Cabinet Work
We have ignored Breakout since the board fix. The board came back, we plugged in and tested. It worked!
Then it sat.
This poor little unit needed serious structural repair. The right side of the cabinet had nearly come off! It was not attached at the back side and was only hanging onto the bottom by a thread.
We took out the monitor, control panel, game board, RFI cage, power brick, bezel, shroud and marquee, nearly stripped of all but the wood. The back of the game has three sections. We kept the back “door” off. The door does not have a lock, it is a removable 3 foot section. The top is maybe 8 inches of support and venting. The bottom is 14 inches and provides a foundation for the cabinet. Normally that is.
We had Breakout on its side, knocked out the bottom back panel and started rectifying the cabinet bottom. 2 sides (left and front) were fine. The right was almost separated only clinging by some staples. We set it square and stapled the right side in place.
It was probably water that killed the glue bond but to be sure we added a second corner rail here with glue and staples. That should provide support where it failed the most.
Then we set out to reconnect the bottom back panel. When we knocked it out the right side corner rail stuck to the board and left the cabinet in tact. The left corner rail was solidly attached to the cabinet and released the bottom back panel. When inserting the panel again we first glued the left rail, bottom rail and right cabinet inside. Stapling first the left rail the set the right height so the door could be removed easily.
Next step was righting the cabinet. The glue was starting to set, so I quickly pulled the bottom back panel toward the bottom until it squared up. David stapled the right rail to the right side to capture the square. Now that everything squared we clamped the bottom and stapled it to ensure the glue would hold it well.
The top back panel was pulling loose on the right side just a bit. We clamped and stapled there as well. FInally we glued and stapled the left monitor rail that had come loose and the right power block support.
It is much stronger now. We wired in the power, cage board and monitor. We cleaned and replaced the art. Attached the control panel and played a round of Breakout. We dropped in a new lock for good measure.
Then it sat.
This poor little unit needed serious structural repair. The right side of the cabinet had nearly come off! It was not attached at the back side and was only hanging onto the bottom by a thread.
We took out the monitor, control panel, game board, RFI cage, power brick, bezel, shroud and marquee, nearly stripped of all but the wood. The back of the game has three sections. We kept the back “door” off. The door does not have a lock, it is a removable 3 foot section. The top is maybe 8 inches of support and venting. The bottom is 14 inches and provides a foundation for the cabinet. Normally that is.
Bottom
We had Breakout on its side, knocked out the bottom back panel and started rectifying the cabinet bottom. 2 sides (left and front) were fine. The right was almost separated only clinging by some staples. We set it square and stapled the right side in place.
It was probably water that killed the glue bond but to be sure we added a second corner rail here with glue and staples. That should provide support where it failed the most.
Bottom Back Panel
Then we set out to reconnect the bottom back panel. When we knocked it out the right side corner rail stuck to the board and left the cabinet in tact. The left corner rail was solidly attached to the cabinet and released the bottom back panel. When inserting the panel again we first glued the left rail, bottom rail and right cabinet inside. Stapling first the left rail the set the right height so the door could be removed easily.
Next step was righting the cabinet. The glue was starting to set, so I quickly pulled the bottom back panel toward the bottom until it squared up. David stapled the right rail to the right side to capture the square. Now that everything squared we clamped the bottom and stapled it to ensure the glue would hold it well.
Rest of the Problems
The top back panel was pulling loose on the right side just a bit. We clamped and stapled there as well. FInally we glued and stapled the left monitor rail that had come loose and the right power block support.
It is much stronger now. We wired in the power, cage board and monitor. We cleaned and replaced the art. Attached the control panel and played a round of Breakout. We dropped in a new lock for good measure.
Board Fix
The Breakout board was repaired and received so we tested it. It works! Now we have to fix the cabinet.
Acquisition
Picked this up from a former collector who advertised “Free Game Giveaway” on rgvac. We rented a truck and some help and made our way to his house. 3 hours and $400 in help, food, gas and rental fees later we had a garage full of projects.
This one is almost complete. The control panel needs the knob and the monitor plexi is located elsewhere, but otherwise it is complete.