Street Fighter 2: HF - Restoration / Customization

JeffC

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Still in progress, but I'm just about done and thought I'd share this one - my 8th game:

I wasn't sure if this was a true restoration since I didn't really return a dedicated game to its original state. Instead, this is more of a clean-up or customization of a generic Dynamo HS9 to a Street Fighter: Hyper Fighting.

The full set of pictures is here: https://picasaweb.google.com/111266840651647091981/SF2#

I picked up this cabinet off of Craig's List a few weeks ago. It was pretty beat up, had been painted several times, and was suffering some minor structural issues:
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It had the standard Dynamo PCB shelf that slides out the front, and some random custom bezel graphic:
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Started off by stripping the cabinet: Removed the PCB shelf & CPO, Coin Door, Monitor, Power Supply, Marquee, Etc...
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In a few spots the various parts of the cabinet were not perfectly snug. I could see the separations and the wood dowels in between:
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I fixed this by drilling holes all over the cabinet, on top of these much larger, shallow holes were drilled so I could counter-sink a bunch of deck screws. The tops were later bondo'd.
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This pulled the cabinet together very tight - it's now rock solid.
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Next up was a bunch of scraping and peeling. Eventually I got the right heat gun and was able to pull all of the old vinyl:
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Lots of sanding / Many cycles of bondo-sand-bondo-sand:
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I did the base first so I could get casters added. Much easier to move and work with.
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Finally masked and ready for painting.
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As before I used 100% Krylon Spray Paint. I painted starting at 6am to ensure it was perfectly still outside. Not even the slightest breeze. I practice even strokes on a separate board between every session of painting; a couple times per coat. Ensure I can always see the reflection of the sky in the new paint that is going down which helps with an even coat. Three coats of primer first:
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Next three coats of Satin Oxford Blue:
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After some drying time, all of the blue is masked and ready for the black coats:
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After three coats of black and the masking removed, finally a look at the color scheme:
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The usual treatment for the control panel: Sanded down and sprayed black:
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I intended to install the standard Champion Edition overlay, but the one I got does not match the size of my CP:
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A good pass with steel wool and a couple coats of paint for the coin door and box:
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Added new T-Molding and reinstalled the monitor:
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Cleaned up the PCB shelf and wiring:
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And after adding a reproduction bezel graphic, and a bunch of re-wiring and re-installation, I got it all back together:
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This is where it sits today. I still need to:
1. Find a solution for my CPO - The standard sized CE version didn't fit my control panel, which has the punch buttons lined up with the joystick, and is 23-3/4" wide. I think it may have been the original SF2 version. My options are to try and customize one that looks like the CE version, or go with one of the generics.
2. Get a new marquee - the one I have is scratched and just slightly faded.
3. Get new plexi to cover the screen. The one I have is just slightly off in size, and is very scratched.
4. Wire up the coin door and lights, and add locks.
5. Add side-art. I have the SF2:CE side art, but I'm not 100% certain if I want to add it, or leave the sides blank.

I really liked working with this cabinet. The two-part sides reminded me (structurally) of a 720 cabinet. The colors I went for are kind of my homage to the Capcom big-blue look.
 
Great job, Jeff! Man, you cleaned that cab up fast! The blue and black color scheme turned out great. It'll look even better once you get the right CPO.

I've had my HS-1 for over a year and I have yet to restore anything more than the CP. I'm hoping to get the time and motivation to do it before next weekend as it will be put into storage and held until CAX.

Thanks for the inspiration. :)
 
Hey Jeff, Beautiful restore. The blue and black go well together, super job! You thinking about getting a custom sized inlay? I had to do that with my neo cab.

Great job!
 
Jeff, that is gorgeous. I like that you chose a color that is remeniscent of a big blue cab. Very sweet. I'm looking to acquire a HS-5 in the near future for my capcom boards. Again, very nice, sir.
 
NICE! Probably one of the best looking if not the best looking HS-9As around. Very good color scheme and I hope you can find an good CPO to put down. I also agree that you should replace the HF marquee, that or choose a dimmer light bulb.

It's funny because today I just started refurbishing my brother's HS-5 SFCE cab. I have a looooong way to go. I'm doing the red and black scheme and I had no problems with my artwork that I got. However my Bezel came out a little too dark. My bro doesn't care, as long as the cab turns out crispy. You also inspire me to do it, and not a half assed job either.

If you do find a CPO or not. (I would get the CPO that has a longer grey bottom with the button layout closer to the top) I would recommend having a plexiglass overlay as well. It looks nicer and keeps your CPO in mint condition a lot longer. Also one more thing, if you are for sure going to keep this a SFCE cab. You have to add the side art. It would look real nice.
 
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Thanks a lot for the comments folks. I'm really happy with how this turned out. And yea eseyo & CHALLENGER...get rolling on your resto...gogogogogo!

CHALLENGER said:
If you do find a CPO or not. (I would get the CPO that has a longer grey bottom with the button layout closer to the top) I would recommend having a plexiglass overlay as well. It looks nicer and keeps your CPO in mint condition a lot longer.
Actually I do have that version of the CPO, but you couldn't see it in the photo. It's since been completely hacked up.


John713 said:
You thinking about getting a custom sized inlay? I had to do that with my neo cab.
I was thinking about it; but I got impatient last night and broke out my straight edge and cutter. I had to cut it into 6 different sections to get everthing to line up, and had to sacrifice a tiny bit of the border around the yellow section in the center. It's amazing how different the layout was for the original SF2 CPs. They had lower buttons, and very different spacing for the center section. It's not perfect, but good enough for now:
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The seams are small and even height, but close up you can see them:
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CHALLENGER said:
Also one more thing, if you are for sure going to keep this a SFCE cab. You have to add the side art. It would look real nice.
You're right, I've decided to go for it, add the side art, and call this a true SF2:CE/HF.
 
Great job, I could barley see it in the photo until you pointed it out. Maybe many people may notice how close together the middle Yellow story monologue is to the button and joystick brackets. But who cares. You can tell that you took the time out to do your restoration.

Again, I would recommend that you get a plexiglass overlay even more so now since you had to splice you CPO to make it fit right. Or you may find the overlay slowly wearing/peeling off.
Like I was saying before, gives it that shiny new look all the time and preserves your CPO.

I had a hell of a time removing my old CPO. Let me tell you..... I've never seen an overlay as bad as this. Wait until I start posting pics. Imagine someone sticking NON-SKID on top of an old SFCE CPO. this is the has to be the worst thing I have to do to the cab, and I don't want to do another one anytime soon.
 
OK, I got new plexiglass over the monitor, added side-art and new locks. I could still use a new marquee, and might still do the plexi CPO, buf for now I'm calling this one DONE:

Before & After:
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I got lots of help here as always; some direct, and much from reading posts by all of the SF2 and Dynamo experts here. Thanks all.
 
Great job on the inlay editing. A little self customization never hurts. I give this 5 Hadoukens! :D
 
once again. Nicest case I have seen by far for a SF2 CE cab. I would go with the side art. I think it would add some pop and pretty much seal the deal.

The plexi sounds like a great idea as well. Might as well keep the greasy hand marks off it.
 
1st I wanted to say you have got me wanting to restore one of these for a change from all the MK's I do. Street Fighter was the 1st fighting game i played before getting sucked up in the Mortal Kombat whirlwind. Anyways the cabinet looks fantastic, and you did a stellar job. Thanks for the high quality pics.
Chris
 
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