My next update was going to cover the work I’ve done on the coin door. But something managed to squeeze in just before it. I should have the coin door all ready by Sunday though, so it’s not far off. Meanwhile, the next area on the playfield to receive attention is the upper playfield – or more specifically, the vortex ramp.
plastics
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On the left hand side of the playfield is a bank or 3 drop targets. These drop targets are used to advance the planets during game play. A cool feature during game play is they reset if not hit within a certain time frame. It adds a nice element of urgency to hitting them. A few updates back I fixed a small issue with the bank where the game could not detect all 3 targets had been hit (there was an issue with one of the switches below the playfield). It’s now time to give them a service. The first think that stands out is the green lamp cover (which has been attached using pop rivets) should be orange. Should be easy enough to replace though.
While waiting for parts to arrive for the flippers and slingshots, I decided to focus my attention slightly further up the playfield at the advance planet target. The plastic needed a good clean and under it the playfield and parts could do with some attention. The target itself works fine as does the point switch above it. The lamps too function correctly.
I couldn’t resist digging through the parts box today and doing some cleaning on the extra plastics. Most of these I wont need (thankfully as many have small sections missing), but I wanted to get them cleaned up anyway in case I do need them. Otherwise I can move them on to good homes once the project is complete where they can be useful.
Most (….well all) of these have been sitting around for god knows how long, so are covered in dust and dirt. Eucalyptus oil, Novus 2 and Novus 1 work wonders. There is some fading in one or two of the pieces sadly, but not much I can do about that.
Start:
With the lower play field given an initial clean and service, it is time to go over the middle area. The main feature of the middle play field area is a central “spinner” (or spinning disk) which rotates constantly during gameplay. It’s covered with a rubber pad used to grip the ball and fling it off (….like a fireball). I won’t be servicing this for now, but will return to it at a later date. The spinner works fine, but really could do with a service.
I will be removing the rest of the mylar up to the pop bumpers, along with servicing the rest of the play field components in that area.
The mylar in the middle section was not as bad as in the lower. But just as with the lower section, someone has attempted to remove parts of it, while leaving the goo and not really doing the best job.
Both sides contain one plastic each, along with some switches, mini mushroom bumpers and a saucer to trap a ball in. The right side also contains a gate which can allow the ball to either return to the shooter lane, or back into play.
(note I had removed the small mushroom bumper on the right side before the starting photo was taken).
