Galaga 88

GALAGA '88

Finished Project

Screen shots:

Screen Shot Galaga 88

Refit Project Info:

This cabinet started life as Dragon Spirit then was a Splatterhouse. Since we already have a Dragon Spirit and a Galaga 88 PCB, we thought we'd make this into the new home for the Galaga 88. Besides, these monitors are the best we've seen! And a killer monitor deserves a killer game!

Step 1 - Mike pulled all of the T-molding off the cabinet and turned the monitor from horizontal to vertical. Note the Peter Chow style power supply and the fact that there is no harness in this picture.

Step 2 - Dawn tested the paint on the sides of the cabinet for any side art hidden under the black enamel paint. No art was found - only cuts where the Dragon Spirit art was removed.

Step 3 - Dawn stripped the paint off both sides of the cabinet and the front door panel down to the bare wood. She used 3M safest stripper.

Step 4 - We made a new cardboard monitor bezel out of two pieces of black poster paper. We used Dragon Spirit's bezel as a pattern (without breaking it). We made one half with a tab. We then cut it out and traced it on the other poster paper. We glued and taped it on the back. We painted it flat black. This made the bezel more rigid and a darker black.

Step 5 - Strip the old, plain black overlay off the control panel. Remove all of the black paint using paint stripper. Fill the extra holes in the control panel with putty. Sand it down smooth. Prime and paint the top of the control panel so it doesn't rust. The bottom was already painted black. The pictures on the left show it at various stages.

Step 6 - We used an emulator to capture graphics screens from "Galaga 90". Gameplay on Galaga 90 is a little different, but the graphics are the same. We printed these at 250% on sticker sheets for use on the monitor bezel. We cut them out and applied them to the bezel.

Note: Galaga 88 never had a decorative monitor bezel, but we felt it was necessary. We removed the top "bugs" from the bezel because they were falling off.

Step 7 - Tony Berry scanned his Galaga 88 control panel, marquee, and side art for us. Thanks, Tony! These will be used to create new artwork. We put the pieces of the scanned artwork together and used Corel Draw to create duplicate the artwork.

Step 8 - Mike primed and painted the front access door back to its original flat black.

Step 9 - Dawn filled the nicks and scratches in the sides of the cabinet. We sanded this down in preparation for priming and painting.

Step 10 - Primer! Need we say more than that?

Step 11 - Paint the sides white. Sand them smooth with 600 grit sandpaper.

Step 12 - An early proof of the control panel overlay printed in sections on our color DeskJet. Here it is over the real control panel to make sure the holes line up properly.

In this picture it is currently missing the stars. "My God! Its full of stars!" It is larger than the control panel to allow for wrap around and trimming.

Yes, Dawn is the artistic one. Yes, she has blurry vision from all the detail work. She traced Tony's scanned images and produced this artwork with Corel Draw.

Step 13 - Complete the stars. Print and apply the control panel overlay. It was printed on flexible adhesive backed vinyl and laminated. The overlay was made to wrap over the top and bottom and trimmed to fit the sides.

Add the newly acquired Atari joystick and new yellow Happ buttons. Yes, yellow. The brochure pictures (on Tony's page) show yellow buttons. Prime and paint the start button housings black (they were silver).

Note: If anyone is restoring a Galaga 88 and needs one of these CPOs, contact us.

Step 14 - Add the replacement power supply and rewire the entire cabinet. This cabinet was purchased with the original harness that had been cut out of the cabinet. Test out the power connections with a meter (and then a less valuable PCB). Finally, put the Galaga 88 PCB into the cabinet and adjust the monitor. Replace the token coin mechs with quarter coin mechs. Replaced the burnt out coin door lights with new ones.

Notes: The original power supply is an Astec model SA40-1304. The replacement is a Kepco/TDK model MRW160KV. The replacement power supply is pin-compatible with the old supply. Both supplies provide +12V, -12V, +5V, and Common (but no -5V). The -12V is unused.

If anyone is looking for this type of power supply, we can get you one for $15 plus shipping.

Step 15 - A near final proof of the marquee printed in sections on our color DeskJet. A final pass was made to ensure the colors all match the control panel overlay.

Step 16 - Print the reversed marquee on the back of 10 mil thick frosted flexible plastic and install.

Notes:

- If anyone is restoring a Galaga 88 and needs one of these Marquees or Control Panel Overlays, contact us.

- This picture shows the reflective light of the camera on the marquee. Because of the matte finish of the marquee, it tends to make the marquee look lighter than it looks when lit mostly from behind.

Step 17 - A proof of the Side Art printed in sections and printed on our DeskJet printer.

Step 18 - The final printed side art, printed on adhesive-backed vinyl and laminated.

Step 19 - Mike was not happy with how the sides looked so he repainted them. We also replaced the T-molding after the new paint job.

Step 20 - We cut out the side art and applied it to the sides of the cabinet.

To Be Done (the home stretch):

Replace the Plexiglas over the monitor with glass (not a pressing issue).

Visit our projects page to see the transformation of our other games.

Send us email to: appolo@mediaone.net

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