Dragon's Lair Fans - Arcade Lifestyle

General Chat => Arcade Lifestyle => Topic started by: gyruss on June 04, 2010, 02:51:54 PM

Title: [Roadtrip] Thrilling Commando Action
Post by: gyruss on June 04, 2010, 02:51:54 PM
(https://www.dragonslairfans.com/news/operation_wolf.jpg)

Okay, time for another road trip!! :)

This time it's a really special one for me. I'm going to buy the game I played the most during my youth.
When I was about 8 or 9 years old I always used to sneak in our local arcade named Amusementshal Rex.


(http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/610/rexp.jpg) (http://img42.imageshack.us/i/rexp.jpg/)

Because they also had a lot of slot machines it was illegal to enter this place if you were underage. Luckily for me they had a very big cabinet in the corner, right next to the entrance, so I could alway play a few rounds before getting spotted and kicked out. ;D

This great game was:


(http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/6955/flyerhz.jpg) (http://img40.imageshack.us/i/flyerhz.jpg/)

The cab is located in a town called Voorschoten, 55 minutes away from my home.

(http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/8508/kaartv.png) (http://img535.imageshack.us/i/kaartv.png/)

The seller told me cabinet was working 100%, no problems with the gun and a bright monitor. 8)
Although the price wasn't exactly low it was still a good deal for a complete operation wolf.

I will be doing this road trip together with a friend and colleague of mine. He is into collecting old cars, and one of his favorites is very useful for picking up large cabinets.  

(http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/2681/imag2694.jpg)

(http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/7906/imag2692.jpg)

I love this car, very solid and still running after 50 years.

(http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/6694/imag2698.jpg)

The weather is perfect so let's hit the road.

(http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/1161/imag2697.jpg)

But first, let's get some gas, the yellow monster is thirsty

(http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/1742/imag2701.jpg)

Because of the busy traffic we decided to take the tourist route, let's hope this safes us some time.

(http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/4301/imag2705.jpg)

It's really a nice day.............................................................

(http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/8539/imag2703.jpg)

But there it is, our first traffic jam.

(http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/1361/imag2713.jpg)

We forgot to clean the windows, hence the bad picture quality.

(http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/7346/imag2717.jpg)

(http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/9650/imag2722.jpg)

And another traffic jam.  >:( >:(

(http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/3559/imag2726.jpg)

A cool building near Aalsmeer.

(http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/7803/imag2735.jpg)

And the Endemol Television Studio's.

(http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/7761/imag2738.jpg)

We are getting close to our destination.

(http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/9650/imag2744.jpg)

A famous place in Dutch literature.

(http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/659/imag2747.jpg)

And yet another traffic jam ???

(http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/2729/imag2755.jpg)

Glad it isn't us who's getting pulled over by the police  ;)

(http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/74/imag2753.jpg)

and finally, we arrive at the town where the seller is located.

(http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/8093/imag2758.jpg)

People are getting ready for the World Cup.

(http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/4616/imag2756.jpg)

After some directions from the seller, we arrive at his garage and there it is.  :D

(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/8290/imag2759.jpg)

He is also selling another cab, Operation wolf's little brother.

(http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/5561/imag2762.jpg)

They sure look cool together, but not enough space for both  :-[

(http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/2670/imag2763.jpg)

After turning on the machine, i notice the rumble mechanism in the Uzi isn't working.  >:( >:(
The seller promised me everything should work 100%. I'm getting grumpy, because according to KLOV, fixing the gun is a pain in the ass.  >:(
But I still decide to take the cabinet, just not for the original price. So after some negotiation it's time to get the cabinet in the Land Rover.

(http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/4884/imag2764.jpg)

(http://img697.imageshack.us/img697/3517/imag2765.jpg)

Everything is tied up, time to go.

(http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/1154/imag2767.jpg)

On the way back we stop at a gas station..................................

(http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/8279/imag2774.jpg)

To get some arcade food.  ;D ;D

(http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/8748/imag2771.jpg)

A lot of people stare at this strange combination.

(http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/3474/imag2770.jpg)

Another cool car.

(http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/2876/imag2776.jpg)

Time to unload the cabinet and put it inside my home.

(http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/9201/imag2779.jpg)

Damn, this is one big cab!  :o

(http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/2903/imag2830.jpg)

I love the instruction card.

(http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/107/imag2801l.jpg)

Side art

(http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/9854/imag2796.jpg)

With the usual damage:

(http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/1895/imag2799.jpg)

The famous Uzi.

(http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/3901/imag2803.jpg)

Very cool marque and the monitor is working great.

(http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/8172/imag2788.jpg)

Let's look at the inside.

(http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/1614/imag2825.jpg)

The counter

(http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/681/imag2814.jpg)

And the PCB which is located in some kind of a drawer.

(http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/3703/imag2822.jpg)

I love Taito  :P :P

(http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/1631/imag2829.jpg)

This cabinet matches perfectly with some stuff I 'borrowed' from a Japanese Arcade:

(http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/6734/imag2808.jpg)

It will also look really cool under the Taito banner in my Game room  ;D

(http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/6077/imag2789.jpg)

But the story doesn't end here. My colleague and I decided to take a look at the Uzi to find out what's wrong with the rumble mechanism.
And guess what...... there is nothing wrong with it!! It seems the gun was making too much noise so the owner decided to just cut the electric wire, so 15 minutes later i got a fully working Operation Wolf at a very sharp price! :D :D



Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Thrilling Commando Action
Post by: vib_ribbon on June 04, 2010, 03:40:20 PM
ah... great story. i thought it was gonna be Capcom's Commando at first, then it saw the pamphlet and realised it's Op Wolf and that you must be young to be 8-9 when that Op Wolf came out.  :-*

i hope you knocked the price down good. i would hate it too if the game/ cab did not fit the original description and you had made such a long journey to get there. i remember somebody else's road trip where they walked away from something like that. so here's hoping you can get the gun fully working again soon and without too much hassle.

i do wonder, did you say to the guy, "hey, the gun is not rumbling", and did he say, "what? it's supposed to rumble"?? lying through his teeth.  >:( i hope that wasn't the case.
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Thrilling Commando Action
Post by: gyruss on June 04, 2010, 03:43:34 PM
Just read the last sentence, we managed to get the gun working again  ;D ;D

And yes, the seller said he didn't know the gun should rumble, very strange because his other cabinet had the same kind of guns.  ::)

But anyway, the price came down and the gun works again..
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Thrilling Commando Action
Post by: Superully on June 04, 2010, 04:08:40 PM
congrats on that catch! funny that i've been contacting gyruss about a FREE operation wolf just the other day and he told me that he has just bought one. well, i guess it would have been the same amount of money after all if you count in the gas to germany. isn't it just great to finally get your favourite game???

btw, that FREE operation wolf is still up for grabs!!!

oh, and two more things:
(a) i L-O-V-E :-*the car you used to pick up the cab
(b) i guess you would have been able to fit the cab in the back of the cab if you had turned it around 180°  ;)
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Thrilling Commando Action
Post by: gyruss on June 04, 2010, 04:21:33 PM
Indeed very funny, and again, thanks for the offer! It's great to own this game, something like a childhood dream coming true.
I also love this car, you should hear the sound it makes! :wink:
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Thrilling Commando Action
Post by: vib_ribbon on June 04, 2010, 05:03:16 PM
ah... sorry, can't read.  :P

that's a good resolve then. the noise it makes and the kick back is a great feeling when in full flow. definitely a much better game than the sequel (though i have never played the 3rd one).
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Thrilling Commando Action
Post by: Superully on June 04, 2010, 05:53:30 PM
man, you should have gone for the operation thunderbolt as well!
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Thrilling Commando Action
Post by: gyruss on June 04, 2010, 06:32:21 PM
One shooter is enough for me, although they make a nice pair. 
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Thrilling Commando Action
Post by: DarthNuno on June 04, 2010, 06:48:53 PM
Nice Road Trip'  :-*

I'm also a big fan of Operation Wolf in Arcade. It's still a game I still like to play, but necessary want to own. I remember very well the Amstrad CPC port of the game, very nice too  :P
And... you got the right 'old school military' like pick up for your road trip... simply the perfect choice  ;) Thanks for sharing this story with us  :)

All the honors Sir  8)  :arrow:

(https://www.dragonslairfans.com/news/operation_wolf.jpg)

 :spaceace: :spaceace: :spaceace:
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Thrilling Commando Action
Post by: gyruss on June 04, 2010, 06:50:35 PM
Hahaha, thanks for the banner, it looks great!
And you are always welcome to play the game if you are in the Netherlands.
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Thrilling Commando Action
Post by: Ronald Reagan on June 04, 2010, 07:29:23 PM
haha he finally nails his Operation Wolf. REX SPEELHAL :lol: :lol:
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Thrilling Commando Action
Post by: baritonomarchetto on June 04, 2010, 09:17:42 PM
One of my favourite games! I will own one of those beasts (Operation Wolf or O Tunderbolt) in the future, i can feel it  :D
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Thrilling Commando Action
Post by: Etienne MacGyver on June 06, 2010, 07:36:30 AM
Great story , congrats !

and super car for this "operation"  :lol:
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Thrilling Commando Action
Post by: level42 on June 06, 2010, 09:30:48 AM
Love the Landrover with this road-trip story ! You guys should have wore some military suits and make pics :D

Interesting car indeed !
The ZA sign says it's from Zuid-Afrika (South-Africa) but the Dutch registration of the car (AM-36-01) is VERY old (I just checked it, first registry date is jan 1 1948 !!!  So it got imported from Zuid-Afrika pretty early. The right hand steering wheel indicates left-side of the road driving, and indeed Zuid-Afrika has that so it looks like it was originally from there.

2600 6 cylinder and only 95 horsepower :D That was a lot of power for that time though !
Weighing at 1560 kg. this is probably a thirsty monster :)

I love the cab by the way, one of those machines that I definitely would want if I had enough space. The machine gun control is cool enough to add a machine like that to any collection !


By the way, that building won't be the Endemol studios for much longer ! Next monday the first recordings of "Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden" will start at the brand new building in Amsterdam. I know because I've been commissioning the (very complex !) fire alarm system of that new building. It was fun to be in some of the decors (sets) of that series, although I never watch it (it's Holland's longest running soap series). There's a huge amusement studio as well (50x50 meters), offices for 600 people and a huge parking garage under the building....it was a pretty big challenge because of the complexity of the system, but I will be doing the last work the next week.
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Thrilling Commando Action
Post by: gyruss on June 06, 2010, 08:11:41 PM
My colleague  imported the car after his one year stay in South Africa, something like 5 or 6 years ago.
The cabinet is indeed (too) big! I don't think I will be able to get it into my game room, so I guess it will stay in my living room ;D
I heard about Endemol being relocated to Amsterdam and I know the seize of the complex, that must be one hell of an operation for you.

Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Thrilling Commando Action
Post by: Superully on July 05, 2010, 10:19:38 PM
what happened to most of the pics here?
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Thrilling Commando Action
Post by: Muerto on July 06, 2010, 05:38:21 AM
hot linking???
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Thrilling Commando Action
Post by: gyruss on July 06, 2010, 08:16:11 AM
ah Shit, i removed some pic's from my imageshack account >:(