How I unfuc*ed a fuc*ed Egret fuc*ing II

[djsheep]

-- PART 1 --

In December of 2022 a bunch of mates alerted me to an Egret II for sale on Facebook located in Adelaide, Australia.

After many failed attempts to secure an E2 I jumped at the opportunity without thinking too much #horny_4_gamez.

I didn't ask for as many detailed photos as I should have and in hindsight that was a mistake. All of this could have been avoided or pre-empted with a bit of patience and better decision making on my behalf.

From the photos I received, the cab looked ok but finer details were obscured by some tricky photography and when more information was requested, it was presented in a way that was vague and left open for interpretation.

Here are some of the pics I was sent:

Being too eager to secure the cab before someone else grabbed it, I transferred the cash, arranged delivery and this is what arrived:

The positive was that the all the internals were original and intact (wiring looms, service panel, power supply, chassis and the JAMMA harness even had the key for pin 7). The only things missing in that regard were the original tangs and locks.

Doesn't look too bad 'ya reckon? Let's have a look at the top of the cab a bit closer.

I had no idea what the fuck was going on here but obviously it wasn't right. The more I looked at it, the worse it got. Whoever worked on this cab previously had used all types of caulk / silicone sealant around the IL panel area - clear, white and grey... it's all there on the inside and out! (more on that later)

 

[djsheep]

After taking measurements and comparing them with other E2 owners, the IL panel area seemed out of wack and things didn't add up but no one I spoke with was able to make any sense of it.

Of most concern was the bottom area of the IL panel area which looked like it had been cut. There was no way of knowing without removing all the crap out and having a proper look (more on that later too).

Another thing I noticed was that the front wasn't flush with the rest of the cab and it stuck out at the top and appeared warped somehow.

 

[djsheep]

-- PART 2 --

In my attempts to turn this lemon around, or polish a turd, I started with the basics:

1. Removed a piece of metal tape holding the IL Panel together from the behind and replaced it with transparent tape.

This worked for some time however the marquee started splitting apart, which explains why the industrial metal tape was there in the first place. I ended up using some strips of gift tape to hold it together on the front that ultimately looked cheap.

2. Sold off the exisiting 2L14B Control Panel and replaced it with a 1L4B from @alberto1225 with Sticks and Buttons via @xb74 / CQB Arcade.

3. Ordered what was advertised as a "NOS Brand New Marquee Holder" on this forum for a ridiculous price...

...which looked like absolute dog shit that was thrown down a gravel road when it arrived. There is zero excuse for something advertised as new old stock to be like this. Apparently he didn't notice and thought it was just a 'lil dusty.

FWIW, the seller was @rewrite who partially refunded me which I agreed to. Should have poked him for a full refund in hindsight, because even with a partial refund, I still felt rorted and have no qualms calling him out on it.

When I opened the box, there was mud, shit or chocolate at the right of the marquee that I wiped off. It was also just sent like that floating with all those bags of air around it.

I cleaned it up to about 60-70% condition with some Novus 1-2-3, but this transaction was another in the long list of disappointment this cab was attracting.

I had @alberto1225 custom make me a Marquee Holder bracket using dimensions @GumGum provided which fit on the cab perfectly.

By this point I wasn't using the cab much because the way it looked just annoyed me. Also the fact that after a week of owning it, the monitor started playing up. It started taking a while to warm up before it came alive and then the width got funny and pretty soon after, it just died and would go into automatic shutdown on power up.

Fellow arcade good guy @nidulans offered to trade me the entire front of an AWSD cab he was selling on the condition that I'd send him the front of this E2. It arrived exactly two years to the day prior to this post.

However... once it arrived I felt burnt out and overwhelmed from this cab alongside real life getting in the way, so I just left this whole thing in limbo until these past two weeks. I'm extremely gracious and thankful to @nidulans for being understanding and patient throughout this experience. I'm sorry for taking so long mate.

 

[djsheep]

-- PART 3 --

Over the past two years the only other things I'd procured were a blank NOS IL panel with arts from @quadratic and updated art to install from @fuzzbuddy.

I also added an Instruction Space Strip and 100 Yen Decal via the official art @ImportantBet organised with Taito and a Coin Reject Button kit from @FrancoB to match all my other cabs.

A couple of weeks ago I bought an MS9 chassis off Jomac for a tube I had stashed under the house. When the chassis arrived @themisterfalcon nudged me on Discord and said that I had all the parts to "unfuck" my cab and made me feel bad that I was letting a good bird die.

So, I got to it in three steps which @themisterfalcon expertly guided me through both my hesitations and frequent question asking.

STEP 1: Remove and Install the Chassis
Been a while since I did this, so needed a refresher and some pointers. I removed the existing chassis and sent it off to Jomac for repair and installed the recently acquired MS9 chassis. All good, we have a nice clear and crisp picture!

STEP 2. Remove and Replace Cab front.
This was tricky. Snipped the fluro cables, transplanted the E2's grey bezel, metal arms and speakers to the AWSD front. Reassembled it which was harder than I thought -- lining up the bracket whilst holding up the front and screwing screws was a bit ambitious. Had to call the missus to give me a hand and we got there in the end.

Also removed the Sammy logo decal and replaced it with a Taito one.

 

[djsheep]

STEP 3. Apply arts to the NOS IL panel.

@fuzzbuddy gave me clear directions about how to go about this:

- Clean the blank panel and ensure dust free environment
- Apply slightly soapy water
- Position the art
- Squeegee the bubbles and water out
- Cut around the edges with a sharp scalpel
- Finish by curing art with a hair dryer

I did my best, however it's not 100% perfect. Maybe 90% to my standards, but no one will notice the small imperfections in some of the cutting and a few little micro bubbles here and there.

I used 8 pinball rubbers to hold it in place. I had to remove the speakers and fluro tube to get in there to secure it.

 

[djsheep]

-- PART 4 --

Success! I unfucked the cab and here's what she looks like now!

However, after an arcade session with some mates (thankfully after they left) the cab went in horizontal shutdown

The original rebuilt chassis is ready for pick-up tomorrow, so will get that back in to see how it goes. I'm really hoping it's not an issue with the tube (knowing my horrible luck), but thankfully I have a replacement tube if that's the case and Jomac thinks it is a chassis related issue.

 

[djsheep]

-- PART 5 --

Now, what about the original front piece and that area around the IL panel?

Pictures speak a thousand words.

Can you figure out what's going on? I didn't and my brain couldn't figure it out until this morning when I placed the cleaned E2 panel back into the space minus some of the caulk I’d removed.

It's very clear now that the bottom of the IL panel area seems to have been heated up and bent or stretched out of shape. This would also explain why the top of the cab didn't snap entirely into place and how the bottom mounting holes for the IL panels are facing outward.

 

[djsheep]

-- PART 6 --

This cab has been 2 years and 8 months (32 months) in the making and it's still not 100% finished but extremely close.

Aside from changing out the chassis tomorrow to make sure it doesn't collapse again I have the following to do:

- Paint Marquee Bracket
- Sand and Re-paint the Move Strip Brackets
- Procure and Install Tangs
- Procure missing wheel in rotate mech
- Replace wheels
- Get a fresh coin slot

I really have to thank everyone who helped me get this one going. It's been a real side in my thorn: @nidulans, @themisterfalcon, @fuzzbuddy, @quadratic, @xb74, @ImportantBet, @GumGum, @alberto1225, Jomac and the entire Arcade Autism Discord I am grateful for your patience and being part of my (R)EGRET II journey.

 

[djsheep]

RESERVED IN CASE SOMETHING ELSE COMES UP.

 

[djsheep]

RESERVED IN CASE SOMETHING SOMETHING ELSE COMES UP.

 

[fuzzbuddy]

Incredible work @djsheep !

 

[ItsBobDudes]

Wow the previous owner really caulked up that cab. GJ in the restore!

 

[bgwelistyl]

great job! And I thought my Project Egret 2 restoration had issues LOL

 

[9999 Damage]

Epic makeover! Too bad you can’t show this to the caulk sucker who caulked it up in the first place.

 

[djsheep]

I wonder if I can trade him a 60-in-1 PCB to do my bathroom.

 

[kuze]

Very nice work, what a transformation! Definitely a cab to be proud of now. It's a beauty!!

Just curious but why snip the speaker cables? They have disconnects to easily detach from the speakers themselves? Or maybe I'm mis-remembering?

 

[thegreathopper]

Great job, worth all the effort.

 

[PASTBLASTER]

Way to save that bird! That's the most caulk i've ever seen used in a cab. Good lort.

 

[mybff]

Looks great! What a good read

 

[Mrhide]

well fuc*-a-doodle-doo!!