Pinballs were DEFINITELY harmed in the following episode.....
I pulled on of the Fishtales out of the resto queue, and i know i took photos, but can't find them at the moment. Cab was completely shagged - base fell out completely, sides were delaminating inside and out. Headbox was (relatively) OK. The playfield was filthy, however no significant wear.
So thanks to Tony at the Pinball Shed, i got a Getaway cabinet for the transplant operation...now this cab also had seen far better days (which i was well aware when i grabbed it). RHS had been screwed to the bottom, base is stuffed, and plenty of dings all around
So, the conundrum i had, was whether to modify the Getaway front to suit FT reel shooter, or transplant the front - in the end, i decided to transplant. Cut/knocked, levered the old FT front out, removed all screws, nails and staples and tidied the joins up. Then i lined the front up with the getaway cab, and liquid nailed it together, along with some nails from the nail gun. Clamped it all up, and left for 24hrs
New FT front on the Getaway cab, with the old FT cab with a gaping open mouth in the background!!!
More updates to come later, but this one might take a while