Ask Uncle Willy #7: October 13, 1995
Here are the latest bits of info from Uncle Willy.
Please keep in mind that some questions take a bit of research, so that
answers to some questions may not show up right away. Also, with all the
questions in his mailbox, Uncle Willy can only answer the questions of general
interest to the readers of rec.games.pinball.
Send all questions and comments to:
uncle_willy@wms.com
Uncle Willy enjoys hearing from you!
Back issues of "Ask Uncle Willy" can be found at:
http://www.wms.com/williams/willyworld.html
Question: Could you provide the design credits for the following games:
Pokerino, Blackout, Alien Poker, Barracora, Warlok and Laser
Cue?
Answer: Uncle Willy spent quite a bit of time interrogating the
experts to find out this information. Unfortunately, full
design credits were hard to come by on these games. Uncle
Willy would appreciate if anyone with further information
or corrections on these games would send the info to
uncle_willy@wms.com.
Pokerino (Williams, 1978)
Designed by Steven Kordek
Art by Tony Ramunni
Blackout (Williams, 1980)
Designed by Claude Fernandez
Art by Constantino Mitchell
Alien Poker (Williams, 1980)
Designed by Edward Tomaszewski w/input from Steven Kordek
Art by Tony Ramunni
Barracora (Williams, 1981)
Designed by Roger Sharpe and Steve Epstein w/assistance
from Steve Kordek
Art by Doug Watson
Software by Ed Suchocki
Warlok (Williams, 1983)
Designed by Mike Kubin
Art by Constantino Mitchell and Seamus McLaughlin
Software by Cary Kolker
Laser Cue (Williams, 1984)
Designed by Edward Tomaszewski
Art by Pam Erickson
Question: I have seen several Theatre of Magic pinballs where the
flipper angle appears strange. What is the correct adjust-
ment for the placement of the flippers?
Answer: To correctly adjust the flippers on Theatre of Magic, locate
the marker holes in the playfield just below each flipper.
The bottom of the flipper plastic should line up with the top
edge of the marker hole. (A wire brad inserted in the marker
hole is helpful in this alignment process.)
Mr. Popadiuk (designer of Theatre of Magic) says: "I made
the flipper angle a bit droopier than normal to make it
easier to shoot the two outside loop shots."
Question: What games has Mark Ritchie designed?
Answer: Thunderball (a pinball game that was never produced),
Firepower II, Pennant Fever (a pitch-and-bat baseball game),
Sorcerer, Road Kings, Big Guns, Taxi, Police Force (co-
designed with Barry Oursler), Diner, Slugfest (another pitch-
and-bat base-ball game), Fish Tales, and Indiana Jones.
These games were all designed while Mr. Ritchie was employed
at Williams Electronics Games, Inc.; he is now working for
CAPCOM Coin-Op, Inc.
Question: I am looking for an old pinball machine that was popular
back in the '60s or '70s, where should I look to buy one?
Also, I am interested in shooting games and old driving
games. Do you have any hints on finding such games?
Answer: Uncle Willy has found that collecting old coin-op equipment
to be an interesting and rewarding hobby. Beware, though,
that coin-op machines do NOT like to be alone. They are
always happier when kept as part of a larger collection.
There are many sources for that old coin-op piece, and the
price you pay will depend upon how hard you look and how
much fixing up you are willing to do. Start by looking under
"Amusement Games" in the Yellow Pages where you live. Many
cities have businesses which specialize in selling re-
furbished coin-op equipment to the home market. It also pays
to note the phone numbers on the operator's stickers on the
games you play out on location -- sometimes that operator
has something collecting dust in the back room that is just
what you are looking for.
Uncle Willy also recommends subscribing to a collector
magazine or newsletter. Not only are these a great source
of classified advertisements, but they will also keep you
up to date on collector shows or auctions in your area.
Consult the rec.games.pinball FAQ for magazine/newsletter
information and for more tips on tracking down that special
piece of coin-op equipment.
Question: What products do you recommend for cleaning pinball games?
Answer: Uncle Willy cannot comment on any particular product for
keeping your pinballs clean. He recommends consulting the
rec.games.pinball FAQ for others' opinions on products to
use. The most important thing to remember about cleaning
your pinball machines is to clean them often! Letting the
grunge build up not only will slow down the play of a game,
but is also a sure way to increase the rate of wear of the
playfield.
Question: Does Williams Electronics Games give tours of its pinball
factory?
Answer: In short, no. The exception to this is when Williams conducts
a tour of the plant in conjuction with the Pinball Expo. Note
that the pinball manufacturers in Chicago take turns hosting
the factory tour from year-to-year.
Question: Why don't the flashers on my World Cup Soccer game work in
test mode? They seem to work fine during game play.
Answer: The coin door interlock switch on your World Cup Soccer
disables the 50v and 20v power supplies to the playfield.
The 50v supply is used by the coils and the 20v supply is
used by the flashers. To test coils and flashers with the
coin door open, use the yellow service clip to hold in the
interlock switch.
Question: I am trying to restore an old pinball machine and would
like to touchup the playfield and backglass. Does Uncle
Willy have any hints on how to do this? Where can I get
artwork of games for reference for this touchup work? Where
can I get pictures of games, in general?
Answer: Uncle Willy feels for you. While he does not have any
experience in backglass restoration, Uncle Willy would refer
you to the November 1990 issue of the Pinball Trader
newsletter. This issue had an article that describes a very
intricate method of matching colors and touching up a back-
glass. Perhaps some r.g.p reader can look up this issue
for you and photocopy the article. (The method sure scared
Uncle Willy off from trying to do any backglass restoration,
but it might be worth a try for a more intrepid collector.
In fact, Uncle Willy would be interested in hearing about
others' experiences with backglass restoration.)
Uncle Willy has done some considerable work on touching up
playfields, however. The r.g.p FAQ recommends using enamel
paints, such as those used for model building. However,
Uncle Willy has had good luck with artists acrylic paints
and finds them easy to work with and match colors. One big
advantage is that these paints are water-soluble before they
dry. Lots of patience in mixing and painting are required
to do this work well. After the paint is dry, cover the
repainted areas with polyurethane. (Keep in mind that this
information is from Uncle Willy's personal experience --
your mileage may vary.)
Finding good reference material is very difficult. Many
people collect pinball advertising flyers to assist them in
refurbishing their games. Unfortunately, changes are often
made to a game between the time the flyer photos are taken
and the game enters production. This affects the accuracy
of the information in the flyers. Check the recommended book
list in the r.g.p FAQ for further reference material. These
books are filled with many color pictures of games.
All text and images © 1995 Williams Electronics Games, Inc.
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