The progress is going really well right now on Counterforce and these updates are coming faster than I had expected. My plan was to focus on one set of the flippers for this update, but that got pushed back so I could complete a few other things off first. In recent updates I’ve had my attention at a few sections around the playfield with sling shots and targets. This update will focus on the remaining targets and also the bonus saucer. Next update will be the flippers 🙂 The first part of the update will look at the small target and switch located above the left (upper) flipper. The plastic here is broken in two points.
cleaning
All posts tagged cleaning
After the Twisted Pins drama, it’s good to be bringing the cabinet work on Pinbot to completion. I’m tempted to do a write up comparison between the two different sets of stencils to highlight the pros and cons. But i’ll save that for another day. For now, it’s time to finish off the cabinet and get the machine back together. At the end of the previous post, I had sanded off the paint from the Twisted Pins stencils and repainted the black. The yellow layer was done first. This stencil layer has two registration marks which it leaves on the cabinet when pealed off. This is an incredibly easy system to use and get right. I like that Pinball Pimp has included these as it makes lining up the second layer easy. The stencils also have the correct bleed and traps, which means the final result will look accurate. Here the second stencil has been lined up and is ready for the red paint.
While I haven’t quite finished my previous (or should I say current) project – Pinbot, a new project popped up a few weeks ago that felt like a good opportunity – so I grabbed it. This time, I’ll be looking at a Counterforce machine by Gottlieb. It’s part of the Star 80 series and was released back in 1980. This particular machine started life in Italy, before being imported here to Australia. I was attracted to it as the gameplay looks kind of neat – seems like a mash of missile command and space invaders played out on a pinball playfield. Plus it’s an opportunity to work on a System 80 machine, which is something I’ve not yet done – so it should be an interesting experience. My last few projects have been restorations where I’ve spent a bit of money doing them up. But this project will be a little different. Due to the damage on the playfield, the machine won’t gain much value with everything else restored around it. The detail in the artwork makes it impossible to paint or touch up. Therefore, my plan is to keep spending limited. Any worn or damaged parts considered important will be replaced (globes, rubbers, broken drop targets, coil sleeves, etc). Anything that is still usable will be cleaned up and put back into the machine. So the goal here is to service all parts of the the machine, clean it up (wow does it need a clean) and repair anything broken to make it a fully functional game once again. I’ve set myself a reasonable budget to prevent over capitalising on it, but I may run into some nasty surprises along the way. So we’ll see how that turns out 🙂
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The 12 months service of my Nugent machine continues. First up, I’ll expand on the area of the playfield which is largely responsible for spreading crap around the machine. At the top of the playfield there is a large wear patch that extends for about 10cm between the bonus saucer and the multiplier drop targets. This area seems to be a common wear zone as I’ve seen other Nugent playfields with damage in this area (although the others have not been as bad as this).
It’s now been 12 months since I came into possession of my first pinball machine. The Nugent has received a lot of play time over the year. I rebuilt the machine back in January / February this year and at the time was learning a lot about how pinball machines worked in general and the ways to clean & service them. Since then I’ve gone onto restore a Fireball Classic and also well underway with a Pinbot machine. I’ve learnt a lot since working on this machine and I decided that I’d revisit my Nugent for a 12 month service. I don’t plan to rebuild the machine like I did last time. It’s running really well, but needs a bit of a surface level clean. There are a few small issues I’d like to sort out (very minor) and I’d also like to apply some of the skills I’ve learnt since working on it to improve it further. The first thing to look at will be the plastics. A number of the pieces are warped.
