Having worked through the lower and middle sections of the Apollo 13 playfield in previous updates, it’s time to turn my attention to the upper section. There aren’t that many assemblies to get through, but quite a lot of parts to remove, clean and then install again. So it’s still a time consuming process. My first area of interest in this update will be the pop bumpers. But before I can get there, I have a few things to remove. In previous updates I had already removed a couple of the blue rails, but now it’s time to remove the rest so I can get to the pop bumpers.
playfield
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Progress on Dr Who has continued quite well over the last couple of weeks and I’m now down to the final section of playfield. This update will be focusing on the remaining assemblies at the top of the playfield – the pop bumpers and the mini playfield. My plan is to strip and clean the top playfield area (including the pop bumpers) and then move onto the mini playfield. The area is quite filthy, but nothing a good clean won’t sort out. Time to get started.
After the initial hold up (and frustration) with the board issues on Dr Who, progress has been moving along smoothly. Aside from that slow start, the game has been enjoyable to work on. In this update I’ll be focusing on the middle section of the playfield. In terms of assemblies, this area has the Tardis ball popper on the right, with the left side home to the upper flipper and trap door assemblies. The popper was mentioned in a previous update as I had to replace the optics which had been cut out. This time I’ll be removing the whole assembly for a service. As usual, all plastics, targets and posts will be removed for cleaning and the playfield will also receive a clean. I’ll need to remove the ramps for this part, and won’t be putting them back on until the end. Time to get started and I’ll begin with the right side.
With Funhouse completed and back to the owner, I was able to enjoy the vacant space it left for a matter of minutes before it was filled with the next machine on the list. The next game to receive a rebuild is a Dr Who. Released by Bally in 1992, with over 7700 machines built – it’s a great theme and a really fun game to play. In its current state, the game is basically unplayable due to a few issues which I’d like to get sorted first. Overall condition (once you see past the dust) is actually really nice. Cabinet is solid (some fade, but minimal damage) and the playfield is really decent. It’s going to clean up nicely and I’m excited to test it once complete!
I had the goal of finishing off Funhouse in time for Christmas. I didn’t quite make it. I’ve been keeping myself busy on the repair & service over the last week and am on the final stretch. First thing to look at for this update is the coin door. It’s been on my to do list for awhile now and no more putting it off. The red and orange have long since faded from the artwork and the coin entry housing is a bit scratched up. There is also a section of the decal ripped at the lower left corner of the front panel. When dropping the machine off, the owner asked me to touch this up and possibly paint the red flags and balloons to give it a bit more colour. It’s also missing the coin return housing, which I will need to source.
