Defender // Williams (1981)


Defender is the first game I can remember playing at the Sparkles Roller Rink at skating parties in the 80's.  I'd skate for a bit, and then go relax and play Defender until my mom would pick me up.

I actually picked up this cabinet when I graduated college for $75.  It had a Gauntlet II board in it and someone had hacked the control panel and added two 8-way joysticks and two buttons each.

I kept this cabinet in my parent's garage for about 10 years or so.  I was over there and noticed it in the back of their garage.  I thought, "Hey! I should restore this thing!".

Thus the descent into arcade collecting began.

I sold off the Gauntlet II board set to help finance the restoration. I'm still not done, but by the Summer of 2014, it will be complete!

DONE:
- Bought new stencils and paint
- Purchased a JROK board to play Defender with
- Wired the cabinet for Jamma (it was pretty bare), and got everything working
- Put a cap kit and new flyback into the original G07
- Bought new leaf buttons and switches for the control pane

TODO:
- Get a new CPO and repro bezel from arcadeshop
- Get a joystick rebuild kit for the 2-way joystick I have
- Put it all together

(future - pictures of my Defender)