I've been thinking about getting a Virtua Fighter 3 board for a long time, and I recently had an idea on how to achieve that end. Full sets are hard to find (there's actually one on eBay right now, but I can't afford it right now), but rom boards are more common and affordable. I was looking at system16.com and noticed that VF3 and Sega Bass Fishing both run on the Model 3 step 1.0 board. So I'm wondering: is the motherboard for both games identical? Could I swap the Sega Bass Fishing rom board for a VF3 one?
If they are the same Model 3 revision it should work. Really if you want a model 3, consider buying from japan as they are common and cheap (just have to put up with shipping via surface to keep cost down due to weight).
The shipping alone would probably end up costing more than buying a board in the US. There's one on eBay right now that I really want to buy, but I don't have the money for it yet. If I miss that auction then I may end up doing what you suggest.
