Finally picked up a Tomahawk 777
Summer of last year I finally picked up a DECO Tomahawk 777. I’ve always loved the uncanny color on this cabinet, wanted to share a couple of photos of the game as well as the small amount of restoration type work I did on it before setting it up in the game room.
Tomahawk 777 surfaced through… Facebook
When I first started writing on this site about a Tomahawk 777, I had hoped one might surface via this website. While that never happened, 10 years after I had started some light hunting to find one the game surfaced on Fakebook in the Kansas City, MO area.
I was sitting at a Detroit Tigers game with my family when I saw the post on FB – the timing isn’t always what you expect!
A bit of history
Here is bit of speculative history on this game via Keith Smith an his great website The Golden Age Arcade Historian, that he pulled from information in old RePlay, Play Meter and Vending Times magazines. It was referred to as just ‘Tomahawk’ from June->August 1980 and was positioned as Data East’s ‘second’ offering on American shores (after Astro Fighter). Articles then started to show up for Electro-Sport’s Tomahawk Missile from November 1980 – February 1981, which was a version of the same game licensed from Data East.
It’s possible that the game wasn’t distributed in the US by Data East for very long.
Photos of the game
I shipped the game using Fastenal from Kansas City to Indianapolis.
To my great to delight, it was already in working condition and arrived with no issues during shipping. All that was needed was some light cosmetic work.
A photo showing the game working prior to shipping. . Note the rust on the control panel, which is very common pattern rust on these Data East games.
Game is wrapped up and ready to ship from Kansas City, MO to Indianapolis, IN using Fastenal.Light Restoration Work
When the game arrived, I did the following:
* Power coated the control panel and marquee brackets
* Cleaned the entire cab
* Cleaned the inside
* Patched and re-glued the base where the wood was separating
* Patched the back of the cabinet
* Repainted the back of the cabinet
I like a bit of patina on my cabinets, completely subjective what I do or don’t fix. For example, I would prefer to have the weathered original blue on the coin door with some rust / scratches instead of a fresh powder coat.
Gluing back together parts of the base where the wood had separated
Wood hardener and then patching the backboard of the base before painting
The back of the cabinet freshly painted
Front detail again, this time with the newly powder coated panel
Here is the finished game sitting in my basement next to another gorgeous game – a Taito Space Chaser.That’s really it, the photos of the game are one of the most interesting parts.
I’m keeping an eye out for the other version of this cabinet. If you have one and are looking to sell, please contact me.
Here are some similar arcade posts
- Tomahawk 777 pops up in Fort Washington, MD
- How To: Removing Nintendo bezel retainer brackets
- Sanding Pac-man cabinet, wiring Mr. Do!
- Pacman arcade game restoration – Part 1
- DECO The Tower Artwork – That got away
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Comments
Thanks Charlie. Also, I thought you might like to see the wood that was re-used for that base. Hope you are able to work the gentleman who has two Tomahawks in some way.
Yes, they were not letting any plywood scraps go to waste.
Any sign of a serial #? I’d guess the reused space fighter wood means this design is newer. My space fighter one is #320975
So, the serial number on the plate for this cab is #321148, but if you’re asking if there is serial information on the scraps under the base – I’ll have to check sometime soon.
No, that’s what I was wondering. Just trying to get a sense for how many were made total. Looks like at least 173 cabs made between the time they made mine and this new style.
I also see 320827 was sold here…
https://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=453377&highlight=tomahawk+777
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April 30, 2020
Looks great. Interesting how the opposite side of the plywood has the Saturn Space Fighter 3D graphics.