Marble Madness in progress

KorbenD

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Picked up a cheap Roadblasters machine, and I'm currently repairing all the damage to it with the eventual goal of having Marble Madness installed.

There was a fair amount of water damage on the bottom edges that extended up about five inches on one side. The other side wasn't nearly as bad for some reason.

I stripped the vinyl off the sides and started sanding down the swollen particle board. The corners that were chipped off were rebuilt with Bondo.
 

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I had to reglue the side back to the base. I used the high tech clamping method of putting a heavy, large metal box onto the top. The areas weakened had several coats of Minwax Wood Hardener applied.

In hindsight, I would have done the wood hardener *after* the majority of the sanding was done. For the corners, I coated some old shims with tape and used them as forms for applying Bondo.

Originally, I had planned on painting the sides, but I found a promising vinyl material that I'm going to try out on it instead. The primer made it easier to see pits and dings in the surface.
 

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Picked up a cheap Roadblasters machine, and I'm currently repairing all the damage to it with the eventual goal of having Marble Madness installed.

There was a fair amount of water damage on the bottom edges that extended up about five inches on one side. The other side wasn't nearly as bad for some reason.

I stripped the vinyl off the sides and started sanding down the swollen particle board. The corners that were chipped off were rebuilt with Bondo.

Hey, I've been down this road before. Bought a RB, changed it to IJ, Roadrunner, then MM. Good luck, these cabs clean up real nice:

IMAG0004_1-1.jpg


SSL11223.jpg
 
Bondo still in progress. Building it up in stages to help prevent air voids.

The control panel I bought from Quarterarcade in near NOS condition. ;) (I knew the condition when I ordered it, they shipped fast and the price was good.)

Although it certainly had character, it really wasn't what I wanted in my game, so I ordered a new overlay. The trackballs needed rebuilding too.
 

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Trackball after rebuilding. It isn't stock, but I went with translucent trackballs during the rebuild so I can add a lighting kit.

Got the sideart from Phoenix Arcade (and will be ordering a second set soon).

New CPO from Wizzes Workshop.

Corner almost done with rebuilding, and the marquee from Mark Alpiger. I also bought a MM cartridge from him.
 

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More Bondo-ing and sanding, followed by the primer coat on the repaired part. Then using glazing putty on the small dings and nicks I'd missed before. And more sanding.

And more sanding.

And yet more sanding . . . :(

Also pulled the wonderful 'redecorated' overlay from the control panel.
 

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The board from Mark, tested and working. The main board also had the Leta chip, so the game worked fine.

Control panel with the rebuilt trackballs, the sanded and polished start buttons, and with the premask still on (I'll remove it when it's ready to be installed). Also connected the lighting kits, but I need to buy some quick disconnects for them.

Tried spray-on paint stripper to see if removing the vinyl was easier with it. It was, but it turns out that nitrile gloves provide almost *no* protection. Got a few nice chemical burns on my hand because of that.
 

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More stripping. And more damage found. :(

Someone bolted something to the control panel mount, and then apparently it got torn off. More Bondo. And sanding. Yay.

Also found where someone had kicked the cabinet under the coin door. Easy fix though with Gorilla Glue and a lot of clamping pressure.

Turned out that I had a coin box that would fit sitting in the closet.

And more damage. The lower coin door had been beaten all to hell. It would have taken a ton of time to hammer it straight and then get it looking nice. Thankfully nocashvalue had a spare door in *MUCH* better shape that he was kind enough to give me.
 

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Got the vinyl sheeting in. Haven't had a chance to apply it yet since I still have a little more sanding to do on the first side I repaired. It's just been too hot in the garage to do anything the last couple of weeks.

Also picked up a second cabinet from eBay. It's actually a much more sound cabinet that the one I already had, and for $44, I couldn't pass it up.

The control panel is junk (some operator figured that instead of simply repairing the trigger on the wheel, that punching holes in the panel, mounting buttons and putting a handwritten note beneath the monitor was simpler). The marquee is also yellowed horribly, both are going in the trash. The monitor (G07) has a high voltage problem. No blown fuses, so I don't think it'll be too hard to get running. The board set works fine.

So the current plan is that MM is going in this cabinet, and Roadblasters will continue to live in the first one I bought. Which means ordering a second set of side art . . . I need another job. ;)

I also may yank the switcher in the new cabinet and repair the original supply, but I haven't decided yet.

Anyone want to buy a Roadblasters cartridge? :)


Still need to apply vinyl on both machines, repaint the backs, repair a few dings and chips on both, patch the lock bar holes, fabricate a new bezel, and order new glass for the monitors.

Last post until more is done.
 

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Hey, I've been down this road before. Bought a RB, changed it to IJ, Roadrunner, then MM. Good luck, these cabs clean up real nice:

Thanks! I'm having fun with this rebuild, despite the neverending sanding. I'll have one or the other done in a few weeks.


And thanks to the mods for opening a Restoration section.
 
Where did you get the vinyl.

The cab I got was mostly stripped (all but the section where the coin door is), and I need to apply new vinyl.
 
Let us know how the vinyl works out, I need to do my Peter Packrat and my Road Blasters cabs and can't decide if painting would look as good as vinyl.

I certainly don't look forward to all the sanding...
 
Let us know how the vinyl works out, I need to do my Peter Packrat and my Road Blasters cabs and can't decide if painting would look as good as vinyl.

I certainly don't look forward to all the sanding...


Atari Sys I cabs originally had Black vinyl on them. I redid the vinyl on mine and it worked perfectly:


SSL11223.jpg


I just tore the old vinyl off, patched the holes and gave the particle board a clear coat before applying it.
 
Atari Sys I cabs originally had Black vinyl on them. I redid the vinyl on mine and it worked perfectly:

I just tore the old vinyl off, patched the holes and gave the particle board a clear coat before applying it.

You sold me.. I placed my order for vinyl today, I hope it looks as nice as that cab does.
 
Looks like you've done some awesome work so far; I admire all the sanding you've done to get it just right. Can't wait to see the final product!
 
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