Tron from a small town grocery store

Towards the end of January after the blistering cold front had moved through Indianapolis, I got a message from Alan.

A gentleman in the greater Columbus, IN had a Tron he was looking to sell.

When I went to see the game, the seller indicated the game had come out of a grocery store. Another local collector, John W., messaged me to inquire whether this was the Tron that came out of the old Grandview Grocery (formerly The Dapper Duck restaurant). While I didn’t get this specific information from the seller, the gray duct tape on the left side in this photo is a match.

Here are a couple of photos showing a Tron in that old grocery store.

The Tron is definitely well loved, lots of wear all over and “Sucks” lovingly 🙂 carved into the left side of the cabinet. The cabinet could use a full restore, and the monitor a cap kit. Amazingly enough, Tron is in working condition.

Here are some photos.

Closing

Was really appreciative to pick up this Tron, thanks to the seller! It’s a great game.

If you have a game you’re looking to sell within driving distance of Indiana, certainly anywhere surrounding the great Columbus Indiana area – don’t hesitate to send me a message using my contact form.

Game on.

Roadtrip during a pandemic

At the beginning of October, I was in touch with a gentleman based in Migrove Ontario who had a Zaccaria Fitter he was looking to sell. I’m a raving fan of Zaccaria cabinets and was even more thrilled to have one pop up in North America.

Unusual games seem to surface in Canada on a semi-regular basis, which never ceases to surprise me. Were the distributors different? Was the appetite for games more varied? Or were operators more conscious about saving some of these games? A couple of other examples of unusual games that have shown up in CA in recent memory include – Namco Mappy, Future Flash and an Olympia Scramble.

In this particular case, the story of how a Zaccaria Fitter came to be located in the greater Toronto area was much more simple – the owner originally lived in the Netherlands and brought the cabinet with him when he emigrated to Canada many years ago. Talk about luck!

Making arrangements to pickup Fitter

A trip to Milgrove is about 7 1/2 hours from Indianapolis. Certainly a longer round trip to pick up a game, but still manageable. Or it was manageable pre-2020.

However – during a Pandemic, the planning was more in-depth. I was thankful for the timing. The border crossing restrictions for the US/Canada had loosened some – but travelers are still required to be vaccinated and to have a negative PCR / molecular Covid test within 72 hours of crossing the border. I was in touch with the US Consulate and the Canadian border services to ask a lot of what if questions – but ultimately the crossing was hassle-free.

…and my vaccination card came in handy when I took a detour by the wineries that scatter the north-west coast of Lake Erie 🙂

Plans for the Fitter

Back in Oct. 2019, I had purchased a Comidar marquee and control panel overlay that were in great shape from a collector in Hungary.

I put the Comidar marquee in this cabinet temporarily while I work to have artwork reproduced. I’ve checked in with some collectors in Europe to see what artwork has already been reproduced for Fitter, but given that this game is fairly unusual I’m not expecting to find any others who are in need.

I’ve had unbelievable luck with this cabinet. Paul Swan has already scanned artwork for each of the three pieces that I need (marquee, bezel, control panel overlay) that I’m going to look at having UV (reverse) printed on acrylic.

If you need artwork for a Zaccaria Fitter – do drop me a line.

Note: Don’t laugh too hard when you see the photos of the cabinet. In my excitement, I didn’t notice the bezel was upside down before taking some pictures 🙂

What is the bezel retainer bracket?

This is the metal bracket that can be found on the bottom of the bezel that gives the bezel extra rigidity in the wood channel just above the control panel for Nintendo cabinets like the Donkey Kong Family, Popeye, Mario Brothers and Punch-Out! to name just a couple. Here are a couple of photos examples – the little black bracket is what I’m referring to in this post.

One important point of clarity, as this may not seem like the case…

This bracket is just a tight, press fit onto the bottom of the bezel. Over time corrosion, sticky liquids and other grime may have made their way between the bezel and the bracket making it that much more difficult to remove.

It may seem like there is some sort of double sided tape, or fasteners that you might be missing. But there aren’t, its just a very snug press fit.

If you attempt to pry off the bracket from one side only, you will risk introducing a bend and possibly have future issues with getting the bezel out of the channel at all because it will not sit right.

Why would I remove the retainer bracket at all?

You may not need to. In my case, there was some light surface rust on the bracket that I wanted to have removed and then have the bracket powder coated. Powder Coating is really the highest quality option for restoration for durability and arguably the best looking finish.

If you are removing the bracket, its likely due to some restoration work on the bracket or bezel, or to replace the bezel outright with one in better condition but want to keep the original bracket.

How do I remove the bracket?

For these Nintendo bezels, you need to loosen the bracket and then work off sections from the plexi as evenly as you can across the entire width.

This is an instance where a picture explains things nicely.

Here is a photo of the setup I ended up using to get a bracket off a Donkey Kong bezel that worked pretty well. As you can see, this is after I successfully removed the bracket from the bezel.

A quick summary of the setup for what you see in this photo, if you can ignore the mess 🙂

* Protection for the back of the bezel on your surface
* A wood block – this helps distribute some of the force across the bezel lip
* Protection for the front of the bezel from the wood block
* Teardrop Mallet (Available at Harbor Freight) – Any mallet would probably work, but the shape of the teardrop helps a bit with a precision hit in comparison to a traditional mallet
* Clamps to keep the bezel from moving around

It only takes two to three rounds of tapping on the block and the bracket came off the bezel nicely, and without any bends.

Conclusion

Short and sweet, hope this is useful. If you have a suggestion on a better way to get this bracket off without damaging it do drop me a line.

Universal Cheeky Mouse Cocktail

Like most Universal games, Cheeky Mouse is a relatively hard game to find because the game itself has a reputation for not being very good. For that reason, there aren’t many photos of either the upright or the cocktail floating around.

Today’s post is just to share some photos of what a working! Cheeky Mouse cocktail looks like, from an owner overseas. This cocktail is one that was distributed by ADP, you can see the German instructional stickers applied overtop of the original? instructions.

Get in Touch

I always like to hear from my readers. If you have anything to share about this cocktail cabinet or an upright, I would be interested to hear more from you. Don’t hesitate to use my Contact page to get a hold of me.

Universal Snap Jack – Starting the ball rolling

As of this writing I now own 9 different Universal machines and am always on the lookout to grow the collection. Each and every one of their cabinets is gorgeous. Even though Snap Jack was released in Universal’s generic cabinet used by several other games like Mr. Do and Cosmic Avenger, the bezel, back-plexi and marquee all have uniquely, illustrated artwork specific to the game.

If you aren’t familiar with what the game looks like, here is a great photo of one:

Over at least the last five years I’ve started to piece together artwork for a Snap Jack cabinet. About three years ago Jason S. (Evansville) and I started chatting about a Universal cabinet he had in his garage that was towards the end of a long list of projects.

Once I acquired a Snap Jack bezel in late 2019, I knew it was more likely that I could actually put together a somewhat complete cabinet. I now had a marquee, the back-plexi and the bezel. Jason’s cabinet was converted to a Yie Ar Kung Fu. With a quick paint strip test he confirmed the painted over cabinet was in fact one of the generic Universal’s, and we worked out a deal.

Picked up the Universal Cabinet

At the end of June, I finally got my opportunity to make the drive down 69 to Evansville. Its been nearly 10 years since I was last in Evansville, and at that time the best route was still 70 to Terre Haute and down 150. It was a quick turn, a day drive down with the kids to pick up the game and only a quick stop for ice cream before coming right back home.

Here is the cabinet.

Anytime you are working from a fully converted cabinet, you know you are in for a project. This cabinet is no different and has some particular areas that are a bit unique that will need attention:

• Side Cabinet Damage – The side of the cabinet looks like it suffered some sort of impact, a punch? The inside right of the monitor will need to be sanded and re-patched
• Top Access Panel – The top of every Universal game has a wooden access panel that is screwed into the cabinet. The one on this cabinet was missing. Will need to cut a new one.
• Marquee Area Wood Damage – The operator replaced the marquee bracket screws with ones that were too large. The wood is missing chunks around those holes, that will need to be repaired and will probably be replaced with t-nuts.
• Lower Back of Cabinet – Possibly exposed to some moisture, the lower piece of wood on the back isn’t worth saving. The trick with this one will be routing a new piece using the old one as the template, and cutting new ‘runners’ that run the full height on the back of these Universals.

Closing

Short and sweet for the first project post for the Snap Jack.

Next post will get into the fun of the first step which was stripping the black paint from the sides of the cabinet. Brand new vinyl sideart is available for Universal cabinets from This Old Game, but I much prefer to save the original artwork if at all possible.

Although this project is in flight – I’m still interested to purchase a complete Snap Jack. For this project I could also use a control panel with as much of the original plexi overlay and instruction card as possible.

Please contact me if you have either of these things and are open to discussing a sale or trade, I can make things worth your while.

Stern Tutankahm – Decent final auction price

Tutankham is one of those classic games that has a small, but dedicated following of collectors who love the game.

The game doesn’t come up for sale all that often, and certainly not in working condition. From what I can tell, there have been well less than a dozen machines that have been sold through eBay in the last 10 years so it can be a little bit more difficult than your average game to find an up to date comp from the last 3-6 months.

Final Bid Price for the Tutankahm: $1,075

In my opinion – while this is a decent price for this game, there are times where a nice, working Tutankham has sold for more than this price in the last two years. While that is a longer timeframe for a comp, the relative scarity means that a longer period for comps could be considered relevant.

Let’s take a look at the condition to understand some of the common issues to look out for when valuing this game.

Photos of the Tutankham condition

Here are a couple of common areas to keep an eye out when valuing this Stern game. Some of these areas are condition are common across all arcade games, and a couple are specific to this game.

The Marquee

There are a couple of Stern games where the marquees aren’t just flat pieces of acrylic but rather have a bend or in the case with Tutankham, have a hard right angle at the top. This marquee does not have a top metal bracket that keeps the artwork attached to the cab, rather screws are driven right through bent plastic at the top.

Check for cracking, chips and other damage to the acrylic. The marquee is a common place to have breakages. A buyer can’t see those details from the photo included with the auction, but something to ask about. Reproductions for this piece of artwork are not available.

The Control Panel

The control panel artwork is also reverse printed acrylic. Any flat acrylic around the controls are susceptible to cigarette burns. You can see this piece has at least one burn on the upper right, but isn’t in horrible condition. Cigarette burns can be much more pervasive.

Tutankham control panel artwork is also not available as an authentic reproduction. Cigarette burns can be sanded out and repolished, but it takes a fair amount of work and time.

The Sideart

The sideart on this Tutankham cabinet is in excellent condition.

One detail to keep an eye out for in the photos is that the artwork appears to be mounted in different locations. It could be how the photos are taken, but one side appears to be mounted higher than the other. For that reason buyers should ask whether or not the artwork is original, and if its not – whether its screenprinted or a (low grade) digital print.

Other Notes on the Cabinet

There is a lot to like in the other photos, including the fact that this Tutankham is working and playable.

There are some small cosmetic things that are easily fixed, like removing rust and polishing rusty bolts on the control panel and coin door. There are some chunks missing out of the bottom edges of the cabinet. Done right, that would mean masking off the sideart and repainting the entire cabinet, which is a bit more work.

Closing Note – Valuing Games

If you have a Tutankham or another arcade game in the St. Louis area that you are looking to get an up to date appraisal (working or not), please don’t hesitate to contact me.

I monitor values of games across a number of different sources beyond eBay and I provide free estimates on game values, all you need to do is send along photos and a description of the condition of your game.

Midway Omega Race – One example final price

Omega Race is arguably one of Midway’s more beautiful cabinet designs, and has the unfortunate reputation as a game that was frought with leaky batteries that destroyed its boards. The auction we’re looking is short in description with some solid photos of the game.

The original description, stop muh beating heart:

super nice good working upright shipping is 400.00 or you can come pick it up for no cost

Final Bid Price for the Omega Race: $2,695

This final purchase price this high was a bit surprising, but a working Omega Race with a cabinet in above average verging on mint condition can be a difficult thing to find. Plus, the Missouri as a state was heavy in coin-op operators and St. Louis is no different, that market has long had interest in games which should make for a strong seller market.

This Omega Race sold for a final price of $2,695

Introduction

As a buyer, there are a couple of things to keep an eye out for in general as it indirectly relates to the common battery acid issues with this game, and other more recent things to note as there is a proliferation of poor quality reproduction artwork floating about.

I would speculate that this buyer may have known what they were looking at in this Omega Race cabinet and were willing to pay a premium.

Here are the photos from the eBay auction.

Sideart

You can go online and find files for the original sideart for Omega Race, and you can buy reproduction sideart that is digitally printed on a number of websites.

The original artwork had halftone effects that created the gradient between the red, oranges and light orange / yellow. Your average artwork reproduction jockey isn’t going to pay attention to this detail. Oranges are also notoriously difficult to match from the original screenprinted artwork when printing digitally, where the orange looks brown or muddy.

The original sideart was also laser cut (I assume laser cut), closely matching the circumference of the circle at the top.

This particular machine looks to have the original sideart, and with nearly no blemishes – but its hard to tell without seeing in person.

Lack of Rust

As a result of the battery issues on this machine, its common that the cabinets would be stored in locations that were not completely dry until an owner finally chose to restore the machine. This machine has a notable lack of rust. Not to say that the rust would have been removed, but the coin door photo is interesting. The aluminum parts don’t show signs of oxidation, and the steel parts like the coin door and panel also have minimal to no rust either.

Both situations are good – either this Omega Race was not exposed to much moisture or the previous owner took great care on all of the details in their restoration work, which costs money for the buyer to do on their own.

Other Details of Note

The artwork on the front of the cabinet above the bezel is a metal grill. That is another area to check for light surface rust, which is hard to tell the condition of that artwork in these photos.

The kickplate artwork is vinyl, and is another problem spot for a lot of dings and peels. The kickplate artwork on this cabinet looks to be in excellent shap.

Overall, the cabinet has a minimal amount of scuffs. There aren’t any major scratches in the sideart, the bottom edges of the cabinet aren’t chewed up. While some of the artwork on the cabinet has been reproduced, much of it has not been reproduced in a high quality way (silkscreening) that matches the original. Even details like the vibrancy and lack of wear of the artwork on the control panel where a player’s hands would have commonly been (around the spinner) speak to a high quality machine.

Closing Note – Valuing Games

If you have an Omega Race or another game that you are looking to get an up to date appraisal, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I monitor values of games across a number of different sources beyond eBay and I provide free estimates on game values, all you need to do is send along photos and a description of the condition of your game.

Tempest was completely working, until it wasn’t…

Back in March I received a message about this working Tempest on the west side of Cincinnati. We exchanged a number of messages, but we couldn’t line up the timing until just two weeks ago in July.

The cabinet was stated to be in fully working condition and everything in the photos indicated just that. But as Murphy’s Law goes, when I arrived on the day of pickup the game was dead on arrival.

Sometimes that happens.

We were still able to work something out and the Tempest came home with me. It’s always a fun, easy trip to Cincy and this time I got to see an interesting found metal sculpture park in North Bend, as well as Addyston.

Here are some photos of the cabinet.

There were a couple of fuses that were blown that I replaced and the monitors powers on, but the board does nothing and there doesn’t appear to be any power to the control panel or coin door. The first step is likely going to be some working on the AR board and a simple task of replacing the three pronged plug which is missing the ground.

Quick shout out to Amber – thanks again for your message and selling the game.

In Closing – I do buy arcade games & pinball machines

Whether you are within an hour or two from Indianapolis, or anywhere nationwide and looking to sell an arcade game, please don’t hesitate to send me a message – I’d love to talk with you.

Sega Zaxxon – Really solid final BIN price

For me, Zaxxon is one of the games that comes to mind when I think of Sega for one of the most widely produced games. Paramount owned Sega and spent considerable money to product a commercial for Zaxxon back in the 80’s to ensure their claim of that Zaxxon was the new #1 game came true. I’d speculate this game did get production numbers likely in the thousand(s), possibly multiple tens of thousands.

The likelihood that this game was widely produced, in part supports the typical selling price for this game. I typically think the value of this game being in the range of $400-$600, with a higher end of $700. Right now (May) there are a half dozen active listings across the US for this game that have been sitting for weeks in that $400-$500 price range or lower. However, this auction would support that a Zaxxon in nice original condition in an urban area can command a premium over the typical price.

Final Bid Price for the Zaxxon: $795

What to look for when buying a Zaxxon

One of the main things to look at when valuing this game is the condition of the cabinet. This auction (surprisingly) only had a single photo showing one side of the cabinet. But this game is notorious for having rust on the coin returns, the composite cabinet chipped and crumbling on the bottom edge or under the coin returns, and the artwork in disarray. The black sideart was a target for kids to carve their initials, and the control panel overlays almost always have worn through on the radius if not pulled away from parts of the panel.

This particular Zaxxon cabinet doesn’t appear to have any of those issues. The sideart on the one side (assuming its original) only has a few chunks missing and is fairly free of scratches. The overlay is in amazing shape, the buyer should ask whether or not that overlay is original. This Old Game produces quality, highly accurate reproductions – but there is a ton of reproduction artwork out there for Zaxxon that is really low quality and can be a detractor from the value long term.

Closing Note – Valuing Games

This auction is one example where someone could have left money on the table if they had followed a ‘price guide’ for this game.

If you have a Zaxxon or another game that you are looking to get an up to date appraisal that reflects collectors in your city, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I monitor values of games across a number of different sources beyond eBay and I provide free estimates on game values, all you need to do is send along photos and a description of the condition of your game.

Damp, flaky goodness – in a Junior Package

Last week I got a message through this website from a gentleman who had seen a Jr. Pac-man on the side of the road along Revels Dr. near Highland Trace on the northside of Nashville. While the prospect of a free game always sounds great, after further conversation the situation was as I feared, the game had likely been sitting outside for two weeks or more.

For whatever reason I had envisioned something civilized set of circumstances. A Jr. Pac-man sitting at the end of a driveway, maybe next to a discarded sword collection and a couple of beanie babies ready for trash day.

Nope! Apparently, Revels Dr. is the not so secret place for dumping off everything under the sun including Grandma’s old nightstand. Here’s a GIF of the friend rolling up on the Jr. Pac-man laying there on its side this past Sunday. The other trash along the roadside is unbelievable.

With the game in hand – here are a couple of photos, one showing the Pac-man cabinet on the side of the road before pickup and another of it back at a shop.

The most interesting thing about this pickup is that the game actually works!

The parts from the Pac-man cab are likely to be a parts donor for someone else. The marquee and bezel are roached – possibly from being outside in the elements. But in addition to the working boardset the control panel looked to be in decent shape, and some of the other basic items from the coin door to harness could be re-used.