OK not really. Actually I can’t stand MDF, at least when it comes to arcade games. My converted Robotron cabinet was sitting in the corner of our basement. It started raining pretty bad recently after a close to rain free summer. I TOTALLY forgot that one of the upstairs windows leaks water during heavy rain and it comes down into the basement. When I remembered this I went down quickly to check on the cabinet and here is what I found:
Water damage - YAH!
It’s not as a bad as the Robotron that I am restoring but it’s bad enough, especially since there was no damage before. Oh well, could be worse I guess. Williams cabs seem to get it a lot worse than others (ok maybe not as bad as Qbert but still 
). Williams cabs come with leg levelers from the factory but I never seem to see anyone with them in use. I will definitely be using mine with I convert this cab to a Multi-Williams.
I’ve finished painting the front so now reassembly can commence. The front of the game came out looking really nice. If I were keeping this game I would probably replace the entire front panel and re-stencil the sides only because I’m picky about the condition of my games. Since I’m building a Multi-Williams cabinet I’m not going to do that much work to this. Plus it’s in original condition minus the repainted front so that’s worth something.
Full Frontal Shot - Robotron After Painting
Looking good! I can’t wait to play this once it’s back together.
The Front of my Robotron - Looking good!
Everyone that is big into the arcade/pinball collecting hobby asks themselves this question at one time or another. Maybe you have a less desireable game sitting around you can’t sell. Or maybe you have to purchase a few games you didn’t want just to get something you did want. I have found myself in this position a few times and I learned something each time. You learn which games are worth putting time into and saving and which aren’t.
My last mini bulk buy I purchased three games: Star Trek (Upright), Mechanized Attack and an ESWAT housed in an old Robotron cabinet. I really wanted the Robo cab for my Multi-Williams project but the other two were of no interest to me. The Star Trek sold quickly on eBay but the Mechanized Attack was much harder to get rid of. I advertised it for a month with no takers. Some people were looking for parts like the guns but no one wanted the entire thing. I decided to part the game out and get rid of the cabinet because this thing is a BEAST! I couldn’t move it around by myself.
So I tore the game apart. Did I document what went where with pictures? Nope, didn’t even think of it. Wouldn’t ya know I got a buyer interested in the ENTIRE game, working as it was. DOH! So now I had to put the game back together without much in the way of photo evidence. Here is the only photo I took of the insides:
Inside the back of a Mechanized Attack - Dedicated
Luckily the manual has a great wiring diagram I used to verify that I put it back together properly. With pictures though I could have put it back without having to verify everything with the diagram… I mean who wants to put something back together and power it on without being COMPLETELY sure that it’s reassembled correctly? Burning up good parts isn’t my idea of fun
So here we come to the topic of my post: Are you SURE you want to part that game out? Be certain before you do this. If you aren’t dying for space keep the game intact until you sell the individual parts. If you don’t have space then go for it, part away, just remember to take pictures of everything before you strip it.
There are so many games that I would love to have, but like a lot of people (most actually ) I have to keep my list somewhat tame until I get rich . Here is a list of games I want to have in my collection as they pop into my head:
- Burgertime
- Baby Pacman
- Star Wars Triology
- Operation Wolf
- Escape from the Planet of Robot Monsters
- Medieval Madness (Pinball)
- Whitewater (Pinball)
And here is a list of parts that I need for my existing games:
Here is what I need to complete my console collection:
I’ll be sure to update this post as more stuff comes up
I’m putting up my Punch-Out! for sale. It’s working 100% but to be really nice it will need both monitors serviced and it could use a cabinet “refresh”. Typically I’d restore this myself but time is precious
Click the picture below for a gallery:
Punch-Out! for Sale
I got a great deal on a project Popeye today. It’s a project in that it needs to be restored but it does work 100%. Thanks to Kevin for bringing this to me. I also got two Sanyo 20-EZ monitors as well! This is now on my list of official projects.
Popeye!
I’ve had a Popeye before and I regretted selling it. This one is going to get repainted. I will be installing new art, tmolding and I will be capping the monitor. The front of the bottom support is missing but that’s no big deal to replace.
I started my Robotron restoration today. It was a water damaged on the front of the game but the rest looks great. Once I have finished restoring the front of this game I will be happy having it in the gameroom.
So you can see the damage below.
Robotron Bottom - Prior to Restore
And here is what it looks like after some initial sanding and carving away the raised parts of the MDF:
Robotron Bottom - After Initial Sanding and after cutting away the damaged part of the MDF.
The next step is to take the coin doors off and I am going to put a layer of bondo on it to fill any divots I may have made while leveling the surface.
