Namco Cyber Lead
The Cyber Lead was my first
arcade cab, which I picked up back in 2010.
It’s Namco, purple and has an awesome LED marquee display! I didn’t do much to the cab other than
cleaning and fitting a new speaker. I
really like how the speakers are mounted at the side of the monitor. The cab also features the odd combination of
JVS wiring and a 15 / 24KHz monitor. The
control panel is slightly higher than the Astro / Naomi / Egret II CP, and I
found it very comfortable to play on.
Sadly it was also my first cab to go.
I sold it mainly due to space issues and the fact that the monitor can’t
be rotated. However it’s an awesome cab
and one I would love to own again.
Electrocoin Chase H.Q.2
This cab had been bought by
the previous owner from an Operator Raid and was missing the PSU and the Taito Type
X hardware. A few months later a fully
working cab appeared on Ebay, and I decided to buy that one and sell this on as
a project.
Capcom Mini Cute – Yellow Edition
Back in 2012 I picked up a
Project Cute. The cab was very tired and
needed a lot of work to bring it back to its former glory. The monitor had some serious burn, a home
made custom panel had been fitted, and the paint work had a lot of scratches
and was in generally poor condition.
To top it off some punk had
poured coffee into the control panel!
The cab was cleaned and resprayed,
a new control panel, joysticks, buttons and looms were fitted, new side art and
manufacturers stickers were applied, and the knackered, non-stock monitor was
replaced with a NOS 17” monitor. I
picked up another Yellow Cute shortly after buying this and sold the project
Cute once it was complete. This has been
my biggest project to date, and I was really pleased with how it turned
out.
Here are some before and
after pictures.
Electrocoin Midi
These are fantastic cabs with
a small footprint. I later picked up a Midi which has always been a Pac-land cab, complete with
Pac-Land marquee and cool art on the monitor glass. I would have liked to keep both, but
unfortunately didn’t have the space. I
gave it a good clean inside and out, fitted a new marquee bulb and starter,
added a repro ‘Unigame’ marquee, replaced two buttons and then sold it on.
SNK MVS U4
A fantastic Japanese metal
bodied cab. The monitor on this was
awesome. Unfortunately I couldn’t keep
both this and the SNK Super Neo 29 Type II, so this one went.
Electrocoin Chase H.Q.
I bought this as a
project. Cosmetically the cab was very
good, but it had a monitor fault, PCB fault, messy wiring where the power
supply had been replaced, and the steering wheel turned endlessly. I sold this machine when one in better
condition came up for sale, and I’m happy to report that it’s been fully
restored.
Atari Tempest Cabaret
I love the look of vector
games, especially in a darkened room, and I thought it would add something a
bit different to my collection. Also the
small size of the cab was quite appealing.
The cab had featured at various PLAY Expo and NERG events. In fact I remember playing this very cab in Blackpool .
Unfortunately when it arrived the monitor had developed a fault and the
game played blind. These things happen
with old electronics. I never managed to
fix it, and due to a lack of nostalgia for the game I decided to sell it
on.
Sega Dinosaur King Jamma conversion – Shinobi
This awesome little Dino King
cab conversion had been completely rewired with a new Jamma loom and switcher,
and featured a new 1L4B control panel and custom artwork. Shinobi is one of my all time favourites, but
I could play it on my other Jamma cabs, and I eventually sold this on to make
room for another dedicated cab.
Sega Super Hang-On
Well we’ve all been
there. Martin the Delivery Man turns up with a cab which you ‘forgot’ to tell the wife
about, and then you realise it’s actually too wide to pass through the house
door. Fortunately the weather was fine,
and after removing the shroud, speaker and control panel we were able to get it
indoors. The cab was in great condition,
and the game played well, except for a sound fault. Interestingly the cab was made by Atari Ireland
Sega New Astro
City
My very first arcade
restoration project! I gave the cab a
deep clean, resprayed the yellowed speaker surround, fitted a NOS 1L6B panel
and replaced the monitor with a nice zero burn MS9 tube. It’s a really nice cab, and I was sad to see
it go. On reflection, the only part I
wasn’t completely happy with was the coin door frame respray as the appliance
gloss white wasn’t a very good match with the coin door.
Before and after pictures.
Sega After Burner
Another eighties classic
which needs no introduction! An awesome
machine, sadly I had to sell this on to free up some space. It was sold to Arcade Club, and I’m looking
forward to playing it in its new home.
A video of the cab up and
running.
The Getaway: High Speed II
I picked up this pinball
table from a former Bed and Breakfast in Great Yarmouth, along with some arcade
cabs and a fruit machine. You can read all
about that here:
My initial plan was to keep
the machine, and I sent it off to Pinball Heaven to be fully refurbished. I gave it a lot of thought, but couldn’t see
a way I could get it in my games room without selling three cabs. My new plan was to get it back, play it for a
while, and then sell it on. The work was
completed and Martin was all set to deliver it.
However the evening before delivery I just so happened to see a wanted
post on an arcade forum for this very machine.
I contacted him, a deal was made and delivery was redirected. I’m a bit sad that I never got to play it
after all the hard work of getting it out of the building, but I needed some
cash after some big Raids recently, and I’m pleased it went to someone who
really wanted it. Also I was pleased to
see The Getaway at the recent Play Expo in Blackpool
and enjoyed a couple of credits.
The Getaway looks stunning in
its new home!
