I've found my passion!

some people's passion for this hobby is to find $100 working games
and insta-selling them for $1-2k. so much profits to be made!
 
Here they are, haven't picked them up yet but was able to get my friend's mom to take a few pictures... I'm so excited to get started!!!

Your MVC2 is in a Mortal Kombat 1 cabinet.

MVC2 didn't really have a dedicated cabinet. FWIW it runs on the Sega NAOMI hardware which normally outputs VGA resolution (the MK1 cabinet is 15KHz resolution, so the output from the NAOMI would be set to low-resolution mode in order to run on that cab).

If you want the best possible output for this game you'll want a cabinet with a VGA monitor.

Arguably the most appropriate cabinet for it would be a Sega Net City or NAOMI Universal, these are the cabinets designed for the NAOMI hardware and have the best monitors for it, it's also the cab where MVC2 was usually installed in Japan. the official Art kit included marquees for this cab as well.

netcity4l.jpg


With this you could also get the official Capcom Control Panel which includes Dreamcast Controller Ports.

Panel.jpg


This is a very expensive option however as these cabs typically sell for around $1000 and the official Capcom Panels will set you back another $200 or so... if you can even find one.

In the USA "dedicated" NAOMI games were installed in a few different cabs...

NAOMI Universal Uprights (similar to the cab above) like Virtua Tennis/Virtua Tennis 2:

univ.jpg


other like Zombie Revenge were installed in Generic Black cabs like this:

1181242188257.jpg


There was also this cab used by Virtua Golf and sometimes Virtua Tennis:

s-l300.jpg


There were a few others as well (such as the NAOMI Baseball cabs and the Monkey Ball cabs), but the above 3 would arguably be the most appropriate "USA" cabs for the MVC2 hardware.

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IMO if you're truly dedicated to "restoring" and "preserving" these games you'll restore that MK1 cab as an MK1 and then find a new, more appropriate cab for the MVC2 board set.
 
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IMO if you're truly dedicated to "restoring" and "preserving" these games you'll restore that MK1 cab as an MK1 and then find a new, more appropriate cab for the MVC2 board set.


Wow, can't thank you enough for that wealth of information! I will definitely look into this! The end of the month can't come fast enough, once I have them in my possession and open them up I'm sure I will be full of more questions about this. Great info, again thanks! [emoji106]
 
Wow, can't thank you enough for that wealth of information! I will definitely look into this! The end of the month can't come fast enough, once I have them in my possession and open them up I'm sure I will be full of more questions about this. Great info, again thanks! [emoji106]

I'm happy to help :D

I did a similar Killer Instinct 2 De-conversion (link in my Signature). There are a number of other great MK and KI restoration threads here on the forum too if you search around.

Some Tips:
1. if it hasn't been ripped off the original id tag should be on the back of the cabinet and would confirm if it was originally an MK1. There was one or two other Midway games that used this cabinet but they're much less common.

2. you should be able to remove the black paint to reveal the original artwork using Citri-Strip. Given the over-spray on the t-molding I'd guess they just sprayed over it. This is often a blessing in disguise as long as the art was in good condition before it was sprayed over it, it can prevent it from fading. Midway cabs had a huge problem with red dye fading out of it's artwork.

3. A lot of these used WG K7000 monitors, which are awesome, and fairly easy to repair/restore if it's not working, and they tend to look fantastic once rebuilt. There were a few different monitors used so definitely confirm was it is before you go ordering a cap kit or flyback.

4. assuming the side art is good under the paint the hardest/most expensive part of making this an MK1 will be the control panel. The MK 5-button layout has been replaced with a 6-button, until you see the underside you wont be able to determine what they did to change this over. Luckily there are enough MK fans out there that we have reproduction parts for nearly every part of the control panel. but buying all that will likely set you back more than the cost of the MK1 PCB.

5. If you want to replace the buttons and sticks use IL EuroSticks and buttons, they use old Happ Molds and Cherry Microswitches which is the closest you can get to the original equipment.

I cover most of this in my KI2 thread as well.
 
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I'm happy to help :D

I did a similar Killer Instinct 2 De-conversion (link in my Signature). There are a number of other great MK and KI restoration threads here on the forum too if you search around.

Some Tips:
1. if it hasn't been ripped off the original id tag should be on the back of the cabinet and would confirm if it was originally an MK1. There was one or two other Midway games that used this cabinet but they're much less common.

2. you should be able to remove the black paint to reveal the original artwork using Citri-Strip. Given the over-spray on the t-molding I'd guess they just sprayed over it. This is often a blessing in disguise as long as the art was in good condition before it was sprayed over it, it can prevent it from fading. Midway cabs had a huge problem with red dye fading out of it's artwork.

3. A lot of these used WG K7000 monitors, which are awesome, and fairly easy to repair/restore if it's not working, and they tend to look fantastic once rebuilt. There were a few different monitors used so definitely confirm was it is before you go ordering a cap kit or flyback.

4. assuming the side art is good under the paint the hardest/most expensive part of making this an MK1 will be the control panel. The MK 5-button layout has been replaced with a 6-button, until you see the underside you wont be able to determine what they did to change this over. Luckily there are enough MK fans out there that we have reproduction parts for nearly every part of the control panel. but buying all that will likely set you back more than the cost of the MK1 PCB.

5. If you want to replace the buttons and sticks use IL EuroSticks and buttons, they use old Happ Molds and Cherry Microswitches which is the closest you can get to the original equipment.

I cover most of this in my KI2 thread as well.



I will check out your thread, thanks! It would be truly amazing if there is some artwork underneath, can't wait to see
 
Hello all. I, like so many others, have not truly discovered my passion in life. I am 30 years old and have just come to the realization that I NEED to restore, own, and care for vintage arcade machines. My old friend owns two arcade machines, Area 51 with the two guns, and Marvel vs Capcom 2. They have been in his parent's garage for a long time now. I know for a fact that at least one of them does not display video and the other may have problems as well. For my first project I plan on fixing and restoring these two awesome games to "like-new" while preserving the history behind them. I will be bringing them into my living room (I have an awesome wife!) to do the work which will be nice to get them out of a garage and into the house. I joined here because after looking at other "arcade forums" this seemed like the best fit for me to get good info for preserving and fixing what is already there. I just need to clear an area in my house for them and then I will be picking them up from my friend's parent's house to begin! I am so excited in fact that I bought tickets to California Extreme 2017! (http://www.caextreme.org/cax2016) I found out about the event through this website and just knew that I had to go, not only for fun, but I'm sure I will learn a lot too! I am terribly excited to get started, I look forward to meeting you all and picking your brains once I begin to have questions. I will post pictures the day I go to pick them up! Thanks in advance!

P.S.
I love my two cats: Alice & Chauncey

Greetings and welcome from San Antonio! Having spousal support with this hobby is Key!
Best of luck on your projects.
 
Your MVC2 is in a Mortal Kombat 1 cabinet.



---------
IMO if you're truly dedicated to "restoring" and "preserving" these games you'll restore that MK1 cab as an MK1 and then find a new, more appropriate cab for the MVC2 board set.


Looks like you were right! The artwork is amazing underneath ! Can't believe it, beautiful... much more cleaning to be done... here's a taste:
dfd3080adbf3cabd02a9962b0bf264e2.jpg
53171266985e362e31a8ef77f6cb0cef.jpg
df156d7152a78377886633aeb7322e1f.jpg
d6ced3342cb0043f3f391d1539b200de.jpg
74c688fb0f1f88c47f2fda0dd4f74bd3.jpg
 
Beautiful :) Not even faded at all. that era Midway cabs had a bad habit of the reds fading to nothing over time. It's amazing that a lot of times the black paint actually helps preserve the original art :)

Some more advice:
for any damage to the art work Elmers Paint Pens from the arts department in Walmart are really excellent for touch ups. get an extra black paint pen to do any edges where the paint has worn away to expose the bare wood.

MK cabs used a different color Red T-Molding from other cabs. Most T-molding places sell a "Bright Red" where MK used more of a "Blood Red" There are one or two shops out there that sell the right color red. so be weary of that when replacing it.

Also remove the glass in front of the monitor and inspect the wood support piece that holds the bottom of the glass. In most of these cabs this piece can be pretty lose, cracked and misaligned. nothing some wood glue and clamps can't fix though.

The piece of metal on the top of of the control panel that rests against the glass should have a thin gray foam strip that keeps the metal from contacting the glass directly, this is usually missing or badly damaged so it's worth replacing to keep from damaging the glass and chipping the paint off of the metal.
 
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Beautiful :) Not even faded at all. that era Midway cabs had a bad habit of the reds fading to nothing over time. It's amazing that a lot of times the black paint actually helps preserve the original art :)

Some more advice:
for any damage to the art work Elmers Paint Pens from the arts department in Walmart are really excellent for touch ups. get an extra black paint pen to do any edges where the paint has worn away to expose the bare wood.

MK cabs used a different color Red T-Molding from other cabs. Most T-molding places sell a "Bright Red" where MK used more of a "Blood Red" There are one or two shops out there that sell the right color red. so be weary of that when replacing it.

Also remove the glass in front of the monitor and inspect the wood support piece that holds the bottom of the glass. In most of these cabs this piece can be pretty lose, cracked and misaligned. nothing some wood glue and clamps can't fix though.

The piece of metal on the top of of the control panel that rests against the glass should have a thin gray foam strip that keeps the metal from contacting the glass directly, this is usually missing or badly damaged so it's worth replacing to keep from damaging the glass and chipping the paint off of the metal.



Can't thank you enough for this invaluable information! I will definitely take all that great advice!

Ps

My cats are becoming acquainted with them already...
49a953247718195f565bbb4d43f51e0b.jpg
 
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