Fireball has 8 small roll over targets in the middle of the play field. They surround the large spinning fireball and can toggle the ball save kicker on and off (along with award points).
They probably haven’t been pulled out of the machine since it was constructed 29 years ago, so figured I might as well spend half an hour giving them a clean and polish.
The shooter rod on the Fireball Classic was in pretty good condition. It still operated fine, but was in need of a good clean and service. The shooter rod is fixed to the cabinet by 2 bolts that are part of the face plate. Once removed you can just pull the shooter back away from the cabinet. I found that I needed to remove the rubber first though to get it through the cabinet hole.
On the home stretch now – the last part of the game under the hood to receive some attention is the saucer kicker. I haven’t really had to worry about this at all since it’s working fine from day one. But like everything else, it can do with a clean and this is a chance to learn some more about it.
The drop targets – one of the final elements of the game to receive my attention. The Nugent playfield has two banks of 3 drop targets. The first set (located on the left of the playfield) control the special bonus (which is an extra ball & 100,000 points). The second is located on the upper right and controls the bonus multiplier (x2, x3 and x5). Both sets are functional, although sometimes it does not detect when all 3 targets have been dropped (more on this later). The blue star decal on all 6 targets is worn and the white has faded over time. There is also some dirt build up on the targets and the assembly under the playfield.
This is how the drop targets looked to start with:
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.
