KR155E wrote:
Nice find! Thanks for the scan! 🙂

No problem at all… thank YOU for running my favorite website! 😁👍

Here’s a picture of the poster in a temporary frame. Due to the pandemic that’s currently taking place, I’m unable to get it framed professionally, so this will have to do for now.

Attachments:

1. 

   vb-poster-temporary-frame.jpg
   

Blockbuster did use these cases to rent out their VB games, but were the cases designed to hold the VB’s game carts in a specific way? I have one in my possession and I can’t seem to find a good fit for the cartridge anywhere. No matter where I put it, it freely moves around once the case is shut and I pick it up.

ArcadeDanger wrote:
Blockbuster was such a big part of our lives and that’s all gone now…

My childhood Blockbuster transformed into a laundromat, but the owners knew what this place meant to the community and therefore decided to make their folding tables Blockbuster themed (4th pic). That’s pretty cool, but everything is temporarily shut down due to covid.

Attachments:

1. 

   blockbuster-rental-cases-1.jpg
   

2. 

   blockbuster-rental-cases-2.jpg
   

3. 

   blockbuster-rental-cases-3.jpg
   

4. 

   laundromat.jpg
   

speedyink wrote:
I’ve never understood why they used that image so heavily. That’s a terrible photo for promoting the thing, makes it seem like they didn’t give a damn at all.

I hear you on that, I never understood it myself.

Benjamin Stevens wrote:

I take it the other side looks precisely the same as this one?

Yes, it’s the exact same image on the opposite side.

Also, I forgot to mention that it’s made from thin cardboard, not papper.

Benjamin Stevens wrote:
…I have not seen the Whac A Mole before. I’ll keep my eyes open for one!

Be on the lookout for this as well, I found out about it shortly after my last post here. It’s a mini version of the ol’ school arcade Basketball game Pop A Shot.

This is part of the Midway Classics series like the Whac A Mole is.

Also, a completely unrelated PM has been sent to ya 😀

Attachments:

1. 

   basic-fun-midway-classics-pop-a-shot.jpg
   

Yeah, this most likely is a battery issue. I know someone locally that would be able to replace it for me because I for sure will not attempt it if soldering is involved, but his shop is closed for another week. I’m in no hurry, but it’s going to bother me so I’m definitely going to have it done. I’ll post the results.

Thanks for the replies 👍

VmprHntrD wrote:

Carmen…I can’t recommend that one any higher of the two.

I enjoy this one very much, they really did a great job on it.

Benjamin Stevens wrote:

I’m actually in the process of designing a little arcade room for all of my Basic Fun mini arcade cabinets…

If this is something you’re still doing, check these out: A mini Skee Ball and Whac A Mole made by Basic Fun. They fit in well with their Arcade Classics line. Skee Ball has a date of 2018 on the back of it and was ordered online. Whac A Mole I purchased a couple of weeks ago at Target. Both are neat fun little games 🙂

Attachments:

1. 

   basic-fun-skee-ball-and-whac-a-mole-scaled.jpg
   

Alright, so a few days ago, I decided to pop in my copy of SD Gundam which I haven’t played in years (at least 3) and noticed that all the saves were erased. Fearing that maybe the battery had failed and leaked everywhere I then decided to crack it open just to make sure that wasn’t the case. It looks good to me. So After playing the game a few times, I noticed that the save feature is still functional and saving data. So my question is – Is this a sign that the battery is on its way out? or could it be that I just erased all the saves the last time I played the game 3 years ago and just don’t remember doing so.

Attachments:

1. 

   vb-sd-gundam-opened-cart.jpg
   

A Virtual Fishing prototype cartridge recently sold on eBay.

Attachments:

1. 

   virtual-fishing-prototype-1.png
   

2. 

   virtual-fishing-prototype-2.png
   

Continuing their line of edutainment video games, Basic Fun releases Carmen Sandiego.

Attachments:

1. 

   carmen-sandiego.jpg
   

pinmagic wrote:
LOL – I think you’re way overthinking this!

I think you can’t “handle” what I’m thinking! 😉

JK, bro…

Perhaps we can finish discussing this handle in the future in a separate thread, I feel bad for going way off topic here in Schwanck’s thread.

Yamagushi wrote:

clonecman wrote:

vuefinder83 wrote:
these misprints aren’t common, but they do happen. I have a Wario Land demo cart that has white along the tops of the letters on the Virtual Boy logo where there shouldn’t be.

I wonder if all Wario Land demo carts have this error? Mine does as well, and every one currently on ebay has this same error.

I was gonna say, I believe they actually all have that same error. Mine does as well, and when I was looking around and noticed it, I never found one that didn’t.

At the time I had posted that, I didn’t know that the misprint was something that was present on all the Wario Land demos. But if they were all printed on the same press that wasn’t properly calibrated, then it makes sense that they would all have the same misprint.

I haven’t seen one without it since I started paying attention to it like over a year ago.

I was browsing a site that specializes in documenting misprints and other errors associated with the printing process for video game labels and such…

https://iamerror.gamehacking.org/?page=home

These two VB misprints made it onto that site.

Attachments:

1. 

   i-am-error.png
   

What’s interesting is that it looks like the unique handle wouldn’t be able to fit the security bar that’s pictured on pinmagic’s Blockbuster case, as it appears to be too thick. That would mean, for whatever reason, they weren’t too worried about having accidental spillage on these cases with the unique handle. Perhaps these were intended for the managers of Blockbuster and were not intended to be rented out to the public like the cases with the standard handles that fit the security bar were…🤔

Schwanck wrote:
The case has two matching bar code stickers on the top inside of the case.

Yeah this is something that I’ve seen on a lot of rental cases and head units from Blockbuster, even cases with the standard handle will have these same stickers on them.

Also, sorry for knocking your thread off track. I think it was a neat idea that you decided to make these tags, they’re quite rare and I’ve only known about them for a few years now…

https://www.planetvb.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=6268&post_id=33446#forumpost33446

pinmagic wrote:
My case has something I’ve never seen on any other VB Blockbuster case – it’s a metal plate around the handle that’s designed so that, when you pull up on the handle, it locks in place against the case, and two “lips” grab the ridges in the case, preventing it from falling open. This was clearly a back-up to prevent disaster if someone went to pick up the case without snapping it closed. The only downside is that the handle won’t fold down far with it in place, so I usually remove it. I just put it back on for these pics.

My very first rental case had that same security feature on it as well. It’s a hefty little bar that adds an extra lb to the case. It’s rare as well, and was probably removed from a lot of these cases for the same aggravation you stated.

vuefinder83 wrote:
Over the years, I’ve noticed that some VB Blockbuster rental cases are equipped with a handle that’s different than the others…

Check this out, I ended up finding a picture of one of these “unique” handles on an old SD card.

It actually looks like it has a more comfortable grip than the standard handles.

Attachments:

1. 

   vb-rental-case-handle.png
   

Thanks, I’d appreciate that.

Benjamin Stevens wrote:

They had better still release a proper version of Defender. I’m still worried about that.

Ben, look… The wait is finally over!!!

Attachments:

1. 

   defender-spy-hunter-front.jpg
   

2. 

   defender-spy-hunter-side.jpg
   

Over the years, I’ve noticed that some VB Blockbuster rental cases are equipped with a handle that’s different than the others (most have the handle pictured below). These are pretty rare as I’ve only ever seen about 4 maybe 5 in over ten years of collecting.

You have one of these cases with the unique handle…

Mind posting a couple pictures of it?

Attachments:

1. 

   vb-rental-case-handles-scaled.jpg
   

speedyink wrote:
Just step away.

Step away from the soldering iron, sir!

Yeah but… but…

Ok 🙁

Nes Freak wrote:

woah… yeah thats pretty bad alright. tbh im not sure if the screen wasn’t damage from too much heat. or a damaged trace.

I’m not sure either, but I do know that I burned my finger pretty badly on the clear plastic that protects the LEDs, so that’s damaged (as can be seen in the picture below).

ArcadeDanger wrote:
Tried the ‘flame thrower’ approach on that one, eh…

XD

Nah… Proton Pack 😉

brumbie13 wrote:

If you want to learn to solder on electronics, you can. There are great online resources available, but soldering is one of those things where having the right equipment for the job makes so much of a difference.

Thanks but soldering is definitely not for me. This was actually something that I did almost 10 years ago when I had first heard of the solder fix. I watched a quick tutorial video on YouTube and the guy made it look so easy, and that’s what made me decide to give it a go.

It was actually the first and last time I ever tried soldering anything.

Attachments:

1. 

   solder-skills.jpg
   

Added a black VB keychain and this 3-D sweepstakes display to my collection!

Attachments:

1. 

   vb-3d-sweepstakes-display-vb-keychains-scaled.jpg
   

There’s this old trick that I don’t think many people know about.

If the medallion is cracked but can still hold the legs in place, then you can always remove both the stabilizers and place one between the legs for support.

But this is really just good as a temporary solution until one finds a proper replacement medallion.

Attachments:

1. 

   vb-stand-hack-scaled.jpg