Restoring the classics…
Omega Race
Omega Race restoration
Update: Omega Race = Sold
Aug 12th
About 2 weeks ago, after trying for several months to work out a trade, I decided to sell my Omega Race game. It was a tough decision to make as it is the game that got me into the hobby. It was also without a doubt the game the required the most effort to get running. As much as I liked the game, it just didn’t get played enough to justify having in my collection. For archive purposes, all of the Omega Race posts and pictures will remain on the site.
I’m on the hunt for a replacement game….something along the lines of PacMan, Ms. PacMan, Galaga, Frogger, Centipede, Asteroids, Space Invaders, NBA Jam, NFL Blitz, a budget Golden Tee or a decent pinball machine. If you’ve got any of the following for a decent price and are within 150-200 miles of central Illinois, drop me a line.
Omega Race – Offered For Trade
May 29th
I came to the realization that of the games I own, the Omega Race upright doesn’t get much play. I’m looking to trade it for a Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man or Galaga machine. You can find plenty of pictures of the game in the Omega Race photo gallery. Where two cabinets are pictured, the one usually referred to as the “orginal” cabinet is the one offered up for trade. The other cabinet was empty and sold several months ago.
The game is fully working but does have one minor issue. When the game is playing there is some “blooming” present on the screen. What does that mean? The image moves in and out slightly only when the game is playing. This is not present when the game is in attract mode. I have replaced the high voltage diode but that didn’t solve the problem and I haven’t tried to diagnose it any further.
Use the contact form to contact me with any offers you may have. I’m located about 2 to 2 1/2 hours from Chicago and St. Louis and about 3 hours from Indianapolis.
Omega Race Sideart
Mar 14th
One things you’ll notice if you look closely at the pictures of both my Omega Race cabinets is that the side art, while complete on both machines, is severely cracking. This was a common problem on most Omega Race machines as changes in temperature and humidity caused the decal to expand and contrast over the years, causing it to crack.
I started looking at sources for replacement side art and couldn’t find any. I thought that I would design my own and try to find someplace to get it printed. I wasn’t too keen on the idea of printing it on my wide format inkjet printer as it contained too much black to get an accurate reproduction.
Fortunately, Richard from This Old Game stepped forward and agreed to silkscreen new artwork if there was enough interest. At last check, there were enough people interested that Richard was willing to proceed with the project. The side art will be die cut and silkscreened on 3m adhesive backed vinyl.
I began to vectorize the side art in Adobe Illustrator using measurements taken from my original cabinet and photographs I had taken. The picture you see to the left is the final version of the side art on my end. This is a lower resolution picture of the side art than the actual Illustrator file.
Omega Race – New Control Panel
Jan 21st
The control panel on the Omega Race cabinet was in pretty rough shape. Several of the bolts were missing, leaving holes in the panel and a larger section of the lower left hand corner was torn off.
Omega Race – New Bezel, Working Pictures
Jan 21st
One of the problems with both cabinets was the condition of many of the parts. Most were in decent shape for a 26 year old game, but others needed some work. One of those was the monitor bezel that covers the monitor. The original bezel had one of the “ears” torn off where it screwed down to the monitor mounting board. Instead of hacking a repair job, I decided to recreate the bezel with black matte board and a x-acto knife. Below are a few pictures of the old bezel and the new bezel:
