Nichibutsu MOON CRESTA RESTORATION

[Giddygoon]

I’ve always wanted a Japanese style cocktail cab but they are usually over priced or the us style, which I don't like! Then one day I came upon this sorry looking picture of a Nichibutsu Moon Alien 2 cocktail on eBay the ad said "Mame shell table top game, no glass, good legs" I studied the picture which I don't have posted here and the cab condition was good but it had almost nothing in side, but what a challenge it would be, the fact that it was empty inside was a plus because I'm going to install a PC inside anyway......So I bought it, a couple of weeks later it got delivered....... Yeah!

So... What have we got........?



Well, first thing to be done is to give it a good clean, and hit the dust buster!!!!







Well, now that I cleaned out all the dust and dirt, I can Asses the situation, the legs are in pretty good condition, and I have the mounting brackets for a new monitor...Kool!
The game at the moment is Moon Alien 2 and the controls are in pretty bad condition, but I have replacement parts that are from a Nichibutsu Moon cresta cab, which will fit on this machine perfectly.



I have just started on this one because I’m also working on my Outrun machine too! But stay tuned I will send more updates soon.

Giddygoon

[DarthNuno]

Nice found Giddygoon 

What is your plan regarding the restoration ? I presume you'll mame it ? Do you'll use a CRT computer monitor or an arcade monitor ?

JUst  a question regarding the cocktail : Is it written somewhere the word '"Nichibutsu" ? This cocktail really looks like the SI Part II cocktail from Taito.

PS : I love Nichibutsu because they made the MAG MAX game 

[Giddygoon]

Hi Bruno!

Yeah, it’s defiantly a Nichibutsu cabinet, it does say inside the cab on a sticker, although it is almost exactly the same as a tatio space invaders cocktail cab. My plan with this one is to use a 14" Tv crt which I have already( boxed never used) and connect via vga to scart converter, which I also have.  Because of the work on Outrun, they won't be any progress on this one for some time, but I do have all the replacement parts waiting to go!!

Watch this space

Giddygoon

[Giddygoon]

Now that my Outrun is complete I can turn my attentions to Moon Alien or soon to be Moon Cresta! Now the cab is cleaned up I remove the chrome legs





I find that the legs are a little shakey, the problem is in the cross beam has a snapped bolt in one end........ Did I try and get this sucker out......looks somebody else tried to get it before me because there was a grove cut into the bolt but this thing is not moving. I thought about just ditching these legs and looking for some others but they’re usually on other cocktail machines!



So I decided to take it to my mate who has a workshop with centerline blow torch. He welded a iron rod to the groove on the bolt, then put it in a vice and just turned the chrome beam, simple if you have the tools!  Thanks Oz!













My mate had this great tool for re-grooving the damaged threads too



Now to inspect the veneer on the cabinet, mostly not bad but there were a few chips











I could just take the old veneer off and replace it but I like the aged look so I decided to save what’s there! So how to start..... I goggled veneer repair/restoration and most sites say either cut new bits of veneer to fit the chips or strip it all off and put on new veneer. I decided to use wood filler and some wood touch pens!!!

Wood fill the damaged areas



Remove any excess with a scalpel knife











Now to do something I never done before..... This is either gonna work or mess up the cabinet. The Liberon 3 Part Touch Pens are really for scratches on wood tables, their have a spirit based inks are permanent. I'm literally going to draw the lines and shades back in with the pens!!!

Here goes..... ~:



First attempt............Not bad and its still wet



Lets do some more





I also painted some of the repaired areas back to black.



All dry, lets see..........







I quite happy with the end result..... Only if you look hard do you notice!

Now the cabinet is ready on the outside I thought I would sort out the inside first thing is to re-attach the top lid to hinge in the cabinet.



That’s better!



Now to remove the old Moon Alien control panels........ Sneak peak at the new Moon Cresta panel





Now to put on the new panels





Now I'm going to use a standard 14" TV with scart and a PC for the internals, I found a VGA to Scart adapter, lets test with the PC



Not bad!!



Now to break the PC down to the motherboard e.t.c








Updates soon!

[amadama]

Wow I really want to see your update, but I can't see any of the pictures!

[DarthNuno]

Wow I really want to see your update, but I can't see any of the pictures!

Images are ok now 

ps  : by the way, there is a bug if you're using FIREFOX to browse on internet 
Where there are too many pictures in the same post, FIREFOX bugs and shows you half pictures and others graphic garbages    Only one solution in that case : Use Internet Explorer 

[Giddygoon]

Now the legs are re-assembled they are super tight, no wobble! I also have given them a dame good clean but I will get them re-chromed eventually





Now with the new Moon Cresta panels, looking good so far







I then decided to respay the top lid with black spray just to make it look a little better





Now to measure for a new top glass





More updates soon!!

[DarthNuno]

... I also have given them a dame good clean but I will get them re-chromed eventually

I had the same idea, but it seems that to 're-chrome' something is very expensive  . Do you an idea about the price by the way ?

...and nice job, as always 

[Giddygoon]

yeah, getting anything re-chromed is expensive. I will eventually take these legs to the London re-chroming company I have been told there the best, it may cost £150.00 plus but I will pay it because the end result is outstanding!!

[Giddygoon]

Now to remove the 13" scart TV from its case





Now to place the TV in the cabinet with the PC



Quick test to make sure things are not going to go BANG!!



Now to finish off the top lid by removing the old edge finishing, which was chipped





I'm going to replace with some NOS iron on cabinet finishing





Once its been ironed on then you just trim with a scalpel



Now I just got to measure where the instructions and insert coin cards are going to go before I back paint the new glass



The new glass was painted using stencils and a spray gun



Now lets put everything together



Now lets switch on....... Nice! I’m using the Atomic FE frontend



I'm really pleased with instruction cards and the new top glass



Here are various pictures of some of the games that can be played on this cocktail cabinet....... Moon Cresta is first in the list!





Here’s some more











And









or







Again a challenging project but I’m pleased with the end result





Giddygoon







































 

[DarthNuno]

It looks very Nice Giddy 

Very good job. What will be your next project (even If you don't have free space at home  ) ?

[Giddygoon]

Hi Bruno,


If had the space the next resto would be a Atari Star Wars upright!!!!!

Yeah......one day!

 

[Sonic 1992]

Great Job!!  Wonderful looking Cocktail!!!  Congratulations on your project!!!       

[amadama]

Truly glorious! Great job!