Author Topic: [Roadtrip] Quest for a special Thunder Blade !  (Read 43937 times)

baritonomarchetto

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[Roadtrip] Quest for a special Thunder Blade !
« on: November 03, 2012, 03:44:29 PM »


Cabinet: Thunder Blade
date: 02 november 2012
distance: 190 Km one way

Some month ago i contacted a guy that was selling an Operation Wolf. I asked him to send me some pic of the cab (not a dedicated cab but a convertion, unforutunately) and eventually a list of games he was selling. There was nothing i was really interested on... apparently.

Some week ago a “weird” over-priced Thunder Blade was listed on ebay: the cab was not the common mini often used for TB (the same used for Turbo Outrun) but the After Burner upright cab! Man, i was diggin for an After Burner since day one!

Then, noticed that it was the same seller that gave me the games list some week before, i recontacted him asking for that TB, and the deal was ready!

Well, not really a cheap deal considering that i paid TOO MUCH for that machine, but you know: sometimes we must be ready to pay a little bit more to be the first of the list …

So, here i am with a roadtrip to share with you :)

The dealer was located in Ravenna, less than 200 Km from my place. I know wery well the street because i go there almost every summer with my girlfriend.



The real problem was the car: my city car cannot load it... hey: there's a friend of mine with a 2001 FIAT Doblò! Removed the passengers seats and unloaded all the stuff he use to work, the car was ready to go... apart from the 300.000 Km it had just traveld … well, finghers crossed!

The guy could not come with me, but fortunately my bro was in! LETS GO THEN!

Some random pic of the roadtrip …

The weather was not that good at start, even if the sun was “somewhere there"









Then, the sun could break the fog (maybe he was asking how in the world those two guys where trying to travel 400 Km with that smashed-up car...)!











Almost there!





Without problems (with the exception of a orange light on the instrument panel indicating an engine injection malfunction O_O) we reached the seller place... nothing of interesting there... but a fully working After Burner Deluxe I had the opportunity to play with (maybe for the last time in my life … sad sad). Too big and heavy for me (my pockets and my place). Unfortunately it was hidden by other big cabinets, so i could take only few pics when inside.





Back to the object of this roadtrip! Some pic of the loaded cab …





Yes! It's a dedicated Thunder Blade, uncommonly like the After Burner Upright !

Paid the dealer (Ouch!) we headed to a very nice reastaurant 5 Km away, to eat something and take a look to the sea (Adriatic) in autumn... i am here almost every summer (for 3-4 days) but never come in autumn …













I'm hungry now! Let go to the restaurant and have a talk with the sponsor of the trip!



Here it is: “Quarto di Litro” !! A very known brand here in Italy (also “Mezzo Litro” is common, but not suggested for roadtrips :))



Risotto alla pescatora ...





...and frittura di pesce (fried fish) with fish caught the morning... no frozen food here. The sponsor is always there...  ;D



Some pic of Cervia's  “porto canale”...









… then let go home, FAST!!















Unloading the beast …





and, finally, some detail of the machine ...







The sides: they are dedicated graphics for the cab





The internal part: there are some badass hacks here  :( , but nothing that cannot be rolled back  :)





the PCB, unfortunately, have the "dead battery" chip. Not a big problem being unprotected ROMs out there and for sure i have a MCM68000 CPU somewhere  ;)



... both flashing lights and vibrator motor are working ...



400 Km, a total of 10 hours spent "on the road", a beast of 120 Kg saved, a good  :D sponsor found: this roadtrip was a success!!




« Last Edit: July 07, 2014, 06:40:02 AM by baritonomarchetto »
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Etienne MacGyver

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Re: [Roadtrip] Quest for a special Thunder Blade !
« Reply #1 on: November 03, 2012, 07:43:38 PM »
Nice trip !
thanks for sharing !

gyruss

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Re: [Roadtrip] Quest for a special Thunder Blade !
« Reply #2 on: November 03, 2012, 08:41:06 PM »
Nice catch and it seems in great condition.. never played the arcade version but used to love it on the mega drive..

DarthNuno

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Re: [Roadtrip] Quest for a special Thunder Blade !
« Reply #3 on: November 03, 2012, 11:01:46 PM »
Nice catch! I agree Thunder Blade *upright* is not a common one!
Thanks for the ride  ;)

scr33n

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Re: [Roadtrip] Quest for a special Thunder Blade !
« Reply #4 on: November 03, 2012, 11:56:46 PM »
Congratulations!!! nice catch and nice pics, thanks!!!
PROJECTS FROM SCRATCH:

Galaga - PacMan - Donkey Kong Red Cab - Track & Field Upright - Tempest - Burgertime - Gyruss - Defender - Track & Field Cocktail - Robotron 2084

RESTORATIONS:

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Digimon

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Re: [Roadtrip] Quest for a special Thunder Blade !
« Reply #5 on: November 04, 2012, 12:37:31 AM »
Cool Trip!

Thunderblade is a cool game!
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level42

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Re: [Roadtrip] Quest for a special Thunder Blade !
« Reply #6 on: November 04, 2012, 01:07:36 AM »
Love the road-trip pics....we were very close to you last summer :)

Indeed, I never saw a TB upright before....nice ! Congrats !

baritonomarchetto

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Re: [Roadtrip] Quest for a special Thunder Blade !
« Reply #7 on: November 04, 2012, 01:18:52 AM »
Indeed, I never saw a TB upright before....nice ! Congrats !

Me too: I have seen the common cab (the one based on the SEGA mini cab, like turbo outrun, wich is the one in the TB manual) and After Burner in both the versions (upright AND mini) but never seen a TB in this cabinet . AB and TB are both from 1987, but TB was probably released some month later ... maybe it's a later version of the cab? For sure it's not an AB converted to TB  :!:

You where close to Cervia last summer André? I like that resort very much because of the food, the sea... and, why not, there are still some Arcades i frequented when i was young  ;D
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ANY

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Re: [Roadtrip] Quest for a special Thunder Blade !
« Reply #8 on: November 04, 2012, 01:40:44 AM »
I'm pretty sure i know the seller (well he's father, that passed away last month)
I live VERY close to that location and you had the lunch in one of the best resturant around, cheap, friendly staff and GOOD fish.

If some of you guys come near Cervia in future let me know :P
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Belike

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Re: [Roadtrip] Quest for a special Thunder Blade !
« Reply #9 on: November 04, 2012, 09:00:17 AM »
Nice one Marco, thanks for the loads of pics. ;)
I know that road from the Chioggia to Ravenna very well, it is always full with trucks and traffic jams in summertime.
I guess that giant ferris-wheel you passed is in Mirabilandia. ;)

baritonomarchetto

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Re: [Roadtrip] Quest for a special Thunder Blade !
« Reply #10 on: November 08, 2012, 07:39:24 PM »
Have you ever seen a naked SEGA upright? Well, here it is  ;D



Have you noticed? Even if not used, there's a third lamp (the lock on lamp in AB) under the plate! :D

Here is what i found at the back of the front plastic: the After Burner Lock on plate! Great! When the PCB will die, if i am not able to find another, working, PCB, i will convert this one to AB (II) without the need to find pieces!



A little video of the machine in action

http://youtu.be/CBD14_CTVc0
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Re: [Roadtrip] Quest for a special Thunder Blade !
« Reply #11 on: November 09, 2012, 09:30:17 AM »
hahaha an Italian roadtrip with 'normal' cuisine! +1

the Northern European roadtrips are packed with fastfood, drive-thru's etc. And you take the time to eat normal and healthy. I like that
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Amiga

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Re: [Roadtrip] Quest for a special Thunder Blade !
« Reply #12 on: November 09, 2012, 10:18:48 AM »
Thunder blade is one of my favorite :wink:


Luigi

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Re: [Roadtrip] Quest for a special Thunder Blade !
« Reply #13 on: November 09, 2012, 11:32:42 AM »
Ah, great....congrats for that! Yes, sometimes we have to pay a little more for our hobby ;)


At least the Fiat Doblo is good for something.....to be honest, this is the most ugly car in the world  ::)  ;D

baritonomarchetto

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Re: [Roadtrip] Quest for a special Thunder Blade !
« Reply #14 on: November 09, 2012, 07:28:21 PM »
At least the Fiat Doblo is good for something.....to be honest, this is the most ugly car in the world  ::)  ;D

Hehe, you are right: it's not a beauty  :D

Anyhow: i saved at least 150 euros for the rental of a van and, i must say, it's PERFECT to load cabs !!
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