After all these years collecting arcade cabinets, digging through every corner of the web, and visiting countless operators and collectors across Europe, I still manage to stumble upon a few surprises.
And the surprise was even greater when I realized that this little curiosity I had just spotted on a sales website was only a few kilometers from my place... in my hometown 

At first, it was more out of curiosity than genuine interest that I decided to contact the seller, just to figure out what this somewhat “Frankenstein” arcade cabinet really was, judging from the photos. An appointment is set...

Thursday, May 7th, 2026, after my workday

Almost no preparation needed, just emptying the trunk and grabbing a couple of big cardboard sheets, in case I ended up bringing the cabinet back home.



The seller is less than 8 km from my place 



Today clearly isn’t the day I’m going to boost my stats! 



...a small glimpse of my countryside for the road... 



…and here I am already arriving in the seller’s village - which happens to be the very village where I was born…



…the village where I spent my kindergarten and primary school years… and look at that, I’m driving right past it now 



…and here it is, this small village square.
Funny how everything looks smaller than I remember, yet somehow larger inside my memory.
This is the place where it all began - where my love for arcade machines first woke up.



Every year, the travelling Luna Park would set up right here, unfolding its lights and sounds like a little miracle on the cobblestones.
I can still picture the first electromechanical machines, heavy and mysterious… then the games of the ’80s and ’90s, glowing like fragments of another world.
This is where my fate was sealed, discovering Galaxian, Pac‑Man, Xevious, Star Wars… and.. Dragon’s Lair that struck me straight in the heart! 
I could name dozens, hundreds even!
I was unbelievably lucky: the Luna Park renewed its games every single year. And luckier still that I followed it from village to village

Well, this square isn’t what it used to be. New buildings have appeared, and the village fair -the one I grew up with- is gone from here  :'(

Staying in this nostalgic mood, I’m now driving past the old Mathelin Castle.
Only the two towers remain today. The castle burned down exactly 47 years ago, on Saturday, May 19th, 1979.



I remember it as if it were yesterday: It was early afternoon. I came to see the tragic scene with my father.
The whole village had gathered, watching the firefighters struggle to save the castle from the flames… and slowly realizing they wouldn’t succeed. 

Alright… and now here I am, pulling up to the seller’s place.



The seller is a few minutes late.
So I’m waiting for him in my car. And I start thinking again about all the memories I have from the 23 years I spent in this village… damn, getting older sucks!  :'(



Wake up Nuno!
Here it is. Do you see this? In the photos it could’ve passed for a joke, or some kind of Frankenstein cabinet… but... no!



I’m standing right in front of what appears to be a genuine Pac‑Mania, officially licensed by Namco… built by Elettronolo! 



After a careful look and a bit of negotiation, I load this little curiosity into the car.
And I do it rather quickly, the seller’s house is home to what feels like fifteen cats, maybe more 
(my nose reminds me of my allergy the moment I stepped inside, that familiar sting rising like an old warning)



The cabinet is loaded. I’m heading back to base and with a lovely little curiosity in the trunk 



What? Not even an hour has passed since the start of this roadtrip… and it’s already over. 
For once, things didn’t drag on.



Trip : South Belgium <> South Belgium 
Total length :  54 min - 17 km on road
 

Alright, here it is, unloaded at last. And after removing the worst of the cat hair… I’m going to leave it outside for a bit to let the smell fade as well 



As for the sides, they really are the original ones!
It’s not a hand‑painted black coat but a kind of laminate -similar to the one used on Nintendo DK cabinets- but super smooth and ultra glossy.
The Namco logo isn’t a sticker either, but a proper high‑quality paint job. That is a very good surprise!   



The control panel has been hacked, since the cabinet now runs on a 49‑in‑1 board, but the original CPO still carries the Elettronolo stamp 



The marquee is also signed by Elettronolo 



Here’s the other side of the cabinet, and the back. There’s no identification plate here anymore, or it’s long gone? 



The seller told me he had received it like this about 16 or 18 years ago.
This cabinet really is a mystery!
The side panels look original - or at least exactly as they would have been when the machine was first built. The black laminate and the Namco logo are far too clean and precise to be the result of a later conversion or homemade work...

The marquee and the control panel both carry the Elettronolo signature, and even the envelope inside the cabinet -the one that must have held the original documentation- is stamped Elettronolo as well.
The speaker grille section is almost identical to the one on my Dragon’s Lair II, also built by Elettronolo.

But the bezel… that one doesn’t feel original. It doesn’t match the vertical monitor currently installed.
I’ve dug around online and couldn’t find a single photo of a Pac‑Mania cabinet made by Elettronolo.
And if this is a dedicated Pac‑Mania by them, why on earth would they have chosen such a massive cabinet — the kind usually meant for two‑player games?

Personally, I adore those oversized Namco logos, but they do feel a bit “too much” for a game like Pac‑Mania.
I’d expect them on something like a Tekken cabinet instead.



And yet the evidence is right there: Elettronolo’s fingerprints are all over this cabinet. Truly strange...
And you… have you ever come across this cabinet?

The gunner 6 is rarely used… especially in 2026  . On my Galaxian Theater, I had installed the flight yoke that was in the worst condition in the position 6… and anyway, that was the spot usually taken by the weaker players or the casuals. 
But well, for a public operation like theirs, it’s still better if everything works properly of course. 

Oh, that’s fantastic that you managed to get your hands on that cabinet. 
I had mentioned it on my Facebook page, and indeed it sparked quite a bit of interest! Understandably so -a Dragon’s Lair 2- even badly beaten up, doesn’t show up every day!!!

So yes, it looks like a huge amount of work awaits you to restore it, but it’s definitely going to be worth it.
Thanks for the explanations about the transporters; I didn’t know about that reverse‑auction system or that website. Really interesting.

I’m looking forward to seeing how this story unfolds!

Thanks to you for sharing this here.

Wait… Gorf? Jochen?  Could it be the cabinet I faced him on at Eurocade 2014?   



I don’t remember spotting any damage - though to be honest, it was dark enough that I could’ve missed it… 

There are things that just stay in your mind… the kind of things you’d love to have someday. Nothing urgent, nothing that needs to happen right now…   but still, one day, I’d really like to get my hands on it.

And every time I look at that movie poster hanging in my game room, it reminds me that this cool object exists… even if it’s not directly tied to one of my childhood cult films, namely The Last Starfighter! 



I remember perfectly the first time I saw this pinball machine.
It was exactly 19 years ago (gulp… all that time, my god), back in 2007, during the roadtrip I made to pick up STUN RUNNER / FATHOM / 8 BALL CHAMP...



Don’t bother looking for a picture of the Saturn 2 pinball in that roadtrip story - there isn’t one!
I barely noticed it at the time…  ...I just remember being genuinely surprised that a pinball machine based on The Last Starfighter even existed?
The backglass went all‑in, too - right there, front and center, was the iconic ship from the film: the GUNSTAR 
I did manage to dig up one old photo from that trip where you can just make it out in the background. 



Well, I completely forget about this pinball machine (I’m an arcade guy, not a pinball guy to begin with v )… and anyway this “Saturn 2” pinball isn’t officially tied to the movie at all, despite the big close‑up of the GUNSTAR on the backglass…

Except I love that film — I rewatch it every three or four years — and I do remember this pinball.

And what if it was actually fun to play? Well, whatever, it would still be a cool piece even just as decoration? And when you start thinking like that, it’s already too late… I need this pinball machine. But no rush... I’ll grab one when the opportunity comes along! 

And the day of that opportunity has finally arrived!

It’s Monday, September 8th, 2025. I’m at work. The seller tells me it’s available this afternoon. I have to move fast — good deals don’t stay on the table for long.
So I need to improvise a half‑day off.

Funny… just like I did 19 years ago for the Stun Runner road trip. Back then, the first time I ever saw this Saturn 2, the starting point of the adventure was also my workplace. 
So here we go again, the road trip begins in the company parking lot…



No need for my work clothes for this story anymore. I just toss everything into the car. 



It isn't some epic road trip or anything like that, just a small run for me 



I had barely pulled out of the parking lot when my mind drifted away...



Suddenly I wasn’t in my car anymore. I was standing in the GUNSTAR hangar, engines humming, ready for launch 



I was already reaching the Belgian border - that’s the perk of living at the crossroads of four countries: Belgium, France, Luxembourg, and Germany.
So much hunting ground packed into such a small radius, my friends. 



Speaking of toys… here’s a pretty sweet one right in front of me. 



Damn, I didn’t see that coming… eleven kilometers of roadworks. 



I might’ve found it funny if I were on a road trip to pick up a Road Show pinball... but no, today it’s just bad timing 



I settle in and try to be patient, letting the minutes crawl by while I watch all those machines around me…



I finally made it out of the traffic jam… and look at that, something right back on theme: the Euro Space Center   



I’ll spare you my usual landmarks 

Here’s the Arc Majeur…



And the AC restaurant in Wanlin.



I feel like I’ve seen all of this dozens of times… Wait! that’s because I have... 

Alright, let’s pull into the next rest area.
It’s already the afternoon, and I haven’t eaten a thing all day…



Cinnamon roll and carrot cake?
What more could anyone ask for...   



I stock up a bit, the kids will be happy with this tonight.
Everyone gets their own little treat. 



And if you ever feel like making me happy, just remember this: cinnamon rolls are my guilty pleasure   



Funny how wolfing down a cake in the car instantly reminds me of someone  …



Alright, enough messing around! One country later, and here we are. Welcome to France.



And here I am, finally at the seller’s place.



I finally get to see the pinball machine.
It’s in pretty good cosmetic shape… but unfortunately, it’s not working.







As expected, aside from the Gunstar artwork, there’s no real reference to The Last Starfighter...
But honestly, that’s fine. I love this kind of pinball machine: simple, clean, and dripping with that unmistakable 80s sci‑fi vibe. 

Alright, time to load the beast 





And another stop ... a small break that always feels good. I love doing road trips



I’ll spare you the details of the trip back. 
Nothing exciting to see or tell… just plenty of traffic jams, and an arrival in the dark.



It’s late, and I’m in no shape to unload a pinball machine on my own. 
So it’ll spend the night in the car… and it’s even coming with me to work tomorrow, since no one can help before tomorrow evening. 



RT statistics :
Trip : Luxembourg > Belgium > France> Belgium
Total length : 7h21min - 521 km on road

Here it is today (Sunday, 22/02/26).
The pinball machine is exactly as I brought it back… I haven’t had time yet to look into what’s wrong with it. 



Coming up: more details about this pinball machine, an attempt to understand how such a blatant rip‑off of the Gunstar image could happen without a license, a restoration attempt, ...

Thanks to you for keeping a regular status update on the availability of it! 
Honestly, the locals should take advantage of it : running a LD game, and in this case two laserdisc players, is nothing short of a miracle!

Another Dodgem in France,sadly consolized...