Is $200 a reasonable price for a beat up Popeye?

[isucamper]

I'm considering getting a Popeye.  It appears to be complete with pcb, monitor, bezel, marquee, coin door, coin box, back cover (anything else I should be looking for?) but its not in the best shape.  If I got it, it'd be my first big restore job.  The sides need repainting and the artwork would need to be replaced.  The tmolding would need to be replaced and there's a section of it missing on the front where a sloppy caulk job was done to fill it in.  The whole cabinet is holding together but a little wobbly.
Also, I played it for about 5 minutes and for about 15 seconds, the graphics kind of wigged out and there was lines through everything.  I don't know if this is a sign of a board problem or what.

On the plus side, the control panel is in good shape.  It could probably use a new plexi cover, but the art and controls are fine.  Also, the monitor is very bright with no burn in. 

Is this thing worth it for 200 bucks?  I do enjoy the game and have been wanting a Nintendo cab, but for the money and how much it would cost to restore, I could probably buy a fully restored one if I could find one close by me. 

[HaRuMaN]

I'd offer less...  see if he'll take $150 based on your description of the cabinet.

[TheShanMan]

I'd tend to say less as well, but it depends on where you are. How plentiful are they? How long are you willing to wait for one? The value to you is determined by you.

BTW, the sides aren't painted. It's vinyl.

[SirPeale]

Ugh...on your description, I'd offer to haul it away.  Definitely not worth $200.

[RayB]

$50 - $100

You should list every fault you mentioned to the seller when making this offer.

[isucamper]

BTW, the sides aren't painted. It's vinyl.

Is that the case for all Nintendo cabs?  With vinyl, can you get the artwork off cleanly and restore it?  Here's a picture.  Pretty small, you can see the crappy caulk job by the control panel.

I'm still kind of interested because it's rare for cabinets to be anywhere near me and this one is just 15 minutes from my house.

[Dartful Dodger]

The value to you is determined by you.

Agreed.

Unless you're just buying it to make a profit on eBay, if you need to ask complete strangers if it's worth it, then the answer is no.

[isucamper]

if you need to ask complete strangers if it's worth it, then the answer is no.

I was asking objectively, the cab being complete.  I know people struggle to find coin doors and boxes for these Nintendo cabs, but the price felt a little high to me and I wanted to see what the expert's opinions were.  Sorry if this lies outside the scope of this forum. 

Also, these guys aren't complete strangers to me

[AlexC]

$200 for a working Nintendo cabinet is worth it in my opinion as long as the monitor does not have heavy burn in.   

[fixedpigs]

haha...i just saw this on craigslist tonight...it looks like it's in cedar rapids...
are you in ames...?
 

[isucamper]

haha...i just saw this on craigslist tonight...it looks like it's in cedar rapids...
are you in ames...?
 

nope, i'm only 20 minutes from him, used to live in ames though, hence the name

[Dartful Dodger]

Sorry if this lies outside the scope of this forum. 

Also, these guys aren't complete strangers to me

It's not out of scope and I was answering your question. If it was worth $200 to you to own a Popeye cab you wouldn't have to ask anyone (unless you were married).

This is not a cheap hobby, most of us have spent a lot of time and money on our cabs, not because of what they'll be worth to collectors in 20 years, but because of what they are worth to us now.

$200 is to much to spend on a game the size of a refrigerator that can be played on your cell phone, but for a happy memory of your youth it's a great deal.

[isucamper]

$200 is to much to spend on a game the size of a refrigerator that can be played on your cell phone, but for a happy memory of your youth it's a great deal.

That's like saying $50,000 dollars is too much to spend on a picture of a ming vase. 

But I get what your saying.

[Level42]

I wouldn't doubt a second about paying that sum of money for a Nintendo cab. But this is Europe where they are rare. Plus I love Popeye.

The vinyl can be replaced with this:
http://www.thisoldgame.com/products/donkey-kong-blue-vinyl-kit

[Spyridon]

Probably a bit high for the condition, but I wouldn't have a problem paying that price.  I've happily paid more for games that are local.  In the end, I'm not looking to flip them so if a game I want comes up locally, I'll pay a good price for it.

[isucamper]

I wouldn't doubt a second about paying that sum of money for a Nintendo cab. But this is Europe where they are rare. Plus I love Popeye.

The vinyl can be replaced with this:
http://www.thisoldgame.com/products/donkey-kong-blue-vinyl-kit

Good.  Cause I bought it!  Offered him 150 and he let me have it.  For those of you wondering, a Nintendo cabinet will just barely fit in the back of a Ford Focus wagon (if you put it on its side).  

Structurally it's much better off than what I was expecting.  I'll put up some pictures tonight.  It's all locked up though, I need to find some k6510 keys for it.  Can't wait to start restoring it but I might not get to it this year.  

Question 1:  Getting it home and playing it, the graphics seem permanantly wigged out.  Lines through all the sprites as they move around.  This happened while I was play testing it at his house, but only for a few seconds.  It does not seem to go away now.  Hopefully a loose connection somewhere?  Or a sign of a deeper board problem?

Question 2:  On most of the Nintendo restore threads on here, people sand down the sides and paint.  This seems doable to me, but would it be easier to replace the vinyl?  I can't find any examples of people doing this.  I had great results spraying my scratch build.  

Question 3:  I checked the model number of this cabinet, and it is indeed an original Popeye, despite finding a heavily water damaged VS Super Mario Bros. marquee behind the coin box.  Is Popeye the same color of blue as Donkey Kong?

[Level42]

First of all, insert major jealousy here, a cab like that will easily fetch 400 Euro over here. (That's about $560). Congrats !

Q1: Try re-seating the ROMs. I think there's a good chance of a loose ROM or a bad contact.
Q2: With paint you will never get the exact original "look & feel" of the original vinyl. If the side-art damaged and you need to replace that, I would definitely go with vinyl. Ever since I put some new vinyl on my SW cockpit I love the result.It is also VERY easy to do (although a full side may be a little bit harder, but the basic way to do it stays the same). Here's a video how I did it:

I do have to say I'm not much of a painter and I don't have a room to do spray-painting, nor the proper tools to do it right, so this may bias my opinion a bit, but I think even if I did have all that, I'd still go for the vinyl to get the original look.
Q3: AFAIK, yes.

[isucamper]

Thanks for the much needed info!  I'll definitely be looking into replacing the vinyl.  Great video!

[TheShanMan]

See the 3 part blog Rich from ThisOldGame did on applying vinyl:

http://www.coinopspace.com/profiles/blogs/vinyling-a-cab-101part-1

[isucamper]

See the 3 part blog Rich from ThisOldGame did on applying vinyl:

http://www.coinopspace.com/profiles/blogs/vinyling-a-cab-101part-1

Started a restore thread.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=99886.0

Shan, thanks for the link.  Applying the vinyl looks just like the type of job that I'd royally 'F up.  I'll keep it in mind though.  Is there any way to strip off the existing vinyl or do I just sand it down, patch it, and use paint primer to prep the surface? 

[Havok]

A couple cabs I've just scuffed the vinyl with sandpaper to give the paint a surface to adhere to and painted with a foam roller. Came out pretty nice. If you want the best look, you're going to want to do three coats or so wet sanding with a finer grit in between painting. To get the best look that is the most durable, vinyl really is the way to go. Plus, it's a one shot deal and once it's on, it's done...

[TheShanMan]

BTW, the sides aren't painted. It's vinyl.

I stand corrected, as pointed out by Rich in his blog. Not vinyl but laminate. But vinyl is commonly used for restoration of these.

[Havok]

BTW, the sides aren't painted. It's vinyl.

I stand corrected, as pointed out by Rich in his blog. Not vinyl but laminate. But vinyl is commonly used for restoration of these.

That's right - weird how I was thinking laminate when you said vinyl. However, the same applies; laminate is much more durable and once it's on, and then it's done. Big difference is in cost. Obviously it's more expensive than a can of paint.

[isucamper]

Ah.  That clears up a bit of confusion.  The sides of my Popeye are quite chipped away, and it really didn't seem like vinyl.

Ok, assuming its laminate, is there anyway to strip it off?  Or do I just sand it down and put primer over it? 

[Havok]

Heat gun and a putty knife is probably the best method, and follow up with lacquer thinner to get the excess glue off.