Ms. Pacman and Galaga Cabinets

[FullmetalHeart]

Hi this is my first post here. I'm looking for a little help. I just bought a none working ms.pacman cabinet $50 and a working Galaga for $100. The Ms.pacman powers on but has no sound or picture.(Also doesnt seem to be what was originally in the cabinet. I can see faded text saying. "The game will end when the cowboys are dead") The guy that i got the cabinet from says it just went out one day. I havent opened it up yet but I'm hoping it could be something minor. The galaga I don't plan to keep but I want to clean/restore it a bit. You guys got any tips for that?

MS.PACMAN




GALAGA

[jdbailey1206]

How far in are you planning on going with each of the cabinets?  Do you expect to just clean and sell for a profit or do you plan on doing a major restore and then sell for a profit?  Either way I would say if the Galaga works it's an excellent find for $150.00   

PS The Ms. Pac Man looks like it is in the wrong cabinet also.

It should look like the one below.

[FullmetalHeart]

I want to keep restore and keep the ms pacman but the Galaga I plan to sell but would like to clean it up a bit.



Even thought its not the what was originally in the cabaret/mini cabinets there are ms pacman cabaret/mini cabinets t similar to the one I have. Example below.

[paigeoliver]

The Ms. Pac was a Centuri Round Up. Looks like the full sized cabinet to me. I have working Ms. Pac boards ready to go if yours has a boardset problem. You will want to replace that trashed Wico 4-way with a Ms. Pac reunion stick (or an original, I like them both, the reunion fits that wico bolt pattern).

The less money you put into that Galaga the more you will make on it. The first $30 in it will work wonders (repaint, detail the coin door, cap the monitor), once you start buying repro artwork you are sinking more into it then it will return.

[FullmetalHeart]

Cool. You rly think the ms. pacman is a full size cabinet? I fell like its a bit smaller, then again I havent been near a ms pacman cabinet in years. I will sand the Galaga and check out the inside of ms. pacman tomorrow.

[paigeoliver]

An actual cabaret is very much noticeably smaller. That looks exactly like every Centuri cabinet I ever owned. Is the monitor the same size as the one in the Galaga?

[FullmetalHeart]

Yeah its centuri. Has a rly faded label on the back

[FullmetalHeart]

I think the ms pacman problem maybe the psu. I will get a meter tomorrow and check.

[paigeoliver]

Ms. Pacs don't normally have a separate power supply, but that one is probably running a bootleg board, so who knows.

[FullmetalHeart]

I checked the power supply and it isnt getting any voltage coming out. The power supply also has signs of electrical burning.


more pics

[FullmetalHeart]

 

[IG-88]

Found out the ms pacman cabinet was originally Round- Up. I Never heard of it but found it on ebay.

Kinda like Paige said earlier   

[FullmetalHeart]

Ah I didn't notice 

[paigeoliver]

That is a bootleg Ms. Pac board for sure. You might want to start over with a real board or a multiboard.

[FullmetalHeart]

Bootleg board....... is that bad? BTW I went ahead and ordered a PSU.

[paigeoliver]

Bootleg board....... is that bad? BTW I went ahead and ordered a PSU.

It may play perfectly and be indistinguishable from the real thing. However it is more likely that the title screen will be changed. Alternate mazes and sound/graphics cruddiness are possible but not as common.

[FullmetalHeart]

Hmmm. How much will a legit ms.pacman or multiboard cost?

[paigeoliver]

These days Ms. Pac boards tend to go for around $100 shipped (I have a few left and would probably go a little cheaper). The unlicensed 60 in 1 multiboards run about $60 shipped (I don't sell those but they are easy enough to find).

My Ms. Pac is running an original board with Mike Doyles 96 in 1 Pac kit installed on it.

[FullmetalHeart]

SOooo I started sanding on the Galaga and look at what I found. I'm now thinking of restoring it to ms.pacman and move the galaga to the Round-up cabinet.

[jdbailey1206]

Excellent!  I figured you would find that undernearth.  I would even recommend using a paint thinner on a small part and see if that saves you any sanding.  I was almost in the same situation with a DK cab (at present it is an Akranoid machine) and a Ninja Gaiden cab.  My plan was to do some juggling like you might do.  Possibly put a Fix It Felix in the DK cab and build a cab for the Akranoid.  But it was on craigslist and the guy wanted 1500 for both cabs and they were in sub par shape.  Oh well.  Again good find and cant wait to see more progress.

[paigeoliver]

The cheap but nice way to do it is to repaint the cabinet the proper blue and buy the cheap front art and not bother with the pricey sideart.

[FullmetalHeart]

Now will this be as simple as swapping boards and control panel? Also what is ms.pacman shade of blue?

[nagamitsu]

Ms. Pacman "Rhapsody" paint codes: http://forums.arcade-museum.com/archive/index.php/t-267385.html

Pretty close match. Is unfortunate the type of paint on your cab, as I don't think you'd easily be able to save the art underneath. I lucked out, mine was a bad POW conversion, started scraping the paint off with razor and found Ms. Pacman underneath.

How it looked before:


After restoration:

[TKW4rr10r]

I just finished a full Ms. Pac restore, so if you have any questions during the process let me know. I also have some spare parts left over, so just PM me what you need and I'm sure we can work something out if I have it. Always good to see a game come back to its original shape. 

I agree with what was previously stated in getting either an original board or going the 60-in-1 route. Bootleg boards are notorious for having just enough missing or changed that it just doesn't "feel" like the real thing. Plus there's less resources out there in fixing them when they go bad. The 60-in-1s are a good alternative, just comes down to if you want this as a dedicated game, or more games to get more use from it. You'll have to add a couple more buttons to be able to play all the games in the 60-in-1, also.

I'd make the board decision first, since that will dictate what power supply, wiring harness, and controls you'll need. You can get full 60-in-1 "kits", including the buttons, joystick, power supply, and wiring harness all for about $100 if you decide to go that route. Just food for thought.

[paigeoliver]

The 60 in 1 kits don't come with the RIGHT joystick though. A cheapo Asian 8-way isn't going to cut it for Ms. Pac. If using a new stick you will need to get a Namco reunion stick to get the proper feel.

[FullmetalHeart]

Well I moved the Galaga to the round-up cabinet and got it working.  I wired up the clusterfuck of wires to the coin door. Now to the control panel. The Galaga control panel doesn't rly fit the Round-up cabinet. I'm gonna try to get it as close as possible.

[FullmetalHeart]

Not sure what to to about the control panels for both machines. The Galaga control panel fits the ms pacman cabinet but its a original galaga panel. I dont want to but I may have to move the galaga controls to the round up contol panel and change the galaga panel to ms pacman, losing the galaga art work.

[paigeoliver]

Financially your best bet is to sell that Galaga panel as it is and buy a Ms. Pac panel. Then just convert the Round Up control panel to Galaga using a cheap overlay. It isn't the correct cabinet anyway, so you don't need to worry about it being a concourse restoration.

[FullmetalHeart]

Ok where can I get a ms pacman control panel?

[FullmetalHeart]

Well I think I'm done with the Galaga. My friend has a vinyl plotter, so I took some scrap vinyl and covered the Round-Up control panel. Now the only thing original is the Galaga midway boards and what I think is a rapidfire board. What would be a good price for this?




I also removed the monitor from the ms pacman and used citrustrip to remove alot of the paint on one side.

[paigeoliver]

I would try it out on craigslist at $450 and see if anyone bites. If it doesn't move at $450 in a month then drop it to $350 where it should move.

Just don't call it "original".

[FullmetalHeart]

My plans for the Ms. Pacman art is to use stencils made with a vinyl plotter. Shouldn't be to hard........Right?

[TKW4rr10r]

My plans for the Ms. Pacman art is to use stencils made with a vinyl plotter. Shouldn't be to hard........Right?

Stenciling will require a lot of time, patience, and the right paint/application process to get it right. I suggest reading up on other posts from those who've already done it first. But the results are amazing if done correctly. I only used vinyl graphics on mine since I got them in a Craigslist bundle. That's not to say I won't go back years from now and stencil mine if it becomes a permanent fixture in the collection.

Which brings up the questions, is this one you are going to keep or try to sell? Also, are the stencils getting printed by you/friend or are you buying them? If looking to sell the cab and buying the stencils, you'll pay just as much maybe less by getting the graphics instead. Depending on your market it won't make difference in selling, so you would be loosing money on the deal. Just curious.

[FullmetalHeart]

I plan to keep the ms pacman and yes I will cut the stencils on the plotter.

[TKW4rr10r]

I plan to keep the ms pacman and yes I will cut the stencils on the plotter.

Cool then yeah stencils are definitely the way to go. Can't wait to see how those turn out.

[FullmetalHeart]

Update!

Got some Professional Gold Bondo at Autozone for $19.00.This stuff sets fast, 3-5 mins. I've been sanding and getting everything rdy for priming. I also ordered and a Led Pink Joystick and Led buttons from Paradise Arcade Shop. I saw them on TKW4rr10r's Ms.Pacman restoration and had to get them. I gonna steal one more great idea from TKW4rr10r and paint the inside of my cabinet

[FullmetalHeart]

Forgot to ask, is this a good primer?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Glidden-Gripper-1-Qt-White-Primer-Sealer-GL3210-1200-04/100157932#.UhbbP5LVCSo

[TKW4rr10r]

Update!

Got some Professional Gold Bondo at Autozone for $19.00.This stuff sets fast, 3-5 mins. I've been sanding and getting everything rdy for priming. I also ordered and a Led Pink Joystick and Led buttons from Paradise Arcade Shop. I saw them on TKW4rr10r's Ms.Pacman restoration and had to get them. I gonna steal one more great idea from TKW4rr10r and paint the inside of my cabinet

Cool beans. definitely go with a roll on white primer when painting  the inside. Spent more than I should have on rattle-can paint for that part. If your cab is anything like mine the wood will be thirsty. Took a couple coats of spray to to match one coat of standard primer.

I'm back at my other office today so expect some pics of a control panel if you still need one.

[IG-88]

I've used that primer before on a different project. Works pretty well if you give it time too "cure".

[FullmetalHeart]

After going mad patching with bondo/woodfiller and sanding I think I'm rdy to prim. I rolled on 2 coats of primer on the front of the cab but I think I may take the HVLP route with painting the cab.