Recently acquired a Sega New Astro City from a certain individual who has since been banned from this forum. The buying experience was bizarre and had its share of hiccups. Nothing more needs to be said there that hasn't already been said elsewhere. Now that I mention it, if anyone is selling one of these in California, or knows where I could get one, I'm thinking of getting another. Let me know.
In this thread, I'll outline my process in restoring the NAC. Overall, my philosophy was to keep as much original as I possibly could, and what absolutely needed to be replaced or repainted would be as close as possible to what was there before, ideally even using official parts.
First off, here's the final, finished product:
Here are some photos showing off the original condition:
Upon receiving the cab, it wasn't in great shape. Some genius put green tape all over it during shipping, which pulled the paint off in some really noticeable areas. Buttons were missing, joysticks weren't stock, there were scuffs all around, almost everything was discolored and filthy, lights didn't work, locks were missing, there was rust, etc. Bizarrely, the seller (who is outspoken against restoring/repainting cabs) painted the service door and literally nothing else, so it didn't match the rest of the machine.
The machine needed some love.
My first step was to disassemble. I made sure to note where all the individual nuts and bolts went as I went along. For anyone taking this project on themselves, documentation as you go is critical. I also recommend taking pictures of how things are installed inside, and where cables go. Unhooking something? Take a picture first. Future you will thank you later.
Here are some shots of the teardown.
Once the cab was torn down, I got into some deep, deep cleaning. If the instructions insert on the control panel wasn't a giveaway, the PCB manual I found inside the cab confirmed that this machine was set up for Strikers 1945 III for a good while. I also found 2 100 yen coins, which helped me recoup .0001% of the investment cost to buy, ship, and fix up this cab. Nice.
Continued...
In this thread, I'll outline my process in restoring the NAC. Overall, my philosophy was to keep as much original as I possibly could, and what absolutely needed to be replaced or repainted would be as close as possible to what was there before, ideally even using official parts.
First off, here's the final, finished product:
Here are some photos showing off the original condition:
Upon receiving the cab, it wasn't in great shape. Some genius put green tape all over it during shipping, which pulled the paint off in some really noticeable areas. Buttons were missing, joysticks weren't stock, there were scuffs all around, almost everything was discolored and filthy, lights didn't work, locks were missing, there was rust, etc. Bizarrely, the seller (who is outspoken against restoring/repainting cabs) painted the service door and literally nothing else, so it didn't match the rest of the machine.
The machine needed some love.
My first step was to disassemble. I made sure to note where all the individual nuts and bolts went as I went along. For anyone taking this project on themselves, documentation as you go is critical. I also recommend taking pictures of how things are installed inside, and where cables go. Unhooking something? Take a picture first. Future you will thank you later.
Here are some shots of the teardown.
Once the cab was torn down, I got into some deep, deep cleaning. If the instructions insert on the control panel wasn't a giveaway, the PCB manual I found inside the cab confirmed that this machine was set up for Strikers 1945 III for a good while. I also found 2 100 yen coins, which helped me recoup .0001% of the investment cost to buy, ship, and fix up this cab. Nice.
Continued...
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