Restore: Paperboy: 'Exclusive!' - Restore with enhanced side art

[griffindodd]

Paperboy "Exclusive!" - A traditional restore with enhanced art.

Completed Project Shots














This is my first restoration project. Originally I mad planned to do a resto-mod 'enhanced' Paperboy cabinet but the cab I ended up finding was such an early serial #34 and in such well preserved condition that I just couldn't bring myself to mess with it, so at least for the sake of this project I'm going to try and stick with an authentic full restore the best I can, only using different materials/finishes that would look like the original but be more durable.

Planned Details
Controller overlay - Black Powder Coated with NOS overlay.
CPO - Original if I can find one or I'll use newly illustrated papers and Paperboy art to create an enhanced version.
Handlebars - Nickel plated bars, Blue original grips if I can find them
Marquee - Black powder coated marquee retainers.
Side art - Uncertain - Possibly full vinyl over laminated panels with complete art redraw from scratch with enhanced detailing.
T-Molding - Uncertain - 'Paperboy' blue and black
Kick panels - Black Vertical Laminate
Coin Doors & Metals - Black Powder Coat
Footrests - Uncertain - May try bright diamond plate.

Concept Art


Current artwork updates:
Side Art Redraw complete


Control Panel Complete


Overlay Complete


Bezel Concepts




The cab itself...
Cab condition is great, everything is there, lights, power, sound, game and coins all work. Thanks to Vig for pointing out this is a super early cab #34.

Known Problems List:

- No power to monitor (it seems)
- controller unknown at this point
- minor cosmetic dings
- no coinbox
- no coindoor locks
- no side art







This is a whole new world for me, building a scratch cab was easy as it's all quite generic parts off the shelf, but this is quiet different. But time to hold my nose and jump in the deep end.

HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[griffindodd]

The first thing I am going to need some schooling on is how to start troubleshooting the monitor. I have a multimeter coming in the mail so that's a start lol.

I'm Googling around and seeing a few monitor posts and videos, found the Paperboy manual HERE looks like I have a lot of learning to do as my knowledge of testing electronics is about as good as my ballet and horse riding skills (I could try them but will probably hurt myself  )

What's 'Big Blue?' - I think a CAP?
What's a Flyback?

[Vigo]

Judging from your avatar pic, this is probably a grail of yours. Machine #34. Congrats. 

You thinking of putting back the original side art? Just asking since Paperboy side art wasn't exactly it's strong point. You might be better off just painting it or making custom art if you aren't a purist.

[griffindodd]

Yeah I'm pretty handy with the graphics so I may go custom, maybe try and incorporate the prototype side art with the original system 2 to try and make something period correct but better looking.

[CheffoJeffo]

Good place to start: http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/wiki/Restoration

Big Blue is the big, usually blue, capacitor used in many Atari cabs -- IMPO, always a good idea to drop a new one in.

http://www.therealbobroberts.net/bigblue.html

Flyback is a high-voltage transformer found in your monitor.

I like Randy Fromm's info about monitor repair (actually, all of his stuff is pretty good) -- some of his videos can be found on YouTube:



As far as artwork goes, ThisOldGame has silk-screened CPOs and GameStencils has System 2 sideart.

Good luck!

[alfonzotan]

Good grief, I have nephews that aren't as tall as that PCB.

At least they wised up by then and put the power supply on the bottom of the stack...

[griffindodd]

Ok so it seems I have an A.G.I Disco 19" Medium Res AGM-20M which is pretty common for an Atari cab I assume, a high possibility it is the original screen.

Apparently the monitor would start up 50% of the time until it finally just didn't come on at all. When it did come on I am assuming the picture was fine as the guy who had it before would play it, this is the info I got from the last owner, so that's my starting point in this trouble shooting process.

Also it seems like it may be one of the lesser found configurations of this monitor where only the brightness POT is on the neck board, everything else is on the chassis board, so far my research has indicated that the usual Cap Map for the AGM-20M doesn't match this variation of monitor.

[griffindodd]

So today I started on my first real work for the cab which is the art.

I've going to completely re-ink and redetail the artwork from the side of the Paperboy Prototype cab so that I can use it on the side of this one. I'm a total perfectionist when it comes to artwork so I really wanted to pay respect to one of the all time greats by making sure the artwork for it is the best I can manage.

My final goal is to blend the prototype art into the system 2 art in a way that is true to both, but also gives a new spin to the original designs.

So my first job was to hunt down as much high res artwork as I could so that I could comp together a working base to do the redrawing over. I noticed for the computer game packing of the game the artwork had been redetailed, so I took those elements and used them to build out a foundation.

So far this is how far I have gotten...

Best shot of the art i could find ________________________________________ My composite base for the redraw


The new artfile is 24"x30" @ 300DPI, this is the resolution I plan on working to for the final piece.

I'm trying to decide if I should introduce text into the newspaper rather than staying with the lines. If I did I thought it would be nice you make it all the comments and speech from the game wirtten out in a story.

Also, if I were to include a picture on the newspaper in the artwork, what should it be? Something from 1984, maybe a picture of the designers, or Atari headquarters or Bushnell? It would be nice to include something that is relevent to the game's history.

[griffindodd]

Took a crack at the artwork redraw today and opted to do it in Illustrator, at least the newspapers anyway so they are all vector. I'm going to try and keep all the linework vector and then use photoshop for the colorwork.

Here's the styling outcome, trying to keep the character of the original but also bring something extra. The photo is of the Atari programming team from 1984

[Vigo]

The Daily Sun never looked so good. 

[griffindodd]

More progress on the art. I still have Paperboy himself to redraw, that's going to take a lot of work to get into vectors but it will be worth it. I'm going to draw the entire character and bike, including the hidden parts so I can use him in other areas of the cab's art.



I wanted to add images that were relevent to the history of Atari, so there's the king of Pong Fu on the front page Nolan Bushnell.

[griffindodd]

Worked on the logo tonight, man there wasn't a straight line on that thing, just goes to show that back in 1984 all art was still hand drawn, no copy and paste for those guys.

[TPA5]

Worked on the logo tonight, man there wasn't a straight line on that thing, just goes to show that back in 1984 all art was still hand drawn, no copy and paste for those guys.

I won't lie, I saved that picture to my iPhone and set it as my home screen background. Legit.

Looking forward to this restore! The artwork is already looking super nice!

[griffindodd]

Ha, never would have thought of using for that, fun though. I'm bouncing back and forward between this and the Revolution build right now. When I'm waiting for parts to arrive or just don't feel like hacking drilling soldering etc etc it's nice to have some artwork I can just sit down with and work on. Next up on this is recreating the Paperboy himself.

I plan to make a bezel artwork for this build, I know the original machine never had one, so creating something that looks authentic is going to be very important. I also want to incorporate the "Extra Extra!" subtitle into the cab so I plan to put those words at the top of the Bezel where they will sit under the main marquee. Retaining the original style is going to be very important so it doesn't look like someone has randomly splattered stickers all over the cab.

I'm thinking of capturing certain characters from the game and illustrating them in the same style as the existing cab graphics to build some kind of bezel arrangement, characters I am thinking of must be the ones that are most iconic that people always remember. For example...

- Women in the cars from the junction
- kid on the big wheel tricycle bike
- crazy cat
- two bald dudes having a fight

While most of the feedback on the new art has been very positive, I have come across a few purists that have pointed out that it may make the cab less valuable should I come to resell it as it doesn't stay to the original factory stock look. That's when I realized that collecting and restoring cabs is just like doing the same with classic cars.

  Some collectors want a car to be as close to the way it was when it came out of the factory staying true to the original specs and retaining that pure historical nature. Other collectors like to take a classic and restore it to a level of show that goes way beyond the original standards that were acheived at the factory using higher quality paints and interiors, powerful engines and enhanced suspensions. The really talented ones, for example Chip Foose, even manage to alter the structural appearance of the vehicle in order to enhance, but never take away from the original character.

  So in that in spirit I have decided that I'm going to try and enhance the cab as best I can, making it more than it was when it left Atari's factory in 1984, but still hopefully retain it's character and appeal by focusing on the elements that defined it in our minds and hearts as an all-time great. Sure it may not retain it's classic resale value as well, but I have no intention of selling my '84 Paperboy GT Electraglide Turbo 

[yotsuya]

- two bald dudes having a fight

That was always my favorite obstacle in the game. What kind of crazy ass neighborhood is this place?

[nexusmtz]

Although I like the direction you're taking, I think that the added resolution of the newpaper mandates real text. In the original, it made sense that the masthead was clear, the headlines were representative, and the text was indistinguishable. Now that you have the sharpness in the headlines and photo, there's no progression or deterioration down to something unreadable. That makes the black lines look like black lines instead of the text that they're representing.

[griffindodd]

Although I like the direction you're taking, I think that the added resolution of the newpaper mandates real text. In the original, it made sense that the masthead was clear, the headlines were representative, and the text was indistinguishable. Now that you have the sharpness in the headlines and photo, there's no progression or deterioration down to something unreadable. That makes the black lines look like black lines instead of the text that they're representing.

Good point, something definitely worth chewing over, I had wondered when I first started it I should put actual text in the newspaper, and if so what would the story say?

[Vigo]

Although I like the direction you're taking, I think that the added resolution of the newpaper mandates real text. In the original, it made sense that the masthead was clear, the headlines were representative, and the text was indistinguishable. Now that you have the sharpness in the headlines and photo, there's no progression or deterioration down to something unreadable. That makes the black lines look like black lines instead of the text that they're representing.

Good point, something definitely worth chewing over, I had wondered when I first started it I should put actual text in the newspaper, and if so what would the story say?

Hmmmm, you could do what is done in the game and just fill the text with "blahblahbl blahblahbl bl bl"

[griffindodd]

Yep that's a good point.

A little more progress on the art, just chipping away at it slowly in my spare time...

[TPA5]

Yep that's a good point.

A little more progress on the art, just chipping away at it slowly in my spare time...

I consider myself a hack writer, if you'd like I could bang out a few little news bits for the papers if that's something that would interest you.

[griffindodd]

I really like the Blah Blah idea as it is in keeping with the game, however it wouldn't look very good in the newspaper text as all the words are the same length.

TPA5 - I had the idea of writing a story using as many of the exact phrases from the game's speech as possible, but I was having a little trouble finding the quotes anywhere (although I didn't look very hard).

Though the main story with the photo of Nolan Bushnell and the Pong machine would of course need to be about the game and Atari.

[Vigo]

I pulled the easy headlines for you from Daily Sun Newspaper Screenshots. Those could probably be incorporated in...I know there is also tons of headlines to pull from the after each day is played.

Selection Screen
"Turn Handlebar to choose route"
"Easy Street. Middle Road. Hard Way. "

Title Screen
"Amazing Paperboy Delivers"
"Mysterious Vandalism Baffles Police, Residents"
"Hero Paperboy Stops Thief!"
"Perfect Service Earns Honors, Big Bucks"
"It's a Rough Job, but..."

Losing Screen
"Paperboy calls it quits. Accused of Negligence, Vandalism."
"Daily Sun Subscription Rate Plummets"
"He Was a Real Loser"
"Worst Ever! Claim Irate Customers"
"Daily Sun Now Hiring"

[mcseforsale]

Subscribed.

[griffindodd]

Great stuff, this is a good start.

Updating the OP with more project design details.

[griffindodd]

OP updated, now this officially a proper build thread. 

[griffindodd]

Spent 8 hours on just the Paperboy himself today, man this was a tough one to recreate. Not finished yet, but coming along very nicely...

[griffindodd]

Spent some more time on the art today. I wanted to add extra detail, but nothing that would be obvious unless you had the original to compare it to. Because this piece is 24" wide at 300 dpi, it needed a little more depth and intricacy, so here's what I did, how many differences can you see?



Updated OP with blue side art and new Paperboy styling

[SpaceHedgehog]

Aside from removing the thrown newspapers ....

1. A smile
2. Shading (looks good)
3. Newspaper print
4. Red peak on the cap
5. Detail on the bottom and sleeves of the jacket
6. A yellow zip
7. The bike chain is 2D rather than 3D
8. Hole in the bike crossbar support.
9. Turn-ups on the jeans
10. Blue flash on the trainers
11. Rear gear hub is blue
12. Handlebar grip has a red flash to it
13. 3 swoosh marks

several other minor differences ....

That was fun!

[emphatic]

Really cool. You could add a faint pattern to the shoe soles if you feel up to it.

Perhaps something like:

[griffindodd]

Really cool. You could add a faint pattern to the shoe soles if you feel up to it.

Perhaps something like:

Yeah I was thinking about that too, might do that.

Concept Art first attempt...

[yotsuya]

You're going to do tassels on the handlebars?

[griffindodd]

You're going to do tassels on the handlebars?

Yep because they are on the bike in the artwork.

[harveybirdman]

Man I wish I were more skilled at getting whats in my head out on "paper."

This is impressive griff.    The paperboy is more of a ginger than I remember him as a kid.

Love your updates to the pants and sleeves especially.

[webdoc90]

I'm new to this forum.  I recently purchased a Paperboy that partially works.  But one of the things it needs is side art.  Reproduction sideart is available but it is very bland.  Somehow I tripped over your post and saw this amazing work.  If you are interested I'd be interested in paying for a copy of this.  This looks so much better that even I ( a orginal purist) love this new touch.  GREAT WORK!  One thing I was thing how would you stop the blue t-moulding and start the black?

Again Great Work.

Mike Martin

[griffindodd]

Hi Mike, welcome to the madness

You won't need to pay me, I'll be releasing this artwork to all Paperboy owners when I have finished it and I know it is measured and cropped properly. Paperboy is one of my all time favorites, so if I can create artwork that will be used to enhance other Paperboy cabs then I'll consider that a privelage and a compliment that my artwork is good enough to be embraced by others and seen on this all-time great game.

[mcseforsale]

that's why I love it here.   

AJ

[webdoc90]

That's awesome.  I've only been into collecting for a year and you can see the number of games I've already picked up.  It's an addiction.  PPII and PB both need mayor restorations but hopefully someday when I've learned enough I can actually start to give back to this great hobby.  I just noticed the metal down where the feet go.  Stays with the bike motif.  Atari should have done that.

Thanks Again.

Mike

[koolmoecraig]

Man, there is some heavy nerd ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- going on here. I absolutely love it!  Great attention to detail.

I'm not a fan of the tassles on the handbars though.  How about a bezel with graphics?  Looks a little bare as-is.

[griffindodd]

Yeah I have been thinking about the bezel, had the idea of it look as if you were looking down the street from the perspective of the Paper Boy himself, after all you are holding on to the handlebars.

This is going to be a longer term project as I am still finishing up the Little Ms. Pac-Man WeeTail cab and Ｉhave a house move looming on the horizon, so Ｉ　ｗｏｕｌｄｎ’ｔ　ｅｘｐｅｃｔ　ｔｏ　ｓｅｅ　ｍｕｃｈ　ｂｅｆｏｒｅ　Ａｐｒｉｌ　ｏｒ　ｓｏ　ｎｅｘｔ　ｙｅａｒ。

[CoryBee]

.....horizon, so Ｉ　ｗｏｕｌｄｎ’ｔ　ｅｘｐｅｃｔ　ｔｏ　ｓｅｅ　ｍｕｃｈ　ｂｅｆｏｒｅ　Ａｐｒｉｌ　ｏｒ　ｓｏ　ｎｅｘｔ　ｙｅａｒ。

did you just have an 8-bit seizure?

on note, I love paperboy and have never played it on an arcade cabinet with the weird handlebar joystick. love this project!