Systematic Collecting - Putting together sets or a series

Bar of soap!

Yeh, I watched Arcade Jason's latest vid last night where he shows that many of his marquees are signed. Though signed with a Sharpie perm-marker, I bet those signatures would smudge or wipe off easily if you were not careful. :eek:

So, maybe signed marquees should be framed behind glass and not put on a game. LOL ... a set of framed marquees ... when will the madness stop?
 
Yeh, I watched Arcade Jason's latest vid last night where he shows that many of his marquees are signed. Though signed with a Sharpie perm-marker, I bet those signatures would smudge or wipe off easily if you were not careful. :eek:

So, maybe signed marquees should be framed behind glass and not put on a game. LOL ... a set of framed marquees ... when will the madness stop?

Hey now! I have a few framed NOS marquess! I like to look at them like a piece of art! I bought a NOS Hook marquee for no other reason just because I liked the artwork on it! But framing them protects them as well! What's wrong with that? They are a piece of arcade gaming history and what's wrong with protecting them with a frame, especially a mint NOS original piece? ;)
 
The more I collect the more I get interested in more specific areas or maybe a collect a series or type of game. I was curious to hear what other people collect in a systematic way as in putting together a series or set of games.
For instance maybe collecting all the games in the Donkey Kong series.
Maybe collecting all the games that came in a certain cabinet style or from a specific manufacturer like Williams games that all look awesome in a row.
Its a different kind of collecting than just acquiring whatever games show up on Craigslist, and theres a real thrill and sense of achievement when you add to or complete a set.
I would love to hear what other people are working on putting together or have collected.

I have had several "get all the same type" yearnings in the past.

My first "full series" quest was to get all the parts/pieces (marquee, control panels, manuals, PCBs) for Atari System I games. I did complete this, but found myself never changing out from Marble Madness (although Indy Jones is a very good game).

Getting the Atari System 1 games was fun, so then I decided (and was close to obsessed) to finding all the parts for the Bally/Midway "Six Pack" series (Up 'N Down, Mr. Viking, Flicky, S.W.A.T., Water Match, Bull Fight). At the time, there were no known examples of Water Match, not even a boardset (and it wasn't in MAME). Some non-collector guy just happened to search the internet and found where MAME was looking for that boardset. He happened to have the game as a hand-me-down from his operator dad. I ended up landing that game. I didn't care for it. Then I tried the other games in series and didn't care for them either. So I gave that up and was happy I did.

Of course, I tried for all 13 production Atari vectors. I got 12 (never had an Empire Strikes back, not even a boardset).

I don't like the cabinets, but I did try for all the parts for the 5 Sega vectors. I got all the parts for 4 of them, but never got anything for Zektor besides the manual and marquee.

I happen to have a Williams Blaster in duramold, dedicated wood cabinet and conversion cabinet (this one since sold). Now to just find the cockpit. ;)

I tried to get the Williams duramolds (Blaster, Bubbles, and ??? Robotron? Sinistar?). I got Blaster. Had a line on a Bubbles dura a couple of times, but fell through and since gave up on this one.

I was after the Williams classic boardset series of whole games (Defender, Stargate, Bubbles, Joust, Robotron, Splat). I'm close, but I am facing the music that I'll never find the Splat at a price I'd pay.

I half heartedly went after the series of cabinets for the Gottlieb classic style boardset (Q*bert, Mad Planets, Krull, Reactor and a few others), but didn't get far at all on this one and have long since given up.

I do have an interest in the Bally/Midway MCR I/II/III series, but it's more of a PCB & control panel & marquee type thing.

I came back to edit this post. I forgot an obvious (for me) one. I tried to get all versions of my all time favorite game, Missile Command. I got the upright and cockpit, but never got the cabaret or cocktail. And now, I can't say I'd want them either. I hate cocktails and Atari cabaret art work is boring (more like non-existent).

Wow, there are probably others if I thought more. Good interesting question. Upon review, I am one sick collecting individual. At least I didn't try for any of the laser disc series. That's crazy rare/expensive/maintenance nightmare!
 
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Anyone who's aware of my collection swears I must have some ADHD or something. In general I've tried to collect things that have two things in common that I'm interested in.
For example Amiga Computer based Arcade games since I collect Amiga stuff and Arcade games, this can help satisfy two cravings at once.

I also collect arcade games where I know the person/persons involved with them. Bally Sente and Williams classics. Not to mention Williams made some dynamite games like Sinistar and Robotron which I might have played with the original programmers of such games while working at Amiga. Can't forget Cube Quest here.

Keeping the potential completed collection small is good idea. For example all Gottlieb pinballs would be nuts, but all Atari pinball games is manageable, not to mention the artwork on the Atari pins is awesome. Bally Sente and Atari System 1 falls into this keep the cabinet collection small since most of the different games were kits that could be swapped into a small number of cabinets.

Now here is where ADHD takes hold, once you have the complete collection, for example 7 production Atari pins, you find there are prototypes also around, so you start to look for those, then you find a cool game like Atari Road Runner pin, get it, and think Road Runner is cool, so then you need to have the Road Runner videogame, and then the Road Runner laser game, etc.

Loving a certain game can get one to want to get all cabinet styles, for example Missile Command. Then liking vectors and tanks, you get Battlezone (also maybe cause you played it a lot with RJ at the local pizza place. So then you want all the cabinet styles, upright, mini, and cocktail.

Then you realize the early Atari cocktails are actually pretty cute, you can put your drink on them when playing with friends, and then you think how about all Atari cocktails as a collection. (Still looking for a Breakout and a real Atari Pong).

But wait there's more, you realize you need a warehouse to house part of your collection but the only way to get the $/sqft down is to rent a big warehouse with some friends, and then you move your stuff all together and realize there is a lot more room in the warehouse. And the number one law I learned in physics is that "Nature abhors a vacuum", so immediately the cockpits become a new collection since one already has Sinistar and Missile Command. Deluxe Afterburners are cheap because no one has the space, but heck you have a warehouse. So that woosh sound you hear is the warehouse getting filled up.

With so much stuff to choose from how does one decide what to bring to CAX? These themes that I collected by come into play now. Just bringing what works is boring and will tend to favor the same reliable games over and over. But a theme like B&W Arcade Ball, Atari Pinball Reunion, the Bally Sente Collection, Atari Cocktail Hour (not done this one yet), etc. can help motivate and focus one to get not only the easy common ones to the show, but also the rarer, hard to keep fixed ones at the show.

But I digress to something off the original subject. Thanks all for listening, see ya at the CAX 2018 B&W Ball.
Dale
 
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Great post Dale ! Not sure if I can make CAX this year but love the stuff you bring !
 
At one time I was trying to get every Gottlieb system 80 circa 81-83 pin. I have majority of them excluding the real heavy hitters like Krull or Goin Nuts. Delusions of grandeur I guess... 20k+ for one of those aforementioned.

On the vid side, I'm trying to mass a complete Taito collection starting w/ the cab style like Qix and Frontline and such. I had go the repro route w/ Kram and piece-mealing some like Yo Yo. I'm still working on trying to obtain information on Pirate Pete. Also, games like Taito Water Ski, I'm thinking of taking a Alpine Ski cab and maybe have Rich update the artwork to a Water Ski. Once that's complete, going to work on the previous era of cabs like Polaris and Climber. Have four of those games from that era so that's a good start.
 
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