Chrome Switch Heavy Sixer

[teh_d3th_st4r]

Hey,

 

I just got a Box fresh Heavy Sixer from my friends grandma, I found it while we were cleaning out the attic, and much to my delight, it has chrome switches. Not polished aluminum, chrome...

 

The story goes: This Atari was purchased from a store in Philadelphia in the spring of 1978, the store was apparently going out of business, and the system was on sale for a greatly reduced price. So she purchased it for her teenage son (my friends dad) to give to him on his birthday later that year. By the time his birthday rolled around they had moved to California, he'd had a job for several months, and purchased an Atari and a TV with his own money (and kept it hidden from his mom because he thought she wouldn't approve). On his birthday, the Atari his mother had purchased was handed over, and in a effort to save his mothers feelings, accepted the gift and immediately hooked it up to the family television and started playing it. By the end of the night, he said he was going to take it back to his room and keep playing, only to put it back in the box and stash it in the attic.

 

*Deep Breath*

 

By the late 80's, he had moved out and gone to college (by this time he had purchased an NES for the dorm) and confessed to the Atari he stashed... and it remained stashed until about a week ago. It was still in the box (lightly worn by time, and 1 corner eaten by mice) and packed away just as it was when it was new.

 

Now here's what I don't understand; I've seen chrome-ish switches on factory refurbished systems, and of those almost always on 4 switch models, but never on a factory fresh Heavy Sixer. Did I get some sort of limited run of the first gen console? Or did I get some sort of factory mistake where they ran out of switches and had to run to the electronics supply store and make do with what the could find?

 

Any takers?

[teh_d3th_st4r]

Update:

 

There is a little more to this story. Apparently this system didn't spend the whole time in the attic. In the late 90's, it was taken out for my friends little cousins to play with for a summer, and it was well loved and played with. So the yellow border is a bit worn out, but I still remain amazed at the chrome on the Heavy Sixer.

 

Other Update:

 

I left my 5 month old puppy alone in the living room, and he turned the box into confetti... lame.

 

I'll get some pics of the system and post them soon.

[Silvio Mogno]

Update:

 

There is a little more to this story. Apparently this system didn't spend the whole time in the attic. In the late 90's, it was taken out for my friends little cousins to play with for a summer, and it was well loved and played with. So the yellow border is a bit worn out, but I still remain amazed at the chrome on the Heavy Sixer.

 

Other Update:

 

I left my 5 month old puppy alone in the living room, and he turned the box into confetti... lame.

 

I'll get some pics of the system and post them soon.

 

Pics please!!!

[Polybius]

Say, did the Light Sixers by chance have chrome switches? Mine appears to.

[teh_d3th_st4r]

Say, did the Light Sixers by chance have chrome switches? Mine appears to.

 

Sometimes, I've seen refurbished Light Sixers with the chrome-ish switches (I think they're polished aluminum) but mostly on 4 switch and Vader models.

 

Pics are coming soon, I lent my friend my camera, and he forgot to return the charger, so I had to wait to get it back.

[gloriousconnor]

This is interesting. It's things like this that make me glad I joined this site