Tomorrow: Something BIG is about to happen !

[DarthNuno]

... but it cannot be this one, because you're almost name it... it must be something else 

...but ... in the other hand, I know you're in love with vector games... so ... 

[level42]

First   goes to Bruno !!

Correct game, but it's NOT that cab It's the Rockola version which is even more rare !

And indeed, I love the vectors, and it's insane to find a game like that here, but I won't be keeping it.
I wasn't too impressed by the gameplay (But I could be wrong of course....)
Check it out here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAN7G-IW-Rs

And besides, EVEN though my room is full, I will need the space for another cab....

This one will go to my good friend Andreas in Germany. He is a HUGE vector fan and he's helped me out with some board repairs and other stuff, so I figured that:
A) IF it's broken (unknown, it IS complete) he is able to fix it
B) He will take very good care of it
C) Next time I visit beautiful Bavaria I may be able to play it.

[ckong]

 

[Superully]

you had already sent me pic number 2, that's why i didn't guess, but now that you've made it that easy i have to spell it out: #2 are 4 (FOUR) centipedes in a row!

now on to number 3: CHICKEN!!! holy cow, a freakin' f***in' B-E-R-Z-E-R-K!!! now i am really jealous - but you also deserve it my friend! congrats on that catch! and if it doesn't fit into your gameroom anymore ...  

i immediately have to take out my vectrex again 

what i'd like to know is: where / how did you score rarities like an armor attack and a berzerk?

[Muerto]

newer herd of the game, and it sure looks hard to play, but congratulations!!

anyway i thought you have found another Cockpit.....

[level42]

you had already sent me pic number 2, that's why i didn't guess, but now that you've made it that easy i have to spell it out: #2 are 4 (FOUR) centipedes in a row!

now on to number 3: CHICKEN!!! holy cow, a freakin' f***in' B-E-R-Z-E-R-K!!! now i am really jealous - but you also deserve it my friend! congrats on that catch! and if it doesn't fit into your gameroom anymore ...  

i immediately have to take out my vectrex again  

what i'd like to know is: where / how did you score rarities like an armor attack and a berzerk?

Second   goes to Ully !! (For the Berzerk).

Yes my friend, you went APE some time ago but I went BERZERK when I saw it.

But...........uhhhmmmmmm.......

Who said it was A Berzerk ? ? ?  

[Superully]

JESUS CHRIST!!! it's not A berzerk, it's a couple of them. p-l-e-a-s-e - i want one so bad 

[level42]

 

OK, I'm pretty tired of all the dragging around, pretty long time on the road, more dragging around. But it was SO worth it.

Story: I get a tip from someone that there is an operator in Belgium that has a big warehouse full of old arcade equipment. It's mainly bingo's and pinballs but there's videos to and some sound really interesting. I give the guy a call and we make an appointment.

So today one week ago, I drive off to his place. I'm pretty excited because I've seen some pics and this thing is what the US guys call a WAREHOUSE RAID !!!! I never dreamt I would find something like that around here, but here it was.... a warehouse full of old arcade stuff......
So I start walking around, talking with the owner (who's doing mainly Photoplay's now (sad...but that's how it is) and I see all the stuff. There's loads of generic videogames. There are also a good range of the famous Taito cab with various games in them. But most important, there is a good number of classics !!!! Some are _real_ classics...

We talk some more, the next days I e-mail people, phone people, and we agree on a deal.

I had to arrange extra storage place because my gameroom is full.  I also had to arrange transport, and for petrol costs, my friend Ruud is willing to help out. Some of you may recognize him, he's the guy that built my gameroom !

Anyway, this morning we drove early southbound.....I'm afraid the roadtrip itself was very boring, but ......well see for yourself:

Once again, we're crossing the southern border into Belgium:


After lots of talking we are already there and I didn't take any more pics !!

Anyway, this is what we see:















Nice, but we're here for the videogames !



What have we here ? A sit-down Power Drift !!! Damn I wish I had the space for that ! One of the games I remember from the arcades. For now, my upright will have to do !

[level42]

But we're here on a mission, so, let's get to business !


Not 1, not 2, not 3 but 4 Centipede's are rescued !!!! Looks like the Irish factory





And there they are: 4 Irish Centi's loaded and ready....but we have a little more space...



So let's load this too:



O.....no......it's NOT a jukebox....but we'll see that cab a bit more later on !

Because, we have to arrange cabs. We don't thing the full 8 cabs that I planned on bringing home will fit in the trailer....

Anyway, let's pick up the most incredible find since my Star Wars cockpit: B-E-R-Z-E-R-K  !!!!


OK, it doesn't have the original CPO and Joystick, but who can complain when you find a BERZERK RIGHT HERE IN EUROPE !?!?!?!
And it's complete !!!!



We look and see that the Berzerk is a little less wide than the Centi, but a lot deeper. So indeed, only 6 cabs on the trailer.......now what ?


Let's put the Centi in the back of the van !!!


Plenty of space !!

First we had put it in top first, but then we couldn't close the doors ! So....let's try it like this....


Even in this position, there's still a little part too far back......but Ruud's toolbox is our life-saver. By lifting the cab up a bit like that, we can now JUST close the door !! Woohoo !


And next to it, there is enough room for this absolute rarity ! :


Armor Attack, one of Cinematronics classics vector games !!!! This however, is the even much more rare (licensed) Rockola version !!!!!
This game is special because it's technology is so different. Instead of using a real processor, the designer thought it was cheaper to design his own processor from TTL IC's. So, there's no 6502, no Z80 or whatever on that PCB ! (Makes repair hard !).
Also, the monitor is very dedicated ! It accepts digital signals instead of the analog signals that are used on vector games like from Atari etc.

More about that machine later ! Shift it in and....


... a perfect fit !!!


But why do we needed that extra space on the trailer:


Well, let's pick up a very nice.....

[level42]

Uh, ahaahahahaha, you guys didn't think I picked up one of those FUGLY Belgian-built Wimi-cabs, right ?

No....it's:


another Berzerk !!!


And this one DOES have the original joystick and CPO !!!! WAAAAHOOOO !!!
And the cabs are in VERY nice condition !!!



Hey, but you said 6 cabs.......so where's the sixth one

O wel OK, let's put on the THIRD Berzerk then !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!






Is that a grin, or is that a grin !  




The weather is very nice, so no need for any covering. This has the added bonus of many bent necks of people looking at our very special load on the road !



The money is paid, from the seller I get an extra spare Berzerk ZPU board (!) and three Centi PCB's which all have a problem, but still better than no PCB

Ready for take off:


First bends......everything stays on !



OK, ok......you guys want roadtrip pics.....here we go:

Grass, cowes, trees, the low lands at it's best !


Road with cars:


Duck-hunt ?:


Oh no, not THAT bridge again !!! Look, a train !!



One last bend sharp bend. Objects in the rear-view mirror may appear as great as they are !!!!

[Muerto]

incredible!, wow!
Berzerk is awsome!, the speach is awsome! "Quarters detected in pockets"

Code: [Select]

The speech was done using LPC coding, which cost $1,000 per word to compress at that time.
EDIT
Do you want to sell one of the BERZERK´s? 

[level42]

Indeed, the plan is to keep one.


We had already unloaded the Berzerks and 1 Centi at a friend's garage and we forgot to take pics there....

Some pics of the games before I store them. 2 of the Centi's are already spoken for....

These pics are before any cleaning....




The trackball unit IS included, but it's in the cash box....:



The Armor Attack. In a perfect world, I would be a millionaire and store this one in my 2000 m2 arcade/gameroom but alas, I simply have no space for it. Also, this is a very special beast and very hard to fix without the right knowledge AND tools. This cab will be going to Speleo (= Andreas from www.andysarcade.com). I know he's a PCB and especially vector wizard. He's done Cinematronics repairs before and has the right tools.
Also, he loves the vectors so I really wanted Andreas to have it.
I really like the cab ! It's complete, not working but in pretty nice condition. The CPO is damaged. Looks pretty easy to vector this one and repro it though !

The inside is totally complete and all parts look really good although of course some dirt, dust and the obvious old Belgian Franc coins....














Hey, something weird I notice with the Centi's: One of the lot has a shorter backdoor ! Never seen that before ! Weird....



So far, the pics of this amazing road-trip. But of course.....there's more. In that warehouse.

People have already been bugging me like nuts. So, let's show what's in there still.

[ckong]

Very nice catch indeed, 8 cabs in one go!    And those Berzerks are in great shape indeed. But also some of the Centipedes seem to have well-aged. Never seen a Centipede in real, nor a Berzerk of course. Well you never know, perhaps one day ....

And that's where the aforeshown spider came from, Centipede.

[Superully]

incredible catch, andré! a warehouse raid in europe, i would have guessed those days are long gone.

great joke with the wimi cab   when i saw the last picture i thought "why the heck is he taking those instead of some taito cabs?" - and then another berzerk rolled out - and another one. just incredible, unbelievanle, awesome!

you already have my email regarding my berzerk wish, so if there is still one available i'd happily buy one from you. the vectrex game is a lot of fun, but an original dedicated berzerk  - HOLY SMOKE!!! bezels and / or joysticks should pop up from time to time ...

for that fabulous roadtrip you deserve a couple of               

[ckong]

... People have already been bugging me like nuts. So, let's show what's in there still.

As if you would mind that! I'm sure that you would like nothing more than for the other collectors to also get a chance to get some goodies, don't you?