Capcom Mini Cute Restoration(Updated and Almost Done)

[jsjesse]

Hello all..
Not sure if you guys remember but I had picked up a couple of arcade cabinets a couple of years ago in Austin. One was the Nintendo Red Tent and the other was a Capcom Mini Cute.

When I got it, the cabinet was pretty badly banged up. It had rust spots all over the place, dings and all sorts of bent metal. The controls were GROSS. There was no sense in even trying to salvage them because they were caked with dirt, mold, rusty switches, skin cheese

I had taken it to 3 different body shops. One was WAY too expensive. The other 2 just didn't wanna do it...claiming it was too much work and not worth the time/money to do it. So I got frustrated and decided to tackle it myself.

For over a week I had been sanding my ass off to get all the body work done. I got all the dings out and went with a new color. The paint is still wet in these pics.

I decided to keep the inner monitor area white, so I sanded down the inside to get rid of the pink overspray.

My cat had quickly claimed this as his new(temporary) home

I sent the internal parts to a shop to have them resurfaced.

Also, I replaced the speakers with new 2 way Pioneer speakers.
Old speakers

New speakers

Here are some shots of the wiring reinstall and the metal parts back from the shop.

Coin catcher/coin mech before

Coin catcher/coin mech after

Here is the amplifier casing and brackets before and after.

Pics of the inner door that holds the PCB. 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.

Monitor mounted

Test run! Inner wiring all connected.

Listening to the G'd up sound, Pioneers speakers bumpin' as I smoke on a pound

Coin box completed!

And there it sat for almost 2 years so
I wanna apologize for not updating this in a while. I've been extremely busy with work, car repairs, family issues and life in general.

I got in touch with Sean(MCS-Arcade) to reproduce the decals for me. He came through for me big time. After a few hours of cutting with an exacto-knife and some elbow grease the decals came out looking great! These pics were taken with my phone so pardon the poor quality, but I plan on doing a full photo shoot this weekend and go over each part all over again in detail. I was so anxious to get her running I threw in whatever buttons I had available. Feels good, man!

Once I get the cam locks for this cabinet I can start on the Mini Neo 19!

More updates to come very soon!

 

[cdamm]

that is some awesome work. ive been looking for a cute or two for a while. now there is a tutorial for the (impending) repairs i would be looking at!

nice job!

 

[hyper]

awesome, the cab looks great.

 

[jsjesse]

that is some awesome work. ive been looking for a cute or two for a while. now there is a tutorial for the (impending) repairs i would be looking at!

nice job!

Disassembling the whole thing is SUPER easy. Just be sure to snap pics of the wiring and connections before taking it all apart. This thing is a breeze compared to my old Taito Egret 1 cabinet. That thing had way too many parts to keep up with.

 

[Adderall]

awesome.

I used your old threads (in other places) to get the same speakers for my yellow cute.

I really, really, really, envy your eyehook... those things are impossible to find, even cutes for sale on YAJ rarely have them.

 

[jsjesse]

awesome.

I used your old threads (in other places) to get the same speakers for my yellow cute.

I really, really, really, envy your eyehook... those things are impossible to find, even cutes for sale on YAJ rarely have them.

Eyehook? You mean the metal loops on the top that look like towhooks or something?

I can probably have them reproduced. Shouldn't be too hard to do. Thanks for the idea and kind words.

I also plan on having the control panel box powder coated with a smoother finish. The satin finish attracts alot of dirt and it's hard to keep clean..

 

[Kid Panda]

that sir.....IS EFFIN BOSS, love the color choice too

 

[Mugicha]

Seriously AMAZING job on this! congrats!

 

[mesmer]

incredible, thanks for sharing

 

[leonk]

That's one sexy cab! Those "car" speakers tend to not be shielded. How do you prevent them from not messing up your CRT?

 

[Liq_Wurm]

pink paint, pink chairs, pink 1p balltops?!? are you secretly training your daughter to be the ultimate street fighter competitor?

seriously tho awesome cab i bet street fighter looks so sick on the small screen. great restore.

 

[jsjesse]

The stock speakers were not shielded either. There wasn't much difference in the size of the magnets. There is a metal barrier between the monitor and speaker area.

He he.....no daughters yet. But remember. Some of the best things in life are pink. Like. .. like cotton candy and big league chew bubble gum and strawberry ice cream bra

 

[Tacitus]

He he.....no daughters yet. But remember. Some of the best things in life are pink. Like. .. like cotton candy and big league chew bubble gum and strawberry ice cream bra

You forgot vagina.

This is very telling.


(It looks awesome, congrats!)

 

[Lemony Vengeance]

I showed this to my wife.

her response: CUTE!!!

I then told her that was coincidentally the name of the cab

she then gave me permission to get one. HAHAHAH

SO... anyone know where I can get a mini cute?

 

[jsjesse]

Here are some shots I had taken tonight. Much brighter and clearer compared to the crappy phone ones I had taken earlier.

 

[jsjesse]

Now that I am finished with the mini-cute repairs, can someone help me ID this particular cabinet?
It looks like a cabaret but it has a removable wheelbase. My buddy says it's a EuroCabinet but I'd like to get more detailed info about it.

Thanks!