Blue TKG3 “No Copyright" Donkey Kong Restoration

I still have both the NOS and a repro set Darren sent me. I'll eventually use the repro art on my DK.
 
I bit the bullet on a reproduction Nintendo 4 way joystick built to factory specs per Mikes Arcade. Looks great but did take a little getting used to the feel. Need to get that CPO touched up with some paint and the instruction sticker replaced asap!
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I do appear to be a bit better with this new stick 👀… Officially in the 100K club 🎉 😃!IMG_4049.jpeg
 
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Oddly enough, I have a (red cab) TKG2 and it also had a red, non-Nintendo joystick installed that did the same thing to the CPO. Luckily, I stocked up on some nice no-copyright CPOs back in the day so I have one to replace it. Now I'm curious if the red joystick you have in your TKG3 is the same one that was installed in my TKG2. I found it kind of odd because it was the only thing on the cab that was not original.

Also, thank you for not going overboard on this project. Back in the day, around the same time I was picking up various no-copyright parts, people were taking cabs like this and stripping off the original finish and then painting them. From afar they look okay but once you get a good look the finish is not at all "correct" and just looks bad compared to the original gel coat used by Nintendo. Tasteful restore!
 
Oddly enough, I have a (red cab) TKG2 and it also had a red, non-Nintendo joystick installed that did the same thing to the CPO. Luckily, I stocked up on some nice no-copyright CPOs back in the day so I have one to replace it. Now I'm curious if the red joystick you have in your TKG3 is the same one that was installed in my TKG2. I found it kind of odd because it was the only thing on the cab that was not original.

Also, thank you for not going overboard on this project. Back in the day, around the same time I was picking up various no-copyright parts, people were taking cabs like this and stripping off the original finish and then painting them. From afar they look okay but once you get a good look the finish is not at all "correct" and just looks bad compared to the original gel coat used by Nintendo. Tasteful restore!
Thank you! I'll take a closer look at the joystick and take some photos in case anyone else with an early DK may have also had a random red joystick and / or white buttons lol… I love a good conspiracy theory every now and then.. maybe we got some from the factory red ball unicorns lol 👀 🦄 😆

I doubt that your CPO had white buttons as well?? 👀
 
Looks like a made in USA Wico joystick.. which I figured was definitely aftermarket / replacement… but apparently they've been making stuff since the 60s .. and it might be an "early" design given it says pat pending… 🤔…. Did Nintendo run out of CPOs in Japan due to the high sales (around serial 5294) and start throwing in whatever parts (joysticks and buttons) they could source, maybe even after they arrived in USA to get them out the door 👀…. 🤔 let me tighten the chinstrap on this tinfoil hat 😂!! Ya never know I suppose.. so much else on this machine seems original just like yours that it seemed very out of place to me as well..
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This is perplexing.

First of all, Nintendo sticks are super duty. I've never seen or hear of one breaking. Buttons broke frequently, but not the joysticks. Why replace a joystick if you don't have to?

Second of all, TKG2 and TKG3 Donkey Kongs are different beasts. There are some conventional wisdoms about these machines. As far as we know, TKG2s started life in Japan as Radar Scopes. They were sent to the US, failed to sell fast enough, and were then converted to Donkey Kongs at the factory before being sold. TKG3 Donkey Kongs were not conversions, they started life at the factory, in Japan, as Donkey Kongs. The blue TKG3s started to sprinkle in later in the TKG3 run before the TKG4 (2 board PCB) models were introduced.

I can sort of see a Wico joystick getting swapped into a TKG2. Perhaps they ran out of parts here in the US and used as Wico instead of the Nintendo stick. That's a lot harder to fathom with at TKG3 where everything would have been assembled in Japan.

Pretty weird.
 
Looks like a made in USA Wico joystick.. which I figured was definitely aftermarket / replacement… but apparently they've been making stuff since the 60s .. and it might be an "early" design given it says pat pending… 🤔…. Did Nintendo run out of CPOs in Japan due to the high sales (around serial 5294) and start throwing in whatever parts (joysticks and buttons) they could source, maybe even after they arrived in USA to get them out the door 👀…. 🤔 let me tighten the chinstrap on this tinfoil hat 😂!! Ya never know I suppose.. so much else on this machine seems original just like yours that it seemed very out of place to me as well..
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How was it mounted?
 
Here's the photos I took before swapping mine, so I'd make sure to get the wiring right with the new one.. I found the square nuts used on the four main studs pretty unconventional as well..

The Control Panel has the holes drilled for the proper size joystick to drop right in.. new holes were needed for this (replacement?) one.. 👀
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Picked up a Radarscope cocktail last week, but it had been converted to a Donkey Kong. It doesn't appear to be one of the factory conversions, as the control panels are the Radarscope artwork, and someone swapped in a Wico 4 way joystick and fire button to replace the Nintendo 2 way sticks. The game board is the original Radarscope 4 board TRS set, but the thing plays Donkey Kong.. a few sounds are messed up (Jumpman walking and jumping sounds, the Kong grinning sound, stuff like that), and there are couple very minor sprite color issues, as well as a timing issue with how fast Firefoxes spawn. I haven't looked too closely at the boardset, but it doesn't look hacked up at first glance. Not sure if someone just did a rom swap and the color and timing issues are a result of not having other board tweaks done, or if some stuff on the board has fallen out of spec and is causing the little glitches (assuming the ROMs are good). I guess I am looking for any info on what Factory modifications were done to the Radarscope boards to make it work for Donkey Kong, this way I can check if they've been done and work on fixing the out of spec parts, or potentially deconvert it back to be able to play Radarscope.
The plot thickens again…. ??? Sounds like the person believed they had a radar scope cocktail that someone else converted to a DK cocktail and stuck a WICO 4 way in it… what if that was a factory converted cocktail Radar Scope to Cocktail DK?? OR.. did some radar scopes come with WICO sticks toward the end of their run if say Japan had some sort of issue sourcing joysticks and sent radar scopes (some becoming TKG2 DKs) as well as later sending some TKG3s state side where they got their made in USA joysticks installed so they could keep pumping these out as fast as possible without waiting for their japan supplier... 🤷‍♂️ maybe even Nintendo just allowed WICO to have some of their sticks get sprinkled into normal production / the occasional machine as a way of testing them out as a future supplier or backup if their main source can't keep up… 🤷‍♂️

I think we need the expert to chime in!! @CamaroMurph you still active on these forums?? 👀 Do you have any experience or memory of others reporting these Red WICO joysticks being found in otherwise quite original early machines!??
 
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The most likely explanation to me is that the joystick was replaced, maybe even prematurely just because it has an unusual and in many ways "worse" feel than many others.
I do agree, but I'm gonna let my imagination run wild for at least a bit longer! 😆
 
The most likely explanation to me is that the joystick was replaced, maybe even prematurely just because it has an unusual and in many ways "worse" feel than many others.
Especially due to the difference in mounting.
 
Congratulations on this restoration. Love to see a rebuilt 20ez and the amazing colors come alive.

I didn't read the whole thread but did you need a no copyright bezel and Marquee? I believe I have one stashed away somewhere if you do.
 
Congratulations on this restoration. Love to see a rebuilt 20ez and the amazing colors come alive.

I didn't read the whole thread but did you need a no copyright bezel and Marquee? I believe I have one stashed away somewhere if you do.
😳.. if they are in similar or better condition than mine are I'd 1000% take them off your hands! I'd throw them in my machine and store my current ones away for the day I eventually find my unicorn Red DK that will likely need to be restored back or converted back to period correct DK art/parts 😍! But I don't technically NEED them, so if you want to keep them stashed for yourself I completely understand!
 
did some radar scopes come with WICO sticks toward the end of their run if say Japan had some sort of issue sourcing joysticks and sent radar scopes (some becoming TKG2 DKs) as well as later sending some TKG3s state side where they got their made in USA joysticks installed so they could keep pumping these out as fast as possible without waiting for their japan supplier.
Radarscope used the same joystick as Space Fever and Space Firebird. I can say with confidence that they never came with a Wico.
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I can also say with confidence that they never shipped from the factory with Wicos. They would have put out some kind of documentation for it. There would have also have been an actual designation for the joystick in the manual. Nintendo was particular about using the correct parts. Donkey Kong also had a significantly different control panel layout. Presumably they would be sending the whole control panel assemblies.

What probably happened is that the joystick gummed up or the microswitches broke so they replace it with what the op had on hand.
 
I think we need the expert to chime in!! @CamaroMurph you still active on these forums?? 👀 Do you have any experience or memory of others reporting these Red WICO joysticks being found in otherwise quite original early machines!??
"I'm not dead yet" - movie quote, anyone, anyone

Been mostly a lurker these days as the Camaros have been absorbing any free time I have.

I will leave you with some thoughts on your joystick questions. When trying to consider originality, look for evidence of change. While not always definitive it can be strongly indicative over a number of samples. Look at the wiring on the control panel. I would suggest there is evidence of where it once was for the original joystick. Look at wiring paths and clamp locations. You already have the evidence of the extra drilled holes for mounting the stick itself. Look at this photo of an original control panel. Tried to take it similar to yours. What do you notice between the leaf stick wiring and the original.
 

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"I'm not dead yet" - movie quote, anyone, anyone

Been mostly a lurker these days as the Camaros have been absorbing any free time I have.

I will leave you with some thoughts on your joystick questions. When trying to consider originality, look for evidence of change. While not always definitive it can be strongly indicative over a number of samples. Look at the wiring on the control panel. I would suggest there is evidence of where it once was for the original joystick. Look at wiring paths and clamp locations. You already have the evidence of the extra drilled holes for mounting the stick itself. Look at this photo of an original control panel. Tried to take it similar to yours. What do you notice between the leaf stick wiring and the original.
Yeah I agree, it's highly unlikely they came from the factory this way. It'd be near impossible to prove even if that was the case. I agree it looked / felt like someone added mine after the fact as I was disassembling the first time to replace it. My final potential reasoning / scenario for why maybe these maybe possibly in the slightest chance come from the factory. No doubt after these machines arrived in the USA you would think there'd be some sort of quality control final testing before being shipped to the operators / began distribution throughout North America.. if a machine was found to have an issue with its joystick, these Made in USA were the easiest complete joysticks to get a hold of to replace the original. The reality is it really doesn't matter, even if it were confirmed one out of a thousand had one swapped in I think I'd still be putting it the more common Black knob OEM one… I mean unless someone with legit credentials confirmed it.. then maybe I'd let my Blue Bird rock a Rudolph nose with pride… 😂
 
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