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All posts for the month April, 2017

After completing the remaining work on the Williams Whirlwind recently and the owner taking it home, it was time to move onto the next machine for repair & service. This time I’m looking at a Baywatch machine. Released by SEGA in early 1995 and able to be played by 6 players, it’s got a fairly decent playfield layout and is a lot of fun to play. The game play caught me by surprise as I’m not a huge fan of the theme (I’m sure my teenage self would have been..), but I find myself saying ‘just one more go’ when playing it. That’s a good sign for any game. The machine has been in the owners collection for awhile, crying out for a full service. As you’ve seen in my other threads, I get in and rebuild everything. It’s not a restoration, nor is it just a quick wipe down and fresh rubbers. Each assembly will be stripped, cleaned and worn parts replaced. The playfield will be stripped and everything properly cleaned too. Any game play issues will be sorted out and I’ll also spend some time doing presentation improvements (mostly things the owner has pointed out he wants addressed). Anyway, time to get started.

Baywatch Pinball Repair
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I had planned for this to be the final update on the Whirlwind repair & service, but before I give my focus to testing the game, there were two more presentation things to look at first. One of the final items to address on Whirlwind is the coin door. I had mentioned in previous updates I was going to look at it, but kept putting it off. No longer though. When dropping the machine off, the owner asked me to give the coin door a face lift. He wanted the rivets removed and the holes filled from the coin entry housing. No problem, can do. I wanted to go a little bit further though and replace the pricing plates with something nicer and also replace the two missing bolts from the coin door.

Whirlwind Pinball Repair
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It’s update time again! Returning with part six of the repair and service I’m performing on a Williams Whirlwind machine. The updates have been fairly regular, which is great as it means progress has been pretty smooth. I’ve had a few hold ups while waiting for parts, but that’s about all. In my last update I finished off servicing the remaining assemblies on the machine. In this update, I’ll focus on getting the remaining bits back onto the playfield to get the game into a playable state! I’m really looking forward to seeing how it performs once the final pieces are cleaned and the playfield is back together. I suspect I will make a few minor switch tweaks around the sling shots and pop bumpers to get them in a sweet spot sensitivity wise – time will tell. To begin this update though, the replacement plastic pieces I ordered from Pinball Center arrived. They have a clear protective layer on top, which is why they look a little dull.

Whirlwind Pinball Repair
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