Stern Playboy Reconditioning

[Strangeways]

It has been a while since a late model Stern has been done at APR, and this is one of many games that I was looking forward to working on. There are a lot of spares available for this title, and it is always a pleasure to work with naked women..

Objective

A customer wanted an adult theme for the mancave. What could be a better choice ?

Condition report

Cabinet - 9/10 - Scuff marks and some scratches. Plans in place for cabinet paint wear and siderails
Playfield - 9/10 - No wear. Lots of pretty girls. Miss July looks nice.
Electronics - 10/10 - Even the batteries are good.

The teardown

Here are the "before" pictures..

















An interesting way of repairing the ball trough playfield plate





A greasy and seized centrefold motor assembly





A lot of filth. But no wear. Pop bumpers will be rebuilt with new parts.





A common problem on routed machines - lubricant sprayed into the flipper plunger and coil. In keeping with the theme - Don't use KY Jelly in moving assemblies 





Not really a hack - but a GTB coil in a Stern is interesting !





This is bad news.. It won't be cleaned, tumbled and then replacing back into the game. Into the bin it goes..





The rear panel is removed for cleaning and replacement of the clear plastics and pictures.





One filthy cabinet..





This will be a quick thread, as I was able to finish it inbetween work on other games.

[delarge]

Looking forward to seeing the end result of this one! Have always been interested in this title.

Cheers!
Adam.

[Strangeways]

Looking forward to seeing the end result of this one! Have always been interested in this title.

Cheers!
Adam.

I've under estimated this title. Not the deepest ruleset, but great fun to play. It is a game I keep going back to..

[Caveoftreasures]

I have seen the European special release which only they got. Full nudity and great boobs everywhere.
We missed out. It's only when u see the Euro version that you realise what a decent game it was with the very adult artwork version. This is one title where crystal clear photo art does work extremely well.

[oldskool1969]

This was a fun machine for a while then glad  I moved it on after wuite a few games. I really enjoyed reconditioning the one I had. The centrefold toy is an absolute head FxxK and I do not envy you at all Nino for doing this toy.
The STERN play fields really hold up to the rigours of pinball and come up nice with a little love which is a big place for people attempting a recondition/ restore.
You need to do some close ups of the toys and art on this title for those who haven't seen it, love the Grotto girls sliding down and the peek a boo 

[Strangeways]

The cabinet is stripped and all the parts are washed, tumbled and then re installed. A new power cable and plug are installed. The cabinet flipper switches needed to be replaced, they were pitted and fall apart as I was stripping the machine (stripping  )

Once everything is cleaned, I re install the hardware.





The door needed to be repainted. I completely strip all the parts, clean and repair anything that is broken or needs replacement. I try to match the original finish.











.. and I'm done ! - Just need to align the coin entrance plates.





The playfield is COMPLETELY stripped. All posts, parts and the Pop Bumpers. This is the FIRST place I ask prospective buyers to look when purchasing a machine. The most visible shortcut. The playfield is cleaned and then polished. This takes around an hour or two. The metal guides MUST remain in the playfield as removing them can sometimes lift sections of the playfield around the holes. These are usually very dull, but as i polish the playfield, they begin to shine !











It is often the smaller details that make the difference. The gold beads on the "peek a boo" window are not new. They were tumbled and look BETTER than new ( I bought a new set and they don't look this good !)





Pop Bumpers rebuilt with new parts.








Coming  together nicely





Goody Bag ! This game is going to have a new plastics set, clear plastics set, picture set and lane guides.





End of second update !

[Strangeways]

So here is the fun part - all the lovely ladies need to be placed in their appropriate place on the playfield. Here is the factory "Full Nudity" pack





The centerfold assembly is VERY simple, yet is always not functioning correctly. I'm rebuilding the unit, and replacing not only the photos, but the clear plastics





Whoever this young lady is, she is spectacular !





Here is the skillshot assembly. It is completely stuffed !





Old VS New - I'll replate the old ones later and keep as spares.








New photo, clear plastic and rivets. Looks much better








The new ramp plastics is provided as a flat plastic. I warmed it up with a hair dryer and waited until is was soft before bending it and then running under a cold tap





Playfield is in test mode now and looks very good








Almost done !
 

[Caveoftreasures]

The lucky Europeans got the nudity pack as standard. We definately missed out. Lol

I like your photos Nino, but you covered up the boobies and muffy. Lol

That machine looks absolutely awesome after your excellent refurbishment.

I once put a alarm and camera system in a guys mansion and he owned a chain of QLD Adult Porno stores.
He only had one pinball machine in his house, and yes it was the
Same Playboy machine you have featured.
The beautiful women featured on the playfield are stunning to say the least.

This is one great looking machine. The one machine that every mancave deserves.

[Strangeways]

The testing phase was completed with everything operating normally, and the game playing really well. I usually play 20 - 50 games to iron out any faults, or make any adjustments.


The #47 globes on the back wall are the yellow globes as per factory. A little more expensive, but they look great !





Cabinet is done as well. DMD is sharp and it plays like a wet dream 








New plastics set makes a HUGE difference





What I find most annoying it the presentation of some games that are described as "done up", "shopped", "reconditioned" or even "restored" and the flipper kits are not replaced. The old plungers, links and coil stops are filed and tumbled. The kits are expensive, but they MUST be replaced !





All mechanisms are rebuilt, cleaned and worn and broken parts are replaced








I've installed the aftermarket Stern siderails. these hide the wear and look MUCH better. Also genuine black pincab protectors are used.





Bling shots !


























I replace those horrible metal slingshot washers (as they don't seem to work all the time !) and replaced them with the CPR clear version. they look MUCH better. The plastcis set for this game was EXPENSIVE as I needed the clears as well, but the entire game looks so much better !





Last shot before it goes off to the new owner in country Victoria !






A few comments regarding the game - I had never played a 100% working Playboy, and although I would not have one in my collection, it is definitely a FUN game to play. It does suffer from the old Stern way of thinking - "Give the player EVERYTHING on the first ball", but it can be configured to be harder if needed. It flows well and it is FAST. I really enjoyed the company of the playmates, and I look forward to the next Playboy reconditioning !

[Crashramp]

Came up a treat Nino, I'm sure the owner will be very happy. 100% with you on the flipper kits as well. No point in having a game that nice which doesn't play as good as it looks. Expensive or not new flipper kits are worth every cent.

[GORGAR 1]

Looks great top job Nino :)

[robm]

What I find most annoying it the presentation of some games that are described as "done up", "shopped", "reconditioned" or even "restored" and the flipper kits are not replaced. The old plungers, links and coil stops are filed and tumbled. The kits are expensive, but they MUST be replaced !

Nice work Nino.  What i find even more annoying is that flipper kits do NOT come with the flipper bushings which is one of the most important parts to replace. I've just been buying individual parts, which works out a little cheaper when buying in bulk. Interestingly, Stern plunger and links are exactly the same dimensions as bally/williams yet more expensive.

[pinballheaven]

Hey Nino, love the Playboy Champ in the photo

[turbo27]

As always spectacular work Nino 

[Strangeways]

Hey Nino, love the Playboy Champ in the photo

 

I had quite a few games on this machine for "testing". Definitely a sleeper title.