Posted by Rob Caskey on September 12, 1999 at 22:14:56:
In Reply to: Arcade Cabinet Mutilation posted by Anonymous on September 12, 1999 at 12:38:36:
: I like this forum. I visit daily, post messages, and appreciate the cooperative environment here. For these reasons, I immediately thought the contributors here should see this commentary I came across.
: I am also in the process of building my own cabinet, and am partially guilty of the "sins" mentioned in this commentary. It really made me stop and think.
: Please take a moment and read it:
: "Arcade cabinet design is a personal favorite of mine, second only to playing the actual games themselves. In fact, I enjoy the look and feel of these consoles so much that I felt inspired enough to invest some hard-earned money into one. I'm creating a MAME machine as we speak.
: There are numerous sites with different projects. It's a lot of fun to see how gamers have overcome their design obstacles. Plus, there is a LOT of self-expression in these different mutations. I have incorporated what I think is the best of these original creations into my own project (budget permitting).
: But, just as we have to endure ROM beggars and "lamers" on : Let's call them The Mutilators. : Who are The Mutilators? What is a Mutilator? How can you identify them? Are you one? Am I one? : As each day passes, arcade cabinets are rotting in fields and warehouses. Machines break and are thrown into dumpsters. We've all seen pictures on the Internet, haven't we? Hell, I've even endured a hornet's sting scavenging for parts while climbing over 30-40 muddy, abandoned cabinets in a barn. Classic cabinets are not renewable resources. They can not be replaced. But there is hope. : The Video Arcade Preservation Society (www.vaps.org) is a group of collectors who rescue these cabinets and restore them to their original glory. (I am not a member. I'll need more money and more rooms in my house if I ever aspire to be a "collector".) Just as MAME seeks to document the history of game code, VAPS is attempting to preserve the last physical manifestation of these machines. : But now, well-intentioned retrogamers are coming along who want to build their own MAME machine. (Myself included.) He/she seeks out cabinets, essentially competing for the same equipment that preservationists pursue. But there are differences. : The Mutilator will rip working PCB's out of the cabinet. Did it. I offered it to anyone who wanted the boards and hwo would pay S&H for free. Noone wanted em so I trashed em. : The Mutilator will reconfigure the control panel. Yep. All American Football isnt very good with its default CP im afraid. I didnt drill holes in the existing one but removed it, so if anyone wants it & wants to pay S&H gimme a ring. The existing joysticks were in real bad shape though, especially the spring tossy things. : The Mutilator will throw away an original monitor bezel. I havent thrown it away, it was just a 19" black plastic monitor bezel, but im about too. Its nothing fancy. Something from happs prolly. : The Mutilator thinks little of damaging a marquee trying to remove it. Got it out without damaging it all :) Anyone want it? What else fits in that unusual size marquee? Is an AD&D TOD Marquee Bigger so that it could be cut to fit? (Yes, I know I know but I love the game. I designed my CP so 4 people can play it someday...) : The Mutilator will slice off the control panel overlay. The CP Overlay was adhered to a big chunk of metal, so I just unscrewed it. Its in reasonable condition. : The Mutilator will forever hide the original artwork with a can of spray paint. Cabinet was black all over iwth some paper when I got it, no artwork. Peeled it back & got bare wood. Flecked it with gray paint & gonna do some areas near the kick board in black paint. : I beg those of you who want to build your own MAME machine to do what I did. PLEASE find a machine that no longer works. Welp the controls were fuxured & I dont think you could find the spring thing anymores or repair the existing ones. + I wanted to reorient hte monitor... PLEASE find a machine that was a mediocre conversion with no original artwork. No conversion but it didnt have artwork or nothing fancy. I still have the CP & Marquee. PLEASE find a cabinet that is in poor shape. If you must use a good cabinet, carefully remove the items listed above. Hey, it was pretty damn beat up. There are dozens of collectors that will buy them from you on rec.games.video.arcade.collecting. And you can always find a sucker who will overpay for them on ebay (or Dave's boards, if they even know what a PCB is). : Sure, it takes a little more time to use a less-than-desirable cabinet. And it might take $25-50 more to complete your project. But consider the consequences. Leave the unpolished gems to the pros. I know my place in the universe. I can only hope everyone else does."