Hi All,
With the power situation at my container, (rather the lack of it) meaning I *still* cannot plug my Star Wars cockpit in and test her now she's fully rebuilt, I've decided to move onto the next restoration! You know what they say: 'Idle hands, something-something-all work and no play ....rusty nail'.
At this point I'd like to give a shout out to the legend that is Dave Spicer; I know you've been waiting for this one
Anyway, I was fortunate enough to pick up this TRON before Christmas from a long standing member on here. The cab was complete, barring the back doors and sadly, the light fitting from the rear that lights the background
Even though I was sure this part would be pretty much unobtainium, I saw plenty of potential in the cab and a deal was struck! I got it for an absolute bargain price on the understanding that it was a project cab and non-working. At this point I must admit the biggest worry for me was getting the multitude of lights working correctly! A TRON without the amazing lighting job would be a sad thing indeed.
Here is how she arrived. The cab is absolutely solid; there are no chunks, dings, damage or damp to speak of; not even around the base. It is a great starting point for a resto
Right-hand side: The usual front edge wear and tear on the side art where people have been leaning on the machine, together with a few scrapes and people's initials. Part of me thinks 'Replace this!', whilst the other half thinks 'Leave it; it's original and those are people's memories.' We'll see.
Rear view: You can see the dangling power cable here for the missing (!) light fitting; 'Where am I going to get one of those from?!' I cried
The backdrop is intact and stapled in place; it's just a bit dusty; those marks on the right are spider droppings and wiped clean off
The monitor is not original, being a Hanty of some description but it does work. One of the first jobs I do is take that out and start doing research into what monitor(s) TRON shipped with.
Inside bottom: The cab is wired for UK 240v but unfortunately the harness has been quite badly hacked. I knew about this from discussing it with the seller so no nasty surprises but again, one of the first things I do is to remove the hacked loom in its entirety. The PCB stack has already been removed and wrapped safely in a million layers of anti-static bubble wrap
You can see the switcher conversion kit wired in on the left too, which was a nice bonus...
Control Panel: The overlay is very nice and still pretty vibrant, with no tears. It seems the punter's frustration has instead been taken out on the joystick and the spinner
The joystick is firm and springs back to the centre perfectly but the plastic covers are taped together and the trigger is missing. I am not worried at all for reasons that will become apparent though
The main black light cover is faded but there *is* a light present so the fitting is all there. Good. I am not sure if the red buttons are stock though; anyone? Should they be white? It would also be useful to know if the spinner art that you can obtain from Phoenix Arcade is after market or if the cab did indeed ship with more than just an orange sticker?
Marquee: This is original for sure but sadly there is some bubbling where the print is coming away. It lights up and displays well enough however
The metal marquee retainers are in great shape; I won't need to do anything with those.
Left hand side: The same expected wear and tear as the right side, if a little better and less abused by scrotes with the desire to carve 'Kate is fit' (badly) down every machine they encounter...(For the record, Kate was never that fit and she didn't put out anyway..)
Power on: This is what happened when the cab was powered on and again, totally in line with what the seller had told me to expect. The cab boots to a white screen and a cycling / clicking sound can be heard coming from the speakers when the volume is turned up. We have a long way to go people!
Coming up next:
With the power situation at my container, (rather the lack of it) meaning I *still* cannot plug my Star Wars cockpit in and test her now she's fully rebuilt, I've decided to move onto the next restoration! You know what they say: 'Idle hands, something-something-all work and no play ....rusty nail'.
At this point I'd like to give a shout out to the legend that is Dave Spicer; I know you've been waiting for this one
Anyway, I was fortunate enough to pick up this TRON before Christmas from a long standing member on here. The cab was complete, barring the back doors and sadly, the light fitting from the rear that lights the background
Here is how she arrived. The cab is absolutely solid; there are no chunks, dings, damage or damp to speak of; not even around the base. It is a great starting point for a resto
Right-hand side: The usual front edge wear and tear on the side art where people have been leaning on the machine, together with a few scrapes and people's initials. Part of me thinks 'Replace this!', whilst the other half thinks 'Leave it; it's original and those are people's memories.' We'll see.
Rear view: You can see the dangling power cable here for the missing (!) light fitting; 'Where am I going to get one of those from?!' I cried
Inside bottom: The cab is wired for UK 240v but unfortunately the harness has been quite badly hacked. I knew about this from discussing it with the seller so no nasty surprises but again, one of the first things I do is to remove the hacked loom in its entirety. The PCB stack has already been removed and wrapped safely in a million layers of anti-static bubble wrap
Control Panel: The overlay is very nice and still pretty vibrant, with no tears. It seems the punter's frustration has instead been taken out on the joystick and the spinner
Marquee: This is original for sure but sadly there is some bubbling where the print is coming away. It lights up and displays well enough however
Left hand side: The same expected wear and tear as the right side, if a little better and less abused by scrotes with the desire to carve 'Kate is fit' (badly) down every machine they encounter...(For the record, Kate was never that fit and she didn't put out anyway..)
Power on: This is what happened when the cab was powered on and again, totally in line with what the seller had told me to expect. The cab boots to a white screen and a cycling / clicking sound can be heard coming from the speakers when the volume is turned up. We have a long way to go people!
Coming up next:
- A baffling discovery inside the cab that brings huge smiles all round
- I ship large metal things from the US
- Everything you always wanted to know about lighting ballasts
