Data East - Jurassic Park Restore

[Strangeways]

I've been flat out reconditioning and selling old Video games in the past month and I have not posted a restore since the Canada Dry. I have a couple of EMs that I will be restoring soon - Bally "Star Jet" and Bally "Aces High".  So I thought I'd post a restore I started around three years ago. Strangely enough, it is a restore that has had a few twists and turns, and I've been working on it recently and I'm really pleased with the "almost" finished product. By the time this thread catches up with the present - It will be completed.

Background

Picked this up from MarkC around 3-4 years ago. My son Zachary had a fascination with Dinosaurs, and every time I took Zac to Marco's house, he wanted to play his JP. So I bought an "as is" JP. I brought it home and Zac was instantly hooked - even though the Dino scared the crap out of him !

Condition

Cabinet - 7/10 - Had some scuff marks and dints. One long scrape down the right hand side. But solid

Playfield - 8/10 - Huge potential. Had some wear around the outholes - common with this title. Marco later told me it is a prototype playfield. One slingshot plastic ws broken, but overall - I was very happy

Electronics - 8/10 - The machine was working, but GI was absent and I needed a new English ROM for the CPU and Display. Left/Right motor was missing (common) - and this presented the biggest hurdle (saga)

Translite - 8/10 - Was stuck to the glass ! Slightly faded, but it was still in good condition



First Pictures

The game worked straight away - which was good start !








Typically dirty - but heaps of potential





This target will need replacing





Dino L/R motor was removed, so the assembly was basically "fixed", so it would not affect the dino's ability to pick up the ball (Up / Down motor)





.. and this is how the sub ramp was fixed !








Flipper assemblies





Stripped playfield





Initial clean with Nifti and a Rag (never fails to impress !)





Stay tuned - This restore will be rather quick 

[humpalot]

What do you believe makes it a prototype playfield?

[pinnies4me]

Love that Euro grime! Smelled nice too I bet! Looking forward to this one - I really like this game.

[Pinfan]

Have a look at the ' 1 smart missile' insert...

Plus IIRC there are a few slight variations in colour with certain inserts.

[humpalot]

Have a look at the ' 1 smart missile' insert...

Plus IIRC there are a few slight variations in colour with certain inserts.

Cool mines a prototype as well then.  I always thought that it was just early production, dog of a thing to get the t-rex running right 100% of the time.

[Strangeways]

Have a look at the ' 1 smart missile' insert...

Plus IIRC there are a few slight variations in colour with certain inserts.

Cool mines a prototype as well then.  I always thought that it was just early production, dog of a thing to get the t-rex running right 100% of the time.

My Dino was missing the L/R motor, and there were other problems contributing to the Dino not functioning after installing a new motor. Out of all the games I've done, the Dino is the hardest "toy" to have fully functioning. The BEST thing you can do is upgate the game ROM, this has a modification that prevents the wear on the L/R motor.

[humpalot]

Have a look at the ' 1 smart missile' insert...

Plus IIRC there are a few slight variations in colour with certain inserts.

Cool mines a prototype as well then.  I always thought that it was just early production, dog of a thing to get the t-rex running right 100% of the time.

My Dino was missing the L/R motor, and there were other problems contributing to the Dino not functioning after installing a new motor. Out of all the games I've done, the Dino is the hardest "toy" to have fully functioning. The BEST thing you can do is upgate the game ROM, this has a modification that prevents the wear on the L/R motor.

The early production games also had a different jaw link and a different metal link underneath, this also wears the up down motor out quickly.  I modified my game to be the same as late production and the difference to the t-rex up down is greatly improved.

[Pinfan]

Have a look at the ' 1 smart missile' insert...

Plus IIRC there are a few slight variations in colour with certain inserts.

Cool mines a prototype as well then.  I always thought that it was just early production, dog of a thing to get the t-rex running right 100% of the time.

Hey Humpalot,

Not sure if it was a proto or early production... Could be either..

I just brought it to Nino's attention..

[Strangeways]

Playfield is stripped of all parts and they are washed and polished. The tumber gets a workout and does a great job (as usual) ;





The pop bumper assemblies were removed completely. Even though they look like a better design than Bally/Williams, you still have to unsolder the lamp sockets !





After a clean and rebuild, they look like this ;





Remember I did this initial work maybe 2 years ago - The playfield was in awesome condition. I needed to replace the green target amongst other things.





Cliffy Protectors - a must for this machine - these are the "hyper thin" and they work a charm





Power Shed Cliffy - and there's a few non standard posts that will need to be replaced. Data East had a bulletin regarding the old style posts, so I purchased the replacements which are installed at a later date.





The sidewalls are painted and the playfield is slowly re assembled. Looks very good at this early stage.





 

[jyebow]

Cool resto Nino. Great to see these Data East's gettin' some love !!
 Often overlooked & under rated.
cheers Steve.

[beaky]

lookin' good

[RaptorLawyer]

Very nice looking work Nino - may i ask what paint you used for inside the cab? Makes it looks so much cleaner!

[Strangeways]

Very nice looking work Nino - may i ask what paint you used for inside the cab? Makes it looks so much cleaner!

I used a Flat Black spraycan from Bunnings. Does the job. I now use "White Knight Satin Black" - it is expensive, but the results are really good - I will cover this in detail later on with the cabinet touch up work - You won't believe it is the same machine.

[RaptorLawyer]

I look forward to it, thanks Nino.

[Strangeways]

Cosmetically, the game was coming together nicely. New rubbers, new globes, Cliffys, coil sleeves - every moving part was rebuilt ! I was really pleased after I installed a full flipper rebuild kit.

Progress pictures - mostly playfield as it was coming together. Great artwork on the playfield.








Here's where I added some new decals (thanks Humpalot - I DO remember when people help me out). Such an easy "facelift" to the worn areas.






More playfield photos














By this stage, the game fires up and is playable - however - I need to rebuild the power supply - ALL the fuse holders must be replaced, and the GI connectors re done. I also ordered new slingshots plastics, a DINO Left and Right Motor, a Green stand up target, and the "updated" posts near the ramp.