So I brought an Operation Wolf Arcade Cab | GamesYouLoved
So I brought an Operation Wolf Arcade Cab. Yes you read the title right I have brought an original Operation Wolf arcade machine!
Article by RetroGamerDaz
If you don’t follow me on Twitter or subscribe to my YouTube Channel then you wouldn’t have seen the photos & the video of this beast of machine! But how did this happen? Well let me tell you a little story…..
I started this year as I usually do thinking about what I want to add to my retro collection. I like to set some goals for some big purchases, items that aren’t quite the norm or systems still missing from my collection that I still want to get hold of.
In 2016 it was a Vectrex for example & this year was always going to be about an arcade machine, but the plan was that when I got back from my February holiday I would get the ball rolling in March with a custom built MAME arcade cab. What I didn’t realise was that a blinking big curve ball would be thrown into the mix whilst I was on my holiday.
One very warm morning during my family holiday in Florida I woke up in my hotel room & checked my phone (as you do). On Twitter I Read a message from my retro pal Retro Dave Nintendo that was also sent to my other good pals RetroShmuper (Garron from the RGDS podcast) & RetroGamersClub (AKA Neil).
Dave was selling his Operation Wolf Cab & was making us aware first if we were interested. Well for the next day it was all I really thought about whilst the rest of my family was having a lot of fun exploring Disney World with me in tow!
It really played on my mind as this was the machine both my Dad & I would play in the seaside arcade’s in the late 80’s & early 90’s. I would buy the Hit Squad release as soon as I got my Commodore 64C back in 1989,
I’ve also got it now for my Sega Master System & I even featured it in an old YouTube video about the arcade games I grew up with. Clearly this game means a lot to me. The only stumbling block was that I had already got someone working on the previously mentioned custom designed Star Wars MAME cab.
So whilst exploring the parks of Disney World I explained to my Wife the situation & she said to me “when will you ever get the chance to buy this machine again from a friend who lives 10 minutes up the road”, followed by “can you fit both cabs in your room”.
The video:
Following this short chat with family member’s back in England where messaged & tasked with measuring my room – & then the deal with Dave was done. Dave had a buyer & I was getting Operation Wolf cab. 3 weeks later in mid-March my Dad, Brother, Brother in Law & myself picked the machine up from Dave.
Fortunately Dave had put wheels on the bottom of the machine & with five of us his end, it was a quite a straightforward move into the back of my Dads van.
At the other end it proved tricky getting the cab through my front door as it’s a very tall cab, but after some grunting & swearing we got it in (then my Dad got first go). I have had to completely re organise my games room as a result but as I write this I am very nearly straight again.
I am glad I did it, & I thank my wife Claire for her advice & encouragement in letting me literally grab a piece of my childhood. So now I’m an owner of an original Operation Wolf arcade machine as well as the planned MAME Star Wars themed cab. I consider myself to be a very lucky retro gamer.
So there you go sometimes things pop up out of the blue & Operation Wolf certainly did for me. I was lucky in that I knew Dave well, that he had refurbished the machine & generally really looked after it very well (I have even played it round his a few times).
The opportunity that I had was too good to miss & I am glad I got it. After a hard week at work I can now go home grab a beer out of the fridge & shoots a load of baddies with a machine gun.
What a way to unwind!
Article by RetroGamerDaz
