Repair or replace

LongJohns

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I am currently working on a Dragon's Lair with the corners busted out, now the question is - do I repair the wood that is there or replace the panel?

Repairing it, will allow me to keep it 'original'. It would be repaired using replacement wood spliced in since I am more concerned with the bondo/etc breaking out since it is on the bottom corners. The damage really isn't all that bad to begin with with 1/2" at the most missing.

Replacing would in the long run be easier since this has the vinyl covering the wood and would have to be repaired/replaced as well.

Since I am fairly new to this hobby, is there a preference of trying to keep it as much original as possible to preserve the 'history' or does that really matter?

My 'other' hobby involves cars, and I know with those you are better off keeping as much original as possible (if rare) as it is worth more vs. one that has been rebuilt (ie. numbers matching) - does this apply to game collecting as well?

opinions/thoughts??
 
Bondo won't break if you're relatively careful. It will be a lot less work than replacing with wood or replacing the panel. Many here have don't this multiple times (including myself) with great success.
 
Bondo won't break if you're relatively careful. It will be a lot less work than replacing with wood or replacing the panel. Many here have don't this multiple times (including myself) with great success.

Agreed, but the problem comes in because the panel is covered inside and out with the vinyl - so to prevent having a seam showing in the vinyl I would have to take it all apart anyways to replace the vinyl. Yea I am kind of anal when it comes to the small details. ;)

If it was just painted, be alot easier...
 
Well, I just decided to replace the side panels - but will keep the originals to repair at a later date as I will need a new finger joint bit as the one I have now has decided it was time to retire.

Anyways - thanks to Jedidentist for offering up an opinion. :)

I will probably post a restore/build thread once I get it together as it might be slow going for the first bit (have too many other things on the go right now before the summer weather really hits). ;)

Cheers,
 
It's probably the best way to go if you really want to redo the vinyl on the inside. If you've got the woodworking equipment, it shouldn't be too bad.
 
Hey LongJohns,

I'm in a similar boat, Dragon's Lair with Vinyl that's 95% great. Has a few little rips, and a little broken corner.

For a while I was worried about devaluing the whole thing by redoing the vinyl. I got over that for two reasons.

1. It seems like these days a nice original DL with some wear and tear goes for $800-$1000. Good luck finding anyone with a completely restored DL going for any less. From what I've seen, more like $1500 if they are minty looking. For every one purist out there, there seems to be five others who care more about perfection. Just my observation. I've never seen price hurt from a restore on a DL.

2. The argument for keeping it original is highest when good replacement parts don't exist.

I'm struggling right now with a dedicated Mortal Kombat 3 that I want to restore. Full side art exists, but it is ink jet based...and apparently the scans have been photoshopped to be "too perfect" removing the original dots used to make up the image for something smoother. Additionally, the prints are too glossy.

A Dragon's Lair is in another boat. The reproduction parts available are top notch. The runs of side art, marquee, and CPO are done to the standards of the original. The vinyl can be matched exactly as well. I wouldn't hesitate to do a full restore, as long as you use quality repro parts.

BTW, you might look into rebuilding your corners with a product called PC Woody. I haven't used it myself, but I've heard others speak to it's strength over bondo. Don't know how it handles corners...but might be worth further research.
 
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