Found a Space Demon mini - sort of

smalltownguy2

Well-known member

Donor 2013
Joined
Dec 30, 2008
Messages
17,076
Reaction score
2,650
Location
Osceola, Wisconsin
So I get a call a few weeks back from a guy who tells me that he's got a 'bunch' of video games he'd like to sell. He says he's got Pop Man, Space Atari(????) Pac Man, Ms Pac Man, etc.

I get excited. I go over there with some ca$h.

:(

Here's what he ACTUALLY had:

  1. Popeye boardset and power supply
  2. Ms Pac baordset, in rough shape
  3. Tutankham boardset, in rough shape
  4. Unidentified board, OK shape (maybe Space Demon?)
  5. One Nintendo mini cab, with 2 sets of boards in it: Pop Man, Tutankham.
  6. A spare 14" Sanyo monitor
  7. A spare 13" Wells Gardner monitor.
Needless to say I wasn't impressed. But I offered low money for everything except the cabinet - I told him I'd get back to him on it.

Did some research, and it appears his cabinet is indeed an old Space Demon mini. The control panel's been hacked up though, to add a 2nd joystick. Crudely, I might add. Inside the cab, there's an elaborate mess of wiring including a few double throw switches on the side of the cab to allow the user to 'switch' between the two board sets inside. No use of edge connectors anywhere - wires just soldered right to the boards....*sigh*

Anyway, a pic of the mini, compared to Todd Tuckey's Space Demon cabaret:

sbs.md.jpg


I told him I'd see if I could get the cab up and running again. But I'm not sure I want to do it with those boards in there. It would make more sense to see if I can restore this back to Space Demon if I could. It'd be worth more.

When I get time, I'll have a closer look at the unidentified PCB I got from him and see if it's a Space Demon pcb. That will at least get me started. Otherwise I think I'm pretty much dead in the water. Was Space Demon emulated in MAME? Maybe I could set this cab up with proper artwork, controls, etc and then do a clean dosMAME boot straight to SD. I don't know. It's a mess, for sure.
 

Attachments

  • CIMG5486.jpg
    CIMG5486.jpg
    86.5 KB · Views: 186
  • CIMG5488.jpg
    CIMG5488.jpg
    96.4 KB · Views: 247
Last edited:
Shawn, at this point, it's not yet my cab to sell. The owner, however is eager to either get some cash for it or get something working again in his house. I told him I would take a closer look at it and see what I could do.

A restored Space Demon = big buck$ to the right buyer. But I don't think this one's ever gonna get back to that again. Not unless I've got the board.

If it's not repairable, I think I may just see if the owner wants to trade me for a working cab. I'm pretty sure he'll be up for that in the future.

Give me a few days to sort out this mess and I'll talk to the owner. Then I'll give you a ring.
 
I was able to convert a Space Firebird PCB to Space Demon a couple of years ago.

I don't recall if color PROM changes are required or not, but the game looked ok without doing that.

One of those PCBs might be easier to find.
 
cool to see another one of these pop up, even if it'll probably never go back to original.

that picture of the Space Demon that Tuckey has now i took when i owned it a few years ago before sending on the truck to Pennsylvania to help him add to his collection; i'm sure it looks a lot nicer now.

here are a couple of additional pictures that i took of the interior, including the PCB... i believe there might be other boards on the opposite side of the metal plate but it's been a while and i'm not sure i ever pulled it out.

spacedpcb2.jpg


spacedpcb1.jpg
 
Last edited:
I personally like the look of these Nintendo cabaret cabs. I have a Donkey Kong that's the exact same style as the Space Demon. Even though I have an upright DK, I feel like I'd sell it before I'd sell the mini.
 
Cool. I would restore it at some point, for now I just need it to copy the cabinet. Thanks my man.


I got one with DK in it, Is that what you wanted it for? I could get some paper and trace out the sides of the cabinet and the rest if you needed measurements.

Oh and that small white transformer on the monitor what is it attached to? Mine has all the wires taken off it would be great to find out how to put it all back.
 
Last edited:
I got one with DK in it, Is that what you wanted it for? I could get some paper and trace out the sides of the cabinet and the rest if you needed measurements.

I do indeed need them. I have many measurements from Supergun, but actual physical patterns of the sides and back pieces would be killer. I am just not sure on how a few things tie together without the actual cabinet in front of me. If you could do this, it would be awesome.
 
I do indeed need them. I have many measurements from Supergun, but actual physical patterns of the sides and back pieces would be killer. I am just not sure on how a few things tie together without the actual cabinet in front of me. If you could do this, it would be awesome.


I do not have a rear door though if you came across that pattern I would be interested. Tracing a side and the other rear parts shouldn't be to much of a problem I just need to find some large sheet paper.
 
Phet, you coming to the cities any time soon? I'd be happy to meet up with you and give you the shell to play with.

I will be at Chris's next Wednesday evening. If you can get it there, and don't mind me taking it home and molesting it for a few weeks, I could get it back to you when you and I both swing thru town again.
 
I do not have a rear door though if you came across that pattern I would be interested. Tracing a side and the other rear parts shouldn't be to much of a problem I just need to find some large sheet paper.

Even 24 inch wide white roll paper would work. Freezer paper, drawing paper, packaging paper, whatever.
 
I will be at Chris's next Wednesday evening. If you can get it there, and don't mind me taking it home and molesting it for a few weeks, I could get it back to you when you and I both swing thru town again.

I think I can get it there before then. You can keep it as long as you like - I'll be working on the guts on my bench for the owner for a while.

You wouldn't happen to have an Asteroids board or compatible vector monitor I could use/borrow to aid in troubleshooting my Asteroids deluxe cab, do ya?
 
I think I can get it there before then. You can keep it as long as you like - I'll be working on the guts on my bench for the owner for a while.

You wouldn't happen to have an Asteroids board or compatible vector monitor I could use/borrow to aid in troubleshooting my Asteroids deluxe cab, do ya?

I do not sir. I used to have a nice V2000, but alas I traded it to Chris for a burn-free vertical g07 with a rebuilt chassis.
 
I do not sir. I used to have a nice V2000, but alas I traded it to Chris for a burn-free vertical g07 with a rebuilt chassis.

Sounds like I need to call Chris. It's high time I paid him a visit, anyway. Might be the last time I ever get to put my hands on a dedicated Major Havok.
 
I'm not sure if you're idea of "big bucks" is very valid here. Attempting a restoration in the hopes of big profits is not wise. Restored Nintendo cabarets pull considerably less than their upright counterparts. I think I'm about right on the value of a Space Demon : $300 complete and working, probably $500-600 fully restored, to the right buyer of course.

That said, it actually doesn't look too horrible, I'd pick it up in it's current state and do *something* with it.
 
Back
Top Bottom