Dan Fixes Coin-Ops
Here's what I did today. Picture shows Victory Pointe's six-player X-Men machine, a 90's monstrosity that uses two 4:3 arcade monitors and a mirror to make one really wide image. It is Gloriously Extra. Unfortunately some operator of days past covered up the original control panel art with this grim Generic Spaceship art. I guess the original art must've been really rough, if this was an improvement.
Anyway. We've got reproduction art now.
The_Gibson
@ajroach42 @ifixcoinops I had the chamce to buy one in 1993 for about $300 and I passed on it because I didn't have anywhere to keep it.
I still kick myself for that.
The_Gibson
@ifixcoinops not familiar with the term....
Holy shit.
AND IT WAS FOR G-LOC?!?!?
Ok, that is awesome.
I feel like a pedestrian brining up Holosseum, and the orignal vector art Star Wars (cockpit version).
Andrew (bookseller era)
@thegibson @ifixcoinops The vector art star wars cockpit is the only real coinop on my want list anymore.
But I am pretty pedestrian.
The_Gibson
@ifixcoinops my envy is off the charts...
There are only 2 consoles I want more than that one, and honestly they are all tied for 1st.
Dan Fixes Coin-Ops
@thegibson Gonna guess one is a Sega R360?
Andrew (bookseller era)
@thegibson Having moved a Moon Patrol by myself a few times, I will say that it's vital to have somewhere to keep it that you will not have to move often.
Dan Fixes Coin-Ops
Here's a closer view of that grim grey control panel. Yergh. It's gotta go.
Dan Fixes Coin-Ops
That was the most stressful five minutes of my arcade career so far. Picture shows the 6-player X-Men machine with new control panel art (mostly purple with the X-Men characters next to each one's controls), not yet trimmed, but laid down smooth with no creases or air bubbles.
Dan Fixes Coin-Ops
Three goes-over with Goo Gone and a big razor scraper, some spot cleaning with acetone in stubborn areas and a preliminary sanding later, here's what we're left with. It's plenty rough and after taking this photo I began the first of two rounds of Bondo to fill up the damaged corners and smooth out the gouged top. Tomorrow I do a final sanding, apply the new art and put on new T-molding.
Dan Fixes Coin-Ops
(which will be rather stressful as I only have one attempt to get this enormous sticker aligned perfectly!)
Dan Fixes Coin-Ops
It took, no kidding, several hours of scraping to get to this point. The remnants of the original art are visible here beneath the remains of the Grey.
Notice that the Grey is actually grey here, not cigarette tar brown, because we've scraped and broken away the top lamination of plastic.
Dan Fixes Coin-Ops
Here I've finally got all the art removed. But there's still the SMELLY GLUE to deal with, and it has an unpleasantly organic note that reminds me very much of several-day-unwashed male crotch.
Santa Claes πΈπͺππ°π
Dan Fixes Coin-Ops
I decided to do the T-molding next, because it's easy and I still have a stress headache from the laying down of the artwork. Transitions around corners like the one shown in the picture can be tricky, but it's usually a pretty straightforward and very satisfying job.
Dan Fixes Coin-Ops
Now I'm wondering whether to do the T-Molding or the controls next. Here's a picture of the new T-molding, which covers and protects the edges of the panel. It's called T-molding because it's shaped like a T, with a prong in the middle that pushes into a slot cut into the edge of the wood. You just hammer it in gently, unless you bought the cheap stuff, in which case you glue it in. :)
Dan Fixes Coin-Ops
Here we go, all trimmed now. Picture shows the same control panel but with the excess trimmed off and joystick/button holes cut. You don't have to be particularly precise cutting the control holes as the joystick's dust cap and the buttons' collars will cover the edges of the cut.
Dan Fixes Coin-Ops
@ieure Nah, not on this one. I've used it in the past but now that new reproductions are tougher I don't bother. It tends to trap filth. :)
Dan Fixes Coin-Ops
USUALLY straightforward. I forgot to mention the importance of checking the slot for debris before you start hammering the T-molding in!
All in now anyway, I'm going to reattach the panel to its piano hinge next.
Maybe it's Eyesaline
@ifixcoinops Are you going to put plex over it? I know that was more common on 90s conversions to cover up all the extra holes in the control panel, but I think it was factory for these big Konami machines. Definitely was on Turtles and Simpsons, Iβd assume the other 4p dedicated cabs as well.
Looks really nice, great job getting that on. Replacing CPOs is about my least favorite thing, I just donβt bother anymore unless itβs completely thrashed or wrong (like that one was).
The_Gibson
@ifixcoinops A Johnny Mnemonic pinball machine!
Dan Fixes Coin-Ops
@thegibson Oh haha yeah I think I did a thread on that sometime last year, the hand used to make a noise like a tractor when it moved :P
The_Gibson
@ifixcoinops WHOA... waitaminute!!!!
You were just not going to mention that sexy beast in the background?
Dan Fixes Coin-Ops
@thegibson Well heck narrow it down a bit, this joint's full of sexy beasts
Well, less full now I've gone home, but the point stands
Dan Fixes Coin-Ops
Bonus: pics the owner took of the panel after I'd marked all the gouges and then bondo'd them
Dan Fixes Coin-Ops
Bonus: the owner helping with the initial scraping. Look how much the plastic lamination yellowed!
Dan Fixes Coin-Ops
Bonus: pic the owner took of joystick shaft before/after
Dan Fixes Coin-Ops
Joystick shafts can be placed in a drill and spun against a rag with metal polish to shine them up a bit, like you see in these before-and-after pics.
I did the same to the rusty bolts holding the sticks in. I last polished the bolts about five or six years ago; this time I sprayed a couple coats of lacquer on them to try and keep them nice a bit longer.
Dan Fixes Coin-Ops
There's some mechanical work to be done, but that can wait until next week. Here, have some pictures of the complete machine and its new control panel art. :)
Dan Fixes Coin-Ops
@clacke This is made by an arcade graphics company, I believe it was vectorized from a collection of differently-damaged sources.
Santa Claes πΈπͺππ°π
Santa Claes πΈπͺππ°π
Dan Fixes Coin-Ops
@clacke Yup. Several in fact!
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