Space Invaders AKA Invasion of the Mold Men
Restorations, Space Invaders February 28th, 2007It’s been about 2 weeks since my last post, and I’ve been busy getting more games. Not sure where I’m going to put them.
I picked up a dead Space Invaders this past Friday for $100 that I spotted on Craigslist.
That seems to be the best source of games so far for me. I noticed that the plywood was delaminating towards the bottom of the cabinet in the photo I saw before I picked it up. I figured I could just glue it back together. I was a little too excited about this one and didn’t check it out well enough after the 2.5hr drive. When I got it home and opened it up, I noticed an invasion of a different kind was going on here. Mold. Lots and lots of mold. It smells funny, and doesn’t taste to good either (j/k 
). I plugged it in and the monitor had neck glow, and some raster showed on the screen so I think it may just be a board or wiring problem. I’m not messing with this one until I can get a warm day to take it out side and clean it out. I found a site that has what look to be great repro parts for Space Invaders: http://www.thisoldgame.com/thisoldgame/new_page_2.htm
As soon as I can save up some cash I’ll order some parts from him.
I love the shape of the cabinet and the artwork. Very cool.
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March 2nd, 2007 at 3:17 pm
cool find. I was in our mall arcade the other day and my wife saw a space invaders cab for the first time and said “That’s a cool looking cab, we should get one of those…” (her training is almost complete
)
March 2nd, 2007 at 3:38 pm
thx. Sounds like you are getting her brainwashed well. My wife is the same. She actually pushes me sometimes when I can’t decide whether to get a game or not.
I’m picking up another game Sunday…one of my favorites – Centipede. It’s dead, but complete. Guy wants $50 for it, and there’s no cabinet damage. I haven’t seen any pics but I’m hoping he’s describing it OK. I’ll post pics on here when I get it.
March 30th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
Hey Jamie, Have you had a chance to do anything with your Space Invaders yet? I follow your site and have been waiting to see how you’re able to restore this. Especially now, since I have a near-identical story.
I bought mine locally off of ebay for $80. It doesn’t work and I have the same delaminating problem (mine from water damage). I think I isolated the non-working status to the +12V line in the power board, but what I’m really worried about is fixing up the exterior.
I loved seeing how you fixed up other “normal” cabinets in the past, but this one is so unique I think it sets up a new set of challenges. I’ll be waiting to get some good advice. This is such a classic piece of arcade history and I can’t wait to see it restored to its former glory.
March 30th, 2007 at 8:18 pm
Hi Preston,
Glad you like the site.
I haven’t done anything with Space Invaders with the exception of putting it in my garage. The cold weather slowed me done a lot, but it’s getting warmer now so I should get a lot more done on my projects soon.
I’ve done a little more work on Moon Patrol, and hope to start painting it soon. When I do, I’ll take some more pics and post them.
After I finish Moon Patrol I’ll probably start working on Pac-Man, and then Space Invaders after that.
October 28th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
Hi Jamie,
I have an identical situation with a non-working SI cabinet that appears to have been converted to Invaders Revenge(?). I’m unsure as to what it really is as the machine doesn’t powerup.
I look forward to seeing your restoration! I may need to refer to some of your photos for cable reconnection