The NEW Build Your Own Arcade Controls
Arcade Collecting => Restorations & repair => Topic started by: Wade on November 30, 2005, 12:31:38 pm
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Recently finished up this Galaga for a friend:
(http://webpages.charter.net/wadelanham/arcade/galaga/P1010003.JPG)
(http://webpages.charter.net/wadelanham/arcade/galaga/P1010004.JPG)
(http://webpages.charter.net/wadelanham/arcade/galaga/P1010005.JPG)
(http://webpages.charter.net/wadelanham/arcade/galaga/P1010006.JPG)
(http://webpages.charter.net/wadelanham/arcade/galaga/P1010007.JPG)
(http://webpages.charter.net/wadelanham/arcade/galaga/P1010008.JPG)
(http://webpages.charter.net/wadelanham/arcade/galaga/P1010009.JPG)
(http://webpages.charter.net/wadelanham/arcade/galaga/P1010010.JPG)
(http://webpages.charter.net/wadelanham/arcade/galaga/P1010015.JPG)
(http://webpages.charter.net/wadelanham/arcade/galaga/P1010018.JPG)
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The game was literally falling apart. It had water damage, some large swollen areas on the bottom, and the front, bottom, rear lower piece and upper rear handle piece had all come loose. We had to hold it together, then put a few ratchet straps around it to keep it in one piece just to move it out of his house.
Here's the basic list of what I did to it:
* replaced wood bottom and rear lower panel
* secured rear upper handle wood piece, inner "shield" divider, front face, front face kick molding
* cleaned and painted leg leveler bases, wheel brackets
* scrubbed all electrical harnesses
* cleaned inside of cabinet with vacuum, Bleche-wite
* cleaned latches, monitor bezel, tinted plexi, etc.
* cleaned printed monitor glass, marquee
* patched and filled cabinet chips
* sanded down water-raised lower portion of cabinet
* laminated sides
* repainted inside black areas (around monitor)
* installed new side art
* rebuilt control panel (removed old overlay, cleaned, repainted, installed new overlay + buttons)
* repaired coin door (disassembled, polished what I could, hammered dents out, painted with wrinkle finish to better hide flaws)
* install lock
* touch-up printed monitor glass
* repaint marquee brackets
* install new T-molding
* clean/paint rear door
Wade
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Boy, it turned out really nice. Do you mind me asking what it cost to do that sort of a restoration?
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Wow... great job on my favorite game.
Way beyond my skills, glad to see someone out there can do this stuff and save these great classics.
Eric.
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Nice job, looks awesome.
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Stong to quite strong...
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Im so Jealous
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Damn Wade! You did good....again. Beautifull!
What!....you didn't use the dishwasher on this one?? ;D
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You just need a Midway logo plate on that coin door to finish it up!
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Thanks guys!
To answer your question, we spent about $300 in parts on this game. That included front/side artwork for $100, a CP overlay for $50, the laminate, buttons, and some misc bits. We used the original Marquee, monitor glass (touched it up from behind), and coin door.
Spriggy, no dishwasher on this one! Since it wasn't my game, I left those decisions to the owner. Didn't hose down the monitor or main gameboard either, since they worked and we (he) didn't want to risk losing a part.
RayB, you are right, we were going to get the logo plate for $15 but I told him the coin door was so damaged he might prefer to save that money and wait for a better door to come along (so we didn't order the part). After pounding out the major dents and using the crackle paint, I think he is happy enough with it, and a Logo plate should probably be installed for completeness. :)
Wade
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How did you laminate that front panel? Looks difficult, what with the sides protruding beyond the front.
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It looks really good, I would like to see some before pictures to fully appreciate your restoration though.
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Chad, the laminate was easy since the front panel was off anyway. If the front panel was still attached, it would have to be pre-cut accurately, which is harder, but doable.
Here are some "during" pics. No true "before" pics but you can see plenty of the "before" damage in these pics.
Wade
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More
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more
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Nice! Reminds me a lot of my Tron. It suffered severe water damage and had to be held together with ratchet straps after the bottom fell apart. My cab is solid, but nowhere near minty. I want to get a different cab at this point. Anyway, very nice job! :)
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Thanks for the before pics. Yep, you really put some effort into this and your hard work shows.
Congrats on the finished product, it really does look sweet!
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Nice Miata too :)
Eric.
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nice!
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Thanks for the kind words, guys!
SuperGunGuru, yeah, that sounds like your Tron was in the exact same predicament and this Galaga!
Eric, thanks, but it's not a Miata. It's a 94 RX-7 twin turbo! Common mistake. :)
(http://webpages.charter.net/wadelanham/FS/P1010012.JPG)
(http://webpages.charter.net/wadelanham/FS/P1010006.JPG)
Wade
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Amazing work! I love the shape of those cabs and the design of Galaga is probably my favorite. One question: where did you buy the laminate for the sides of your cab? I want to put something similar down over my control panel that is tough and can withstand a little wear and tear...
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Awesome job ... gives me a kick in the pants to get back to restoring mine ... but that will pass ...
That coin door looks great -- I would plonk that Midway plate on (I've got two and the plates on both of them look rather lousy, even on the one that I've cleaned up).
Thanks for all the pics.
Cheers.
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DANG!!! I literally was about to post, "Nice RX-7" but then I thought, nah it could be either and chances are it's a Miata, the way more common car. Oh well bad guess! :) At any rate, sweet ride, and awesome cab.
Eric.
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Eric - Ha, yup, it would be hard to tell from that pic! Thanks, I love that car, though I hardly drive it anymore (had it for 8 years now).
JaveryH - The laminate can be bought at Home improvement stores, but I usually buy mine from a local kitchen counter and plastic company, because they have a much better selection than the regular HI stores.
Here are a couple of pics of it in its final resting place in my buddy's gameroom. :)
Wade
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In the gameroom:
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Damn that looks nice. I have another question about the laminate: Did you just rough cut it to the size of the sides and then use a flush trimming bit to clean up the edges or did you just cut it out perfectly to match the sides? I'm wondering if the laminate can be cut with a router... Also, did you laminate both sides? It looks like you would have to... I can't say it enough - amazing job!!
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Awesome job, that is beautiful ! :o :o
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Beautiful job Wade, looks like a piece of art sitting there.
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Galaga machines are a work of art. Newly restored, original, all of them.
Bravo on the textbook cab.
Flat out stunning.
-=XD=-
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Thanks a lot guys! He is really enjoying it.
I will probably write up a tutorial on laminate soon because I get a lot of questions about it, and I've learned a lot from trial and error on several games.
TTYL!
Wade
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Wade,
Noticed the old Taito cab, with what appears to be the remenants of our sideart test piece, sitting in the garage with the RX7.
Have you decided what your doing with the her yet??
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Wade,
Noticed the old Taito cab, with what appears to be the remenants of our sideart test piece, sitting in the garage with the RX7.
Have you decided what your doing with the her yet??
Hey Spriggy!
That's exactly what that is!
Well, my plans for that game have changed several times. Originally of course, I was going to restore it. Now that is out of the question, since I sold the marquee (for $1.50 on ebay... what a waste of effort and $).
Lately, I've been leaning towards making it a generic vertical MAME multigame, and selling it at a pinball show. Structurally, it is very nice, with only a tiny bit of moisture swelling (which could be fixed), so I really don't want to cut it up and throw it out.
Realistically... eventually I will probably end up selling it for a few dollars, or even giving it away to someone wanting to do their own MAME project (that is what I did with the Defender cabinet... it was not bad, but I didn't want another total restoration on my hands so I gave it away).
I picked this up quite a while ago because a buddy was giving it away, and it had a working monitor, so I spent a fair amount of money on gas and renting a vehicle to pick it up. At the time, I was of the attitude that any project is better than no project. :) Now, I have no problem passing up projects. Anyway, this is one game I wish I had never picked up. It will never be a keeper game for me so I figure its destiny is probably a multigame and making me a few bucks. Or, the trash can! ;)
TTYL,
Wade