Scramble Project: Cut the base!

…or is it hold the bass?

Nothing is more horrific than some arcade cabinet water damage

One of the bummers of the much coveted Scramble cabinet I finally secured after searching for years, is that the bottom of the cabinet’s side panels are severely water damaged. That can be a deal breaker for many given the time and attention to detail it takes to get a cabinet back to its original glory.

My eyes!

Say it ain’t so!

But let’s face it, I’m so deep into this hobby that if I can’t do the job right, I’m gonna find someone who can—and boy did I ever. Alberto is the magician behind replacing the base of this cabinet, and I’m in awe. I reached out on the KLOV forums for some advice offering the above pictures for reference, and my assumption was confirmed: the only way forward is prosthetic surgery. Given the skillset required to do it right (the detailed, thoughtful response from another KLOV member scared me straight), I decided to bring in the professionals.

Alberto has been sharing images of his progress, and I am getting increasingly excited with every new update. The first step was cutting out the damaged area, and as you can see from the image below, the cabinet is rock solid right above that 4″ or 5″ stain of water damage. It must have been sitting in the water for quite a while because as you can see in the images above the plywood was literally peeling like a banana. And as you may be able to decipher the sides of the cabinet are about 5″ off the ground, effectively protecting the power supply that is screwed to the elevated floor of the cabinet—just out of harm’s way.

I’m thrilled with the attention to detail paid in this project, right down to keeping the original contours of the cabinet, as well as routing a line for the T-molding. What’s more the legs are screwed into the 3/4″ plywood floor to ensure they can take the 200+ pounds load of a full cabinet.

You can really see the progress in the next two shots wherein any signs of surgery are all but gone, and the following shot highlights the original angle at the back of the cabinet base which enables you to tilt it up and wheel it around. Also, you get a good look at how tight the seam will be.

I think it’s safe to say “Operation Base Replacement” for the Scramble project is looking amazing. Near-on seamless, and we (royal we, given Alberto is the magician here) will be painting the repaired area black, and then priming the entire cabinet in preparation for a complete re-stenciling of this classic to its original design glory.

I think the bavacade is off to an auspicious start. I figure you bring in the artisans and set the bar ridiculously high from the start and things can only get even better.