About 10 months ago I responded to a Craigslist ad about a "fishing themed pinball game" and a few hours later I was hauling a 1966 Hot Line home in the back of my Yaris.
(A quick side note: the seller, outside Columbus, Ohio, claimed that the game's original owner was Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy's Hamburger's. He said that he got it in trade for some electrical work from a guy who got it in trade for some plumbing work for Dave Thomas back in the 90's. Geographically, this checks out because Dave Thomas is from Columbus and set up his HQ there. But, of course, there's no way to substantiate any part of the story.)
The back glass is near-flawless and worth more than half of what I paid for the whole machine and, after two weeks of tinkering, the game works beautifully. Pops are snappy, bells are ringing and the score reels chatter away like crazy. A white Glow Ball really makes the game play fast and furious. The cabinet was obviously re-painted at some point, but they did an okay job, even re-applying the stencils (upside down on the backbox) and adding some speckle with a contrasting blue color.
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The play field is in surprisingly good shape - good enough to make me think the game was never routed. The colors are bright, but dirty. It suffers from some ball swirl (most noticeable in the whites and yellows) and some paint flaking along the edges of the play field. The keylines around the inserts could also use some touch-up and the shooter lane is worn out.
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So I've decided that it's time for this game to get a makeover. I'm starting this topic not only to show off my progress but to archive the disassembly and make the final re-assembly easier. Enjoy!
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