First up for this update is the lock down bar. The condition of the bar itself is OK. It’s a little worn and has a few scratches, but is solid and doesn’t need replacing. The issue it does has however is it’s loose on the left side and does not lock down properly. I can lift the left side up with my hand.
While I’ve been enjoying my Pole Position restoration, I have been getting the urge to construct a new machine again. I recently acquired a few different PCB’s that would go great in a new cab. I posted about the Mortal Kombat 1 set a few weeks back, but I’ve put that on hold for the moment as I’m undecided on what sort of machine it will go into (a replica upright, or a custom themed lowboy). Meanwhile, another PCB was screaming out to me to go into a machine – Arkanoid.
While I don’t find Arkanoid to be overly exciting as a game, the fact it uses a spinner makes it different to other cabs I’ve build, and some of the original Taito cabs are pleasing to look at.
I’ve been a bit quiet on my Nugent lately – more playing than tinkering.
I’ve got a batch of parts arriving in a week or so to fix up a few more things, so will hopefully have more work to report shortly.
I have been meaning to get under the apron for awhile and check it out, so decided to do it last night.
The apron itself isn’t in bad shape. There are a few marks across the “for amusement only” text and some very minor scratches around the edges. But overall it’s clean, solid and the artwork clear.
Today, I finally completed the project. After having the machine split in 2 (thus unplayable) for so many months, I put the finishing touches on the front half today and joined it all back up for a game.
The first step was to remove the existing decals from both the left and right front panels. As it was, some of the decals had already come off. In some places there were chips missing from the side panels and even what look like burn marks (assuming cigarette).
I’ve often heard people talk about how important the flippers are on a pinball machine and it makes sense. It’s your primary interaction with any pinball game and if the flippers have issues, then making shots becomes difficult and it can have some negative side effects on the game play. The flippers on my Nugent are in need of some attention. While I can make any shot on the table with them, they often bounce when catching the ball. This sometimes acts as a trampoline by making the ball jump or causing the ball the bounce off in unexpected directions. I’ve seen this described as “doughy flippers” by some people.
I purchased two sets of flipper rebuild kits from a local pinball supplier here in Victoria, Australia. They only came in sets of two, so I will have a left flipper kit spare once all three flippers have been rebuilt. First step was to get the play field lifted up so I could get access to the flipper parts below the play field. I decided to start with the left flipper since it was the worst of all three.
Continue Reading