Dragon's Lair Fans - Arcade Lifestyle
General Chat => Arcade Lifestyle => Topic started by: ckong on February 04, 2010, 04:01:05 PM
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Yesterday I got my Galaxian cab. Although the cab looks pretty good on the photo’s, it still will need some TLC, and even some restoration work.
But first of all, here are some photo’s:
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/CIMG2808.jpg)
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/CIMG2809.jpg)
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/CIMG2810.jpg)
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/CIMG2811.jpg)
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/CIMG2818.jpg)
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/CIMG2817.jpg)
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/CIMG2814.jpg)
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/CIMG2815.jpg)
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/CIMG2823.jpg)
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/CIMG2824.jpg)
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/CIMG2827.jpg)
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/CIMG2828.jpg)
Nice details:
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/CIMG2831.jpg)
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/CIMG2834.jpg)
The cab is working
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/CIMG2836.jpg)
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/CIMG2837.jpg)
Technically the cab is in pretty good shape. Everything works as it should, but the monitor has a lot of burn in and the picture isn’t crisp at all. The pots on the chassis don't do very much or nothing at all. I surely will replace the monitor, and the chassis will need some TLC (capkit?), but I might also decide to exchange monitor and chassis completely. Can someone identify the make of the monitor and chassis in my cab?
Cosmetically: the woodwork (plywood) is pretty good, particularly around the edges. Strange thing is that the left sidepanel is about 1 mm thinner than the right sidepanel (is good visible at the T-molding edge). Why is that?
The artwork and the T-molding has had it better days. So I will replace the T-molding (black or green?), the side- and front artwork (Mamemarquees?), the monitor bezel (get an original from ebay I guess), the CPO overlay (joystick and buttons are still good and probably only need a good clean) and I will repaint all metal parts.
The coin door has some dents which will also be repaired (or I get another one from somewhere).
After this work is done the cab should look very good again. It will be a long term restoration project, I will only start with it after my gameroom is finished. Although, I might of course already gather parts
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In my opinion, your new cab needs only a new monitor, nothing else. I prefer a good conserved cabinet (like this) instead of a heavily restored one.
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In my opinion, your new cab needs only a new monitor, nothing else. I prefer a good conserved cabinet (like this) instead of a heavily restored one.
You are right, I also like to keep everything as original as possible. But a first inspection shows damaged T-molding, some holes in the sides and in the front plate (security bar holes) and some other small stuff. But I will 'restore' as little as possible, I don't mind if a cab shows its age, it's part of the charme. :)
First thing that I will do is a good cleaning, I am sure it will look much better after that. Most of the yellowing on the side and front will be gone.
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In my opinion, your new cab needs only a new monitor, nothing else. I prefer a good conserved cabinet (like this) instead of a heavily restored one.
+1
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That's the original monitor.Wells-Gardner K4500. (Nice,the copyright sticker, mine had the same. I tried to transplant it to my new "monitor" but it wouldn't stick anymore).
Mine had some serious convergence problems. Remember that this is the first full color game ever. So it's a very old color monitor, with an extremely hard way to converge it (There's a huge neck-board with loads of pots. I wouldn't even start on it personally. I threw mine away....
The sides look VERY nice. Even the spots where usually the hands have worn away the paint are good (the letter "G" on the right side and "n" on the left.
Thisoldgame did kickplate artwork (but not on exactly the right vinyl, which is why I didn't buy it, I regret that now) and of course the CPO which I actually "worked on" with Rich.
Check out my first resto thread here for a shit-load of Galaxian info:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=62784.0
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I read your restoration thread more than once, and I will read it probably again. It's full of very useful information.
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;D ;D ;D
You're _definitly_ are going to need this:
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=62784.0;attach=66446;image)
Oh, and keep it green T-mold IMHO. This clearly is one of the later ser. nrs. where Green was the standard. The red joystick is another indicator of the later serial nr. Which nr. is it ?
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Which nr. is it ?
you can see it on one of the pics. ;)
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In my opinion, your new cab needs only a new monitor, nothing else. I prefer a good conserved cabinet (like this) instead of a heavily restored one.
-1 ;)
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Let´s bring live in this topic again. ;D
Thanks to Eurocade and even more thanks to Aart I got the motivation again to work on some of my cabs, starting with Galaxian. When you guys check out the pics on top of this topic, then you can see how dirty the cab was. About a year ago I did an attempt to clean it, but unsuccesfully. In the meanwhile I had heard of some magic sponges, which might do the job. So, because yesterday was a terrible day, sunny and 25 degrees Celcius :D, I decided to lock me up in the gameroom with a whole pack of magic sponges (from the Kruidvat), a towel and a bucket of water.
And after a few hours of rubbing this is the end result. The sides really look great again, as does the back
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/P1040053.jpg)
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/P1040054.jpg)
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/P1040057.jpg)
I am really proud of myself. The side art still is in great condition and the wonder sponges made the colours really come out again. The top came out very well also, but I am afraid that the useful cigarette burns will remain there forever.
But then the front kickpanel, this smallest piece of wood was the most challenging. I already had a lot of thought about using replacement artwork from TOG, but I had hesitations because the TOG vinyl is smooth where the original vinyl is structured. And I knew I didn´t want to replace the sideart because of its great condition, which might end up in a weird and ugly combination of original side art with structered vinyl and repro frontpanel art which is smooth. No sir, thank you. 8)
So let´s try what the wonder sponges can do with this panel:
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/CIMG2818.jpg)
Well, a lot I can tell you after some more hours of work. Of course I had to be careful with rubbing over the actual artwork, just as I did with the side art, but I really am very satisfied with the end result:
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/P1040050.jpg)
Sure, it is not perfect, but it bears the signs of years of usage and endless hours of playtime of gamers having fun on my machine, which I always want to see back up to a certain level (.
So I can very well live with this result. I might get a bottom protection strip, which was used on later production runs (my Galaxian is nr. 2146 and was originally destined for the German market), but I am not sure yet. what do you guys think?
Next step will be replacing the CPO by one that I got a looong time ago, replacing the T-molding with T-molding that I got from Bruno a while back, replacing the monitor and chassis, removing the wheels (yes, the cab is on 4 wheels) and installing proper leg levelers.
The final thing will be replacing the PCB again, it now is at Robinholland for a sound repair job.
And when Etiènne is doing another Sticker run, then I might get a new sticker for the back.
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Yes the Magic Sponges are really magic :)
I still have a brand new kick-plate artwork from TOG lying here.....however, I can't seem to get over to install it for the same reasons you mention. Mine even has it's original Dutch license label and I'd loose that of course, as of course the structure of the vinyl....
The problem is that the lower part of my Galaxian is much more damaged than yours. It has chips away all over the length. So I would like to repair that but that would mean having to use the TOG artwork.....which looks extremely tight but maybe a bit too clean for the front where the sides will stay original.
You are very lucky because the green on the Galaxian name on the sides is still perfect on both sides. Mine have faded near the front of the cab, which is a bit strange since, unlike Pac games, you don't have a hand free with Galaxian to hold the cab there.....
I am in a lot of doubt. The protection strip on the bottom was never installed originally on Galaxian or Pac caps, they did do them on Ms.Pac Man though and maybe Galaga, I don't know that much about that last game..... ;D
The strip would easily hide the damage on mine and also the wearing off of the blue paint on the lowest part. It would make it improve visually but.....that strip is not supposed to be there.....
So, I am still in doubt about a lot of things....
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Great job Erik!
And Yes, i am planning a 4th run of stickers, so let me know what you need and they will come eventually ;)
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nice job, erik, those erasers really did their magic!
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Beautiful!!! :spaceace: :spaceace:
And i see a very full game room in those pictures, would love to see some more of it.. ;D
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Beautiful!!! :spaceace: :spaceace:
And i see a very full game room in those pictures, would love to see some more of it.. ;D
+1, really nice job! :spaceace:
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very nice result ckong! :spaceace: :spaceace: :spaceace:
where i can find these "magic eraser"?
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I did a second round of cleaning after I posted the picture of the frontpanel earlier today. Although the result was already great, I knew I could do better. And here is the final result, a lot of yellowing has gone. It´s exhausting work, but it´s worth it.
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/P1040065.jpg)
I know what you mean André, but for me, I made up my mind, I will keep all artwork original. If I were you I would place a protection strip at the bottom of the frontpanel, it may not be ´original´, but it hides your rough spots on the edges and better yet, you get to keep the original frontpanel artwork.
By the way, magic sponges can be found at several places, like Ebay: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_nkw=magic+sponge&_nkwusc=magic+sponse&_rdc=1
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@Level42, the Midway Service Bulletins that you got with your manual, are they by any chance published somewhere on the www? I would love to read them.
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Yes they are, I actually scanned them myself and later learned they were already available but WDF ;)
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,68900.msg702732.html#msg702732
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Thanks :)
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Some notes of interest for you:
- the WG 19k4500 monitor has only been used in the upright cab.
- the four controls contrast,brightness. color and tint are not used. These controls are located in the upper right side of the monitor panel. (Should have known that earlier, I already wondered why they didn't do a thing )
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I probably need:
a new CPO > is Thisoldgame selling good ones?
some Midway coin door plates > where to get them?
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I've got both here.....still need to install them.... both from TOG.
The current CPO was nr.1 of the first run Rich did, and after I received it I still noticed some mistakes ( we had been working on getting it as faultless as possible) like no bullets before the instructions and a typo somewhere....so later I received tha last one of his second run which had these things corrected and I don't believe they are available anymore.....unless he did a third run ?
It's definitly the best one around....
Not sure if he still has the Coin door plates, Rich's are definitly a lot better than AS's.
[Edit] Looks like CPO is available, coin plate is not.
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Time to continue with this amazing game.
Robinholland was so kind to repair the sound issue with my board (thanks again, mate) and now I want to play the game in the good old way (meaning, not in Mame, but the real thing).
But ..... the monitor (chassis date of make March 1980) has clearly come to the end of its lifespan
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/CIMG2837.jpg)
The colors are washed out and the image is very faint. It was much worse before tuning the pots, but this is the best it will get. Not to my satisfaction of course. Besides, the tube itself is also in bad condition, as if it is worn out, which probably is true. I can clearly see a lot of wear and tear in the tube, and burn in marks. ;D So I decided to change both the tube
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/Image1_zps0392e08d.png)
and the WG 19K4500 chassis for a used, but still in great shape, Samsung monitor
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/Image2_zps73e6ac93.png)
with a Kortek chassis. The 'new' monitor looks much larger, but it is only 3 cm larger (51 cm vs 48 cm). I didn't have to drill extra holes though, or cut a piece of wood away, it is secured with two opposite screws, very tight I can assure you. And the monitor will lay down almost flat in the cab, so two screws are more than good enough. Besides, I hate to cut or drill in a classic cab when it is not really needed.
And the tube/chassis combination is a proven combination, I took it from a general and ugly 'High Tech' woody. I wanted to get rid of the cab, but I loved the monitor, brigh colours and sharp picture. That will be very nice to play Galaxian with. And I saved the Midway trade mark sticker of course, will put it on the new monitor.
But what to do with the old tube/chassis combo. It is working 100% and there is a kind of history involved here (first true RGB game, bla bla bla). Should I dump it? Should I clean it and put it on display? Should I give it away? Don't know what to do.
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I actually ditched the original Galaxian monitor.....
It is a PITA to get converged, as you have experienced....I couldn't get it any better like you....
It is sad but sometimes parts just have served their purpose....and time.
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i would make that desicion after you have visited our Muter / ESR meter friend, (we all know who that is right ? ;D) and have checked all caps and the tube status...
there is some burn in there, do you see the burn in alot while running ?
Ofcourse it will never give the image of the replacement, but CRT monitors are becomming more and more rare as we all know...
don't know if its worth saving, maybe its just some bad caps and pots which causes the bleeding ?
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i would make that desicion after you have visited our Muter / ESR meter friend, (we all know who that is right ? ;D) ......
+1
... and I am happy to take the monitor, if you decide to not further bother with it
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Müter.......mmmm........Now who could that be ??
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OK, time for the next step (it's good to have deadlines, like the upcoming RGE! ;D )
Coin door resto. It was in pretty bad shape to start with:
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/P1050545_zps0ec8c9c9.jpg) (http://s50.photobucket.com/user/ckong65/media/Galaxian%20restoration/P1050545_zps0ec8c9c9.jpg.html)
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/P1050561_zpsd8d77bdb.jpg) (http://s50.photobucket.com/user/ckong65/media/Galaxian%20restoration/P1050561_zpsd8d77bdb.jpg.html)
The coin return box is heavily damaged and some stupid a...hole drilled holes in the door and in the coin door plate. What a shame!! :o
But after some help from a colleague at work, the visible damage was reduced to very acceptable:
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/P1050564_zps41c0ca27.jpg) (http://s50.photobucket.com/user/ckong65/media/Galaxian%20restoration/P1050564_zps41c0ca27.jpg.html)
Plate removed
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/P1050565_zpsb8c4d0ce.jpg) (http://s50.photobucket.com/user/ckong65/media/Galaxian%20restoration/P1050565_zpsb8c4d0ce.jpg.html)
A bit of cleaning.
before
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/P1050547_zps3ffde906.jpg) (http://s50.photobucket.com/user/ckong65/media/Galaxian%20restoration/P1050547_zps3ffde906.jpg.html)
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/P1050552_zpsf6a0ce57.jpg) (http://s50.photobucket.com/user/ckong65/media/Galaxian%20restoration/P1050552_zpsf6a0ce57.jpg.html)
after
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/P1050548_zpsd63ebf55.jpg) (http://s50.photobucket.com/user/ckong65/media/Galaxian%20restoration/P1050548_zpsd63ebf55.jpg.html)
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/P1050554_zps717d4714.jpg) (http://s50.photobucket.com/user/ckong65/media/Galaxian%20restoration/P1050554_zps717d4714.jpg.html)
Now a huge leap forward. I filled all unwanted holes with JB-weld iron putty, sanded the door on the inside and outside like a mirror, spraypainted it with primer and satin matt black paint, and voila:
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/P1050653_zps8a3eba3e.jpg) (http://s50.photobucket.com/user/ckong65/media/Galaxian%20restoration/P1050653_zps8a3eba3e.jpg.html)
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/P1050655_zps2fe5204f.jpg) (http://s50.photobucket.com/user/ckong65/media/Galaxian%20restoration/P1050655_zps2fe5204f.jpg.html)
Ready in time for Eurocade 2014. :D I still need a new coin door plate of course and I will order one from the KLOV guy (need more, also for the pac-man cab). Yes, I know, the original color is grey, but there are a few reasons why I made it black:
1. A previous owner already painted the coin door frame black. I did try to get the frame out of the cab, but the bolts were to deep driven into the wood, couldn't get them loose. As couldn't the previous owner because I clearly saw that he spraypainted the door frame while it was in the cab. Fortunately I was able to get rid of the spilt paint by scraping it off of the vinyl with an Exacto knife.
2. I like black and I think that it is a better match for this cab.
About the well known swellings in the paint as you see it very often: I didn't know if this is factory original, or caused by rust. I consulted an expert and he is/was convinced that the coin doors are originally painted/ powdercoated smooth. So I spraypainted it smooth also. Easy Peacy. ;D
BTW, I forgot to take pictures from the backside of the door, but that also looks now like new.
One final thing to do is installing new T-molding on it, but that can wait until after Eurocade. The cab will be packed and transported to Sound & Vision this weekend.
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Well done she looks great smooth and in black 8)
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Awesome, Erik :)
But: not just "before" and "after"..what did you do to the coin sign? Polish?
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Yes, with turtle wax scratch remover liquid.
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So, I almost had a nice repro coin door plate for this game. Almost, but not quite. :) ;)
But then ..... I got a wonderful gift from a great guy, an original Midway coin door plate, in very good condition!! Thanks Ully.
The top one is the one that was on my door, butchered by a lunitic, the bottom one was given to me by Ully. :D :D
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Galaxian%20restoration/P1050919_zpsa87e84e2.jpg) (http://s50.photobucket.com/user/ckong65/media/Galaxian%20restoration/P1050919_zpsa87e84e2.jpg.html)
This will look nice on the Galaxian.
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Yes, thank you SUPERUlly ! :D