What do you think of this Mappy cab?

[Ummon]

I'm going to look at this soon. Seems great except for some side-art damage. $300 seems good, but my budget might only be $200. What do you all think?

http://tucson.craigslist.org/ele/938377303.html

[Ummon]

So I went an looked at it. Pre-tty nice cab. Apparently, the guy bought it two years ago for $400 (for his daughters, which I'm guessing are under ten because he was born after Mappy came out, but they lost interest) from a neighbor who was moving and looking to get rid of this one. They had other games, which they kept.

Monitor was a little dim, but there was some leeway in the pot and it brightened up pretty nice. Otherwise, perfect or close to perfect picture. Original, I think. Sound was good.

Bezel was almost perfect, no discoloration. The CP had what appeared to be some light burns, but mostly on the 2P button, and mild at that. Marquee was at least 98%. Side art wasn't great, perhaps 50% left on each side. The inside was a little dusty, but all components looked good. Even had the manuals inside what appeared to be the original flap mounted inside the back panel.

I decided to jump on it, but didn't have a truck with me and hadn't brought money. He said he'd hold it for me till tomorrow afternoon. Going $250.

[Ginsu Victim]

Score! Good find!!

[mrclean]

always wanted to know how many lamps it took to light up that massive marquee

[cmoses]

Sounds like a good deal and looks to be in good condition.

Always shocked at the size of that marquee.  It would be interesting to see what it takes to light it up.

[Visitor Q]

I like the marquee on that guy.

[Mauzy]

My guess is two (count em: two) standard marquee fluorescent bulbs are in that marquee. Anyone else has a guess?

[fixedpigs]

My guess is two (count em: two) standard marquee fluorescent bulbs are in that marquee. Anyone else has a guess?

midget campfire...

[Ummon]

Yeah, he said two. Going to get it right now. Should have pictures and perhaps a video later.

[FrizzleFried]

You're lucky.  ALWAYS show up with cash.  That could have easily been taken before you got back.

[Ummon]

Well, I wasn't worried about it. In fact, I could tell when he said, "So, it's a DEAL?", let alone by his hand shake that he was a sort of good 'ol boy, true to his word. But if he had given it to someone else, then so be it. For that matter, I think the combination of place and economy were so on my side, it was destined. Anyways, now I'm a certified retro cab owner:






















A little bit of burn here that I didn't notice yesterday, because I was playing it with no light behind me. A little bit of 'mappy', but mostly the 'levels'. Still, you can only see it with light shining on the monitor.








And, after taking pictures and video, I had to of course play a game. (I don't know if it plays much different than Mame.) Got my all-time high score, too.





And, here's the vid:

[RayB]

What's that nasty piece of wood doing there?

[Visitor Q]

Does that Marquee light up, I couldn't tell? Saw wires though...

[Blanka]

Never saw the marquees before. Always thought the mouse was the thief and de cats were guarding the house. The cop-like mouse does not make sense! Oh and the americans really need Jean Paul Gaultier or someone alike to redesign those sherrif costumes  . Dutch cops have very nice outfits nowadays!

[SirPeale]

What's that nasty piece of wood doing there?

That's the marquee, folded down.

[RayB]

What's that nasty piece of wood doing there?

That's the marquee, folded down.

BELOW the control panel.

[SirPeale]

What's that nasty piece of wood doing there?

That's the marquee, folded down.

BELOW the control panel.

I hadn't even noticed.  That's just weird.

[FrizzleFried]

Looks like a piece of molding?!  Strange.  I bet there is a gap under it or something.

I love Mappy,  but my all-time high score is around 100K...

[Ummon]

I noted the piece below the CP in my video. I don't know what that's for. I can't see any holes behind it. Unfortunately, to put that in meant two nails through each side of the cab. The messed-up side art camoflages that, but still.

I was just looking up Mappy on Wiki. Says there's this 'gosenzo coin' that chases Mappy if he waits too long after the 'hurry'. I don't recall seeing it, because usually it isn't an issue till later on and by then the cats are so fast I'm either dyin or finishing the round pretty quick.

[RayB]

Those Midway cabs usually have a removable control panel. They anchor in the front with a 3 inch metal tab in the front middle I'm going to guess that tab's missing or broken and that wood is keeping the panel in place..........

[Ummon]

Ahh dunno. I can't find a good enough picture to see. I guess I'll have to pull it off. Also, I forgot to mention about the marquee lights: he said they were out and they didn't come on here. There are torx screws on the bottom and top moldings that retain the glass. A few minute job, should be.

[Crowquill]

Never saw the marquees before. Always thought the mouse was the thief and de cats were guarding the house. The cop-like mouse does not make sense! Oh and the americans really need Jean Paul Gaultier or someone alike to redesign those sherrif costumes  . Dutch cops have very nice outfits nowadays!

Mappy is part of the "Micro Police." Yet more Japanese weirdness from Namco. This is one of the few Namco games that made it to the US with the wacky Japanese artwork intact.

That's a pretty decent-looking cab. I'd definitely figure out what's up with the wood, though. Once you can get into the coin door you can feel up under the control panel and test Ray's theory. I'm guessing he's right, but you should be able to do something INSIDE the cab that would hold the CP in place and look much nicer.

[Ummon]

Oh. Yeah. I got the keys today but hadn't opened it up yet......except the coin door key came in two pieces. It was bent when I first checked out the cabinet, and given he's a mechanical dude who fixes up and sells cars, I thought he would've fixed it. Or maybe he tried to before he sent them to me and he broke it. So I have to try to get one made - or I guess order a namco key. Not a big deal right now because I have some quarters lying around. The important key was for the back panel, because I want to mess with the monitor.

[SirPeale]

Why don't you just drill the lock and be done with it?

Though if you pop that key end in the lock you should be able to at least turn it to get rid of it.

[Ummon]

I thought of all that. I'm probably the worst of the procrastinators on the smallest of things.

[RayB]

I thought of all that. I'm probably the worst of the procrastinators on the smallest of things.

Welcome to the club. I have a cocktail machine behind me that I've been prepping to sell since 2006.

[Ummon]

Hahhahaah. Yeah. Come to find out the back panel lock is missing the tumbler and the latch. Aiiiy. Of course the screws were holding it in, but I'd been waiting for NO-TING. Anyways, I finally got off the pot and moved everything around, played with the monitor, and set the cab against the wall next to my mame rig. I'm not walking around a monolith in the middle of my apartment, yay!

[SirPeale]

I thought of all that. I'm probably the worst of the procrastinators on the smallest of things.

Welcome to the club. I have a cocktail machine behind me that I've been prepping to sell since 2006.

Sounds familiar.

[Mauzy]

I thought of all that. I'm probably the worst of the procrastinators on the smallest of things.

Welcome to the club. I have a cocktail machine behind me that I've been prepping to sell since 2006.

Sounds familiar.

Ditto X 3. Mine needs a little bit of work still but I don't want to mess with trying to sell it and get most of my money back...

[orion]

That is a really nice score, you don't see that many Mappy machines around. My son loves that game, it seems to be a big hit with kids. Just curious are you planning a full restoration on this one?

[Ummon]

That is a really nice score, you don't see that many Mappy machines around. My son loves that game, it seems to be a big hit with kids. Just curious are you planning a full restoration on this one?

I'm not planning anything right now. I'm just holding on to it and occasionally playing it. I've never had one before so this is an exploration. I found many times I was going for the pause button. I'm so used to having Mame.

[orion]

That is a really nice score, you don't see that many Mappy machines around. My son loves that game, it seems to be a big hit with kids. Just curious are you planning a full restoration on this one?

I'm not planning anything right now. I'm just holding on to it and occasionally playing it. I've never had one before so this is an exploration. I found many times I was going for the pause button. I'm so used to having Mame.

I only own three cabs myself.  I started out wanting to make a Mame machine, but I could never find the right cab to Mame. I also am finding that I am having so much fun restoring old games that it might take me a good long while to ever get around to building a Mame rig. I'm also worried that I will never finish it as I always feel compelled to constantly tweak and upgrade things. With a restoration when I'm done, I'm done.... of course that's probably why if I'm not careful I could wind up with a house crammed full of games.  If you do restore it, be warned, you'll want to restore another one... and then another one...another one...infinity.

[Ummon]

The Mappy only needs cab art to be almost 100%.  If it needed more than that, I wouldn'tve bought it, not only because I don't have the resources to, but because I really want to build a custom cab for my mame rig. I don't mind tinkering here and there, but I more enjoy when things are just working. Then I can play them.

[orion]

The Mappy only needs cab art to be almost 100%.  If it needed more than that, I wouldn'tve bought it, not only because I don't have the resources to, but because I really want to build a custom cab for my mame rig. I don't mind tinkering here and there, but I more enjoy when things are just working. Then I can play them.

It does look close to 100% and I think you are a wise man to purchase a cab in such relative good condition. Do you know if the Mappy side art is readily available? The only reason I ask is because I know that there isn't any available for the cocktail table. I'm not sure about the stand up.

[Ummon]

I dunno. Been in mind but I haven't looked yet.

Note: I was including the CP overlay in the 'art' mentioning. It has the characteristic wear along the bend. It can also depend on what one means by 100%. If the definition of that means straight out from the factory, then it would be a little more - a few small spots filled, new T-molding, and a cap kit - but with new art and a litte more cleaning it would mostly look like a game in it's first six months of life.