I had a couple of people PM me asking where I got the pics from this thread.
http://aussiepinball.com/index.php?topic=10117.0They were taken by Cameron Silver, an Australian programmer who worked for Williams during the late '90s on pins such as CV, Corvette, SS and lastly SW:E1 (where the design and programming team were sequestered and had to work separately and in virtual seclusion from the rest of Williams pinball due to the requirements of Lucasfilm wanting to maintain strict secrecy surrounding the plot details of The Phantom menace movie at the time).
Anyway here are a selection of the pics he took during the making of CV (pin fans will recognise a much younger John Popadiuk in many of them - and looking like member of an '80s metal band)
You will notice some major insert layout differences between the various early prototype versions and the final version - particularly the straight line of inserts leading up to the ringmaster and the diamond shaped inserts in a fan shape above the flippers which changed to the square shape.
Testing in a Scared Stiff cabinet
As you can see the insert layout changed a few times before settling on the final version (compare this with the previous pic):
Hand drawn artwork? and "custom" ringmaster
Spell WOW to raise ringmaster (prototype)
to
Tickle the ringmaster (sample) - production version has
Defeat the Ringmaster. Note - with prototype casting of skinny ringmaster head
Prototype cast of ringmaster head was handpainted to give perspective before going into production.
Backbox - note the red bell taken out due to cost:
CV hits the production line (playfields):
CV hits the production line (cabinet and headbox):
Testing on the line before packaging and shipment:
