This is the version I own.
Model No. 30204
Serial No. 33895
Stickers say "Made in U.S.A." with a Sunnyvale address.
anoon's Centipede
- Thread starter anoon
- Start date
This is the version I own.
Model No. 30204
Serial No. 33895
Stickers say "Made in U.S.A." with a Sunnyvale address.
OP
OP
anoon
Well-known member
The weird thing is about mine is that it has Sunnyvale stickers on the cabinet, but the side graphics, marquee, and control panel overlay were of the color scheme typically associated with Ireland. The coin door and test switch location is 100% in line with the Irish facility.
OP
OP
anoon
Well-known member
Side Graphics Round 2.
It took me until February to find time to attempt applying the first set of side graphics, and after that initial debacle which saw me trash them, I debated what to do for a few weeks while I worked on other parts of the machine.
I opted to go with a different vendor this time, but unfortunately the graphics from this shop were on backorder for a couple months. After ordering and waiting and working on other parts of the machine, they finally arrived.
T-molding, back glass, bezel, and monitor were removed, and I laid the cabinet on its side, psyching myself up for a second try.
When the new graphics arrived, I was anxious to inspect them, though it would still be a few more weeks before I would get around to sticking them on the cabinet.
This set was cut to the shape of the cabinet, with roughly 2" of excess bleed. (The original graphics were printed on full rectangular sheets.)
I was a bit dismayed to see that the vinyls on one side had significant creases.
Yikes. I did not like the look of those wrinkles. These things are not cheap, and I especially did not look forward to waiting another 2-3 months for a new set if I didn't have to.
I rolled the graphics up and put them back into the shipping tube until I had time to work on them.
Summer Break! Every year, the company I work for shuts down for two weeks. This afforded me time to wrap up a few jobs around the house, tidy up the garage, and then focus on applying the side graphics.
I unrolled the vinyls, and... oh no. They were in worse condition than before. I thought I had done a good job of rolling them up after inspection, but apparently not.
I decided to soldier on.
Step 1 is to wipe down the side of the machine and then align the graphics to the cabinet.
Basically, these things are giant vinyl stickers. With the backing still on, I laid the graphics down and clamped the top third to the machine, using some paper towels under the clamps for added protection.
Step 2 is to fold back the bottom quarter of the graphics, peeling and cutting off some of the backing.
Good news! In the heat of summer, some of the wrinkles started to relax.
Now this is where my technique differed from the disastrous attempt back in February. For that first try, I went with the "dry" method: simply stuck down the vinyl and tried to push out the bubbles with a felt edged squeegee.
This time, I went with the "wet" method which involves spraying a mild detergent on both the cabinet and the sticky surface of the graphics. This creates a liquid layer in between the adhesive on the vinyl and the laminate of the cabinet for the graphics to temporarily float on, which allows for some amount of repositioning of the art. This liquid layer also makes squeegeeing out of wrinkles and bubbles a breeze.
I have read that you can make your own application fluid from water and a drop of dish soap, but not wanting to chance another set of $150 graphics, I sprung for the professional stuff and bought a $15 bottle of Rapid-Tac, which also boasts of some additional ingredients that help the adhesive of the vinyl form a stronger bond to the target surface once it sets.
Once the bottom part is stuck and squeegeed down, the graphics get flipped over and the process continues up the cabinet in the other direction: peel, spray, spray, position, squeegee, repeat.
Graphics applied, all squeegeed out. You can see the Rapid-Tac liquid splattered all over the floor.
As mentioned before, there is a 1"-2" bleed that hangs off the side of the cabinet when applied.
Seems I need not have worried about the wrinkles and creases from being rolled up at all. Came out all nice and smooth.
Some folks will run a razor around the edge of the cabinet to cut off the excess, but I opted to fold the bleed over the edge so the graphics would get nicely tucked under the T-molding once it was reapplied.
Using a heat gun, I softened up the vinyl and gently pulled it down into place.
Once I had worked the bleed down around the perimeter of the side, I then ran a new utility blade around through the T-molding slot, removing roughly 1/8-1/4" of excess material.
Then it was just a matter of tapping the T-molding back into place with a white mallet.
The first side I did myself, which thanks to the Rapid-Tac was fairly manageable, taking roughly 15-20 minutes.
With the second side I had assistance from my lovely wife, who held the side graphics up while I sprayed the application fluid and squeegeed. Massive help. The second side went on even nicer than the first and only took half the time.
With the monitor, bezel, and glass back in place, Centipede is ready to be wheeled into my office.
It took me until February to find time to attempt applying the first set of side graphics, and after that initial debacle which saw me trash them, I debated what to do for a few weeks while I worked on other parts of the machine.
I opted to go with a different vendor this time, but unfortunately the graphics from this shop were on backorder for a couple months. After ordering and waiting and working on other parts of the machine, they finally arrived.
T-molding, back glass, bezel, and monitor were removed, and I laid the cabinet on its side, psyching myself up for a second try.
When the new graphics arrived, I was anxious to inspect them, though it would still be a few more weeks before I would get around to sticking them on the cabinet.
This set was cut to the shape of the cabinet, with roughly 2" of excess bleed. (The original graphics were printed on full rectangular sheets.)
I was a bit dismayed to see that the vinyls on one side had significant creases.
Yikes. I did not like the look of those wrinkles. These things are not cheap, and I especially did not look forward to waiting another 2-3 months for a new set if I didn't have to.
I rolled the graphics up and put them back into the shipping tube until I had time to work on them.
Summer Break! Every year, the company I work for shuts down for two weeks. This afforded me time to wrap up a few jobs around the house, tidy up the garage, and then focus on applying the side graphics.
I unrolled the vinyls, and... oh no. They were in worse condition than before. I thought I had done a good job of rolling them up after inspection, but apparently not.
I decided to soldier on.
Step 1 is to wipe down the side of the machine and then align the graphics to the cabinet.
Basically, these things are giant vinyl stickers. With the backing still on, I laid the graphics down and clamped the top third to the machine, using some paper towels under the clamps for added protection.
Step 2 is to fold back the bottom quarter of the graphics, peeling and cutting off some of the backing.
Good news! In the heat of summer, some of the wrinkles started to relax.
Now this is where my technique differed from the disastrous attempt back in February. For that first try, I went with the "dry" method: simply stuck down the vinyl and tried to push out the bubbles with a felt edged squeegee.
This time, I went with the "wet" method which involves spraying a mild detergent on both the cabinet and the sticky surface of the graphics. This creates a liquid layer in between the adhesive on the vinyl and the laminate of the cabinet for the graphics to temporarily float on, which allows for some amount of repositioning of the art. This liquid layer also makes squeegeeing out of wrinkles and bubbles a breeze.
I have read that you can make your own application fluid from water and a drop of dish soap, but not wanting to chance another set of $150 graphics, I sprung for the professional stuff and bought a $15 bottle of Rapid-Tac, which also boasts of some additional ingredients that help the adhesive of the vinyl form a stronger bond to the target surface once it sets.
Once the bottom part is stuck and squeegeed down, the graphics get flipped over and the process continues up the cabinet in the other direction: peel, spray, spray, position, squeegee, repeat.
Graphics applied, all squeegeed out. You can see the Rapid-Tac liquid splattered all over the floor.
As mentioned before, there is a 1"-2" bleed that hangs off the side of the cabinet when applied.
Seems I need not have worried about the wrinkles and creases from being rolled up at all. Came out all nice and smooth.
Some folks will run a razor around the edge of the cabinet to cut off the excess, but I opted to fold the bleed over the edge so the graphics would get nicely tucked under the T-molding once it was reapplied.
Using a heat gun, I softened up the vinyl and gently pulled it down into place.
Once I had worked the bleed down around the perimeter of the side, I then ran a new utility blade around through the T-molding slot, removing roughly 1/8-1/4" of excess material.
Then it was just a matter of tapping the T-molding back into place with a white mallet.
The first side I did myself, which thanks to the Rapid-Tac was fairly manageable, taking roughly 15-20 minutes.
With the second side I had assistance from my lovely wife, who held the side graphics up while I sprayed the application fluid and squeegeed. Massive help. The second side went on even nicer than the first and only took half the time.
With the monitor, bezel, and glass back in place, Centipede is ready to be wheeled into my office.
Congrats - I love a good Centipede restoration. It's certainly not a rare game - so when they are restored - it's just for the love of restoring them. 
Well done.
Well done.
You did an awesome job. Enjoy your cab.
OP
OP
anoon
Well-known member
This turned out to be one expensive and time consuming cat tree restoration.
Looks more like one of those Meowlipede conversions
WadeLanham
Well-known member
Looks great! That's awesome that you got a new plywood cabinet made. I had a Centipede in similar water swollen condition, and I sold all the guys to someone converting a jamma game back to Centipede. I've love to have a plywood cabinet, because Atari cabinets had great artwork, but the particle board is the worst. I also like your laminate work, and nice job making a good reproduction of the bezel. I'm a big fan of using laminate and have used it on a lot of games. I really enjoyed reading through your entire post last weekend!
I'm not sure about some of your thoughts on the color variations. I've had 2 USA Centipedes in my possession and both had pink outlines and antennas pointing down. Seems like the irish versions had a totally different cabinet IIRC. I think there were just several color variations in the US, and yours having evidence of Mississippi supports that yours has probably always been in the US. It could have travelled overseas, but it's unlikely! I think some Centipede repro sideart just has purple removed to make it cheaper to produce. But you can find pictures of originals with several combos... so who knows. Maybe someone has taken the time to compare dozens of these?
I'm attaching a pic of 3 here, the sideart looks the same to me, but there were 2 different bezels (both with blue mushroom in the bottom center, but one had extra green blobs on the sides) and 2 different marquees (purple background, pink background) on just these 3 machines!
Also, I think the navy vs. royal blue was possibly just another variation issue. Seems like most original CPs had bright blue though and since everyone gets PA's repro (which is dark blue), you end up seeing it a lot. I'd rather have brighter blue... but no one was selling a decent quality version in that color when I needed one.
Who did you get your last sideart from, and is it screen printed? I would like to replace the sideart on my current Centipede, but I definitely prefer the more colorful sideart with the pink outline.
Wade
I'm not sure about some of your thoughts on the color variations. I've had 2 USA Centipedes in my possession and both had pink outlines and antennas pointing down. Seems like the irish versions had a totally different cabinet IIRC. I think there were just several color variations in the US, and yours having evidence of Mississippi supports that yours has probably always been in the US. It could have travelled overseas, but it's unlikely! I think some Centipede repro sideart just has purple removed to make it cheaper to produce. But you can find pictures of originals with several combos... so who knows. Maybe someone has taken the time to compare dozens of these?
I'm attaching a pic of 3 here, the sideart looks the same to me, but there were 2 different bezels (both with blue mushroom in the bottom center, but one had extra green blobs on the sides) and 2 different marquees (purple background, pink background) on just these 3 machines!
Also, I think the navy vs. royal blue was possibly just another variation issue. Seems like most original CPs had bright blue though and since everyone gets PA's repro (which is dark blue), you end up seeing it a lot. I'd rather have brighter blue... but no one was selling a decent quality version in that color when I needed one.
Who did you get your last sideart from, and is it screen printed? I would like to replace the sideart on my current Centipede, but I definitely prefer the more colorful sideart with the pink outline.
Wade
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WadeLanham
Well-known member
This thread makes me want to laminate and decal my centipede!
Wade
Wade
OP
OP
anoon
Well-known member
Shoot, I could have sworn I responded to your post several weeks back. My bad.
It is not screen printed. That said, I had to go get right up on it with a flashlight before I noticed the stippling from the printer in the purple. I am very satisfied with the quality, and having it cut to the shape of the cabinet helped when it came to line up the graphics. Took somewhere between 2-3 months before it arrived, so be aware of that if you order.
Admittedly, it was all conjecture on my part. The more I've looked around at Centipedes, the less I am convinced there was any kind of consistency related to country of origin, final destination or otherwise. Based on the scraps of mismatched particle board my original Centipede cabinet was slapped together with, I don't expect quality control was high on the priority stack.
I went with the purple outline on white Centipede Side Art from Szabo's arcade.
It is not screen printed. That said, I had to go get right up on it with a flashlight before I noticed the stippling from the printer in the purple. I am very satisfied with the quality, and having it cut to the shape of the cabinet helped when it came to line up the graphics. Took somewhere between 2-3 months before it arrived, so be aware of that if you order.
WadeLanham
Well-known member
Yeah, it might have been practically random. I saw someone with 3 in Mississippi that were the same and yellow border, and all 3 of mine were the same with pink border and even the same error in one of the mushrooms where it's white instead of colored. So, it could be somewhat linked to location, but we know these things get moved all over the country. It was probably just different "runs" had different colors.
Yours looks great!
Wade
Yours looks great!
Wade
