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    Leisure & Allied Industries "Skill Tester" (Type 2)

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    No, you're not seeing double. My last machine restoration post was also about an LAI Skill Tester. ​​It's not often I get a double-up of machines, but while I was in the throes of finishing up repairs to the first LAI Skill Tester, I saw an ad on Facebook from someone who was giving another one away. Sweet! These machines aren't worth much, and there don't seem to be many people who have the desire or ability to fix them. But I'm a sucker for retro technology, so it's right up my alley! 
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    Leisure & Allied Industries "Skill Tester" (Type 1)

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    Normally I start each blog entry with an image of the flyer for the game I'm going to be working on. Unfortunately, Leisure & Allied Industries (LAI) produced very few flyers for their games, particularly the simpler redemption games. However, there are few games that were as ubiquitous in Australian arcades as the classic skill tester claw machine by LAI. This particular example was one of the cabinets from our container-of-games pickup several years ago, and it was basically in working condition when I got it. However, it had never had a proper clean, and a few small issues were starting to appear, so it was time to give this machine a good going-over.
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    Arcade Game Pickups: Container Load of Arcades!

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    Happy as a pig in shit!

    ​Last week, I was browsing Facebook marketplace for more projects to buy that I don't have time for (as you do). Most of the time this is an innocent way to waste some time in between meetings or during my lunch break. But last week was not so innocent. I actually found an interesting listing. It was a listing for a bulk lot of arcade cabinets which were in a storage container. The description didn't say much more than that, and there were no photos. The listing was local to me, so I contacted the seller, got his phone number, and gave him a call to get the down-low