Building Multi's to sell - How nice?

pmichelsen

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To all of you multi game builders I have some questions about how far you go with the details. I am building my first multi to sell (don't worry used a generic JAMMA cabinet and used a LCD screen).

At first I was just going to clean up the cabinet and put a nice multi marquee and a nice multi CPO and call it done. But then I saw a picture of a multi that mod made in a Galaga or Galaxian cabinet complete with side art and a bezel (all of which appear to be from arcadeshop).

So now I am looking at doing the full art package but it seems like it is going to cost me around 200 dollars plus shipping. For those of you that build these things for a living do you find it is worth it to do the extra art? All in if I go the full art package I would have about 350 into this beast, if I skip out on doing the full art and just do the marquee and CPO I am only in maybe 150. How much can I expect to get for this? I am going to have it up for sale before Christmas and it will have a 48-1 board installed.

I know I can get cheaper side art if I go elsewhere but I like the shape of the arcadeshop stuff don't want to put rectangular side art, that stuff looks lame to me.

So opinions? What can I list this thing for?
 
I personally wouldn't bother with putting side art on it. A lot of non-collectors probably would not care or even notice the difference.

Of course, the marquee and CPO are a must. Those are the parts that really wrap up a game to make it look professional.

And as far as using bezel artwork goes, you could really go either way. I personally would not worry too much about it. Just a nice piece of smoked plexi should be fine.

But yeah, I would have to say $350 (for the whole package) is probably too much money that you would probably not make back from the sale.
 
you can get cheaper multi art .. about 100 for the whole package from some printers here...

side art is nice.. but not mandatory... I would put a matching bezel art on tho.. make sure the coin door lights work... and super clean...

you painted it as well? New molding is a must.. and I would put furniture caster wheels on it...

all cheap to do...

and I dunno if anyone is selling these making a living..
 

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I got 1000 for this
I was feeling neighborly and gave a nice guy in the neighborhood a good deal, I was planning on asking 1200, he got a good deal and I was satisfied, I had about 400 into it (200 was art) plus about 8 to 10 hours of labor.
 

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most of my multis were cheap paint(rollered) mabye cheap art, old used cabs...

cleaned up of course but not as nice as gators.. and mine would sell all day long at around $500 ish....


theres other guys around chi (wu comes to mind) that build ALL NEW midway type cocktails for around 1200-1500 new uprightsz about the same, and sometimes he will find a converted original ct that heww will gut and look new again with multi.. WU IS THE MAN!


You got a nice price on your multi gator!!!
 
I go with the nice multi marquee and a nice multi CPO. Plus I fix any damage to the cab and paint the cab to make it look like new. If you want to save yourself a lot of work you can buy a textured spray paint as a base for the sides of the cab then paint over it with whatever color you want the cab to be. No it doesn't have the look of a classic game but it looks pretty professional and the texture hides a lot of flaws that other wise you would have had to put extra time in bondoing and sanding smooth. Plus you really can't put side art on these textured sides so if anyone asks why no side art the simple answer is it would not stick to the texture.
 
I go with the nice multi marquee and a nice multi CPO. Plus I fix any damage to the cab and paint the cab to make it look like new. If you want to save yourself a lot of work you can buy a textured spray paint as a base for the sides of the cab then paint over it with whatever color you want the cab to be. No it doesn't have the look of a classic game but it looks pretty professional and the texture hides a lot of flaws that other wise you would have had to put extra time in bondoing and sanding smooth. Plus you really can't put side art on these textured sides so if anyone asks why no side art the simple answer is it would not stick to the texture.

that is exactly what i do works great
 
When I used to build these - I did laminate on the cabinet. It makes a super clean - shiny finish, so no side art needed. Just some sanding and hole-filling, and insta-clean. Mostly midway cabs - but do a DK with black and it looks nice too!
 
When I used to build these - I did laminate on the cabinet. It makes a super clean - shiny finish, so no side art needed. Just some sanding and hole-filling, and insta-clean. Mostly midway cabs - but do a DK with black and it looks nice too!

Where do you get black Formica? I used to see it at HD and Lowes but haven't seen it there for years.
 
Well the cabinet has been fully prepped, all imperfections filled and sanded smooth, primed and as of this afternoon painted. So the cabinet will be very nice and for the most part will look brand new. Looks like the consensus is to leave off the side art as I won't get a big enough return. I guess I can try and sell it without side art and if I get no love add the art down the road.
 
You could come up with a simple "multi" sideart design that would translate well to stencils, and you could have sideart for just the cost of a little paint that way. You'd have to pay for the stencils to be made in the first place of course, but if you plan on making a lot of these machines it would be worth it.
 
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