Fantastic Outrun 2 SP poster!

For those of you who know me, you might know that Outrun 2 SP is one of my arcade favourites.
I don't remember when, but I was surfing the web for random related items when I saw a fantastic poster! It looked like it was from Japan and promoting the PS2 release of Outrun 2 SP.
I couldn't find the poster for sale anywhere, so I started watching Yahoo Japan Auctions. Every week (for months) I searched, but of course it's almost impossible to have such luck that precisely this poster should pop up.
It wasn't until another one of my random google sessions that I finally found someone on a forum advertising this very poster. My heart was jumping as I sent him a message, asking if it was still available... AND IT WAS!

To make a short story even shorter, I immediately purchased it and got it shipped safely from the UK.
But no poster frame could fit these strange Japanese dimensions. What to do?
I bought a cheap IKEA frame which I cut down to size. It worked like a charm!

Looks amazing, don't you agree? This will have a proud space on my game room wall.

Danger! Danger! A storm is coming!

It's been a while since I posted. You would think that it's because of "real life" catching up to me, or whatever people say when their work and family takes too much time. But no! The reason why I haven't written about the games is actually the games themselves!

I live up north, far too close to the arctic circle. November is coming fast, and so is winter and snow! After my little local roadtrip a couple of months ago I suddenly had 9 arcade cabinets in the garage. That doesn't leave room for much else, let alone my car. I dreaded the thought of having to park outside and remove 10 cm of snow every morning through the winter. I also have the garden tools, furniture, bbq and all those things which I'd prefer to get inside before the first snowfall! Most important of all, I didn't want to move the games in winter conditions. I planned to rent the same large trailer that I used to pick up the games, and it's difficult enough to handle it without the icy roads.
I had been postponing for too long, and two weeks ago I asked three friends if they could help me move. The first date that was good for all of them was October 24th. Now, if you don't know the climate we have in this corner of the world, I will tell you that the weather can change from one day to the next. You look out on your green garden and go to bed, and the next morning 15 cm of snow punches you in the face. That was what I was very afraid of. I had to get the games moved before winter came.

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Personal gameroom - part 7

Two of my friends came to help me carry the pinballs from the garage to the shed, just before the worst temperatures kicked in.
I covered the window with some heavy black carton to avoid the sun bleaching the cabinets.





It's a wonderful feeling to have the games in a warm 20°C room, while it's -15°C outside! They are still just in the middle of the room, and not connected, as I'm seriously considering to cover them up and spend a couple of hours repainting the walls and ceiling.

It's so cold outside that the snow has crystallized. It's beautiful to look at, but it's more comfortable to stay indoors at the moment.

Personal gameroom - part 6

The weather forecast said that it would get very cold Tuesday night, with temperatures down to -15°C. Even worse, the cold period would last for two weeks and possibly longer, with temperatures decreasing down to -20 °C. I had two pinball games in the garage, and I definitely wanted to get them into the shed before the temperature dropped. So I gave the floor two fast coats of floor paint.



I think the result was very nice! However, I had a concern before painting it. I would have to use masking tape on the painted wall plastered board, and I was afraid it would rip the paint right off. I asked at the shop (who said that it would not be a problem) and bought their least sticky masking tape. However, the paint really did come off in places.







It's not a big deal, but a bit of extra work. In a strange way, this made me want even more to repaint the walls and ceiling dark blue. Maybe because I hardly have any white paint left, so I will have to buy more paint anyway.

Personal gameroom - part 5

The floor was still a mess, and the individual floor boards made a very uneven surface. I got it sanded down a bit, which removed the biggest differences in height.
The floor also looked a lot better after some rounds with the vaccuum cleaner and a wash.



Painting the walls and ceiling went quite fast, as I used a long extension pole and rollers. That way I also avoided straining my back. I simply chose a white colour, which I regret a bit now. I thought it would make the room seem large, open and clean, but I'm not so sure after seeing the result. I think it looks more like a hospital wall, and I'm afraid it will get dirty and ugly fast. I am actually considering to repaint it dark blue, which I'm sure will look better with my framed posters and my plans for lighting.

Personal gameroom - part 4

Time went by while waiting for my father to come help me adjust the door. I lost some motivation, and I didn't do much for almost two weeks. Until one day I discovered by accident that the door suddenly moved smoothly!

I plastered all the gaps and holes in the plasterboard inside. It was more time consuming than I had expected, because I had to go three rounds to make it flush with the boards. The end result was by no means perfect, but good enough for such a shed.

Personal gameroom - part 3

The snow disappeared again, and it was time to remove the old door. I didn't have the materials needed to cover up the window, and it would have to be ordered. Winter is coming fast, so I decided to keep the window until spring and just remove the old door for now.



The job didn't take much time outside, but fitting the plaster boards inside was more tedious. The weather forecast said that it would rain all week, so I rushed the outside job a bit. A bit too much, I later discovered. I should have used a string or something to keep the bottom edge of the wall level, because it ended up crooked. It's not a big deal, I will fix it in spring, when I'm covering up the window anyway.

Here is a picture of the end result, after the forecasted rain and snow had already fallen:

Personal gameroom - part 2

It took some time before my father had time to help me fit the new door. And in the meantime, disaster struck.. The first snow fell! Winter is approaching fast, and I would want to finish the shed before the weather makes it impossible.
We couldn't let the snow stop us, though. We finally got the new 90x190 door fitted, but not without difficulties. It wasn't level in the beginning, so we drilled more holes in the door frame than necessary. I'll have to find a way to cover them up.
The door was level in the end, but we realized that it didn't close easily. At that time it was already late afternoon, and my father had to leave. We agreed to work on it another day, but it's looking nice already. I actually have a door which is wide enough to bring games inside the shed!



It was stupid of me not to paint the door when I had it stored in the garage while waiting for my father. I'm covering it with plastic and hoping for warmer weather.

Personal gameroom - part 1

I have been wanting my own gameroom for some years now. I was looking for a house with a basement for my games when we moved this spring, but finding the perfect house proved difficult. They were either too expensive, too old or the location was wrong.
We ended up with a semi-detached house located at the outskirts of a quiet neighborhood. Although it doesn't have a basement, the previous owner had built a shed in the garden, which is fully insulated and therefore suitable for our cold winters. I measured the shed, ensuring that I could fit at least 4 pinballs and 4-5 arcade games inside. I even double checked the ceiling height, and made sure that a normal pinball game (without topper) would be ok.



What I didn't do, was to make sure that the door was actually wide enough to fit a game. It turned out it was just 70 cm wide!
I called my father, who promised to help me get a new door and fit it. As I injured my spine this summer, I depend on more help than usual for a while. Although we moved in at the end of May, it was September before I was able to do anything at all. My father didn't have the time to help me yet, so I started tidying up all the empty cartons and boxes we had stuffed into the shed while moving, and also disassembling some shelves the previous owner had made.



The floor is quite rough, but I'm sure it will clean up nicely. I'm planning to paint it, so all the dark spots will be hidden.
Most of them are from the previous owner fixing his motorcycle, and there is also a lot of dirt just inside the door, from walking in with shoes.



The walls and ceiling look nice already, all covered with plasterboard.