should i ...

[Flynn]

Hi all,

I'm the pround owner of a nice Zaccaria Phoenix Cabinet -
it is full working (game and lightning) but ...

i don't play Phoenix that much (say, 5 x per year) so i think
i'll convert it to a vertical MAME-Cab.

I know, it is a shame to destroy such a nice cab but ...

... so this is your part, what you think, should i keep it as it is,
or should i convert it?

btw. if you don't know what i'm talking about it is this:
http://www.arcadeflyers.com/?page=flyerdb&subpage=thumbs&id=784
(... and if you don't know it: the sky behind the frontglass is phospor-illuminated)

... so "MAME-Cab-Builders" what you think should i do???

-Flynn

[RacerX]

Sell it.  Then take the money you make off of it and buy a non-working generic cabinet to MAME.  You'll still have plenty of money left over after buying the cab to get any parts you might need.

Please don't destroy a perfectly good classic like that.  

[gdilly]

I recently had that same exact problem.  Too destroy a working Final Blow cabinet or not.  I decided to NOT.  I sold the final blow cabinet to someone else and then took the money and bought an already empty cabinet with no side art to complete my MAME.

That might be the best way to go.

[Flynn]

Sell it.  Then take the money you make off of it and buy a non-working generic cabinet to MAME.  You'll still have plenty of money left over after buying the cab to get any parts you might need.

Please don't destroy a perfectly good classic like that.  

good point, but i live in Austria - there aren't much of us "Arcade-Lovers", so selling is a problem - since shipping will be
very expensive in other countries.

- Flynn

[NoOne=NBA=]

That cab is way too unique to MAME.

If you DO decide you can't live without MAIMING it, please don't alter anything original.
Set the original pieces aside, intact, and BUILD new pieces to replace them.

[Flynn]

That cab is way too unique to MAME.

If you DO decide you can't live without MAIMING it, please don't alter anything original.
Set the original pieces aside, intact, and BUILD new pieces to replace them.

hey, of course, i'll save the frontglass, the inner-sky (don't know how to name it else) and the game-board - i don't think the monitior 19" Hantarex, and a "new "powerunit" isn't worth to save.
- Flynn

[DaveJ-UK]

I agree, please don't destroy it.

Where did you get it from? You could see if they'll take it back or exchange it if you can't slel it privately.

And what's wrong with Hantarex monitors? If it's working, use it!

[Flynn]

I agree, please don't destroy it.

Where did you get it from? You could see if they'll take it back or exchange it if you can't slel it privately.

And what's wrong with Hantarex monitors? If it's working, use it!

i got it from a local die-ing arcade company (where i got my other pinballs and cabinets)
No, fore sure they don't want it back, they are happy that i bought it.

...
...
...

but the more i think of it, and you all tell me the same, i think i can't destroy it ... you are all right!

OKAY, if there is someone out there who will buy it -> okay, beside i'll keep it clean and working.

Anyhow, anyway - thanks for your opinion!

-Flynn

[thebrownshow]

Ugh, I'd HATE to see you turn that cabinet into a MAME cab... why don't you restore it yourself and sell it for MORE than you bought it for?

[spidermonkey]

Dude, that is a RARE version of Phoenix. Most Phoenix machines were made by a company called Centuri and the cabinets were a fairly boring looking woodgrain cabinet but the Phoenix machines made by Zaccaria are awsome and VERY hard to come by. Post it for sale on the klov website and I'll bet you'll find some collector would will buy that gem no matter where its located. If you sell it you should have enough cash to buy an empty cab plus all your joysticks,buttons,trackballs and whatever else you need.  PLEASE don't rip apart a working rare classic like that just for MAMING purposes.  Find a cheap conversion cab and go to town on that. DAMN,I wish you lived near me. I would give you plenty of cash AND an empty Mortal Kombat cab for that beauty.

[spidermonkey]

http://www.geocities.com/arcadeclassics.geo/PHOENIX.html

Scroll down the page on this link and you'll see what the typical run of the mill Centuri Phoenix cab looks like so you can now see why collectors would love to get their hands on the Zaccaria version. Its a MUCH cooler looking version of Phoenix and much more valuable too.
 Hope you do the right thing and sell it to a collector or just keep it,restore it and enjoy it for what it is. I know I would.

[menace]

I would still mame it but leave it completely intact with swappable control panels--i.e. design new panels to fit the cab and make the existing panel swappable.  leave the boards etc. inside (or take them out and store them somewhere safe) and work around them.  that way, if you do decide (or come across) an empty cab, this one can be switched back to its original form with minimal hassle.  I'm no purist but I see no sense in damaging the original just so that you can MAME--they can co-exist!