Hello everybody,
When speaking at length to Alex Crowley at the Arcade Archive a couple of Saturdays back he asked me if I was on UKVAC. I said no as all my cabs use emulation and I’m sure I’d be looked down upon. He replied, “Don’t worry, we all do it.” (or words to that effect). So here I am, another newbie to the fold.
To call myself a collector would be the stretchiest of stretches, although I do have a couple of original (generic) cabs, albeit filled with PCs and consumer CRT TVs. I also have a couple of modern kit cabs with custom artwork, using Raspberry Pis and LCD screens.
I love classic arcade games, from the mid 70s to early 90s, and I adore playing these games on the original hardware. Standing at an original cab, using an emulator with a CRT is mighty close to feeling like the real thing, but just not quite. However, I can’t quite put my finger on why it doesn’t feel right. Probably something to do with where I’m playing it. You can’t beat the atmosphere of a real arcade with the atmosphere, the noise, surrounded by fellow gamers who are there to try and set a new personal high score. In modern day I’m of course talking about Arcade Club (especially Bury), and some pedants may argue Arcade Club isn’t a real arcade either, but in 2025 I thank my lucky stars these places now exist in the UK. Just a shame it’s four hours away from me, plus with my caring duties, makes it a rare visit.
Here's a few photos of my cabs. The ‘Videoplay’ one at the back (bought in 2007) came from Arcadia in Ryde on the Isle of Wight. When in the arcade it had WWF Superstars in it, but I brought it home with World Rally Championship, which is still one of my favourite games. The WWF and World Rally marquees are branded Euromax, but I don’t know if Euromax made cabs – I’m sure someone on this forum can tell me.
The DB cab was acquired in 2014 by my brother from a friend (Lloyd) of a friend (Roger) of a friend (of which two of these people are/were members of UKVAC). We picked it up from what felt like the middle of nowhere, but the geotag of the single photo I took of an upright Out Run suggests somewhere near Sutton in Bedfordshire. Sadly, my brother passed away in late 2020 hence why it is now in my possession. I love the design of this cab, which is way more intricate than most generic cabs I’ve seen.
The big cab was a kit sold by BitCade (who appear to have gone under very recently) and I think I was an early customer, especially of this 42” Viewlix style cab. It’s certainly got some design issues, but despite this it’s the one cab by far away I play the most, mainly because it’s the most comfortable to play for extended periods of time. It’s had a multitude of TVs inside it, both in size and manufacturer, and powered by various Pis, from a Pi 3B to a Pi 500. It currently uses IL Euro Arcade sticks which I’ve modified using 3D printing to make them feel more like an STC Series 500 stick (which is what I really want in it but cannot source). My modifications reduce the overall slop, reduces the pre and post distance actuation travel, and creates a square gate for more obvious diagonals. None of it is perfect but I think it’s quite an improvement. I went through many, MANY prototypes to get to this point.
The final cab is the three quarter sized ‘Griddle’ cab, which has a vertical LCD in it. I wanted a dedicated vertical cab, and this smaller form factor fitted the bill. The cab was bought from Arcade World (which I found out recently had also gone bust), and the artwork is of my design. Despite the wood grain effect, it’s a black cab covered with lots of Fablon to give it the wood effect. Griddle doesn’t exist; this cab is a manifestation of a mistype by a friend talking about the Gridlee iOS emulator from many years ago. Being a creative nerd, I’ve come up with a set of instructions for this imaginary game, along with a backstory of the fake company that made it. Yeah, I know, I need to get out more.
I’m not sure what I’m going to get out of joining UKVAC, perhaps the pleasure of seeing these antiques saved from the scrapheap and enjoyed by those who remember them the first time around, plus younger members experiencing them for the first time. Whatever comes from it, I’m here for the ride.
Cheers,
Darren.
When speaking at length to Alex Crowley at the Arcade Archive a couple of Saturdays back he asked me if I was on UKVAC. I said no as all my cabs use emulation and I’m sure I’d be looked down upon. He replied, “Don’t worry, we all do it.” (or words to that effect). So here I am, another newbie to the fold.
To call myself a collector would be the stretchiest of stretches, although I do have a couple of original (generic) cabs, albeit filled with PCs and consumer CRT TVs. I also have a couple of modern kit cabs with custom artwork, using Raspberry Pis and LCD screens.
I love classic arcade games, from the mid 70s to early 90s, and I adore playing these games on the original hardware. Standing at an original cab, using an emulator with a CRT is mighty close to feeling like the real thing, but just not quite. However, I can’t quite put my finger on why it doesn’t feel right. Probably something to do with where I’m playing it. You can’t beat the atmosphere of a real arcade with the atmosphere, the noise, surrounded by fellow gamers who are there to try and set a new personal high score. In modern day I’m of course talking about Arcade Club (especially Bury), and some pedants may argue Arcade Club isn’t a real arcade either, but in 2025 I thank my lucky stars these places now exist in the UK. Just a shame it’s four hours away from me, plus with my caring duties, makes it a rare visit.
Here's a few photos of my cabs. The ‘Videoplay’ one at the back (bought in 2007) came from Arcadia in Ryde on the Isle of Wight. When in the arcade it had WWF Superstars in it, but I brought it home with World Rally Championship, which is still one of my favourite games. The WWF and World Rally marquees are branded Euromax, but I don’t know if Euromax made cabs – I’m sure someone on this forum can tell me.
The DB cab was acquired in 2014 by my brother from a friend (Lloyd) of a friend (Roger) of a friend (of which two of these people are/were members of UKVAC). We picked it up from what felt like the middle of nowhere, but the geotag of the single photo I took of an upright Out Run suggests somewhere near Sutton in Bedfordshire. Sadly, my brother passed away in late 2020 hence why it is now in my possession. I love the design of this cab, which is way more intricate than most generic cabs I’ve seen.
The big cab was a kit sold by BitCade (who appear to have gone under very recently) and I think I was an early customer, especially of this 42” Viewlix style cab. It’s certainly got some design issues, but despite this it’s the one cab by far away I play the most, mainly because it’s the most comfortable to play for extended periods of time. It’s had a multitude of TVs inside it, both in size and manufacturer, and powered by various Pis, from a Pi 3B to a Pi 500. It currently uses IL Euro Arcade sticks which I’ve modified using 3D printing to make them feel more like an STC Series 500 stick (which is what I really want in it but cannot source). My modifications reduce the overall slop, reduces the pre and post distance actuation travel, and creates a square gate for more obvious diagonals. None of it is perfect but I think it’s quite an improvement. I went through many, MANY prototypes to get to this point.
The final cab is the three quarter sized ‘Griddle’ cab, which has a vertical LCD in it. I wanted a dedicated vertical cab, and this smaller form factor fitted the bill. The cab was bought from Arcade World (which I found out recently had also gone bust), and the artwork is of my design. Despite the wood grain effect, it’s a black cab covered with lots of Fablon to give it the wood effect. Griddle doesn’t exist; this cab is a manifestation of a mistype by a friend talking about the Gridlee iOS emulator from many years ago. Being a creative nerd, I’ve come up with a set of instructions for this imaginary game, along with a backstory of the fake company that made it. Yeah, I know, I need to get out more.
I’m not sure what I’m going to get out of joining UKVAC, perhaps the pleasure of seeing these antiques saved from the scrapheap and enjoyed by those who remember them the first time around, plus younger members experiencing them for the first time. Whatever comes from it, I’m here for the ride.
Cheers,
Darren.
