Project T43 - Taito 1943 Battle of Midway - My First MAME Project

[cmoses]

Since the first time I discovered MAME I have always wanted an arcade machine, but have never had the extra room.  Our new house has a game room and a perfect place to put it.  I told my wife what I wanted to do and she was all for it as long as it has some classic 80's arcade games for her to play.  I have been researching and learning all that I can from the forums here.  I new that I didn't want to start from scratch for my first project and I didn't want to hack up a original to make it a MAME machine.  So I needed a machine that had already been converted or a bare cabinet that was in need of work.  So I started watching craigslist and local ebay for anything that would meet my needs.  I found a couple of prospects on craigslist, but always seemed to just miss out.  They go so quickly around here.  I ran across a posting the other day shortly after it was listed and quickly emailed the seller telling him I wanted it.  We made contact and he answered a few questions and I am now the proud owner of my first project.

I new when I saw the pictures that this had been converted at least once.  It was a 1943 Battle of Midway game, but was not in a cabinet anything like what was shown on klov.com.  The cabinet looked familar, but I had to do some quick research and discovered that it was a Taito cabinet.  So knowing that it was a Capcom game in a Taito cabinet I felt fine in making it a MAME conversion. 

The machine is not in working condition.  It was acquired a few years ago, in the same state, with the previous owner thinking he would try to get it running.  The machine is in decent shape overall.  It has been covered in grey laminate and has black textured T-molding.  There is a back side corner where the laminate has chipped off and you can see the original artwork.  It was a green Taito machine in its original form, but currently that is the only clue I have to what it was originally.  The square base that the machine sits on is in pretty bad shape.  I am not sure if this is just wear and tear from moving or minor water damage.  It should be easy enough to replace though.  The back lock and coin door lock are both missing.  There is a 1943 control panel overlay, bezel and marquee.  The control panel is a 2 player design, with each player having a joystick and two buttons.  There are also two buttons, player 1 and player 2 start, on the front of the control panel.  It has a vertical monitor that has clear signs of burn in.  The Taito manufacturs plate on the back, which is slightly damaged, shows a serial number of 151229.  This number also shows inside the cabinet on the power supply and the monitor.  The monitor has a serial number on the tube and the chasis of WG347687.  Internally everything seems to be present, but not having a lot of experience I am not sure.  There is a main board on the floor of the cabinet, a power supply and some black heat sinks on the side.  There is a double board mounted on the cabinet door.  Everything seems to be connected properly and I did not see any extra wiring laying around or anything cut or obviously missing. 

I have done some researching on the Taito conversions on here and have been really impressed by Knievel's Twin TT project thread.  This is the same cabinet from that project and I am amazed at what he has done and the final product.  All his work is amazing.  I am looking to try to accomplish something similar to what he has done, although my skills are not anywhere near his.  So if I can get close I will be happy.

I have some questions that I am hoping I can get answered.  Based on the serial number, can I find out what the machine was originally?  What is the best way to remove laminate?  Can it be done easily? I may try to restore the original side art if I can get the laminate off and not ruin the sides.

My plan is to fix up the cabinet, remove the laminate, remove the side bolts, try to restore the original art work if possible.  If not, then either paint it black or laminate it.  Replace the monitor with a computer monitor, switch the orientation to be horizontal and go a little bigger.  Make a control panel similar to Knievel's, but hopefully six buttons per player.  I will be putting in a computer to run windows XP, a front end, MAME and Daphne for sure and possibly a few other emulators.  I would like to find someone that is restoring or building a 1943 Battle of Midway game so that the marquee, bezel, boards, etc can all be put to good use. 

If you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, please post them here.  I will try to answer them all and keep eveyone posted on my progress.  I know it will take a little time, but I want to do this right and make this a fun first project.  I know I will have many questions along the way, but that is what I enjoy so much about this forum, so many knowledgable people.

Here are a few pictures, I have a lot more, if there is something you want to see just let me know.

[Spaced Ace]

Well, its looks to be a nice project.  The laminate question is a sticky one.  If you are going to remove the laminate, it is a daunting task.  Some people say peel it off and use an iron to heat up the glue and scrape off.  Some say Goo-Off or Goo-Be-Gone work wonders.  But it looks like you have some minor wood damage in a corner to fix up too. 

You might get more replies and advice if you would take a few pics of the sides...

[cmoses]

Spaced Ace,

Thanks for the reply.  I am happy to have found this cabinet as I do think it makes a good first project.  Enough items to make it a true project, but none so challenging as to be to overwhelming.  I am hoping that I can get the laminate off, then make a decision to either sand and repaint or put new laminate on.

Here are some pictures of the sides showing the sideart and the grey laminate underneath.  The sideart is faded and has a few tears and missing pieces.  It also has a few of the cabinet bolts going through it.  Also the rear corner that had the chipped laminate and the damage.  What is the best way to repair this kind of corner damage?

[Spaced Ace]

This just my opinion, I'm sure someone here with more experience could object or say otherwise.

Use Goo-Off and take the side art off, wood putty & sand that corner, clean the sides real well and just apply a new sheet of vinyl.  Buy some new side art and youre done. 

But, I would wait and get more replies before taking my advice.  This is how I personaly have always done my arcades, regardless if they need new vinyl or not.

The vinyl used for most arcades comes standard black or gray...  However, if you could find a local graphic art studio, they have white vinal that they can custom print the whole side any color, any logo or graphic, any size and will cut and install for you.  But, this rout can be costly, I had an arcade done this way and it cost me $180.00, but I also had the CPO done by him too.  So it wasnt a bad deal.  I sold the arcade the same day I listed it on craigslist, before the side art, it was listed for two weeks, never even got a call on it...

That PCB is in excelent shape btw.

[cmoses]

Well I have had a weekend to work on the project.  Mostly disassembling and removing pieces to try to get down to a mostly empty cabinet so that I can fix it up.

Removed the marquee first and was surprised to see bulbs and not a neon light.  This really is an old cabinet.



I removed the plexiglass and the cardboard bezel, this is the monitor bezel and it has a strange little hole in it that was covered by the cardboard bezel.  Anyone know what the purpose of this would have been?



I removed the coin door.  Other than the lock missing it looks to be in pretty good shape.



Here is the control panel, marquee, bezel, plexiglass and monitor bezel all removed.



I had some concern about getting the old grey laminate off.  I started to take a look and found the part that was already cracked was pretty easy to get under.  I just took a flat head screwdriver and began prying it a little at a time and it came off pretty easy.  The cabinet had been in my garage and its been over 100 degrees so that may have helped.  I took off both sides and the front.  It came off with a little work, but there is a lot of glue still around and the cabinet is not in that good of shape.  It was a green Taito cabinet, but no other revealing information as to the original game.  I will be using some laquor thinner to remove the glue.  Once that is done I will need to decide on sanding and painting or getting some new laminate and recovering it.





The last thing I did this weekend was to discharge and remove the monitor.  First time I had ever done this and was a little anxious, but it didn't do anything when I followed the procedures from the FAQ, no pop, crackle or zap.  The machine had not been on for a very long time, so that probably helped.  I did the discharge procedure about 5 times before actually removing the monitor.  It is now out of the cabinet and depending on what I replace it with will either be using the existing mounting frame or creating a new one.



Well I got a lot of things I wanted accomplished this weekend.  I will be spending the next few nights probably removing the glue.  I expect it to be a long process.  I hope to get some more thoughts and input on this project.  I am currently calling it the T43 because it's a Taito cabinet and was a 1943 Battle of Midway.  I have not settled on a theme or idea for the cabinet, but have been throwing some ideas around in my head. 

[Spaced Ace]

I did the discharge procedure about 5 times before actually removing the monitor.

   Just to make sure huh?  I would..

Its coming along great bro.

[Encryptor]

Could be this.

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=6843

[cmoses]

Could be this.

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=6843

Yes it could be that for sure.  I think that it was always a vertical cab, because the monitor had a sticker with the same serial number as the cabinet.  The monitor also had a WG serial number on it as well that was different.  I have seen Jungle King in a similar green cabinet, but it was a horizontal game.

I do not think I have ever seen or heard of Alcon.  Might have to check it out at some point.

Thanks 

[nullb0y]

If i was you, id re-do or fixup the origonal art
It looks pretty cool

[Paladin]

The hole in the bezel may have originally had a light behind it.  It would shine through to illuminate the instructions on the glass.

[cmoses]

If i was you, id re-do or fixup the origonal art
It looks pretty cool

The art is pretty cool, but it is pretty messed up due to the laminating and glue.  I am trying to removed the glue now and it is a slow process using laquor thinner.  It is also messing up the original artwork a little.  Smearing the artwork and getting a lot of green on te towel I am using to wipe it up.  Once I get off all the glue and some of the green paint, I would still need to patch all the little bits of pressboard that came off with the laminate.  I just don't think it will happen.  I think that laminate has been on for a long time. 

[cmoses]

Well the project is coming along.  I spent the weekend removing the old laminate glue.  I found a recommendation in another post that laquor thinner would remove the glue.  It does work and requires a little elbow grease.  I found it best to pour it on let it stand for about 20 seconds and then with a cleaning scrub brush, work it around and it would get most of the glue up.  It did smear the paint some so watch out if you are trying to preserve artwork.  The cabinet was already in bad shape from the laminate and glue so it was not a concern for me.  I wanted a cabinet with smooth sides and front.  So I needed a way to eliminate the carriage bolts used to hold the cabinet together and support the monitor brackets.  I decided to drill each hole with a counter sink bit and used counter sink bolts.





I will then cover over the holes with wood putty and sand them down.  I also have some patching to do on both sides and the front where the glue did some damage to the face of the cabinet.  I have also installed new casters and will be building a new base for support.

Once I get the cabinet all repaired I will need to decide to either paint it or laminate it.  It will probably depend on how well the repairs go.  If they come out good and smooth I might just paint it.  I have a contractor friend trying to track down some laminate for me, so if I get a good price I might go that way. 

[shardian]

Congrats on the project! As to identification, there used to be a real good Taito ident website, but it is dead now.
It looks like  you are doing some real good work. If you want to make your job real simple, pop a 48-1 board in there and reuse the existing jamma wiring. It is literally plug and play for your setup. Shoot, you'll even get the 1943 game still!

[cmoses]

Just catching everyone up on my project.  I have been working the last couple of weeks on the cabinet, mostly trying to get it back into some decent shape.  Removing the laminate was necessary, but did a number on the sides.  When it pealed off it left a pretty rough surface behind.  Well I patched all the holes and started to patch up the sides.  It took a lot of wood filler to fill in all those small surfaces.  I would sand and clean it up and then there was still more.  So needless to say I spent a good bit of time doing that.

Here is a picture after lots of work, filling sanding, smoothing and repeat.



As you can see, there isn't much cabinet that didn't see some wood filler.  You can't even see the really small holes in that picture.  It was like trying to fill in a textured surface.

This is a new base that I had to build.  The original was in pretty bad shape.  I don't think it was water damage, just deterioration over the years of being moved and shuffled about.  The old base was also pressboard, so it didn't hold up well.  This one is 2 x 4 's and should be much better.

 

I purchased my primer and paint this weekend.  Home Depot had $5 rebate on all gallons of Behr paint.  I got Behr Enamel Undercoater Primer and Sealer and had it tinted so it would be easier to cover.  I then selected Behr paint code 770F-7 Beluga for the black.  They said that this was the deepest black.  I went with a satin finish as this best matched the black that is already on the cabinet.  The area where the monitor and speakers are was in very good condition, this was never altered, so I was trying to match that as best as possible. 

Here is the cabinet after applying the primer to the outside sides and the front.



Here it is after the first coat of the satin finish.



It will probably need two more coats as I am applying if very thinly.  I am using the white foam rollers that have been recommended elsewhere on these forums.  Prepping and painting the cabinet has been an adventure.  Mostly because the cabinet surface was in such bad shape.  Hopefully I will get the last two coats on this week and be able to move on to the electronics here pretty soon. 

I want to thank Knievel once again as I have been referring to his Twin TT  project over and over again for ideas and inspiration. 

[BUCKETHEAD]

You get the BUCKETHEAD seal of approval !

You are doing a AWESOME job here.   

[Axe]

Looks good brotha!

My own project has stalled, as i am waiting on my brother in law to make the control panel (he's a metalworker, and thinks he has enough check plate to make a full CP for my Big Ass Mame cab)  But once i have the CP (and parts incoming from the UK) It'll be a quick clean and prep and paint... althouhg my cab has malamine in really good shape, so i t may stay black.... just make some groovy accents!

[cmoses]

Just wanted to post some updated pictures.  I am getting closer to having step 1 completed.  Got the cabinet finished, ordered my T-Molding and received it.  Stripped and repainted the coin door.  So all is going as planned.  I order a Mini-PAC from Ultrimarc, but when I received it, it was not being recognized properly.  I emailed Andy, and he is going to send out a replacement.  So just waiting for it to arrive.