Ever had a game literally fall to bits?

RetroHacker

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So, a friend gave me this beat-up Chase HQ game. It had severe water damage, apparently it had lived outside at some point. The whole thing was swelled up like a sponge. The only reason *I* wanted it was for the monitor - a bastardized G07 in some other weird frame I don't recognize - it's black... maybe some Hantarex? I dunno. Anyway, it had a monitor in it, and I'm hurting for monitors.

Load the game up in the van, I drive it home. I unload the game, put the dolly under it and go to move it. The bottom collapses in and the side gives way, and the game falls over onto it's side with a dull thud. The top pops apart and the marquee, light fixture and speaker board just fly out. I try to pick the game up, only to find that the side I'm trying to lift is completely detached - the only thing holding it in place is the monitor and part of the wiring harness.

After removing the monitor (fortunately, it survived the fall), I can simply lift off the side, and almost all the pieces of the cabinet fall apart. Easiest game I've ever busted up... didn't even need to kick it.

Stupid particle board.

-Ian
 
Fall

I went to pick up some games one time from a basement. The first one I grabbed was a Ms. Pac. I leaned it back on the wheels and the bottom of it was stuck to the floor. The game did lean back, just 3/4 of the bottom didnt. I looked at the other 4 games and did not take any of them. It was a sad sight to see.
 
I went to pick up a Shark Attack cocktail, you could put your fingers through any part of the cab. Guy gave it to me as I was walking away. All the non-wood parts were good and one day I'll rebuild it.

I have seen plenty of abused games that you could not even move just like Aaron was talking about. Also, ask Cadillacman about bottoms falling out.
 
I also wound up with a water damaged Pole Position II. The cabinet was pretty bad, but still solid - no where near as bad as that Chase HQ. Perhaps Atari used better particle board? Every single metal piece on it was rusted to heck though. The marquee was nice, and when I went to remove it, the bolts all snapped off. I only took it for the monitor... figures that after I already agreed to take it, I looked inside and it had the dreaded Matsushita monitor. Oh well. I'll fix it anyway - a monitor is a monitor.

-Ian
 
I got some games cheap out of my cousin's barn. 3 of the 4 were ok. However, when I tired to move the Circus, it fell apart. I salvaged what I could but the cabinet was toast. One side of it came off completely.
 
Picked up an Omega Race for 25 bucks.

I tried to move it... and the top of the cabinet literally crumbled like a graham cracker.

I was going to part it out anyway.
 
I went to pick up a Shark Attack cocktail, you could put your fingers through any part of the cab.

That thing must be rare as hell. So sad!

I went to look at an Asteroids once; had owl coin slots and stuck-on side art and an Atari overlay CP (interesting). The owner let me know that it'd spent three weeks outside before he bought it. My heart sank. I brushed my fingers along the side of the cabinet, and it rained wood flakes.
 
This Shark Attack sat on a dirt floor (see: mud) for years. The whole bottom 12-18 inches of the cab was rotten. The monitor brackets were literally tearing and the monitor was only holding on by a thread:

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But what a monitor:

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Original burn free G07.
 
I bought a cosmic chasm from an operator who got it while driving around during the free street pickup in santa clara.

It was already so water damaged when I got it, I had to put a dozen screws into it to keep it in 1 piece when I took it home. I later found a nicer one and parted it out..
 
I had a centipede that I ripped the top six inches off when I tried to move it in the back of the truck. The game pretty much collapsed when I tried to unload it. It was really a shame as other than the water damage the game was in good shape.
 
I bought a game at the auction once, we get it outside, it tips off the dolly, lands on it's side, and completely collapsed. Every joint popped apart, the front, sides, three pieces on the back, the top, the bottom, the monitor supports... EVERYTHING came apart. I couldn't believe it. It was like watching a David Copperfield illusion, the game hit the ground, and just collapsed into a flat pile of boards. The monitor kind of slid out the side. Eventually we used a nail gun to put it all back together, everything still worked. I think it snapped a few wires or something. Cabinet wasn't water damaged either.
 
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This was a cabinet left to the elements at the old Kalamazoo warehouse here in MI. The poor just collapsed on itself from all the water and who knows what else.

I picked up a Tron a few years back from a local arcade. I went to move it and had to get it over a small step up from the main floor to the area with the freight elevator. As I did that the bottom fell off and the thing nearly caved in. I was sure the cabinet was toast but it was held together with ratchet straps to move it and after some repair work, it's a solid cabinet again. Not as pretty as a minty tron but it works. :)
 
A long time ago when I used to buy games and have them shipped to me, I bought a mint Atari Starship 1 from a op in New York. It was super cheap, like 100.00 as I remember, so I had it shipped to me with Forward Air. FA was big back then with game collectors.

Went to Sacramento to pick it up and it was lying on a pallet, no straps, no wrapping, nothing. Went to stand it up and it fell apart. It must've been dropped somewhere along the line. Of course the depot guys 'don't know nutthin...'. Used ratchet straps to hold it together and took it home.

Put it back together with wood screws and wood glue. Still looks pretty nice, but geez.

Needless to say, that was the last game I shipped with them. Shortly thereafter they started requiring games to be crated which was good and bad.

Tom
 
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This was a cabinet left to the elements at the old Kalamazoo warehouse here in MI. The poor just collapsed on itself from all the water and who knows what else.

It's sad how you can barely make out the various components in that mushy mess at the bottom...
 
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