Accessing Control Panel In A Capcom Mini-Cute

[jsjesse]

Well, I just picked up a Mini-Cute and I am in the process of tearing it down and I cannot figure out how to open up the control panel to access the buttons and overlay.

Is there anyone here who has one?

Is there a latch like the Neo-Geo Mini? I've removed the 2 locks that are underneath the control panel but the thing will not budge.

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[jsjesse]

Snap!

Well, after doing some serious snooping around it was right in front of my eyes. There are 2 tiny screws that hold the panel in place. First time I've ever seen something like this too.

 

[BeaglePuss]

Did you pick up the one I told you about?

Pics would be great when you get the chance!

 

[jsjesse]

Sure did.

Turned out my old tournament buddy, Fubarduck had it. I picked it up along with the Red Tent.

Tearing it down now. Will post pics very soon.

 

[jsjesse]

Here are a couple of snapshots I took last night when I got it home along with the Red Tent.

 

[loegan43]

Very nice looking minicute, the CP looks to be in pretty good shape. You going to restore the side art? Nice Red tent too. Congratulations.

 

[jsjesse]

Very nice looking minicute, the CP looks to be in pretty good shape. You going to restore the side art? Nice Red tent too. Congratulations.

Yeah, it was just dirty.

Funny thing is that these two cabs have been together for a long time.
http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2473419&postcount=1

Meant to be together, I suppose??

And I've already got a prototype Capcom decal for the sideart. I really wanna go with a different color though. If I do stay green, I wanna go with brighter green. Kinda like on the old school Haro Bikes from the 80's.

 

[jsjesse]

No sense in starting another thread...I've already started the teardown/resoration.

The mini-cute is by far the EASIEST cabinet I have ever disassembled. Compared to the Taito Egret 1, this thing is a cakewalk.

Still debating on what color to go with. Taking it to the body shop tomorrow.

[/IMG]

 

[BeaglePuss]

Two questions for ya:
- Did your Mini come with the marquee like the picture in Stuffmonger's thread?
- Did it come with the piece of wood that you mount the PCB to? I need to get a piece, and I was wondering if you would have the dimensions for me.

Thanks!

 

[Electric Grave]

How's is this coming along?!

 

[jsjesse]

Two questions for ya:
- Did your Mini come with the marquee like the picture in Stuffmonger's thread?
- Did it come with the piece of wood that you mount the PCB to? I need to get a piece, and I was wondering if you would have the dimensions for me.

Thanks!

Sure did!

Fubarduck said he had lost the keys to the cabinet but he forgot to check behind the control panel. That was where I found the keys.

The marquee was tucked behind the wooden panel that the PCB mounts to...so yeah, it does have that piece of wood. I'll get the measurements very soon.

How's is this coming along?!

I dropped the cabinet off at my local paint n body shop. They are gonna remove the dents, fix whatever rust is on the cab and repaint it bubblegum pink. I thought about staying with the green but it reminds me of Mylanta and I hate that stuff lol!

As for the insides, I've got special plans for it

The box should be done by this coming Friday. I am ordering new sticks and buttons this week, along with having a new control panel overlay/sideart made

stay tuned

 

[DanAdamKOF]

OMG it's UFO's old VS machine AAAAAAAAAAAAAA

sorry but I'm in a fit of nostalgia now

 

[BeaglePuss]

I managed to measure out a piece of wood that fits like a glove. The dimensions are:
- 1/4 inch thick
- 14 1/2 inches thick
- 17 5/8 inches thick

I finally have ESP Ra. De running in my Mini! I'm so amped.


Did you decide what color you're going with for the respray?

 

[jsjesse]

Did you decide what color you're going with for the respray?

Still a toss-up between bubblegum pink or bubblegum grape purple

I want it to look like something Willy Wonka would play...or his Oompa Loompas would play

 

[Electric Grave]

ESP.rade is great! Powah Rapuu!

 

[Ichi]

Can't wait to see how the color turns out!

 

[jsjesse]

Ok, this is just an idea of just how bad-o-shape the cabinet is in.

Please note these are BEFORE pics. Notice the rust, and the faded paint.

Behind the door/coin mech and coin catcher....UGLY!

Behind the cabinet

Badly rusted amp cover and amp mounting plates

Bent/peeled/rusted kick panel

But don't worry. This baby is gonna be HOT when I am done

 

[jsjesse]

Just a small update.

Bad news - The body shop I took it to said it would be too much work and cost alot. So I took it to another shop and they pretty much told me the same thing. Supposedly the thin metal is very hard to work with.

Good news - My brothers and I are gonna tackle this thing ourselves and do our own paint job on it. We've already found a very very hot pink color(cerise pink), and we've already started to strip the cab down to the bare metal. My GOD this is very tedious work!

We've been at it for 2 days. Sanding, sanding, sanding...and more sanding. We were able to hammer out most of the dings and the ones that couldn't be banged out we used a really nice body filler on them. The metal is practically blingin by itelf with no pain lol!

I am going to have the "capcom mini-cute" stickers remade as well. As badly as I wanted to keep them on the cabinet, they were badly stained with cig smoke and were already peeling off. So I carefully removed them and had them high-res scanned. My brother is pretty damn good at photo shop and he's going to have them remade. Even the decal that goes around the coin return mech.

So far I have spent $120 on supplies.

I will say this though...I have a newfound respect for people who do body work on cars. Holy crap is this time consuming!

 

[jsjesse]

Ok, I've got another update.

After 3 days of stripping and sanding the cabinet down to the bare metal I've finally started to paint.

First I started with Rustoleum White Primer, wet sanded the entire cab to a smooth finish.

I was going to go with a hot pink/cerise color that glowed in blacklight but I wasn't happy with the look. Under the light it looked like a sherbert orange

So I went with a satin finish purple/pink ...The can didn't have a name but I tested it and the finish is coming out great!

I chose satin because it somewhat camouflages the imperfections of the cab that I couldn't fix 100% and I just love how satin pain feels.

I've painted the entire outside of the cab, and started the inside.

I also got a really nice set of replacement speakers for this cabinet that fit perfectly. The original ones were so bad that they crumbled to pieces when I touched them! Take a look!

I go tomorrow to pick up the resurfaced metal parts, and then off to Kinkos to have the decals reproduced. Wish me luck!

 

[BeaglePuss]

Wow, that is SEXY!

Just out of curiosity, what type of speakers are you putting in? Do you have any pics of those?

Very impressive so far. I can't wait to see the finished product!

 

[jsjesse]

Wow, that is SEXY!

Just out of curiosity, what type of speakers are you putting in? Do you have any pics of those?

Very impressive so far. I can't wait to see the finished product!

Thanks man!

I used a set of 4" Pioneer 2 way speakers.
I thought that they wouldn't fit flush because of the tweeter but luckily the speaker grills bulge out so they will fit perfectly!

 

[jsjesse]

Well, I've got started doing the wiring install and I got the metal parts back from the shop.

Here are some before and after pics.

Coin catcher/coin mech before

Coin catcher/coin mech after

and here is the amplifier casing and brackets before and after.

Tomorrow I start the front panel and speakers installation.

 

[jsjesse]

I made some significant progress today!

I finished the inner door that holds the PCB and got the entire inner part of the cabinet wired.

I also added a nice candy anodized finish to some of the metal parts.

The power switch has been cleaned and reinstalled.

The monitor has also been mounted.

So the hard part is done. Now I just gotta concentrate on the outter door and coin box and do some wet sanding on the inside to take care of a few blemishes. Tomorrow is gonna be nice so I should have more progress pics very soon.

 

[Electric Grave]

Excellent work, keep it coming!

 

[Biohazard53]

man that is looking awesome, keep it up