My gameroom Grail finally comes home! (Spyhunter Sitdown)

fatherpain

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My gameroom Grail finally comes home! (Spyhunter Sitdown)

This Spyhunter sitdown was delivered Saturday, after a full restoration effort over at Vintage Arcade Superstore. I'd been waiting a couple years for this to get done due to a combination of factors...However it proved to be well worth the wait. The end result is an A+ condition resto of my favorite game :) During this time, I was able locate a NOS plastic seat, controller parts and yoke, an uncracked plastic steering column cover, new monitor and ThisOldGame produced the cockpit sideart. Prior to applying the CPO, I sent it to Rich for scanning.

The timing turned out perfect my 7 month garage/arcade renovation project wrapped up Thursday.

A big thanks to my good friends Gene Lewin and his crew at VintageArcadeSuperstore in Glendale for their extensive knowledge and patience with me poking around their shop and helping me with my other games, Rich Lint at ThisOldGame for his continued excellent products and contributions to the hobby and Stephen Beale at Videogameparts.com for being an incredible source of parts.

Now that Spyhunter is home, we've been playing it everyday. Both of my sons love playing it. I love playing it. Looking forward to my good friend Paul Dean taking her out for a spin and posting a record score for us to chase.

Here are a couple Spyhunter pix and a few of our gameroom from my android phone..I'll update this thread with better pix from our camera if I can find it :)

spy3.jpg


spyhunter.jpg

my soon to be 5 year old trying it solo...He usually sits on my lap and I do the foot pedal while he steers and shoots.

Tom
 
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arc3.jpg


no decorations, special lighting or blacklight carpet yet...just a finished garage full of games that is still a work in progress... but it is insulated, painted and the floor epoxied.. most importantly though it has air conditioning and the electrical panel has been upgraded so everything can be turned on at once and there are tons of outlets throughout to allow for multiple configurations.

Tom
 
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Looking GOOD Tom! A lot has changed since I saw it last. What happened to the sit down afterburner?

-Mike
 
Very nice Spy Hunter cockpit acquisition! Always loved that game, the Tommy Gun music really makes the game.

Had a chance to get a free cockpit spy hunter off craigslist a few years back but I missed the call. Would of loved to have it but it went to another local collector so it's all good.

And very nice arcade setup. Looks like you put some love into those games, looks great!
 
Thanks Mike :) we finally were able to buy a house last year...so this is why it looks so different...much more space.. I still have the Afterburner, its safely tucked away in one of the corners :)
Tom

Mikebetz42;21ll said:
Looking GOOD Tom! A lot has changed since I saw it last. What happened to the sit down afterburner?

-Mike
 
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Tom,

The game (and the arcade) looks great - congrats!

It gives me some inspiration to pony up and buy the side art so I can get mine up to snuff.

Pete
 
Looks awesome! I still haven't gotten to my side art installation project, and it was my cockpit that Rich traced! :eek:

What did you do for glass? Is that all original? Did you use Rich's inkjet on glass service? I'm thinking eventually I'd like to go that route so if you've done that I'd love to hear how it turned out.

Sounds like you weren't involved in the side art installation? I'm curious about getting the art on the 2 halves of the cabinet to mate up since the lines don't line up on yours. I wonder if that's a flaw in the artwork that pretty much prevents lining up or if the artwork wasn't installed with that as a specific goal? I'm sure this isn't an easy install just like my pole position cockpit artwork wasn't an easy install so it's by no means a criticism of the work or the end result - just wondering if there was a lesson learned that could be beneficial to anyone else that will be installing it.

I absolutely love mine too. It'll be nice when I can get mine looking as sweet as yours! Congrats on getting 'er finished and into the game room!

P.S. I'd be really careful with the NOS seat - maybe even reinforce it with support from underneath. I think it was zfcamaro that also bought an NOS seat and his quickly broke. Might want to hit him up for advice so yours can avoid the same fate.
 
Thanks Pete :) yes Rich's sideart is indeed top notch as.all his products are.. definitely worth it. My original side art was pretty nice..mebbe B+ condition, but once the rest of the cab was restored it looked out of place . The new sideart blows it outta the water. ThisOldGame also has the floorplate overlay..I picked up a couple but decided to stay original on that since its still in good shape.
Tom

Tom,
The game (and the arcade) looks great - congrats!

It gives me some inspiration to pony up and buy the side art so I can get mine up to snuff.

Pete
 
That SH is rad, and your lineup is fantastic.

Got any pics with the lights on? Ive heard all your cabs are ridiculously minty. Well done :cool:
 
Wow thanks very much ShanMan...I never thought I'd see Spyhunter cockpit sideart reproduced. It was such a rush hearing it was in the works! I'm hopeful the Nos cpo I sent for scanning/color matching to Rich will help lead to a perfect reproduction :D

The backglass, monitor bezel and marquee are all original...I was really fortunate in that regard with this cab. I've spoken to Rich about trying his glass service for.my crazy climber cocktail in the future :)
Tom

TheShanMan2167834 said:
Looks awesome! I still haven't gotten to my side art installation project, and it was my cockpit that Rich traced! :eek:

What did you do for glass? Is that all original? Did you use Rich's inkjet on glass service? I'm thinking eventually I'd like to go that route so if you've done that I'd love to hear how it turned out'
 
I rebuilt the controller and applied the cpo, but Gene's guy Morris did the sideart install. Prior to installing the sideart they stripped the old artwork and installed a thin sheet of Formica, then applied the art on top of that. The result is there are no imperfections in the texture. I do know there was some dimensional issue with the sideart we received and Morris sent measurements and Rich printed a custom piece that worked like a champ. I'm ok with rebuilding controllers, swapping monitors and replacing cpos but haven't worked my way up to doing sideart installs, heh. The next time I hit Vintage, I'll be sure to ask Morris if he has any tips for us. Also Rich was integral during the process so mebbe he can chime in also :)
Tom

Sounds like you weren't involved in the side art installation? I'm curious about getting the art on the 2 halves of the cabinet to mate up since the lines don't line up on yours. I wonder if that's a flaw in the artwork that pretty much prevents lining up or if the artwork wasn't installed with that as a specific goal? I'm sure this isn't an easy install just like my pole position cockpit artwork wasn't an easy install so it's by no means a criticism of the work or the end result - just wondering if there was a lesson learned that could be beneficial to anyone else that will be installing it
 
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Aww crap...thats sad to hear.. but thanks for the heads up. Yes I gave instruction to reinforce the seat with foam padding to prevent it from flexing too much.. the material of the plastic is very thin and brittle. I weigh about 160lbs and there haven't been any issues so far...but ill prolly be really anxious when 250+ lb persons want to play...would it be rude to impose a weight limit on the game due to it's delicate nature? I'm hopeful the reinforcement will do the trick though...ill be crossing my fingers!
Tom


P.S. I'd be really careful with the NOS seat - maybe even reinforce it with support from underneath. I think it was zfcamaro that also bought an NOS seat and his quickly broke. Might want to hit him up for advice so yours can avoid the same fate.
 
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Definitley in my top ten best cockpits/sit down games of the 80's. The arcade in my town always seemed to get the really rare cockpit/sit down games like Sinistar, Exidy's Star Fire, Firefox and Mach 3. Spy Hunter cockpit was one I played quite a bit.
 
Thanks man.. presently its just a finished, expanded garage with games...i don't have the resources at the moment to add neon signs, artwork and blacklight carpet...but plan to someday... which reminds me someday I plan on trying to pry that nifty Juno First from you to round out my collection, that game is sweet :D
Tom

Wow, that is an awesome looking sit down. Great game, great resto. Your game room is also outstanding...
 
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