To Use or Not to Use an Early ‘80s NOS CPO?

tenvad

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(Sorry this is long)

I'm trying to figure out whether it's worth trying to install an old NOS CPO that I bought back in the '90s.

I have a Space Firebird I bought in the mid '90s and at the time happened to find a CPO billed as NOS so picked that up too, figuring it would be hard or impossible to find in the future. Back then there weren't nearly as many repro parts available, especially for oddball games like this, so I'm assuming both the worn CPO on the game and the replacement are genuine Gremlin/Sega. They're both identical, save for the grime and wear on the game.

Fast forward to modern times, and a few years back I bought a repro CPO from a well-known vendor, thinking I'd finally get around to cleaning up my old game. And figured I should keep the original CPO clean and uninstalled for posterity. But the repro didn't match at all. I can't really use it, after knowing what it's really supposed to look like all these years. At least at the time there weren't as many options for repro artwork, and think that might have been the only company to have Space Firebird. They had a good reputation, so figured it was just impossible to match that orange color in the modern world.

I'm just worried whether it makes any sense to try to install the old NOS one. Years back on the forums, there was a concern that old/NOS CPOs were more likely to be brittle and crack on install – and now this one is even older. But researching now I see there's also concern about the modern repros cracking more than the originals. And also saw some talk about the need to re-apply adhesive (Scotch 467 on the original).

Am I just going to regret removing the original, and end up having to replace the NOS one I install with something that doesn't match anyway? If anyone has any experience or advice trying to install a CPO this old, thanks in advance.
 
Does it feel like it would crack when you bend it? Curious if it's still flexible? The purist in me says try to make the nos cpo work somehow. Would be cool to have a new looking old style design! Best of luck on this project, I'll stay tuned🫡🤘
 
Does it feel like it would crack when you bend it? Curious if it's still flexible? The purist in me says try to make the og cpo work somehow. Would be cool to have a new looking old style design! Best of luck on this project, I'll stay tuned🫡🤘
It doesn't feel brittle, but probably one of those things you only notice once you've pushed it too far? Seems as stiff as a few repro ones I have sitting around that I'll probably never get to installing - a good chunk of my games were bought back when there wasn't as much restoration going on, and I guess I gravitate to liking having the original CPO, even if less than perfect.

Way back when there was talk of using a heat gun to try to get these NOS ones on without cracking, and I'm assuming that still applies for CPO installs in general?

Thanks for the support, we'll see.
 
Is the original art on there now worth keeping and shining up?
It came with a pretty big section of missing overlay right on the bend from the control panel to vertical drop, maybe 3" wide and 1" tall at the worst spot. No art there really, but makes it look neglected. And most people don't even know what it is, so it already gets passed by - which is sad because it was one of my must-have games when I started all this.

But would certainly be OK with keeping it that way over the repro I have. So it just feels like I'm taking a big gamble, potentially killing two original CPOs if I fail.
 
I feel your pain. Tough decision to make. The best things in life are worth taking a risk for. I say take the shot on the nos one if you like it more than the current state of things.
 
A few thoughts:
Use the NOS one. What's the worst thing that can happen?
Adhesive: It may be fine. You'll know when you pull half the paper back.
Heat gun: It won't hurt, but be careful. Too much heat causes problems too.

Maybe find someone with a large scanner or a hand scanner they can stitch pieces together, and scan this one before you apply it, so you can provide the files to a vendor and they can make PROPER repros, as you noted the repro you had is terrible.

It's yours, so do as you like. The above are just suggestions.
 
When I was replacing some CPO's maybe around 10 years ago I came to the conclusion from those experiences that new CPO's are going to crack, period. Of course I tried the suggested tips such as heating the CPO before applying, to no avail. As a result, I've adopted a mindset of appreciating originals more. I'm no expert in this stuff, and maybe in the 2020's things have changed, but that was my experience. If I had to choose between a damaged original CPO and a new one that's cracked at the bend, I'd choose the original unless it was really bad. To me, minor damage to original CPO's adds some character.

That said, I agree with ArcadeTech that if possible, you ought to work with a vendor to bring about a better color matched repro, even if you decide not to go that route yourself.
 
I guess if you're worried about adhesive you could get some strips of 3M double sided tape to sure it up. 467MP is used to secure cliffy protectors to pinball playfields, think it would hold up fine with a CPO.
 
This has always been pretty frustrating for me.

I have games with their original cpos that are 40 or 50 years old that have no cracks at all... and time and time again when I buy "high quality" repos from respected vendors they crack after a year no matter how I apply them...and I've tried all common methods.

I agree it would be nice to send your CPO to a vendor to get it reproduced but I would not think that is a path to having a crack free installation in the future.

Just my $.02
 
I really appreciate everyone's input here! It makes me feel a bit better about taking the leap and just using the NOS CPO.

Summarizing some of the key points from everyone:
- I shouldn't worry so much about just trying it.
- The old NOS one may even hold up better (good to know, as apparently I'd bought an NOS Zaxxon back then too).
- It's not crazy to be happier with an original CPO with blemishes rather than a repro. Good thing, as that basically describes all my games. Only ever broke down and did one repro CPO; Asteroids' paint was just too far gone, and I understand even when that game was still in arcades that was such a problem that Atari's solution for operators was just to place a vinyl overlay over it anyway.
- Go ahead and try a heat gun, but not too much heat gun.
- Try to get a scan in on a large frame scanner prior to using up the pristine NOS one.
- See about getting the new one to a vendor to get better accuracy.

On the last item, I'm not sure that anyone (other than me) is really that interested in this game? So maybe not a big enough market. Also it may be really challenging to match this orange. A big color rendering problem - the differences are a lot more noticeable in some light than others. Compounded by the fact that there must be some fluorescence character to the orange, so it's not just a matter of the reflectance spectrum, but also the fluorescence. Without the original pigments, maybe impossible to get a perfect match.

Also why I didn't post pictures, because I'd look crazy for complaining. Pictures don't capture the issue as dramatically as I see it.

Thanks again to everyone for the help.
 
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