I’m in the club. This is a project where someone intended to paint and clear the playfield, but only got as far as stripping a lot of the posts, plastics, pop bumpers, and flippers.

Any tips for color matching the paint?

I’ll clean it up first then decide if I’ll give the painting a try.

Hopefully all the parts are there to get it playing again.

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#3555

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The cleaning begins.
Will waxing preserve the paint, or is the only option a clear coat? I basically want it to stay this way, so maybe a playfield protector will work if there is one made someplace?

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Thanks JoyDivision, that does look great. I'll be ordering one this evening.

I went through the bags and boxes of parts and it looks like everything is there. Even came with new pop bumper and flipper parts.

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What’s the deal with these built in props for the playfield glass and frame? Is it actually safe and advisable for me to use them? Kinda neat feature. Is there also a prop for raising the playfield?

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haha. It's a neat idea. I agree that removing the whole thing is a safer way to go. haha.

What is the consensus for raising the playfield? I didn't see a prop rod for the playfield and I'm not quite sure there is a wood rail to allow tilting the playfield all the way up vertically to rest against the head?

Never mind about the prop rod. I found the wooden one that is built into the machine. I like that the playfield tilts up on hinge points.
I'll probably use a second broom handle when I have the playfield up to keep it more steady.

Doing a few more touch ups and then clearing it. After that will give airbrushing the orange, yellow, and blue a try.

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Polished some metal parts.

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Did an inventory and it looks like all the plastics and flipper parts are here.

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Time to remove the items sticking above the playfield and put on some clear. Have to also figure out how to remove the spinning disc.

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Yikes! The zipper flippers are looking a little rough.

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Clear coating tomorrow.

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Maybe one more coat after this one.

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I can measure it tonight if nobody else chimes in.

1 inch in the very back.
7/8 inch on the front.

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Glad I could help. Mine is torn apart for painting and clear coating, so it was super easy.

DK, when do you think you will miss it? What are your thoughts about the machine? What is new pinball machine is going to take the spot in your lineup?

I am still in the process of clear coating my Fireball. I can't wait to get it operational. That's an interesting observation about how Fireball is more fun when you are able to do it multi-player.

Is this really a plastics set for the 1972 Fireball EM? http://www.planetarypinball.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=GS-FBC1&Category_Code=GS-852

I didn't think any were available?

Reassembly begins!

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Spinning disc, rollover buttons, kick out holes, and through playfield switches installed.

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Anyone know what size wood screws are used to screw the pop bumpers bases down and what screws are used to mount the pop bumper brackets on the underside of the playfield? I bought my Fireball with the playfield already stripped, so unfortunately these screws are missing. Also what size machine screws hold the Bally apron down? I’m missing a few.

Thanks,

Tom

Thanks! I'll let you guys know what I end up using. From looking at the underside of the playfield and checking out photos of Fireball EM machines, it looks like the pop bumper brackets are held on with 3 wood screws. I'm planning to use the same screws that I use to secure the pop bumper bases.

Getting closer! Have a playfield protector to put down. Then I’m in the home stretch.

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Jibintn, looking super clean!
I need to clean my relay board in the base cabinet. Your zipper flipper mechanism looks great too. My zippers are going to need a lot of work.

Got my pop bumpers screwed down and wired up last night.

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Jlbintn, I basically hand painted my entire playfield. I used the airbrush for the white under the plastics. The only color I didn’t mess with was the blue background. The Fireball demon guy is slightly darker than original. I couldn’t match the red, so ended up painting the whole guy.

Playfield protector going on. Beehive did a nice job. Only very minor trimming in two spots.

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No playfield lights, but I get the back box lighting after I press the left flipper button.

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I was messing around and changed the score reels off of zero, the. activated the reset relay. All the score reels reset to zero. So I guess that’s a good sign. It was good to see the score motor moving.

I’ll look into the playfield light fuse issue this evening.

Got it to start a game. Playfield lights, spinning disc. Odin kick out hole would immediately kick the ball out. No bells. It appears to be scoring. This is going to be fun!

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I’m thinking I soldered the light sockets wrong on my pop bumpers. All 3 pop bumpers are illuminated when a game starts. Can someone show some photos of how the pop light sockets are soldered? Thanks!

Thanks for the pop bumper photos!

This stepper unit coil is locking on for some reason. Maybe a playfield switch? I’ll break out the schematic tomorrow night.

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I'm making progress. Tonight I am going to solder the wire connections on my zipper flippers. I'll have to look for clear photos to help. I removed the zipper mechanism and disassembled it some, but I didn't take it to a bench to clean. I got a lot of gunk off of it and the left side had a washer thing that was pretty loose. So it is a little tighter now and cleaner.

The machine will start a game and go through 5 balls. I had a playfield 10 point switch that was closed that was causing the 00-90 stepper unit coil to lock on. So that is fixed. The rollovers on the ramp are not working and all 3 pop bumpers are illuminated all the time. So I guess I have a stuck relay or switch for the ramp roll overs.

Also the kickback lane ball save thing on the left won't stay lit. The coil and switch work if I keep the kickback button held down, so that's cool.

The Odin kickout hole isn't working right. It only releases when the release fire gods captive ball switch is hit. Maybe the problem is the mushroom bumper for Odin or a relay?

The strobing lights for the Odin hole value rotate, so that's fun.

The gate at the bottom of the Wotan kickout lane seems to work.

So it's super fun and exciting to see the machine come to life. Hopefully after I solder up the zipper flippers, it will be tinkering with some switch adjustments and relay cleaning.

It is about 1/8 inch thick and looks like a washer riveted in place.

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Zipper Flippers are working now. Ended up being the switches on the zipper unit up by that long spring.

I’ve got a 1,000 point switch stuck someplace. The bell on the cabinet dings when I start a game and stays locked on. Also the ramp switches aren’t scoring.

Besides that, the other main problem is the solenoid for the outhole is weak and often doesn’t kick the ball up the trough incline. I can’t find an end of stroke switch for it to adjust.

I’ll post a photo of that relay/switch tomorrow for you.

I forgot to snap a photo tonight.

I got the 1,000 relay unlocked. Had a closed switch at the left outlane/kickback.

Played some games and had a different switch someplace getting stuck causing something to lock on.

Also had the zippers stop working. Kinda like it was trying to close, but wasn’t latching after hitting the blue mushroom bumper.

Each day it is playing a little better, but still not 100%.

The state of the relay is with the coil pulled in on the left.

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I like how we did a tag team to show the relay in both states. haha.

My zipper flippers seem to not latch after the Odin hole kicks out a ball and then I think the 1,000 relay gets locked on. I need to look into those areas. It played several games fine if I didn't eject from the Odin hole during the game. Still need to fine tune my flipper adjustment.

Your bell and clapper are looking great!

My Fireball is playing pretty well. On the ramp, the middle roll over switch isn’t scoring, but it lites up the top two pop bumpers.

I’ll mess around with the Odin hole some more. It seems like sometimes after kicking out from that hole, something prevents the zipper mech from closing again if the blue mushroom bumper gets hit. I’ll mess around with it some to get a better idea of what’s happening.

Is there a knocker? I’ve gotten a few free credits based on points and haven’t heard the knocker go off yet. So I’ll check that out too.

I guess the problem could be one of the yellow mushroom bumper switches needing to be adjusted better.

Now that I have my Fireball working, how much are these things selling for lately? I’ve put so many hours into painting it and getting it flipping, no way I’m going to sell it anytime soon though.

Can someone definitively tell me if the middle switch on the ramp is supposed to award 1,000 points? Mine is only turning the top two pop bumpers on to score 100 each.

You’re right, the knocker is weak. Haha. I plugged in the match feature today and matched after a few games.

frenchmarky yes, I was thinking the same thing. I picked up my Fireball Memorial Day weekend and just got it flipping again last week. So I've been visiting this thread regularly and was surprised there wasn't more interest in this great EM machine. I also picked up an El Dorado Labor Day weekend and was able to get it flipping much quicker. From my research on Pinside.com there wasn't even an El Dorado owner's club thread, so at least Fireball is ahead in that respect. Both are great EM pinball machines and I hope to keep them as long as I'm in the hobby.

I'm just now getting to the point where I am attempting some strategy as I play my Fireball. I think my favorite shot is when I flip the ball off my right flipper and into the Wotan lane and it gets 3,000 points as it returns down to the flippers. I haven't quite decided if it is better to just go ahead and do a 2 ball multi-ball to rack up some points, or try for a 3 ball multi-ball? If I get both of the Odin and Wotan holes locked, I'll usually just hit one of the yellow mushroom bumpers to get a 2 ball multi-ball going and hope one of the balls ends up hitting the other yellow mushroom bumper to release the third ball. I don't hit the Release Fire Gods target very often.

Backhand left for me on the captive ball. Also fixed my center ramp switch so now it scores 1,000 points on the skill shot.

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jlbintn that is looking fantastic! You are a natural.

Best game yet.

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5 ball.

I’m not at your level yet! I need to do that type of thing with a Card Whiz base cabinet and head.

Are you going to paint the inside of the base cabinet? I would be tempted to spray it and clear the inside! Haha

Looking great!

That is looking great John!

Now that is looking sharp John!

Very cool John! It inspires me to tackle my base cabinet on Card Whiz. I bought it with a Jet Spin base cabinet. Haha

I need to dig into my Fireball more. The machine is playing well and is loads of fun. It seems that if I have balls locked in Odin and Wotan and then release them, I am unable to close the flippers. I hit the blue mushroom bumper and the flippers try to close, but immediately open back up. My initial guess is something on the Wotan relay is keeping the flippers open. I'm pretty sure this happens when the yellow mushroom bumpers or the release fire gods captive ball switch are activated. I need to do some more testing. Has anyone ever experienced something similar to this?

Almost rolled it!

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Also took the knocker apart and cleaned it. Opened up the brass screw so the knocker makes a little more noise.

Player 4 score reels wouldn’t reset so cleaned them up and adjusted and cleaned the score reel switches.

ChristianJS Your Fireball looks nice! Here is a photo of my machine. That screw on mine has one of those metal bell things supporting under the plastic.

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That top arch piece on the ramp on mine is all warped like crazy too. It digs into the machine when I tilt the playfield up. For Christmas I told my wife to get me a new set of plastics for it from Planetary Pinball.

Fireball is fun for all ages. Haha

Hi John,

I highly recommend getting some cheap rubber cement from the local Walmart or drug store. Paint the rubber cement as a frisket edge around what you want to paint. Then just use some paper to cover the areas close by. You can then rub away the rubber cement, leaving a sharp edge to whatever you were painting.

Tom

I don't really have a way of measuring the incline. My front leg levelers are all the way in. My 2 inch back levelers are as high as they can go. I'm getting a ton of drains straight down the middle after making the skill shot, so I will probably adjust it some to see if it stops that from happening.

Oh man, John I have no idea how to help you. Some EM guru will have to assist.
About your wife's comments, it is cool that she enjoys playing pinball with you. I wish my wife played more often with me. She is more likely to play if we have friends over or if the grandsons are here.

Had a nice game tonight!

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It is normal for the balls to stay locked in Odin and Wotan! What a marvel of EM design! Imagine if they somehow managed to work in a spinner or some drop targets!!!! haha

Working on the pinball room and got Fireball moved into place. The machine must be more level now. I’m no longer getting drains straight down the middle after the skill shot. Sure makes the game less frustrating. Haha

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Fireball has been rolled!

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Rolling it may never happen again! haha. I am developing a strategy, so I have noticed that my average scores are getting higher. This particular game I benefitted from the left kicker preventing some drains. Somehow I kept locking balls, getting the skill shot, releasing balls, and repeating. Hitting the, "Release Fire Gods!" target with the captive ball and unlocking the Odin and Wotan balls is a fun moment in pinball. I'm very happy to own this machine.

I have my Fireball set up to take quarters, so it was fun having the knocker go off 3 times during the game and advance the credits.

I still can't get the hang of the closed flipper shot using both flippers to the captive ball. I'm doing something wrong. haha.

I know what you mean. I have 3 EMs to go along with a High Speed and Flight 2000. I like variety though. Going straight from Fireball or Card Whiz to High Speed is really different.

I replaced 4 lamp sockets up under the top arch today. What a pain getting the sockets unsoldered. I think I have 2 or 3 more to do eventually.

I am still having a great time with Fireball. Some of the multi-balls are extremely short, but it is really fun when I can keep 3 balls in action for a while. My main strategies are these so far.
1. Get the skill shot. (A good skill shot will get me 4,000 points and the ball will roll into the blue mushroom bumper to close the zipper flippers).
2. Lock a ball as quickly as possible.
3. Get the skill shot again.
4. Release the ball as quickly as possible to get a few thousand more points.
5. Lock another ball or two as quickly as possible.
6. Get more skill shot points.
7. Keep the flippers closed as much as possible.
8. Keep shooting the ball to the right saucer and collecting points as the ball drops down and returns back to the flippers.
9. Release the fire gods captive ball target is always fun to nail real hard.

Am I missing any strategies?
I'm not sure I will ever get tired of this machine.

Played some games of Fireball tonight with my son. Had a great time.

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Am I the only one who gets frustrated when I have a multi-ball going and one of the balls drains down a side out lane....but it takes too long to get back into the ball trough under the apron, and I lock a ball in the Wotan or Odin holes, and suddenly the ball ends. Feels like a total ripoff. haha I need to adjust my strategy to try and delay locking balls like that.

Almost rolled it today.

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Is that your Fireball and bear, @crazylevi?

I used one of these. I think the Dark Blue, but I’m not sure. I think I got them from Hobby Lobby. The blue didn’t match exactly, but worked for me.

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jlbintn how fun is Fireball II? I've never had an opportunity to play it. It looks pretty neat.

My son has been into playing me best out of 3 or best out of 5 after he gets home from work. I was player #2 and rolled it on him. It was a total beat-down. Haha.

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My fireball stopped kicking a ball into the shooter lane today. I think it’s related to the ball release relay. Tonight I’m going to move the playfield out of the way and adjust and clean all the switches on that relay.

Resolved. Trough switches cleaned and adjusted took care of it.

Unfortunately, I am creating new problems with my Fireball. Whatever I did poking around last week to resolve the trough issue last week, caused a new issue. Here is what happens now.

1. 1 player games seem fine.
2. Any multi-player games add 1,000 points to player #1 as soon as the credit button is pushed to add a player.
3. Plus, when that happens, the Release Fire Gods relay activates and the ball in Wotan kicks out and the gate opens up and the ball returns to the shooter.

I hate it when I try to fix something and cause new problems that didn't exist before. haha.

I forgot to report back that my problem is fixed. Much thanks to @pinballdaveh. With his help I isolated the wire for the Release Fire Gods Solenoid Relay. It was shorting somehow and removing it from the wire loom bundle resolved the issue.

Had an excellent game last night and rolled Fireball. My nephew witnessed it while he was playing El Dorado.

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So close to rolling Fireball again, but blew it. All I had to do was release a ball, or lock a ball and plunge again. However in my excitement I bricked it off the Release Fire Gods captive ball entrance and drained. Oops!

Had really good balls on ball 4 and ball 5. Lots of locking balls, plunger skill shot, and releasing balls.

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Missed rolling it again.

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Welcome @mcubed! I played a few games on my Fireball tonight! I had a pretty good game and made the knocker go off a few times. I never get tired of the multiball action.

Mine came with plastic colored sleeves for the bulbs at the top in the skill shot area. I ended up not using them. I’ll try to dig them up and post a photo of them tonight.

You're funny Garrett. You'll get a Fireball eventually. How much are you willing to pay for one? Do you have room for it in your lineup?

haha. Garrett, it is certainly not up to your restoration standards. haha. I just love the cabinet on this pinball machine. I think it would be cool to get an old Jeep CJ, pickup truck, or Volvo station wagon and paint the Fireball cabinet design on the side of it.

Here are the plastic sleeves that were on the top arch of my Fireball. I haven’t installed them back in the machine. I was afraid to clean them, but might consider adding some colored bulbs in there.

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MG7322 Those look rad!

I am afraid of magic eraser and alcohol. I’m pretty sure I waxed under my playfield protector, but make sure you do a good job buffing the wax off before putting down the playfield protector.

Amazing it didn’t take all the paint off the cabinet. Hopefully you can find something that will get the residue off.

I think yours had holes drilled for a lockdown bar on the coin door. Here’s the front of my machine.

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The bolts don’t bother me guys.

epeabs That is looking great. Nice going. What are those red things you put in place of the buttons around the spinning disc? Getting the buttons removed from mine was a pain and I was worried I was going to break the plastic stems on the underside of the buttons.

Beautiful work!

I played a 4 person game by myself last night just to get all the score reels moving. Pretty amazing that 3 of the 4 players were all around $33K points and one player was at $80K points. For some reason I was getting the skill shot almost every plunge, but quite a few ended up draining down the left, right, or middle quickly.