Collectors.... in Boise ? !!!

Sometimes I feel like I need help.Maybe a support group or something to get me through this coin-op collecting addiction. “Hi, I’m Dave, and I have a 3 game a week habit”.
Addiction, affliction, curse, call it what you will, I am just glad I am not the only one suffering from it. I decided that instead of forming a group to rid myself of this indulgence, I would form a group to promote it. It’s become quite evident to me over the past few years that Boise has a pretty strong contingent of pinball and arcade game collectors. It was time to bring them together, throw them all into the gameroom, and see what would happen.

I had met several but not all of our local collectors here. In a town like Boise we just don’t have the opportunity to cross paths like collectors in the bigger cities. No auction. No expos. We just have a bunch of collectors wandering the streets aimlessly snatching up machines and doing their own thing. I called and emailed the collectors I did know and got the ball rolling. I had no idea what to expect. I formed an email group and set a date. I found out that Brett Davis from PinScore lives about 2 miles from me and Marc Mandeltort of Marco Specialties and his family were going to be in town and were interested in coming. The stars were aligning just right in the coin-op collecting universe.

Some collectors were out of town for the 3 day weekend yet we still had a solid showing. After collecting for 15 years you can get a little jaded at times. This was just the thing I needed to make me realize that there are still some really good new collecting- related experiences waiting to be had. For myself, this experience was more about the people that collect than the machines themselves. If there is one thing that collectors have in common, it’s great stories about playing the games as kids and finding and owning the games as adults. I listened to many of these stories over the course of the evening. I listened to a story about getting a Tempest for a dollar at a Boy Scout sale. A story about finding games at a garage sale and a story about getting a game for free. There were a lot of stories about playing games at the arcades as kids. There were pin guys with a couple arcades and arcade guys with a couple pins. There were collectors with giant collections, collectors with small collections, and even a future collector. Poor guy doesn’t realize what he is in for.

I talked to Brett Davis about his company PinScore. It is pretty exciting to think about what he is offering to the pinball community. He saw a need and decided to take a chance. His products have caught the attention of the pin collectors and have been very well received so far. It is obvious he will be making a tremendous contribution to the preservation of pinball machines. I also had the privilege to talk to Marc and Nancy Mandeltort and their son Paul about Marco Specialties. Back in the 1980’s Marc had been accumulating a few pins and parts in the garage and came home one day to find it all out on the drive way . Nancy had decided enough was enough and it was time to do something with Marcs stash.It was one of those " do or die" moments. Marc decided he wanted to enter the coin-op business and with Nancy’s blessing it began, a 20 year odyssey that would take them from operating machines locally to being the largest supplier of pinball parts on the planet. “Behind every great man is a great woman”, and let me tell you, Nancy is extremely passionate about pinball and arcade games. As a 7th grader, Paul developed their first internet bulletin board in the 90’s and Marco Specialties became a household name amongst pinball collectors. Listening to them talk about their early days and some of the history of pinball machines was a real treat. We as collectors are fortunate to have people like Marc, Nancy and Brett , people willing to take risks so we can preserve our machines. It was an honor to have them here for our get-together

The night proved to be a success. I want to thank everyone who participated.
It was very satisfying to meet not just collectors, but people in the business making it possible to restore and preserve the machines we loved as kids and probably love even more as adults . This morning I poured a cup of coffee and walked into my gameroom. I stood there and just stared at the machines for a few minutes. How is it that these things are able to instill so much passion in us ? Enough passion to drive hundreds of miles to pick up a game. Enough passion to start a business for something that most people would never even think about . Enough passion to spend countless hours restoring a game to original condition. Enough passion to make an arcade in your home. I don’t know and I don’t care. All I want to know right now is when the next meeting is.






Boise area collectors got together with Marc,Nancy,and son Paul of Marco Specialties and Brett Davis of PinScore for a very unique experience.

Armor Attacked...

My Armor Attack was attacked. I have no idea how, when , why, or by who or what. All I do know is that one day I noticed a chunk broken out of the front left lower corner. The game was in my garage at my old house right before I moved. I took the broken piece and tucked it away for safe keeping thinking I would fix it after I got to my new house. So safe in fact , that now I can't find it. I don't think I would have been able to use the broken piece again anyway. I’m sure it will show up some day after I am reduced to bits of ash and bone and someone is going through my stuff. I can see them pulling this little corner of a game out of a bag or box and with a puzzled look on their face hucking it over one shoulder onto the pile. The game has now been in this fractured state for a few years. Some of you may have even played this game at the Cal Extreme a few years back , before this all happened. It has been too depressing to even deal with it, especially when I think about what I went through to get this game in the first place.

This is a game I rescued during a warehouse raid several years ago. Imagine arcade games laying on their sides and stacked on top of each other 7 to 10 games high. Now imagine stacks and stacks and stacks to the tune of about 250 to 300 games. Now imagine an Armor Attack about 3 rows back second from the bottom of one of those stacks. Such was the case with the first meeting of my beloved Armor Attack and me. After carefully breaking down and removing a few stacks of games my Armor Attack was finally free. Like the Island of Misfit Toys, the games had just sat there waiting for someone to come and play with them again ,losing hope until we showed up with 3 trucks and trailers in tow. Oh happy day. I loaded up this little gem along with several other games and headed for home.

The machine was in excellent shape considering it had been sitting there in the filtered sunlight covered with dust and dirt as the years ticked by. The games that had been stacked on top of it had protected it and preserved it well.I cleaned it up and we got it working. I repainted the cabinet and brought it back to its former glory. But why Armor Attack? Why was this game so special out of that huge pile of games? Glad you asked .

Back in the early 80's , Chuck E Cheese opened near us and had an arcade that was stocked full of all the instant 80's classics. For some reason, my now-brother-in-law Tim and I were just really hooked on Armor Attack. Most likely because I really sucked at playing arcade games and we could rack up a load of extra jeeps pretty easily and then take turns to get a drink or hit the restroom. We could play for a long time on a couple quarters and that we did.

There was no way I could leave an Armor Attack to rot in that tomb of games. I was going to get that game out of there no matter how many stacks of games had to be moved. Using a forklift we carefully unstacked the games and dug it out.The game came home with me, got restored and almost lived happily ever after until this happened.I knew it would have to wait until after I moved to deal with it. I have been here in my new house for far too long with my Armor Attack sitting wounded in the garage. It was time to go a little "Mad Scientist" on it and make it whole again.
I decided to document this in case one of you out there has a game that is attacked by the same unknown entity that attacked mine and you aren't sure what to do.


The victim and a close up of the wound.






I cleaned the wound, cut out a new piece, shaped it and drilled pilot holes for screws.










The inside rail going up about 12" above where the chunk was missing was broken loose and barely hanging on . It needed to be glued. I clamped it in place.




The new patch screwed and glued.



I filled in the t-mold slot with bondo and put a little over the screw heads. Usually I would use a router to re-cut the slot out but I was lazy and just free handed it with my Dremel style Black and Decker tool and a cutting wheel. It actually worked pretty well.



Ok, so the game is patched up but I still need some black vinyl to match. The new stuff isn't exactly the same. Hmmm....what would Dr. Frankenstein do ?
A skin graft , Duh !

I sliced a little piece from behind where the motherboard is mounted. It will be our little secret.



Stretched and glued it in place.



I think Dr. Frankenstein would be proud.






Just happened to have a NOS control panel for the final touch.




A new coat of paint on the front and the game is ready for action.





The End.

Taking the Plunge...

So you wanna buy an arcade game. Are you crazy ?!!! Good. Because someone besides me has to save these important little pieces of electronic nostalgia that are still out there. I can't do this alone. Luckily there are actually quite a few of you out there saving these precious treasures. But what about the people on the fence ? The people that are thinking about it but haven't taken the plunge yet ? I am here to help and I will be happy to unleash this coin-op curse upon you . Until now I have sorta steered clear from doing tutorials and how-to's and once this madness takes over and your house is infested with arcade games and parts, you will wish you never even read this. You have been warned.

First things first. You can't get a game without cash. And I say cash because forget about Ebay. You are picking this game up in person. There is no other way. Repeat after me, " I promise I will not buy my first game from Ebay " . There is one exception to that and one only. If the game is local and you can actually go see it and play it first then that's fine. Before you start your search on the web or in the paper, you need to search your memories for the game that really puts a smile on your face as you take that trip down memory lane. There must be a specific game or even 2 or 3 that really bring back the memories for you. Keep your list short for your first game. Make sure it is really something you want. Once you have that list of 2-3 games or maybe 5 at the most then it's time to do some homework.

So you have a list of 5 games let's say. What do you know about them besides the fact you dumped a ton of quarters into them as a kid ? You really need to research what parts are and aren't available for them. You need to know exactly what can and can't be had and for what price. When you look at a game you need to know exactly what the reproduced artwork will cost. Or how much it will cost to get the monitor fixed if needed. Or who can repair that motherboard if needed. Know what you are getting yourself into before you buy the game.

If you want to eliminate some of the headaches you can buy a game that is restored but your pockets will have to be a little deeper. Buying a restored game your first time out isn't a bad idea as long as the seller is reputable. Do your homework on the seller. Ask for a reference or two. If the seller gets offended then move on. Whatever you do, never let emotions take over and dictate your actions. It's easy and dangerous to get caught up in a deal and let childhood memories take control . Don't be afraid to walk away from a game and keep looking. Every time I think that a certain game will never come around again locally, I am proven wrong. Have the discipline to walk away from a deal that just doesn't feel right.

So now you are armed and dangerous with some cash and a little knowledge about the games you want to own. You can begin your search. Craigslist is always a good place to look. Arcade related message boards are good. Local operators are hit and miss and can be hard to deal with. An arcade game auction is a possibility but can be a tricky place for a novice to make a good decision due to the nature of the situation and fast pace . The classifieds of your local paper are an option. The bottom line is this though : when an opportunity comes , and the machine is worth buying, you have to be ready to pull the trigger. You might not and probably will not get a second chance to buy that game if the deal is that good. I keep a blanket, shrink wrap, a piece of cardboard, and some straps behind the seat of my truck at all times. You really never know when and where you might have a chance to pick up a game. Be prepared ! Don't show up to look at a game and have no game-plan for getting it home. You need to know exactly how to transport it and how you are going to transport it and be ready to execute said plan. " I can call my brother-in-law and see if I can borrow his truck next Tuesday " doesn't cut it.

So there it is. I may not have covered everything but hopefully this helps. At least now you will have some kind of plan of attack to get your first arcade game.

So let's review. Make a list of games. Do some research. Get some cash. Decide how you will get the thing home. Start looking. Enjoy being cursed forever. Sounds like a solid plan to me. Now get going.

"The List "

So I was thinking about some of the great experiences I have had over the past 15 years collecting arcade games. Some good , some bad , and some that I would pay good money to be able to forget. It seems like most of the bad experiences come early on in this hobby, before patience and discipline can win out over reckless decisions to buy everything that you can possibly fit into whatever space you have left. Buyers' remorse is a valuable lesson learned and best learned quickly.

There are five things ( other than buyers' remorse ) that I think every collector should experience at least once. These are experiences that in my opinion will make a collector well-rounded and appreciate the hobby a little more. So check it out and see what you think.


5. Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

This really is my favorite arcade of all time and is ranked nationally as one of the best. It is one of the best examples of arcade games still in their natural habitat. The Boardwalk is over 100 years old and still going strong. Wanna make sure it is there for another 100 years ? Then get going and drop some coins in the games and a few bucks on some rides and some food. Their new slogan says "100 years, millions of memories " . I have been going there since I was a kid. This place oozes nostalgia out of every nook and cranny. I never wanna forget what a real arcade was like and as long as this place is still around I wont have to worry.



4. Attend an auction.

Truth is, I have been to a lot of auctions and only bought a total of 2-3 games. Still, it's fun and you never know what you will see. It's pretty exciting when you are actually bidding on a game you want. Just remember what I said about buyers remorse.

3. The California Extreme Show.

Everyone needs to attend this at least once. Collecting can't just be all buying, selling, searching, and restoring your own games. You need to come to this show and just relax, have a good time, and play the games . Meet other collectors, play a game that is on your want list to see if you still want it , check out the guest speakers , and just take it all in.


2. Restore a game.

And I don't mean just slap on a new control panel overlay and paint the coin the door. I mean really restore a game. Bring one back that no one else would touch. Convert one back that was a goner. Save one that most other people would part out in a heartbeat. Don't look at the cost. Just do it. Don't let anyone talk you out of it. Don't even let anyone know until you are finished. It will be rewarding beyond words.


1. Warehouse raid.

Probably the best 2 words a collector can ever hear. They are becoming a little more scarce but they are still out there, hiding, biding there time , waiting to be discovered like an ancient crypt. This is probably the single most exciting thing I have ever done in regards to collecting. Nothing like walking into a warehouse with a few hundred games waiting to be rescued. A room full of motherboards and miscellaneous parts . A hungry operator wanting to sell it all for a good price. This is the ultimate experience . At the opposite end of the spectrum from the Cal Extreme and the Boardwalk are these neglected games that need to be discovered and saved. Don't give up the search.


So there it is. My list. I have been fortunate enough to experience each of these things a few times. The Boardwalk reminds me why I collect. The auction and warehouse raids give the thrill of the hunt. Restoring a game is the reward. The Cal Extreme show is the break we all need to come together and realize we are not alone in this madness.

Maybe your priorities vary a little. Maybe you have experienced all of these things yourself and agree or disagree . Maybe you are just getting started and haven't had a chance yet. If this list motivates you to act or reminds you of some good times collecting then great. If not, make your own list and get out there and do it.