Author Topic: [Superully's Restoration] Reactor - Time to stop the Nuclear Meltdown  (Read 26132 times)

Superully

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as one restoration comes to a close, another one is just around the corner - or has already started!

i've decided to bring Gottlieb's Reactor down into my mom's basement for a complete makeover - for various reasons:
(a) it's a game you don't see every day with an unusual gameplay
(b) awesome cabinet design and color scheme
(c) nothing beats the attract mode music - NOTHING!!!

let's start with a quick inspection of the game! it looks ok at first glance (apart from being damn dirty), but the bottom part is pretty rough (more on that later)!





artwork is still nice and original (just a few minor cracks around the edges), the magic eraser should work its magic on it!



the power supply pcb is missing, but that's not important, because those mcr based games always developed issues with the power supplies



inside, some kind of conversion has already been done, but this doesn't look like a nice job, so i'll have to redo some of the wiring



what's striking is the poor condition of the transformer unit - look at all that dirt and rust. in fact, all the metal parts are extremely rusty and will need to spend a few hours in my nice comfy anti-rust bath ;D



looking much better after complete disassembly, cleaning and repainting!



another photo before ...



... and after! :)



still a lot of work to do, but i can't wait to smash the atoms, cool the core and escape the vortex!

all i need is ... PONG - and a select few others: TOUCH ME, DRAGON'S LAIR, JOUST, ROBOTRON, MR DO, SAN FRANCISCO RUSH THE ROCK!!!

Belike

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Re: [Superully's Restoration] Reactor - Time to stop the Nuclear Meltdown
« Reply #1 on: April 13, 2014, 07:04:48 PM »
It is another power supply, cant be the same. :D
Never saw the arcade version of Reactor, only played on Atari 2600, it is in the cool Parker Brothers collection.

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Re: [Superully's Restoration] Reactor - Time to stop the Nuclear Meltdown
« Reply #2 on: April 13, 2014, 09:54:22 PM »
Ditto here, I remember I rented the 2600 cartridge BITD and If memory doesn't trick me I rather liked it.
Never played the real thing though....nice work on the power brick !

Oh, and all Reactor cabs came in orange/red.........just that you don't mix things up ;););)  ;D

Thwocker

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Re: [Superully's Restoration] Reactor - Time to stop the Nuclear Meltdown
« Reply #3 on: April 13, 2014, 10:34:47 PM »
you tease, showing just a little bit of Sinistar cockpit and Food Fight UR    :o

Cheers, Marco
Wanted: everything Universal , Stern and Gottlieb. Currently looking for Computer R3, Curve Ball, Goal to Go, Jungler, Fast Draw, Limbo, No Man's Land and Speed Coin.

Superully

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Re: [Superully's Restoration] Reactor - Time to stop the Nuclear Meltdown
« Reply #4 on: April 14, 2014, 12:12:52 AM »
you tease, showing just a little bit of Sinistar cockpit and Food Fight UR    :o

hehe, unfortunately neither of these are mine, the pics were taken when Reactor was still at the previous owner's location. i was offered the sinistar cockpit though, but was stupid enough not to take it. asking price was 500 euros - damn, not so super, ully! :-[
all i need is ... PONG - and a select few others: TOUCH ME, DRAGON'S LAIR, JOUST, ROBOTRON, MR DO, SAN FRANCISCO RUSH THE ROCK!!!

level42

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Re: [Superully's Restoration] Reactor - Time to stop the Nuclear Meltdown
« Reply #5 on: April 14, 2014, 12:17:43 AM »
Has anyone ever played Food Fight on an arcade cab. I played the Atari 800 version (of course) and though it sucked.....but maybe this was one of the very rare bad arcade conversion on the A8 ?

muddymusic

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Re: [Superully's Restoration] Reactor - Time to stop the Nuclear Meltdown
« Reply #6 on: April 14, 2014, 12:58:23 AM »
I play on a Euro Food Fight cab regularly, I'd never heard of the game before my friend showed it to me and I was hooked after a few credits. The special stick the game uses is a big part of the game and I shouldn't think there is a good way to emulate that at all.

It means you can stand still yet also be able to fire in all directions. It's a great game and definitely one to own  ;)
repro artwork supplier, visit www.arcadeartshop.com

Etienne MacGyver

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Re: [Superully's Restoration] Reactor - Time to stop the Nuclear Meltdown
« Reply #7 on: April 14, 2014, 09:18:00 AM »
WOW, thats a major overhaul on that power brick !

LOVE IT !

Great job so far !  :spaceace: :spaceace:

if you have the opportunity and you have the cab dissasembled, please scan that artwork  ;)

Thwocker

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Re: [Superully's Restoration] Reactor - Time to stop the Nuclear Meltdown
« Reply #8 on: April 14, 2014, 09:20:08 AM »
you tease, showing just a little bit of Sinistar cockpit and Food Fight UR    :o

hehe, unfortunately neither of these are mine, the pics were taken when Reactor was still at the previous owner's location. i was offered the sinistar cockpit though, but was stupid enough not to take it. asking price was 500 euros - damn, not so super, ully! :-[

ah hehehe! Cockpits are very cool, but they're also just too big!

Cheers, Marco
Wanted: everything Universal , Stern and Gottlieb. Currently looking for Computer R3, Curve Ball, Goal to Go, Jungler, Fast Draw, Limbo, No Man's Land and Speed Coin.

Superully

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Re: [Superully's Restoration] Reactor - Time to stop the Nuclear Meltdown
« Reply #9 on: April 14, 2014, 09:46:26 AM »
WOW, thats a major overhaul on that power brick !

thx, i was impressed myself, didn't think it would turn out that well. btw, for all you guys restoring cabs, i've found out that if you hit those old stickers with a hot air gun at around 200 degrees and carefully use a putty knife  / scraper, you can get the sticker off without damaging it. ever since i found that out, i haven't damaged / destroyed a single one. just make sure you don't get too close or it'll get some burn marks!

if you have the opportunity and you have the cab dissasembled, please scan that artwork  ;)

may i ask why? artwork has been reproduced already!
all i need is ... PONG - and a select few others: TOUCH ME, DRAGON'S LAIR, JOUST, ROBOTRON, MR DO, SAN FRANCISCO RUSH THE ROCK!!!

Etienne MacGyver

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Re: [Superully's Restoration] Reactor - Time to stop the Nuclear Meltdown
« Reply #10 on: April 14, 2014, 09:59:31 AM »
Oh, okay, i did not know that  :D

in that case, never mind  ;D

Superully

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Re: [Superully's Restoration] Reactor - Time to stop the Nuclear Meltdown
« Reply #11 on: April 14, 2014, 10:08:13 AM »
Oh, okay, i did not know that  :D

no prob, very thoughtful of you. it was reproduced by phoenixarcade - and is DAMN expensive!!!
all i need is ... PONG - and a select few others: TOUCH ME, DRAGON'S LAIR, JOUST, ROBOTRON, MR DO, SAN FRANCISCO RUSH THE ROCK!!!

Superully

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Re: [Superully's Restoration] Reactor - Time to stop the Nuclear Meltdown
« Reply #12 on: April 24, 2014, 08:38:40 PM »

more metal parts cleaned: before ...



... and after! note that i put that nice inspection sticker on top of the coin counter



now on to something that i've really been dreading: the restoration of the bottom of the cabinet :(! it didn't have any water damage, but the leg levelers were installed not high enough and therefore the entire cabinet rested on the mdf wood. and we all know what happens when mdf gets dragged around over and over again ... AND OVER AGAIN!!!



believe me, it is even worse than the pictures make you believe! normally, the mdf plates have a width of 2 centimeters, but with the cabinet having been dragged, pushed and pulled around so many times in the past, you can double that measure in many places. :shock:



it is literally coming apart :'(



i thought about how to tackle that for a long time and at one point i wanted to cut off the entire lower section and replace it, but as i've said many times before, to me the cabinet itself is the heart of an arcade game and the more of it you can keep, the better! therefore, i decided to give it a try by roughly cutting off the worst sections ...



... and then cleaning it up nicely!



this is just "a tiny selection" of the wood i had to remove



with that being done, i dug out "ye good olde wood hardener" and brushed the exposed mdf three to four times! this stuff smells like hell :twisted:, but soaks deeply into the wood and basically works like a glue from the inside out, making the brittle mdf plates pretty sturdy again!



but just to make sure, i nailed and glued thin (but strong) wooden planks to the inside of the base to give it a little more stability!



but "just to make even surer" ;), i have one more twist in my bag of tricks - stay tuned! 8)
all i need is ... PONG - and a select few others: TOUCH ME, DRAGON'S LAIR, JOUST, ROBOTRON, MR DO, SAN FRANCISCO RUSH THE ROCK!!!

Etienne MacGyver

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Re: [Superully's Restoration] Reactor - Time to stop the Nuclear Meltdown
« Reply #13 on: April 25, 2014, 08:41:35 AM »
... and after! note that i put that nice inspection sticker on top of the coin counter



Did you clearcoat that bare metal ?
if not, i think it will rust / oxidise again even if its in a dry enviroment, i mean there is Always moisture in the air.

Good job on the MDF, better that you clamped it down, otherwise it might be swelling again

Is is not 18 mm. mdf ? i never seen 20 mm. around here, seems like a odd size to me.

Superully

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Re: [Superully's Restoration] Reactor - Time to stop the Nuclear Meltdown
« Reply #14 on: April 25, 2014, 08:50:22 AM »
Did you clearcoat that bare metal ?
if not, i think it will rust / oxidise again even if its in a dry enviroment, i mean there is Always moisture in the air.

i polished it with some kind of fluid which is supposed to give it a protective coat - let's see ...

Is is not 18 mm. mdf ? i never seen 20 mm. around here, seems like a odd size to me.

not 100 % sure, but believe it or not, there were indeed parts which looked pretty untouched and they measured in at 2 centimeters. i could be wrong though, but it wouldn't be the end of the world 8)
all i need is ... PONG - and a select few others: TOUCH ME, DRAGON'S LAIR, JOUST, ROBOTRON, MR DO, SAN FRANCISCO RUSH THE ROCK!!!