Here is the Willis Galaga upright control panel overlay, agruably one of the top 5 best aftermarket overlays Willis produced. With its crisp screen printed lines, 8 colors (at least), die cuts for the controls and hardware, and top quality 3M materials; this was cutting edge production at the time. This example still has the die cut pieces intact, but you can see the cuts if you look closely. The overlay has a wonderfully vibrant, Electric Company feel and an overall funky looking design. Produced in 1982, about a year after Galaga was released in the US market, with unknown production numbers. The mystery artist for this overlay took hints from the patterns and colors of the original art in an effort to make this aftermarket product look seamless when it was installed. This particular stiched scan of my overlay was cleaned up beautifully by KLOV member redfivexw V, thank you for the assist. Would you leave this installed on your Galaga if you found it that way? I think I would. Love it or leave it Willis was producing some amazing work during the golden age of arcades. If you have this overlay installed on your game drop me a line, I’d love to see it!
From the original Tokens Only post dated 07-21-2009
Of all the funky Willis control panel overlays that exist, this has got to be my all time favorite. The fabulous 70’s color scheme with swirls and patterns that jump right out from the famous sesame street 12345 song. You just can’t go wrong with this particular piece of arcade nostalgia.
The Willis made, Galaga control panel overlay, is a fantastic example of the aftermarket artwork produced during the height of the video game boom. This particular piece is in excellent shape with most of the colors still rich and vibrant. The glare from the flash washes them out a bit and the photos do not do this cpo justice.
Considering Galaga was produced by Midway (with a Namco license) in 1981, it didn’t take long for the people at Willis to scoop up the rights to make this alternate cpo, dated 1982. I imagine that new original replacement overlays were still available, so my guess is that Willis was the cheaper, licensed alternative to buying a new cpo directly from Midway. Perhaps this was one way the major manufacturers dealt with piracy, which was rampant throughout the industry. Cabinets, pcbs and artwork were all getting bootlegged. Anything an operator could do to save a buck. Offering the op a lower cost alternative overlay, might keep him from making his own cpo’s and bypassing the system completely.
I’ve learned a few things from that original post way back in 2009. First, the color scheme reminder is from the Electric Company, not Sesame Street. Second, it is highly unlikely Willis ever secured a license to produce this overlay. It is more likely they just created this alternate artwork and called it a replacement overlay to avoid any potential lawsuit. Replacement overlays were just a small part of their business afterall.
