Arcade Miscellaneous
Patriots / Tom Brady De-Motivational Posters Super Bowl 2008
Here are a couple of great “De-Motivational” posters that were sent to me concerning Tom Brady and Bill Belichick of the Patriots. Take Note – The language in the first one is not exactly clean. But it’s still funny. It’s not always the best argument to demoralize someone else using your own improper english, but that adds to the fun:)
I don’t know where they came from, but you have to believe that someone generated them using this de-motivational poster creating website (Despair, Inc.com). They’re called “Epiphany” and “Karma”. Enjoy. Brady and Belichick deserve it.
Any quarterback that plays successfully for Belichick-the jerk must adopt some of his mantras, “Win at all costs” and “Stomp off the field when you don’t”. Oh yeah, and “When no one is looking, videotape your opponent”. The main point not being that they are sore losers, but that their both Belichick’s and Brady’s integrity has been called into question as well as their whole season because of the prohibited choices Bill made.
I have larger versions of these de-motivational super bowl posters. If you want a copy email me through the website. I am no longer emailing these to people, thanks for looking.
Tremendous Collection / Photos of Reproduction and NOS arcade artwork
Brendon Zeilder’s collection of reproduction and new old stock arcade artwork is staggering. Brendon was the catalyst in getting the Super Punch Out Decals reproduced. He found me first, I don’t remember how, maybe he knew I had developed the Professor Pac-man control panel overlay (Come to find out he was one of the buyer’s). Even though we didn’t work together on the Super Punch Out sideart decal, I still followed the production updates in the Klov threads online.
The decals are finished, and a photo was referenced in Brendon’s online webshots album. Little did I know it was in a album with rich detail and information of other pieces of arcade artwork. I was blown away, take a look at some of these screens.
He has one album for New in Box / Home Use Only machines, and one gallery just for his NOS and Reproduction Artwork collection. In the NIB and HUO arcade machines album he has photos of a Dragon’s Lair, Elevator Action, Pac-Land, Paperboy, APB. Some pretty nice machines that were probably time and cost intensive to aquire. But the repro artwork album is what will blow you away. From less popular items like APB NOS artwork, to Zookeeper, Food Fight, and Professor Pac-man control panel overlay’s and beyond, Brendon’s collection is a a great insight into some of the limited run of reproduction projects for arcade artwork have taken place over the last 5-10 years. It also gives me a good idea of just how passionate some collectors are about their artwork.
Here are a couple of pieces he has. I would think they are fairly rare, but maybe not….a NOS Burgertime CPO and NOS Moon Patrol CPO.
If you have ever asked yourself, “Has reproduction artwork been made for “X” game?”, take a look at this collection. Well labeled as to who made it, Arcade Renovation, Quarter Arcade, Arcade Shop etc. his photo album is a great arcade reproduction artwork reference material. Here is a list of what I could see in the NOS album, or you can follow this link and visit Brendon’s artwork yourself.
- APB
- The Act Prototype
- Arch Rivals
- Arm Wrestling
- Astron Belt
- Badlands
- Bega’s Battle
- Bubbles
- Burgertime
- Cheyenne
- Chiller
- Cinematronics Coin Door Decal
- Cliffhanger
- Cobra Command
- Combat
- Commando
- Crossbow
- Dragon’s Lair
- Elevator Action
- Esh’s Aurunmilla
- Exidy Logo
- Firefox
- Food Fight
- Frogger
- Gauntlet
- Ghosts Goblins
- Goal to Go
- Jungle Hunt
- Jungle King
- Karate Champ
- Kid Niki
- Kung Fu Master
- Mach 3
- Moon Patrol
- Mystic Marathon
- Paperboy
- Professor Pac-man
- Punch Out
- Sega Logo
- Simpsons
- Space Ace
- Super Don Quixote
- Super Punch Out
- Tetris
- Thayer’s Quest
- Timber
- Travelor
- Track & Field
- Toobin
- Ultracade Artwork
- Up N Down
- Us vs. Them
- Wild Western
- Xenophobe
- Zaxxon
- Zoo Keeper
Do any other collector’s know of photography albums online that are as well cataloged, labeled, and as extensive as this artwork collection? Or photos of artwork collections that aren’t as large, but interesting? I know that Richard Ford probably has a better artwork collection, and I know there are probably a ton of collector’s not on the klov boards who may have more than this. Quite an impressive collection Brendon.
Happ Vision Pro 19″ – $135 Feb. 2008
Got a call today from the local Happ representative, Jill Reams. I had contacted her a couple of times this month to see if Happ Vision Pro monitors would be going on sale again anytime soon. She gave me a call today and let me know that they are on the sale flyer for the month of February 2008 for $135 plus shipping. (I believe they ship out of Chicago) If you buy four or more you can get them for $130 price point.
I will be getting at least one this time around, if not two, another one for a friend on his behalf. The last time they were on sale I believe was last October, and at the time I didn’t think it was a good decision to get one. I have one brand new Vision Pro 19″ in my Jr. Pac-man, and you just can’t beat that brand new monitor. The one I am getting this time around will either go in my Pengo, which has an old, crappy, Electrohome with a good amount of Pac screen burn, or in my Mame machine that maybe one day I will finish.
Get yours now, this is a pretty good deal. I think they come out to about $150 with shipping if I remember right.
Mr. Do! for Sprint Cell Phones
Came across an article on the Iquirer by chance today about four new video game releases for North American Sprint phones. The four games are Mr. Do’s Castle, Mr. Do!, Popeye and Atlantis: Sky Patrol. I am not familiar with the last game (and a quick search on Klov turned up nothing), but the other three are classics from either Universal or Nintendo.
Namco is publishing these classics with new enhancements. Apparently there are regular, and enhanced game modes. Enhanced mode can add more levels, powerups, and things to do. That is pretty cool to think that there are some new variations on old classics. I don’t know if new levels and powerups are available on other portings of Universal’s Mr. Do! to other platforms, but this is the first I have heard of it. Hell, I didn’t know that Namco owned the rights of distribution for the Mr. Do! properites.
Would I want to play Mr. Do! regular or Mr. Do! Castle on my cell phone…mmmm, probably not. I tried to send my first text message today and couldn’t figure it out. But I am a different general, and if Mr. Do! and Popeye can live on with a new generation I am all for that. It is weird to think about the original full size upright coin-op versions of these famous games, and to see the games now on a cell phone. I don’t need to comment on how far technology has come.
Mr. Do! didn’t have a screenshot on the inquirer for the Sprint cell phones, only Castle. Mr. Do! is available now and Mr. Do! Castle should be available later Quarter 4 2007.
Re-useable Arcade Game Stencils
I was excited to see this post today on the Google Arcade Forum.
After tons of trial an experimentation I have landed on a solution for those looking for reusable stencils for their games. Stencils can be cut from 1/8 inch Sintra material which is basically a dense PVC foam. The resultant stencil is rigid, resistant to temperature and liquid, cleans off with a hose and scrub brush, lightweight, thick enough so pieces won’t easily break off and lays nice and flat on the surface to be painted.. and oh, each layer is color coded to the paint needed 🙂
These are still experimental for a few more weeks, and will add 80.00 to the cost of most stencils and shipping won’t be cheap as they must be shipped flat but the option will be there at last. Some games these stencils make tons of sense such as Defender and Robotron, others like Taito they just wouldnt look as good as vinyl.
I have spoken with Brian a number of times since I started collecting arcade games. He is the authority on artwork, especially stenciling arcade cabinets to restore them. He has an arcade restoration business where he sells a lot of great stuff at Oleszak Creative.com.
There is always a fair amount of discussion on restoration and stenciling arcade games on the forums, and there are some collectors who would like to buy re-useable stencils. I know I would like to buy a set of re-useable stencils. I would like to restore my Ms. Pac-man, and if possible, would like to recoup some of the cost involved in painting it. For a three piece stencil set, it could cost as much as if not more than $150. Then, add in paint and buying / renting the equipment, and it gets expensive fast.
The $150 is just the cost of the vinyl in that amount. The cool thing about Brian, he is nice enough to do the arcade stencils right around cost. If it was a big coin-op business, the markup would make the stencils astronomical.
But not only getting some of the game restoration cost back, but for me, it would be my first time. What if I mess up the coin-op game artwork I am restoring on my first try? I could do some test spray pieces, but that isn’t the same and painting a whole cabinet. If I do it wrong, and the vinyl stencils are one time use only, then I have to pay another $150 for another set?
It is a tough decision for me. Brian would have answers for all of this, and has had some great advice for the klov forums on why acetate, metal, and other plastics don’t work well for stenciling games. Mostly because they aren’t tight to the surface.
He did mention that it won’t work on certain games, and it may not work for my Ms. pac-man arcade game. But I am going to email him and see.
Update July 23rd, 2008
Checked back with Brian today to see what ever happened with re-useable arcade game stencils.
Brian did find a solution that in theory should be shippable. However, vinyl stencils with a backing and a pre-mask allow for floating pieces in the artwork. The plan was to use Sintra Board, a dense PVC Foam that could then be used to stencil multiple machines. The problem is that it will only work with certain artwork, and is highly suitable for Williams games because they didn’t have any floating pieces of artwork.
But that is just one challenge. Not only do you rule out some of the popular Pac-man games like Ms. Pac and regular you are talking about shipping multiple boards that usually measure somewhere around 3’x5′. Shipping is pretty expensive, upwards of $50 depending on where you are located.
When it is all said and done usually the cost for the materials for the multiple use stencils would be about double the cost before shipping. But, if you happen to do multiple machines, or have enough swagger to think you can resell the stencil for someone else for 75% of your cost with shipping, then these would be perfect for you.
Brian does make these stencils using a CNC router and takes custom jobs, he just doesn’t push the service because 90% of the arcade collecting community will only use them once and can’t justify the extra cost. If you are still interested, hop on Gamestencils.com and send Brian a message to see if your chosen artwork can be done and how much it would cost.
Acquired Sinistar Marquee
Not a lot of time today to do my daily arcade post, so I thought I would show off my acquisition from last week.
Met with another collector, and he gave me a Williams Sinistar marquee as a trade of sorts for some web services. He got a stack of Sinistar’s marquees earlier this year at one of the Indianapolis, IN USAmusement arcade auctions for a pretty great deal. Made me wish I had paid attention to those opening auctions where they sell of that pile of stuff on the folding table.
I really like Sinistar, but I have only ever played it on playstation. I haven’t ever played a real Williams UR Sinistar at another collectors house. Still looking for an arcade collector that is fairly close by that I can try Sinistar out as it was played in the day.
Baby Pac-man Battery on MPU
Yesterday I had the opportunity to go and play a nice Baby Pac-man here in Indianapolis. I had been trying for a number of months now to coordinate an opportunity to play a Baby Pac-man either here locally, or on one of my trips this year to Milwaukee or to Michigan, but with little success. I had never played Baby Pac, and was particularly curious about how in depth the pinball portion of the game was and equally what the video maze game portion was like.
Part of the problem was finding a working Baby Pac-man. Of the 7,000 units made by Bally Midway in the early 80’s, a lot of the Baby Pac’s are arcade collectors “Project Games”. I don’t know enough about the game to know if there are a lot of non-working Baby Pac arcade games because of the unique game itself with the pinball / video combination, but I do know that the battery on the MPU board causes problems.
The Baby Pac-man I played last night was in decent condition. The playfield had some wear, the control panel was beat up but nothing a new Baby Pac control panel overlay wouldn’t fix, and the sideart was missing from the right facing side. But this Baby Pac had been HUO for at least 10 years, if not up to 15 and beyond. The cabinet was in solid shape, and the most important fact, the game worked.
This Baby was out of my price range, (1K!) but I still wanted to investigate it as best I could. Knowing that these were general home owners who had used the arcade game without ever having issue, I was betting that the original battery was on the MPU board and had never been replaced. Being the less technical person I am, I didn’t want to assume what the battery might look like, so I did a little research.
I emailed one friend, and looked online. I asked about the color of the battery on the Baby Pac-man MPU board, the only experience I had was with my Frenzy, which had that blue battery. Here is what the friend said;
Very easy to see..it will either be white or sometimes yellow…wrapped in plastic cover like the rechargable batteries you see…
I found multiple Baby Pac-man PCB images of the group of board, and found an image of the battery still mounted. (I believe the order of the Baby Pac boards left to right and down is, the solenoid board, the MPU board and the Vidiot Board. The MPU battery that causes the acid corrosion is circled.)
When I got to the owners house and asked if they had ever done any work on the Baby Pac-man, they said no. They had mounted some clips when the control panel wouldn’t stay fastened, putting holes in the side of the cabinet 🙁 But they didn’t even know about the power button, and had never been in the back of the arcade game, let alone done any replacement work of any pcb components.
I took some photos through the Baby Pac-man coindoor, and saw that the battery was still mounted. But I couldn’t recommend to the owners what to do exactly. Should they get in back and remove / replace the battery even though the game worked? Especially since they didn’t care about collecting and only wanted to sell the game at this point.
I haven’t read enough on the subject, my understanding is that batteries on PCB’s usually are for operator settings on how they want the game to play. But, the Baby Pac-man MPU battery also saves high scores, which isn’t a big deal, but if it prevents battery acid damage on the MPU or Vidiot board, it is probably wise to record those game high scores by hand.
So what is the solution? From Marvin3m.com, a great Baby Pac-man repair and troubleshooting resource;
MPU Board Battery Corrosion.
There is a rechargeable nicad battery on the MPU board which often leaks. This can cause all kinds of problems with the MPU board, and even the Vidiot board (which is mounted right below the the MPU board and the battery).Remove this battery ASAP and discard. Aside from ruining the MPU board, it can also spread its corrosion down the center section of the Vidiot board, all the way to the lower sound section of the board! Of course the .100″ connector pins will be ruined in the process, not to mention the Vidiot board traces and its components.
A remote mounted three “AA” battery pack with a blocking diode is suggested as a good MPU board battery replacement (Show Above).
This is what I learned about the Baby-Pacman MPU battery and acid damage in less than an hour of research. Have any feedback? Need to correct me? Leave a comment below, would love to hear from you.
