Galaxian cabinet

[Hornpipe2]

My GALAGA GALAXIAN RESTORE THREAD!

Current status: I have the cabinet, it's sitting in my garage.  No monitor, no PCB, no marquee, no art.  Serial number 18681.  Most recent pictures here.

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Original post follows.

I found this:  (edit: removing until it's really mine...)

and I'm first in line to pick it up.  I'll do a restore of some sort... probably MAME + arcade monitor until I can get either a 48-in-1 or a real Galaga board.

Okay first question since I am new to the world of real-life arcade machines: how the crap do I get this home?  It's an hour away from my house.  If I pull the seats out of my PT Cruiser, will it fit in the back?

[abzman2000]

the dimensions are available here: http://www.ggdb.com/GameByName.aspx?c=Coin-Op&s=Arcade&vid=1042 you should be able to take measurements, or even do what I would (make a 1:1 cardboard mock-up based on those dimensions and try and fit it in the car)

[RayB]

I'm pretty sure it will fit in a PT. If not on its back, then on its side. Bring blankets so you don't scratch up the side.

[opt2not]

Yay! Galaga!

Looking forward to following this restore along. Arcade Shop has a bunch of information on it.
Is it the full Black midway cabinet you're getting?

I've always wanted a galaga that looked like the white and black one in the flyer, so cooooool:

[HHaase]

Yay! Galaga!

Looking forward to following this restore along. Arcade Shop has a bunch of information on it.
Is it the full Black midway cabinet you're getting?

I've always wanted a galaga that looked like the white and black one in the flyer, so cooooool:

Emdkay does those marquee's now, and I'm VERY happy with mine.  I'm just about ready to start painting mine for that scheme in the very near future.

I've never actually seen an upright in those colors, except for the flyer, but that type cabaret shows up on e-bay once in a while.

-Hans

[Hornpipe2]

Totally awesome.  Tomorrow is pick-up day.  Cab will need a new back panel and one of the sides has been replaced with unpainted wood, plus there's no monitor or PCB (there is a box of spare electronics, marquee (cracked), a joystick and coin door though, so that's a start).  This seems like it's going to be one heck of a repair job.  EDIT: it's an all-black cab.  Side art on the one original side looks to be in decent shape from the pictures, won't know until I go get it though.  Also there doesn't seem to be any water damage : )

Question on the various ways to run Galaga though - I can either go original hardware, 60-in-1, or PC.  As much as I'd love to go all original, dropping $200 on a single game seems like a lot of expense to me right now.

So how does the 60-in-1 gameplay compare to the original board?  The advantage here is that it plays about 10 games with a 2-way and a button for around the same cost as a Galaga PCB, making the cab slightly more useful.  But it's emulation, right?  How good is the emulation?  Could a Galaga pro tell the difference between this and a real-deal Galaga board, if they didn't open the machine or try the service menus?

And then there's the MAME option, which has its own benefits - it's practically free (I have a stack of PCs in the garage that could run it no problem) and it runs 67 games according to MAWS.  This is definitely emulation though.  How good is the Galaga emulation these days?  Did they fix the starfield?  Is the sound right?  Can a Galaga pro tell the difference between this and real Galaga?

[saleem]

dont get 60in1,if you want 60in1 buy ---smurfy--- jamma cab and buy a 48in1 and play on that.

stick with it and rescue that cab.just get it and put up some pics you will get loads of advice for it.

i would love a galaga cab,in half decentish shape but,i am in uk and they are not easy to find,so if i had that one you will get i would put it back to its former glory,original pcb,all the gibbins and nice decent new/used monitor.

i spent $220 for a moon cresta boardest and some other moon cresta bits for my gremlin/sega cab to be sent here to england.i did not shove a 48in1 with moon cresta on it as its halfassing it.

all your hard earned hard spent money on that cab should pay off most definately.never mind you could get one for $600,half the fun in this scene is the challenge,the hard work,the detail and the enjoyment getting that end product.

[HHaase]

If you want to run as a dedicated Galaga machine, but don't want to spend the money on the board, look into the Gallag bootlegs instead.  Just a quick ROM change, and a couple resistors, and you'll never know the difference..... except for the fact that the board will cost less and be easier to repair (so I'm told) due to not having any of those impossible to find custom chips.

-Hans

[RayB]

I'd wait and see what wiring is inside before making a decision.

Next, I'd get original board or a bootleg and replace the rom so it says "Galaga" instead of "Galag".

$200 isn't that much considering how much Galagas retain their value.

[Hornpipe2]

Good call on the bootlegs, I wouldn't have considered that!  I like the idea with the Galaga Enhancement Pack too, but burning a new ROM with GALAGA / MIDWAY seems like the cheapest method.

Is it really "the same game"?  Meaning for example if I had a working Gallag would my scores be accepted on Twin Galaxies under the Galaga section?

EDIT:  You know I just signed up to the forums on arcade-museum and saw two original Galaga boards shipped for $125 or less each.  That's much more manageable!  Now to figure out what to do about a monitor...

[Hornpipe2]

So like a lot of "Galaga" machines advertised, this one too is not a Galaga.  It's got black laminate over one side with a nice Galaga side art stuck on, but I can peel away at it a bit to reveal... a white Galaxian cabinet with really faded and beat-up artwork!  The other side has been really sanded and has a bit of black spray paint, I can still make out the Galaxian artwork near one corner.

Serial number stamped inside is 18681.  I don't really like Galaxian as much compared to Galaga, but the artwork is admittedly way cooler, so I'll do a Galaxian restore instead. Researching art options now.

The cabinet appears to be "all there" except the CP, artwork, PCB and monitor, and back door.  So it's like a three-sided empty box.  With coin door and mechs, leg levelers, and grill covers over the vents on the back!  But hey there's a parts box with what seems to be a power supply, cracked Galaga marquee, leaf ball-top 4way joystick, maybe some leaf buttons, speaker grille, a couple quarters, a transformer screwed to a board, and maybe some other odds and ends.

I'll take pictures sometime soon and figure out what to do next.

[Spyridon]

Question on the various ways to run Galaga though - I can either go original hardware, 60-in-1, or PC.  As much as I'd love to go all original, dropping $200 on a single game seems like a lot of expense to me right now.

And remember, this is a restoration section where we bring classic games back to their original state.  Putting a 60-in-1 board is not a restoration.

[Hornpipe2]

Pictures.


As you can see:
* front side painted all black
* left side sanded down
* back missing
* right side has some black thick plastic stuck over the top with a Galaga logo on it.


The artwork underneath, mostly taken off by the glue on the plastic.  Yuck.


I'm pretty certain I will be peeling the laminate off the whole thing then foam-roller painting it all in white.  I've got this crazy plan to recreate the side and kickplate art with hand-cut stencils (!)


Box of junk.  Can anyone tell me what the crap this board is on the right?  It's labeled "ATARI RFI SHIELD 44 / 30 PIN", but I really don't know what it is for.


Serial number.  There is a similar etched in the top panel but the final 1 is missing (so it reads 1868)

[SirPeale]

That board appears to be an Atari RF shield.  The connector looks to be one that would go on an Atari game, like Centipede, or Millipede.

[opt2not]

I've got this crazy plan to recreate the side and kickplate art with hand-cut stencils (!)

My back straightened when I read this.  O RLY?

[Hornpipe2]

I've got this crazy plan to recreate the side and kickplate art with hand-cut stencils (!)

My back straightened when I read this.  O RLY?

YA RLY.  Got the .ai files from http://vectorlib.free.fr/Galaxian/ and I'm going to print them on tiled 8.5 x 11" sheets, cut stencils using a hobby knife, tack them up and paint on layers.  I can match colors using paint flakes from the plastic sheeting - it preserved the colors surprisingly well.  I've asked on KLOV how to recreate a vinyl-like texture using paint, and people have suggested trying out various Rustoleum brand sprays.

I know it's a lot of work, but I currently have more time than money, and so this is what I've settled on.

Anyway!  My current problem is - this cab has no back panel.  Anyone got a diagram showing what I would need to make to replace it?

[Hornpipe2]

Anyway!  My current problem is - this cab has no back panel.  Anyone got a diagram showing what I would need to make to replace it?

Nobody?  I don't even know what size wood I'm looking for or anything like that, let alone any kind of lock or routing grooves or whatever.

[SirPeale]

Not much to it - it's 1/2" ply.  Cut it to the size of the hole on the back of the cab.  The bottom does get a bit cut off for the tab that inserts into the bottom.  It's not much - 1/2" maybe?  By a 1/4" deep?  That's just an estimate.

[rchadd]

I've got this crazy plan to recreate the side and kickplate art with hand-cut stencils (!)

My back straightened when I read this.  O RLY?

YA RLY.  Got the .ai files from http://vectorlib.free.fr/Galaxian/ and I'm going to print them on tiled 8.5 x 11" sheets, cut stencils using a hobby knife, tack them up and paint on layers.  

thats going to be insane amount of work

the originals werent stenciled either on my Namco galaxian

it was printed on vinyl - you should be able to get that done somewhere as you have the ai files

[rchadd]

Question on the various ways to run Galaga though - I can either go original hardware, 60-in-1, or PC.  As much as I'd love to go all original, dropping $200 on a single game seems like a lot of expense to me right now.

And remember, this is a restoration section where we bring classic games back to their original state.  Putting a 60-in-1 board is not a restoration.

i am doing both

built an extra control panel with 4 way joystick and extra fire button and then use a jamma to galaxian wiring adapter.