Sometimes the right tool can make all the difference when working on an arcade game restoration project. For me it was a good air compressor to run my shop tools. I have a sand blasting cabinet and painting equipment that both require a stable air supply and while I’ve been getting by with a little 13 gallon portable tank, it was really time for an upgrade. I wanted something with plenty of capacity, and good PSI, which meant an upright compressor. Those big compressors can be pricey, $1k or more, which was more than I could afford to spend. I needed to find a good balance between price and performance. I sold off some projects to generate cash, did my research and then patiently waited for a sale. Thanks to a tip from Troy (takeman), this is what I ended up with.

An 80 gallon, single stage air compressor by Industrial Air, from Farm and Fleet. Industrial Air is just a store brand made by a well known major manufacturer, so I was happy. I opened up a store account and got an additional 10% off the sale price and several months interest free. Out the door this was just under $700, a good price. For another $20 I rented a uhaul trailer and took the 450lb monster home.

The guys at Farm and Fleet used a fork lift to put the compressor in the trailer, how exactly would I get it out? Well, I removed the annoying chains that keep the trailer gate from opening all the way and then I used my trusty plywood ramp. I made this specifically for uhaul trailers and it has made moving games in and out a lot easier. It works for compressors too. Surprisingly I was able to simply slide the whole skid down the ramp to the driveway without too much effort. I then slowly dragged the whole skid into the back room of my garage where it would be permanently mounted.

With the compressor parked in the garage, it was time to sketch out a rough layout and buy pipe and fittings. People tend to forget that besides the compressor you’ll need lots of black pipe, fittings, filters, regulators, flexible hose, shut off valves, etc. You will easily add a couple hundred bucks of cost on top of the price of the unit itself. Next time I’ll discuss the layout and installation.

After almost 10 years of collecting and restoring classic arcade games, I’ve figured out the most important collecting rule to live by. Limit your projects! Why? Typically you can only get to one or two major restoration projects per season in the Midwest, with perhaps another handful of minor fixes during the winter months. Of course there are always exceptions, but family, work, and normal everyday life consumes a lot of time leaving very little for projects. If you’re a new collector, try to avoid the “buy everything I can get my hands on” phase of collecting. You’ll just end up with a garage, basement or even living room full of junk!

Now don’t get me wrong, there are some nice games in this garage, but wouldn’t it be a little nicer with just one or two project games and lots of space to work on them? Or maybe even a spot to park the car? I think so. Of course you’d have to grab that Major Havoc that was left at the curb, but until that really happens, stop grabbing projects and focus your energy. Restore those games and thin out the project list. Projects always come up, even more now that the arcade market is depressed. I’ve got to run, I have some games to work on! (special thanks to Tim B for the unauthorized use of his garage photo)

• Please help Ground Kontrol win the Stride Gum contest! Check out the details on their website http://www.groundkontrol.com/ #

• Cut our lawn and weeded around the new plantings. 5 service berry and 16 elderberry have taken hold and look great. #
• Finished painting the backdoor, marquee board, vent panel and speaker grills for Reactor. Should have it back together this weekend! #

Found a folder labeled “Moon Patrol” in this big stash of operator paperwork, but upon closer inspection it contained some cool color instruction cards for Moon Ranger, a bootleg of Moon Patrol.

According to KLOV the game sounds identical to moon patrol in every way, they even stole graphics from the Williams game for the instruction card. Bootleg games were a big problem for manufacturers back in the 80′s when arcades were booming. Why pay top dollar for a Moon Patrol when you could get a cheaper conversion kit for Moon Ranger? I also found this sticker inside the folder, just another instruction card with some hints of Engrish, perhaps for a cocktail table version of the game. Pretty fun stuff.

That’s right, Wico. The dissolution of the former partnership between Willis and Wico must be complete as the latter is now cranking out their own control panel overlays. Not quite sure if this was a licensed product, but I can’t imagine Wico would bootleg such an item, considering the two companies weren’t far from one another here in the Chicago area. I’ll call this a new old stock item, just made by Wico and not an OEM part from Williams.

The cpo is screen printed with nice die cuts, but on plain white backing. The color scheme is appealing to me, but the mountain range has been done a million times, boring. Overall it is a simple, clean overlay. Not much excitement, but I guess its better than an old worn out original. Not really, but I’ll archive it anyway.

• Star Wars cockpit is about to journey to its new home. The new owner is pulling up with his 12' featherlight now. #

There was an interesting Q*bert bootleg on eBay this past week. I had never seen one quite like it before, as someone had incorporated the swearing from the swearing marquee variation into the cpo. It appeared to be a well done bootleg and was in great shape. I liked it.

Unfortunately a bunch of other bidders liked it too! My meager bid of just under $23 wasn’t nearly enough to win this cpo that almost hit $60. Pretty crazy IMHO since it is just a bootleg piece and not original. Perhaps someone is just adding it to their artwork collection.

• Very unfortunate that the PHOF got burglarized for copper wire! http://www.ktnv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12305878 #

This piece of Willis artwork was part of the Enviro-Graphics package, but was also available for purchase separately. Not too long ago someone on the KLOV forums was blowing out a stack of these for $1 each, a pretty good price. I got mine off eBay ages ago and really like it. I was thinking of scanning it and printing out a few at the local Kinko’s on card stock, maybe have them laminated. That way I could mark the games that are currently down in my game room. Of course I could also spend the time working on repairs…

The sign has the standard Willis logo, date and trademark info right on the front, typical of Willis artwork. Being just a sticker, it wasn’t printed using the heavy duty 3M paper and adhesive, just a generic plain backing. I can’t recall ever seeing these on games back in the day, usually it was just a hand scrawled note that said “Out of order” taped to the bezel. Not sure if sticking one of these on a game would have been a good idea anyway, would they come off easily? Doubt it.