JP's MORTAL KOMBAT RESTORE

RetroGamerJP

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Donor 8 years: 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019-2023
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So --- I started this restore (and a few others) over a year ago but shortly after I began, the wife and I decided to buy a new home and thankfully one that would have a basement where I could finally have a home for my collection.

We closed in Dec. of 2015 and spent the next 7-8 months working weekends to finish the basement along with all the other tasks that come from moving into a new place. So... here I am FINALLY able to get back to the the hobby and finish up some of the MANY projects I managed to acquire in the last couple of years.

As you will see my approach to restores is not 100% authenticity as I do customize a bit... for me I prefer my cabinets to look as if they have just come off the assembly line but do my best to make sure I dont stray too far away from it's roots ... that being said, I dont know if I should call this MK a restore or a scratch build. I did start with an original MK that was converted to a Golden Tee '99 (no surprise there) ... side art had been painted over but the cabinet itself was trash with water damage, broken corners, busted back door and no shortage of rat droppings...

SO, i decided to scratch build most of the cabinet while salvaging a few pieces from the original (along with all the necessary hardware). I dissembled the original cabinet and used the original pieces as templates for new ones. All work was done with table saw and flush bit for router.

I cut new bottom, sides, top, control panel box, back door and 2/3rds of the front of the cabinet. Retaining the speaker panel, monitor bracket, back half of control box and the section of the front whihc the access door (thankfully as I was not looking forward to duplicating it) ... in one of the photos below you can see the new raw pieces married with the few original ones that are still black. After the cabinet was done I decided to paint it inside and out... I rolled it with black oil-based. for final assembly I wet sanded all of the areas that would get vinyl applied. The front of the cabinet is covered with 3M 1080 series satin black vinyl and the sides are printed on 3M vinyl.

With all my restores, I have the metal re-finished (powder-coated), use all new buttons and joysticks (IL from Paradise Arcade) along with new plexi. new security screws, glass and new makvision 27" monitor shoe-horned in. Many do not Like the Makvisions but I have never had an issue and they look fabulous in person. I also like the idea of a brand new monitor although I have heard stories of the Makvisions being DOA ... I have a couple extra in case but so far no issues, knock on wood.

A new journey for me on this was rebuilding ALL of the artwork from SCRATCH and having it printed here locally. MK is one of my all time favorites (second only to Killer Instinct) so I wanted to have an artwork package that was worthy of the time and energy that this project was going to consume. After ordering a set early on (forget where from) I realized that I was not going to be happy with what was out there so rebuilt it. I had help from a fellow KLOV'er who provided me the original scan of what is probably the basis for most artwork that is currently out there. The ONLY thing I retained from that was Johnny Cage live action picture which was already great quality. Every other component, dragons, MK logos etc we all rebuilt with vector paths and composited in Photoshop. I originally reproduced with halftones to match (as closely as possible) the original artwork... However, for my own prints I omitted the half tones and preferred the nice clean gradients. I finished the print ready art both ways and will be updating this thread with links to share once I organize and package everything up. UPDATE: here is link to thread containing artwork download https://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?p=3522772#post3522772

I didn't intend to write a book so sorry for the long post... here are some pics... sadly I lost a good bit of my pictures so I dont actually have a shot of the cabinet on the day I picked it up.















 
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Thanks guys! --- this one was a lot of fun to do and really happy with the way it turned out.
 
Loving this. I have a 27 inch crt tv that I decased and plan to install in my MK 2 cab which came with a broken 25 inch monitor. If you don't mind my asking, did you buy the 27 inch monitor frame and if so, where from?

Thanks
 
Loving this. I have a 27 inch crt tv that I decased and plan to install in my MK 2 cab which came with a broken 25 inch monitor. If you don't mind my asking, did you buy the 27 inch monitor frame and if so, where from?
Thanks



For this cab it was a purchased 27" Arcade CRT made by Makvision so monitor, chassis, frame are all assembled ready to go right out of the box. https://na.suzohapp.com/products/monitors/49-2715-00

However, for fitment into the Midway cabinets, it requires modification of the original mounting brackets and a new bezel made for the 27" FLAT CRT.
 
Epic restore/rebuild, I'm picking up an MK1 cab this Saturday that needs a lot of work. Curious about your makvision install as I plan on putting one in my MKII cab, what did you have to do to the mount brackets to make it fit?
 
Epic restore/rebuild, I'm picking up an MK1 cab this Saturday that needs a lot of work. Curious about your makvision install as I plan on putting one in my MKII cab, what did you have to do to the mount brackets to make it fit?

I'm working on an MKII right now as well ... I will take some pics of the brackets so you can see but basically you do not change where they mount to the cabinet but you drill new holes in the brackets and put in new studs (bolts) that line up with the larger monitor. Old original studs can remain so you can always go back to 25" if needed.

Here is a link to an older thread I had when I first did the Makvisions to my MK4 and KI --- https://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=289437 --- I dont use the spacer anylonger and just add another washer/nut to the stud so I can actually adjust how far in or out the monitor sits... this helps when trying to get the gap between the monitor and bezel just right.
 
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Just read thru the killer instinct restore, nice job. My stepson has the first nfl blitz(xmas gift this year) with a 27" monitor i had to install. I moved the brackets but redrilled the brackets to move them vs drilling holes in the cabinet. Worked out pretty well but I like the way you did it, seems like less work.
 
Again, outstanding work on the art, but I feel I must say that the dimensions are a bit off based on your pictures. It's a bit too wide and JC's eyes aren't blue. Here are some pics of my dedicated machine and yours for comparison. I think the art needs tweaked a bit...











 
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Again, outstanding work on the art, but I feel I must say that the dimensions are a bit off based on your pictures. It's a bit too wide and JC's eyes aren't blue. Here are some pics of my dedicated machine and yours for comparison. I think the art needs tweaked a bit...


You are correct about the scale... i never realized until now. if you download the full high res are his eyes are blue as are the blue details in in shoes etc. for some reason they just seem muted in those particular photos.
 
FLAWLESS VICTORY!!!

I'm tackling an MKII myself soon. Do you have pics of your MKII?

THANK YOU

No pics yet as I'm still in the beginning stages but I will definitely share once I have something worth.
 
Does anyone have the files for this? My artwork faded after storing my cabinet in the garage.
 
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