Buying a DK Cab

[leejunfan777]

Is Richie Knucklez a good guy to buy a DK cab
I really want one but I would like to be able to fix it / keep it running
what should I do where should I look

any suggestions ?

[Xermon54]

Hey Vincent! (I'm Vincent Lemay)

First of all, kongrats on your new pb, you're progressing pretty fast!

As for Richie, I think it's very unlikely that he will sell any Donkey Kong machines at this point (considering he needs as much as possible for the Kong Off 4, which is july 30th to august 2th). However, after the Kong Off 4, he might sell some, but I think he will keep them for future Kong Off as well.

It's definitely harder for people living in Quebec to get an arcade machine. Personally, I got mine from a guy in Ontario named Robert Felstein (he built it and shipped it for me).

The best way would be to look on Ebay, and maybe on kijiji if you're lucky (but a Donkey Kong machine is still very rare, but it might happen since you live in Montreal).

I wish you the best of luck in finding a DK machine. With your recent fast progression, I have no doubt you will soon be a Kill Screen prospect! And if you ever want to try my Donkey Kong machine, it would be my pleasure. I could give you tips to help you progress in your game (I live in Drummondville, which is pretty much 1 hour away from Montreal). I would definitely enjoy having another Quebecer in the kill screen club!

Good luck!

[leejunfan777]

thx for the sugestions vince
if im ever in Drummond you can bet ill ping you im shure your tips would help me alot


http://www.ebay.com/itm/DONKEY-KONG-Fully-Restored-Original-Video-Arcade-Game-with-Warranty-Support-/151246521807?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2336fec5cf

this one looks pretty sweet

im wondering if id have to declare that passing the borders & if they would charge me a ton to declare it

[jumpman]

Try the KLOV forum for best price unless you get really lucky on Craigslist. Ebay you will be paying top dollar. I would usually prioritize a good working monitor, unless you can repair them yourself.  Also look for a donkey kong jr cab,  you would only need to swap out the boards plug and play. Don't worry about cosmetics you can always get new repro art for it. Good luck on the search.

[SanTe]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DONKEY-KONG-Fully-Restored-Original-Video-Arcade-Game-with-Warranty-Support-/151246521807

this one looks pretty sweet

FWIW, that asking price is about double what I would consider paying for a fully restored DK.

[ChrisP]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DONKEY-KONG-Fully-Restored-Original-Video-Arcade-Game-with-Warranty-Support-/151246521807

this one looks pretty sweet

FWIW, that asking price is about double what I would consider paying for a fully restored DK.

I'd say more than triple!

$2,500 for a DK is only for something really, really special. I'm talking like one of the original hand-converted RadarScope DKs (in good condition), or a machine discovered in a warehouse new-in-box and never used. (Actually, you could easily justify going higher for a new in box, because that would be kinda insane.)

For a run-of-the-mill blue DK though? I would pretty much never pay more than $900 for one, in any condition.

$300-$700 is more the ideal range I think. I might read too much KLOV

That eBay listing is a $500 machine. They have a lot of nerve saying that slapping some new t-molding and sideart on there makes it "fully restored." Just from the pics you can see that the monitor needs work, the instruction decal is peeling, paint is chipping on the speaker panel, the plastic joystick ring is old and foggy, etc. There's even a nasty cigarette burn above the P2 button. It's decent, definitely better than average, but nowhere near pristine.

These threads are fun, show me more machines and I'll nitpick them.

[ChrisP]

I'm dying over here.

 

$1975, GTFOOOOOOO

[ChrisP]

This is more like it.

Price is high at $1,700, but some folks could justify it given that this is (mostly) very nice work.

Super clean, monitor looks good, sideart is placed perfectly (always look for the bolt through Pauline's ankle on the right side of 5-bolt cabs if you wanna know if the sideart is at "factory" level). Also pretty interesting that it appears to be an early-manufacture bezel and control panel overlay, you can tell because it says "© Nintendo" and not "© Nintendo of America". I say "appears to be" because it almost looks TOO good to be from 1981, but I think the repros say "© Nintendo of America" so that's weird. Definitely major points if those are original.

Only flaws are the bezel sticker (it should be offset from the left side a bit, not flush with it), and of course the buttons are all wrong.

But if you're willing to pay more than $1K, that's at least the caliber of machine you should be getting for your money.

[SanTe]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DONKEY-KONG-Fully-Restored-Original-Video-Arcade-Game-with-Warranty-Support-/151246521807

this one looks pretty sweet

FWIW, that asking price is about double what I would consider paying for a fully restored DK.

I'd say more than triple!

$2,500 for a DK is only for something really, really special. I'm talking like one of the original hand-converted RadarScope DKs (in good condition), or a machine discovered in a warehouse new-in-box and never used. (Actually, you could easily justify going higher for a new in box, because that would be kinda insane.)

For a run-of-the-mill blue DK though? I would pretty much never pay more than $900 for one, in any condition.

$300-$700 is more the ideal range I think. I might read too much KLOV

That eBay listing is a $500 machine. They have a lot of nerve saying that slapping some new t-molding and sideart on there makes it "fully restored." Just from the pics you can see that the monitor needs work, the instruction decal is peeling, paint is chipping on the speaker panel, the plastic joystick ring is old and foggy, etc. There's even a nasty cigarette burn above the P2 button. It's decent, definitely better than average, but nowhere near pristine.

These threads are fun, show me more machines and I'll nitpick them.

I said nothing about the machine in the eBay listing actually being fully restored.  (It isn't.)  I said a fully restored DK should run about half the asking price, about $1200-$1300 in this case.  That is for a machine that is actually fully restored to like new condition.  And you're kidding yourself if you think fully restored classic games aren't worth this much.

Game prices are all over the map these days, but prices for certain titles have definitely risen.  Even though there were a ton of DKs made and there are still a ton of them out there, it is one of the most popular titles from the era and is among the handful that is recognizable and desirable by Joe Sixpack, who isn't an arcade game collector but is willing to shell out stupid money for a game or two for his "man cave."

[ChrisP]

I said nothing about the machine in the eBay listing actually being fully restored.  (It isn't.)

I understood that you were speaking on principle. I definitely did not think you were talking about that specific machine. 

I said a fully restored DK should run about half the asking price, about $1200-$1300 in this case.  That is for a machine that is actually fully restored to like new condition.  And you're kidding yourself if you think fully restored classic games aren't worth this much.

Actually, fully restored, with someone else having done the work, you are probably right. But if you know how to find parts/repros, and are confident with the electronics, willing to learn things, and put a few hours into it, etc., you could buy a $500-$600 DK and get it into very nice shape for not much more money.

[leejunfan777]

thx for all the input guys, good to know that 2,5k is to exepnsive
ill keep lookin in my region, & try the KLOV forum

[Shnypz]

I got my DK off of CL for 500 bucks. Had to fix up the controller (~$15 in parts), replace the t-molding (~$5), replaced the coin decals (~$5) and had someone else do a cap kit (~$80)...the thing runs great. The side art has some rips and there are a few dings/chips on the cab but otherwise, it's in tip top shape.

As KLOV would say "it's a good players machine" 

[Jonesy]

There are guys over here in the UK desperately looking for DK cabs, they in very short supply that is for sure, I know of 6/7 over here but I'd guess there are no more than 10 originals? People are scratch building them regularly.

I was offered £1500 for mine last week, roughly $2200? There's no way i'd sell it, it came over from Germany. It's been fully restored mind you, I had the paint matched to the exact colour of the original blue Formica and it's staying!!