Bally Bow And Arrow Restoration

[Strangeways]

Disclaimer - contrary to popular opinion, I m still restoring pinball machines. I'm just 6 months behind work and updates.. 

Bally EMs are my favorite. Everyone LOVES Gottlieb - and so do I, but Bally 4 Player EMs are undiscovered gems - this game included. Playfield layout clearly suggests it looks nothing like a Gottlieb - where are the Drop Targets ? Well, unlike some other EM manufacturer's EMs - this title does not need Drop Targets to be a Great player.

Objective

The game will be restored mechanically - as these EMs need a lot of work to restore. The cabinet will not be repainted. The backglass is excellent. We will restore and clearcoat the playfield.

Condition Report

Cabinet - 8/10 - Context - for it's age - it is VERY good. Will not require repairs or a repaint.

Playfield - 8/10 - I target EMs that are good to start with. This playfield is excellent, other than the non factory Slingshot plastics.

Electrical 7/10 - Steppers, relays, srore reels, score motor - all really good. Lamp sockets - not so good.


BEFORE pictures

This game was imported in 2008 ish from a collection in Germany (a genuine collection, not the eBay variety, nor from a "museum"  ). The game was in very good cosmetic condition - a fantastic base for a restoration.














There is surface rust on many components of the game - but not as bad as I usually see on games of this vintage. I guess you will always find some rust or corrosion.





Playfield is great for it's age - No contact or mylar ! So it has not been played to death. Wear is minimal - but common with Bally games - ALL the inserts have dropped into the playfield.








Some close ups of playfield detail that will be addressed during the restoration.





Those slingshot plastics ! Will need some originals at some point.





Close up photos demonstrate some of the aging process - more likely most of this process was from storage rather than play !








On all EMs, the real challenge is the condition of the internal mechanisms - steppers, relays and score motor. But under the playfield is often something bypassed. This game was very good - with the exception of the globe sockets.











Globe sockets will be replaced. Leaving them in this condition only introduces issues in the future.









As mentioned earlier, the playfield will be touched up and clearcoated. The inserts have dropped, and as a result, the insert circles will need to be repainted. The playfield is in VERY good shape, but for this game, we (the customer input was very important) decided to clearcoat the playfield. This would also bring out the brilliant artwork and colors of this playfield.

Before doing this - we need to map out the wiring. This was also assist with the installation of new lamp sockets and returns.





First pass - clean with magic eraser and commence touch up of inserts (lower LHS of playfield - as viewed by the player).





More ;





Inserts repainted ;





Ready for clearcoat





Here's the result of the playfield restoration. not much in the way of artwork restoration. It is currently having the clearcoat applied.

 

[oldskool1969]

I love it when people leave the cabinet alone so it looks its age 
Only 6 months behind though Nino? In spite of all recent events I would have thought 2 years.
BTW I played a 1958 GTB sunshine game today and all I can say is "old school is best school"
This game looks like fun too. Lucky owner.

[Strangeways]

I love it when people leave the cabinet alone so it looks its age 
Only 6 months behind though Nino? In spite of all recent events I would have thought 2 years.
BTW I played a 1958 GTB sunshine game today and all I can say is "old school is best school"
This game looks like fun too. Lucky owner.

In terms of restoration updates - 6 months.

Workload - 2-3 years. Collectors have obtained the same patience level as I have - which I thought was not possible. 

I would LOVE a "Sunshine" - beautiful machine. My "Miss Annabelle" will do for now.

In terms of Bally games from this era - Bow and Arrow is a VERY good player. Similar to Aladdin's Castle - Gameplay is excellent. Not in the sane league as Wizard or Captain Fantastic - but just as much FUN.

[howzat]

I have this game on my hyperpin --- superpin    Ok I know its not the real thing but it always brings me back for a couple of games

Classic old school  i luv it

I will keep watching your post        Howzat

[Strangeways]

Long overdue Update ;

The playfield has been cleared and the objective of having the finished "toned down" to look original has worked out very well. The playfield is not polished to look like a 90's clearcoat, rather, it is dulled down to look like a varnish. The reason for the clear is because so many inserts had dropped, and cupped. I did refresh the white areas and finish off with some rough linework. The intention was to solve the issue with the dropped inserts.









The underside of the playfield was stripped and documented ;











Moving on to the cabinet ..





The Door ;








The door was stripped, and some parts were repainted. No replating this time. Parts were cleaned with the Ultrasonic, then the tumblers ;








Side of the cabinet - looks much better. I use "simple Green" for these jobs as it does the same cleaning as Nifti, but it is not as aggressive.





End of the first update..

[Strangeways]

The plunger assembly is bent, rusted and seized with lubricants. This will be fun !








Disassembled, these have a coil sleeve with is no longer available. There are two metal washers that are in the same boat. I upgrade the washers with the standard washers, and I use a conventional Williams plunger sleeve, trimmed to size ;








The knob is well and truly polished on the buffing wheel 





.. and it looks like this when reassembled ;

[Strangeways]

I plan on whiting a "tech tip" thread of it's own on aspects of replacing a playfield, similar to below. The rollovers are always a problem on a cleared playfield. Through trial an error, I've used a system which is efficient and also reduces the risk of lifting the clear from the edge. A common method is a fine pick and a thin file.

Below is a picture of the cleared playfield before the residue removal from the rollovers ;




The tools ;

A scalpel - A simple but sharp tool
A round file - tapered round needle file
A straight pick

Start off with the scalpel, cut all the straight lines - effectively "carving" the clear from the side walls. Cut DOWNWARDS - never upwards.
Then use the pick to remove sections from the centre.
Then use the needle file, and file in a DOWNWARDS motion.

Rinse and repeat if needed. Then use a test button, upside down, and check you have trimmed enough.







At the end of the process, it should look like this ;





I do this with the playfield installed in the cabinet, but before any other work commences.




 

[Strangeways]

Re assembly of the underside of the playfield is a time consuming but necessary step due to the fact the machine had not been maintained for a long period of time. Rust had set into the globe holders, so they were all replaced. New braid throughout the playfield. All mechanism rebuilt. This is where a lot of time is spent on a restoration, if done properly.







I use new screws as the originals are rusted or just too dirty to clean. This is where time can be used on other aspects rather than cleaning screws.








Moving to the baseboard - This needs a good clean. The fuse sockets will be replaced, the mechs rebuilt, score motor assembly cleaned and adjusted as well as ensuring the relays and all the switches are gapped correctly. The EMI filter will be replaced and a new power cord installed.


Before pictures ;









The stepper is rebuilt and works perfectly.





Seized and full of perished lubricants !




Completed baseboard prior to adjusting relay bank ;






Still a fair bit of work to do, but this section took almost a day to complete. Now on to the headbox !

[Top Card]

Hi Nino,
On the baseboard, those stacks of contacts actuated by the cam wheels, do you clean all of them and if so do you de-solder and disassemble them or use some other process.

[Strangeways]

Hi Nino,
On the baseboard, those stacks of contacts actuated by the cam wheels, do you clean all of them and if so do you de-solder and disassemble them or use some other process.

On EM switch stacks - It depends on the condition. I disassemble each stack and then clean with alcohol or degreaser. I don't unsolder the individual wires as these machines have excellent wires and solder jobs from factory. I then reassemble and tighten the stack. Then adjust and gap each set of contacts.

[Strangeways]

Next step is the headbox mechanics, and this is where a lot of time is spent cleaning and replacing coils sleeves, springs etc. This machine's mechanical steppers etc were VERY clean for a game of this vintage, but there are no short cuts, as I want this game to work as soon as I plug it in for the first time.

Here's what I'm starting out ;




This was the dirtiest score reel. The process is straight forward, but it does take time.





Parts are degreased in a water based degreaser which I will post a picture of at the end as it is far better than the other degreasers I've used over the journey. I then wash each part with Simple Green (orange concentrate) and dry with the air compressor.






Reassembly ;






Why go to all this trouble ? Here's two score reel plungers. One is worn and will cause issues. So I replaced it with a NOS plunger and Coil Stop and the score reel will work perfectly.









Why go to all this trouble (Part 2)..


There's a switch stack out of adjustment (badly). There were a handful of these that were adjusted on re assembly.






Credit Stepper Before ;






Re assembled ;





Installed ;





Player Unit Completed ;








00-90 or Match Unit Before ;





After rebuild ;








After all that work, I'm done !



 

[DSB]

Great work. I've found pinball restoration seems to be about 80% cleaning and 20% the rest.

[goodolddays]

Hi Nino


That must be the cleanest EM I have seen (before pics I mean)

[Strangeways]

Great work. I've found pinball restoration seems to be about 80% cleaning and 20% the rest.

Parts are often as simple as coil sleeves. The only unfortunate parts was the playfield lamp sockets needed to be replaced - they were rusted. Cleaning is time consuming if your aim is to have the game functioning perfectly, but that's how I like to present the machine.

Hi Nino


That must be the cleanest EM I have seen (before pics I mean)

This game was from a private collection in Germany. Most of the games were immaculate. Wait until I start the Bally Mariner - it looks like it just came off the production line.

[Strangeways]

This restoration is well and truly on the home straight. The sling plastics were originally missing from the game, and after chasing these for months, I found the Left hand sling on EBay USA. I plan on scanning the sling and reversing the image for the RHS. The lift trim I ordered 6 months ago, but the wrong size was sent, so I had to wait for a new batch of 3/16 Lift channels to be produced and sent to me.

In the meantime, I finished off the playfield ;







The game had a few issues, but most were minor. A lot of the repairs were common sense, and with the help of schematics and a keen eye..

There's a dry joint in this switch stack..





.. and a critical issue on stack #1, which keeps the score motor running through cycles ;





A close up ;





Took a while, but they were very simply faults if you understand schematics.