I just went back home to Northampton to visit the parents and while I was there I visted my cousin. It was he who first got a ZX81 and later a Spectrum and it was at his that I first ever used a computer. He got a ZX81 before anyone else I knew and it was here I first played 'Mazogs' and '3D Monster Maze'. I asked him if he still had his stuff and he did. Up in the attic he went and got his stuff down. It was quite surreal seeing his stuff again after all these years, I hadn't seen any of this since around 1987!
His ZX81 had a stick on keyboard, this was the first computer I ever used way back in 1981!
This is is his Spectrum+ in a box my Dad had made for me around 1980! It had a painted message by me on the bottom claiming ownership. God knows how he ended up with it, we must have swapped it, for what I don't remember. I'd completely forgotten about the box.
He's got a DkTronics joystick interface with it's box.
And his collection of games:
And he's got one of the less common sleeves with his copy of 'Zombie Zombie'. I'm gonna have to see if he wants to sell this one!
Nice lot, I especially like the rebelstar collection.
Thanks! That would definitely have been the last Spectrum game I ever bought, which must have been 1991. By that time I had actually switched over to using an Atari ST, but still had (and have) my Speccy. I got the Rebelstar Collection mail order direct from Mythos. The inlay scan in the WoS archive is from this very box. :)
Big fan of Pete Cooke's games. Got Tau Ceti for Christmas in 1985. My parents wrapped it and put it on the tree, but it was pretty obvious what was inside the paper. :lol:
His ZX81 had a stick on keyboard, this was the first computer I ever used way back in 1981!
The ZX81 was my first computer, had one for a year before I got my Speccy. I remember seeing these stick on keyboards advertised in ZX Computing. Did they make any improvement to the typing action?
Your cousin has some excellent taste in games BTW!
The very first time I saw a Speccy (rubber keys) I saw the collection of software... almost two dozen 60min BASF tapes with an inlay more or less like this:
Side 1 | Side 2
Pyjamarama 013 | Kosmic Kanga 015
High Noon 087 | Knight Lore 092
Pool 162 | Jet Set Willy 154
etc. Each tape had as many games as it would fit. Back then I didn't know the difference between "original" and "copy".
Since the tape recorder had a counter, I thought the whole idea was brilliant...
I made inlays for my TDK 'backup' tapes using a mates Alphacom 32 printer:
Come to think of it, I'm surprised that the print is still legible after 25+ years! Many of the thermally printed till-receipts you get today seem to fade after a couple of years.
Any of these have any redeeming features? Anyone like any of them? I know they came out pretty early on in the Spectrum's life but they don't come across as being anywhere near classics!
Anyone know if the cardboard box version (on the very left) of 'Black Crystal' is the original release or is the more usual plastic box version the original ?
Any of these have any redeeming features? Anyone like any of them? I know they came out pretty early on in the Spectrum's life but they don't come across as being anywhere near classics!
Anyone know if the cardboard box version (on the very left) of 'Black Crystal' is the original release or is the more usual plastic box version the original ?
Anyone got a spare 'Volcanic Dungeon'? ;p
The card one is a lil bit rarer.
I like The Crypt. I hired it at Bridge House Video in about 1984/85. Slow and BASICy, but it's got some playability hidden in there somewhere, honest! Volcanic Dungeon and Black Crystal are, well... okay... but the rest? Hmmmmmm. :D
Have you read The Book of Shadows yet? Haha, what a load of old tosh!
I have a soft spot for The Devil rides out, I remember buying it as a lad because it was my moms favorite movie (well, devil rides in). She didn't seem to impressed with it though, I remember playing it a lot...bit dated now though (obviously).
Two big boxes and some parcels showed up today. A lot of what was in the boxes was crud, but these are the ones I kept!
The loose tape is Macro Construction and Animation MCA by Brian H. Baily. The inlay has been printed in ZX Printer paper, so i'm not 100% sure it's genuine, and there's no inlay scan on infoseek, so can anybody confirm either way?
Where on earth do you get these big boxes of games from? Ebay?
I've got 3 of those Channel 8 games (bottom left) but not that one. That's the first time I've seen another!
Well, eBay! (although I have struck gold lately with some Commode stuff and a TI from work; a while since anybody tried to sell me Speccy stuff there though.)
Just a couple of big joblots I chanced my arm on, and all in all, for what I paid, I got some good stuff, including a semi-working +2 (modulator issue, keys stuck in caps... dammit!) The stuff I don't want/need I just relist, at more job lots.
Sure i'm not the only one here who does that ;-)
And yep, poking around and finding a gem here n' there is part of the fun :D
Edit: First time i've seen a Waxworks that wasn't a Dixons version actually.
Hairy, are you able to preserve the Pirate/Chalksoft +3 title? If not, no worries, I've got one too - need to send it to Andy :/ and I haven't got round to it yet.
The ones in boxes must still smell of the air in the Amstrad factory or something! :smile:
It doesn't get used that much, It's been packed away for a year. The Crash dust cover helps too :)
I'll have a sniff later :) I'm in the process of unpacking all my stuff from when we moved over a year ago, and sorting in all out, getting a few photos for here while I'm at it.
Hairy, are you able to preserve the Pirate/Chalksoft +3 title? If not, no worries, I've got one too - need to send it to Andy :/ and I haven't got round to it yet.
I don't know how to do +3 disks, but I don't mind sending it to someone to do if need be.
Comments
His ZX81 had a stick on keyboard, this was the first computer I ever used way back in 1981!
This is is his Spectrum+ in a box my Dad had made for me around 1980! It had a painted message by me on the bottom claiming ownership. God knows how he ended up with it, we must have swapped it, for what I don't remember. I'd completely forgotten about the box.
He's got a DkTronics joystick interface with it's box.
And his collection of games:
And he's got one of the less common sleeves with his copy of 'Zombie Zombie'. I'm gonna have to see if he wants to sell this one!
Then it all got put back in the attic!
Ex-Ocean Software graphic artist -
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https://twitter.com/MarkRJones1970
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Thanks! That would definitely have been the last Spectrum game I ever bought, which must have been 1991. By that time I had actually switched over to using an Atari ST, but still had (and have) my Speccy. I got the Rebelstar Collection mail order direct from Mythos. The inlay scan in the WoS archive is from this very box. :)
Got this one in a local record shop that also started selling computer games on the 80's. Is the big box version rare?
Big fan of Pete Cooke's games. Got Tau Ceti for Christmas in 1985. My parents wrapped it and put it on the tree, but it was pretty obvious what was inside the paper. :lol:
Oh yes, TDK D60 and D90 - ideal for all my... er, 'backups'. ;)
The ZX81 was my first computer, had one for a year before I got my Speccy. I remember seeing these stick on keyboards advertised in ZX Computing. Did they make any improvement to the typing action?
Your cousin has some excellent taste in games BTW!
I made inlays for my TDK 'backup' tapes using a mates Alphacom 32 printer:
Come to think of it, I'm surprised that the print is still legible after 25+ years! Many of the thermally printed till-receipts you get today seem to fade after a couple of years.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/d3fatq7hnw5z1ii/IMG_20120430_134036.jpg
So you couldn't convince him to relinquish ownership to you huh.
Ex-Ocean Software graphic artist -
Download my FREE PDF 'LOAD DIJ DIJ' (180,000+ words): https://ko-fi.com/i/IG2G3BEJZP
ZX Art page: https://zxart.ee/eng/authors/m/mark-r-jones/
https://twitter.com/MarkRJones1970
https://www.facebook.com/OceanSoftwareLtd/
https://www.facebook.com/ultimateptg/
That rolo packet looks short, or I got bigger.
Any of these have any redeeming features? Anyone like any of them? I know they came out pretty early on in the Spectrum's life but they don't come across as being anywhere near classics!
Anyone know if the cardboard box version (on the very left) of 'Black Crystal' is the original release or is the more usual plastic box version the original ?
Anyone got a spare 'Volcanic Dungeon'? ;p
Ex-Ocean Software graphic artist -
Download my FREE PDF 'LOAD DIJ DIJ' (180,000+ words): https://ko-fi.com/i/IG2G3BEJZP
ZX Art page: https://zxart.ee/eng/authors/m/mark-r-jones/
https://twitter.com/MarkRJones1970
https://www.facebook.com/OceanSoftwareLtd/
https://www.facebook.com/ultimateptg/
The card one is a lil bit rarer.
I like The Crypt. I hired it at Bridge House Video in about 1984/85. Slow and BASICy, but it's got some playability hidden in there somewhere, honest! Volcanic Dungeon and Black Crystal are, well... okay... but the rest? Hmmmmmm. :D
Have you read The Book of Shadows yet? Haha, what a load of old tosh!
I have a soft spot for The Devil rides out, I remember buying it as a lad because it was my moms favorite movie (well, devil rides in). She didn't seem to impressed with it though, I remember playing it a lot...bit dated now though (obviously).
The loose tape is Macro Construction and Animation MCA by Brian H. Baily. The inlay has been printed in ZX Printer paper, so i'm not 100% sure it's genuine, and there's no inlay scan on infoseek, so can anybody confirm either way?
I've got 3 of those Channel 8 games (bottom left) but not that one. That's the first time I've seen another!
Ex-Ocean Software graphic artist -
Download my FREE PDF 'LOAD DIJ DIJ' (180,000+ words): https://ko-fi.com/i/IG2G3BEJZP
ZX Art page: https://zxart.ee/eng/authors/m/mark-r-jones/
https://twitter.com/MarkRJones1970
https://www.facebook.com/OceanSoftwareLtd/
https://www.facebook.com/ultimateptg/
Is that a serious question?
Ex-Ocean Software graphic artist -
Download my FREE PDF 'LOAD DIJ DIJ' (180,000+ words): https://ko-fi.com/i/IG2G3BEJZP
ZX Art page: https://zxart.ee/eng/authors/m/mark-r-jones/
https://twitter.com/MarkRJones1970
https://www.facebook.com/OceanSoftwareLtd/
https://www.facebook.com/ultimateptg/
Just a couple of big joblots I chanced my arm on, and all in all, for what I paid, I got some good stuff, including a semi-working +2 (modulator issue, keys stuck in caps... dammit!) The stuff I don't want/need I just relist, at more job lots.
Sure i'm not the only one here who does that ;-)
And yep, poking around and finding a gem here n' there is part of the fun :D
Edit: First time i've seen a Waxworks that wasn't a Dixons version actually.
Here's a piccy of my Interface 1 and Microdrives.
Some joystick interfaces:
A few more interfaces:
That's the one that gets USED? :-o
The ones in boxes must still smell of the air in the Amstrad factory or something! :smile:
I'll have a sniff later :) I'm in the process of unpacking all my stuff from when we moved over a year ago, and sorting in all out, getting a few photos for here while I'm at it.
I don't know how to do +3 disks, but I don't mind sending it to someone to do if need be.
I do like the Sinclair packaging, certainly stood out on the shelves at the time.
No serial number, just that sticker.
My C64 Disks:
My C64 cassettes:
My next pics will be my speccy collection