Arcade-Revival: A man walks into a barber shop

and sits down to get a haircut . He takes a look around and notices an Asteroids Deluxe sitting in the corner with a “for sale” sign on it. Wait just a minute. You thought this was one of those “man walks into a barber shop” jokes didn’t you? Well it isn’t, and he did, and there really was an Asteroids Deluxe sitting there with a for sale sign on it. Did you really think I would make a joke out of something as serious as an Asteroids Deluxe sitting in a barber shop with a for sale sign on it ? You should know me better than that by now so just settle down and let me finish my story would ya ? Ok, where I was? It was about 1989 when our previously mentioned young- at –the- time hero Miles walked into Judy’s Barber Shop in Boise. He saw the game for sale and thought it would be the perfect gift for his 10 year old son James who would soon be coming to live with him. Now most people would be content walking out of a barber shop with just a haircut. Some would be happy with a cut and a designer hair brush or bottle of fancy shampoo to rejuvenate their scalp. Not our young hero Miles. He left that shop the proud new owner of an Asteroids Deluxe arcade game. The arcade game and son James took up occupancy at the house and all was well. Miles really was a hero in the eyes of son James and the game got a chance to work its arcade magic one more time. About 10 years would pass before the Asteroids Deluxe finally had lost its luster and ended up in the family storage unit. Sadly, it would sit there for another 10 years without seeing the light of day.

The time had finally come to empty out the storage unit and this is where I enter the story. I saw the ad Miles placed on Craigslist and made the call. Luckily the Asteroids Deluxe was still available. We set up a time for the next day to meet at his house. Father and son went to the storage unit and retrieved the old arcade game from what had become a makeshift tomb. When I arrived at their house the game was sitting in the back of a utility trailer. The machine was dirty and run down on the outside, but almost seemed to be begging for one more chance to coin-up and do its thing.

We talked for awhile about the game and how much fun it was to play back when James was a kid. I promised them visitation rights and that it was going to a good home and capable hands and would be given the attention it sorely needed and deserved. I paid the asking price of $100 and loaded the game into the back of my old Ford. I circled around the end of the court and drove back by and with a smile and a wave we were off. The game was on the first leg of its journey back to reliving its glory days.

There was not much that was very deluxe about this Asteroids when it first arrived. The blacklight was burned out and the blue monitor overlay was missing, two of the key ingredients that make this game special. The overlay was cracked. There was a ton of dirt and grime on the cabinet. The monitor went from partially working to completely dead then the whole game seemed to just give out. This game needed a trip to one of those fancy day spas to bring that old glow back but seeing as no such place for arcade games exists just yet, my garage will have to suffice. It was time to do a little revitalizing on a tired game.

First I installed a cap kit, replaced the chassis transistors and replaced the blown fuses. I then looked for what was causing the rest of the game to give out. It ended up being one of the slip on connectors at the bridge rectifier under the power brick. I fixed the connection, stood back, and powered the game on. My hunch was correct. This machine still had a little something to prove. I played a quick game and went back to work. I installed a new blacklight and blue monitor overlay, a new control panel overlay, white buttons, cones , a door lock and painted the coin door and marquee brackets. I detoxed the sideart and the treatment was complete. Another classic vector saved and added to the collection. The game really has regained its luster and is ready for action. See for yourself.

This is beyond what Botox can do. Going to need a new overlay :

Looks like a deep cleansing is in order:

I sent a sample of this to the lab. I am in quarantine as I write this:

A slight build up on the mirror inside the game :

I found this power cord a little shocking. It was replaced :

Duke seems to approve of the outcome:

Not sure what is more difficult, landing a Boeing 747 perfectly in the middle of a runway or landing an overlay that has not been die-cut perfectly in the middle of a control panel: