Bally Space Invaders Restore

[Strangeways]

Background


Bally Space Invaders was one of my "all time" Favorite Pinballs from the Golden era of Solid States. Dad and I pickup up a shipment of NIB Bally pins when I was kid in 1979 or 80 - I can't remember.. The shipment included Paragon, KISS X 2, Mata Hari X ?? and a Space Invaders. We took them home in the truck and unboxed them. They were stripped of their playfield parts and contact was placed on their playfields (same as the book covers used in libraries - mylar did not exist yet). The parts were re assembled and the machines were on location within a week. Paragon sat next to the Space Invaders in a cafe near my place.. These two machines needed to be emptied TWICE a week in the early days.. I had already developed a "soft spot" for Paragon, but I was a little "frightened" by the Spacies.. I do remember the playfield glass exploding in Dad's hands one Sunday morning. The first of many !

The Paragon sits in my gamesroom. Both Kiss machines are in the garage (stored). Dad sold the Space Invaders YEARS ago. But I really wanted one, just to re unite the Spacies and the Paragon in my gamesroom, and to remind me of the old days...

For a few years, I kept my eye out for a nice Spacies, but really never found one that I liked. Then I got a phone call from a guy in a cafe in Melbourne.. He had a space Invaders machine and he wanted to sell.. So I agreed to buy it.. But it was in storage and he needed to get to it. When he was able to - he would call me... Months passed - no call - So I called him - It was still there, but he "forgot" the price, and added a couple hundred on to it.. I agreed, and then waited for his call to pick it up.. I waited, and waited, then I called him.. Long story short - he sold it.. So I missed out - after being told it was mine ..

Wotto went on his infamous "Pinball Purge", and sold a Black Knight, Flash and Gorgar ?... and I knew he had a space Invaders he was having trouble with... So I TWISTED his arm... MANY TIMES.... Over and Over.... Until he finally agreed to part with it ! A friend of mine wanted Wotto's TIME WARP, so I helped him out and Wotto sent the Space Invaders and the Time Warp via a transport company..

Finally, I had that elusive Space Invaders....


Initial Pictures


Here's a couple of pictures the day it arrived (some 2 years ago);





Fair enough - nothing exciting here - But Wotto did a GREAT job packing the machine for me and it arrived safely..


What an AWESOME Backglass !!





Playfield was REALLY good - Wotto did all the HARD work of removing the mylar (Yipee!)





Box of spares and the legs... Wait until I post pictures of the power supply.... 





Playfield is in GREAT Shape !





Machine assembled - just for a quick peek..





Condition

Backglass 10/10 - Spacies backglasses (inner and outer) are always PERFECT
Playfield 8/10 - Mylar was removed, nice plastics set, bumper caps and targets were already sourced by Wotto..Only wear was around the centre
Cabinet 8/10 - Paintwork was fine, but there were a few "dings" in the corners and some work that needed to be done..
Electronics 6/10 - Power supply was a Frankenstein, Displays needed to be fixed, and all the boards ended up having some work done to them.

Overall - I was stoked to have a Space Invaders from Wotto - as we both contributed to its restoration.. That will become apparent as the thread progresses. This machine is finished, but I thought I'd document this here as I was very thorough with my notes and pictures !

More later !

[Retropin]

One of the most awesome looking pins ever...looking forward to more updates

[Creech]

Do you still have the machine Nino?

[pinnies4me]

Thanks for that Nino, I have a fascination with this game, enjoyed the pictures.

Now, given my well-publicized view of ESB game play (which was copied from this game) - can you give me some thoughts on the game play on SI??? I recall it as OK back in the day, but 20-odd years have a way of distorting memory...

[Strangeways]

Do you still have the machine Nino?

No. The game spooked my wife - She hated the entire theme of the game and the backglass in particular. My son loved it, but he also had nightmares about it. I sold it to a Collector, who incidentally, bought my restored Jacks Open and Strikes and Spares. I also restored his Genie.

[Strangeways]

Thanks for that Nino, I have a fascination with this game, enjoyed the pictures.

Now, given my well-publicized view of ESB game play (which was copied from this game) - can you give me some thoughts on the game play on SI??? I recall it as OK back in the day, but 20-odd years have a way of distorting memory...

Space Invaders is a game that is more "atmospheric" - Great visuals and awesome sounds. It is not really a player. Another game that copied SI was Bally "Mystic" - which I refer to as a single body SI.

While SI was in the gamesroom, it was the most played machine. I enjoyed playing it, but it is no "Fathom".. Not really as slow as other widebodies, but it is a simple game with a shallow ruleset. I love the shot to the LHS which hits a captive ball into a spot target. I WISH it was a set of in-ling drop targets...

I loved Space Invaders, but the other reason I sold it was because it was not "Dad's" from the old days. By no means was the game a disappointment. It did free up the $$$ to buy a Fathom, so it will always be remembered !

[ktm450]

SI is a great looking pin, love all the fine detailed artwork on the PF

[Strangeways]

I'll break the restore into different parts, as there is a fair bit to cover. The first part will be the Cabinet...

Cabinet

The artwork itself is really good. A little bit of fade at the front of the cabinet, but it is all part of the character and there was no requirement for a repaint. The inside of the cabinet was a bit of a mess, so it was time for a "tidy up". Everything is ripped out of the machine - but before doing that - A photo diary must be kept so that I know where the parts belong when it is time to re assemble..So here are the reference pictures ;














The door is a bit of a mess - as 99% of all the machines I've seen are !!








Here's a problem with the corner that will need to be addressed.





The main issue I will have to address is the fact that the Space Invaders head is VERY heavy, as it has a foldout door with two backglasses, and the neck of the head is broken on the cabinet itself...

I have a fix for this that was successful with a Future Spa I did years ago...

[The pinballist formally known as Dean Morgan]

More, More Gimmme MOOORE

[Strangeways]

Cabinet Repair


The internal parts are removed and cleaned - some will be polished and the power supply will be rebuilt.

Since the back (neck) section was weak from holding up such a heavy head, I needed to repair this before anything else. The section that the neck is mounted on will be glued and fixed with 75 mm woodscrews. The join needs to be opened using a thin piece of metal and the PVC glue is applied. The holes for the screws are pre drilled, and then the screws are screwed in with a hand drill. Clamps are used to hold the section together overnight.










The corners were repaired and sanded off. The bog I used is the same color as is used on the body, so I left it "as is" - and furthermore, the repairs are mainly under the legs;





The metal sheet under the coin box was rusted, so I gave it a quick sand, primed it and then painted it..





Time to paint the inside of the cabinet. I didnt really mask off the inside of the cabinet at all - other than the siderails and the neck section. I then just painted the entire front section and the sides where the playfield is fitted.











The metal grill on the neck is cleaned, primed and painted a semi gloss black - same with the neck section itself.








The legs are installed so I can have a solid base to work on..






Now I just have to re assemble 

[stuba]

love this machine. it is on my must have list (along with centaur, rolling stones and fathom from this era). someone else recently was telling me about these backglasses exploding in their hands. anyone know why that happens?

[Strangeways]

Time to put the cabinet internals back together, Bet before that happens, the door needs to be addressed.

Coin Door

The coin door is like all doors from this genre - Filthy - Full of dirt, grime, Coca Cola... So I strip everything and soak in hot water with nifti. This loosens the dirt and then I can see what needs to be scrubbed and then polished.

Here are some before pictures ;











Most of the smaller pieces go straight into the tumber, the rest are polished on the buffing wheel. The Door Skin is re-grained with 320 Wet/Dry and windex. The cables are tidied up and then the door can mounted and adjusted..








Lock down Bar


Always the most filthiest part of a machine.. Thankfully, Bally LDBs are easy to strip and clean. I used Brasso, Green Scotchbrites and a lot of elbow grease to get it super shiney. Reassemble and then finally mount on to the machine.








Re Assembly


All the internal parts are polished and cleaned. Time to reassemble - which is a straight forward task. The Pwer Supply will be covered later..





New Cabinet flipper switches..














Looking good !!





Slowly does it - But I was really pleased with the work done !

[63wizz]

oh so shiny, that coin door looks fantastic, do you finish with a polish so it wont rust again

cheers Ian.

[Strangeways]

oh so shiny, that coin door looks fantastic, do you finish with a polish so it wont rust again

cheers Ian.

I usually re grain the skin (outside), and polish the coin entry facade with the buffing wheel.
The inside of the door is usually cleaned with a scotchbrite and brasso. Then I will polish with brasso and a rag.

Some parts are polished with a soft wire wheel on my bench grinder, and then on the buffing wheel.

For surface rust, I used the Ranex product (see Sinbad thread).. But honestly, unless the parts are treated or recoated, they will eventually react with humidity over time.

[markc]

looks real nice   , its one  of the last pins I am chasing for my collection...


should come up real nice

mark