Most liked posts in thread: Groaning Shelves

Slight reboot of the cave today, fellas.

Basically, a multimedia screen placed higher on the shelves with some sci-fi clip in the background and 1-2 new lights / xmas bits placed on the shelves:

 

Here we go with a couple more updates to the groaning shelves situation which kinda has been given new impetus from Matt's ever improving collection.

My appeal for another formica shelving unit bore fruition when someone found a 3rd unit in a box of Kellogs and sent it over so now I have plenty of shelf unit but must now elevate the Amiga and Beeb upwards off the bottom shelves as they're now just about hidden by the drawer units and the expansive exercise bike!

I've also started to laminate "fact cards" on some of the micros - trying to give it more of the micro "museum" flavour.

I may/may not stick with this. we'll see how things evolve in this burgeoning bric-a-brac collection of dubious dust!

See what you guys think with some of the new tweaks and do let me know if you've any creative / constructive suggestions, fellas:









Still very much a work in progress as I'm desperately short of space but I'm having heaps of fun just getting some of the hardware out at last from being buried in boxes in cupboards and the attic where it's usually hidden when this stuff needs playing and displaying.

At last, I'm starting to enjoy seeing and sorting and setting up ready for some major seshes.

 

Some more items keep appearing...









Will have to get some of this up n running next for some play testing.

 

WOW....I want to live in that shop!!

 

It's getting there Andy Like the lighting and that little arcade cabinet looks like a lot of fun.
Good idea with the video, I might try a quick tour of the Al-Cave tomorrow.

 

Andy that Philips cassette deck is almost as sexy looking as the Atmos itself!
Was that an official Oric product?

 

Looking really good, I'm liking the additions, especially the ZX81 with the after market case and keyboard, since I've a touch of nostalgia for the ol' 81.

I also am liking your robot arm and the Atari User mag to show you how to hook it (I assume) and other stuff with the outside world! That's what I've been all about with my robot arm and my dual PIA board to add more ports! I'll have to read the PDF of that magazine and see what ideas they had too. More starting/jumping off points for my own projects, though I intend to just start with articles like these and "Arm Your Atari" in Analog and then take it to the next level!

I also like your idea of the FAQ sheets for the micros, but there must be a better way to post them, as the one for the 1200XL is blocking the view of the 1200XL!

 

Those shelves get heavier...and more cluttered.

I'm unsure about the extent of the overload factor going on here, guys:









I also think I'm nowhere near reaching the summit of Clutterville yet either.

Still got boxes of software, mags and books to go through but there's no way they're all gonna find room in here.

Think I need some more space, fellas.

You got a spare RV, Matt or shall I move in above you, Paul?!?

 

Too cluttered Andy.


Send me the Atmos, 1200XL and the teeny telly. That should all free up some space

 

You're all HEART, Al.

Cheers, mate - sorted!

 

Joking aside, I do think the Atmos is one of the nicest looking micro's ever made.
And I'm liking the way you have little setups for each system. Very curated looking.

 

Thanks, Al.

I do need to find a happy balance between getting it all out and going through what's staying and what can go to pastures new but not slinging the lot on every shelf as it's beginning to resemble a charity shop with each and every passing day and to be honest... I've boxes yet to go through so it clearly aint gonna be possible to show the lot at once so what I might do is stick to maybe 2-3 machine / manufacturer's set-ups at a time and so give them more space whilst the others wait in the wings for their turn...Bev's just got me 3-4 of those deep clear plastic storage boxes you get from DIY stores for £6-8 so they're good for just chucking stuff in and then sticking back up in the attic/garage for now.

Shame though.

I'd love to have the lot on display but wouldn't we all?

 

It is a tough balancing act Andy, main thing is though that you enjoy whatever setup(s) you have and that they bring you pleasure.

Ironically, I have heavily trimmed (oo-er) my collection and now am back to having only the computers I owned as a teenager. Atari 800XL (and an 800, my holy grail system), an ST and an Amiga. Apart from a couple of consoles and handhelds everything else is emulated at the moment. Not because of space limits but mainly as I tend to have one or two favourites on each system and it seems a shame and a bit of a waste to have the original hardware just for the odd play. Whereas with the machines I have above it's a sentimental thing.

Quite enjoying expanding my geeky/retro book library though and collecting games keyring lately. I'll take some updated photos of "Al's Place" soon and share with you like minded folks

 

Excellent, Al.

You are right - these set-ups, displays and man caves are a personal thing and what works for one of us doesn't necessarily tick all the boxes for another.

Looking forward to seeing your updates, mate and I totally get where you are coming from as regards a particular soft spot for a particular micro that saw you through your golden days.

I sat here the other night and I was wondering about the CPC464 and the Dragon but they are much much much more appreciated around at say Rich's than mine as they'd be nothing more than a curio here and they need playing with and much more TLC etc.

 

Nice set of gear old man, but boy do you need more space..

Loft?

 

More retro kelt adding now on a daily basis - those shelves are laden, lads... (no, not Bin Laden, Paul, although he may well have laid low here before and we'd never have spotted him amongst this lot!)













Can anyone spot any room left for me to display me Beeb and Amoeba? (both hidden low down, bottom right)!

 

Packed a lot into a small space Andy!
Think the Beeb will need to go on the saddle of Bev's bike though

 

I think you might have hit the nail on the headbanger there, Al.

After all, it's one of those smart models with a fitted.... SCREEN to watch the instructors giving you plenty of ear ache as they push you on to pedal up one more mountain etc -

SORTED!



Cheers, mate - top suggestion and just goes to show that if you can't beat em - join em!

More to follow in this morass of media hype.

 

Hey oop, fellas.

More stuff has slid into view.

I nearly gave this a new thread title such as SOFTWARE SURGE but really it's all connected with the Groaning Shelves topic in that this stuff would dearly like some shelf space.

I'll have to see what else I can acquire on Marketplace for a few quid, shelf unit wise, and shoehorn into the remainder of the wall space in this retro room.

These bad buys desperately wanna get shown and played this autumn and winterville:











Piles of Beeb, Atari, Amiga and still Oric and Sinclair software to follow.

Have I hit "critical" stage yet, Al?!

 

About 10 shelves ago...

 

Nice cassette collection Andy. I have more fondness for tapes as could never afford a disk drive when I was a young 'un

 

You want really groaning shelves fellas?
I've been meaning to take some photos of a store called Forgotten Worlds near Glasgow for ages. It's owned by an old friend of mine. He started by selling Japanese import games at computer fairs but as the collection got so big he ended up needing a warehouse to store it all in. That warehouse is now a really popular shop up here and he sells all sorts of geekery as well as having a nice collection of arcade machines to play.

Some of the stuff is unbelievable and in amazing condition. We are talking MSX on a chip, never opended PS2 consoles, FM Towns computers, and 1000's upon 1000's of software titles. Since opening up he has also started buying in PAL collections and just yesterday had a lovely fully boxed Speccy 48K and C64 in stock. Also seen ST's and lots of big box software titles coming through his doors.

If any of you are ever up on holiday it's a place not to be missed!

Andy, show this post to Bev and she won't find the size of your cave anymore

 

Always appreciate the feedback, Al, cheers, mate.

I will have to scale some of the stuff back and just show maybe 2-3 systems at a time rather than trying to cram 5-6 out at once and ending up with...

Yep, Paul got it in one....

POUNDLAND!

Aye, a nice little clip of your set-up would be sound as a.... POUND!

 

I did plan on doing a little video at the start of the new year, but instead I've spent the last couple of weeks trimming the herd! Some systems have been sold back to the original owners again and I'm now down to just the machines I want to keep.

The big suprise (even to myself) is that I have 'kind of' added a C64 to the fleet. Or a theC64 Maxi to be more precise. After playing with the Mini version for a couple of weeks I found a few games that I really enjoyed so decided to jump in with the full size one that has the working keyboard. The only other machine I intend to add to the permanent collection this year is THEA500 Mini when it comes out in March. Everything else will be emulated via the PC.

Full pictures and descriptions to follow in a new thread as soon as I get round to it

 

Looking forward to your system updates and man cave pics and descriptions already, Al.