Author Topic: Got Me A FREE Project (Read 8061 times)

FrizzleFried · « **on:** March 12, 2008, 11:06:36 am »

Alright, to make a long story short, I fixed 2 of my neighbors games and he gave me the 3rd for doing so. I consider it a FREE FIND being that I'd have fixed the games regardless.

So here it is...Galagalaxian...

The sides are pretty beat...

Also, it holds a GALAG bootleg Galaga board. Now, most folks here immediately recognized that the cabinet shape was, well, a little off. That is because the cab was originally a Galaxian...which has the Pac Man style cab as opposed to Galaga which had the Ms. Pac Man style cab. Evidently it was quite popular to convert Galaxian's to Galaga's (especially Galaga's using bootleg GALAG boards).

I was trying to determine what I wanted to do with this thing...and have decided on keeping it a Galaga conversion. This decision was made for a couple reasons...some financial, some otherwise.

(A) I don't like Galaxian nearly as much as Galaga
(B) It has some good artwork already
(C) It will be worth more as a Galaga conversion than a Galaxian

Being that it is going to be a conversion anyway, I've decided on going black (was considering white but again, I prefer the black look) with green T-Molding. I've already bought side art, kick panel and CPO from ebay for $100 for the package...the marquee is in great shape as is the bezel. I do need to get some dark plexi for under the bezel as the monitor is quite burned in with something else.

I was so on the fence about what to do with this. I initially wanted to go Galaxian...but again, due to the reasons above, I decided on Galaga. Then I considered going to a Pac Man, but the cost of artwork, plus control panel, etc would have been quite high.

I am anticipating total cost to hover between $200-$250 in total depending on if I can get this GALAG board working correctly (I have at least one bad ROM). If I can get it up and running I plan on getting the Galaga HS board...first off it changes the name and copyright of the GALAG bootleg boards to Galaga/Midway...secondly it saves high scores.

I'll post my progress as I strip, paint, and apply artwork to this cab.

Ken Layton · « **Reply #1 on:** March 12, 2008, 12:32:06 pm »

The original Galaxian coin door would have been painted gray. It would appear then that yours has been spray painted black. It would also NOT have the anti-straw/string coin switch brackets nor would it have the anti-penny flippers above the coin return bucket.

RetroACTIVE · « **Reply #2 on:** March 12, 2008, 12:40:44 pm »

As long as it sits still and you don't touch it ... its free

Jeff AMN · « **Reply #3 on:** March 12, 2008, 01:01:00 pm »

Are you sure that's not a Rally-X?

I ask because of the color of the t-molding.

FrizzleFried · « **Reply #4 on:** March 12, 2008, 03:06:38 pm »

Quote from: Jeff AMN on March 12, 2008, 01:01:00 pm

Are you sure that's not a Rally-X?

I ask because of the color of the t-molding.

Didn't Rally-X have pink T-Molding?

I know it was WHITE under the black...but that's all I really know.

Jeff AMN · « **Reply #5 on:** March 12, 2008, 03:31:52 pm »

Well, that makes it look pink, but I bought a cab thinking it was a Pac-Man with a Bubble Bobble in it only to find it was actually a Rally-X. Let me post a pic:

Notice the color similarities in that bit of t-molding showing? I might be wrong, it's just my suspicion. However, the Rally-X cab is the same as Pac-Man and Galaxian anyway...

BUCKETHEAD · « **Reply #6 on:** March 12, 2008, 09:23:16 pm »

Can't beat free!

Actually i just got done with my GALAGA last week.

Here's a before and after pic.

Good luck with yours!

FrizzleFried · « **Reply #7 on:** March 14, 2008, 03:30:24 pm »

I can confirm beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was a Galaxian...

RayB · « **Reply #8 on:** March 14, 2008, 06:02:21 pm »

No, I don't accept that proof. Ghosts might have put the art there.

Jeff AMN · « **Reply #9 on:** March 14, 2008, 07:24:18 pm »

Galagarallaxian?

FrizzleFried · « **Reply #10 on:** March 16, 2008, 08:03:23 pm »

Here is what I've learned...

Sometimes it is better to use a more delicate touch than to jump in full bore. Case in point. Here is the left side of the cabinet. Nice and stripped...after taking about 4 hours of heating, scraping and sanding to get the damn thing off. Starting out by sanding the paint off to then determine the Galaxian side art under it was in too bad of shape to keep so it had to be burned and scraped off...ARGH! It was a mess, smelled like hell and overall was a huge huge HUGE pain in the ass...

Now...going in to the right side of the cab I already knew what I was dealing with...and with a more delicate touch with the heat gun it only took about an hour and a half peeling it off...

I then applied a single coat of primer to each side, waited a few hours and painted...

To do: T-Molding, repair/paint coin door, apply art work, replace CPO...

whammoed · « **Reply #11 on:** March 16, 2008, 08:52:29 pm »

You been busy. Nice work.

FrizzleFried · « **Reply #12 on:** March 18, 2008, 09:02:31 pm »

Alrighty...side art and kick panel art work applied. T-Molding should be here tomorrow according to UPS. Hobbyroms guy said he mailed chip out last Friday (from Canada)...should be here Friday or Monday...

Jeff AMN · « **Reply #13 on:** March 19, 2008, 11:49:34 am »

It's looking good, man. I'd love to have a Galaga, but morons think it's worth $1000 around here, even in beat up shape.

FrizzleFried · « **Reply #14 on:** March 19, 2008, 04:18:38 pm »

UPS delivered my T-Molding today (woot!), but my chip from Hobbyroms isn't here (expected Monday or Tuesday). I installed the T-Molding which was actually more of a pain in the ass than expected as the geniuses at Midway installed stables sideways through the T-Molding channel all up and down the right side of the cab and (luckily) only at the bottom of the left side channel.

She's starting to look worthy of the gameroom...

FrizzleFried · « **Reply #15 on:** March 21, 2008, 10:24:30 am »

Last night I managed to get the new CPO on. It was a bit more of a task than I expected. Removing the old CPO was SIMPLE with the new Soy stripper I bought recently. After an hour of the solution soaking on the panel it scraped off with very little effort.

The problems began when I realized that the WICO stick on the CP was attached to the wooden CP UNDER the metal CP...so there is no carriage bolts sticking though. Not a big deal, until you notice that the CPO has laser cut holes for where the carriage bolts go through. ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---.

So I drilled out the metal CP...figuring i would get longer carriage bolts and stick them all the way through. It was about then that I noticed that the WICO has a smaller footprint than the holes of the CPO which were obviously cut for a Galaga stick. Plan B - stick the old carriage bolts back in, mounting the damn thing to the wood. Then get 4 other carriage bolts and stick them through the CPO carriage bolt holes for the "look"...they are just "dummy" bolts, but it looks much nicer. I did have to drill the wood under the metal CP to accomlish this.

Next I noticed the 2 carriage bolt holes on the left and right that mount the "hold downs" to the CPO were off by about 1/4"...time to bust out the old drill again. After drilling the metal and wood all was well.

Right now I have incorrectly colored microswitch buttons in there...but I will be converting back to leaf switch and I will (of course) go with the correct colors....

fixedpigs · « **Reply #16 on:** March 21, 2008, 11:24:16 am »

looking good...

how come the left corner of the cp sticks out past the corner of the left cabinet side...?

keep up the good work...

Mauzy · « **Reply #17 on:** March 21, 2008, 12:09:50 pm »

If you don't mind me asking, how did you apply the paint to get that smooth of a finish? I have a Galaga that I repainted with a roller, but it have the texture of the face of the moon...

Also, is that just gloss, latex paint?

Jeff AMN · « **Reply #18 on:** March 21, 2008, 12:16:34 pm »

Quote from: Mauzy on March 21, 2008, 12:09:50 pm

If you don't mind me asking, how did you apply the paint to get that smooth of a finish? I have a Galaga that I repainted with a roller, but it have the texture of the face of the moon...

Also, is that just gloss, latex paint?

He'll have to answer that, but I'm guessing he used foam rollers. Every time I've painted a cab with foam rollers, I've gotten a glass-like finish.

FrizzleFried · « **Reply #19 on:** March 21, 2008, 01:54:14 pm »

Quote from: fixedpigs on March 21, 2008, 11:24:16 am

looking good...

how come the left corner of the cp sticks out past the corner of the left cabinet side...?

keep up the good work...

It doesn't...strange photo angle or something...

FrizzleFried · « **Reply #20 on:** March 21, 2008, 01:55:50 pm »

Quote from: Mauzy on March 21, 2008, 12:09:50 pm

If you don't mind me asking, how did you apply the paint to get that smooth of a finish? I have a Galaga that I repainted with a roller, but it have the texture of the face of the moon...

Also, is that just gloss, latex paint?

I used a "fine foam roller" used for "smooth surfaces". It is black oil based enamel paint...semi-gloss.

There IS a slight texture...but you can't be perfect I guess.

Mauzy · « **Reply #21 on:** March 21, 2008, 02:40:35 pm »

Ill have to look into that. I dont even what to put side art on mine cause that paint looks so crappy... Thanks for the info.

FrizzleFried · « **Reply #22 on:** March 23, 2008, 06:59:08 pm »

Ah! Finished at last! Well, sort of. All I have left to do is: Install "faux" carriage bolts for the joystick on the control panel, find and install one piece from the right side coin mechs (the curved "channel" that goes directly behind the coin "slit" on the door...if you have a spare one, please let me know!), and last but not least, install the Galaga Enhancement pack when I get it next week. That will change the bootleg name of GALLAG and copyright 1982 to GALAGA and the Midway copyright 1981. It also saves high scores and allows the selection between normal and fast fire.

That is just about it. Total cost for this project came in at about $200.00! Not bad at all. Later down the road I will cap the G07 and replace the width coil...but for now it's fine. The monitor is burned to hell, but behind the smoked plexi I added it's hard to tell while the machine is off and impossible to tell while it is on.

I am happy with how it came out.

Jeff AMN · « **Reply #23 on:** March 24, 2008, 01:48:06 am »

As far as I'm concerned, you have a dedicated Galaga!

FrizzleFried · « **Reply #24 on:** March 27, 2008, 10:23:45 am »

...as a final note on this project, my Galaga Enhancement Kit showed up yesterday. This cool little kit does quite a few things. First off, to all but the most fanatical Galaga fan the game looks like an authentic Galaga is running. The kit changes the attract mode screen from "GALLAG" to "GALAGA" and the copyright from "1 9 8 2" to "(c) 1981 Midway Mfg. Co.". The only way to tell this is a GALLAG pcb running is to either look in the back or SOME fans know that the star field on a GALLAG has a slight "magenta" look to some stars where the original GALAGA didn't. There is also, evidently, 1 less blinking star from what I read.

The other features of this kit include a FREE PLAY mode for GALLAG which didn't have one. Also, the attract screen runs in FREE PLAY mode...which is a good thing. High scores are also saved at power down now. The game boots about 10x faster. There is a feature that you can set that gives 4 men when you hit 1 player and 8 men when you hit 2 players (as opposed to actually playing a 2 player game)...which can be turned of if you like.

Finally, there is a cool feature you can enable that when you first go in to the game it asks if you want to play in FAST FIRE MODE or NORMAL FIRE MODE....you select by pushing left or right on the stick. Cool! The only thing I guess I wish for is two separate high score lists, one for FAST and one for NORMAL. Unfortunately there is but one.

Here she is...in her new (temp) home. I will be doing some re-arranging shortly as I think i am going to trade my Marvel vs SF for a Nintendo Wii...

spacies · « **Reply #25 on:** March 28, 2008, 04:19:07 pm »

Great job Frizzle.
Everyone must have a Galaga.

BTW, I have 2 Gallag boards and I just might have to buy those kits. Cheers for the info.

Ken Layton · « **Reply #26 on:** March 29, 2008, 02:45:28 am »

KS Amusements has the coin door part you need:

http://www.ksamusements.com/coin%20door%20parts.htm

It's the "Coin Chute" for Midway doors $5.00

FrizzleFried · « **Reply #27 on:** March 29, 2008, 10:56:06 am »

Thanks for the info Ken! I also notice that the one chute I have sucks...quarters get stuck in it. Does anyone every spray any silicone lubricant down the chutes?

Ken Layton · « **Reply #28 on:** March 29, 2008, 11:29:34 am »

Never spray or put any lubricant on those parts. It will gum up everything.

Take those entry 'chutes' off and soak them is a 50% solution of CLR (Calcium-Lime-Rust remover) and water for a while.

Early versions of these 'chutes' had a spot welded cover so it is impossible to get in there to clean and scrub the coin path so it's smooth. The CLR will eat the crud off the path and leave it smooth again. Later versions of these 'chutes' have a cover held on with 4-40 x 1/4" long Phillips head screws. That way you could take the cover off and buff the coin path with steel wool or a wire brush.

FrizzleFried · « **Reply #29 on:** March 29, 2008, 01:17:57 pm »

Thanks Ken...yes, I have an earlier version here...spot welded...that's the problem with the other one, the spot weld broke and the chute separated from the mount.

Ken Layton · « **Reply #30 on:** March 29, 2008, 03:48:52 pm »

Whenever the spot weld broke on our old games like that, I'd drill a small hole thru it and thread it out to 4-40.

FrizzleFried · « **Reply #31 on:** March 31, 2008, 02:19:04 pm »

Hey Ken,

FYI, this is the email I just got from KS AMUSEMENTS...

Quote

Hi Jon, sorry we are no longer selling parts. We have sold the business off and the website just hasn't been fully removed yet.

Sorry for the inconvienence,

K&S Amusements

Any other source for the part I need (chute)?

FrizzleFried · « **Reply #32 on:** April 23, 2008, 10:28:10 pm »

I am happy to say that thanks to the generosity of P1001 from the KLOV forums and his FREE donation of a set of Galaga wood leaf switch bases, I was able to take those nasty microswitch buttons off and install proper color leaf switch buttons in their place! The Galaga Conversion project is complete...

Cakemeister · « **Reply #33 on:** April 24, 2008, 12:36:44 pm »

Quote from: FrizzleFried on March 27, 2008, 10:23:45 am

Also, the attract screen runs in FREE PLAY mode...which is a good thing.

Wow, that must be a new feature. Mine just sits at "Press 1 or 2 player start", which would eventually result in screen burn if I didn't turn it off after use.

Did you get the Galaga enhancement pack from ArcadeShop?

The_Tyler_Black · « **Reply #34 on:** April 24, 2008, 01:10:46 pm »

Great Job! So what was the final cost of your FREE project?

FrizzleFried · « **Reply #35 on:** April 24, 2008, 07:55:00 pm »

Quote from: Cakemeister on April 24, 2008, 12:36:44 pm

Did you get the Galaga enhancement pack from ArcadeShop?

Actually I got it from Mikes Arcade...same unit as what AS has though.

FrizzleFried · « **Reply #36 on:** April 24, 2008, 07:56:11 pm »

Quote from: The_Tyler_Black on April 24, 2008, 01:10:46 pm

Great Job! So what was the final cost of your FREE project?

Thanks...total cost was about $225-$250.00. Not bad.

The_Tyler_Black · « **Reply #37 on:** April 25, 2008, 05:50:11 pm »

Quote from: FrizzleFried on April 24, 2008, 07:56:11 pm

Thanks...total cost was about $225-$250.00. Not bad.

Not bad at all!!

FrizzleFried · « **Reply #38 on:** April 25, 2008, 06:31:09 pm »

That includes: $100 for the artwork (sideart, kickplate & CPO)...$15 for the T-Molding...$50 for the Galaga Enhancement kit...$20 for paint & materials...$10 for a PROM from hobbyroms...$12 for the correct color buttons & $9.00 for the $.25 inserts that I only needed one of...all prices include shipping estimates...$216 total. I am sure I screwed up on my shipping estimate somewhere...so $220 is probably a fair total.

A little less than I had initially ball-parked.

Hawk Daddy · « **Reply #39 on:** April 30, 2008, 05:12:04 am »

Looks nice, I've already been threw two Original deadicated galagas, bought one for $50 working, and another for $120 that had a bad power board. That $50 galaga was my first ever machine that was restored. I then traded and sold them, now my galaga fix comes from a deadicated ms pacman galaga class of 1981 reunion machine, and a 60-1 multiboard. But after seeing urs I kinda wish I had my original back. Good job.

Hawk


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