New Restoration Projects (19APR ... MARIO IS BACK!)

[CheffoJeffo]

After 2 long months, I finally managed to make the trek to pick up my two new projects -- a Galaga and Super Mario Bros (originally a Donkey Kong).

Have about everything for the Galaga except a bezel and marquee, although I'm going to have to replace the kickplate and think I've decided to ditch the old power supply in favour of a switcher.

Never been much of a DK fan, so I'm thinking of going  with one of the "other" Mario games ... suggestions ?

Cheers.

[EDIT: Forgot to thank RayB for referring me to the seller]

[RayB]

Side views?
Is that really a Galaga or is it a Bosconian? Bosconian is rarer, no?

[CheffoJeffo]

Side views?

Coming soon ... I just managed to get them downstairs and out of the way of the kids, but didn't have the energy to haul them back out for a real lineup (4 cabinets downstairs in two days without help ... it's a good day for Advil and a Jacuzzi).

The DK/SMB is just black paint, but you can see the DK blue underneath.

The Galaga has sideart, but not in stellar shape (but better than any non-restoreds I've seen). The kickplate has some nasty damage and I don't think I'm going to waste time with wood strengthener or glue -- just gonna cut a new kickplate and get new kickplate artwork.

Is that really a Galaga or is it a Bosconian? Bosconian is rarer, no?

It is a Galaga - just with a sweet Bosconian marquee. Yeah, I think Bosconian is rarer.

If I didn't love Galaga so much (although I truly suck at it), I would consider making a Bosconian out of it just because the marquee looks so good. Actually, it would look pretty cool to have a Galaga and Bosconian side by side ... hmmm  ... this "hobby" just keeps feeding itself (and after seeing Terry's MultiWilliams, I want one ... so two new entries on the wishlist).

Cheers.

[AlanS17]

Have you tested out the Galaga board yet? Please tell me you've tried it and it works. I want to get some closure on that thing.

[Raven..]

Relating to your Super Mario Bros....I just got a Popeye, soon to be converted to Super Mario Bros.  Any interest in a Popeye kit?

[CheffoJeffo]

Have you tested out the Galaga board yet? Please tell me you've tried it and it works. I want to get some closure on that thing.

The board should be arriving (via parental courier) this weekend ... I don't currently have a monitor in the cabinet, but think I had a Galaga/JAMMA converter, so could drop it in my Multi cabinet.

Cheers & Thanks Again.

[CheffoJeffo]

Relating to your Super Mario Bros....I just got a Popeye, soon to be converted to Super Mario Bros.  Any interest in a Popeye kit?  Marquee, bezel, CP, everything.

Thanks, eyedoc, but my negotions with my games room manager (my five-year-old son) require a game that contains Mario in some form or another.

Cheers.

[tommy]

I'll take that NEO GEO next to the Nintendo cab.

[CheffoJeffo]

I'll take that NEO GEO next to the Nintendo cab.

When I went to my last auction, I decided to buy a NeoGeo just because it was my first auction and they've been fairly cheap here recently. IIRC, that auction had about 12 NGs of various flavours out of 150 lots ... prices from C$150 (1Slot) to C$450 (4Slot w/ good games)  ... that thing has turned out to get more play than anything else.

Oh ... and I can actually win the fighting games (I'm old school and more than four buttons confuses me ...)

Cheers.

[CheffoJeffo]

Here are the side pics and a look at the kickplate on the Galaga. The pics don't show this well, but the kickplate is swollen up to almost an inch thick ... needs to go.

Haven't done much other than put some old coin mechs into the Galaga and dive into my Button Box to find and clean up some decent buttons for these things (beats paying that guy on eBay $7 for three lousy Galaga buttons).

I do need to either fix or replace the Galaga joystick -- it seems to be missing a spring of one variety or another -- anybody got a pic of an original so I can seem what I'm missing ?

Cheers.

[CheffoJeffo]

Apologies for the bad flash ...

[MKChamp]

Just out of curiousity, what did you pay for the two cabs? And how much do you think it will take to get the galaga restored? I would love to have an original galaga machine.

[tommy]

Whats that blue Capcom cab in the back there, looks exactly like one of mine.

[CheffoJeffo]

Whats that blue Capcom cab in the back there, looks exactly like one of mine.

It was a Surf Planet, formerly Wrestlemania, formerly MK3, formerly SF of some flavour.

Sweet (but heavy) cabinet ... beautiful monitor and nice size CP.

Currently, it houses one of Clay's MultiJamma kits switching between MAME, Lethal Enforcers (or EggVenture, if I switch the boards), Surf Planet and GT2K. It is a prime example of how dangerous it is to get the cab working before doing the artwork.

Cheers.

[CheffoJeffo]

Just out of curiousity, what did you pay for the two cabs? And how much do you think it will take to get the galaga restored? I would love to have an original galaga machine.

The cab (including monitor, CP, power supply) was C$200 (this may seem a little high, but I'd been looking high and low for an authentic cabinet without success).

Add about another $150-250 for a tested, working board. Repro CPO was $25 or so (and I'm not thrilled with it ... solours are off).

Buttons come out of my big box of used buttons ($5 on eBay for about 200 buttons ... about 25% of them are worth saving). Figure $75 for PS conversion kit.

I have T-Molding, coin mechs and paint. Say $20-25 for new joystick (guessing at that one). $40 for new kickplate and kickplate art.

I'm afraid to add it up, but it should be under $600 and the PS conversion isn't really required, I just think it is a good idea looking at the existing PS. BUT, that's before the finishing stuff.

Marquee and bezel are going to be big ticket items for nice quality, but I can wait until I find them for a good price. Same with new sideart (although mine's not bad ... and if I just leave the machine between two other cabs ...).

I guess I can seen why these list for so much on eBay ...

Cheers.

[EDIT: I just realized that you asked about both cabs ... the DK/SMB was C$150 with everything but a game board]

[AlanS17]

Don't forget I've still got the full repro artwork set: marquee, sideart, CPO, kick panel. 

[CheffoJeffo]

Have you tested out the Galaga board yet? Please tell me you've tried it and it works. I want to get some closure on that thing.

The parental courier dropped the board off and it worked fine with the JAMMA converter ... Thanks Muchly!!!

Just need to get the monitor in the Galaga (but that won't be until the end of August now    ), add a switching power supply (see pic of original power supply below to see why) and get a replacement for the busted-up joystick.

Oh ... and then there's some cosmetic stuff like the kickplate ... better do that stuff first or it will end up like my MJ ... working, but unfinished.

Cheers.

[AlanS17]

The parental courier dropped the board off and it worked fine with the JAMMA converter ... Thanks Muchly!!!

Good! That's a load off my shoulders. Though, I must admit, I'm honestly sad to see it go...

Oh well. That's what my newest cocktail project is for!

[CheffoJeffo]

The parental courier dropped the board off and it worked fine with the JAMMA converter ... Thanks Muchly!!!

Good! That's a load off my shoulders. Though, I must admit, I'm honestly sad to see it go...

And, as it turns out, the guy I bought the cabinet from just put up a tested, working boardset on eBay ...

Cheers.

[CheffoJeffo]

Took the long weekend off and headed to the lake, so haven't made much progress.

Did a bit of work on the SMB -- cleaned the monitor (I can't believe the crud that was caked on there), glued and screwed the kickplate back onto the cabinet, cleaned up the CP (removed the gold spray paint that somebody thought was a good diea), installed new buttons, cleaned up the joystick and started filling in dents and dings in anticipation of priming and painting.

Found that the ground pin had broken off of the PCB connector for the control harness, so will have to either patch that up or put on a whole new connector.

I think I've decided to paint the SMB in DK Jr. Orange and Black and, eventually, put in a custom CPO ('coz I hate the black and red grid). For now, however, I decided to clean up the existing VS CPO, which turned out not too bad, considering.

Not a particularly exciting update, I know ...

Cheers.

[CheffoJeffo]

And, for good measure, a really boring picture of the kickplate being glued and screwed where it was seperating under the CP ... and the now really clean monitor ...

[rchadd]

i've got a repro galaga bezel if your interested

just posted it for sale on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6198677173

willing to ship worldwide

[CheffoJeffo]

Well, since it was a hot and sweaty day and I didn't feel like sanding ... and my new SMB board arrived in need of testing ... I decided to fix the ground wire on the control harness and install the board.

Mario Lives !

But he is partially blind (vertical deflection problem?) and deaf (turns out someone yanked the speaker out of the cab and I didn't notice). Coin switches are rather inconsistent and will need to be replaced.

I guess it is time to bite the bullet and learn about monitor repair (a subject I have been successful in avoiding until now).

But perhaps I will return to sanding and painting before tackling that chore.

Cheers.

[CheffoJeffo]

No pics today ... filling in dings and dents isn't all that interesting (he says, as if the stuff he has done so far is interesting).

Had a look at the coin mechs today and there are too many pieces missing / seized to make them worth cleaning up. So, I ordered a set of repros from Mike's Arcade. Also bought a new marquee as mine is completely faded out.

I hooked up a spare speaker and it seems that the audio amp is futzed, so I will be pulling the monitor to look at the vertical deflection AND audio issues (although I did notice that Mike's has replacements for more than the cost of my entire project so far).

More sanding and priming to come over the weekend.

Cheers.

EDIT: Oh yeah, cooked the Galaga CP to remove the parts of the old overlay that didn't peel off nicely (which was most of it). Did a reasonable job -- some sanding and it will be ready for the new overlay and buttons (still need to locate a joystick ... guess I could go with a microswitch repro ...)

[Raven..]

I hooked up a spare speaker and it seems that the audio amp is futzed, so I will be pulling the monitor to look at the vertical deflection AND audio issues (although I did notice that Mike's has replacements for more than the cost of my entire project so far).

Mine sound was shot, too.  I wired in an amp from a set of old computer speakers.  Works great, adn the volume control is much easier to get to now!

[CheffoJeffo]

Mine sound was shot, too.  I wired in an amp from a set of old computer speakers.  Works great, adn the volume control is much easier to get to now!

Good idea (especially since I'm not going back to original) ... thanks, EyeDoc.

Cheers.

[CheffoJeffo]

Haven't accomplished much on either project lately ... did disassemble the Galaga coin door to prep for paint, but that's about all the work I've done recently (been spending too much time getting my butt kicked in Metal Slug).

I did receive a new SMB marquee I found on eBay, as well as replacement coin slots from Mike's Arcade for the SMB.

Love the quality of the marquee and the coin slots are really smooth (if a little chintzy).

Cheers.

[CheffoJeffo]

Crappy update ... found original used Galaga joystick on eBay for US$11.50 ... also grabbed about about 25 ball stick shafts from same seller (image attached ... PM if you are looking for one for cost of shipping only  ...).

Also bought NOS Galaga kickplate art for US$49 (WAY more than I wanted to pay, but I was in the bush when the auction ended, so I set a high max bid). So, ended up over estimated kickplate budget before buying the wood for the kickplate (although I could just use the 3/4 ply I have sitting around).

Cheers

[CheffoJeffo]

Following up on the Galaga joystick ... turns out it was the wrong size for my CP ... but between the two sticks and my bag of handles, I managed to get two working sticks where before I had none.

While pulling the Galaga cabinet out, I found that the kickplate panel was crumbling away in my hand, so that is definitely getting replaced this week in anticipation of the NOS kickplate art. Pulled the kickplate molding off for some cleaning up.

Man, I have not accomplished anything in a while ... better get something done soon ... next auction is 01OCT and I promised no more new cabinets/projects until I get these two finished. 

Cheers.

[Wade]

I hate to tell you this now, but Arcade Renovations just had a sale on full Galaga twobits sideart and kickplate sets for $85.  I bought a set for a friend's Galaga I'm restoring.  I was really tempted to buy a set for myself, for future use, but decided to pass.  You might see if he has any left.

Wade

[CheffoJeffo]

I hate to tell you this now, but Arcade Renovations just had a sale on full Galaga twobits sideart and kickplate sets for $85.  I bought a set for a friend's Galaga I'm restoring.  I was really tempted to buy a set for myself, for future use, but decided to pass.  You might see if he has any left.

Wade

Thanks -- he does -- I was checking on the weekend ... that hurt to see after paying way too much for kickplate art.

Cheers.

[CheffoJeffo]

It has been a long time due to the intervention of RealLife(tm), but I finally gave in and ordered a bunch of power supply conversion kits from ArcadeShop. The box arrived today, so I decided to take the Galaga kit for a test spin (and try out the Happs Vision Pro, which has been sitting idle since January).

Easy kit to hook up ... tap the power and it is plug and play from there. I am missing the video harness, so I'll have to take a run down to A1 Electronics to pick up proper Molex connectors. So far the coin switches and P2 button are the only working controls, but that should be sorted out quickly. I also need to mount the monitor, but the only delay there has been motivation.

Galaga lives!

Cheers.

[CheffoJeffo]

Mounted the monitor and fixed the buttons today. Now have a fully-functional Galaga, although I need to replace the kickplate and get a bezel and marquee.

Galaga for the weekend!! 

Cheers

[CheffoJeffo]

At long last I got around to repainting VS-SMB and capping the monitor and audio boards. Capping the monitor and audio board was an absolute breeze, so now I have a full-height Mario with sound (about bloody time). No more "Dad, when is Mario going to have sound ?".

Now must finish up Galaga ... if I can find the parts I need ...

Cheers.

[SithMaster]

someone a little ways up mentioned he had a galaga bezel for sale.

[CheffoJeffo]

someone a little ways up mentioned he had a galaga bezel for sale.

Sadly that was in August (time flies!) when I thought I had a real glass bezel lined up locally ... unfortunately that didn't work out and rchadd sold his on eBay. I could always get one from TwoBits, but I think I'm going to wait somewhat patiently for one to come up.

Cheers.