EG: Arcade chronicles of the carrion kind.

Electric Grave

So Many Posts
No Time
For Games.
15 Year Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2004
Posts
20,259
I'm just gonna post pics of setups and projects I've worked on throughout this hobby.

I dont think of myself as a collector, I rather think of myself as a gamer. I love playing the games more than having a huge collection of games I don't play, however my problem lies in liking way too many games and thus I end up with way too much stuff.

I started with my cousin's Atari and then later with their NES but it wasn't until I got my own NES that I got into playing games but it wasn't until Ninja Gaiden and Megaman 2 that I really cared about gathering skills, once I started going to the arcades to play Final Fight, Double Dragon and stuff like that I couldn't get enough. I played Galaga and Pac-Man and all them classics before but I was never so drawn to an arcade until I started playing X-Men, TMNT, R-Type, Raiden and early 90's games, then out of nowhere SFII came out and all hell broke loose.

I was old enough during 1992 to go on my own to the arcade after school, save my allowance and go to town with SFII. Then the clones showed up and I got even more into anything arcade and most of all fighting games with a healty dose of brawlers and a splash of shooters.

My arcade @ home experience started with Neo and Capcom SNES ports, however I always wanted to play at the arcade. When the port for X-Men vs SF came to the PSX I was extremely upset and my eyes were open for the first time at really noticing the difference between ports and the real thing and so that's how I came to learn about imports. I got me a Saturn and imported all them CPS2 ports at the time along with some other arcade ports.

When the Dreamcast came out I got the agetec stick and then my world change 'cause for the first time playing @ home wasn't so bad, this joystick was way ahead of anything I played with before, even the Neo stick paled in comparison with it's ackward arc that left my wrist kinda feeling odd.

When I was inking comics a writer told me about this emulators that played Neo, hegave me a website to go to, a swedish website, it was great! I must off downladed everything under the sun and then the real fun began but it wasn't until I got tired of the PC gamepad that the real deal began; I wanted to buy a real good arcade stick like the dreamcast agetec stick but had no luck and so I went for plan B...build my own! That's when it all changed...

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First stick I ever made, plenty of mistakes but at the time I thoguht it was the amazing! Well, at least I got a little better as time went by and ended up building a handfull of them.
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Once I got good at building sticks I ran into this at a comic shop and given that Saturn was obsolete I talked the owner into letting me buy it.
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Loved this thing! This added so much flare to my game room, I thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Then a friend told me he was getting an arcade cabinet for christmass, I was in awe that I didn't think of it sooner, if this is something attainable why in hell wouldn't I have one right? Well, I offer the guy some help with the CP and the cosmetics of the cab, it was a pretty awful looking rampage conversion to a high impact football, the thing was a mess but I already had some previous experience building sticks so I was already familiar with wiring, painting, wood work and so on and this is what it ended up looking like.
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Not long after that, same friend decided to get another cab and mount a dreamcast inside of it, I offered help with the CP and marquee art and this is what it ended up looking like.

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Not the greatest idea per say but the CP and marquee looked real good and I wired in a XBOX display stereo amp and we had fun with that until he sold it.

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Well, now after doing 2 cabs I figured it was time for me to get a cab of my own. I wasn't really sure what to look for, most cabs for sale were in pretty rough shape, most cabs were conversions and I had played enough time at the arcade and had built enough sticks to know what's a good setup, good screen angle and a decent button layout, so I started looking for a Neo cab 'cause at the time I parted with my Neo (AES) and wanted the real deal which I friend hooked me up with a 4 slot board along with 3 classic games.

I ran into this and at first I wasn't sold on it, it looked weird compared to what I owned before but my pal at the time talked me into going for it which I'm glad I listened 'cause once I was done restoring it I truly fell in love with it.
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From then on it was an arcade craze.

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Of course I restored the CPs completely and added plexiglass to protect the original CPs as they had seen some action.
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Then I got a hold of a candy which was difficult as most candy cabs were found in CA and not so much in the east coast but we changed that ;).

My first candy was a Neo MVU4, loved that cab, it gave me plenty of good times.
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I eventually restored the CP like you see there but it played with a worn out CP for a long while.
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It was finally the time to see what the deal was with other arcade hardware, I really wasn't familiar with anything other than Neo and so the natural next step for me was CPS2 in the form of a Big Blue wich I helped restore for a friend and then later he sold to me. I was happy with this purchase 'cause all the work was done by yours truly so I knew it was good to go.
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Here's a pic of how I get cabs in and out of my old pad's basement which was on a water front so there was very small access to the stairs outside, it was quite the adventure, lucky for me I was obssessed and never felt like it was too much of a hassle but looking at it now it truly was! This was years later after I sold my Big Blue, I still miss it...
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With CPS2 I was in heaven, that Big Blue cab saw more action than anything else I ever owned so the natural step was to get a candy which could play CPS2 and what better candy for that than a Q25?! I was part of a group by that took place here, loved that cab!

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After that it went even crazier 'cause I kept aqcuiring more and more cabs, I had the space, the money, the time and most importantly the skill to bring these things back to life.

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Along with RX we ran into these Ikea stools and chopped them for proper height. Better, cheaper, nicer than anything else I've seen so far. All them taito leather stools are too high, you know your knees are bumping into the CP's bottom, no good!
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Electric Grave

So Many Posts
No Time
For Games.
15 Year Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2004
Posts
20,259
I just kept getting cabs and cabs and fixing things here and there, repro-ing CPs and building sticks. It was getting pretty crazy. I got NAC cabs from thge kingsley group buy which sucked, then I got some cabs from Bibliophile but then he got arrested and my cabs were in limbo for quite a while. I've had my high and lows on the hobby, all in all I can't complaint. I've had some real amazing times on these cabs by myself and with friends, nothing lights up the arcade room like having it full of people playing the cabs, that's always been my favorite time, but I also loved turning them all on and sitting right at the center just looking around and trying to cope with the concept that I finally got what I wanted!

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Then I started to sell some cabs to make some room. Here's the first one out the door, my good pal RX got it and along with that I reproed the CP but it still needs some tweaking.
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Kept making sticks
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On other things I kept up with other hobbies and some console shenanigans.
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To be continued...
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Last edited:

scgon

Benimaru's Hairdresser
10 Year Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2008
Posts
776
nice story and awesome pics!! glad you took the time
 

mr_b

Windjammers Wonder
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Jun 1, 2009
Posts
1,379
Always cool to hear the history long tenured guys like yourself have. Rock on man!
 

Halfabag

B. Jenet's Firstmate
Joined
Jun 4, 2011
Posts
422
WOW! Really amazing collection and great story too.:)

I must say, that is the coolest toilet I have ever seen.:glee:

Can't wait for the next instalment.
 

loegan43

I've served my time in the Dark Army., Have you?,
15 Year Member
Joined
Aug 28, 2007
Posts
1,946
Thanks for sharing those EG. Man you do some great stick work. Always loved the Goldie's and the setup/layout of your basement game room. That Galaga cab you built for your friend was awesome.
 

pipes

DO NOT DEAL WITH!!!, DEAL OUTSTANDING!
Joined
Jan 28, 2010
Posts
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Incredible stuff EG. One of the best set-ups I've seen. Truly amazing!
 

Chempop

BESTEST Buttrider in chat.Officially No.10 at Schm
Joined
Oct 12, 2010
Posts
3,024
God damn, so much great stuff I can't deal. The Frazetta Death Dealer statue is sick, I have an banged up original Print of it in my game room.
 

trenog

Gai's Trainer
10 Year Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2011
Posts
1,344
Duuuuuude...Sweet!

That's a great legacy you got there.

What kind of sticks and buttons did you end up enjoying the most in all that time on cabs and the stocks you'd make?
 

RAZO

Mayor of Southtown
15 Year Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2006
Posts
8,788
Thats some quality gear grave. Good job on the sticks as well. I see your a big fan of happ sticks.
 

Colorado Rockie

Terry Bogard's Taylor
Joined
Jan 5, 2012
Posts
1,680
Amazing stuff. That Saturn Kiosk is my favorite part of your collection. Very cool and unique.
 

ahcmetal

Super Spy Agent
10 Year Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2010
Posts
624
Canadian tuxedo, shelves of games and Iron Maiden memorabilia...my house looks an awful lot like yours...

I love the organization, straight cabs and clean organization makes everything look even better, nice!
 

Xian Xi

JammaNationX,
15 Year Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2005
Posts
27,748
How did you get Jon Seda to pose in your pics? LOL jk dude.

Nice damn collection, I'm seriously impressed.

For this stick you should do another art where Zangief does his win pose and make the stick his dick. That'd be so bad ass.

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ECZangief

The Real Al Bundy
Joined
Dec 20, 2009
Posts
772
So that's where all the candies in Mass have gone! Nice stuff man!
 

HDRchampion

Before you sell me something, ask how well my baby
10 Year Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2010
Posts
4,485
Where is the HDR cab? Good stuff EG, very nice setups & story...
 

Normdog

Kula's Diamond
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Aug 16, 2011
Posts
3,408
Thanks for sharing EG. You’ve got quite the collection. That bathroom setup is especially awesome.
 

galfordo

Analinguist of the Year
15 Year Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2003
Posts
18,418
good shit dude, very slick work on the sticks
 

dipindods

needs help. stuck in virgina.
Joined
Apr 23, 2012
Posts
552
amazing stuff and story. i noticed u have kof 94 minis on alot of ur cabs....fav game?
 

Comrade Porn King Mikhail

TЗh ЯussiaИs Дre CФm
Joined
Oct 11, 2000
Posts
3,486
Bro, this has gotta be my favorite thread in the whole collection forum. It does a great job telling your history, showing some amazing custom projects and going through your entire ownership history.

Really fun to see all the pics throughout the years. You've had some greats cabs and reconditioning projects. Major props!
 

mr_e

Tarma's Gun Polisher
Joined
Sep 24, 2012
Posts
108
Burning jealousy! Sweet collection man. Very cool to see.
 

pipes

DO NOT DEAL WITH!!!, DEAL OUTSTANDING!
Joined
Jan 28, 2010
Posts
2,711
Bro, this has gotta be my favorite thread in the whole collection forum. It does a great job telling your history, showing some amazing custom projects and going through your entire ownership history.

Really fun to see all the pics throughout the years. You've had some greats cabs and reconditioning projects. Major props!

I second this. I really enjoyed see the progression of your collection. Not too many people can say they've taken a shit and played on a cab at the same time. Not saying it hasn't happened but probably not in the washroom though.
 
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