It started, as it usually does nowadays, with a Craigslist ad. 


      Ms. Packman (sic) machine.  Not working.  $50.

Needless to say, I jumped on that like a starving chihuahua on a pork chop. One phone call and a few hours later, I was on my way to pick up a Ms. Pac-Man machine.  Now, I already have more than I can handle, but I figured I could actually fix her up and re-sell her for a little more than $50.  When I arrived at the seller's apartment, I realized that something was not right.  Not only was it not a "Ms. Packman", it wasn't a full-sized machine.  Turns out, it was a Pac-Man mini, or cabaret model to you arcade aficionados.  Not only that, it had obviously absorbed it's weight in ambient humidity.  The guy who owned it said that it had never worked; it was purchased as a project a few years ago.  Well, a few months ago, he moved in with his girlfriend and left the game in his old apartment.  Now over the course of those few weeks, a group of his "friends" crashed there, leaving the windows open.  Needless to say, it swelled up like that broad who gave birth to 8 kids.  So, without any further ado, here are the obligitory pics -



Vinyl woodgrain + particle board = pile of dogshit.



Keep in mind, the wood is supposed to be the same width as the black t-molding.  At least the artwork is in phenomenal shape!



Wow.  Just wow....



Here's the back.  You didn't think it would be in better shape than the front, did you?



These rusty bricks are the power transformers.  Despite the rust, they actually work.  I'm as amazed as you.




Here is the rarest part of any arcade game - the rear door.  The fact that it's in mint condition with the monitor shroud is beyond astounding.



Despite the rough exterior, the main logic board is immaculate.  It still doesn't fire up, but that's a fix-it after the cabinet is rebuilt.  Hopefully it's just a bad chip.



- and here is what the screen looks like.  At least the monitor works...



This is what leads me to believe that this machine has never been in public.  When machines are new, this is what the counter looks like.  The manufacturer puts the numbers just under all zeros so the operator/seller has a chance to test a few games on it. 

So that's it for now.  After finishing my other projects, I'll start on rebuilding the cabinet.  I'm still torn with making it to original specifications, or rebuilding it out of plywood, and painting it 'safety yellow', like