Two days ago I have officially registered for this forum and in an introduction thread I've mentioned there would be more on this Ms. Pac-Man
soon. I didn't start this thread because I didn't know when or how to start.
Basic information: This unit was purchased at an estate sale for $200, which was originally $875. The game was sitting in a barn shed for god knows how long and it was too dirty and nasty to sell for that price reasonably (if it was a rare but desirable game, I would still pass for still being a little overpriced). Because we had assumed it was not working and nobody bought this game the price was finally talked down to $150 but finally we discovered there was a switch behind the game. Everything came on, but the picture was garbled mess.
Status report:
Control panel overlay is in a really bad way. Much of it has been rotten and peeled away. I could live with some rust but this control panel is shot and I'm going to have to replace it. The bezel and control panel was cleaned before taking this photo.
This machine was once on-location, judging from the holes to drill in a coin door lock. When I booted the game up it was set to free play. The Bally-Midway badge appears to be in good condition, while there is also remains of an ugly stick straight across the top. There were two pennies that were probably once rejected, ignoring that the slots says 25ยข. Might need to get a lock pick because I don't feel like removing the original locks. I'm going to doll those holes up because I don't like them.
A 'void' sticker stuck on by a former operator sticker, issued by the state commission (Texas) to legally operate coin-op video games on location. This game may not see location anymore.
There goes my dream of opening up a public collection and allowing people to play this machine. This will have to go.
As mentioned, the graphics are an ugly mess of non-euclidean geometry and you can hardly even see Ms. Pac-Man herself. It could've been worse. I'm sure this is an issue with the board.
Everything else: I am not going to go all brute-force on this machine. I'm going to preserve as much as possible (now things like filter boards, those will have to go as they serve no purpose whatever and they never did, this was based on the whole "holy shit, these games going to futz with our telecommunication!") but mostly do minor touch-ups like paint over scuffs. Things like dust and grime will also be cleaned off the cabinet and from inside (I can't imagine how awful it will look after being abandoned for so long, I hear a bunch of spiders came out from under the cabinet!) because nobody wants a game that is so dirty.
Feel free to ask me questions and things I don't know but should.
