The Aussie Pinball Arcade
Aussie Pinball Forums => Restorations => Topic started by: Caveoftreasures on October 03, 2011, 10:28:56 PM
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Photos below.
I obtained a Gilligans Pinball machine (1991 Bally) from my good friend Martyn who lives a few minutes away. The machine came in from Japan in one of his containers and It was dropped off only a few days ago in time for the pinball comp. (thankyou mate) The machine was an original machine sent to a operator in Japan.
It has the usual small metal TAITO CORPORATION plate on the side of the headbox which all Japaneese sited pins have.
My aim, is to thoroughly clean the playfield which is dirty from sitting in a warehouse unused for many years, and re-rubber n reglobe the machine and probably add some LED's to it which I reckon will work extremely well on this title. I will put a new coin door on it since I still have a whack left over from a previous purchase, and I might even look at getting someone who is professional with a airbrush kit to add a little bit of colour back into the cabinet. The cabinet has the usual fade, but the cabinet itself is undamaged and in excellent condition. This is great news for the plans I have.
There are a few insert decals on the playfield which I will replace, and other than a really good clean, I will do a flipper kit etc. Everything else is excellent.
The inside of the machine is like new, which is usually the case with Japaneese pins, cause they are looked after alot better than Euro sited pins.
For a 1991 model, I am very happy. I love the audio, I love the artwork on the translite, the Dot matrix displays are way cool, and the gameplay is really really fun.
I have included some quick photos. I have added the Factory Promo Video below, so u can see what the game is all about. Its a fun watch for a early made 1991 video.
I will update the post once I do a clean and stripdown etc.Thanks for reading. The promo video link is below ^^^
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more photos
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last photo
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It's not a bad machine, the mrs definitely liked playing it the other night, keep us posted with the rest mate @@*
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what a fun looking game, and great theme
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We had one down at the local roller skating rink and I played a few games and enjoyed it as I also love the show lol. Its not a machine you see all the time will watch resto with interest.
Peter
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In which price range are Gilliglan's in Aussie? In Europe it's quite cheap game, usually cheapest DMD-WPC that is available? And it's quite easy to find here also. I have never played it but I have heard that there is some major issues with software, so maybe it would be a great game to be "PROC.-ED" :)
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No issues with software that I am aware of. Mine plays exactly like the factory promo video does.
In Australia, u can find a good one for between $1400 and $2000, shopped or unshopped.
I understand u can pick them up for apx $400 to $800 in europe tops. Probably more for a Japan delivered clean one, but they are considered very family friendly so they do attract better money in Australia, and I think they are a bargain for a family pinball. ^^^
I am sure there is a update rom set avail on IPBD or to purchase thru some of the USA companies. Will have to check what roms are in mine.
Update - I looked at my machine and it is running the 1st factory original game rom of L4. The updated rom now goes to L9 on IPDB.
The orig factory sound rom chip is U14 for speech, and the only other details I can see is U6 on the same sticker that L4 is written on. Mine plays fine and does everything the promo video does. I will burn a set of these current settings/software, and after adding the latest updates will see if it still runs fine, or I can easily swap back. ^^^
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I ment with that software-issue that there is some unlogical scoring within this game, dunno sure, I'll ask my friend who has good understanding about Gilligan's rules. But he mentioned that some jackpot or something is giving extremely high points comparing to other shots in game.
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I know what u are referring to. ^^^
If u watch the promo video it shows you get "millions" and millions of points the more you get the ball to go up the ramp to the rotating island when it is counting down from 30 or 60 seconds. Thats what stands out to me to be the "huge" scores compared to others.
I dont play this game with points in mind, but rather to complete the "full mission" of delivering the "lava seltzer" to Kona. (this is the aim of the whole game and a really cool and fun mission which the video shows).
It is like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in that you can "complete" the game by achieving a certain "end point" in the game. In TMNT it is called "turbo ginsu" which happens on a 2 player game (or a single player game with updated roms). Effectively, by getting to and past this point, u have "clocked" or finished the game by what u can achive play wise, although can can keep playing n scoring, but its the end of the "story game" so to speak. Gilligans is the same, by giving the "lava seltzer" to Kona, you have completed the "full mission" etc. Fun games. Really fun games.
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good idea keeping the original rom files.i do not have the luxury of owning a reader/burner. ^^^
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Nice looking machine. They certainly have respect for them in Japan. They are always well looked after without someone's initials,score or message carved in them.
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RESTO UPDATE. Number 1.
Tonight I got home from work and I decided to take the Gilligans playfield out and place it on my new Pinball Rotisserie. I am happy with the Pinball Rotisserie from Felix at Gamemasters. It came today. It works well. I will be making a few modifications to it, and will explain why i feel the changes are Needed. (more on that later with some photos). Well worth the wait and the $150 plus postage etc. The few changes/mods will make an already good product just that bit more reliable and fix a few tiny design flaws. But it needs to be said, no pinball rotisserie can suit 100% of any pinball machine(s). Given huge differences in playfield sizes/length, there was bound to be a few small issues when trying to make it "perfect" for any random playfield.
I have taken ALL the boards out and will be giving the boards to Beaky to weave his magic. Everything works fine except an occassional reset, but I will have Andy replace some bits n pieces with a view to "prevention is better than cure" by getting the usual 5v reg, and some other bits replaced so she stays solid for the next decade etc.
The black filth inside the machine, hiding under plastics etc, and general hidden yuk needs cleaning badly. Japaneese machines when onsite are kept smick, but a machine sitting in a warehouse for many years will only attract years of yuk. I have placed the playfield on the rotisserie, and will start the strip down tomorrow after work, then I have 3 or 4 days off so I can really get into it ! This machine will be recieving some insert LEDs in red n green cause I reckon it will really add some bling to this title.
I plan on "adding" a few LED's to an area of the machine where no bulbs are (behind Kona the volcano's eye sockets) and under a few dark plastics. This is easy to do and u just daisy chain a few extra sockets off the existing sockets like I did on my Godzilla machine (photos of the Gilligans add ons/mods later).
The wiring harness will be going into the bath, the cabinet will be made extremely fresh n clean inside, and no expense will be spared on the flipper kits/playfield strip n clean/rebuild etc. This is the first strip down I will have done wherby I have removed the playfield n wiring harness totally. Most machines I have purchased have never needed it, but this one is a keeper and I have to make it like new for the long run.
I will add photos soon.
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RESTO UPDATE. Number 2.
Because of this Gilligans strip down, and a few issues I have forseen, I have commissioned Beaky (Andy) to design me a power scouce/wiring harness/kit that allows u to activate the lights (General Illumination, Flashers, Inserts) all seperately when the machine is completely OUT of the cabinet. This will work without having to have the games electronic boards connected to the playfield/wiring harness. This will be a small stand alone kit. We will then look at selling these units to pinball restorers.
WHY COMMISSION THIS PRODUCT/KIT & IDEA ?
Well, you pull a playfield out, u strip it down, u want to replace all/or at least MANY light bulbs/555/44 n 47/flashers etc etc, BEFORE you have to put all the plastics/ramps/endless layers of parts back on. U want to check every bulb n connector is 100 percent before adding the layers of plastics/ramps and the many removed parts back etc, BUT you cant test everything with the playfield out cause its away from the cabinet, and testing/checking/experimenting with LED';s etc, is PAINFULL when having to lift n close the playfield 100 times.
Then u have the voltage/shorts/electrocution issues with the machine having to be turned on and connected to 240 v with the playfield up etc. You have to go in n out of the menu etc, its just painfull. Working on a playfield whilst it is in a cabinet is so much harder than having the playfield on a rotisserie, espescially for good reto's n cleaning jobs. So why not design something that COMPLETELY BYPASSES all this, whilst the playfield is completely away from the cabinet and boards etc.
So what i said, is lets have a switchable 6 volt/12 volt/etc etc stand alone power supply that can be wired via male/or mostly female plugs that can plug directly onto the pinball machines wiring harness whilst it is sitting on the rotisserie. It wil make life SO MUCH EASIER and u dont have the higher voltages/shorting/blowing boards etc to deal with. What i propose is a switchable and fused power supply/wiring harness adaptor kit that can be easily switched to allow for the power requirements to run firstly General Illumination, then say all Inserts, then flashers etc, at a flick of a switch.
Coils n other higher voltage stuff can be checked later when the playfield returns to the cabinet. We hope to do a version that suits DMD Bally/Williams WPC and WPC 95 etc etc first. Maybe DMD Data East next.
* With this new product/kit, u can much more easily replace n check all globes/LED's etc BEFORE top playfield re-assembly whilst u have a clear uncluttered view of all inserts/G'I's/flashers etc etc. Ever did a teardown and rebuild to find some bulbs play up or die to then have to go thru the pain of restripping n rebuilding/pulling off
plastics n ramps etc.
This will fix all those issues and since the rotisserie/playfield spins or can sit easily and completely on its side, even by yourself with a mirror, u can check different colour LED's n normal bulbs etc without lifting the playfield 100 times, or even walking around or flipping the playfield on the rotisserie etc.
I might call it "Freedom Light Checker -Playfield kit" or something like that.
I rang Beaky (Andy) tonight and explained my requirements, we talked for a while and we came up with a good general design which Andy should be able to finalise this next week or so, then we will put it together and test it. Andy is busy so i will have to persuade him with half the distribution profits.lol
Once it is right, we will can it and clone it for sale etc. Because we are going to use an already approved power supply that is already on the market, electricity design approvals/patents/etc etc shouldnt be an issue. We are also looking at a unit that can run off a large 7amp 12 volt Alarm battery to make it fully portable in case running an extension chord is to painfull etc. .If anyone can pull this straight forward kit off, it will be Andy(Beaky). STAY TUNED. Thanks for reading.
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RESTO UPDATE. Number 2.
Because of this Gilligans strip down, and a few issues I have forseen, I have commissioned Beaky (Andy) to design me a power scouce/wiring harness/kit that allows u to activate the lights (General Illumination, Flashers, Inserts) all seperately when the machine is completely OUT of the cabinet. This will work without having to have the games electronic boards connected to the playfield/wiring harness. This will be a small stand alone kit. We will then look at selling these units to pinball restorers.
I will definitely buy one set. One thing that came to my mind that if your psu is big/heavy, postal cost can be issue when dealing internationally so would it be possible/easier to make solution that uses some generic psu, like ATX-psu from computer? Then there would be quite big amounts of current available in good form that would be easy to use in your harness.
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You are spot on with the computer power supply idea. That was one of the ideas Andy was considering since they are cheap and easily available etc. It wouldnt be hard to modify one either to add fuses etc for safety and so on.
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Update.
Thought I would add some photos.
Playfield 3/4 stripped on top.
Underneath playfield after everything cleaned.
Ramp in the bath, and filthy.
As u can see, the ramp was filthy. The under playfield ramp was the same. Both have come up like brand new. The bath didnt do much at all really. The new tub of "Gumption" with a new rag did a great job. A cleaning tip i can pass on, is that I can highly reccommend "Gumption" to clean ramps. It removes stuff in seconds that no other cleaner could remove.
I am enjoying doing all the work on the rotisserie. It makes access to the top or bottom of the playfield a breeze.
I have replaced every bulb on the Under side of the playfield. I now have to finish off the last 20 percent stripping of the top playfield and will regrain all the metal parts before getting out the treasure cove polishing kit.
Its alot of work doing the resto/clean ups, but an hour each day, keeps the boredom away !
Another tip i wanted to share, is keep looking at all the sellers who list LED's for sale. I have, for example, purchased LED's from cointaker or Mark or who-ever has them on special from time to time. If u buy some here and there, and always wait for the Led's to come on special, u can build up a small army of LED bags, containing dozens and dozens of every different LEd that u may use of every colour known to man, and if they come at 30 to 70 percent off normal pricing, u have grabbed yourself some LED bargains.
I am going to flame polish the top Gilligans ramp, regrain the metal runners, and will take some more photos when I have finished the next stage.
I am waiting on a decent order of parts incl flipper kit, some new roll over switches, and some other bits n pieces top make the machine like new again.
Thanks for reading. Photos below.
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a few more photos
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Coming along nice mate I just did a WH20 ramp in the dishwasher and it came out like new I couldn't believe it and the setting was on high but NO drying cycle.
Peter
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Coming along nice mate I just did a WH20 ramp in the dishwasher and it came out like new I couldn't believe it and the setting was on high but NO drying cycle.
Peter
Good idea Pete. I never thought about using the dishwasher, but if i had, I probably would only use the dishwasher with ramps u can repurchase just in case something went wrong.(knowing my luck it would melt) U cant buy Gilligans ramps to my knowledge, but I havent looked real hard cause my ramps are perfect.
My dishwasher in this instance was the wife, who wants to make this machine hers for a longterm keeper. Its amazing how just an hour or two a day can produce decent results. I just tried seeing if it would fit in the dishwasher and it wont, so it will live another day.lol
I would go nuts if i had to do a 8 hr stretch on a pinny clean up all at once.
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Mate I put my ramps through three times on high and with the other dishes and all good apparently you can even put ramps in with decals on at the lower temp and they will stay attached just pull them out before it goes to the dry cycle, all the best with gilligan!
Peter
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Looks good Brett sounds as though you are really enjoying this restore
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Looks good Brett sounds as though you are really enjoying this restore
thank mate. it will look great when done. lots n lots of new bulbs n led's will make a huge difference, plus all the other bits n pieces. Phoenix is next. ^^^
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Good work mate, looks like you're enjoying this resto, hour by hour you'll get there
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Keep up the good work Brett and keep the pics coming ^^^
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I agree, it looks like you're having a heap of fun.
Keep the photos coming; I really enjoy reading about the restores, especially when I can see what you're talking about. Ever so slowly the mist is beginning to clear and I have half an idea what you guys are talking about !@#
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keep it up mate ^^^
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I wanted to get some advice please for regraining/cleaning larger pieces of metal for playfields. I will include a photo below of the pieces etc. Its mostly all too big for a tumbler, and even then, I dont think a tumbler will cut it if a wire wheel at high speed wont even cut the mustard.
Alot of the ball marks are very difficult to get out of the metal guides that the ball often flys thru. I have used a wire wheel on a drill before, but these metal bits are proving impossible to clean and get the marks out. I have used a very harsh wire wheel on a high speed drill, and have used Beakys bench grinder , again with avery very rough wire wheel, but the metal is just proving EXTREMELY hard, almost impossible to get the metal refinished to a decent level.
Just to clean one side of one large piece took at least 20 minutes, non stop. And the other side, which I want to clean properly will not work on a bench grinder/wheel etc.
* I was thinking commercial sand blasting the metal (but not too commercial so it stays undamaged etc OR even looking at having the metal acid dipped/cleaned/restripped that way.
Any advice, cause the wire wheel etc will not cut it on this set of very porous metal. Any help would be appreciated before I head off to sand blaster or acid dip land ! ^^^
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I use green scotchbrite pads that you can find in a supermarket. You can regrain with windex and it should remove the marks. For really stubborn rails, I use 180 Grit wet / dry.
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Thanks Nino, ^^^
I am off to Bunnings/Supermarket straight away !
Hopefully, photos of the finished sparkling shiny silver metal parts will follow tonight !
Excellent. Thanks heaps. ^^^ ^^^
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Beat me to it Nino
Looking good Brett interesting looking game with a very bright playfield keep up the good work
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Gilligans teardown n resto is finished. ^^^ The pinball rotisserie is empty. The playfield is back in the machine. The improvement is 1 million percent with all the work done.
What i did >
Playfield stripped n playfield polished n waxed.
Every part cleaned to like new. Nothing had to be replaced, just cleaned.
All metal work re-finished. All ramps cleaned to nice n clear.
All brand new black rubbers n cliffy rubbers replaced. New yellow flipper bats and black rubbers added.
Every bulb replaced, including changing every insert bulb to a coloured LED that matchs the playfield insert colour. (This looks bloody T'Riffic) What a difference here !
Backbox board holding all G.I lights cleaned back to a nice white colour.
Translite and translite glass cleaned.
Wiring harness cleaned and underneath of playfield fully cleaned.
Cabinet vacuumed and legs cleaned.
Overall, a very satisfying result. To anyone out there considering doing a full teardown and shop job, give it a go. In the past, most of my machines have never needed this because I bought them mostly done, not needing it, but Gilligans was dirty and had never had a shopping since it was new back in 1990. 21 yrs of use and grime and the game needed shopping for sure. I took a million photos, and away I went.
If I can do it, anyone can. It was fun. A hour or two a day over a few weeks paid off. I will add a video tomorrow night because the end result is amazing. I cant wait for Andy(Beaky) or Leon(V8racefan) to come over n see the difference. Thanks for reading.