Welcome to the fourth installment on the repair and service of a Williams Funhouse. With the lower and middle playfield sections completed in previous updates, this one will be focusing heavily on the upper playfield area. I want to get a few cabinet touch ups done too as they have been on my to do list for awhile. So far the machine has been coming long great and I’m looking forward to getting it all back together for some testing. The upper playfield area is quite dirty, but everything is there so a good clean should bring it up nicely.
ramps
All posts tagged ramps
I can always tell the level of enjoyment I get working on a machine by how much it consumes my free time. Funhouse has been consuming a lot of my free time over the last few weeks which means progress has been good. So I’m back again with the third update. In this update, I’ll be focusing on the playfield area (and assemblies) in the middle stretch of the playfield. This includes the right scoop, pop bumpers and left upper flipper. There are various plastics and metal posts that will need to be removed and cleaned. There is also a ramp that runs below the playfield connecting other assemblies to the scoop which I’ll remove and clean too.
Getting everything back onto the playfield is one of my favorite parts of the pinball service as you see all the cleaning effort really come together. In this update, I want to get all the playfield parts cleaned up and installed back onto the machine so I can begin testing it. First up, several rails had been set aside for cleaning.
It’s time to get into some heavy duty cleaning on Baywatch. The only way to do that, is get everything off the playfield so I have unrestricted access to the lot. People can underestimate how long this process takes, especially on DMD era machines. Pulling a playfield down can be quick, but cleaning everything and getting it all back on (in the correct layout and order) takes up more time than you expect. As always, it’s best to take a lot of photos along the way with this process. I prefer to do the playfield areas in smaller batches, but due to the number of ramps and rails, it isn’t possible here. The lower playfield area and apron have been dealt with in previous updates, so now I have the top two thirds to contend with. Although the machine is dirty, it’s going to clean up nicely.
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.
