[Restoration] Frogger - why did the frog cross the road?

[liquidx]

If I had to go for a colour, I'd make it blue, a darker one than in the marquee, like the buttons on the front.

[Superully]

thx a lot for your input, guys, a lot of controversy going on over the color choice and the restauration / reimagination of this classic. i haven't decided yet which route to go, perhaps i should put the decision into a woman's hand ...

[level42]

I'm not afraid of (small) improvements to correct manufacturers "mistakes" like the ugly brown tinted SW canopy plexi's or the Nintendo micro-switch buttons, but this is a pretty big step.

I've learned to appreciate the woodgrain when I still had my ( ) MC cabaret. You know, it fits so well to the timeframe and the US taste (in those days). Whenever (if ever) I watch an old 80's series like Knight Rider or the A-team, the offices are fool of (fake) wood"grain" offices and furniture. Is it ugly ? Yep. But it _is_ a sign of the times (o-yeah----da-da-da-dumm....)
(But so were the bronze tinted SW cockpit canoy plexi's, and YET I replaced them with colorless one's....)

However Ully, remember there is 1 big advantage with keeping the Frogger woodgrain: you can put it tightly between two other cabs without loosing anything

I do think the Atari Irish cabs had a woodgrain that was _just_ a little less ugly than this though....

Whatever you do, it's your machine, you have to enjoy it. And whatever you do, we all know it will be done in a tasteful way !!

See ya !

[mchay]

I've learned to appreciate the woodgrain when I still had my ( ) MC cabaret. You know, it fits so well to the timeframe and the US taste (in those days). Whenever (if ever) I watch an old 80's series like Knight Rider or the A-team, the offices are fool of (fake) wood"grain" offices and furniture. Is it ugly ?

 



On another note.. +1 for woodgrain.

[level42]

Haha, Full + A-team = Fool !

My spelling checker did it ! 

[Superully]

Whatever you do, it's your machine, you have to enjoy it. And whatever you do, we all know it will be done in a tasteful way !!

thx a lot, andré, this is giving me the push i needed to go with pink

[Q*ris]

+1 for Etienne's suggestion.
Save the woodgrain at all costs, it's so typical!  

[Superully]

guess what rich is currently printing for me?

[Brry71]

Woodgrain?

[level42]

Woodgrain?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCfyOXJf3ZM&feature=related

[liquidx]

guess what rich is currently printing for me?

A giant roll of adhesive tire track so you can customise the cab any way you like.

[Etienne MacGyver]

the side arts ?

[level42]

but then in the US cab shape.


 

[Superully]

A giant roll of adhesive tire track so you can customise the cab any way you like.

nice idea! i can then run the tire track not just over the whole cabinet, but also through my apartment and down the stairs (to school). it would probably look pretty cool though if that tire track not only continued down the front of the cabinet, but in front of the cabinet as well, as if something was driving up towards the cabinet, but didn't stop there and ran over the game instead ...

where are the photoshop experts? give us an example of a cab on location with the tire tracks leading up to it!

[Superully]

before the restoration can begin, i need to make an inventory of what's there and what's missing! so let's inspect the cab a little bit closer ...

once again, the beast in its full glory!



the control panel! anyone wanna have it - it's free





have you ever seen a security bar like that?





time for a good smoke!



i was told this is a bally / midway coin door - definitely not an original sega / gremlin coin door, which means the front panel has been hacked and will need to be replaced!



a look behind the coin door: strange pieces of wood have been fitted in - and look at that wiring! nothing original in there at all ...



we're looking upwards now at the speaker / light fixture / marquee area. first thing i notice: the speaker grill has been mounted on the wrong side of the board, it belongs on the outside



a first (careful) look behind the strange plexi marquee from behind. oh my god, what is that mess?



the speaker grill is covered up by a piece of cardboard



cardboard removed! unfortunately, the speaker grill has a hole in the middle and (of course) the light fixture is not original anymore



the same goes for the speaker (look how it is mounted to the side of the cabinet)



the sad news: no original parts in there, everything needs to be replaced!



another "do-it-yourself" example around the monitor: selfmade monitor bezel made of cardboard and painted black



cardboard removed (and immediately tossed in the trash). the monitor has some burn-in, can anyone read what it says? i'm not sure, but i think i can make out the words "battle of ..."



investigation continues from behind: the monitor with a rusted metal "surround"



i'm pretty sure this is an electrohome go7 cbo chassis



finally, the bottom of the cab. if you're not familiar with sega / gremlin cabs, let me tell you that normally there is a piece of wood on which the power assembly rests. this piece of wood has been torn out (remnants of it can still be seen upon closer inspection) and the power supply has been madly screwed to the ground. and then there's that wiring ...



short summary: basically the only thing i can use are the cab (of course) and the monitor (which is hopefully working, but i wouldn't count on it). everything else needs to be replaced! oh my god, this is going to be a lengthy and expensive restoration, i could as well have bought one of paul's frogger cabs

what have i gotten myself into?

i need a new masterplan ...