Jetson]

Here's a pic of the top and bottom of the marquee area that I cut after they were primed and spray painted. 

I used 3/4" MDF to keep it the same as the rest of the cabinet.

I temporarily screwed them into place last night but didn't get a pic....I'll be sure to post one later.

I predrilled and made counter sink holes for the screws for a nice clean look.

I plan on repainting the entire cab, so the black on the marquee top and bottom was just to cover the primer to give a more even appearance when it comes time to paint.