WOW! Blaster Cockpit sells for 5831.91!!

[MattsArcade]

It's truly a RARE piece, but what an amazing price!! I was thinking maybe
it would go for 2000.00.
I bet he's glad he didn't junk the game. ;)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6252783978

Matt

[jkoolpe]

So...does anyone in RGVAC land know who got it or at least where in the
U.S. it's going to?

Jon

[LouiSurfer]

Looks like Seattle Washington.

The buyer, has sold other stuff on ebay before, just look up their
feedback/past auctions.

L.

[jkoolpe]

Also, whoever got it should ask if there is any back-story on how such
a rare piece ended up in Australia in the first place.

AFAIK, the game was a total bomb in the arcades when it came out...how
did it end up Down Under what with the expenses of shipping it out
there in the first place? Was it originally purchased by an Australian
operator for a now defunct arcade who thought he'd make money in his
arcade on it?

At any rate, it should be an interesting story. If the seller has any
information, I'm sure many collectors would be very intrigued:)...

Jon

[Steve Prendergast]

Williams might have sent it over there to test the waters to see if it
would sell over there and it just never made it back. If the game was
bombing in the US, perhaps they were looking to see if it might do well
elsewhere...???

[Ron Jr.]

hopefully, the seller doesn't think every converted cockpit will bring
in that kind of cash.
i can see it now.........
ronald

[MARK]

I remember reading a thread about that Ausie guy in that movie that
originally purchased it from someone almost new for his personal game
room.That's how it ended up down under.What i can't figure out is why anyone
would pay even 200.00 for that piece of junk let alone 5 grand.??.I just
wish i was the one that sold it to him for that much.I could clear up some
bills.:)
"jkoolpe" <jko...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1140134363....@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

[Ryan]

Hmm Seattle. This guy has some cash.. I bet he has a killer game room.
Wish I knew who he is cuz im in the area. Me thinks a Microsofty got
it. :)

Ryan
http://www.ryansarcade.com

[emai...@yahoo.com]

Just think of the smile on that seller face when it pulled that kind of
cash....he probably thanks his lucky stars he did not haul it to the
junk pile.

[sc...@hyperspacearcade.com]

Man...

Since I posted the first link to it on this group, maybe I should ask
for a cut :)

[evb9...@gmail.com]

lol! Maybe Gates had to have it like everything else. ;)
~eric

[Bret Pehrson]

evb9...@gmail.com wrote:
> lol! Maybe Gates had to have it like everything else. ;)
> ~eric
>

Tell him to call me and I'll gladly sell him one of my Infernos.

[CONAN THE LIBRARIAN]

Bret Pehrson <br...@classicade.com> wrote in news:3B9Jf.14106$MJ.11082
@fed1read07:

I don't even remember that game. The cabinet looks a LOT like Sinistar's
cockpit.

[Aub...@aol.com]

It looks like he got shilled for $2200.

Mike

[Dane L. Galden]

If that's true, it's not surprising since the seller was told how "valuable"
the item was. Too bad no one was there to tell the original seller from
whom this eBay seller got the item how valuable it was...

Dane.

<Aub...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1140143996.6...@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

[Matt]

I feel bad for the guy that ends up with this game. Its obviously not a
Blaster internally anylonger. A steering wheel and shifter are not the
correct controls for Blaster. I'm thinking this thing was converted to a
Pole Position or some other horizontal racer back in the day. If its still a
Pole that might go to explain why it doesn't work at this point...

Some one got fucked. Or that's some serious shilling or a heisted eBay
account...

Matt

"Dane L. Galden" <chigroup(at)ix.netcom.comCHANGE(at)TO@> wrote in message
news:LlbJf.12724$Nv2....@newsread1.news.atl.earthlink.net...

[Steve Muccione]

He stated in the description that it was a non-working conversion so any
bidder knew what he was getting into...

I doubt it was a heist... they'd still have to get it shipped from overseas
and that's not going to be a simple thing to do at all.

"Matt" <game...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:XJCdnXs6nvg...@comcast.com...

[Dave]

Hi this is Dave from Sohomish,Wa.I know who bought it and I cant reveal
it due to he may want to remain secret.But He is a legit buyer,a very
nice guy,and has a pretty nice collection allthough I have not seen it
yet.I am in the process of possibly doing a trade for a game he has
myself.And as for the missing parts I wouldnt be surprised if he
allready has them or is going to take them from an upright,or knows
where he can get them.Purly hypethetical.Anyway just thought I would
share that with you,and its not Bill Gates..LOL!!!....Later......Dave

[DarkKobold]

I bet the seller's wife is getting an earful of "I told you so!" from
the seller.

[Derek Stutsman]

> Hi this is Dave from Sohomish,Wa.I know who bought it and I cant reveal
> it due to he may want to remain secret.But He is a legit buyer,a very
> nice guy,and has a pretty nice collection allthough I have not seen it
> yet.I am in the process of possibly doing a trade for a game he has
> myself.And as for the missing parts I wouldnt be surprised if he
> allready has them or is going to take them from an upright,or knows
> where he can get them.Purly hypethetical.Anyway just thought I would
> share that with you,and its not Bill Gates..LOL!!!....Later......Dave

Dave,

If you know the seller, I'd love to see pictures of the finished
result...if he does indeed repair it to completion.

Please keep us posted!

D

[syn...@gmail.com]

I guessed this one would go for 3 to 5K and I think it's worth it.
Sure it would be great to have all original parts but at least the
unique parts of the cabinet's exterior and artwork are there including
the top marquee. Anyone that's de-converted a game knows just about
anything is possible with respect to control panels, harness, ect.
When the example you're working on is one of only 3 in the world, it's
certainly worth the effort.

As a group we should all be glad this example resurfaced and will be
restored. The last known Blaster Cockpit is on it's way home? Pop a
cold one and toast the day!

Mike Doyle

[Eric]

Well, it looks like the last two bidders tried to snipe. I would think
the shilling would happen early on and not in the very last seconds.
~eric

[Dave]

I dont know the seller only the buyer and he's not clueless at all.I
know he will restore it to origonal condition.Like previously said
crack a cold one and be happy it went to a collector....Later.....Dave

[Mike]

Well, I know the buyer too. He actually flew to B'ham, AL from
Washington State, bought 11 games from me, rented a U-Haul and drove it
to Las Vegas (that's over 1800 miles!). He turned the U-Haul in and put
the games on his R-V trailer. His R-V had been sitting there for several
months because it broke down on their family vacation. He had it towed
in and repaired but hadn't got back down there to pick it up. Anyway, he
drove from Vegas back home.

All in all, he left my house at 2pm Sunday and made it home late Friday
night. That beat anything I had ever seen since I started collecting
games.

Mike

--
Sent via Gamer Newsgroups
http://www.gamernewsgroups.com

[Scott Caldwell]

What was the final decision on this cabinet? Was it the
third known (#3 of #3) or is this #4?

Scott C.

[Troy]

The buyer reads this board, so if he wants to be known.
I'm sure he would chime in here.
Nice pick up ;Ş

Troy,

Dave <arc...@peoplepc.com> wrote in message
news:1140188745.9...@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

[phoenixarcade.com]

you know, its high to me. but to the buyer its not. let him be. let him
enjoy the restoration and pride of ownership.

its his money, let him spend it as he wishes.

would be nice if he would show some pics when hes done with it

[Matt Mac Donagh]

Thats an insane amount of money for that beat to hell cab. I wish the guy
the best of luck getting it back in one piece and working.

"Dave" <arc...@peoplepc.com> wrote in message
news:1140188745.9...@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

[Matt Mac Donagh]

I never said the guy was clueless. All I'm saying is thats an incredible
waste of money. Sure the game is rare and for the most parts the artwork is
there but come on. Its a Blaster, the game sucks.

Easy come, easy go. I guess... I know a guy that dropped $110k + for games
in his house. I thought that was pretty damn crazy too.

"Turbo-Torch" <vair...@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:odkcv1pd3
lasau8h2kegl...@4ax.com...

> On Thu, 16 Feb 2006 21:57:07 -0700, "Matt" <game...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>>I feel bad for the guy that ends up with this game.
>

> Yeah, I'm sure this collector didn't know what he was getting into
> when he dropped over $5K on it not including shipping from the other
> side of the earth.
>
> Do you seriously think the buyer is that clueless?

[MacMan]

In article <1140134363....@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>,
"jkoolpe" <jko...@hotmail.com> wrote:

> Also, whoever got it should ask if there is any back-story on how such
> a rare piece ended up in Australia in the first place.
>
> AFAIK, the game was a total bomb in the arcades when it came out...how
> did it end up Down Under what with the expenses of shipping it out
> there in the first place? Was it originally purchased by an Australian
> operator for a now defunct arcade who thought he'd make money in his
> arcade on it?
>
> At any rate, it should be an interesting story. If the seller has any
> information, I'm sure many collectors would be very intrigued:)...
>
> Jon

We got quite a few rare pieces in Australia. I remember even prototypes
at the time. Sometimes it was to test the waters (although LAI was
handling Williams at the time of Blaster so they wouldn't have done that
- they would have copied it locally), and sometimes (and this is the
likely scenario with this cockpit) it would go to a major distributor in
the USA for test... a year or two later an Australia Op would order from
the distributor and he would through in some second hand stuff cheap to
fill the container.

I believe the seller used to be an Op in Melbourne (now moved to Sydney).

Cheers
MacMan

[MacMan]

In article <yF8Jf.1298$ds2...@fe10.lga>,
"MARK" <MARK...@OPTONLINE.NET> wrote:

> I remember reading a thread about that Ausie guy in that movie that
> originally purchased it from someone almost new for his personal game
> room.

Well without knowing which Aussie guy you're talking about, I doubt it.
Bulk sale from a distributor is probably how it ended up here.

Cheers
MacMan

[MacMan]

In article <1140134747.1...@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>,
"Steve Prendergast" <stevenpr...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Williams might have sent it over there to test the waters to see if it
> would sell over there and it just never made it back. If the game was
> bombing in the US, perhaps they were looking to see if it might do well
> elsewhere...???

Unfortunatley at that time LAI brought in very few dedicated cabinets.
Sometimes they got the plans to make a sample cab here (as in my Turkey
Shoot) other times they just whacked it in one of their generic cabs as
in the upright Blaster and Joust 2 I played at their test location.

Originally Taito distributed Williams in Australia and they brought in
original cabinets from the USA, but when they closed shop around 82 LAI
picked up the vid side of Williams and they were/are cheap bastards who
stuck everything in boring black boxes (what year was Defender because
the change over happened while Defender was still fairly hot?).

The only hope to get a dedicated machine in Australia is if the Op
imported it themselves so consequently they are rare.

Cheers
MacMan

[Joe Magiera]

I have a buddy that is good friends with both WizKidz, Eugene and Larry.
When this auction came up, I questioned him if this was the 3'rd or 4th
cockpit. Everyone knows the first 2, Eugence has one, and Mark Capps has
the other. The urban ledgend says the third was converted to a Devestators
for a show and subsequently destroyed. He called both of them and this is
the scoop:

-Confirmed that Eugene has one.
-Eugene absolutely swears only 3 were made. He named other people, from the
assembly floor to executives that would absolutely 100% confirm this.
-The coverted to Devestators, was not a Blaster, it was taken from a
not-yet-painted black cabinet, Sinistar cockpit. The wood parts of both
cockpits were pretty much exactly the same thing so that may be why it got
started it was a Blaster cockpit conversion. This was confirmed by
additional phone calls to a couple employees that worked the show with the
Devestator, it was in a plain black cabinet.
-No one has any idea how the 3rd got to Australia.

So I believe Eugene that there were/are only 3.

I wish I had those kinds of contacts, where I could pick up the phone and
call Eugene!

Joe (joemagiera at ameritech dot net)
joema...@ameritech.net

"Scott Caldwell" <lscottc...@excite.com> wrote in message
news:m_wJf.32674$F_3...@newssvr29.news.prodigy.net...

[MARK]

The guy that had on the cowboy looking Ausie hat that said NOW THIS IS A
KNIFE.!!!.I read that he purchased it from one of the big companies for his
personal collection.I read it so im not sure if it's fact or not.All i can
say is.NOW THAT'S A HIGH PRICE MAN.!!!!!:)
"MacMan" <fun...@bigpond.net.au.spamfoil> wrote in message
news:funster-0481B7...@news-server.bigpond.net.au...

[arcadeguy]

Did you ever think that the cab might have been a Blaster but was
converted before any Blaster parts were installed. Maybe they thought
it was gonna be a waste and converted it before production, hence the
reason no one knew it was real.
If you Eugene only saw the finished products how many cabs were made?
This could be interesting.

[Steve Muccione]

you mean Paul Hogan? aka Crockodile Dundee?

"MARK" <MARK...@OPTONLINE.NET> wrote in message
news:PSIJf.1206$u54...@fe09.lga...

[MARK]

That's the one Steve.I read a thread about him being a pretty big collector
of games and such and that he might be the person who purchased it and had
it shipped.Hey what ever happened too him.??.He seemed to disappear or
retire.Im sure he made tons of money on his films so maybe he packed it in
and retired because he was typecast and couldn't play any other part.Doe's
anyone know.?
"Steve Muccione" <home.m...@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:N-GdnZ_q-LM...@comcast.com...

[mudmantim]

That makes me want to watch Crocodile Dundee now.

-Tim

[Steve Muccione]

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001357/

After the Dundee movies he went and starred in Flipper in 1996.. .that
pretty much ended his career :)

"mudmantim" <mudm...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1140296383.9...@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...

[Scott Caldwell]

Can't think of the name, but there was another movie
he starred in where he thought he was an angel, because
of a near miss.

Scott C.

[Scott Caldwell]

Yeh, I noticed that too. Clearly, if the converted cockpit
never had any artwork (was only black), then something is
suspect here, since this one clearly has it.

Scott C.

[MacMan]

Paul Hogan.

It's probably a good story and it could have happened as Blaster was 83
and Paul Hogan hit it big with Crocodile Dundee in 86, but I've never
heard of him having a game room or anything like that. Also the cockpit
apparently comes from Melbourne and Hogan has no association with
Melbourne. He's always been a Sydney boy and lived in Sydney or the
upper coast of the state. But as I say... the more likely was a bulk
deal with an Op which is less romantic but probably closer to the truth.

Cheers
MacMan

In article <kzLJf.22$YF4...@fe12.lga>, "MARK" <MARK...@OPTONLINE.NET>
wrote:

[Steve Muccione]

>Can't think of the name

Exactly!

:)

Almost an Angel

"Scott Caldwell" <lscottc...@excite.com> wrote in message

news:IENJf.58428$PL5....@newssvr11.news.prodigy.com...

[arcadeguy]

Macman !!!!!!!!
Longtime !!!!!!!!!!
Whats the latest project you have? I remember a few years ago you
scored a SInistar I believe locally..

[MARK]

That's if he ever finishes it.I would love to see the pictures too.But i
don't think i'll live long enough to ever see them in the next Millennium:)
"phoenixarcade.com" <azarca...@cox.net> wrote in message
news:1140238711.6...@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...

[MARK]

You can't be serious.??What do you think this POS is some top Government
secret???.It's a freakin piece of shit wooden cabinet from a beat up video
game.You can't reveal the identity of the buyer.Oooowwwww wwooooo You gave
me the laugh i needed today.Wow people take themselves way too serious.Man
get a life.Hhahahahaha.Let me ask you.Do you carry a fake badge?.Or do you
have a secret agent ID card??.Do you have a secret code to get into your own
house????:)))).My guess is that all the above are true.Im sure you have one
of those plates that go on the back of your car that you get when you donate
to the fake police benevolent fund.So you look like a cop in your mind.:)).I
always laugh when i see stuff like that.He Joe.Book this agent on a
2000.98.00045 code.That stands for carrying a top secret wooden cabinet from
an unkown source that can't be identified.Book him Dano;)
"Derek Stutsman" <dereks...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:2006021716044616807-derekstutsman@gmailcom...

>> Hi this is Dave from Sohomish,Wa.I know who bought it and I cant reveal
>> it due to he may want to remain secret.But He is a legit buyer,a very
>> nice guy,and has a pretty nice collection allthough I have not seen it
>> yet.I am in the process of possibly doing a trade for a game he has
>> myself.And as for the missing parts I wouldnt be surprised if he
>> allready has them or is going to take them from an upright,or knows
>> where he can get them.Purly hypethetical.Anyway just thought I would
>> share that with you,and its not Bill Gates..LOL!!!....Later......Dave
>

> Dave,
>
> If you know the seller, I'd love to see pictures of the finished
> result...if he does indeed repair it to completion.
>
> Please keep us posted!
>
> D
>

[MARK]

I think you can't reveal him because he is too embarrassed that he just paid
5 grand for a piece of wood.:).I just wish i had sold it to him for that
kind of loot:(
"DarkKobold" <darkk...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1140193476....@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
>I bet the seller's wife is getting an earful of "I told you so!" from
> the seller.

>
> Dave wrote:
>> Hi this is Dave from Sohomish,Wa.I know who bought it and I cant reveal
>> it due to he may want to remain secret.But He is a legit buyer,a very
>> nice guy,and has a pretty nice collection allthough I have not seen it
>> yet.I am in the process of possibly doing a trade for a game he has
>> myself.And as for the missing parts I wouldnt be surprised if he
>> allready has them or is going to take them from an upright,or knows
>> where he can get them.Purly hypethetical.Anyway just thought I would
>> share that with you,and its not Bill Gates..LOL!!!....Later......Dave
>>
>>

[MacMan]

In article <1140320801....@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com>,
"arcadeguy" <arca...@hotmail.com> wrote:

Guilty! That's me.

I've been concentrating on my pin collection and so I've been over at
RGP for a while. I kinda dropped from RGVAC because of the crap that was
going on at the time.

I've been lured out of hiding by this Blaster cockpit as a number of you
were tracking me down and mailing me about shipping and who the guy was,
and if it was for real. So I thought I'd log on and see if things were
better here.

Sinistar cockpit is still here!

Cheers
MacMan

[Ryan]

I don't know what Mark is getting all worked up about but Dave is a
fairly large collector in WA and he is a great guy.. I believe what he
is saying. As for the money thing.. believe it or not $5k is not a lot
of money to some people (wish I was one of them) and I think its great
that a collector got it instead of it ending up in a dumpster.

Ryan

[MARK]

Not getting worked up.Just voicing my opinion.I find it very amusing:)
"Ryan" <kine...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1140406074....@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

[MARK]

Of corse.What i'm really saying is that i'm jealous i didn't make this
kind of money.Thats why i make fun of anyone who b'uys stuff for that
much money.You see its tough.To live by selling stickers,labels and
fanny packs on Ebay.So i make myself feel better by being a m'oron
here. :)))

[phoenixarcade.com]

ah you finally admit what we thought all along. youre a moron

[MARK]

"phoenixarcade.com" <azarca...@cox.net> wrote in message

news:1140413198.6...@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

[MARK]

Your that stupid to not see someone is using my name again.Well you never
were too bright.

"phoenixarcade.com" <azarca...@cox.net> wrote in message
news:1140413198.6...@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>