Willis artwork?

Willis was also contracted by vid game manufacturers to produce some original artwork for some games. Some of it is actually quite nice. Hard to believe given some of the abominations they put out....
 
I installed a Willis overlay on my Pole II conversion:

I think it matches the dark blue/ black checkerboard of the marquee better:

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Fugly aftermarket non-licensed CPO's etc. Willis is the company's name.

Not true. Much of what Willis made was licensed. They did a lot of art for Centuri, that's why the original Phoenix and "aftermarket" Phoenix overlays look so similar. Willis is widely misunderstood, which is unfortunate as they brought many innovations to the industry.

The problem is that there are a ton of crappy bootleg pieces floating around and they all get labeled "Willis" when they are just crappy bootlegs.

I will be updating my site with more info over the next few months as I attempt to track down even more willis info. www.tokensonly.com just search for willis or bootleg
 
Willis has made some crap, but they made some good artwork too. Heres both of my Centipede CP's, which do you think is better? By the way, I'm seriously asking this, I can't decide which one to keep on.
 

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The Willis Centipede CPO kicks ass and I would keep it. The factory one blows. Boring and it's original design doesn't seem to fit the ultimate control configuration Atari ultimately went with anyway.
 
Willis has made some crap, but they made some good artwork too. Heres both of my Centipede CP's, which do you think is better? By the way, I'm seriously asking this, I can't decide which one to keep on.


The Willis one looks much better!

And Phet, your PPII looks perfect with that overlay on there...
 
IIRC correct willis was voted best arcade art in 1981 by way of a poll in play meter magazine for the original art they did for phoenix. Most of their art was crap though in comparison to the originals.
 
Willis has made some crap, but they made some good artwork too. Heres both of my Centipede CP's, which do you think is better? By the way, I'm seriously asking this, I can't decide which one to keep on.

The Willis for sure. Someone should repro the willis, I would put that on my Centipede :)
 
Willis has made some crap, but they made some good artwork too. Heres both of my Centipede CP's, which do you think is better? By the way, I'm seriously asking this, I can't decide which one to keep on.

Yup, the Willis one is good, but it could've been great. The three-bar design on the front is a throw-away. At least the Atari front edge artwork flows from the top of the panel.

My preference is for the original. I'm also partial to the "player picture" logo on the 1st and 2nd-player buttons.
 
My preference is for the original. I'm also partial to the "player picture" logo on the 1st and 2nd-player buttons.

I am also. I do think the colors on the Willis panel blend better with the game though, especially with the glass bezel. Thats really whats making this a toughie to decide. guess its up to the misses, this is sort of for her anyway...

Ok, for those who vote Willis, another question. Would you get a different color trackball? Already played around with the fire button and I think red looks best, maybe a red trackball, or green, or blue?
 
I liked the Galaga CPO. I always thought it would look nice on a Galplus control panel with the original sideart and marquee. Gaplus/Galaga 3 always seemed pretty ugly to me. Beautiful marquee, excelent side art. But the cab, cpo, and monitor bezel just ruin the looks of that game(at least for me). And it desperately needed a front piece of art to match the side art like galaga had.
 
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