Bank A Ball V's Kid Amigo

[Strangeways]

Wow Mark! 
Judging by your great work so far, this game is going to look sensational when finished .
Looking forward to more progress pics . As Tony said, there just isn't enough happening with EM's on this site.
Cheers
Dave

Yeah - EMs have seemed to have died a slow death on Aussie Pinball.... my interest here is going the same way

Not at all Tony.

As summer gets closer, I'll be respaying some Cabinets and I'll be gearing up to do some very interesting titles that have not been seen in people's collections

Expect to see the Pro Football respayed - Ironically, I pulled out the cabinet tonight whilst cleaning out my garage. So I'm not far off..

Here's what I have in the queue ;

Canada Dry
Star Jet
A-Go-Go
Shangri La
Volley
Buccaneer
Old Chicago
Aces High
Spirit of 76

Thats JUST the EMs !

 

[goodolddays]

Howdy all, I managed to get the 15 balls up and running today...I still have to do a little 'painting' ...a couple of stripes, the lettering and circle in black, and I'll probably paint the arms the same colour as the ball it is for... I'll take more shots soon, but have a few others in the meantime. Cheers, Mark

How nice is that Mark!  I think you have raised the EM restoration bar again , and I didn't really think that was possible

[mark jackson]

'Evening All, .... To answer the call about the 15 balls and arms.... I had to replace #s 2,4,6,10,15... as these were missing. The first thing to do is clean the whole unit, as you don't want the grease and crap getting on the balls as you are handling them...I found a guy in the US who sold me a set 1-15 of balls that were the same size as the B A B balls. They were plastic and solid... So they had to be cut in half. I did this with a Dremel mini angle grinder. I firstly taped the half of the ball I wanted to keep, and kept the tape wrapping for a bit, to create something to hold on the ball by. I finished off with sanding (grade 40 would you believe, to cut through this plastic.)
            The arms I made by copying the shape of one of the arms I had, and drawing this on the brass metal I had...........Here's a minor confession..When I had my first Bank A Ball (around 1992-2004) I took off a brass cover which is in the head, covering the replay unit. It's just a flat piece around 15 X 15 cm..Needless to say, I never put it back on, and then sold the machine.....Well, it's kind of poetic justice that I used this piece to make my arms...Metal is good as the arms bend, and then straighten. The metal makes it possible to get a very close replication of the arms. Because I was going to a flat surface on the balls, I made some small 'L' shaped bits, and screwed them to the end part of the arm (where it attaches to the ball.) I got some very
 small screws and nuts, and drillbit/s from my local Hobby store. I used an angle grinder to cut most of the shape, and finished it off with my mini angle grinder (dremel, I think it's called).
            I then stuck the balls to the 'L' shaped bit. I had to treat each ball as special case, as the margin for error is very small. The ball can't be too thin or too thick. The arm with the 'L' shaped bit can't stick out more than the original...the angle and width of the attaching end of the arm has to be about the same...The good news...gluing the L shaped bit to the balls is easy, as you can move the ball around so it's evenly spaced between its neighbours, and the correct height. I used Araldite and let it get real tacky before I joined the ball to the 'L' shaped bit. The pictures of the arms are below, and basically show the whole deal......I was a challenge for me, and I'm relieved that it seems to be working out. I'll get some pics soon. Have a great weekend everyone. Mark   

[mark jackson]

Here's a few pics ... head is now complete, and balls just require some paint here and there. Now I've done motor board and head, playfield is stable and not too difficult from here....decided to see if I could 'touch up' cabinet paint rather than sand this unique artwork, what with the blue webbing paint and all. One side of the cab is not too bad, but the other is very marked and slashed. ....we'll see. Anyway, some progress. Mark

[Strangeways]

Mark - That's simply exceptional. Have a look at those balls and the shine on the steppers units etc.

That takes some real patience and dedication 

Well done !

[millsy]

Facinating - those balls look like real 8 ball balls.
Doesnt it make a difference when they have the correct bumper caps fitted.

[illawarra_steelers]

Mark,

That looks so good! Keep the updates coming, really looking forward to seeing the next stages of restoration!

[mark jackson]

Howdy All, I'm back from hols, and have just about finished the cabinet re-spray. I'll try a pic or two. Mark

[illawarra_steelers]

She looks soooooo sweet - good as new.

Keep the updates coming Mark - your inspirational!

[ddstoys]

Agreed  that looks awsome Mark and look at that nice shiny brass ball return looks great against the new paintwork 

[Strangeways]

Simply amazing ! Need some pictures of the inside of the cabinet. Looks to me like there has been some serious polishing going on 

[mark jackson]

Howdy everyone, I thought I'd put up a few pics tonight, and maybe say something about them later. Mark

[patric67]

Howdy All, I'm back from hols, and have just about finished the cabinet re-spray. I'll try a pic or two. Mark

That cabinet is great because it’s so true to the original technique…ie no tape out; not to mention the result. As you are so meticulous you might want to consider removing the old lacquer around the flippers with a razor blade. I did it recently to a quick draw and am happy with the result. You can also use the technique in the ball arch area to get rid if the old ball track marks.

[illawarra_steelers]

Top results Mark,

She looks like she is up with your usual highest of standards

[mark jackson]

Hi pinball lovers, .... the pics I put up represent where I'm up to. The head is finished (theoretically). The repro glass looks good to me. There's a close-up of the balls..To refresh your memory, #s 2,4,6,10, and 15 I made up as they were missing. It was hard to paint the white spot and do the circle and number in black. I also added stripes to #10, and 15. The playfield is at an interesting point. I've worked on the green on the pool table, the cream of the arrows, the yellow at lower playfield and the blue on the guy's shirt, as well as the pop bumper circles. ... I'm not sure where to stop. I could do the whole of the yellow, but would that not destroy the 'life' of the machine? Same argument for doing all the pool table green. All opinions considered and appreciated, as I'm really not sure how far I should go. The rest of the yellow is reasonable, with some crasing, and minor chips and blemishes...but overall, fair enough. Hence my hesitation at what to do??? I still have to work on the 'Gottlieb' sign at lower playfield, as well as redo the lines I took out with the respray. If anyone has a couple of tips about using the air-brush, that may also help. This machine is my first experience using the air-brush. Mostly it goes ok, although the cream for the arrows kind of 'clung' to the sides of the stencil in a way that the green never behaved??? Was it too thick? too thin? Some help would be great. Anyway, I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel. Happy trails, Mark