My garage sale score - what do you think?

Hi guys! The other day I was browsing craigslist for arcade games and saw someone selling a "Neo Geo machine" for $75. I called them up and asked what kind of condition it was in, and they told me the monitor wouldn't come on but it had "a bunch of those samurai games." SamSho has always been one of my favorite series, so I was excited and made sure to get there early. This is what I found when I got there:



The machine was obviously a Data East conversion - maybe Bad Dudes or Robocop. Fair condition, no bezel and apparently no power to the monitor. But the MVS (an MV-1) came on and had sound. I looked around the back and found a box inside that was full of the following carts:

3-Count Bout
Art of Fighting
Cyber Lip
Fatal Fury 2
Fatal Fury Special
Ghost Pilots
Last Resort
Samurai Shodown
Samurai Shodown II
Samurai Shodown III
Top Hunter
World Heroes
World Heroes 2

$75 for everything. I got the cabinet and MVS home, and hooked up the MV-1 to my other JAMMA cabinet and started testing the carts. After a little dusting, I was able to get them all to work. I couldn't believe that some of them appeared to be complete with boxes and all the relevant info/marquees/etc. Here's everything that was in the box:



















Not pictured are dip switch sheets that came with most of the boxed games, and mini marquees for Ghost Pilots and Fatal Fury Special that I found later. I think I got a pretty phenomenal deal for $75. What do you think? I'm new to the NG scene... are any of these games hard to find?

Anyway, I'm excited to own an MVS and some carts... I might stick it in my Aero City or just fix up the cabinet I got them with.

Wow.

If your luck keeps up you'll be able to trade a bum a happy meal for a brand new BMW.

Jealous indeed! I can't believe that they held on to all those boxes and artwork, very nice find.

That Top Hunter kit alone is nearly worth the $75. I'd say a very good deal, I'd have paid $75 for that lot without the cab.

Wow, cool. I was really shocked when I opened that box and found not just loose carts but boxes, and even more surprised to open the boxes and find artwork.

By the way, if any of you guys are looking for any of those games, I'd definitely consider parting with some of them. I really can't imagine I'll want to play something like Top Hunter very much.

And yeah, I have had some incredible luck lately. That Aero City I mentioned? $25. It needs a monitor, but it's in pretty good shape! Even came with a riser.

Awesome deal! You could sell that Last Resort for $90 alone probably...

As others have said, nice deal. For some reason, every asshat in my town thinks an arcade machine, no matter how bad it is or what condition it is in, thinks it's worth at least $500. Of all the luck I tell ya.

Awesome Score,Congrats man..

Eickhorst said:

By the way, if any of you guys are looking for any of those games, I'd definitely consider parting with some of them. I really can't imagine I'll want to play something like Top Hunter very much.

Click to expand...

give top hunter another try before you get rid of it. i really enjoy that game much more than i thought i would. there are some moves and some moves that i didn't know about the first couple time i played and it's made the game a little better. it's really fun two player.

great deal

Eickhorst said:

Wow, cool. I was really shocked when I opened that box and found not just loose carts but boxes, and even more surprised to open the boxes and find artwork.

By the way, if any of you guys are looking for any of those games, I'd definitely consider parting with some of them. I really can't imagine I'll want to play something like Top Hunter very much.

And yeah, I have had some incredible luck lately. That Aero City I mentioned? $25. It needs a monitor, but it's in pretty good shape! Even came with a riser.

Click to expand...

Holy Shit! I'm far more impressed with this score than that of the MVS. I would sell the MVS cab for 75-100, and keep the one slot for the Aero. I would sell what ever games you don't plan on playing, put a sweet monitor in that Areo, and call it a day. You are one lucky dude!

If you do plan on parting some stuff out, I would definitely be interested in that Last Resort cart. I have Metal Slug 1 and 3 FS/FT too.

But I don't mean to thread crap: Awesome score!!! Where did you happen to find the Aero for $25? That's one of my favorite cabs, and I would kill to get my hands on one. It looks to be in good shape too.

Hey Beaglepuss! You know, it's funny, I almost sent you a PM earlier this morning asking if you'd be interested in a trade for Last Resort. So in no way do I consider it a threadcrap. I'll PM you separately, so check your mail.

The Aero City was another craigslist find. I had a thread about it on KC, but since they've disappeared (temporarily?) I can't link to it. A guy said he had a "Japanese style metal cabinet" and was selling for $25. I called and asked if he forgot a zero. He said it was just a project he didn't have time for, so I took it off his hands and giggled like a giddy little schoolgirl.

Your idea for the Aero City is EXACTLY what I had in mind. I was trying to decide what to put in that machine, but seeing the MVS running on my other 25" JAMMA cab was inspiring. I think I'll drop a tri-sync in the Aero (for future-proofing), and connect the MVS. The other cab, while I like the shape, I may sell, or fix up for a friend.

Eickhorst said:

Hey Beaglepuss! You know, it's funny, I almost sent you a PM earlier this morning asking if you'd be interested in a trade for Last Resort. So in no way do I consider it a threadcrap. I'll PM you separately, so check your mail.

The Aero City was another craigslist find. I had a thread about it on KC, but since they've disappeared (temporarily?) I can't link to it. A guy said he had a "Japanese style metal cabinet" and was selling for $25. I called and asked if he forgot a zero. He said it was just a project he didn't have time for, so I took it off his hands and giggled like a giddy little schoolgirl.

Your idea for the Aero City is EXACTLY what I had in mind. I was trying to decide what to put in that machine, but seeing the MVS running on my other 25" JAMMA cab was inspiring. I think I'll drop a tri-sync in the Aero (for future-proofing), and connect the MVS. The other cab, while I like the shape, I may sell, or fix up for a friend.

Click to expand...

PM replied to.

CRAIGSLIST!?!?!?! That is amazing to find an Areo City on craigslist, for $25, in KT! You are a lucky man indeed.

I don't know what the deal is with KC? They've been down for a while now, and I hope they're not gone for good.

Definitely update this thread once you've got the monitor in the Aero. It would be cool to see that thing up and running.

What other cabs do you have at the moment?

Awesome find, congrats. My best deal ever was earthbound for $6, but nothing that good.

Yeah! Insane luck and just being in the right place at the right time. There is a place here called KC Video Games that the seller apparently got it from. Where THEY got it, I have no idea.

The Aero City is my only candy cab, but I also have the Data East cab which I may or may not keep, a DK I restored to DK Jr. with a MAME machine inside, and a big Midway Universal cabinet I also intend to MAME. Oh, and a "Skill Krane" that's just used as a display case for the myriad plush my gf and I won in Japan.

Here are some more pics for your enjoyment:

DK before. Ironic that it used to be a (crappy) NG conversion.



DK after restoration. I just like the DK Jr. art better than the DK art. Lack of bezel is intentional; black t-molding will eventually be replaced with white.



Midway Universal cabinet. When I got it it was a Gauntlet Dark Legacy. This is the one I used to test the MV-1. This sucker is BIG.



Skill Krane packed with plush.



And one more shot of the Aero City on its riser. I didn't even know risers like that existed, to be honest. Never saw them in Japan.



BeaglePuss, here's a YouTube vid of the Last Resort cart running on that big cab:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JukQsq_pMP0

BeaglePuss said:

PM replied to.

CRAIGSLIST!?!?!?! That is amazing to find an Areo City on craigslist, for $25, in KT!

Click to expand...

I found A reo record once for $1.

Nice score!! Sometimes Craigslist is awesome like that.

I like the DK Jr. Restoration. What did you do for the sides; Paint or Laminate?

electricgrave said:

I like the DK Jr. Restoration. What did you do for the sides; Paint or Laminate?

Click to expand...

Thanks! Your question is quite a compliment!

I bondo'd and sanded the sides, then primed and wet-sanded it as smooth as I could get it. The blue was actually quite a bit darker than I thought, so I did EIGHT coats of the orange paint until none of the blue showed through, and once that was done, two coats of Polycrylic. It is nice and smooth now, but still not as even as laminate.

Yeah you know what I mean, the pic looks nice and smooth, but I wasn't sure, I had to ask. I'm not a fan of multibutton layouts, but other than that top ace restoration.

Yea, those "riser" boots are nasty! My little candy had one, I had to junk it.

electricgrave said:

Yeah you know what I mean, the pic looks nice and smooth, but I wasn't sure, I had to ask. I'm not a fan of multibutton layouts, but other than that top ace restoration.

Click to expand...

Thanks electric. It's a single-player control panel - an 8-way and 7 buttons on one side, and a 4-way and 4 buttons on the other. Just wanted to be able to play more than the classics on it. I can understand wanting to maintain the integrity of the original, though.

The Aero City is a great cab, and I agree with BeaglePuss that $25 is an incredible deal for one of those even without the monitor. Mine was gently used so the monitor and everything else is in great shape. No way I will ever find a candy cab local to me though.

A friend of mine in MI recently restored one of his and purchased a true-flat CRT monitor to go in it, and it looks great. He has a thread on here outlining the restoration process. I was afraid that the low-res stuff wouldn't look too good on it, but I was very pleasantly surprised.

68k said:

The Aero City is a great cab, and I agree with BeaglePuss that $25 is an incredible deal for one of those even without the monitor. Mine was gently used so the monitor and everything else is in great shape. No way I will ever find a candy cab local to me though.

A friend of mine in MI recently restored one of his and purchased a true-flat CRT monitor to go in it, and it looks great. He has a thread on here outlining the restoration process. I was afraid that the low-res stuff wouldn't look too good on it, but I was very pleasantly surprised.

Click to expand...

If it was Dan (http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=161649), then yeah, I've seen that thread. He did a super job on that restoration. I just placed an order with River Service for a new CP and some keys for the locks. I'm thinking about that same Nieman monitor, or the Makvision. I'll definitely keep you guys updated on my own restoration. Hopefully if I get this new job I interviewed for last week, I can do it sooner rather than later.

Nice score. I'd say it's probably the best deal on a lot of MVS titles I've ever seen.

Great job restoring the DK Jr. cab. I don't understand why you have to use MAME though. It's like you did so much hard work but then didn't quite finish the job.

Jedah Doma said:

As others have said, nice deal. For some reason, every asshat in my town thinks an arcade machine, no matter how bad it is or what condition it is in, thinks it's worth at least $500. Of all the luck I tell ya.

Click to expand...

Ditto.