Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) full-on restoration!

patchboston

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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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At that point, I was still in limbo on whether to do the full restoration. I didn't have NOS vinyl or repro to do a proper restore, so I decided to just overlook the minor issues like the lock-bar holes, corners and general wear. I cleaned the cab as best I could and the results weren't bad!

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There are a couple things going on in this image, 1. it shows how well the goo cleaned off, and 2., it shows just how textured this cab was from the factory.

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The main wiring harness was trashed during the conversion, but the coin door gets by with just a reconfiguring and cleaning.
 
The first major repair I decided to undertake was on the 3/4" thick control panel.

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This was a PITA to do. I hated every minute of the stripping process and of the plugging. Urgh.
 
More action shots -

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here's a good picture that shows the sub-par workmanship that went into these Konami cabs! I applied bondo and took care of the uneven edging.

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typical wear on these konami control panels.

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The final outcome! I purchased replacement joysticks from Wu on ebay. I haven't seen him around lately, but he was the man for 60-in-1 boards! Very pleased and a big improvement.
 
some time went by and I began to address the dust bunnies inside! I didn't take a before pic, but here's a clean power supply with a washed harness!

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Eventually, the time came and I decided to try my hand at a WG K7000 cap-kit and new flyback install! I began the cap kit around midnight one weekend and finishing up around 3am. I then woke up both my girlfriend and mom and made them "come see". People tend to remember their first cap kit, unfortunately no one bought me breakfast later that morning :(
 
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Now here's when things become interesting...a few months later a seller on ebay listed multiples of NOS TMNT side art! I don't know from where they came from, but he had at least 7 complete sets, including stickers! I inquired and waited for a few sets to sell and eventually I landed a complete set in pretty good shape!

In my opinion, NOS is the only appropriate way to go with this cab. If you look at the repro artwork there's certain marks and discoloration evident from a wrinkled/poor scan. Later on I was almost tempted to sell the art and go that route, but changed my mind after seeing a TMNT restoration or two. It just doesn't make the cut.

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A few air bubbles and areas which no longer touched the artwork immediately raised concern, however, not enough to send the art back. One of the pieces wasn't properly protected and ended up being damaged during transit! Luckily the seller sent a couple extra sections of that particular piece.

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Recently, I took one of the extras and slapped her on a painted and prepped surface. Shes still sticking after several days, and most of my fears have been subdued! phew!
 
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I finished painting the control panel and brought the cab into the game room where it sat for a couple months. However, it just did not look right :( none of my other games were "mint", but there was definitely a clear distinction between the TMNT and my other games in terms of quality. Fuck.

Every part was then removed and I began stripping the side art off. It was relatively easy, much better than the generic stuff! I started to bondo, but realizing how shitty of a process filling can be, quit and let the cab sit in the garage for over a year.

Fast-forward to earlier this month, on a whim I decided to go out and finish what I started. With bondo, facemask, and a orbital sander in hand I began the long process of repairing the destroyed corners and base!

There are TONS of photos in my photobucket account, here: http://s81.photobucket.com/albums/j202/antintn/TMNT Restoration/

but here are some highlights of the work-in-progress. Most of these are the most recent and reflect on several revisions with bondo. Next time I plan on using glazing putty for the smaller details.

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I can't emphasize enough how trashed the corners and base-lines were. This was my first shot at an mdf type cab, and it was quite a learning experience. There were many times I chipped away something because of a slight jostle!

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Most of the edges were uneven and required a bondo job. Nice and smooth now!
 
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no more security bar holes! woot!

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This side of the cab had retained a bit of moisture, so I sanded down the slight "puff" and hit the bottom with minwax wood hardener in prep for the bondo.

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^^ As the cab sits, today. I need to just finish touching up the light bondo patches, but otherwise the edges and base look a million times better! The corners are repaired and the edges are razor sharp. I should have no problems applying side art (when I cross that bridge).

I'm just glad the bondo stage is almost done!

Last night I picked up a lot of 144 tack cloths from ebay -
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110641738887&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

and a HVLP "$99 special" from amazon -
http://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Tool...1KKG/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1300763673&sr=8-9

This has been a learning process and I figure why not learn how to properly paint with the HVLP? I have a month or so before I can paint or shoot polyurethane, so there's plenty of time to work on my form!

good reads for spraying:
http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=151129&highlight=hvlp+fan
http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=98386&highlight=spraying+hvlp
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=80733.0;all
 
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I have one that has textured vinyl on the front kick panel where the Coin Doors are.
I also think that it had the shorter stick handles and not the 3" handles you show in your control panel shots.

I'm excited to see how the NOS art goes on.
 
I wonder if that same seller on Ebay was the one who refused to ship to me up north here. I really wanted new sideart, but he refused to ship to Canada by any means...even with higher priced signature required services.

I'm not interested in paying the asking price for inkjet stuff that isn't quite right, and if I can't get my hands on some decently priced NOS stuff I may just say the hell with it forever.
 
I have one that has textured vinyl on the front kick panel where the Coin Doors are.
I also think that it had the shorter stick handles and not the 3" handles you show in your control panel shots.

I'm excited to see how the NOS art goes on.


I may set up my Kodak ZI8 on a tripod and record the art install...We'll have to wait and see! The joysticks are a little high, but that doesn't bother me at the moment :)
 
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I can't wait to see the art applied either. :) It's cool that there is NOS art for TMNT still floating around. When I did my Simpsons restoration, I had no choice but to go with reproduction art, but I was very happy with how the stuff I got from gameongrafix turned out.
 
I can't wait to see the art applied either. :) It's cool that there is NOS art for TMNT still floating around. When I did my Simpsons restoration, I had no choice but to go with reproduction art, but I was very happy with how the stuff I got from gameongrafix turned out.

I hear ya! I'm hoping this cold northeast weather will be gone in 4 or 5 weeks and I have time to start painting!

This weekend I accomplished quite a bit! The bondo work was completed, and I managed to uncover my brother's air compressor and replace the malfunctioning air-regulator. The compressor is a craftsman 20gal, 5hp compressor (model 919.167.200). I had no clue whether it would handle an HPLV gun, but I found info online that states the unit will produce 8.4scfm at 40psi, and 6.2 at 90psi--Should be fine! I also picked up some couplings and a desiccant filter to take care of any moisture

I checked out youtube and have a good solid idea of how the gun setup now works.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/HU6bh5mNbyA
this vid was by far the most helpful!
 
Was the original artwork you removed in sectional pieces like the NOS stuff you got or was it one piece? I don't know squat about that particular cab... I've just never seen artwork tiled like that before...interesting.

Should look great when your done.
 
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strangely enough, the artwork was indeed printed in sections at the factory. two more weeks and I should be set for side art application! woo!
 
strangely enough, the artwork was indeed printed in sections at the factory. two more weeks and I should be set for side art application! woo!

I guess that makes sense really... since its not screened on the cab, having it tiled like that is probably way easier to deal with than a single huge unwieldy piece.

Its going to look great when you're done.
 
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Hey guys, long time no update! Weather has been terrible, but I finally managed to seal the sides with poly urethane (two coats) and apply the side art. For the most part everything went super smooth. I did have a couple of mess ups, notably my blue masking tape pulling off a small bit of the screened art (first pic, upper corner), along with a minor gap on the upper silk screened panels, but nothing that can't be fixed with minimal effort.

My next step is to mask off the sides and continue with other areas of the restoration. I scratched the HVLP gun, mainly because the garage/work-area is not prep'ed for spraying. Instead, I'm rolling on oil-based paint. I just put on my second coat of primer, and in a week or two I'll sand that down and begin the final painting process. I never worked with oil-based primer before, so I was surprised by how much time is required for proper drying. The can says 12 hours, but in reality it took waay longer to completely dry!

Oh, and the side art sticks wonderfully :)
 
lookin' super good!

so when you are all done - ya wanna sell it to me for super cheap !? hahaha




keep up the good work man! :eek:
 
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