It is not as bad as it seems. Yes, I did take a Battlezone cabinet with me camping on memorial day weekend 2007. Yes, I did put a few fireworks inside and may have doused it with some lamp oil. Yes, it did go up in flames leaving my friend Tony to experience saddened as his childhood favorite was reduced to ash. But not to worry arcade fans, I did not really crap in it. Background - I have, opps sorry, had 4 Battlezones. It was one of my favorite games as a youth and the all time favorite of my good friend Tony. Although I am mostly a pinball collector I did branch into the arcade realm a few years back. I never thought I would get an actual running Battlezone or even learn to work on vector machines. I got an empty waterlogged Battlezone cabinet from Kevin (KSAmusements) in Hartford CT and made a MAME Battlezone as a joke. Used a 20" SVGA TV, an SVGA graphics card, an old gutted PC and soldered the wires from the joysticks and switches to the legs of the chip in a keyboard. This worked as "Good Enough" for only so long. Battlezone #2 came from coin-op wharehouse. With some reflowing of solder, a 19V2000 cap kit from Bob Roberts and Scott Brazington's high score save games kit I finally had a real Battlzone running. The MAME version with sides swollen to twice the wide of T-Molding was relegated to the graveyard of games. Battlzone #3 was unexpectedly won on eBay. I forgot the price but it was a ridiculous bid that I never expected to win. Neither did the guy in New Jersey selling the game. Missing the ceulose and step, but if there is a picture of a tank on the screen it is an easy restoration at that point. Battlzone #4 came from a warehouse sale Scott "Thrushguy" Garon was holding in Milford CT. At this point I just had a vector graphics bug and told Scott a couple of days before the sale to put aside anything vector for me, especially Battlezone. Now that I have the games I need part to keep them running right? He had a couple of unknown condition Battlezone boardsets for me, a Battlezone cabinet with a step and a monitor with busted off HV cage. I also took home a heavily acid damaged Omega Race (still in project pile). The only vector game I left behind was a gutted Asteroids. Anyway, at this point I needed room more than old water logged cabinets. So this one sat in front of my house in the rain and snow for a while. It make it easy for gamers coming over for a sale or trade to find the place. You know, the house with a Battlezone in the driveway. Anyway, too much crap in the driveway does piss-off the neigbors and no one wanted it so off to New Hampshire and there endedth the tale. n also type text beneath a photo album. You may insert additional text using the top menu. To delete some text, select "Delete a paragraph" in the "Paragraph" menu.

Tony mourns a childhood favorite

No, I did not really defile the game.  I still had my Pac-Man boxer shorts on at the time.