patchboston
Active member
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) full-on restoration!
So almost two years ago I picked up a Konami cabinet from local collector Rob Carroll for 150 bones. Rob received the cab from someone who owned a wood-working shop, and this is where the cab resided, not as a TMNT, but as a Tekken. I was pretty stoked to find this cab and literally had to do a double-take because I started searching for a Konami cab the weekend before! From Rob's provided pictures it was clear that there was side art under the black vinyl. Woot!
So after shooting the shit with Rob, we loaded up the cab at his parent's house and I headed out on the 45 minute drive back to the Cape. The whole ride home I had a grin as big as a frickin walrus! Immediately, I began stripping the cab and uncovering the hidden TMNT art underneath! It was a dream come true for this late-80's toddler/early 90's-child. The art wasn't perfect and the body had some significant issues, but it was a great starting point!
The adhesive from the generic vinyl held on pretty tight. It took a precise amount of heat and pull to remove the vinyl in one shot. Here's what happens when that heat-to-pull ratio is off!
In the lower front corners of the cabinet, there was a good amount of cracking and both front corners had been chipped away. Luckily angled corner protectors were there from the factory and took most of the damage!
So almost two years ago I picked up a Konami cabinet from local collector Rob Carroll for 150 bones. Rob received the cab from someone who owned a wood-working shop, and this is where the cab resided, not as a TMNT, but as a Tekken. I was pretty stoked to find this cab and literally had to do a double-take because I started searching for a Konami cab the weekend before! From Rob's provided pictures it was clear that there was side art under the black vinyl. Woot!
So after shooting the shit with Rob, we loaded up the cab at his parent's house and I headed out on the 45 minute drive back to the Cape. The whole ride home I had a grin as big as a frickin walrus! Immediately, I began stripping the cab and uncovering the hidden TMNT art underneath! It was a dream come true for this late-80's toddler/early 90's-child. The art wasn't perfect and the body had some significant issues, but it was a great starting point!
The adhesive from the generic vinyl held on pretty tight. It took a precise amount of heat and pull to remove the vinyl in one shot. Here's what happens when that heat-to-pull ratio is off!
In the lower front corners of the cabinet, there was a good amount of cracking and both front corners had been chipped away. Luckily angled corner protectors were there from the factory and took most of the damage!
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