Maybe buying an "Aliens" arcade machine tomorrow and I need more info!

[Coin-Op]

The Craigslist listing: http://panamacity.craigslist.org/ele/2025189391.html

I've been talking with this guy for a few days now, and I'm finally going to be able to go look at the machine in person. I've looked up the information in KLOB about the machine, and the only thing irking me is that the picture in the ad looks a bit different then the cab that he is selling. Now then, I look to the gurus of gaming for knowledge on what might be a great or terrible purchase for me. My woodworking skills are so bad that they scare small children, so I planned on using this machine to convert to MAME.

Now, the questions I have about this are:
Is there a way to tell if this is an original or a conversion? The guy says that both sides are painted black for whatever reason.
How easy would it be to remount that monitor in a different position? It looks to be cabaret style, but id like to angle is up so its flat facing out.
How easy would it be to rebuild the control panel and make it bigger? Its got quite the slant on it and I couldn't imagine trying to play a fighter on it.
Should I actually convert it, or restore it and flip it for a different machine?
The guy says that the monitor is "clear and without burn in" but that will be decided tomorrow when I go check it out.

Any information on this would be awesome! Thanks in advance, dudes!

[CheffoJeffo]

Looks like a classic TAITO cab. Lots of folks love them, but not great to try and change.

[orion]

That seems to me a lot of money to spend on something your just going to gut and convert to MAME. If it was an original cab in decent condition that you could restore, that price isn't so terrible. If you look around I'm sure you can find an empty Neo Geo cab for cheap, or possibly free that would be better suited for a MAME conversion.

[Malenko]

Looks like a classic TAITO cab. Lots of folks love them, but not great to try and change.

spot on. I could totally see that being a jungle king conversion. Its a bit limited for MAMEing and well you can probably get a better cheaper cab that'd be more suited for it. so here's your answers, from me, in order:


Its a conversion, most cabs that get converted have the sides painted black
a giant pain in the ass that will never quite "look right"
see previous answer.
restore and flip sound great in theory, I'd advise just getting a different cab
that's not a question.

good luck either way!

[Coin-Op]

Thanks so much for the quick replies! That makes the decision a bit easier to make for sure! I'll keep my eyes peeled for a better machine, but unfortunately, I live in a small town without much for picking up cabs. I guess I'll just have to be patient!

[gazz292]

i'd suggest you want to be looking for a 'spares/repair' cab for a mame project, one with bad side art, broken control panel, duff game board, but idealy a working monitor, as that's about all you really need to use,

yes you can re-use the joysticks and buttons, but you'll likely want to be adding to them, and after a hard life in an arcade enviroment, the joysticks would likely need overhauling anyway, and mixing old and new buttons will highlight the fade on the old buttons etc.

i went for a golden tee cabinet myself, mainly for the nice big control panel that's standard, also the trackball is very handy... i am using a mini-pac anyway, which has inputs for optical devises so i can hook it straight up,
i went for the upright monitor version of the golden tee cab, as i plan to play gun games,

i deliberately got a cabinet that was a little beat up, the CP had a few ---Bad words, bad words, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when saint censors you?--- burns in the plexi... so what, i am not going to re-use that,
the t-moulding has been chewed by something or someone, meh, a few quid for a new colour t-moulding will make the cab more personal anyways,
there's no side art on this style of cab, which is great as i would only have taken it off to put my own on.. which i arent doing now as the new place for it to live when i finish it, only the spiders would be able to see the sides.

i paid just over 20 quid for my cab because it would randomly shut off, turns out it was the monitor shutting down, which could have been a pain as i planned on re-using that for sure, but hopefully the problem is the dry solder joint i found on the chassis,

[EwJ]

To get an idea of what you can do with a Taito, see      
Knievel's TT's (Twin Taito's) .  Lots of pictures there of control panel, monitor mounting, etc.