Strangeways Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 This is a restore I completed around 3 years ago, but I thought I'd just document it here for fun and get pinheads motivated for a summer project ! It is obviously finished and is was sold to a bloke who wanted a game for his kids to enjoy. It has been trouble free and the only contact I have with him is "Have you got another game ready yet"..:lol History This game was operated since new and run into the ground. It then was used a a donor machine and stripped of parts such as coils and under playfield mechanisms. It sat in storage for 10 years, and was destined for the tip. No machine deserves that fate.. So another Classic will have some long overdue attention. Condition Overall - A 4/10. Not working.. Parts machine that was missing coils, boards and under playfield mechanisms. A challenge awaits ! Cabinet - Scuff marks, dints and very dirty. Had been sitting in a dark corner for YEARS. Structurally sound and no visible damage. Backglass - Typical Stern backglass. Minor flaking. Yellows had lifted and there was a touch up done to the yellow sections. Playfield - No mylar. FILTHY... Stored without a backglass, so it had a layer of dust which hid the condition of the playfield. Plastics intact. A couple of wear spots. Electronics - Hmmm... None ?!? Just a transformer ! Day 1 Photos ... YUK... But what a challenge ! Machine is in pieces. Head, Cabinet, legs, backglass were all scattered in storage, but I brough back two Galaxy and a Meteor pinball, so it was easy to match ! Here's some early pictures - straight out of storage. These pictures are BIGGER than usual, as I had an older camera. If it is a problem for anyone, let me know and I will reduce them. Cabinet http://www.users.on.net/~nzambello/galaxy/P1010015.jpg Inside the Cabinet http://www.users.on.net/~nzambello/galaxy/P1010017.JPG Playfield - Upper http://www.users.on.net/~nzambello/galaxy/P1010065_2.jpg http://www.users.on.net/~nzambello/galaxy/P1010069_2.JPG Playfield lower http://www.users.on.net/~nzambello/galaxy/P1010066_2.JPG Playfield - Underside (note the missing parts..) http://www.users.on.net/~nzambello/galaxy/P1010077.JPG Updates will be quick on this machine - Enjoy :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnwartjr Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 Not being real familiar with this era game, what is the red stuff on all the fasteners? Some sort of thread locker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strangeways Posted August 26, 2008 Author Share Posted August 26, 2008 Not being real familiar with this era game, what is the red stuff on all the fasteners? Some sort of thread locker? Yes John. Common on all SS sterns I've restored that I call recall. Both Galaxy's and Meteor I restored had this thread locker. They were also Australian made Sterns. I would have to check the Hot Hand I completed to see if the thread locker is unique to the Aussie built games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigelicious Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 Ewww.. look forward to seeing what you did with this ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris288 Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 Christ Nino, you had a job and a half there to get that thing looking good, a bit like turning pig shit into strawberry jam i guess. But no doubt the end result will be your usual magical transformation. I have a Meteor which is so similar so it will be good to see what method you use to clean up the rusty ball spinners and wireforms etc. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 They were also Australian made Sterns. I would have to check the Hot Hand I completed to see if the thread locker is unique to the Aussie built games. They built classic Sterns in Australia? Didn't know that. :confused: How does one determine if their machine is local or OS built? :unsure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strangeways Posted August 26, 2008 Author Share Posted August 26, 2008 Christ Nino, you had a job and a half there to get that thing looking good, a bit like turning pig shit into strawberry jam i guess. But no doubt the end result will be your usual magical transformation. I have a Meteor which is so similar so it will be good to see what method you use to clean up the rusty ball spinners and wireforms etc. Chris Chris - I have a ground up Meteor restore which will be documented later on.. :D The Meteor was much worse... if that is at all possible. They built classic Sterns in Australia? Didn't know that. :confused: How does one determine if their machine is local or OS built? :unsure Cosmic Princess Galaxy Meteor and I think - Hot Hand Were built in NSW under license through Leisure and Allied You can see the "LAI" license agreement on the top RHS corner of the backglass. Meteor Cabinet is different. The Aussie one has METEOR in RED with a YELLOW border. See here ; http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=1580&picno=31578 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crispimeat Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 Can't wait to see the end result :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 Cosmic Princess Galaxy Meteor and I think - Hot Hand Were built in NSW under license through Leisure and Allied You can see the "LAI" license agreement on the top RHS corner of the backglass. Meteor Cabinet is different. The Aussie one has METEOR in RED with a YELLOW border. See here ; http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=1580&picno=31578 Cool! Thanks for the info. :) So I assume they were simply assembling from parts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Arcade King Posted August 26, 2008 Administrators Share Posted August 26, 2008 Good luck with it Nino. I know if anybody can get this thing going you can :) The playfield looks like it should clean up nicely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rod71 Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 Chris - I have a ground up Meteor restore which will be documented later on.. :D The Meteor was much worse... if that is at all possible. Cosmic Princess Galaxy Meteor and I think - Hot Hand Were built in NSW under license through Leisure and Allied You can see the "LAI" license agreement on the top RHS corner of the backglass. I think it started with Meteor. My Hot Hand has a LAI badge on the back, but no evidence of being built here. If there was one built here before Meteor you'd think it would be Magic, as that game was next in the run after Hot Hand and before Meteor. Cheers Rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 I think it started with Meteor. My Hot Hand has a LAI badge on the back, but no evidence of being built here. If there was one built here before Meteor you'd think it would be Magic, as that game was next in the run after Hot Hand and before Meteor. Cheers Rod Hi Rod, I just checked my Magic but couldn't find any markings to indicate if it was built locally, although a previous owner has touched up the backglass so I guess it could have been covered over. :unsure Mine also has a LAI badge on the back. Cheers, Peter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ballywannabe Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 Cool! Thanks for the info. :) So I assume they were simply assembling from parts? I am pretty sure they were also assembled in Perth as well. The red paint is one givaway, also has an Aussie plug for the service outlet and a LAI plate on the back of the machine. Aussie Meteors have a 'made under licence' bit added on the backglass as well as the cab. Cosmic Princess was only made in Australia. I have also seen Seawitches and Galaxys that have been put together by LAI. Appears the cabs were made here as they appear a bit more solid than the US versions. Be good if someone who worked for LAI back then could fill us in. Would be interesting to know whether the IPD stats include the Aussie assembled machines. cheers Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 I am pretty sure they were also assembled in Perth as well. The red paint is one givaway, also has an Aussie plug for the service outlet and a LAI plate on the back of the machine. Thanks for the additional info. My Magic has an Aussie plug for the service outlet and the LAI plate. Wonder if she is a local? :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strangeways Posted August 26, 2008 Author Share Posted August 26, 2008 Head and Body The first thing to do was remove everything out of the lower cabinet. It was obviously filthy from years of gathering dust. The power board with the mounted transformer was removed and the Power Board will be completely rebuilt. Everything else will be washed by hand - including the wiring harness. Here's a quick picture of the Head. Thankfully it has the SB300 sound board and a lamp driver. so thats a start ! No displays, but that's ok. I had a few in storage. http://www.users.on.net/~nzambello/galaxy/Head1.JPG Cabinet The outside of the cabinet was not the greatest, but, Stern used a really good paint process with their cabinets. I don't know if it was the type of paint, but most cabinets were never faded and retained their deep colors. This is after the first clean just with Nifti and water. The legs have been cleaned as well. Nice colors. http://www.users.on.net/~nzambello/galaxy/Body3.JPG Inside of the cabinet is totally cleaned. It is difficult to clean a black cabinet ! Wiring looms, tilt board = All scrubbed... http://www.users.on.net/~nzambello/galaxy/Body2.JPG Front view... Nothing special, but at least it is starting to look like a pinball again. Luckily I had plenty of original Stern legs for these old games. http://www.users.on.net/~nzambello/galaxy/Body1.jpg Power supply Board completely rebuilt. Bridge Rectifiers, fuse holders, resistors, connectors.. all done.. Tested before placing it into the game.. I had a few of these power boards in storage, and they are mainly all the same. So I always had a rebuilt one lying around. The wooden board was sanded and everything cleaned up... http://www.users.on.net/~nzambello/galaxy/Body6.jpghttp://www.users.on.net/~nzambello/galaxy/Body5.jpg Dropped the board in and started replacing some cabinet hardware. Looking much better. Yes - cabinet is not always the "fun" part - but still, it is part of the journey... I learnt some tips later on (Meteor) that I wish I knew when I was doing the previous Stern restores... Next Update - Playfield... :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator stuba Posted August 27, 2008 Super Moderator Share Posted August 27, 2008 good on you nino and thanks as always for these threads ;) i swear you could sell advertsising space between updates. great to see these end to end restores across different era and make pins. cool also to note that some sterns were made in oz. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strangeways Posted August 27, 2008 Author Share Posted August 27, 2008 good on you nino and thanks as always for these threads ;) i swear you could sell advertsising space between updates. great to see these end to end restores across different era and make pins. cool also to note that some sterns were made in oz. :) Thanks for the kind words Stu. I'm "in it" for the pleasure of working with pins. No greater satisfaction than restoring old pins. If each restore thread I post encourages a pinhead to start their OWN restoration, then that is a reward for effort in itself. They are not that hard...:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator stuba Posted August 27, 2008 Super Moderator Share Posted August 27, 2008 Thanks for the kind words Stu. I'm "in it" for the pleasure of working with pins. No greater satisfaction than restoring old pins. If each restore thread I post encourages a pinhead to start their OWN restoration, then that is a reward for effort in itself. They are not that hard...:) soon :) my grubby old phoenix stares mournfully at me from its dusty shed corner. it will rises from its ashes one day lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strangeways Posted August 27, 2008 Author Share Posted August 27, 2008 Playfield The playfield condition was difficult to ascertain as it had a layer of protective "dust" covering it. The "dust" was "caked on".. not even an air compressor would remove it. Initially, this worried me a little as the dust and possible moisture would adhere to the playfield .....:cry Heres some more "before" shots of the playfield ; http://www.users.on.net/~nzambello/galaxy/Playfield2.JPG Wear spot right next to the outhole. But it is not consistent with where the wear SHOULD be ? That's because the kicker assembly was worn and the ball did not fire out straight. It would fire out to the right of the outhole - ie. It was not centered. I cannot prove this, as I did not try to power up the game before the resto. http://www.users.on.net/~nzambello/galaxy/Playfield4.JPG This clear plastic is broken on every Galaxy I've seen. I've made a template out of perspex for this area (but I didn't use it until the next Galaxy restore). I will have to repair this as the ball flies through the spinner and either passes through the lane guides or passes back down to the bumpers... With it being broken, it would simply hit the post and just sit there :cry http://www.users.on.net/~nzambello/galaxy/Playfield3.JPG Playfield is almost stripped. What FILTH !!! I like this part of the resto as you can gauge within the next 30 minutes whether you have an awesome playfield or a crappy one... http://www.users.on.net/~nzambello/galaxy/Playfield5.jpg First pass - Nifti sprayed onto a damp rag. Rinses often. The dirt lifted off easily, and things are looking good. There's a problem with flipper drag on the RHS flipper which I will have to deal with later on. http://www.users.on.net/~nzambello/galaxy/Playfield6.jpg Look at those colors !!! Niiiice...:cool: I was really pleased with the first "clean" of the playfield. Looks to be in decent condition. Colors are really jumping out. Things look to be really positive. I've also experimented with an acrylic black paint in the flipper area. I didn't let it dry, as I had the afterthought of filling the area first. http://www.users.on.net/~nzambello/galaxy/Playfield7.jpg I LOVE Magic eraser !!! Initially - I tried Magic Eraser around 4 - 5 years ago. It was REALLY hard to find back then. I went to work in the yellow areas above the lane guides and also the white area "GALAXY".. I ended up doing the ENTIRE playfield..It served two purposes - Removing a lot of dirt and of course - ball swirl... http://www.users.on.net/~nzambello/galaxy/Playfield8.JPG NOVUS 2 - Next was a very thorough clean with Novus 2... The picture below is a side view of the playfield with Novus 2 ONLY... No Wax.. Just Novus... What a difference !!! http://www.users.on.net/~nzambello/galaxy/Playfield9.JPG There's probably 10 hours work to get to this stage - maybe more. But the result is a really great playfield (for its age) as a platform for the rest of the restore. At this stage - parts would be ordered for the playfield... Next update.... More playfield ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigelicious Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 Yes please, more playfield ! Amazing how nice the playfield was under all of that shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strangeways Posted August 29, 2008 Author Share Posted August 29, 2008 Electronics Rebuild The boards for this game were scattered around in boxes. I had to sort through and find suitable boards. I tried to keep them original STERN boards. The MPU has to be a stern board, as is utilizes the extra CMOS 5101 chip - so it had to be a SB200. Luckily I had a few, but most had battery corrosion. I had a suitable sound board SB300 and a Solenoid Driver. There are no pictures before I started, but plenty "after" the boards were reconditioned. Solenoid Driver I tested this board in another machine and the HV section was shorted. TP 2 & 4 were both 240VDC. THe voltage should be around 175DC to 190DC at TP2. I had to install a "HV Rebuild kit" from Greatplains electronics, however, the adjustments pot and a couple of resistors were also out of spec, so I made my own "kit" of all the surrounding parts - resistors, zeners, caps etc.. I upgraded the ground points and replaced any TIP102s that were out if spec as well. C22 and C23 were replaced later on. http://www.users.on.net/~nzambello/galaxy/Elec2.JPG MPU I needed a SB200 MPU, so I used a board I had fixed previously. I had a few lying around and all of them needed the corrosion kits installed. This board was OK - but - I replaced all the components in the corrosion section as well as all the sockets (PIA, RAM, ROM). There was a lot of corrosion, that traveled under J4, so I replaced all the pin connectors and housings, of course the pins were replaced as well. A mem cap was installed with some fresh ROMs. Since doing all the work, this machine has been rock solid. One important thing to watch here - the 5101s must BOTH be the same speed or strange things tend to happen ! Here's a pic of the MPU installed.. http://www.users.on.net/~nzambello/galaxy/Elec1.JPG Lamp Driver and SB300 Both boards were working fine. The Lamp Driver had a couple of SCRs that needed to be replaced. The wiring loom was washed and any fatigued connector pins were replaced. Technically, every board except the Sound Board has been fixed, or repaired to prevent further problems in the future. Here's a pictures of all the components installed into the head... http://www.users.on.net/~nzambello/galaxy/Elec3.JPG Next Update... Under the playfield - complete rebuild. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candyflip Posted August 29, 2008 Share Posted August 29, 2008 I love this machine, and I love playing it. And I love that you are doing all the hard work to bring one back to life - it deserves it. Love love love :D best of luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigelicious Posted August 29, 2008 Share Posted August 29, 2008 And I'm loving reading about the restore! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johns-Arcade Posted August 29, 2008 Share Posted August 29, 2008 Great work Nino, keep the up-dates coming!! :cool: Regards, Johns-Arcade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strangeways Posted September 1, 2008 Author Share Posted September 1, 2008 Under the Playfield There was a lot of missing coils and parts from beneath the playfield. After looking through spare parts boxes. I managed to find most parts, although I did replace all the coils - as they were either missing or not good enough to use in the game. I have a large sheet of bakerlite, so all the plungers were cleaned and new links cut from the bakerlite was used. At the time of the restore, flipper kits etc for classic sterns were not available (and I still think no one does them), so part had to be reused. Luckily, most of the coil stops were found in spare parts boxes.. The entire underneath of the playfield was rebuilt. Have a look at the first page with the pictures of the playfield... It is the same playfield with some seriously fun work done ! Obviously, the new coils and coil sleeves make a HUGE difference, along with each individual mechanism. For the flipper rebuilds - New bakerlite, coils, Bally EOS switches and stern bushings were used. I had NOS bushings in storage.. Target bank - stripped and cleaned, new coil... Here's some pictures "top down".. http://www.users.on.net/~nzambello/galaxy/Underpf1.JPG http://www.users.on.net/~nzambello/galaxy/Underpf2.JPG http://www.users.on.net/~nzambello/galaxy/Underpf3.JPG The playfield is in the machine....more pics of the playfield next update... the TOP of the playfield ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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