pookdolie
Permanently Banned for excessive trolling.
And it looks pretty clean, too. That's a nice grab.
How come I never see any Star Castle's for sale?
- Thread starter jehuie
- Start date
And it looks pretty clean, too. That's a nice grab.
OP
OP
Yeah that thing's purdy. I'm not actively searching for one but I'd sure like to come across one, if that makes sense. I see Asteroids and/or AD for sale for like $50 all the time. Lots of the same ones crop up but yeah, very seldom any Cinematronics games. But I mean, I've had a Warrior in my house but no Star Castle. Just seems strange after all this time.
hereitcomes
Section Moderator
You just have to keep looking. I have bought 5 of them in the year. I kept two of them and sold the others.
1. It's a vector
2. It's a vector that is different from any vector by Atari or Midway.
3. If the boardset dies, it is all TTL, making it that much harder to repair. I had to send my two sets off to Canada to get them repaired. I did read that Cinelabs had modern replacement boardsets in the works, like JROK's Williams board.
4. If the monitor dies, I haven't found anyone that will repair it. I had to learn on my own with the aid of the Cinematronics FAQ.
5. Many of the monitor tubes are defective and are very dim at this point. Luckily, they use the same tubes as any other black and white vector and a tube swap is easy. Unluckily, donor black and white vector tubes are not easy to find at this point. I found one of the last NOS ones for $175 (long out of stock).
6. Production numbers for Cinematronics stuff only gets into the thousands at best. Not many machines out there; fortunately Rock-o-la licensed Star Castle and made their own machines, helping out the supply of these games a little.
Here is the site that helped me out a lot during my repair work: http://www.biltronix.com/star_castle.html
2. It's a vector that is different from any vector by Atari or Midway.
3. If the boardset dies, it is all TTL, making it that much harder to repair. I had to send my two sets off to Canada to get them repaired. I did read that Cinelabs had modern replacement boardsets in the works, like JROK's Williams board.
4. If the monitor dies, I haven't found anyone that will repair it. I had to learn on my own with the aid of the Cinematronics FAQ.
5. Many of the monitor tubes are defective and are very dim at this point. Luckily, they use the same tubes as any other black and white vector and a tube swap is easy. Unluckily, donor black and white vector tubes are not easy to find at this point. I found one of the last NOS ones for $175 (long out of stock).
6. Production numbers for Cinematronics stuff only gets into the thousands at best. Not many machines out there; fortunately Rock-o-la licensed Star Castle and made their own machines, helping out the supply of these games a little.
Here is the site that helped me out a lot during my repair work: http://www.biltronix.com/star_castle.html
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So I'm convinced... I want one.
If anyone comes across one for a reasonable price somewhere near NJ/DE/VA/MD/NY/PA let me know. Its on my to pickup list..
Malice95
If anyone comes across one for a reasonable price somewhere near NJ/DE/VA/MD/NY/PA let me know. Its on my to pickup list..
Malice95
OP
OP
joeycuda
Well-known member
Even if you never plan to own one, this site and writeup on the project is a fascinating read...
Robotron Jon
Well-known member
That's about right for a non-working one.
They come up for sale around here once in a while. The last one was maybe 4-5 months ago.
A few years ago they would sit on craigslist for a long time even for $100 but not any more.
It's interesting how Eliminator and the attack the city round in Zektor have similar gameplay.
When SC was in the arcades BITD I played it all the time.
mrbill2084
Well-known member
I would say the reason there are so few in northern cal has a bit to with jim hill. He used to operate most of the bay area. His competition back then was automatic and I think some other big operator.
So there was very few small time operators. The bigger guys rotated, converted, or tossed stuff they did not need. The bigger guys did not keep warehouses full of games..
So there was very few small time operators. The bigger guys rotated, converted, or tossed stuff they did not need. The bigger guys did not keep warehouses full of games..
gutsman004
New member
The last couple of arcade auctions I went to had at least 1 or 2 of them. While the cabs were in usually good shape,I don't think any of them worked. And I don't think any of them went for over $250 either.
dirt
Active member
I had one for sale (not working) about a month or two ago..... Dirtsarcade got it.
They're around pretty much everywhere but Martinez.
and its sitting behind me right now. still in line to be restored. its in the top 2 of my favorite games of all time.
The cabinet is disposable. I finally found one a while back. The bottom was made of particle board and (thanks to some friends) got replaced last weekend since it was collapsed.
OP
OP
Mike Doyle
Well-known member
I've got 3 of them now! Just a few months back I was having the same conversations with another collector- why don't we ever see Star Castles for sale in the Midwest? Distribution BITD was the main conclusion aside from what was pointed out earlier about the system design.
I'd be up for selling one, or parts and I'm just outside Kansas City about 15 minutes from the Kansas Motor Speedway.
I'd be up for selling one, or parts and I'm just outside Kansas City about 15 minutes from the Kansas Motor Speedway.
CrazyKongFan
Well-known member
Nice X-arcade control panel there...
ThatGuy
Member
BOOM!!
http://fresno.craigslist.org/vgm/2465357723.html
I had a few minutes today and actually went to check it out. Terrible shape, no side art, CPO curling up. Plugged it in and only the red light on the board did anything. Disappointed but not unexpected.
http://fresno.craigslist.org/vgm/2465357723.html
I had a few minutes today and actually went to check it out. Terrible shape, no side art, CPO curling up. Plugged it in and only the red light on the board did anything. Disappointed but not unexpected.
That's what I though by looking at the picture... I called, and the lady told me that it was in nice shape(!). I told her it looked dirty in the pic and she said that was because it was on the patio, that it just "needed to be dusted off".
I have a Star Castle and will be coming to CAX... (hint...hint...)
OP
OP
I called and talked to her also. She said it works great. That was at maybe 1:30 today...what time did you go look at it? Maybe it was a different lady who didn't yet realize that it's not working?
I don't have the money right now anyway. Plus she pretty far from me. Oh well, too bad it's a dud in any case.
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