The Aussie Pinball Arcade
Aussie Pinball Forums => Restorations => Topic started by: zitt on November 07, 2010, 02:10:51 PM
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Several weekends ago; a local pinball friend (thanks Joe!) offered me a deal I couldn't refuse on a 1981 Gottlieb Black Hole Pinball Machine. (http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=307) So being my first restoration of a Gottlieb machine; I'm sure I'll learn a lot. Besides; Someone has to do some modding around here. :P
Unlike the 1979 Bally Star Trek (http://www.austinmodders.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=2316) I did last year; this GTB machine is considered "high-maintenance" and has frequent electrical issues. My goal is to return the machine to near new condition; and do most if not all of the circuit improvement suggested by Marvin's fixit site: http://www.pinrepair.com/sys80/index.htm in a effort to reduce this machine to a "it just works" machine.
This machine is a project machine which will require cleaning and releveling the Playfield inserts on both the upper and lower playfields. Many of the inserts have either fallen or risen due to heat and glue break down. Like the Bally machine; Both PFs will receive auto clearcoat to protect the playfield. The Black box will also need some door repair.
I have lots of plans for the machine as far as mods go... I think the machine will receive a set of flipper led mods (http://www.austinmodders.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=24428#24428) since the buttons are identical to the Bally Star Trek. I'm thinking of doing something special with the pop bumpers - but you'll have to wait and see on that one.
As with all pictures in the worklog; remember to click the pictures for higher rez shots.
Here's the machine as it was unloaded from my truck:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4145/4836816022_ef6219aff6_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4836816022/sizes/l/)
Lower PF via blue window in the center of the upper PF:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4129/4836816700_d78c49b8a6_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00//4836816700/sizes/l/)
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4144/4836206575_2f22efd967_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4836206575/sizes/l/)
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4090/4836816508_a774c6950c_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4836816508/sizes/l/)
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4148/4836816890_0752880def_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4836816890/sizes/l/)
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/4836207289_d54d4b7bb1_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4836207289/sizes/l/)
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I wanted to start on the lower PF first; since it was smaller and had less componets to remove on the top side. It also has the most insert lifting but nearly no PF wear. So I pulled the lower playfield out of the machine and pulled off the dirty plastics.
The first thing I learned is I H-A-T-E those GTB press-on acorn "nuts". They are nearly impossible to remove (or I don't know the trick) without damaging the platics. Those press-on standoffs would be the first to go when reinstalling the PF parts. Terry at PinballLife.com sold me a set of the newer standoffs which have #6-32 threads on top; those will be used in combination with some stainless steel acorn nuts with make removing PF plastics easy-peazy.
Here's the very dirty Lower PF with plastics removed.
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/4836344509_eb5c227cbe_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4836344509/sizes/l/)
Yeap - very dirty. And yes; there is some rust on some peices.
Take another angle shot; so you can remember where to return the parts on the PF:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4129/4836207891_f477769165_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4836207891/sizes/l/)
Next step is to remove all the top side componets, screws, rails, bulbs, etc... and clean it well. For this I used mean green and a melamine foam sponge as was done in the Bally Star Trek worklog. This time the underlying PF was not flaking or signifigantly worn - and I took care not to be agressive with the cleaning.
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4130/4836965622_b78fd8495a_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4836965622/sizes/l/)
I made sure to tape off the drop target holes as I did not remove them from the under the PF. I also taped off the filpper holes to prevent build up of soot and/or auto clear coat.
Next I used a heat gun, a rubber mallet, and a steel ruler to "level" the three captive hole blue inserts:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4105/4836208233_e5f6c257c1_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4836208233/sizes/l/)
Now it's time to put the one light and one heavy coat of clear on the PF. Why? The clear coat to protect the PF from wear from the ball. Unsure if GTB had any protection on these early machines; but I'm guessing that like the Bally's of this era the only protection is "wax" put on over the painted PF.
Apply two coats of Dupont ChromaClear G2-7779S clear coat w/ 7785S Activator-Reducer. These two are mixed at a 4:1 ratio and allow for a flash of 20-40minutes between coats. Apply in thin light coats; don't go overboard of the clear coat won't cure.
I applied the coats using a HarborFreight HVLP Gravity Feed Spray Gun. Set the pressure dial to 20PSI so I got ~10psi when trigger is depressed.
Allow the two coats to cure overnight.
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4128/4836818526_485efe4309_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4836818526/sizes/l/)
The next evening after work; It was ready for the orbital sander with 100grit discs. This was done to level any remain Playfield areas such as center dipping or ball wear. It's also done to remove the inital orange peel seen in the previous clear coat.
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4153/4836819060_23f3a198d0_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4836819060/sizes/l/)
I then wiped away the sander dust to verify the inserts are flat:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/4836819242_b55cea190c_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4836819242/sizes/l/)
TAKE CARE; do not blow through the clear coat and destroy your original paint! (I learned that lesson in the Bally ST worklog)
I then applied one lite and one heavy clear coat as a final protection. Again; at least 20minute flashes between coats and an overnight cure.
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/4836209643_8dd75a96f2_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4836209643/sizes/l/)
Then like the bally; the final sanding begins to remove the orange peel and restore that PF shine. Orbital Sander @ 150grit and the 220grit. Hand sand with wet/dry (wet) with 320grit, 500grit, 800grit, 1000grit, 1500grit. Then use the buffing wheel to apply two rounds each of rubbing compound, polishing compound, and carnuba wax.
Nice, shiney, and smooth:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4125/4836820170_b9bfb4fc6a_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4836820170/sizes/l/)
Sandblast away the rust, Polish the visible metal peices, and return the parts and plastics to the lower playfield:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4109/4836820582_6f5341cd96_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4836820582/sizes/l/)
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4104/4836820772_7af196e738_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4836820772/sizes/l/)
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/4836821002_0d0b14eae6_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4836821002/sizes/l/)
With that; The mechanical work on the lower PF is complete... however, the electronics will need some fixes per marvin's suggestions.... I'll tackle that later when I get a digikey order created and purchased.
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Now that the Star Trek Conventions (http://www.austinmodders.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=25330#25330) are out of the way; Attention returns to the Upper Playfeild where I begin by disassembling all the top componets as like bottom PF; it will get automotive clear coat to protect the PF... and some touchup paint.
Click Images for hiRez
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/4962631778_eba23b113c_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/496263177/sizes/l/)
Unlike the lower PF; the upper playfield had some serious sinking playfeild inserts; so these ares are going to need to be fixed as well as the areas near the PF window which have been rubbed to wood.
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4085/4962632422_de191bb00c_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4962632422/sizes/l/)
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4149/4962038405_5cfbb06a58_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4962038405/sizes/l/)
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4107/4962038609_564fbb656c_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4962038609/sizes/l/)
To raise the inserts; I used a heat gun to loosen the glue in the insert and the used a nut driver and a rubber mallet to raise them. Once I had them above the PF; I used a metal ruler and the mallet to "level" the insert to the PF. If the Insert was really loose; A couple were; I used some clear glue around the insert before leveling.
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4149/4962039245_4f24d546d2_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4962039245/sizes/l/)
Once the inserts were level; I created some arrow shaped outline templates in corel draw; then proceeded to cut them out on the laser cutter out of transfer paper. I then carefully layed them over the inserts to redo the outlines:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4148/4962632650_a78e210cbe_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4962632650/sizes/l/)
Applied black enamel with a testors pen:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/4962039923_64a46a2f48_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4962039923/sizes/l/)
While I was at it I touched up other areas of the PF... namely the black where the turbobumper mylar use to be. Also touched up the areas around the PF winder were there were chips and wood showing through.
Finally removed the transfer tape:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4131/4962039711_cc0db4e54a_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4962039711/sizes/l/)
With the touchup complete; I put 4 coats of automotive Clear Coat with 20minute flashes between the coats. Then I sanded the PF flat - begining with 100gril orbital, 150grit orbital, and then 220 orbital. There were still some areas around the inserts (between inserts and wood) where there were some valleys so I used some clear and a small artist paint brush to fill with clear coat. 4 more coats of clear now that the PF was level. Then 220grit orbital, 400grit, 500, 800, 1000, and finally 1500 grit hand sandings of the clear coat. Then rubbing compound, polishing compound, and then carnuba wax to make the PF shine.
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/4962040797_8fe225534f_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4962040797/sizes/l/)
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4126/4962634550_24d1d3dfa4_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4962634550/sizes/l/)
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4092/4962634804_8903364d9e_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4962634804/sizes/l/)
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4129/4962041519_904b928d27_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4962041519/sizes/l/)
With that the upper PF mechanical restoration is complete.
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I needed to order some parts from the Pinball Resource before I could begin to re-assemble the top PF; so I decided to spend some time on the shooter of the machine. Lets start with original pics of the shooter trim:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4131/4962040315_146d2e2b8e_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4962040315/sizes/l/)
Ick! That won't do.
I could have bought a new shooter trim plate; but I wanted to experiment a little. So first I began by sandblasting the plate of it's rust. Then I polished it to a shine using 40, 80, 100, 280, 500, 800, 1000, 1500 grit sandpaper. Following up with rubbing and polishing compound.
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4125/4962041661_5e512547c1_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4962041661/sizes/l/)
There were still some minor nicks and valleys in the trim; so I decided to try some experiments and settled on the following.
First, I scanned in the Manual logo and converted it to vector in Corel Draw. Then put some fiberglass tape on the plate where I laser vector cut the black background into the fiberglass tape using 100% power and 8% speed:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/4962041883_d66765841f_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4962041883/sizes/l/)
Then using my exacto knife; I carefully removed the letters from the tape:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4085/4962042361_4440cfd589_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4962042361/sizes/l/)
Out came the powder coating gun and oven:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4116/4962042587_3fce66e89a_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4962042587/sizes/l/)
Remove the fiber tape:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4153/4962042115_8a230f0c9c_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4962042115/sizes/l/)
Overlay some Transfer Tape and Laser etch the foreground lettering:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4103/4962042815_04631db6aa_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4962042815/sizes/l/)
The carefully remove the detail areas with a set smt tweezers:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/4962636506_d5c5b69024_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4962636506/sizes/l/)
Sandblast with iron oxide:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4152/4962043245_0c01beffe0_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4962043245/sizes/l/)
Examine our work:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4125/4962043449_5c12ed5e50_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4962043449/sizes/l/)
And then coat with some final clear powdercoat to protect the metal from future rust and grimmy hands:
TerDah!
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/4962043671_2ffc8051bd_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4962043671/sizes/l/)
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Now the shooter itself had some rust and needed some TLC; so I removed the rust with the sandblaster... then polished to a shine:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/4962633686_1e996f8850_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4962633686/sizes/l/)
Then using the popbumper caps as inspiration:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4129/4962637902_cf86b10de8_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4962637902/sizes/l/)
I cut a stencil out of transfer tape using the laser cutter:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4152/4962043837_c0280a78bb_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4962043837/sizes/l/)
Sandblast the vortex with iron oxide:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/4962044039_ac04e845d8_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4962044039/sizes/l/)
Then Clear Powder coat to protect it:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4092/4962044269_447d3be74f_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4962044269/sizes/l/)
And the final look and feel:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4145/4962044617_dbc19eabc5_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/4962044617/sizes/l/)
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I just finished building the first prototype for a modification to the Black Hole PopBumpers.
I've replaced the bulb with a circuit board and a rotating LED pattern. Drilled out the pop bumper cap; and put it all together.
It's designed to be a bolt-on mod; where you simply remove the existing blub; attach the power bulb, and screw in the circuit board into the existing unused popbumper mounting holes. Runs off of the standard 6.3VAC GI circuit.
I think it looks pretty good:
Click here to view on YouTube.com (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPIP9nSIaIY)
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Wow, very neat!! One of my all time fav games, just got away from having a few games on it to find this thread! Thanks!!
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flash as,fine bit of bling,black hole is a great game..
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That looks awsome specially love the bumper cap idea
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Yep, that bumper lighting looks really good. Thanks for posting.
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Some great idea's there and the overall restore looks terrific ^^^
I like the shooter rod custom idea.
I was thinking if I knew anyone that was good with art/ceramics to make my own custom shooter rods with gloss ceramic images hardened onto them ( ie - like an Ace of Spades on the Hot Hand plunger etc )
Your idea is nice #*#
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Some great ideas there, nice work ^^^
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Great progress there . ^^^ I like the bumper cap idea. Looks like it will fit well with the theme of the Pin.
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Thanks All. Still working on the electronics of the machine before it's playable.
That and a shipment from PBR for missing or damaged parts.
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Excellent restoration (so far %$%) - Really like the mods on this machine and your attention to detail !
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Very Nice Indeed. ^^^
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Great work, looking forward to further progress of this thread.
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Darn, I got side tracked on a new project and forgot to post several updates. #@#
- Sat Oct 30, 2010 9:50 pm -
For the past several weeks; I'be been working on the electronics on the machine. Designing new PBDBs, debugging bad connections, installing new coils, etc. One of the problem boards is the System 80 Sound/Speech board. This board was a pull from a Haunted house which did not have the SC-01-A speech chip (http://www.redcedar.com/sc01) installed at U14. The game features a robotic voice courtesy of this chip; so I had to have it.
For the last two weeks I've been debugging the board after ordering the rare $40 chip from Kevin @ GameRoomRepair.com (http://www.GameRoomRepair.com). The sound effects were fine; but the speech was causing a horrible wabble effect on the audio output.
Since I had no working board to base functionality check - I had to brute force the debug.
After replacing nearly 100% of the Speech logic - I found out that the R6 pot was turned all the way down which prevented the multivibrator of Q1 & Q2 from oscillating.
I determined this by looking at the SC-01-A datasheet (http://www.redcedar.com/sc01/sc01.pdf) where they had RC set to 6.5k * 300pf in their reference circuits. After some experimentation; I determined that a 11kohm [Brown, Brown, Orange] (from 12V to the C22 cap) and the original C22 300pf cap would "clock" the speech chip and allow it to speak in test mode. Measuring the top of C22 in this config seemed to give me ~5V sawtooth waveform at ~530kHz.
I then removed the 11k resistor and adjusted R6 to ~530kHz. Why not 720kHz as described in the datasheet? Well; it appears my 20pf scope probes load the multivibrator enough to decrease timing by a significant margin. By adjusting to ~530kHz, the robotic voice sounded about right without the scope probe. Keep in mind that if you test with the scope probe attached; the voice will be slower than normal so do not adjust the R6 pot to proper speed with the probe attached.
I've documented this here so others can have a means to verify the clock circuit without replacing the entire section like I did.
(http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1245/5130737678_a0d4c4756b_m.jpg)
Click Me to Enlarge (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5130737678/)
Hope this helps someone in the future.
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- Sun Jan 23, 2011 11:32 pm -
The machine I purchased had a broken black box door where someone broke the wood to gain access via a lost key. I picked up a replacement from a fellow RGPer who was parting out a black hole. I started by removing the hardware, filling the holes with bondo, and putting a coat of sandable primer
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5085/5382714947_01ce6d106c_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5382714947/)
Then followed up with another round of bondo:
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5046/5382717985_551c5f5bd0_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5382717985/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
Once the door was sanded to 220grit; several coats of auto black were sprayed on the door:
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5005/5382718683_5ae93cc0e8_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5382718683/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5005/5382719249_1f9c3b61e5_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5382719249/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
Hardware Before:
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5209/5383325936_e383992010_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5383325936/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5007/5382725781_46847b7172_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5382725781/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
After Polish:
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5203/5383326702_47800dfe8a_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5383326702/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5243/5382723639_b6ba89fb0c_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5382723639/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5243/5383327788_83f1e8e9d7_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5383327788/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
Wood Epoxy + Bondo:
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5208/5383327066_d1c95ebc65_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5383327066/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5004/5382723997_649b17c088_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5382723997/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5043/5383322086_cf6bc2880e_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5383322086/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
The top need some TLC:
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5248/5382728661_f4f7c47036_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5382728661/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
some 220grit on the orbital sander:
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5206/5382729439_9c68cd5202_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5382729439/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
Wood glue + bondo:
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5168/5382730707_e126f7f725_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5382730707/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
And some blue paint to polish it off:
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5128/5382734525_22a5f101d7_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5382734525/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
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And to finish off the cabinet work:
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5244/5383342860_d1e44dae26_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5383342860/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
More wood epoxy; bondo; sandpaper; and paint:
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5289/5382738521_6669e4ef67_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5382738521/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
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The flipper bats had yellowed with age; so I used a solution of Lorne's Retr0Bright (http://retr0bright.wikispaces.com/Retr0Bright+Gel) to return the flipper bat to a bright white:
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5210/5382732407_57ab478a0c_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5382732407/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
No... really that is an original flipper bat; looks brand new, huh? I was honestly shocked by the ability of the retrobright to work on the bat.
Then I needed to embilesh the flipper bat a little - so I created a couple of designs in coreldraw:
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5249/5383193633_89bb4a45e3_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5383193633/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
And decided the simpler one would look better; so I printed the design on clear water slide decal paper:
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5249/5383193749_e76df67030_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5383193749/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
Here's a comparison of the newly modded flipper bats:
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5203/5382733063_0f67ae405e_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5382733063/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
I actually printed two sets of water slide decals and layered them over each other to give a more solid black:
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5168/5383338646_ff86a43b10_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5383338646/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
Bottom has two layers. Top is a single layer.
Not pictured - I put three coats of clear laquer over the flipper bats to protect the decals.
While I had the Retr0Brite out; I put them to work on the other white parts:
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5243/5383340976_f1f95a429e_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5383340976/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
Here they are getting some Rays (UV/Sun):
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5083/5383341506_89df6b9e99_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5383341506/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
They proably could have used another day in the sun; but I had a Xmas Deadline quickly approaching:
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5205/5383342276_62acf370b8_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5383342276/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
After reassembly and some final adjustments - the machine was ready for Santa. Stay Tuned.
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That looks great so you use a proxide mix to 'blonde' up the bats, does it slow them down? *)*
Looks great and works a treat, love the decals too, great work *%*
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That looks great so you use a proxide mix to 'blonde' up the bats, does it slow them down? *)*
Looks great and works a treat, love the decals too, great work *%*
lol - no; New rubber + clear coated PF = anything but "slow". :>
Here's the final pics I just uploaded to flickr. I'm going to try and work on the video I captured in the near future.
'twas two days before Christmas and all thru Steve's house ... Not a creature was stirring except maybe a jolly old fat man ( aka Zitt ) installing his brothers' new pinball while visions of sugar plums failed to dance in his head. ( brother was asleep )
SURPRISE!
:)
Click Z pictures for high rez shots.
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5297/5472405303_8dc068702f_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5472405303/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5300/5472998416_a209a95493_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5472998416/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
Even Grandma had to check it out!
LED inserts were used to lower power consumption, brighten the playfield, reduce insert damage caused by the original bulbs. GI circuits and black box remain standard bulbs.
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5179/5472406109_04dbe594c9_m.jpg) (http://pinball-mods.com/images/DSC_0580.JPG)
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5011/5472406411_26bf38fcfe_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5472406411/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
Lower Playfield also received LED inserts.
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5173/5472406753_ba02526421_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5472406753/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5219/5472407175_c5d3c38c66_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5472407175/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5055/5472407591_85f3360bc5_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5472407591/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5251/5472407859_3da895a8bc_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5472407859/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
And last but not least; the flipper buttons received a set of the Star Trek Flipper mod circuit boards (http://www.austinmodders.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=24428#24428); except all the LEDs were red this time.
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5256/5472408171_d3ffa2a270_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52968060@N00/5472408171/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
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Inspiration work there, makes me want to tear my BH down and purdie it up too, but I can't stand the idea of it not being playable, such a great game!
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Machine in Gameplay:
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&hd=1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or6h994MH-Q&hd=1)
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Great job ^^^ Sure wish my brother would surprise me with one of these restored to your standards ::)
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Very, very nice !
Any other projects in the pipeline ?
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Great job, love the shot of grandma playing ^^^
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Very, very nice !
Any other projects in the pipeline ?
Projects are not a problem.
ATM; I'm working on a Sega Star Trek Captain's Chair (http://www.austinmodders.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=2724)...
Still need to restore my Data East Star Trek and my Williams STNG. However, both of those are players condition - so won't need the level of restore the Bally ST or the Black hole needed.
Thanks to everyone for the kind comments. Sadily; I really enjoy these big restorations.The problem is I always seem to spend more money on them they they are worth. %.%
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This looks fantastic, amazing attention to detail. I remember playing this game in Las Vegas as a kid when my parents took us on a holiday across the US. Totally forgot about it until I got back into pinball a couple of months ago.