Just got an empty Centipede... now what?

[maraxle]

Tonight I am picking up my brand new (to me), 20+ year old empty Centipede cabinet.  It was converted to something and then to Bionic Commando.  The wonderful Centipede side art was painted over with black paint, but the guy who sold it to me started stripping some of it off and the artwork doesn't look too bad.  The control panel has extra holes drilled in it, of course, and the original overlay is destroyed.  The bezel, marquee, monitor, trackball, and boards are MIA.

My original intent with buying this cabinet was to MAME it for my Dad.  I didn't choose it because it was Centipede, only because I liked the style, condition, and price of the cabinet.  Now I'm having some second thoughts...

As much as I would love to (and prefer to) restore it, turn it into a dedicated Centipede machine, and sell it to someone who would really enjoy it, I do not know anything about wiring up monitors, power supplies, or PCBs.  I do know how to make a MAME cabinet, and would do it in the least invasive way possible (no damage to the sides, no giant nasty control panel, repro or at least Centipede-styled CP/bezel art, etc).  Basically, it would look like a Centipede with a joystick over toward the left, the trackball off to the right (where it belongs), and two (or possibly three, if necessary) buttons in the middle.  

Anyway, what should I do?  My Dad doesn't particularly care whether he gets a Centipede cabinet or not, so I could always get another, less classic, cabinet for him.  Should I MAME it (with as little damage as possible)?  Should I try my luck at restoration, even though I have no idea where to begin?  Or should I trade it and get a more generic cabinet to play with?  Richmond, VA isn't exactly a hotbed of arcade activity, so I don't know how easy that would be...

This all might be a moot point if the sideart is really mangled under all that paint.

[SirPeale]

I say Mame it, but keep it simple to a Centipede theme.  Put a spinner/trackball on it, fill the holes (except where you're going to put the buttons, spinner and trackball) and have a vertical cab.  Centipede, Millipede, Arkanoid and a few others would do good in such a beast.

Do what you can to save the side art, and design a new CPO around your new design, based on Centipede.

[Lance]

Here is my centipede work in progress.  They are great cabinets to mame if they are empty.  Also instead of trying to patch and redrill/punch the metal control panel I'd recommend making a new panel out of wood/MDF.

Anyways here are the pics:

http://arcade.spamrevenge.com

[CthulhuLuke]

I agree entirely with Peale, its your cabinet so no one can really tell you what to do with it, but if you're going to MAME it, keep it in the centipede theme.  I bet even a monstorous panel with a cool centipede theme would look good.  As long as there is no X-arcade on it I'm good personally.  I say keep a trackball on it, maybe give it a joystick or two if this is going to be your only cab, no need for 6 buttons since centipede is vertical.  If you're itching to play games like Street Fighter and other horizontal games like that, I'd say see if you can look around and find another cab, cause a centipede is meant for vertical games, even if they're not centipede.
    -Good Luck

[maraxle]

Yeah, this cabinet is for my dad, so it'll be all classic games.  He's not interested in Street Fighter and such.  Centipede, Pac-Man, and such are more his style.

You know how the Centipede CPO has three red semi-circles on it, and the trackball is usually in the one on the right?  Well, I was thinking of putting the joystick in the one on the left, and the buttons in the middle one.  It'll probably only be 2 buttons, unless I find something that he likes that uses three buttons, like possibly Missile Command.  Whatever I do, I'm going to keep it simple, since he's not a big technology guy.  The easier it is to use, the happier he will be.

[RayB]

Another way to look at it is in terms of investment. Centipede is one of those HIGHLY demanded classics. If you can restore it with minimal cost, you can sell it for quite a bit of profit.

[DrewKaree]

Put all your concerns behind you, the simplest of solutions is right in front of your face, if only you'd have thought of it sooner, I wouldn't have to tell you....send it to me.    "I will love it and hug it and kiss it and call it George"

[Lance]

You know how the Centipede CPO has three red semi-circles on it, and the trackball is usually in the one on the right?  Well, I was thinking of putting the joystick in the one on the left, and the buttons in the middle one.  It'll probably only be 2 buttons, unless I find something that he likes that uses three buttons, like possibly Missile Command.  Whatever I do, I'm going to keep it simple, since he's not a big technology guy.  The easier it is to use, the happier he will be.

I was planning on doing something similar but ended up just going with black pica vinyl:

[maraxle]

Here's some pictures of it, as I found it:

http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=10;action=display;threadid=21278

[skorch]

maraxle, if you have the time, patience and money, this could be a good investment.
Here's a good link for restoration tips:

http://www.arcaderestoration.com/

Arcade machines aren't that complicated.

Good luck!

[Spaced Invader]

I'm with Peale...but I'd add a 4-way to the list. The panel will still be clean and it will open up tons of great old games--pac, kong, etc...