TWILIGHT ZONE RECONDITION
Before we get started, I should give a brief explanation between the terms Restoration and Recondition. There is no science to this and I suppose you should use Restoration as the best single word for both. I guess I have just restored so many vintage pieces that I feel something only 7 or 8 years old should be reconditioned and not restored. I perform the same basic functions on all games no matter what their age is. The components of pins have changed much over the years. Gottlieb's "Humpty Dumpty" produced in December of 1947 had 6 flippers. There were 2 rows of three flippers and one coil drove each row. Talk about disappointing flipper power. The main differences between a Twilight Zone and the Gottlieb King Kool we restored earlier is the way the games work. For starters, older electro-mechanical Pins use relays and motors to do their job. Twilight Zone has a very sophisticated CPU and Power Supply to do the job. Yes, they both have flippers, but these run on 50 plus volts and require much more attention in the rebuilding process. The playfield is another area where the two are apples and oranges. Where as the mechanics of the King Kool took well over 80% of the total restoration time, it will be almost the opposite on the Twilight Zone. 50 plus percent of this games reconditioning process will involve the playfield and its components.
As you can see from the picture above, this game arrived in pretty good shape. It came straight off of the route and was maintained fairly well by its former owner. The playfield is dirty and the rubbers worn out. However, in this business I expect that. More importantly, all major functions seem to be working. The first thing I do is play the game. Unlike the older EM games, I want to know what I am up against prior to starting. The main reason is that many of the switches and bulbs are concealed under layers of playfield features. It is no fun having to tear a playfield back down because something was not addressed when it was apart. After playing a few games, only one major problem was noted. One of the magnet flippers on the mini-playfield was not as strong as it should have been. As expected, the flippers were weak and loose but I rebuild them all regardless of condition. It is a small amount of money in parts and time in labor to ensure the customer has good working flippers that will stay that way! Finally, the dot matrix will need to be replaced. The game has its "power ball" and the clock and gum ball are functioning. Since the only major flaw in the game is the magnet, I decide to do the playfield first. The Magnet Flipper will be addressed when I disassemble the mini-playfield. Since we are always on a deadline, I like to figure out what parts, if any, need to be ordered. Parts orders can delay completion by several weeks. In honesty, I always play these games the moment we get them so that I can get the parts orders over well before the game needs to be finished. Let's get started!
If you are attempting to recondition this or any other game on your own, I suggest taking as many photos of the playfield as possible. This will help you determine how it all goes back together when the time cones. The process starts by removing all components from the playfield. I like to start at the lower end and work my way up.
As you can see from the photo above, flipper return lanes go first along with kicker plastics. Slowly move your way up the playfield removing anything that will come off. I tend to remove all posts around the kickers and other areas that are visible when the game is put back together. As you remove components, place them on a piece of cardboard or anything else that wont get moved during the process, in rough approximation of where they were on the playfield. This will help in the assembly process as well.
I store all screws, nuts, etc in the cash box. The stripping of the playfield is probably the aspect that goes the fastest. I was able to do this playfield in an hour or so. When everything is removed, it will look like this.
We still have to remove all of the bulbs and old rubbers. This is the dirtiest part of it. It is at this stage that you can deduce whether the game has ever been totally cleaned and dismantled. As usual, this game had not had anything other than major rubber replacement since it was new. The following photos give you an idea of why these games are not making that much money in the field. Because they are not maintained on a regular basis!!
Now that everything has been removed from the playfield, it is time to get cleaning!!
Once the playfield is stripped, I use NOVUS 2 to get all of the dirt and grime off. Once again, I start at the bottom of the playfield and work my way up. I use a fine cloth and rub in a circular motion. To get all of the dirt of, some additional posts will need to be removed. Also, some of the metal ball guide rails will need to be removed as well.
I generally give the game several coats of polish and a wax to give the playfield a factory shine!
