Weekend pickup - $50 Holosseum - lots of pics

30FathomDave

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I distinctly remember walking into the Castles N' Coasters arcade in Phoenix, AZ, back in 1991 (So I would have been 10 or 11 at the time), and watching a line of kids playing a game I had never seen before. It was called Time Traveler. I walked up to it, saw the images, and my brain melted.

When I started collecting arcade games, I always kept that game in the back of my mind. Fast forward to last week, when Stuffmonger listed a Holosseum in the "for sale" section for fifty bucks. After several hours of debate, I decided to pull the trigger. My plan is to ultimately convert it to a Time Traveler.

Here's a pic of the game from Stuffmonger's thread:
Holosseum-before1.jpg


With the help of Stuffmonger and KingOfTron (who came along for the ride), we loaded it up in the truck. The formica was loose in several places, so I shrink-wrapped the cabinet to keep it from flying apart on the freeway:
HolosseumTransport4.jpg


I got it home and gave it a good cleaning with a Magic Eraser. As you can see here, the formica on the front panel was almost completely gone:
Holosseumfrontbefore.jpg


It was also partially missing on the top of the cab, but luckily the artwork was still intact:
HolosseumTopbefore.jpg


Continued in next post...
 
Continued...

I went to Lowe's the next morning and was pleased to find out that they sell sheets of formica for $40. It's not an exact match, but pretty damn close. After cutting and mounting a new front panel, I bumped into the cabinet shortly afterward (not used to a big-ass arcade game in that part of my house yet) and cracked it. Damn it. I'll fix it later:

Holosseumafter2.jpg


By far the hardest part was fixing the curved formica issue on the top of the cab. I tried a couple different kinds of Liquid Nails and taped it down as tight as possible, but the curvature just would not hold. As soon as I'd remove the tape, the formica would pop right off. I wrestled with it pretty much all day Saturday and part of Sunday. It just would not work. So... I went to Staples and bought a piece of heavy-duty construction paper. It's not a perfect match by any means, but it's a decent "quick fix," and will hold me over until I come up with a better solution:

Holosseumafter1.jpg


There were several chips throughout the cab, so I made some patches with the remaining formica, and used a white out pen for some of the smaller blemishes:

Holosseumafter6.jpg


Here's one last pic with the game turned on:

Holosseumhologram.jpg


My next steps will be replacing that red joystick with something that closer resembles the original, and tracking down Time Traveler components. If anyone knows where I might be able to find some of that stuff, or what all is required, I'm all ears. There's a Sony LDP-1450 on ebay right now, and I know I'll ultimately need one of those.
 
Hey that looks real good!

I saw it in Stuffmongers garage a few weeks back, now way I would have the room for that beast :)
Looks like it found a great home ;)
 
Cool pickup. Ambitious project. Finding Time Traveler parts will be a challenging quest.

I, too, remember seeing this game in my local arcade when it first came out. I had to try it and basically didn't understand the game at all. The game didn't stay long at the arcade, but was very unique and cool... not much for gameplay, though.

Good luck on the project.
 
Cool pickup. Ambitious project. Finding Time Traveler parts will be a challenging quest.

Finding the actual Time Traveler laserdisc itself I think will be the toughest part. Since Holosseum is fully working, I can take my time with this one as I track down parts. Even if Holosseum isn't the greatest game, it does look pretty damn cool.

I, too, remember seeing this game in my local arcade when it first came out. I had to try it and basically didn't understand the game at all. The game didn't stay long at the arcade, but was very unique and cool... not much for gameplay, though.

Yeah, it wasn't around long at my local arcade either. I actually kind of enjoy the gameplay, but it's all about the "Wow" factor.

Good luck on the project.

Thanks! :)
 
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don't really know much about formica but it's plastic correct? Have you tried a heat gun to see if the stuff melts, bends ect. Heat might get it to bend to the shape you want. Or close enough to glue in place.
 
I would scan that art and make a sticker or something at Kinko's...peel all that laminate and use one sheet so it looks matched. Contact cement works wonders and will hold at the bend if you apply it to both surfaces.

You are a very brave man for picking up that project. Good luck.
 
The hardest part is not the laserdisc itself but the lightbox marquee......

I'm not too concerned with the marquee. The one I played as a kid didn't have one. Though I'll bet the decal (where the Holosseum one is right now) is probably just as tough to find.

don't really know much about formica but it's plastic correct? Have you tried a heat gun to see if the stuff melts, bends ect. Heat might get it to bend to the shape you want. Or close enough to glue in place.

That's a great idea. I'll give that a try.
 
I recently picked up a Holosseum myself, though I plan to leave it a Holosseum. I love odd games and this is one of the oddest. Eventually it will take it's place in my line-up of fighters.

Unfortunately, when I got it home and was unloading it from my truck I dropped it and shattered the piece of glass. After picking up the pieces it looks like the paint was rolled on and the piece of glass has straight cuts so replacing it should be fairly easy...
 
If you buy the Sony LD Player, make sure the sender packages it ridiculously well. I have bought 3 of these online and NOT ONE made it to my house in working condition. Mainly that was due to the poor packaging of the sellers, but they are very fragile and are getting harder to find. I just can't stress this enough or you will be disappointed. Can't wait to see the finished product. I remember playing Time Traveler in Wisconsin Dells and I have the game on DVD still.
 
man you suck lol. everybody says im crazy but i too remember the time traveler as a kid and time traveler or holosseum is on my list of " must have someday"

neat man. keep up the good work!
 
I'm just glad it's getting more attention than it was at my place. Plus, I might be able to make that workbench I've been wanting in the garage now >_<
 
I'm no expert, but I think - to do any formica/laminate repair on that cabinet, you'll have to strip an entire surface off. I mean, can't patch a side, you'll have to pull ALL of that side off and redo. You'll need the proper adhesive and a j-roller for sure. I'd google/research cabinet related laminate, application and trim techniques.

To trim, you'll need a laminate/trim router, with a flush trim bit with a bearing. Harbor Freight has a $20something router, but it's crap. Maybe you can get a cheap Ryobi that should do well.

Given the importance of this game, I highly recommend you shell out a few $ for the proper tools, do your research, and become good at applying and trimming laminate before doing the cabinet.

You could apply it to a wooden box, or even a scrap piece of 2x4. Keep in mind that there's usually an order to veneer application on a box, so that possibly the front/top edge overlaps the sides. Seems minor, but makes a difference and is often a concern in speaker building and anytime laminate or veneer is being used. An example would be - bottom, back, sides, top, then front. The reason for that is so that from most visible angle of piece, the overlap of the edges of veneer are most aesthetically pleasing..

If there are issues with many faces of the cabinet, I would probably strip the cabinet of parts, then strip the laminate (may be easier said than done), hand sand to smooth, then re-laminate. You'll also need to research clamping techniques for application veneer or laminate to curved surfaces.

If a pro can do it, it might not be easy, but it's certainly possible for you or I to do, with practice and research of techniques. A giant vacuum bag would work best, but a more practical way of many clamp, or using ratchet straps, etc.. can be done. Figure it out before you apply a drop of adhesive. Good luck...
 
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