Oct 20, 2016
What happens when Lego meets Speccy?
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What happens when Lego meets Speccy?
Give your ZX Spectrum a makeover!
If your original rubber-keyed ZX Spectrum is looking a bit tatty then don’t despair. Thanks to an enterprising team, it is now possible to get replacement faceplates and rubber keyboard mats from ZX Renew.
But that’s not all.
Not only have they succeeded in producing replacements, but also they are offering both products in a surprising range of colours. There’s even talk of a luminous keyboard mat for playing in the dark.
The quality of the products is frankly quite astonishing - it just goes to show what can be done with perseverance. From following their development on Facebook group Spectrum4Ever, I’m aware that they have gone through a careful quality control process and ironed out early issues.
On the rear of the products we can see how they have been clearly marked to distinguish them from originals - again a hot topic which was well considered with feedback from the community.
I haven’t yet found the time to fit them on one of my machines (I certainly don’t want to do a bad rush job) but you can see a fully fitted Speccy at:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9cgCAZti98
There was plenty of packaging and even some 3M tape so that it’s possible to do a near replacement job.
I’ll update this when I’ve done the full refit. Can’t wait!
Introducing. .. The Zipbrik!
Review - Revival Winter Warmer 2015
This weekend I attended a retro gaming event in Wolverhampton, which (for those of you outside the UK) is just outside Birmingham in the Midlands area of England.
Spread over the weekend of 28th-29th November, this was a return for the Revival events which have been held previously at another venue. Previous shows had been larger but this one had been organised on a smaller scale to warm things up for future events and see how much interest there was out there.
Despite the smaller venue (Brookfields Leisure Centre), there were something like:-
50 playable retro computers and consoles
30 video arcade machines and a handful of pinball tables
On stage competitions and prizes
A handful of traders and promoters
The set-up featured one main hall, with a smaller (and very dark) upstairs competition area, plus a smaller side room with more machines and a hatch serving food and drink.
The event (the first which I had attended) was limited to 300 tickets on the Saturday, and sold out before the day. Sunday had similar interest.
I arrived around 9am in case of queues and in order to pick up any lucky finds. If it wasn't for the Revival signs on the road though, I would have thought I was in the wrong place. The event was down a dirt track and in a fairly anonymous building next to an equestrian centre (yep, horses aplenty) and a truck stop. But a quick check with some other guys in the next car confirmed I was in the right place so in I went...
My first impression was of an exceptionally friendly event with a family feel among the organisers. Membership cards were handed out to those who had pre-ordered them, and hands duly stamped for re-entry. Ready to begin!
As it was quiet, I decided to leave the machines for the time being and inspect the handful of traders. My interest was mainly Spectrum, Mega Drive, Gameboy and PC Engine so I started looking around. Although there were a fair few Mega Drive / Gameboy games, there wasn't much to buy for old 8-bit computers. And as for the PC Engine, it was a bit too niche - literally about five games to buy and they were very obscure. Talking of obscurities, the most surprising find was probably a Bandai Wonderswan which was just £15. It was snapped up pretty early.
My favourite display was probably a trader who specialised in Gameboy sales and modifications, there were some good items on offer for those looking to get into the format.
Generally though, I had the feeling that I was struggling to find anything exciting to buy, and this turned out to be true. By the end of the day I had bought nothing apart from some food and drink. This of course depends on what you are looking for; I hope the next shows have a few more traders, this would greatly increase the variety.
So what about the games?
For the size of the venue, there were a lot of arcades and pinball machines - and all on free play. There was a good variety of game types - mostly original stand-up cabinets but also a lovely tabletop system and plenty of modern multi-game cabinets as well. Arcade titles were too numerous to list here but included Ridge Racer, Out Run, Ms. Pacman, Donkey Kong and Terra Cresta. There were a lot of games which could be played with two or more players, which was great fun. I didn't play any pinball machines but people I spoke to were impressed with them.
It was nice to see that there were a lot of younger games players there - presumably tagging along with their parents - they seemed to be enjoying themselves. One or two were dressed up as gaming characters.
For me though, the show really shined in the area of old computers and consoles - there was a fabulous variety of both familiar and unfamiliar systems. Even better, many were equipped with modern flash card readers so that literally the game of your choice could be fired up in seconds.
Common systems included Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum 48k, ZX Spectrum +2, Amiga, BBC, Atari 2600, NES, Sega Master System, Nintendo GameCube and SNES - plus many others.
Rarer items included CD32, PC Engine with CD dock, Nintendo Virtual Boy, Vectrex, Sega Nomad, Amstrad GX4000 console, MSX and of course the Neo Geo (which I forgot to play).
These consoles and computers were excellently represented, with something from every era. Even the very early 'television games systems' were available for the likes of Pong with analogue paddles, and these drew a lot of interest from gamers young and old alike. The atmosphere was very friendly and I never had to wait long to get on any machine. Experts were on hand to get trickier machines working, or to join in on the two player games.
Perhaps the best thing about the day was that it was a great way to hook up with other people from Facebook groups. I had arranged to meet up with a few people from around the UK, and this made the show even better. Games and magazines were swapped, and there was the opportunity to play games or just discuss the merits of old systems or just collecting in general.
In fact at one stage, a gang of us even managed to have a grand Chaos play-off on a humble Speccy. In true Spectrum fashion, it crashed at the end of the tournament!
So a big shout out to Steve from Dudley, Rob from Bristol, Ian and Alex from 'Mutant Caterpillar' and Paul and Joanne from somewhere in the Midlands. Hope to bump into you all again at future shows.
Some of my personal highlights:-
My first play on the Nintendo Virtual Boy - the red-screened, head-ache inducing flop of a system was really interesting and I was grateful to play it.
Completing Jetpac on a ZX Spectrum - something I'd never achieved before. I could play this any time at home but for some reason it was destined to happen at the show.
My first game on Duck Hunt (NES) for over 25 years.
My first play on a Sega Nomad - Sega's power-thirsty hand-held for playing Mega Drive games. It shows how far portable hardware has come over the years.
Playing a Vectrex - such an interesting and quirky system if you've never seen it before.
'Mayhem' - a fast, addictive homebrew game on an enhanced ZX81
So in summary, a great fun day out and yes I would definitely go again - especially if the show is able to expand and also maintain the fun, sociable atmosphere.
More please!
The quest is done
It’s a red letter day here at Speccyholic, or should that be a red leaflet day?
Yes, almost thirty years after picking up this leaflet in WH Smith, I have finally ‘Got my hands on a ZX Spectrum 128′.
Also known as ‘The Toast Rack’ due to its characteristic fins, it’s the rarest and most difficult to get hold off, excluding the oddities out there.
The quest took a while (I blame Facebook group ‘Spectrum 4 Ever’ for starting it). This one was advertised as ‘for parts or not working’ - but apart from clearly needing a new membrane and a bit of a service, it basically works!
For starters - just look at the lovely sharp picture, courtesy of a new RGB SCART cable from Retro Computer Shack. It’s probably the best picture that this computer has ever produced in its life!
But there’s a problem...
What do I do with myself now that the quest is over?
My collecting gene is asking me that question right now. It’s wondering why my ‘watch list’ has halved, and wants to know what the next quest will be. It’s a question for another day though. Right now, it’s time to load games, test some tapes and do some calculations. Hurrah!
A book that celebrates the beauty of the ZX Spectrum. Full of pixel art, iconic box art and contributions from industry legends
One last push for this fabulous book...!
▲Thε Goβ1iη Fɐr♏▲