Busy, Busy, Busy

If anyone actually reads my posts on this blog I would like to say that I am sorry for the lack of updates. I am now in my last quarter at ITT Tech and will graduate at the beginning of September. The classes that I am taking now take up all of my time, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I have started working on my Fireball II pinball machine, and am using this machine as my final project for my capstone class. I have to document everything that I do with the machine, so when I get finished, I will have a big update on this blog. The circuit boards in this game are so corroded with battery damage that a normal person would just get some better boards of eBay and fix them. Since I am in electronics engineering, I am tackling these boards head on, and will fix them. The playfield is done; the cabinet is done, so I only have to get the electronics working to complete my project.

On a side note, I will not run out of projects when Fireball II is finished. I just picked up a 1979 Williams Flash pinball machine and a 1979 Atari Asteroids arcade game. Both games are non working, and neither game is in great shape, but that is the way I like to get them.

Backglass touch ups

I decided to do some touch up work to my Target Alpha backglass. I do not think that I did to bad of a job on the touch ups, but I did make a few mistakes. I was learning as I went along and found that the color green is almost impossible to match. All in all I am happy with the way this glass turned out and I know that I can do an even better job next time I get a glass to touch up.

Fireball II

I now have a new project pin to work on. I received a very nice 1980 Bally Fireball II over the weekend. This game will make me put the Target Alpha machine on the back burner, because I want to use Fireball II as a project for my ITT Tech classes. This machine is in good overall condition for it's age except for the electronics. Most of the circuit boards in this machine have major battery acid corrosion and will need a bunch of work. I am looking forward to this challenge, it should be fun.

Playfield Rebuilt and Finnished

Playfield Done

The playfield is now finished complete with clear coat, and here are some before and after pictures. Now as soon as I receive my shipment of parts from Pinball Recourse I can start the rebuild.

Playfield Cleaned and Touched Up

Here are some pictures of the playfield after I cleaned it and did the paint touch-ups. I am in the process of clear-coating the playfield now and will put those pictures up in a few days after the clear-coat dries.

Initial playfield cleaning

Today I final got started on the playfield. I only had time to strip the top of the playfield of all parts and do a quick cleaning with novus 2. It dose not look to bad and will look even better after I attack it with a magic eraser and some alcohol. I will have to do some minor paint touchups and level some inserts befor I clear-coat the playfield but it should turn out nice. Here are some pictures of the initial playfield cleaning.