i've given up hope to have a full american-style nintendo row (the donkey kongs, popeye and mario bros.) in my (yet to be) gameroom because those cabinets are almost impossible to come by in germany (and even in europe) and when you're lucky to score one, they usually cost tons of money. it IS possible to get one (as andré and bruno have proven) or you could scr3een one yourself
, but a full row ...
therefore i've decided on a new plan of attack
in germany donkey kong was licensed by nintendo to env who built their own german-style version of donkey kong (with their own sidearts). while those cabinets are completely different from the american-style cabinets and not as beautiful, they have their own charm and do pop up from time to time. so i've decided to get a german-style nintendo row instead. after all, this is my home
i've missed out on two german donkey kong auctions on ebay over the last couple of months, when i suddenly and unexpectedly received an email from one of the sellers telling me that the original buyer had backed out of the deal and that the cab was still available ...
ROADTRIP TIME!!! 
luckily, the seller's location was close to another "point of interest" i've wanted to visit for some time now, so i combined those two. here's what's coming up
because this is going to be quite a ride, i'm starting pretty early!
the sun hasn't come up yet
as cat steven's used to sing: "morning has broken"
after some boring hours on the road - the audio book cd that i had chosen for the trip isn't working
- i reach the county's border!
the seller's location is close to the county's capitel Hannover - so this sign is a sign of hope to me
the cab on location in a summer house (damn, i forgot to take a picture from the outside)
i've never seen a german-style nintendo cab where one of the sidearts is intact. most of the time, the sidearts are either completely missing or the upper part has been torn off (like on the left-hand side of my cabinet). however, i can call myself lucky as the right sideart is indeed complete with only a large scratch on it. this gives me the chance to scan it, have it vectored and eventually reproduced.
the seller and his mum are transporting the cab to my car while i'm taking pictures
loaded!!! yeah, baby!!!
now that the first part of this roadtrip is over, i'm entering my next stop into the navigation device. i've been talking to stefan lietz, owner of "world of arcade", on and off over the last three to four weeks. he said he might have some cabs i could be interested in and because his warehouse is nearby i'm taking this opportunity to pay him a visit!
only 40 kilometers to go this time!
the scenery is beautiful around here - and the sun is shining brightly! what a wonderful day
the netherlands?
after half an hour on the road, i have reached my destination. i was expecting a huge metal storehouse with a sign "WORLD OF ARCADE" in front / on top of it, but this is what i see
inside, a mess of cabs and token machines - who wants an
asteroids?
the object of my affection is this paperboy, but have a look at the condition of the cab: the sides have been painted white, the t-molding slots have been "filled", the left and right side of the control panel have broken off, the overlays are damaged or missing and and and ...
i have to negotiate on the price a little bit more ...
next up, an asteroids deluxe next to a missile command.
this was the laugh of the day
look what we "discovered" when we pulled the MC out - hand-painted sideart!
a space harrier - fully working, but partly disassembled. stefan told me that all the parts are there, it's just being worked on right now!
a german-style phoenix with scramble installed. the wonderful sidearts are full of scratches
up next a cab i had originally planned on buying: a very rare death race machine! however - once again - look at the condition of that thing: no front art, no back door, huge damages to the wood everywhere, rust on the handles, missing writing on the cpo, scratches on the b&w monitor BUT fully working. i've played it for some
seconds with stefan, but while this thing really is one of the rarest cabs out there, the sounds are annoying and the overall condition of the cab is awful. it COULD be restored, but would need a lot of time, help and money!
some random shots
see that arkanoid spinner on the donkey kong?
in another storage building: a galaxian, all the parts to rebuild it are there!
hidden in the back of the same building, i spot a gauntlet arcade machine. stefan tells me that there is no pcb inside and that i could have it for free if i wanted it. i already have a gauntlet at home, but this one has the full sideart (for scanning), not the cropped version. if i didn't have the donkey kong inside my car, i'd take it with me right away, so this will have to wait until later!
the room where stefan "stores" (or should i say "dumps"?) his spare parts
wiring anyone?
work on the pcbs takes place here ...
behind the house, the
ARCADE DUMP 
enough for today, i had only planned to get a first impression. a lot of cabs are in rough shape and / or have been converted into something else. while i'm still thinking about the paperboy (and to a lesser degree about the death race), there's nothing else for me right now.
time to return home!
because of the german economic stimulus package, there are TONS of road construction sites on the "autobahns" which really slows you down.
the biggest construction site is 17 kilometers long and to make those 17 kilometers more tolerable, there are "smilie signs" by the side of the road telling you the distance until the road works are over. nice idea!
suddenly, a police car appears in front of me!
have a done something wrong, officer?
fortunately, it's obviously only a collector of classic cars. this is a nice one!!!
"the usual suspects" at the end of a road trip:
one country, four counties, 35 construction sites, 891 kilometers, 12 hours 4 minutes on the road - this roadtrip is OFFICIALLY OVER!
