I first started collecting old video arcade games in September 1995. Whilst at a car boot sale on one cold autumn morning I met a local operator trying to sell a fruit machine without much success. Galaxians was my all time favourite game and he didn't have one but he did have a Phoenix (Tehkan), Penia (Pengo) in a Zaccaria cabinet and Space Invaders '91 in a JAMMA converted generic Taitel cabinet. Phoenix was no.2 on my list of all time favourite games and I took down his number. After doing a search on Usenet and finding RGVAC, where I could get help should I need it, I decided to give him a call and arrange a viewing.
The Phoenix I bought for £60. The Zaccaria cabinet would make an excellent Galaxians - the blue colourings and artwork were just right for Galaxians. I had to wait to sort out some space before getting anymore full size games. In November 1995 I built my JAMMA test rig, and purchased five game boards (Golden Axe, Shinobi (+harness), Mexico 86, Thunder Force & Yie Ar Kung Fu) for £50. In February 1996 I finally bought the Zaccaria Pengo and the Space Invaders '91 for £60 each. In April 1996 my "imported" Galaxians game board finally arrived (via RGVAC, $45) and I converted the Zaccaria cabinet to it a few weeks later.
Realising that there were a whole mass of games that I've never even heard of before, let alone played, I set out to follow up some "contacts" for bulk purchase's. There are lots of operators in the UK "getting out of videos". In my first bulk purchase I paid £100 for a 4ft high pile of (mostly JAMMA) game boards. There were over 50 games and it took me a few weeks to sort out what was what. Most of the games I have came from bulk purchases like this, with duplicates sold or traded to other enthusiasts.
To overcome the transport difficulty involved in collecting game cabinets I traded in my trusty '88 Bluebird for a Hi-Lux pick-up in November 1996. This allows me to transport 4 or 5 full size games on it's bed. A couple of months later a tow bar boosted that to 12 in total with a 15ft trailer attached. With this capacity, it wasn't long before the garage became packed full and something had to be done. So, in April 1997 I bought a warehouse in my home town from a local fruit & vegetable retailer. Before moving in, a second floor was installed and I completely re-wired it in a manner suitable for gaming. Even this recently became full and a few games were disposed of. There will be no more additions to the infrastructure in the forseable future and the quantity of cabinets will remain constant, one in one out. No really. Honest. I'm not joking, I mean it this time.