The restoration of a 1980's Williams Defender arcade machine
The Rules – A Sympathetic Restoration
So things are progressing nicely – there’s some updates on the monitor, the Power Supply, the control panel and a number of other pieces on their way from the US at the moment – but I wanted to write some rules for the restoration just so I’m clear what I’m trying to achieve.
1. The restoration is sympathetic to the original machine
The cabinet is 30+ years old and I want it to keep it’s heritage – from the Texas gaming committee gambling license sticker on the side, to the original marquee at the top – so everything that I do wants to keep that in mind.
2. Original or New Original Stock rather than reproduction
If I can find an original piece that is in the condition I want then this should take preference over a reproduction piece. I know I can buy reproduction stickers for the side are, but that won’t give it the authenticity I want for example.
3. New when it makes sense
The buttons are really broken – I mean the plastic that they are made of is basically deteriorating into dust as I move them – and there’s little point trying to find 30 year old plastic buttons that won’t also have suffered the same fate (unless they were moth-balled somewhere!) so I think it’s fair to use new in those cases.
I’m also now going to start tagging updates by channel – control panel, boards etc. – as they will be more in parallel rather than one following the other as parts arrive!
Print article | This entry was posted by Judder on April 3, 2012 at 1:29 pm, and is filed under Williams Defender restoration. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed. |