Donkey Kong Junior Control Panel Build

NERDtendo

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Donor 2011
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I am building a control panel to go with the rest of my DKJR kit that works in my Donkey Kong machine. It will be built with original parts and some new repro parts. The first thing to tackle is the Control Panel Overlay. I am using an original CPO so I need to get rid of the filth and cigarette burns as well as any deep scratches that will deter from the look of the control panel when it is finished. I am looking to make a very asthetically pleasing cp that works like new but is obviously a restore and not a repro.

Here is a picture of the front and back before I started:

DKJRFRONTBEFORE.jpg


DKJRBACKBEFORE.jpg


As you can see, it's dirty but not in too bad of shape. I have had to fix much worse. I am using the same materials I used in my other Donkey Kong Control Panel build with one new item.

500 grit sandpaper
1500 grit sandpaper
Novus 1, 2, and 3
Goo Gone (***new to my process)
Wet rag
Dry rag
Power Drill with buffing pad attachment


I gave the CPO a once over on the back with a wet rag and then with the Goo Gone. It worked out great. I used Goo Gone because it seemed least likely to cause any damage to the CPO art. I did a once over on the front with the 1500 grit sandpaper to give it a nice, smooth surface. I then hit the problem areas (cig burns, deep scratches, and CPO underlay viewing area) with the 500 grit sandpaper. I wiped the front down with a wet rag. Then I repeated the use of the 1500 grit sandpaper.

Here is how the CPO looks currently:

DKJRFRONTONCEOVER.jpg


DKJRBACKONCEOVER.jpg


That's all for tonight. It already looks a lot better. Next I will polish the CPO to a nice shine. I will post up new pix as soon as that part is completed.


Here is the list of the parts and pocesses going into this build:

Original CPO restoration
New clear plastic above cp plastic disk and used black under cp plastic disk
Repro control panel wooden plank
Used strikes w/original hardware
Used button holders w/original hardware
Used control panel wiring harness
NEW CPO underlay Instruction Card (reproed by OldTimeToys)
New button microswitches with black plastic rollers
Rebuilt joystick with reproed balltop shaft and microswitches (from MikesArcade)
Used joystick mount plate w/original hardware
New CPO hold down bolts (from MikesArcade)
Original Blue and Orange buttons (restored by Tighe)

This control panel should look quite nice when it is completed.

Stay tuned...
 
Today I got to work on finishing the CPO. I noticed from the pics I posted yesterday that I had missed a cig burn in the top left corner (above the O in Nintendo) so the first thing I did was remove that. I then polished and repolished and polished again. I made lots of use of my power drill until the battery died. I then did a final polishing by hand always starting with NOVUS 3 and following up with NOVUS 2. After the polishing was to my satisfaction (about 2 hours worth of work), I finished the CPO with NOVUS 1. I took a picture of the CPO after all this was complete.

DKJRFRONTAFTER.jpg


I then installed a new repro CPO Instruction Underlay Card made by OldTimeToys. It looks great. This is the best and most thorough CPO restore I have done yet.

DKJRFRONTFINAL.jpg


Tomorrow I will work on assembling the control panel. As for today, I am too tired to do anymore work.
 
Ran into a problem last night. I was tired and should have stopped working. I put on a new joystick mounting plate from MikesArcade and when I went to tighten the nuts to hold the joystick on, the bolts came loose. Now they twist freely and I can't get the nuts off. Not usually a major issue except the nuts weren't all the way tightened. I am going to fix this with hot glue. Not going to be a perfect control panel anymore but I can live with it.

Lesson to be learned: Take MikesArcade joysick mounting plate to hardware store and find nice fitting nuts insteead of assuming it is a perfect repro and using original harware!! Uuggh...
 
Okay, got a hot glue gun and fixed my joystick mounting problem. It doesn't look as awesome as it could have if everything had gone smoothly, but no one is going to be looking underneath the cp anyways.

First, here are pix of the repro cp wood plank made by jeff412:

CPBLANKFRONT-1.jpg


CPBLANKBACK-1.jpg


Here are pix of the underside of the control panel populated. The buttons seen in the pictures were just place holders for me to mount the button switch housing. The buttons that are going on this panel should arrive this week.

CPPOPULATEDBACK.jpg


CPBUTTONMICROSWITCHES-1.jpg


Like I said, the hot glue is unsightly but won't be noticed by anyone but me.

Here is a picture of the top of the control panel with the CPO and joystick installed:

CPFRONTALMOSTDONE.jpg


All that left is to install the buttons and put on the front T-Molding. I will post final pix when the buttons arrive.
 
Really nice! I for fortunate to get a really nice DK Jr control panel and marquee off of Nerdygrrl. Now all I need is a bezel.

The DK Jr bezel does have the cig burn over the start button, and I am going to do just what you did!
 
Got my restored buttons from Tighe today and I have finished the CP. Buttons and T-Molding has been applied. I will post final pictures tomorrow after I have tested it with my DDK board. It looks great.
 
Tested the completed control panel today and it works better than my original Donkey Kong control panel 9I'm going to have to do something about that when I restore my DK CPO). Here is a nice close up angle of the newly refurbished buttons by Tighe...

ButtonClose-Up.jpg


And here is a picture of the finished control panel as it looked while installed in my DK for testing...

DKJRCPFINAL.jpg


I think it utrned out great. I gotta save some money to get some more wooden CP reproes from jeff412 (my last one has a broken corner in the laminate) so I can make the last control panel I need for my universal Nintendo cab...Popeye.
 
You did an awesome job on that CP!

Thank you. I really like the way it turned out. I like building these Nintendo control panels. No one ever takes care of them it seems so I like to see proper "new" ones. You can buy a repro control panel, but not of this caliber without spending a lot of money.
 
Bumping this thread for people who haven't seen it.

Thanks. I really did like the way this control panel turned out. If someone were to offer the NEW repro black laminated control panels again I would love to take up control panel building. Control panels bring by far the most satisfaction in a game restore...and you get to appreciate the work every time you step up to play the game!
 
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