Mercs cabinet "restoration" questions

crazycanuck

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Donor 2025
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Hi there! I'm finally in the finishing stages of "restoring" a Mercs arcade cabinet. The thing is, when I bought it it was missing some parts (that's probably the reason I got it for cheap). I can't really say I'm restoring it because it came without the controls panel, so I'm building a regular one for two players with 6 buttons instead of the original for three players. The rest I want to keep as close to the original as I reasonably can.

Because it's missing some parts, and I got it disassembled, it's part restoration, part puzzle. I managed to figure out most of the missing parts and how to assemble the whole thing. However, I still have questions about how to assemble what I think is the front retainer for the controller box, and how to fit the glass and the glass support.

This is obviously the front of the cabinet. I think the front retainer (the part on the floor) fits into the gap between the monitor aseembly and the bottom of the top part:

20250813_011535.jpg

There are a bunch of screw holes in the bottom part of the retainer (the unpainted part). I don't understand where those screws attach to.

This is where I think the retainer goes:

20250813_011633.jpg


The two big holes (you can see the left one more clearly in the picture above) have tee-nuts on the other side, so that's why I'm calling this the controller box retainer, as I expect the controller box to be fixed in the cabinet by two screws (1/4"), plus other two in another part in the pedestal. You can also see the screw holes I mentioned earlier. There doesn't seem to have been any part behind it (no glue or screw marks on the top part of the cabinet).

This is a detailed picture showing that the top edge is slightly slanted; it's not 90 degrees like every other edge. That's why I think this side is up, and the black side faces the outside (otherwise it wouldn't be painted).

20250813_011702.jpg

I also don't understand how to assemble the glass. I think the retainer fixes it in place, but I don't know how.

Any help is appreciated! Cheers!
 
This may be a bit of an uphill battle for you. There are technically 3 distinct 'Mercs' cabinets. The original manufactured by 3-KOAM, one by Dynamo and another more generic model made by 3-KOAM sold empty for conversions.
 
At this point, any suggestion is welcome. If any owner of either a 3-KOAM or Dynamo cabinet could post a couple of pictures, I could maybe understand which one I have. Maybe I'll get lucky, and a tip here will quell my doubt.
 
Hey!! THANKS FOR THE MESSAGE! Knowing that my cabinet could be a 3-KOAM K-2 helped a lot! I found your post Don!


With lots of useful pictures!
 
Hey!! THANKS FOR THE MESSAGE! Knowing that my cabinet could be a 3-KOAM K-2 helped a lot! I found your post Don!


With lots of useful pictures!

Glad it was of some help. I forgot i upped photos of the K-2. I get replies usually by private message about once a week over some photos i uploaded to the media section.

Judging by the small rectangular sticker on the inside of your cabinet, your model is likely built by Dynamo. As i said, there are some small differences between models.
 
I found out what the problem was: I mounted the bottom of the base backwards. Looking carefully, the screw marks match. Here's a close-up of the sticker:

20250814_011111.jpg
 
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