Ran into a little road bump.

It seems the late model Genesis 1s, all Genesis 2's and all Genesis 3's are incompatible with many of EA's early releases. Including one of my favorites, and one of my biggest reasons for owing a Genesis -- Budokan. So now that I have two working Genesis 2's, I have to go hunting for an early model Genesis 1. Oh, and an A/V cable since they have a different port. D'oh!

On the 5200 front, I placed an order with Best Electronics. I included a lot of cartridges in the order, but Brad said he'll only send a title if he has one that looks good. I emphasized to him that I'm not demanding perfect, mint-condition items; I just don't want a box that's so damaged it won't stand on the shelf. So hopefully I'll get some shelf-worthy carts...and a lot of them.

Also picked up a couple of gold 5200 controllers, plus a new 5200 trak-ball. Hopefully it'll all be here by the end of the week, but as usual for this time of year, Brad and his crew are working overtime seven days a week to keep up with orders, so who knows when they'll be able to get to it?

At least I know they always pack everything really well. That's such a hassle with eBay and even a lot of retail places -- getting them to understand that packing something so that it doesn't get ruined in transit is actually a basic part of their job! I've even gotten clothes delivered to me from a high-end clothing retailer that have been grease stained because the plastic bag they were shipped in was ripped open in transit. What a crock!

On the 7800 front, it's been shipped as of yesterday -- nine days after I paid for it. Something about my payment getting lost. Whatever.

On a more upbeat note, I'm really, really pleased with the 5200 console I bought from a charity. The thing is just really great looking, and came in the box with all accessories and even several boxed games. I was able to use the eraser trick to get the two controllers working, and it's been a real pleasure to play. I bought some of the Novus plastic polish and scratch removers, and I plan to go over it carefully and repeatedly, until it looks as close to new as I can get it. Just for the pleasure of doing it.

Restoration is a big part of what I enjoy about this hobby. I love taking something that looks sad and worn, putting some time into it, and ending up with something that looks and works great.