(Topic ID: 147582)
Linked Games
Rocket III
Bally, 1967
Topic Gallery
Eugene, OR
I really FUBAR'ed the touch-ups. It was the first pin I ever tried color matching and hand painting. Just missed the mark. But the darn thing just keeps running. Paste wax the snot outta the playfield and it keeps the remaining art intact. I did do a full zipper flipper rebuild. Also the pop bumpers have the original metal rings and trigger mechs. It killed me to upgrade it to plastic so I did the best could holding those original also (minus pop bumper bodies).
Also the wonderful and huge upper plastic was cracking. It covers the entry to the spinning feature in the upper mushroom target area. Was able to save one half the plastic from the creeping crack! Ground out the clear original see thru lane and created 2 seperate plastics. To the lamen it looks nos. Anyone have an upper plastic? 
Wow. Fun game! I loaned this out for 2 years at my Dad's man cave. I forgot how quick and fun zipper flippers are. Giving it a quick clean up and wax has made it really zippy!
Quoted from blazerchad:And is Pluto a planet or not? Love the BG.
Is that Uranus I see there? Love those zipper flippers!
Does your Rocket have a Special function? Early ones were a little different and in some cases came with a Plexi BG. Mine is a later model with special and a thick glass BG.
Quoted from blazerchad:Getting more intimate. Love the early E.M.'s that have the folding board in the belly that allows a hinged arm to hold the board up and out for maintenance.
20151227_145114_(resized).jpg20151227_145124_(resized).jpg
Never knew that, looks handy!
Great game, congrats! It's too bad every one I've seen has a peeling cabinet.
I think it's got some of the best art of any game...
This poor Rocket has been re-painted also. All peeling... would love to upgrade the side art with more of a 60s rocketship theme.
3 months later
Maroubra
Does anyone have a pic of the inside of the backbox of this machine for an ADD-A-BALL version?I have three of these machines(don't ask how I did that...you wouldn't believe it!)but one of them is an Italian add-a-ball.I know for sure as the wiring loom is different,particularly to the stepper units(obviously it doesn't have a replay unit).It is definitely factory and not some modification done by someone else.I have not seen any machine with pics like this one and I do own a Bally Gold Rush add-a-ball but that wiring and set-up for stepper units makes sense for the time and I have seen that in others.You might note that the Italian version's backglass did not have a replay window to the left of the large "R"...it wasn't a patch put there after,it was screened that way on purpose.The sites list only one Rocket III...I have to disagree-a Rocket III and a Rocket III add-a-ball(with the the 1 to 9 at the top of the glass counting the balls instead of end-of-game matching number for a replay)
I almost bought one of these once, but someone tipped me off that it was a novelty only model which didn't have the capability to award replays or extra balls.
Yep,that crossed my mind,too.But once I got another Rocket III and compared the two workings in the backbox,it confirmed the big difference.I tried to chase pics of other machines that may have this alternative setup.....the closest I could find which may be the same was some guy in the mid-north of USA with a 1966 Loop The Loop...the pic is not that clear or big enough but seems to be like this odd Rocket III add-a-ball.Again,Loop The Loop had two different backglasses...one with a replay window,the other not(and I presume screened that way).My Gold Rush add-a-ball does award extra balls and is consistent in it's setup like others around that time like Bazaar.But Rocket III add-a ball is totally different in this setup...not even others following like Wiggler,Rockmakers,etc have this setup.Novelty model....hmmmm....can't say one way or the other for now.What I'm pretty sure of is that they had a design rule and setup that ran from the earlier ones such as Happy Tour,Hayride,etc all the way through to ones like Bazaar,Gold Rush,Capersville,etc.....then around 1966/67,this odd setup-Rocket III,and maybe Loop The Loop....but can't see any others like it....by 1968,it looks like that setup was phased out.Would like to see one out of a 1969 King Rex...that seems different but I don't think it is a return to the 1966/67 ones.
N.B.-The main stepper unit on the Rocket III add-a-ball has two extra leaf packs...the wiring loom is larger to accomodate.In other words,if you got a normal wiring loom to fit from a Rocket III into this one,it cannot possibly work.The extra wiring from the stepper then has extras running to other parts including the score reels and "added balls" unit(yep,that is a name on one of the units).A pinball enthusiast of some standing in Italy,Federico Croci,was kind enough to confirm the existance...he sent me a schematic for this and assured me that,yes,there is two different setups.I just can't get my head around this schematic to make this one work properly...I would do infinitely better if I had a pic of one similar(and I tried to wire it something like my other Rocket III's that run....that definitely doesn't work!)
5 months later
4 years later
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