Hi all and thanks for the warm welcome that you have given me.
I realised that I forgot to give some description of my machine and my intentions.
As a few of you who saw it at the Expo have commented, the pf is in good condition. The cabinet is a bit battered around and has scratches and scores - it would benefit from some filling and a lick of paint. Hopefully the geometric pattern will mean repainting is fairly easy.
It was playing when I bought it but has since suffered from a blown solenoid drive transistor - this weekends repair job. Electrically there have been some "interesting" repairs, hacks and mods. Most of the pc board connectors have been replaced with insulation displacement type ones and then as these have failed they have been butchered with a soldering iron, so these are up for early replacement. The displays suffer from a bit of flickering which I think can be attributted to dodgy connectors on the strobing lines, so these will also be replaced. Some of the pc boards have been cleaned and socketed which is nice.
The weakness of the machine is the backglass, lots of crazing, a few scratches and paint peeling. This wasn't as apparent at the Expo / auction as the GI globes were not on - blown fuse - a trap for me buying my first machine. Not really sure how to handle this and the intricacies of the artwork make me think restoration would be hard. Haven't seen any replacements or translights, but it's an issue for further down the track anyway.
My plan is to get it to a reliable state for regular play without going overboard. I have installed new balls and will rerubber it. I ordered a heap of parts last night, but could not get any Novus or wax as it was out of stock, so playfield attention may have to wait a little bit. I'm also less clear on what is required here and the best way to go about it - more reading in the resto section for me I think.
Firepower is a sentimental favourite from my youth and the the gameplay remains strong - I reckon it's a keeper.
