The NEW Build Your Own Arcade Controls
Arcade Collecting => Miscellaneous Arcade Talk => Topic started by: shardian on June 11, 2007, 11:45:54 am
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Every Friday, me and some coworkers go out to lunch. Sometimes we go on a route that takes us by a house that has a Ms. pac upright sitting on the porch. It is my opinion that it is just sitting there gathering dust/ moisture. Would it be acceptable of me to stop by there one day and ask them about it/ make an offer? My dream outcome would be "That old thing? It is a hunk of junk and if you want it, you are welcome to it." ;D
Maybe you guys can embolden me.
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Sure, go ahead. Don't be too surprised if they think it's worth a grand, though. If you're nervous you could try leaving a note in their mailbox.
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I wouldn't hesitate to ask. The worst they can say is no or ask too much for it. If you don't ask, and somebody else does, you might miss out on a big score.
I say that mostly because I'm dying to find a Ms. Pac-Man. If you get it, please don't rub it in my face too bad.
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DEFINITELY ask.. And I would simply say "I drive by here all the time and see it- it reminds me of my days as a kid" and go from there.. If you show pride in the era, it may help the deal.
Keep us posted, and also send us the route # it's on lol.
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Absolutely ask. Worst thing they can say is 'no.'
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Absolutely ask. Worst thing they can say is 'no.'
Actually, the worst thing that could happen is that they come out on the porch with a shotgun pointed at me. I live in West Virginia you know. ;D
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If you live in WV, then they prob think Ms Pac just came out :laugh2:
(I live in MD so I can get away w/saying that)
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Absolutely ask. Worst thing they can say is 'no.'
Actually, the worst thing that could happen is that they come out on the porch with a shotgun pointed at me. I live in West Virginia you know. ;D
Actually the worst thing that they could say is:
"Boy you sure got a purdy mouth..."
Just make sure there ain't no kid sittin' on the porch pickin' on a banjo ;D
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Any updates on this Sharidan? Hopefully you're not lying dead somewhere in a puddle of your own blood and pi$$..
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Any updates on this Sharidan? Hopefully you're not lying dead somewhere in a puddle of your own blood and pi$$..
It may be a few weeks before I do anything with it. It has been sitting there for a while now, so I don't think it is going anywhere. I will definitely make sure to post on here before I ask about it, just in case I disappear. ;D
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I'm sure the rain and humidity are doing wonders for it.. :hissy:
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If it's under a porch overhang it will be just fine. It's made of plywood.
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It is on a porch well under the roof.
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And what was that route # again? I'll be in VA next week.. :D That's pretty close to WV.
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And what was that route # again? I'll be in VA next week.. :D That's pretty close to WV.
No, not really. The very western tip of VA is like 3 hours away from here, and any other part of Virginia is just farther away than that.
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I smell bird. The henhouse kind.
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It is on a porch well under the roof.
Next to the kid playin' a banjo???
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Absolutely ask. Worst thing they can say is 'no.'
Actually, the worst thing that could happen is that they come out on the porch with a shotgun pointed at me. I live in West Virginia you know. ;D
"Take me home, country road, to the place I belong, West Virgina....." and here I am in Europe thinking WV is such a sweet and nice area where time stood still and everyone is welcome :D
Buy a bullet-proof vest and go for it :D
I would risk my life for a Ms. that needs to be resqued ;)
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It is on a porch well under the roof.
Next to the kid playin' a banjo???
Nah, but there is some weird kid that keeps screaming "PANCAKES!!PANCAKES!!" ;D
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So when are you going to ask him?? I wanna know what happens.
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I might on Saturday, as I'll be working that morning. If not then, then it might be a week or two. Maybe never since if I come to my senses and realize I already have a project pacman cocktail at home. Personally I've always preferred the cocktail pacmans to the upright model.
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Oh, you gotta ask him. He might just let you have it for next to nothing! Or he'll just say 'no, i'm keeping it'. That's it. It might be awkward for a second, but you'll never see the guy again, so who cares? He must not care that much about it if he's not even storing it in the house.
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Excuses. I definitely smell bird.
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Excuses. I definitely smell bird.
I keep trying to come up with a response to you, but can never quite seem to get down to your level...
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Ask! What are you waiting for! It's not like it's a DATE or something!!! :cheers:
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This one is dead. With the Pepsi machine, my garage is officially closed to ANY new projects.
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Bummer. Hopefully somebody picks it up and gets it running.
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My wife will kick me out if I bring anything else home that isn't for HER..
And she don't play Ms Pac Man.. :(
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My wife will kick me out if I bring anything else home that isn't for HER..
So get her a pin. Take the heat for it being a crappy gift. You get a pin.
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... yeah and while you're at it, buy her a bowling ball with your name inscribed on it.
::)
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Compromise. Buy her a bowling machine.
That was a joke, Ray. Make with the ha, possibly with a second ha.
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Any Simpsons reference has an inherent Ha factor.
;D
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I know where these game is, and I also haven't talked to them to make an offer to "keep the peace" at home. Shardian is just envious because I picked up a spur of the moment Donkey Kong Jr for $50 a couple of weeks ago. :) There are a half dozen games sitting in my garage waiting to go down to my basement gameroom, so I might talk to the owners of the MsPac, but it'll be a while...
If anyone wants it, I'll sell the information. ;)
Wade
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If anyone wants it, I'll sell the information. ;)
Oh no you didn't... :laugh2:
Note to everyone - I will undercut any price Wade gives! ;D
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I just need the general X-Y coords, Wade.. a house with a Ms Pac on the front porch can't be too hard to find in WV :D
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They might not even mind if you happen to take it home for a test run without them knowing it. ;D :laugh2:
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come on at least go ask them and post the info here :) ... this way we'll at least KNOW what's the status
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So, if you can't rescue the Ms. Pac, she'll have to just sit an rot?
You selfish animal!!! :P
Give up the address...where's your humanity? ;D
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Give up the address...where's your humanity? ;D
Ok, here you go:
Out Tyler Mountain Holler
Cross Lanes, WV
Look for two cars on blocks and a Ms. Pac sitting on the porch next to a large pile of crap
Hope that helps! :laugh2: :laugh2:
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Ok guys, do I buy a non-working Ms. Pac-Man for $350 or a working Ms. Pac-Man for $600 (I think I can get it for $500)? The non-working machine has been for sale for a couple of months and the seller claims it's only a "blown fuse." The $600 cab works flawlessly.
Ugh...
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It's not a blown fuse. It never is, fuses don't blow that often without cause.
It could be something just as simple but every time you hear "blown fuse" you can translate it to either "I don't know the cause" or "I don't think you know what you're doing".
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If there is indeed a blown fuse, ask him to pull it and get the info. Take a new fuse with you and try it out. Like Chad said though, either the guy knows what's wrong, or he has no clue how the machine even works. That answer can lean either way.
Of course, you never know - maybe the cut-out switch is turned like that other guy posted a few weeks ago. ;D
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The kill switch is definitely a more common "two second fix" death than a blown fuse. As is a loose power connector. I've seen plenty of cabs that "died when we moved it" just because something came loose and the people were too scared to even open the back.
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He claims the fuse was blown by his kids flipping the machine on and off too often. While I know kids tend to screw around with things, I'm still a tad sketchy on his reasoning. If I can get the other machine at $500 it might be worth the piece of mind to pay the extra. I'm not afraid to poke around in a machine or anything, but I don't want to start testing stuff out only to find a dead board or something like that.
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$350 is too much for a nondiagnosed Ms Pac. If you can get to it and narrow down the cause to a reasonable probability, then you have a starting point. For now you have to assume it's really dead and requires real board work.
If it were really a fifty cent fuse he'd replace it himself and double the asking price.
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Chad is correct. You can bet it isn't a fuse, he'd replace it himself and sell it for even more. I just bought a complete $100 Ms. Pac., owner said "needs a new monitor". Got it home, monitor works great....the board was bad.
People will minimize to maximize.
Still, I ain't complaining at a $100 Ms. Pac (working or not), but paying hundreds of dollars for a non-working Ms. Pac is a really, really bad idea.
Take the working one.
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He claims the fuse was blown by his kids flipping the machine on and off too often. While I know kids tend to screw around with things, I'm still a tad sketchy on his reasoning. If I can get the other machine at $500 it might be worth the piece of mind to pay the extra. I'm not afraid to poke around in a machine or anything, but I don't want to start testing stuff out only to find a dead board or something like that.
I'm not sure about Ms.Pac Man, but my Galaxian has the power switch all the way on top of the cab. Kids with the age to flick switches like that can't reach it.
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Just bring the fuses with you, tell the guy you'd like to look at the machine, and if it really is just a blown fuse, you'll buy it. Get there and test the fuses and replace the blown one(s) and see what happens.
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Well I found out a bit more about the more expensive machine and now I'm really excited. The owner is an old lady that's had it in here home for a LONG time and it works perfectly (according to her). Apparently it was her son's machine and it's been there since he left for college back in the late 80s. I'm going out to look at it tonight and bringing my Yukon and a lifting buddy just in case.
Hopefully this turns into one of those cool stories that you always hear about when somebody stumbles into a classic with just a couple hundred plays in mint condition. That's probably not the case, but I'm sure hoping it is.
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Good luck! I hope everything works out for you. If it does turn out to be in great shape, post some pics so we can all be jealous!
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Ok guys, do I buy a non-working Ms. Pac-Man for $350 or a working Ms. Pac-Man for $600 (I think I can get it for $500)? The non-working machine has been for sale for a couple of months and the seller claims it's only a "blown fuse." The $600 cab works flawlessly.
Ugh...
Anybody who doesn't replace a $0.10 fuse to make an additional couple of hundred bucks is a moron, so you pretty much have to discount anything they say (having said that, my Asteroids is perhaps the one purchase that I know of where the problem actually WAS a fuse ... silly op didn't check the schematics and used the wrong fuse).
Check the schematics and take appropriate fuses with you.
EDIT: Too late ... 2PacMan beat me to it and I didn't read far enough down the thread. :banghead:
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See, I'm on the other side of the coin. I'd buy the cheaper one assuming the cabinet is in good shape. Because I'd fix the boards.
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Jeff, you've been jonesing for a Ms Pac.. you don't want your dream to crash and burn.. spend the couple extra bucks and get the running one. You'll be glad you did!
VG
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Here it is! I'll probably make a new thread as I have a handful of questions, but for now I thought I'd show it off.
I ended up scoring it for $400, and boy was it a steal in my mind! This this looks GREAT! I'm not going to have to do much to get it looking close to new again. Those marks should come right off with a magic eraser and some effort. The paint looks better than any other I've seen in person. Sorry, the camera flash washes out some colors...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/jar155/BYOAC/DSC02073.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/jar155/BYOAC/DSC02074.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/jar155/BYOAC/DSC02075.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/jar155/BYOAC/DSC02076.jpg)
Boy, I sure look like a dork there. I can't wait until these are in my new game room next week!
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Congrats! Hey, isn't that T-molding supposed to be blue?
And what do you mean "THESE"? Did you get the DK as well?
VG
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Yeah, that's pretty good for $400 working.
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Nice! That's a sweet coupla machines you got.
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OK everyone, I went and checked out A Ms. Pacman on Saturday. Not the one originally mentioned though ;D. I had a rummage sale Saturday and set out my Top Gunner to play and see if by some stroke of luck a sucker would come along and buy it for $250. (Side note, I STILL can't beat that damn game! Once you get to the final section, it doesn't let you continue, and it is damn impossible to get thru there unscathed. :angry:) ;) Anyways, this one guy stops by and we chat for a while and he mentions someone down at the flea market has a Ms. Pac sitting in a trailer off the beaten path. I figure it is worth a look so I head on down there. I find the machine and it is a total POS on first look. Painted black, beat up, CPO stripped of CP, but the marquee and bezel were nice at least, oh and it was a Rally-X cab, not a Ms. pac. I asked the lady about it and she said it worked and she could plug it in. I asked her what she was wanting out of it and she said $600!!!!! I said nah and walked around for a while. I came back in a bit to ask them to go ahead and plug it in. I figured I could at least take some pics so I could make fun of it later. ;D When they plugged it in, it appeared to be resetting itsself right after testing over and over. The screen was blotchy while it was on for a few seconds. I figured it may be the heat (It was near 100 and it was sitting in a trailer all day) so I told the guy to take the back off and it may work. Guess what, he didn't have the key. :laugh2: After we pulled it out of the trailer and left the coin door open for a bit, it did get at least 2 or 3 seconds into the title screen - enough for me to see it was a bootleg Super Pac Gal. At that point I was getting ready to walk away, and the guy asked me if I would still be interested in the current condition. I couldn't resist giving the guy a reality check, so I told him in the shape it was with possibly bad power supply/boards, I could only give him $50, $100 Tops. He said he appreciated the offer, but originally paid $800 for it! I think he was full of ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- myself. He had told me he bought it and 3 others (DK and 2 racing games), to fill up a spare bedroom for their son and now the son doesn't play them. So lets see...$800x4=$3200...yeah, riiiight. I figure he paid $800 for all four and was trying to rip someone off on the Ms. Pac to recoup fundage.
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So, he passed on your offer?
Thinking he could score more than 100 bucks from some unknowing victim prolly.
Geezzz....some people. :censored:
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What's wrong with the guy sticking to his price? Face it - if it was in decent shape, $100 was a low offer. Not a terrible one but it's not like sharidan waved full market value in the guy's face.
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I ended up scoring it for $400, and boy was it a steal in my mind! This this looks GREAT! I'm not going to have to do much to get it looking close to new again. Those marks should come right off with a magic eraser and some effort. The paint looks better than any other I've seen in person. Sorry, the camera flash washes out some colors...
My God... $400 :o What Am I not living in USA ? :hissy: Almost impossible to found a Ms PacMan here, in europe :'(
Anyway, congrats Jeff :cheers:
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I ended up scoring it for $400, and boy was it a steal in my mind! This this looks GREAT! I'm not going to have to do much to get it looking close to new again. Those marks should come right off with a magic eraser and some effort. The paint looks better than any other I've seen in person. Sorry, the camera flash washes out some colors...
My God... $400 :o What Am I not living in USA ? :hissy: Almost impossible to found a Ms PacMan here, in europe :'(
Anyway, congrats Jeff :cheers:
theres one on ebay uk at the mo but ive spoken top the border guards to stop you from coming to the uk and taking the good cabs home with you :D
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I ended up scoring it for $400, and boy was it a steal in my mind! This this looks GREAT! I'm not going to have to do much to get it looking close to new again. Those marks should come right off with a magic eraser and some effort. The paint looks better than any other I've seen in person. Sorry, the camera flash washes out some colors...
My God... $400 :o What Am I not living in USA ? :hissy: Almost impossible to found a Ms PacMan here, in europe :'(
Anyway, congrats Jeff :cheers: Whay
theres one on ebay uk at the mo but ive spoken top the border guards to stop you from coming to the uk and taking the good cabs home with you :D
LOL :cheers: I know... I watch that cab since last week... the auction ended this morning with no bid... £400 is too much money for it...
UK ... land of freedom ... Punks ... Red Bus ... and very expensive arcade games :cry:
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What's wrong with the guy sticking to his price? Face it - if it was in decent shape, $100 was a low offer. Not a terrible one but it's not like sharidan waved full market value in the guy's face.
The thing was a POS. trust me, $100 was a fair offer. Here is a pic of it now that I figured out how to get my new phone to interface with the pc.
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Yeah that's a $100 cab.
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Heh, I can still see the Rally-X sticker circle. I swear, the only thing that covers that up is another Rally-X sticker.
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Does your ms pacman look like this though? http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/for/386489158.html
Now that is a good deal.
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That looks like it has a TV Games ms pac in it.
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Does your ms pacman look like this though? http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/for/386489158.html
Now that is a good deal.
Those are cool little cabinets for games. Wade has made a kick ass simpsons out of one, and he has another sitting around awaiting a game that I've tried to talk him out of before ;).
http://usergallery.myhomegameroom.com/gallery/album187
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Yeah, $350 is too much for a dead MsPac, but $400 for a better than average example like that one is a pretty good deal.
Shardian isn't kidding about the location of that MsPac! My digital camera has a 12X zoom, maybe I should go snap some pics of it from the road to see how it looks (I've never tried to look closely), and prove we aren't BS'ing about the whole thing. ;)
That mini on craigslist is slightly different than mine. Sometimes I forget I have the empty one because its in a room in my house I only go into occasionally. Since I have most of the parts needed to make a game out of it, I look forward to building it up eventually, but right now there are just toooo many things ahead in line. :( I might do it like the Simpsons but put Simpsons art on one side and TMNT art on the other side, and a button to switch between the 2 games.
I'm no longer willing to spend much more than $100 for just about any MsPac, because they INEVITABLY pop up somewhere for next to nothing. Most people I know with a MsPac or Pac spent about $100 or less, and some of them are very nice examples! Remember, it's one of the most popular games of all time, so it's just a matter of time before another one comes along. This is a far cry from my attitude about 5 years ago, when I would spend a LOT more for a game in poor condition, because I was just starting a collection.
Wade
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Not to mention that is actually a Pac-man cabinet - look at the angle of the curve.
The thing was a POS. trust me, $100 was a fair offer. Here is a pic of it now that I figured out how to get my new phone to interface with the pc.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=67672.0;attach=80987;image)
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Not to mention that is actually a Pac-man cabinet - look at the angle of the curve.
The thing was a POS. trust me, $100 was a fair offer. Here is a pic of it now that I figured out how to get my new phone to interface with the pc.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=67672.0;attach=80987;image)
Duh. You are right. The sticker threw me off. :P
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Well, to be exact, it's actually a Rally-X...not a Pac-Man. ;)
It's still a good cab for something like a Multi-Pac if Pac-Man isn't your thing.
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Well, to be exact, it's actually a Rally-X...not a Pac-Man. ;)
It's still a good cab for something like a Multi-Pac if Pac-Man isn't your thing.
Nah, it is definitely a Pac-man. The coindoor is wrong for Rally-x - it is a pacman coindoor. The control panel is an unhacked pacman control panel, probably original. And the sticker is oval, not round like a Rally-x. Lastly, that was definitely Yellow paint showing thru the black here and there, not peach.
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Yeah, that's definitely oval. I thought the image was making the circle looked stretched. I figured it was a poor Rally-X to Pac-Man job, but I can see that you're right on that one.
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For all of you dying to know, I stopped by and looked at the Ms. Pac. Unfortunately no one was home. And yes, I am still alive and unharmed. :laugh2:
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Yes, the door is Midway circa 1980-1981+. Omega Race has the same exact door (Pacman as well). Ms. Pacman has a different Midway logo on it.
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Ok I stopped by again after work and still noone was home. However, I did take some pictures, as the CPO was really bothering me. Refer to the picture below: has anyone else ever seen that CPO before? I haven't.
Other than that, the cabinet is in pretty good cosmetic shape. I have no clue about the insides.
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Willis aftermarket overlay.
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Willis aftermarket overlay.
Really. So would Namco own the rights to something like this?
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Willis aftermarket overlay.
Really. So would Namco own the rights to something like this?
No of course not. Overlays wore down with time. Operators, wanting to keep their machines in good shape could either order an official replacement from Midway or a CHEAPER alternate style overlay from the Willis company. I don't understand your question.
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What I'm getting at is would our artwork vendors print this sort of pacman art. As it is now, they won't touch anything pacman related.
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What I'm getting at is would our artwork vendors print this sort of pacman art. As it is now, they won't touch anything pacman related.
They SHOULD. The ONLY shape in that design they can argue against is the yellow pacman, but you could argue back that no one owns the rights to a pie chart. ;D
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Hey shardian,
I don't think I'd call it "good" cosmetic shape, it may be a "solid" cabinet but that pink is faded big time on both the cabinet and marquee!! $100 for that game would be a generous offer IMO. If I had it I'd have to turn it into a Galaga because it'd be so much easier and cheaper than trying to make it a nice MsPac. That's really cool that you actually tried to contact them and snapped some pics. :)
Willis made all kinds of replacement art in the 80's, I'm kinda surprised you don't know all about this already. Usually they are uglier and cheesier than the factory stuff, but there are two CP's that I kinda like better. The Jungle Hunt/King overlay is pretty cool, and the Centipede is definitely cool. A LOT of the other ones are just butt ugly.
Wade
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Ok I stopped by again after work and still noone was home. However, I did take some pictures, as the CPO was really bothering me. Refer to the picture below: has anyone else ever seen that CPO before? I haven't.
Other than that, the cabinet is in pretty good cosmetic shape. I have no clue about the insides.
Ok, so today the man came to house again. I looked out the window and it was the same nutjob snooping around. I wonder what his intentions are. Today he even started taking pictures...I'm starting to think that maybe this guy wants something from me....should I be scared?
Anyways....I was able to catch a glimpse of him and this is a close sketch:(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/avatars/user/avatar_10093.gif)
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Hey shardian,
I don't think I'd call it "good" cosmetic shape, it may be a "solid" cabinet but that pink is faded big time on both the cabinet and marquee!! $100 for that game would be a generous offer IMO. If I had it I'd have to turn it into a Galaga because it'd be so much easier and cheaper than trying to make it a nice MsPac. That's really cool that you actually tried to contact them and snapped some pics. :)
Wade
Compared to the Ms. Pacs I've seen in the wild, this one is in very nice shape. Definitely worthy of my game area. Hell, it would look downrightnew next to my motley collection. :) But you are right,$100 is as high as I would go. I'mmore hoping for a "load it yourself and its free" deal. Oh, and I have officially called dibs. :laugh2:
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ROTFL WunderCade!!