Dragon's Lair Fans - Arcade Lifestyle

General Chat => Arcade Lifestyle => Topic started by: Superully on June 15, 2009, 10:45:47 PM

Title: [Roadtrip] Road to Berlin Part II (Five in a Row)
Post by: Superully on June 15, 2009, 10:45:47 PM

One short note before this roadtrip begins: I didn't bring my professional camera on this roadtrip - nice pictures were not my top priority! The only thing I had was my crappy mobile phone camera, but crappy pictures are still better than no pictures at all, right? Well then, here we go ...

Time to return to Berlin! As you probably remember from my last roadtrip (https://www.dragonslairfans.com/smfor/index.php?topic=804.0 (https://www.dragonslairfans.com/smfor/index.php?topic=804.0)), there are still some games waiting for me in the German capital. This time, however, I'm not taking my own car with me. How should I fit 5 cabs in my car at once? Suggestions, please  ;)

Therefore, I'm using a car pool to travel north. Unfortunately, I happened to pick a car with heavy metal fans. Not that I don't like heavy metal, but 6 hours in an enclosed "heavy metal environment" is too much - even for my blood  :shock:  :evil:

Here's my "ticket to Berlin"  :arrow:

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3415/3630068332_8eb2e25630_o.jpg)

After a seemingly endless ride in the car, I'm dropped off somewhere in Berlin, so I have to use public transportation to reach my destination.

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3054/3629258011_c68611274e_o.jpg)

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3373/3629258511_1b8ac71827_o.jpg)

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3598/3629255979_c3726e1ec5_o.jpg)

in order to bring all 5 games home at once, i'm taking a rental car to the by now well-known fire station.

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3621/3629255813_363753d28d_o.jpg)

the "tunnel" in the fire station's cellar which leads to the seller's storage room

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3369/3629256247_d5b335c1ee_o.jpg)

let me show you that storage again (picture taken during my last berlin roadtrip)  :arrow:

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3191/3596998733_fec0820994_b.jpg)

the loading process begins ...

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3608/3630072250_8c9b8ca47d_o.jpg)

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3345/3630073520_20fae6d212_o.jpg)

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3615/3630070830_a48c335d62_o.jpg)

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3315/3629258753_4953d8e841_o.jpg)

(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2452/3629256651_995aa65098_o.jpg)

i'm also taking a couple of spare hantarex monitors - you never know when they might come in handy!

(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2459/3629257819_ece4ab6f1e_o.jpg)

everything's loaded, time to begin the long journey home  :spaceace:

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3368/3629257265_990408c0d2_o.jpg)

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3361/3630070322_2599e5f602_o.jpg)

after many hours on the road, i arrive home safe and sound. here's where we stand  :arrow:

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3412/3630071072_77f7c11b6d_o.jpg)

the next morning. let's check if everything is still where it belongs ... CHECKED!!!

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3347/3630074854_590ec48e75_b.jpg)

the van in front of my "storage unit" at patrik's place

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3538/3629260209_32353f6ef4_b.jpg)

after unloading, four fantastic classic games in their temporary shelter - hopefully not for long!

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3658/3630075394_542e64e05b_b.jpg)

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3384/3629259887_ef6a29ab7a_b.jpg)

but wait a minute: only FOUR games, isn't there one missing. what happened to the wizard of wor? well, i couldn't resist, i had to take it up into my (temporary) gameroom. i'm looking forward to starting the restoration process on this one, a new control panel overlay and new sidearts are already on their way!

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3348/3630074534_11fb758181_b.jpg)

one continent, six COUNTIES, way too many kilometers - this roadtrip is OFFICIALLY OVER!  

Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Road to Berlin Part II (Five in a Row)
Post by: Sonic 1992 on June 16, 2009, 12:36:16 AM
Totally Cool!!!  It's like you pulled off a heist!!  A bunch of games in one shot!!!   Good Job!!  ;D

I would be playing WOW First too!!!    :pac:  :ghost:  :spaceace:
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Road to Berlin Part II (Five in a Row)
Post by: level42 on June 16, 2009, 07:25:25 AM
Well those pics are not _that_ crappy for a phone.....I've seen worse ;)

Great haul !

Indeed WOW would be the first for me too. It's a great game to play with two players.....I volunteer :)

The Centipede is Irish built, I like the Irish colors much better than the US built Centi. If you want to replace the CPO mamemarquees.com can provide the one with the Irish color blue. The other repro's that are offered have a much darker blue color which doesn't match the Irish bezel and looks off IMHO. You can see that here:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=63654.msg757723#msg757723

The Mamemarquees one is also not 100% match though (but I still prefer it over the darker US color blue) unless Scott modified the file with the information from my pictures ( http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=63654.msg771488#msg771488 ).

If you order from Mamemarquees look for the LIGHT blue version of the CPO:
http://www.mamemarquees.com/advanced_search_result.php?search_in_description=1&keywords=centipede&osCsid=mgsnuh1l0hc2sqcpk0q2ivmbj4&x=0&y=0

For the trackball I suggest Bob Roberts' bearings and rollers. Bob's rollers are stainless steel, unlike the one's sold elsewhere (which are "regular" steel like the originals. He also pre-greases the bearings and breaks them in so you don't have to do that yourself (by either playing a lot or spinning the bearings with a drill).

I noticed the Defender marquee, what's up with the "balls" are those stickers or something ?
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Road to Berlin Part II (Five in a Row)
Post by: Valsimot on June 16, 2009, 08:50:59 AM
Awesome haul. Congratulations.
Is the side art on the Outrun original? Haven't seen it before, but the scuffed up look suits it well if you ask me =]
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Road to Berlin Part II (Five in a Row)
Post by: level42 on June 16, 2009, 10:35:42 AM
Yes that's original. It's a mini (or if you prefer cabaret) sized cab. Good thing they still used a 19" monitor for it !

Here's another one for sale that has the same side-art:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350029797754
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Road to Berlin Part II (Five in a Row)
Post by: Zorg on June 16, 2009, 10:54:32 AM
Congrats on this catch, nice to see thoose lovely cabs.

WoW is pretty hard to find over europe.

PS: Qix CPO stills on work  :lol:
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Road to Berlin Part II (Five in a Row)
Post by: Superully on June 16, 2009, 02:06:45 PM
Indeed WOW would be the first for me too. It's a great game to play with two players.....I volunteer :)

as soon as it has been restored, you're welcome to come over and play!

The Centipede is Irish built, I like the Irish colors much better than the US built Centi. If you want to replace the CPO mamemarquees.com can provide the one with the Irish color blue. The other repro's that are offered have a much darker blue color which doesn't match the Irish bezel and looks off IMHO.

didn't know that there were different versions, but now that i've checked your links everything's making sense. i will replace that cpo for sure and of course i will pick the light blue version. looks so much better! thanks a lot for that valuable piece of information!

I noticed the Defender marquee, what's up with the "balls" are those stickers or something ?

those balls are the logo of a german tv station (sat1) and can be removed easily - at least i hope so. they are simple stickers!
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Road to Berlin Part II (Five in a Row)
Post by: Superully on June 16, 2009, 02:08:38 PM
Awesome haul. Congratulations.
Is the side art on the Outrun original? Haven't seen it before, but the scuffed up look suits it well if you ask me =]

as level42 already pointed out, this is the mini outrun version. i would have preferred the full upright version, but this is better than no outrun at all - it's a classic. restoring the sides will be difficult and it will also be a huge problem finding a replacement dashboard for this mini version (which has cigarette burns). but time will be on my side  :)
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Road to Berlin Part II (Five in a Row)
Post by: petieken on June 16, 2009, 06:23:33 PM
Congrats on your VERY nice catch 8)
Good luck with the restoration of these cabs ;)
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Road to Berlin Part II (Five in a Row)
Post by: Superully on June 16, 2009, 08:32:20 PM
For the trackball I suggest Bob Roberts' bearings and rollers. Bob's rollers are stainless steel, unlike the one's sold elsewhere (which are "regular" steel like the originals. He also pre-greases the bearings and breaks them in so you don't have to do that yourself (by either playing a lot or spinning the bearings with a drill).

i've tried cleaning the trackball already, but it still remains "nicotine yellow", therefore i'm ordering a new one from bob roberts. the original centipede trackball was "off white", but since i'm going to get a new cpo (where the white IS really white) and a new white button, i think i'm going with "snow white". what do you think?  :arrow: http://www.therealbobroberts.net/tbcolors.jpg (http://www.therealbobroberts.net/tbcolors.jpg)

@level42: why did you decide to use a red translucent trackball and why did you "light" all your buttons plus the trackball? are any of the buttons illuminated on the original centipede at all?
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Road to Berlin Part II (Five in a Row)
Post by: DarthNuno on June 16, 2009, 09:08:41 PM
AWESOME  :o

An other great road trip... and what some great cabs'  :-*

So how many games in the Superully's lair so far?  ::)

 :spaceace:
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Road to Berlin Part II (Five in a Row)
Post by: level42 on June 16, 2009, 09:28:02 PM
For the trackball I suggest Bob Roberts' bearings and rollers. Bob's rollers are stainless steel, unlike the one's sold elsewhere (which are "regular" steel like the originals. He also pre-greases the bearings and breaks them in so you don't have to do that yourself (by either playing a lot or spinning the bearings with a drill).

i've tried cleaning the trackball already, but it still remains "nicotine yellow", therefore i'm ordering a new one from bob roberts. the original centipede trackball was "off white", but since i'm going to get a new cpo (where the white IS really white) and a new white button, i think i'm going with "snow white". what do you think?  :arrow: http://www.therealbobroberts.net/tbcolors.jpg (http://www.therealbobroberts.net/tbcolors.jpg)

@level42: why did you decide to use a red translucent trackball and why did you "light" all your buttons plus the trackball? are any of the buttons illuminated on the original centipede at all?
Impossible to get the ball white again....indeed ordering a new one is the way to go.

The backlit trackball and button were just an idea that came up in the thread and I had toyed with the idea a lot. On one hand, I'm always for staying 100% original, but on the other I _really_ liked the idea.

First I used a red translucent ball and a red translucent button. It was just not what I wanted it to look like  (especially when turned off). The lens-effect on the trackball makes it bright in the center and dim on the edge. The Electric ICE is TOTALLY even lit. I also didn't like the oneven look of the red translucent button:
(http://gallery.mac.com/andre.huijts/100081/DSCF0063/web.jpg)

When GGG released it's 2nd edition of the Electric Ice Trackball I fell for it. This was the perfect solution together with an electric Ice button. When turned off, the machine looks pretty original since button and ball look white. Of course it's not 100% the original white look, but still it's close. When turned on, the ball  and button light up really nice red.

I guess the pictures on the Centipede thread are not really up-to date. I discussed the entire Electric Ice things on my Centi and GGG's "introduction" thread of the Electric ICE V2.0 trackball:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=76162.80

Here's how it looks now when off in bright day light: (http://gallery.mac.com/andre.huijts/100081/DSCF0108/web.jpg)

It is extremely hard to get a picture that really shows how great it looks when turned on. I think this one gives the best impression, but you really have to see it "live":
(http://gallery.mac.com/andre.huijts/100081/DSCF0126/web.jpg)


Of course, this is all completely non-standard. However, there's no harm done, the button and ball can always be replaced for originals if needed.

One more thing, because the Electric ICE button is meant for microswitches it meant I had to use one.....I bought GGG's "micro-leaf" switch and it works great for the Centipede. Centi is a game where you tend to hold the fire down a lot and only release when aiming for the single bits of the centi. It's definitly the best microswitch I've played with.
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Road to Berlin Part II (Five in a Row)
Post by: Superully on June 16, 2009, 10:18:26 PM
AWESOME  :o

An other great road trip... and what some great cabs'  :-*

So how many games in the Superully's lair so far?  ::)

 :spaceace:


Complete cabinets: 13 (all dedicated UR)

Projects to be rebuilt: 2 (Bubble Bobble / Qix)

But not all of them are in my temporary gameroom, because there might be a move coming up and I don't want to carry them 60 flights of stairs upwards (winding btw) only to carry them down again one month later. AND: I honestly don't know how much weight the floor of my gameroom can handle (does anyone know?). It would be a nightmare to wake up one morning and find all those beautiful games suddenly "six feet under"  :twisted:  :shock:

Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Road to Berlin Part II (Five in a Row)
Post by: Etienne MacGyver on June 17, 2009, 06:42:23 AM
This is a really nice catch !  congratiolations !
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Road to Berlin Part II (Five in a Row)
Post by: level42 on June 17, 2009, 10:21:23 AM
Almost forgot to mention: of course the P1 and P2 cone buttons ARE originally lit on the Centipede cab !!!!
They flash depending on the number of credits (P1 when only 1 credit, P1 & P2 when 2 or more credits inserted). The are steady on depending on the selected number of players during the game.

The constantly flash when set to free-play.
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Road to Berlin Part II (Five in a Row)
Post by: Superully on June 17, 2009, 10:39:06 AM
Almost forgot to mention: of course the P1 and P2 cone buttons ARE originally lit on the Centipede cab !!!!

thx for the info! i will find out whether mine are working or not once the centipede has been transported into my gameroom. so many projects to work on, luckily the looooooong summer holidays are coming up. sometimes it's good to be a teacher  ;D
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Road to Berlin Part II (Five in a Row)
Post by: level42 on June 20, 2009, 09:49:46 AM
Yeah....I'd like to be a teacher too...one day maybe..... :D

Looks like the Outrun needs this:
http://www.coinopspace.com/profiles/blogs/gearing-up-on-outrun

Let's hope videogameparts.com will ask less for the repro's than for the NOS one he currently has for sale at almost 80 dollars   :shock:!!!!
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Road to Berlin Part II (Five in a Row)
Post by: Alpha1 on June 20, 2009, 02:15:34 PM
The Wiz of Wor sideart looks fine from the RHS I could see? Why replace decent original artwork for repro? :-(
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Road to Berlin Part II (Five in a Row)
Post by: Superully on June 20, 2009, 09:04:43 PM
The Wiz of Wor sideart looks fine from the RHS I could see? Why replace decent original artwork for repro? :-(

i don't want to start a huge discussion here: some people prefer to have their machine in its original state for nostalgic reasons, others want to have it as "minty" as possible. as for the WoW: what you can't see on the pics are the deep scratches on the sidearts, one of them is extremely damaged. furthermore, there are parts of wood missing, the color has gone and so on and so on. imho, this cab needs restoration badly.

what do the others think regarding restoring or keeping machines original?
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Road to Berlin Part II (Five in a Row)
Post by: level42 on June 21, 2009, 09:55:04 PM
This is often the thing I most doubt about. It depends, if a CPO is shot (which they always are), than of course restore it. Is there NOS ? Great buy it and use it. No NOS ? Are there good repro's ? Then go that way. Of course the best of the best is when things happen like Rich from ThisOldGame is now working on (SW cockpit full artwork set from the original Atari films. When that is released I will definitely get it and install it. Even though most people will probably rate the current side-art as "good", I see loads of damages, scratches, wipes etc etc etc.

But for the Galaxian f.i. I chose not to do it. The available repro's are not on vinyl that looks anyway near the original. Yes there are a good number of scratches around, but for a 1980 cab, it looks pretty good really.

So it's a bit of a balance between how bad you rate the damage/current state against what is available in new artwork.

Where will you get the WOW artwork from ? Here: http://www.phoenixarcade.com/art.htm#WIZARD_OF_WOR ?
Title: Re: [Roadtrip] Road to Berlin Part II (Five in a Row)
Post by: Superully on June 22, 2009, 07:41:14 AM
So it's a bit of a balance between how bad you rate the damage/current state against what is available in new artwork.

Where will you get the WOW artwork from ? Here: http://www.phoenixarcade.com/art.htm#WIZARD_OF_WOR ?

i completely agree with you. not everything has to be absolutely "minty", but if good repros or even stencils are available, why not replace the damaged old ones (if you can't live with them). unfortunately, sometimes it's also a matter of MONEY  :(

as for the WoW sidearts: phoenixarcade is the place i ordered them. up next on my restoration list are WoW and pac-man, once those are done i'll continue with the other games. for me it's important not to have too many resto projects at the same time, otherwise i might get sidetracked  :ghost: