Search for Mortal Kombat control panel ends with mini project

TexasRED said:
I love these type of threads, its like barn finds for classic cars
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Thanks. Doing this has really made me want to try it again on another cabinet. My NBA Jam is also really faded and it would be fun to find one that's been painted over to see what I can find. :)

Edit: Here's a pic of the NOS cpo I'm buying. It will be the alternate version with the "stick men" instead of script. From what I've read on the forum, this may be the early version of the cpo and Midway changed it to just script later on. I figure for a NOS piece the price was right and it's a minor detail since I know how to play the game already. ;) Actually it will be kind of cool if indeed this was an early version of the cpo. I can see why they changed it too.

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Hmm well this has turned into a bit of a mini restore thread I suppose. Definitely not as involved as my Q*Bert or Simpsons, but still neat because the art was saved. Anyway, I ordered myself some xmas gifts for the MK last week and yesterday it arrived. I received my t-molding from t-molding.com (also ordered some for Q*Bert but that's another thread/story ;)) as well as new joysticks and buttons from Lizard Lick. They have some great prices on joysticks and I went with red Happ Competition sticks and buttons. Unfortunately, they only had 3 blue buttons left in stock so I ended up one short, but I have a spare on hand. If it feels too out of place when I install it I'll replace it with a new one next time I order from wherever. I didn't have to work today so I made progress installing the t-molding, but maybe more important, I got the last of the adhesive off the metal part of the control panel. Ugh this was way more work than I remember from changing my MK2 overlay. I wish I had a before pic of the overlay, but it was in horrible shape and you couldn't really peel it off at all. Oh well. Hopefully I'll get the CPO applied later tonight.
 
Got the cp overlay on and the new buttons and joysticks installed. Applying the cpo was the toughest part and I did pretty good with the alignment, but it's off slightly when looking at the button and joystick holes. The buttons cover that up, but I decided to put the dust covers for the joystick on the outside to hide the little bit of error I had in applying it. Overall it still came out nice.

DSCN0724.jpg
 
SuperGunGuru said:
Got the cp overlay on and the new buttons and joysticks installed. Applying the cpo was the toughest part and I did pretty good with the alignment, but it's off slightly when looking at the button and joystick holes. The buttons cover that up, but I decided to put the dust covers for the joystick on the outside to hide the little bit of error I had in applying it. Overall it still came out nice.

DSCN0724.jpg
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Looks good, now get some new front and side art for the control panel, gameongrafix has a set for 25$
 
kjeffery said:
Looks good, now get some new front and side art for the control panel, gameongrafix has a set for 25$
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Thanks for the heads up. :) Yeah the fading of the cp box stands out more with new artwork and vibrant side art. Definitely worth replacing.
 
Well the last real hurdle to get this thing running is in the wiring. I usually like to go as original as I can without spending a lot of time on something fairly trivial. I need to fix up the wiring for the coin door assembly. Those of you who've seen the inside of 90's Midway cabs know those connectors they used with what I call double sided header pins between them. It seems nobody has been sure on what was originally used. The best I've been able to find is Molex KK series. I plan to maybe hit up my local electronics place and see what they think, otherwise I may have to change out the connectors.
 
Has anyone seen a dedicated MK cab that did not have a hinge for the control panel? Maybe they used different hardware at some point? For whatever reason, the hinge from my old cabinet's control panel will not line up with any of the holes on the new panel. It's almost like it didn't have a hinge on that panel originally, or they used a different hinge.

Edit: I should also mention my new panel came with a third latch catch on it right in the area where I would expect the hinge to go. I have no reason to believe this panel was ever used as anything but an MK so it makes me wonder.
 
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btw the stick figure CP was the original style the machines came within. In my opinion also the cooler of the two styles. Just makes Mortal Kombat that much more unique as opposed to the norm of having text. Mk machine is just the best
 
therealmogwai said:
I'll take a pic of the inside of my machine for you tomorrow nite brother
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That would be much appreciated! It's weird why the hinge just doesn't line up with this panel for some reason. That third latch catch mounted to the underside of the panel is interesting too. Another interesting thing is that the faded cab doesn't have the plastic hand grips on the back, just a cut out area where they would go, but my new cab actually has the plastic grips just like MK2 and I think NBA Jam as well. On another note it looks like these connector for the coin door, test, and volume control wiring is just .100 molex connectors. I'm not sure about finding those double sided header pins that go between the connectors, but I can probably make something work.
 
Im pretty sure that mk1 never had a latch. it had a bracket to hold it up manually and two latches to lock the control panel unlike mk2,3,4. I have that bracket on my mk1 as well. Ask a member named zenomorp(had all of the mksvat one point, and is an expert on mk machines) he had a video on youtube on it aswell.
 
theforce19 said:
Im pretty sure that mk1 never had a latch. it had a bracket to hold it up manually and two latches to lock the control panel unlike mk2,3,4. I have that bracket on my mk1 as well. Ask a member named zenomorp(had all of the mksvat one point, and is an expert on mk machines) he had a video on youtube on it aswell.
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Yeah that 3rd latch catch is actually just there to rest the panel on the cp box while you work on it. Kinda of weird but I can see the marks on the panel where it's had that done before.
 
Quick bump. Thanks to fellow klov member dj dns I have a bezel and now the machine is basically complete. I have a few things to do yet such as get a piece of red t-molding for the front (I thought 20 ft would be enough for the machine but not quite) which means MK2 will get a few new pieces of red t-molding as well. :) I also have to finish up the coin door wiring, which includes volume and test controls. The game is actually fully playable with sound right now so at least it's ready for Christmas and New Year's Eve if any of the family wants to challenge me to a match. ;) Here's a quick shot of how it sits. I will probably move my Simpsons and NBA Jam machines down so I can put this one next to my MK II.

DSCN0753.jpg
 
May I sugest a few things?

(not being rude at all, the machine is nicer then mine!!)
Not sure if you care though but to make it complete. I would try to find a instruction sticker to go on the bezel, and maybe get new cpo box side art from game on grafix.(Don't have to just my opinion) Congrats on the Mk1 though, happy it went to a good home instead of a guy who just convert it into a tekken by covering the sides and throwing in a tekken 2 pcb lol
 
theforce19 said:
May I sugest a few things?

(not being rude at all, the machine is nicer then mine!!)
Not sure if you care though but to make it complete. I would try to find a instruction sticker to go on the bezel, and maybe get new cpo box side art from game on grafix.(Don't have to just my opinion) Congrats on the Mk1 though, happy it went to a good home instead of a guy who just convert it into a tekken by covering the sides and throwing in a tekken 2 pcb lol
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No worries I'm always open to suggestions. :) I do plan to at least find the instruction sticker to go on the bezel. I haven't seen one for sale lately, however I did find the MK II sticker online and am working on Photoshopping it to an MK. Both stickers are very similar outside of color. The cp box could use new stickers for sure. This box came from the first cab I had that was all faded. When I played the first game on the machine last night, it was just a really cool feeling...I can't tell you the last time I played Mortal Kombat on a dedicated cabinet. It has to have been years. So many of them have been converted to other games and you can see them like that at auctions all the time. :(
 
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I hate to bring it up, but...is game on grafix stuff any good? If you go that route, I'd like to hear how it comes out. My MKII has black spray paint all over the CP box. It's between going with them or trying to strip/goo gone the paint. :p
 
sosage said:
I hate to bring it up, but...is game on grafix stuff any good? If you go that route, I'd like to hear how it comes out. My MKII has black spray paint all over the CP box. It's between going with them or trying to strip/goo gone the paint. :p
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I can't say specifically for the MK control panel box art, but I did purchase full Simpsons side art from them. It was a very nice quality and looks great installed. For $25 it's hard to go wrong IMHO.
 
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