kings and queens

[ddstoys]

Will take a look should have the metal bit that the glass slides into see how I go

[mark jackson]

Thanks once more Daniel. You already have shares in this machine!

[Strangeways]

I might have siderails from a GTB "Far Out" that might be of use. I'll have a look for you Mark. The Ball Shooter assy I think is "standard" across all the GTBs from 60's onwards ? PBR sell these as a complete unit.

Great pictures BTW !

[mark jackson]

Thanks Nino. ... another shareholder in this resto.

[mark jackson]

various pics of the cabinet.

[mark jackson]

......the pics show the inside bottom, where I glued a 3 ply 'insert'. I also did this to the outside of the cabinet but when painted becomes invisible. ... Other pics show blue, and the tape up for the red circles. This is not the easiest design to do in some ways.

[goodolddays]

A lot of fiddly prep work there Mark . Is painting the cab the last part of this ground up build ?

[Strangeways]

Been a while Mark - Do you still need the siderails ?

[mark jackson]

Hi pinnie mates, Yeah I do still need a set of rails for this. I managed to get most of the metal from a buddy of mine in USA. It's still in transit but he's been a great help to me in this insane project. I reckon I might have been finished now, except I had to wait 6 months for this cabinet. Whenever I take a 'break' in a major resto it's always hard to re-build my energy levels up to where I am making fair progress again. However, I'm almost taped up for the red circles. This tape-up took me 4-5 days believe it or not!

One interesting point: If you look below to the pic of the cab when it was still a 'Gigi' cab (glue still drying) .... then the box is actually repaired, strong and solid in every way. The whole thing about the 3 ply on the inside and outside of the cab is 95% just for the look of things. It also provides that extra support and stability for this area. But as I never let the bottom of my cabinets get wet, or even touch the ground without using a towel or something, I know this box will last another 100 years. .... as long as someone doesn't let it sit in water or something stupid like that.

Painting this cab is the last major part left to do. But then I have to put all the metal on the cab, and then I'll be able to put p'field and motor board in and see how we go. When I swapped motor boards over (about 6 months ago) the motor board did blow a fuse so I'm not entirely 'out of the woods' yet. I'm hoping that I'll be able to sort that out without too much trouble or strife. ... still also sweating on Pinball Rescue doing the Kings & Queens playfield plastics so still some months away from 'mission accomplished'. Lucky that I've always loved this machine ... There have been times with this project where I have questioned my own sanity, but overall this is proving to be one of the most satisfying pinball projects I've done. For any of you that haven't had much experience with 60's machines or 2" flippers: do yourself a favour sometime and get a single player, 5 ball push-up Gottlieb wedgehead from about 1960-1967. After a lifetime of interest in pinballs I still rekon these are the greatest pinballs ever made. Tony (Illawarra Steelers) has called them the 'Rolls Royce' of pinball machines and he is right on the money there. Have a great day guys. Rain rain and more rain......

[Strangeways]

Hi pinnie mates, Yeah I do still need a set of rails for this.

Hi Mark - I'm sure I have a set for you 

[ddstoys]

Looking great Mark what a job with all them circles.    How are you making them?    The day you play your first game on this beauty u will need a crow bar to remove the smile I think

[Retropin]

Gotta agree... looking great and what a journey its been!

The repeated geometric designs that GTB had look simple but are in fact very difficult to get right. even drawing these up on my computer is much more work then i could envision...

Capt Kidd.. seen here...



Did my head in!!!

[mark jackson]

Capt Kidd looks like it's even harder to do! I reckon anything with big arcs or part/s of circles is hard. I did my circles by using a can of coconut milk from the cupboard. It had the correct circumference (51-52mm) and I used it unopened. This meant that the can was strong enough to cut the circumference with a pencil craft knife. I then use 400 grit paper to smooth off any inconsistency in the circle shape that I cut out. Then I cut each circle shape out so it's square on the edges and then I can position the circle part so that it's the same distance (top & bottom) and (left and right) from the border/s of the "Square" that it sits in. ....Probably not the best explanation but I'm sure you get the idea. To check: I run the tape measure from the front to the back of cab and see that all the circles are in a 'straight line' from the front to the back. I found that if you measure and place each circle carefully, then all circles should wind up in a 'straight' line. When I measured this box (especially the blue squares I found that all squares were not exactly the same size. Most were 88mm but every 4th square turned out a little bigger (89 or 90 mm). I put this down to factory error and tried to correct this as I did my vertical lines for the blue. I also used fairly thin cardboard so that I could cut reasonably 'cleanly' and without breaking my hand. I then stuck the circle cutouts down with masking tape at top, bottom, left and right. When all circles are down I then masked out all other bits of the box. Now when I go to spray, there should only be the circles themselves that are exposed and ready for the paint. .......No painting today though .... just too wet for good drying.

[goodolddays]

Geez Mark .. what a painful excercise ! . I've found it hard enough redoing the artwork for my Gulfstream .. let alone something like yours

[mark jackson]

...Howdy all, Here's a couple of pics of the red circles. This is before any clear coat to finish the job.