1 a flyer (resized).PNG Kings & Queens Flyer

I bought this game from Shay Assad when he offloaded some games a few years ago. He posts on the RGP site periodically what games or back glasses he is offloading. I was first to respond and snag it.

The Gottlieb Kings and Queens is a classic and as a lot of people know the game was played by the Who’s lead singer Roger Daltrey (Tommy) during the epic 1975 Who movie ‘Tommy’. As part of this restoration I have been hunting background information around the Kings and Queens game, the movie, shooting locations and other trivia that some may find interesting as a prologue.

1 1a Tommy (resized).JPG 1975 scene on the stage showing Tommy played by Roger Daltrey with the Kings and Queens.

The scene centers around the championship playoff with the ‘pinball wizard’ played by Elton John playing a ‘Buckaroo’ on gigantic boots. It’s the best parts of the movie. Well… except maybe for the scene with lead actress Ann-Margret swimming drunk in baked beans and chocolate. She went on to win a Golden Globe for that scene and possibly her overall performance. Just before the scene with the TV set exploding bake beans in her luxurious suite, she was watching a TV ad: "Eat Rex beans. Fit for a queen". Rex is Latin for "king" so this I read is probably the king and queen connection to why Tommy was playing that game. Personally, I think it was because the game is a blast.

The K&Q’s pinball scene was played on the stage at the Kings Theater, Southsea the seaside part of the city of Portsmouth.

1 b Kings Theater (resized).JPG Kings Theater, Southsea

Portsmouth is mainly built on Portsea Island. It is a flat low-lying island, nine square miles in area, just off the south-east coast of Hampshire. Bet you did not know that Portsmouth is the only island city in the United Kingdom, and is the only city whose population density exceeds that of London.

The movie director was the late Ken Russell. He grew up in the area and was probably familiar to the movie shoot locations. Locations included the Kings theatre, Fort Nelson, South Parade Pier and Portsdown Hill. I think that It was probably an economical place to film. I was finishing school then in 1974, starting an engineering apprenticeship and remember it was a tough time economically in the UK.

While shooting the Bernies Holiday Camp Ballroom scenes at the South Parade Pier, the camera lights started a major fire that resulted in a closure of the pier, not the best of memento of Tommy you might first think. However, the local people had got used to it, the pier going up in flames that is. The pier built in 1878 burned down the first time in 1904. It also caught fire several times before the shooting of Tommy.

1 c Pier in flames clip (resized).JPG Whoops

In 2019, a Funfair named "Kidz Island" was opened on the pier. Local fingers are currently still crossed they don't experience another fire as the current owner is famous for his TV hand puppet called ‘Sooty”. Not a good omen.

1 d South Parade Pier (resized).JPG Early 60’s at the pier entrance.

1 e 2020 South Parade Pier (resized).JPG South Parade Pier reopened in 2017. Looking better than ever.

More to come.

1 f Eltons Boots (resized).JPG The boots are ‘still standing’ in the Northampton Museum.

The giant Doc Martens that Elton wore were made with a platform support above and metal calipers and leather straps for attaching to the legs. Elton John agreed to take the part with a condition he could keep the large boots afterwards. As usual most things Elton collects, he eventually sells to have more space to collect…. sound familiar. Now the boots are on permanent display at the Northampton Museum close to where they were made.

1 h K Q front (resized).JPG Can't make out that serial #. 1 g Original Game from the movie (resized).PNG Original game after restoration back in the ‘Kings Theatre’. Pic was taken circa 2010.

After the movie, one of the two Kings and Queens game was stored for about 10 years when it was restored by a pinballer called Steve Tribe and presented by the film company to the Pound family that owned the salvage yard used in the movie with the giant silver pinball's made from buoys. Well done Steve except I can’t see the webbing. Wonder what the serial # is? It’s not in the serial # database. The other K&Q games as you probably guessed was burned in the movie fire.

I found a local 2010 YouTube link to a locally made documentary after I wrote this, and it is better than my prologue. So, I added it after mine of course.

My connection to all this was I love the game and the Who! Mods loved the Who and Tamla Motown records, (Tamla Motown was the UK EMI label). At the time of the movie I was a mod! I had a Parker coat but no scooter, but I still loved the Who.

1 h2 Mods (resized).PNG Mods in the 60’s and early 70’s

If you don’t understand the last few sentences no matter just understand that I like the Who. I also like the K&Q game and I love playing it. I found this link on You Tube about Mods. I liked the clothes, the music especially the Who and the girls. But as I had no scooter I could never have got in any trouble.

Here is a YouTube link to a short story on Mods and Rockers Rivalry.
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-27391179/mods-and-rockers-brighton-beach-clashes-remembered

More to follow.

Nice update story. Love to see the CD somehow. Maybe it’s on YouTube? You would think Roger or Pete had K&Q’s. If Keith Moon was given one then ....oh well!

Edit: Not currently available on YouTube or BBC. Came out in 2009, 30 mins duration.

I saw the Who in concert in the 70’s as a teenager at the South London Charlton Football ground. It was a fabulous night until my buddy Pete squared with me that the concert finished so late that to get a train and tube back to North London was not likely. Terrible night followed but great concert. Mods also loved the Detroit Motown songs to dance with your girl. Cool times.

The Who are one of the best bands live and were on top form that night. Roger the Dodger’s voice was great. Can’t remember if they smashed up their instruments at the end. I’m sure, they did but I was edging to the exits in the waste of time attempt to get a train home. Very recently they were playing in Houston but had to quit the concert after about 20 mins as Roger Daltrey’s voice shuts down if he gets a whiff of marijuana. Guess touring may be a thing of the past for the Who in the US. Times sure change.

I was in Mayfair, London last year summer for my daughter’s wedding. Fabulous place to have a wedding until you get the bill. The morning of the big day I was at a nearby barbershop with the groomsmen for a shave and was informed that in 1974 ‘Mama Cass’ died in the flat above, choking on a sandwich. This was the same time the Tommy movie was being made. The address Mama Cass passed at was 9 Curzon Place (now 1 Curzon square) not 9 Curzon Street where the barbershop resides which is about 300 yards away. Being tourists, I guess he could bend the truth a little.

The link in the story was four years later the Who’s drummer Keith Moon also died in the same flat from an accidental overdose of a prescription drug prescribed to combat alcoholism. Keith Moon was the original manic madcap ADHD drummer that loved to trash hotel rooms, throw TV’s out of windows and crash a a car thru a hotel lobby.

He once explained himself as follows. “I love to see people laugh and I love it more if I can make them laugh. I think this comes across in my drumming. I watch a lot of The Marx Brothers' movies and they were doing the same sort of things. You've seen the way (Chico Marx) plays the piano with that certain flair . . . adding something to the music while taking liberties within his own capabilities? It's a question of taking somebody else's music but not sending it up in a derogative sense, just injecting your own personality. (Pete Townshend)'s music allows me to do this”.

Both great talents, such a shame. Not the best ending to the restoration prologue so to cheer you all up let’s start a riveting, edge of your seat restoration.

27 (resized).jpg Flash forward to the restored game

Restoration to follow.

Ground up Restoration

Although well-worn my game plays flawlessly, and I enjoy it much. It is an easier game to master compared to my much-loved Slick Chick. As the two games will sit together the combined experience should all even out as after getting my ass kicked by Slick Chick the K&Q’s will hopefully partially hand it back. So, it’s time to bring the game back to the beauty it is as I have a cleared Wade Kraus playfield hanging on the wall waiting.

I like the early/ mid 60’s period internal component brass plating. On this game there are a few non period brass plated parts that will get exchanged with from pieces I have collected. For the second restore in a row I have a cabinet serial # difference, the lower cabinet is numbered 04578, and the back box is stamped 04621. I will alter the backbox serial stamp to the same as the lower cabinet.

1 j Existing Cabinet (resized).JPG Existing Game best side

The cabinet paint is showing its age it’s not in bad condition overall. However, it will never be a candidate for the Smithsonian, and as I like my games minty. I restore everything to prime condition and this should keep this game in playing circulation hopefully for many decades to come.

Repainting the Cabinet

The original paint came off with a paint remover and scrapper in two evenings, easiest paint removal ever. The cabinet wood is in the best condition I have come across, a few deep gouges and scratches and that’s really it. When I repainted the Gottlieb Slick Chick a while back, I bought enough paint for the Kings and Queens project except for the blue which is different, so I had only to get a pint of blue mixed this time. The temperature in South Texas is usually ok for painting and I thought this looks like it would be quick and easy job, so I did not put my spray booth together this time.

I use auto paint for my games and this time used a 2-part epoxy primer over the bare wood to get a good preparation for the base paint. I sometimes use rattle can primers if the auto paint bill is high (usually) but as the cost of the repaint materials were minimal this time I splashed out.

2 (resized).jpg Base with 2-part epoxy primer

3 (resized).jpg Light box and Pedestal

Light sanding and after some more small repairs and we are ready for the base coat followed by a black webbing.

4 (resized).jpg5 (resized).jpg6 (resized).jpg Base coat and webbing added

I have seen how good EM cabinet painters on this site repaint the K&Q crisscross lines. See the thread where Pinhead52 and Boilerman give some good tips; https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/painting-a-kings-and-queens-buckaroo-cowpoke

As I do not plan to restore multiple examples of this games, I think my acrylic homemade stencils will work with some modifications. Painting the blue horizontal blue lines are a challenge. The stencil can get wavy and messy because of the instant grip of the tacky glue and you would see the result a mile off. However, the smaller length lines can be added accurately and cleanly with this type of stencil.

7 (resized).jpg Recommended Stencil Application

For spraying the long horizontal blue lines, I needed to modify my usual approach. I mark the lines out with a pencil and frame with painters’ tape. My original games blue lines are sharp with no over spray. Painters tape can let paint under a little, so I will use the better Frog green tape and paste the edges with acrylic Matt medium paste (clear when dry) as a further blocker to fill the edges before I paint.

The Matt Medium goes on as a white solution but quickly clears and seals the edges against paint creep.

8 (resized).JPG Matt Medium

9 (resized).jpg 10 a (resized).jpg Longer Blue Lines using Green Frog Tape and Matt Medium

As I am using tape and tacky glue for the stencils, I wait a day after the base and webbing coats. I also mostly spray horizontal, applying light coats and I can spray multiple sides at one go this way. The lines came out clear and tight. I think that I will use Matt Medium to seal the stencil edges in the future where I can’t accept paint creep. I don’t need to wait long to remove the tape as the auto paint touch dries in minutes.

The tacky glue used to stick on the stencils must be removed before the next coat, so I carefully wiping off with a clean rag and Naphtha. I found that the webbing would sometimes come off too, so I needed to carefully touch up again during the painting process.

I added the red circles with a stencil made with an OLFA Circle Cutter. 10 b Circle Cutter (resized).JPG This cutter works perfectly with the clear acrylic stencil material and cuts tight circles. I recommend this cutter.

11 (resized).jpg This blue color seems to lighten or darken in every picture.

12 (resized).jpg Finished Top box Cabinet

13 (resized).jpg All finished and cleared with a semi-gloss.

Even with this attempt to keep the edge overspray to a minimum there are a few edges where I missed with the tacky glue and matt medium. Some I was happy to leave as the original was not perfect either and a few needed touching up as they looked sloppy. As the auto paint is matt we must finish with a clear. All these corrections are before applying any clear. I use auto 2 part clear with a bunch of flattener additive to bring the sheen down to a semi-gloss or less and this completed the repaint.

As mentioned, I had to renumber the head box stamp.

14 a (resized).jpg Reproduced Serial Number

I scanned a few Gottlieb’s serial #’s from games I own to get all the digits I might need. From this scan I made the serial number for the game using vector primitives, so I have a master file going forward. I can then copy whatever number sequence needed and use the software to age the lettering and made a PDF with variations of aging.

Print on laser waterslide paper and cover with a clear to lock in once it is dry. There's multiple ways to achieve this result, this seems the easiest for me. Below is a pdf file with examples of numbers for my Gottlieb restores with a weathered effect applied. I can provide the pdf if you have illustrator you can easily make your own serial #’s.

14 b Serial #'s (resized).PNG Cabinet Serial # Faded Examples

Hi Ken,
Same as yours and Boilermans of course.

I got this method a few years ago from Boilerman.

Webbing how to:

What I do is buy the Krylon Marbelizing Spray either the black or silver. Some Gottlieb's had silver webbing it is hard to tell sometimes. Spray about an ounce or two into a detailed sprayer. Then I pour about a thimble full or a little more of lacquer thinner into the sprayer and mix it slightly.

The early Gottlieb's had very fine webbing and later ones had much thicker webbing. you can adjust this by the thinning. It takes a little trial and error to get it were you want it. so you might want to buy a few cans of the krylon.

I then spray at around 60 psi with the nozzle on the sprayer wide open. It takes a little playing around to get it right so it's best to test spray it on some cardboard or scrap wood. Once you get it just right it should only take about 2-3 minutes at most to spray everything. I usually do it in short bursts about 6-8 inches from what ever I'm spraying.

Let the webbing dry for a few minute, some webbing will dry before it hits the cabinet. Wipe the cabinet down to remove the webbing that did NOT stick with a clean dry rag, you then can see any bare spots. Hit those spots again, repeat once more then you should be done.

The article I attached is the one that learned about the OLFA Circle Cutter from you. Great tip.

I did, as I wanted to smooth over the black line ridges. During the playfield change I realized the original playfield black lines were ridged but never were worn off so i had no reason to do so. Probably should have tested my reason out before doing so.

That said it is fast to play so no harm for me.

Finally the Nags comes to the top of the que. fire away with questions but I think you won’t have many.

I was surprised how good the serial # idea came out.

Yes it was. I read that it was the only thing that was altered on the K&Q. In the movie it got up to 9,985 then went down to 9,700in the last clip.

The Buckaroo game that Elton John played was totally bastardized so probably not so bad it got burned up if there had to be a choice.

Other wood Finishing

While we have our sanding equipment out it is a good time to look at the light and bottom boards.

As I had removed all the components from the backbox and bottom boards they can be improved. (Make sure you keep all the small braid staples for reuse later). The sanding does a good job of removing the ingrained dust and grease. I give the wood a sealer coat followed by a few coats of a poly satin and it comes out well.

15 a (resized).jpg Light Board.

I also use the box store paint sample pots (white of course) to brighten up the back-glass side.

Mechanical components and wiring component cleaning

The mechanics, electrical components and harness get very dirty and worn over the decades. The games warrant a complete strip down and every contact cleaned and inspected for wear.

I like to tumble clean all the mechanical components to get that brass shine back. However, it is quite a delicate plating so be patient and lightly load up the tumbler with not too many parts, so they don’t lock together and rub off the plating. A bonus after cleaning and polishing is its nicer putting the game back together without getting my hands dirty. Feel like a pinball surgeon.

My wire harness cleaning method is continuously evolving. Currently it is a two-part process and it is giving me fair results. First, I clean the switch leaves and other harness metal parts with a Dremel and wire brush. I then dip the complete harness in an ultrasonic cleaner filled with a 50% diluted ZEP Heavy Duty Citrus Degreaser (DO NOT USE THE PURPLE CLEANER).

15 b ZEP Degreaser (resized).PNG I dip the harness where possible into the heated mix and clean for about 5-10 minutes. or ‘brush’ with the solution I use a toothbrush to scrub with this detergent solution including the cloth wiring. Be careful to keep the relays and coils out of the solution if you are not removing the paper wrapper as they are too delicate and will come turn and disintegrate if you do. I keep dipping sections of the harness until all has been cleaned. You will need to change the solution a few times as the amount of dirt removed with the heat is surprising. The solution really cleans the harness and brightens the switch metal. Finally, I hang the harness and spray rinse with clean water to remove the detergent and use compressed air to force out the water. The harness is dry the next day.

First thing reinstalled onto the light box was the cleaned-up lamp holders and braid. Their condition was better than the playfield lamp holders and did not warrant replacement. I remove the lamp holders, so I can give a good clean in the ultrasonic after an initial dremel brushing. You will be happy you have kept the old braid staples now as they are easy to re-pin the braid using a pair of pliers and a small hammer. I also replace the labels at this time but more on the labels later.

16 (resized).jpg Light Board is now rebuilt ready for the harness and all mechanical components reconnection. As soon as I looked at this picture, I saw the score reel housing was upside down. Two steps forward one step back, but it’s still progress!

17 (resized).jpg Next is the reinstallation of the rebuilt the score reels, replay unit, 0-9 unit and relay assemblies, with the wire harness.
The final soldering of all the lamp connections on the harness etc. is the final step. This is where before and during disassembly pictures come in real handy. I see in the picture that the reels digits are not aligned with the adjacent reels. I will tweak them as the restore continues as I find these reels to be a pain in the ass that they can be half a number out and seem to be set properly. any tips hw to align them easily I am all eyes and ears.

18 (resized).jpg 19 (resized).jpg That’s this part 99% complete.

I remade all the labels and instruction cards for the game as they were very dirty. I will take find them all and make jpegs of them add here. If any one needs them I can email the pdf's so you can print to your favorite paper and cut out.

I spoke with Dennis Dodel and Nick Baldridge (Bingopodcast) when they were in Houston for the recent 2019 show in November. We got around to discussing cloth wiring. They are seeing some evidence of cables failing under the wiring in Bingo's. I think the washing can't be a thing that is done often.

Game labels and Instructions.

I have reproduced the component and instruction labels shown below. I am happy to provide gratis PDF files to anyone that wants. If anyone has labels from the game not shown below let me know and I will add so we can have a more complete reference set available to all.

I print the instructions on a light tan card stock. These labels may have been this color or white, but they look fine with a light tan background. They look here less sharp than they actually are, as they are jpeg snapshots to upload here.

1 Motor Switch Positions (resized).PNG Motor Switch Position Redraw.

2 Instruction Cards 1 (resized).PNG3 Instruction Cards 2 (resized).PNG Game Instructions found in my game.

The following are the components labels either stapled or glued onto the motor board, steppers or lightbox. The print font is usually Futura but there are other fonts and I have tried to copy accurately. These labels are printed on white cardstock or glossy adhesive paper typical to what was on the game. I have made a separate pdf of the glossy adhesive labels to make the printing as idiot proof as I can (personally verified).
5p Labels Page 1 (resized).JPG5q Labels Page 2 (resized).JPG5r Labels Page 3 (resized).JPG5s Labels Page 4 (resized).JPG

I hope these are of use to a restorer of this fabulous game.

Next is the lower relay board. You can’t miss that.

The labels and instruction info was requested multiple times yesterday. Happy to have provided something that will be part of other peoples games completeness.

20 (resized).jpg Bottom Board cleaned and sealed ready for Components reassembly
21 Armatures (resized).jpg Armature Repair

Wear from the decades of relay action had worn the armature plates. This can cause sticking in operation. The fix for the next 50 years is straightforward with this type of armature. We can drill out the back of the rivet, punch out and flip the armature plate and re-rivet. 2 minutes work. Good as new.
As I continued the rebuild the next component with too much wear was the coil stops. I replaced 75% of them. It’s a PBR stocked item so I always have a bunch on hand. Well I did have before the Slick Chick and the Kings and Queens so now I need more as I have two further Gottlieb projects in the restore line.

22 stops (resized).jpg Old and New Coil Stops

With the worn parts replaced or repaired the board soon comes together. The relay bank always needs respect by taking many pictures during the disassembly. The score motor again needs pictures of where the switch leaf’s go. I find it easier if I take the time to tie the leaf switch assemblies together with string so the bakelite separators stay together.

The bumper brackets coil stops are riveted not screwed into the bracket and one was worn and too far gone. I want to reuse the original brass bracket, so will drilled out the rivets and replace with the newer stops.

23 Isolation Switch (resized).jpg New Isolation Switch

I add a 3-pin cord and isolation switch as an extra level of safety. Easy to do with the board out and parts all stock at PBR. I made the raised wood mount to fit the PBR switch mounting plate with a hole larger than the switch. Simple now to drill a hole in the bottom of the cabinet and glue the wood mount in place overnight. A tip to stop the cabinet wood splintering is not to use a Forrester bit. For this step use a conventional hole cutter with a pilot bit and drill halfway through the cabinet bottom from the top and finish off from the bottom up.

24 (resized).jpg Tilt and Fuse Board.

I did not have a ball tilt, and none were advertised on eBay, so I asked for help on the ‘EM Seeking Parts’ thread and ‘Wmsfan’ came to my rescue. I must be living right. Thank you ‘Wmsfan’ for the gift, Michael wouldn’t accept postage either, told me to pay it forward which I do, like a lot here.

25 Bottom Board (resized).jpg Bottom Board back in the game.

All shiny, clean, relabeled and contacts re-adjusted. The board came up nice and the transformer always looks better with some paint.

Next up is the playfield and side rails replacement.

I was concerned about that but by chance I had one replacement stop that was the reduced height. Don’t know where I got it but it made the bumpers all work perfectly. Got lucky I guess.

Playfield

I will be now changing out the playfield for my Wade Kraus replacement.

The existing playfield condition is not that bad except for the 4-hole kick outs are as usual very worn. The heavy ball marks can be cleaned off as they are in the original clearcoat. However, the clearcoat would be mostly gone after such a heavy clean, so we would need to reapply another clear of some sort. The white areas are typically well discolored and a repaint seems to be justified if the kick outs holes could be fixed. It’s a keeper playfield as a possible donor If another complete game ever turns up.

I stripped the playfield of all the plastics, bumpers and posts. The posts and other metal parts will go for a day or so in the tumbler. The plastics except the ones with art go to the ultrasonic and come out clean and bright in 10 minutes. The under playfield components are stripped and cleaned and reviewed for replacement if worn. Apart from the bumper coil stops and a few leaf blades the rest seem OK. I use flipper and bumper replacement kits from PBR otherwise all is ready for putting on the new playfield when the time is right. Again, I try to keep the original pieces with the brass finish were possible. All that was left on the existing playfield not to be transferred were the lamp holders and grounding braid and side rails.

For the cost and the time that I have put into this game I replace the braid as its frayed in spots and some of the lamp holders look quite sad. Most are available except the eight lamp holders at the top ball entering lanes that seem to be unobtainable.

26 (resized).jpg Lamp holders needing modification for EM’s.

Some lamp holders need a little bit of work to match the originals. The current PBR lamp holders this time as shown have an additional diode support connector, so snip this off as we don’t need these on an EM game.

27 (resized).jpg New Playfield Transition has started with the new lamp holders and braid.

When I hung up the cleared playfield, I added some old side rails to keep the playfield flat. However, we need to do something with the game’s original rails as they will not match the new playfield. When refitted to the same period playfield they look fine. However, with a new Wade Kraus playfield they look naff as they are a lot darker. So new maple rails are necessary.

My son’s girlfriend is a recent graduate from Austin UT architectural program and loves to make wooden furniture. She made these for me, and they are the bomb. She has college loans to pay so happily will make sets for anyone that needs matching rails for the new playfield. I am getting her to make a few sets of Centigrade 37 rails as that playfield roll out from Wade is imminent. Let me know if you want a set. They are made from Curly Maple and accurately planed to size.

28 New Rails (resized).jpg I gave the rails multiple coats of lacquer and they look great.

29 a (resized).jpg New Rails added to the game.

I thought I could try to explain the attraction to the K&Q game to me. Also with the current times we can always use a little more reading material until we can get out again.

I also aware of getting older have collected the stories and restoration data into books for the kids.

My mother painted water color views and objects from pictures we sent her etc and as she visited us would give us some of the paintings. After she was gone we realized she was providing the paintings to all of her siblings. I can’t walk around the house with the paintings on the walls without thinking fondly of Mom and Dad.

Probably after I am gone the kids will probably hide if a delivery truck appears with another possible pinball game. Pictures were probably more acceptable space wise.

New rails are a fitting complement for Wade’s playfields.

29 b polished sides (resized).jpg The ball side metal guides re-installed after a good buffing

I would suggest that the side rails are installed early before a lot of parts are added. The dirt marks in the old playfield are an excellent guide to placing the rails. I suggest the playfield is placed in a rotisserie and the upper arch parts are aligned with Wades predrilled playfield holes. Then screw together the upper metal levelling rails and upper arch to the playfield. Once fitted to the upper arch the holes for mounting the new outer side rails can be marked for drilling. The inner ball chute rail can be located and drilled by eye. If others have a better way please respond.

Time to get the underside components on this playfield transferred. It’s a busy playfield like other games of the period.

30 us 1 (resized).jpgPlenty of hardware hangs from this playfield.

31 us 2 (resized).jpg Bumpers installed and final soldering and labels added

32 us3 (resized).jpg The hole kickers are a simple but effective assembly.

Time to go up top. and dress out this playfield.

33 ts 1 (resized).jpg Playfield repopulation completed

36 shooter lane (resized).jpg Shooter lane with new rails. Buffed the new arch ball deflector looks like wood in the reflection!

35 playfield (resized).jpg I like this snapshot enough that I may get it painted for my wall

37 lower plastics (resized).jpg Lower plastics view

38 lower playfield (resized).jpgLower playfield populated.

Now to get this playfield back in the game to troubleshoot all my work.
39 troubleshoot (resized).jpg Game finally back together.

That's a good catch, I need to look at that.

Pete probably would notice something like the bronco kicking the cowboys ass in the backglass being a storyteller. If you are making a movie, extra bits of interest would be the difference in selecting the game over another.

I read here in another thread that they stop the ball getting in the hole. Is that something that can be made to work and look good still?

Edit. Guess seeing who wrote this, you would probably know better than most so I will take this as good advice.

Got the game working fine except most of the specials would not light.

Did a search on the forum and this excellent thread explaining why the sand resistors might be the problem and why mathematically using 47 bulbs or LED's will not work. Thread was started by embryonjohn 4 years ago then Dirtflipper, Pinhead52 and EMsInKC get technical and explain everything. https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/whatre-these-and-are-they-the-reason-for-no-lights#post-2429813

So per Dirtflipper, I ordered new similar ceramic wire resistors the same duty from a eBay seller (85 cents each). Installed yesterday and now the game is playing perfectly. Why is Dirtflipper not on Pinside anymore?

98 (resized).jpg Gotta go
100 (resized).jpg Going
99 (resized).jpgGone