i'm confused did you screw grandson #1 more than grandson #2? Or did you screw the aunt?As an update for anyone curious... I will try to make this short, but it was quite a day...
First, let me answer the question:
- Ms. Pac-Man UR: Went to a family in Nebraska, who has a few other games.
- Galaga mini - Won by a Grandson (Grandson #1) of the family.
- Stargate mini - I won.
Are you the type of collector that enjoys knowing the history of your games? Well, I am someone that does and received quite a bit of information.
This was my first estate sale, so I didn't know what to expect. When I arrived at the house, there were a lot of cars and trucks, and I saw people freely walking in and out of the house, through the garage, etc. Before going into the house, I noticed the Galaga mini was already on a trailer, so I looked it over (original, decent shape, but the front and sides were revinyled/laminated). Walking in I was surprised nobody said anything to me, so I went to the basement and started looking over the Stargate mini. It matched what I saw in the pictures.
While going back upstairs to find the person to pay, I bumped into the person that bought the Galaga mini, so we started talking. Found out he is a grandson (Grandson #1) to the couple that passed away (his grandparents). Evidentially, he wanted both games, but really wanted the Stargate mini. However, his aunt was bidding on his behalf, misunderstood, and was bidding on the Galaga mini. I was also bidding on it and went as high as I could (he told me she, on his behalf, was prepared to bid higher, so it's fine I dropped-out when I did). As we spoke about it, I mentioned wanting both, so Grandson #1 asked if I wanted to trade. I politely discussed how I missed my Stargate mini from many years ago and would prefer to keep it (Galaga minis come-up for sale much more than Stargate minis). He got excited at the prospect of trading, so I felt a little bad saying no. We discussed me being a collector for 27 years, how the Stargate mini will go into my arcade, sit next to my Robotron mini, how I missed my previous Stargate mini, how I will fix and enjoy it, etc. I later overheard Grandson #1 telling the rest of the family about me, and they seemed pleased the Stargate mini would be repaired, played, and enjoyed. At least one of them was surprised someone would drive all the way from Kansas City for it (they never said anything about the person driving from Nebraska...). They also seemed surprised someone would pay much for these games (IE. What they are worth). My surprise was that my biggest competitors were not other collectors, but the family that owned the games.
Grandson #1 told me that his cousin, Grandson #2, was bidding on the Stargate mini and had "deep pockets". How he explained it, Grandson #2 wanted it even more than he (Grandson #1) did and was prepared to bid higher (Grandson #1 said it was Grandson #2's "wave of nostalgia"). However, during the final minutes of the auction, after he and I kept bidding each other up, the family suddenly discovered that the Grandmother's ring had been mistakenly placed into the auction. Therefore, Grandson #2 was called away and did not get back to his computer in time to counter my most recent bid. If you're not aware, any bid after the last five minutes of the auction will extend the auction five more minutes. Because of this, the end of the Stargate mini auction was extended by 20-25 minutes. While it was not said and based upon this information, I am grateful to have won the Stargate mini. It sounds like the Grandsons preferred Stargate over Galaga. Further, had the Aunt not misunderstood and the issue with the ring had not occurred, I would have won the Galaga mini (for less than I bid), but not the Stargate mini. I wondered why the games were not kept in the family and Grandson #1 must have read my mind, since he told me that the games were offered to him a month or so ago, but he never came by to get them, so they were included in the estate sale. He did not find out about it until it was too late (he did not elaborate any further). His Super NES was also included in the estate sale, and he was clearly upset about that (someone outbid him). He even had a NIB controller for it (never opened) that his Grandmother purchased when one of the original controllers started acting-up.
Grandson #1 explained the history of the games, as he knows. His grandfather purchased the three games around 1987 and when he married his wife, the grandmother of Grandson #1, they built a house in 1992 and moved the games into the basement. This is the same house of the estate sale, so these three games were in the basement for 32 years. Grandson #1 went on to explain how he and family members played the games as kids and into his adult years, how he likely still has the high score, the order the games were placed in the basement, that the games were original, as far as he knew, how each had service work done at the house over the years by someone local (not sure if it was an individual or a company), that the games were purchased new from Midway, the keys to all of the games were lost within the last month while preparing for the estate sale, etc. Great history.
While speaking with Grandson #1, he asked if I would be interested in repairing the Galaga mini for him. I told him that was certainly an option and at a minimum, the monitor needs a rebuild (vertical collapse). Without the game being open, I told him we do not know the condition of the board, linear (or switcher), etc. He's going to open the game and send me pictures. It may be easier for whoever did the repairs in the past, if that person or company are even still around.
While I was rolling the Stargate mini outside, someone came-up and started talking to me about it. This was the Son of the Grandparents, and the Uncle to Grandson #1. He reiterated much of what Grandson #1 told me, but provided more details about when the Stargate mini last worked (four years ago), how the screen would "bounce" and "shrink" while playing, etc. My initial thoughts, based upon the pictures and description, was the +5v died on the linear power supply, IF it was original inside. Based upon the conversation with the Son, I wondered if the monitor had just died. The Son could not tell me if the game would play blind (more details on this later). The Son wrote a bunch of the details on the auction paperwork, so now the game has some written history from the family that owned it since 1987. The Son also stated he likely has the high score on the game, but mostly because he cheated and knows how to get more lives... I'm not sure what he was referring to, but in thinking about it, I wonder why he didn't just erase all high scores, or as a minimum, enter his as the high score (both of these can easily be done through the game settings).
During both conversations, with Grandson #1 and the Son, they both mentioned they thought the games were purchased new (the Grandson added, "from Midway"). Having looked both the Stargate mini and Galaga mini over, I politely informed them that was likely not the case. There were lock bars, new external vinyle/laminate (the Galaga mini) vendor stickers, stock numbers written inside (the Stargate mini, the Galaga mini was all locked-up), typical wear and tear from games being on route, wrong kickplate on the Galaga mini, and cigarette burns/heat burns on the CPs. Further, the games were released in 1981, not 1987. They both were a little surprised, but thought that was good to know. Grandson #1 was a little bothered that the Ms. Pac-Man UR and Stargate mini were not staying in the family, or going home with him, but he was happy they were going to good homes.
As to the condition of the Stargate mini... It is all original inside, including matching serial numbers. The +5v did fail on the original linear. Hooking-up a TPG to the K4700 monitor showed it does work, but after several minutes of being on it starts to "bounce" and "shrink" (this was seen later during game play). I swapped-in a temporary switcher and the game started. I played several games to confirm everything was working (it was, but the joystick is in desperate need of a rebuild).
To Do:
- Order the rebuild kits for the monitor and PS
- Key/Rekey the front and back locks
- Touch-up/Repaint a few areas
- Remove, but save, the vendor stickers
- Replace the levelers
- Some wood repair along the side bottoms (typical chipping, repaint too, of course)
- Fill the holes from the lock bars through the side and back door)
- Repair or source another lower coinbox frame (the drilled lockbar bolts go through the meta!)
- Replace the three dead AA batteries (No high scores were saved...)
- Put it in the arcade and play it a ton!!!!!
Scott C.
jk Scott glad you landed the SG Cabaret. Can't believe how poorly the family handled the estate.
Last edited:
