What was this cabinet originally?

[JohnnyCobra]

I thought it was a dynamo, but having black sides and a single stick with those buttons and control panel made me think commando.
It had a red "mVS" type marquis with a ghosts n goblins vinyl backer taped over it.

My guess was some
Variation of commando cab that had a 19in1 board put in to make it a ghosts n goblins.
However the curved arc profile below the marquis seems unusual.

Any guesses what this was? (and should be h

 

[DonPanetta]

Nobody is 100% sure. This is going to get complicated so hear me out...

Most of this cabinet's design is synonymous with late 80's - early 90's Data East titles but i do believe the cabinet manufacturer 3-KOAM also sold these as conversion cabinets. I've been trying to identify which games go with which specific cabinets since i picked up an empty cabinet myself some months back.

is yours originally all black or is there signs its been painted before? Any gray or blue underneath?

 

[parism]

The control panel could be from Sly Spy or Robocop, both DE games.

p

 

[DonPanetta]

The control panel could be from Sly Spy or Robocop, both DE games.

p

Yes but also none of those games used carriage bolts to mount the joystick...

Robocop also usually came with the curved marquee design

 

[JohnnyCobra]

I am not located near it right now but I believe it did not appear to have been a different color or painted over side art

 

[DonPanetta]

I am not located near it right now but I believe it did not appear to have been a sl different color or painted over sodeart

Unfortunately nearly all 3-KOAM built cabinets did not have a model number, game name and in some cases zero serial number on the label. Data East cabs were not immune to this.

So finding out what this originally was is going to be an uphill battle for sure.

 

[JohnnyCobra]

The flip side of the coin is that it can be anything I want it to be! Thanks for the guidance on this one

 

[DonPanetta]

The flip side of the coin is that it can be anything I want it to be! Thanks for the guidance on this one

Absolutely. In my opinion I still think you have a solid cabinet and in terms of 3-KOAM material you have a pretty rare bird there.

 

[ArcadeTechGW]

Yes but also none of those games used carriage bolts to mount the joystick...

Robocop also usually came with the curved marquee design


View attachment 716406

When you have a flat conversion marque, that's easy to fix with a Saws All or Saber Saw.

Note: I do not endorse, support, encourage, or promote the change to classic or non-classic games using saws to facilitate making more money.

 

[DonPanetta]

When you have a flat conversion marque, that's easy to fix with a Saws All or Saber Saw.

Note: I do not endorse, support, encourage, or promote the change to classic or non-classic games using saws to facilitate making more money.

It's entirely possible that the marquee area was simplified sometime later in order to streamline production of cabinets for Data East.

But again that's basically just conjecture at this point.

 

[ArcadeTechGW]

It's entirely possible that the marquee area was simplified sometime later in order to streamline production of cabinets for Data East.

But again that's basically just conjecture at this point.

It may be conjecture, but consider:

1. The cabinet profile matches the 3KOAM/Data East stuff.
2. The plastic over the CP - Look under the CP - see what the original hole pattern was.
3. The coin door matches the 3KOAM
4. The curve (while somewhat damaged) of the left and right sides matches the 3KOAM/Data East stuff.

 

[DonPanetta]

It may be conjecture, but consider:

1. The cabinet profile matches the 3KOAM/Data East stuff.
2. The plastic over the CP - Look under the CP - see what the original hole pattern was.
3. The coin door matches the 3KOAM
4. The curve (while somewhat damaged) of the left and right sides matches the 3KOAM/Data East stuff.

To clarify I 100% believe this cabinet was manufactured by 3-KOAM but I'm not entirely sure that this cabinet was meant to be to house a Data East game.

Shortly after I picked up what i thought was an empty bad dudes cabinet a few months back I began to heavily research these 3-KOAM / data east cabinets as the current cabinet I picked up doesn't have a label, the control panel is the later models missing the printed instruction label on the cpo and there are no discernible markings anywhere on the cabinet for clues.

Doing research I did spot a few of these black cabinets on the internet. None of these black cabinets that looked factory had a data East game inside. Not to mention I don't ever recall seeing a data East game of side design in a black cabinet. They were usually charcoal gray or blue.

While it's entirely possible that it could be a cab manufactured for data East, without the ID tag on the back there's literally no way of knowing.

 

[JohnnyCobra]

Here are a few pictures of artifacts of the former life of this thing. The red marquee is hand painted.
I dont know what kind of PS is running the crt, but there's a lot of pac man burn on the monitor.
It's dirty like it lived a lot before it became GnG /19i in 1.
Anyone know the power supply donor brand? (Homemade?)

 

[Scott C]

Take a look at the PS section in my thread here. It matches what you have except for the power switch and fuses mounted in a metal frame. It's conceivable someone removed those or you have a revision.

If It Must Be Converted, Do It Right

Per my recent thread about an original Capcom Commando cabinet, it having problems less than a year after being converted to a 60-in-1 and purchased by an associate, and me being asked to fix it. My thinking is the following pictures will be a helpful example, of how to do it if a game must be...

forums.arcade-museum.com

Scott C.

 

[DonPanetta]

Here are a few pictures of artifacts of the former life of this thing. The red marquee is hand painted.
I dont know what kind of PS is running the crt, but there's a lot of pac man burn on the monitor.
It's dirty like it lived a lot before it became GnG /19i in 1.
Anyone know the power supply donor brand? (Homemade?)

The power supply is all original. Just verify your voltages and re-mount the switcher or replace it if its bad.

 

[DonPanetta]

Just to dig deeper into the mystery of the cabinet. Here are some pics.

caveman Ninja from the official Data East Flyer shows the game blue (?) cabinet with flat marquee. Notice the disclaimer says this game is only available in kit form.

Gate of Doom is an original cab

The magic sword pic is from KLOV Vaps, clearly a conversion

Two Crude is indeed a dedicated original

The final pic is of a scratch build life force. The creator was a member here who used an original as a template.

 

[parism]

Great finds! Looking back at the OPs cab, the control panel sides are a little different. It is like a hybrid cabinet…

p