Investigating my lockup garage...

[RolyRetro]

After 20 years of collecting, like many of us I've amassed quite a lot of arcade machines and assorted spares, spread over multiple houses, garages, lockups and storage units. I've decided after finally securing a property that has the potential to get everything located in one place that I want to audit my collection, and work out what I have, including everything I forgot I had and just stored away. Many of these were ebay finds, some were trades on here, some were US imports, and others were people finding out I had a collection and offering them to me via social media. I even had my own operator raid, buying up a literal shed load of arcade cabinets and spares off the back of an online auction.

I know I've got multiple upright and cocktail cabinets, both original and JAMMA, whole boxes of dead and working PCB's as well spare monitors and power supplies. I just can't quite recall where they all got stored and what condition they were stored in.

So prepare for a "Storage Hunters" style series where I go to various lockups and storage locations and find all sorts of arcade crap, and hopefully some solid gold!

First up a teaser photo - a lockup garage I have had for around 10 years and definitely has some interesting cabinets stored away. I'm off there this afternoon for an initial audit of the contents...



Adding a running total in this first post to be updated as I go....

 

[Chihiro]

Probably empty

 

[RolyRetro]

Probably empty

Now that would be a twist! There's a Netflix series in that heist

 

[TheDaddy]

Sounds good !! Count me in, I will be watching !!

I dont suppose you look like Brandi from storage wars ?? lol

Dave.

 

[RolyRetro]

Sounds good !! Count me in, I will be watching !!

I dont suppose you look like Brandi from storage wars ?? lol

D

If Brandi is a 50 year old Essex man with a beard, yes I'm just like Brandi

 

[Mr20to5]

Well, this thread has some promise. Happy hunting. Looking forward to seeing what's behind the green door.....

 

[chris2922]

Following with interest. I can’t keep track of everything in one garage so I’d be lost with several!

 

[TheDaddy]

If Brandi is a 50 year old Essex man with a beard, yes I'm just like Brandi

Yeh that will do for me ! I aint to fussy now adays !

Dave.

 

[Stokers]

Also following, fingers crossed you have one of these...

 

[thegreathopper]

Are there a lot of people with loads of cabs? I have been collecting for over 20 years and have 2, a modern LCD cab and a CRT for good games.

Well I did get up to 4 once, but after moving from an upstairs flat to another upstairs flat 2 had to go!

Good luck getting everything in one place, it must be a worry having cabs and boards spread around.

 

[RolyRetro]

Also following, fingers crossed you have one of these...

Where is the "unlike" button, that's hurting my eyes

 

[TheDaddy]

Also following, fingers crossed you have one of these...

I'm out !

 

[RolyRetro]

Are there a lot of people with loads of cabs? I have been collecting for over 20 years and have 2, a modern LCD cab and a CRT for good games.

Well I did get up to 4 once, but after moving from an upstairs flat to another upstairs flat 2 had to go!

Good luck getting everything in one place, it must be a worry having cabs and boards spread around.

I had a wish-list that was quite long, but only cabinets that I played back in the day and had a special meaning for me, nothing else. But then you buy one and the seller has another and you think "that might not come up again", then there is the spare PCB for the cab you already have, then there is the cabaret version which you think you might like better, then a cocktail, then you discover a nice Jamma cabinet which would be great for a 60 in 1...

 

[RolyRetro]

Well I remembered the combination for the padlock, cunningly stored as "Mr Garage" on my phone, and I'm in...
Now THAT'S where I put those 2 foot high chrome reindeers

 

[RolyRetro]

First up we have a PAC JAMMA cab, looks like the original CPO and marquee, but its missing the jazzy glass graphic and had a generic "Silverline" one dropped in. This is complete with CRT and also has a PCB in it... I think I bought from an operator in Birmingham, and Martin delivered it straight to the lockup so never been tested.

 

[athena]

Well I remembered the combination for the padlock, cunningly stored as "Mr Garage" on my phone, and I'm in...
Now THAT'S where I put those 2 foot high chrome reindeers

View attachment 9428

Forget the reindeer’s!! Looks like a nice pair of rabbit ears in that box!!

 

[Stokers]

I assume the Stallone movie from 1989 tells the story of a similar garage - full of minty cabinets.

 

[RolyRetro]

Next a couple of empty of dedicated but very much project cabinets, a Centuri Phoenix and Zaccaria Invader. I also have a 19” Hantarex CRT monitor that I bought for the Phoenix which looks ok but probably needs a service. There should be at least one Phoenix PCB knocking about because this was one of my “priority projects” when I started out and I’m sure I bought one…

 

[RolyRetro]

What’s that lurking under a pile of Christmas decorations? A Nichibutsu Moon Cresta, from my operator lot, I remember him telling me it had an extra large coin box fitted as they couldn’t get round to the locations quick enough to empty them back in the day. The pub (or club) would call and say the machine us broken again but it would just be full of 10p pieces. There should be a spare monitor somewhere, again bought from someone on here…

 

[RolyRetro]

This is one that I knew was waiting for me, how could I forget my Atari Time Pilot? Made in Ireland, but very few in the wild and this is the only one I ever saw come up for sale. A great game from my childhood in the Southend arcades, looking forward to getting this up and running as it looks complete.