Mysterious Williams EM Label!!!-FOUND

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#1 1 year ago

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mrm_4

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Whenever I do a restoration I really like trying to account for all labels. I’ll use @inkochnitos site or make my own. At the moment I’m working on 2 Williams games, Space Mission and Strato Flite.
Both are missing a label in the same place.
E48A4926-87E5-48BD-9288-C2BA67A292C6 (resized).jpeg
I asked for help in the “What EM are you working on thread” and Colsond3 tried to help and found the same thing
12052206-EC06-44CC-AF27-2A2BA90B45E8 (resized).jpeg
So I decided to go to IPDB and I searched all Williams EMs and went through every game from the 70’s. This is what I found with any available underside of the playfield pic.
WARNING: What I’m about to reveal isnt for the faint of heart and by continuing into this thread you are going down a dark and dangerous path, to reveal the truth about what was held up by these staples.

023CD73D-DEB5-4B65-92EC-EA37E9DC0129 (resized).jpeg033EB04D-0CE1-4BC1-AF43-957AC225EACD (resized).jpeg0B41B4C3-2669-455E-A495-27D04F0DF5A2 (resized).jpeg1323EDC3-A045-4424-9F23-8B7D0DAD33B1 (resized).jpeg240A8E6A-7E0A-4B55-8B4F-42D4A1807CC3 (resized).jpeg2E28AAEA-201F-47C1-94C6-D4D9CF2009EE (resized).jpeg30C42666-AA10-4B06-BEF2-C089407916BA (resized).jpeg38EFCBC1-9E54-4C41-A07C-FE33D88214AC (resized).jpeg44D7B458-E949-4F48-AA5F-4AFA23A45FBA (resized).jpeg5395B129-5BE2-4A88-90CB-0F656E6D08B2 (resized).jpeg61E4D8C0-9C43-4506-9EAB-0D14BC684F79 (resized).jpeg62536BEE-CBA2-40B7-BC71-DE44E6199DB1 (resized).jpeg62C0EAB8-44D1-4737-A39B-67FFF3FB818D (resized).jpeg730BE65C-1216-4F8D-88B7-1F59511475EE (resized).jpeg82FA98C2-14D0-42E1-B425-BC5231DAF281 (resized).jpeg9B13FE6A-3100-4F17-9765-7335A066780C (resized).jpegBE98EA35-401F-47CE-B3A7-BA0A4DF1EE5E (resized).jpegD37E6263-7706-4AD3-944A-A60A2A1A3E03 (resized).jpegE1B57A52-6A42-4D72-B426-665292BB0237 (resized).jpegE68BB3D8-EB91-46EB-A770-53BB293D7A3C (resized).jpegF03752EF-2914-4A79-BAD5-EFC2EA95BD0A (resized).jpegFAE61A34-08DE-4741-A8D9-6F55E7B05897 (resized).jpeg

WHAT IS THIS LABEL???? WHO IS RIPPING IT OUT OF EVERY GAME ON EARTH???

Post last edited 1 year ago.

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#2 1 year ago

???

pins4u

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Maybe it was a factory check list or similar and was removed by the factory when the game was finished?

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#3 1 year ago

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It’s hard to say. I think it’s some kind of cover up, since I’ve started digging into this, strange men in black suits have been following me and there’s been a white van parked outside of my house.

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#4 1 year ago

DAN

egyptrus

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I feel like it said "this label intentionally left blank"

Frankly, I think pins4u was probably right that it was a final checklist before release (a final QA checklist maybe) and that it was removed before being shipped.

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#5 1 year ago

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Quoted from pins4u:
Maybe it was a factory check list or similar and was removed by the factory when the game was finished?

Quoted from egyptrus:
I feel like it said "this label intentionally left blank"
Frankly, I think pins4u was probably right that it was a final checklist before release (a final QA checklist maybe) and that it was removed before being shipped.

I appreciate the guesses, some kind of factory label seems logical however that doesn’t make me want to give up or stop caring. Someone has to know what this label looks like or have one on the playfield still that was missed.
If anyone has this label attached could you please post a picture?

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#6 1 year ago

ZAP

ryanbrooks

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Oklahoma City, OK

6y 87,800 1,143 20 1

Quoted from pins4u:
Maybe it was a factory check list or similar and was removed by the factory when the game was finished?

It’s definitely the factory inspection checklist. I think I’ve got an unused label in a folder somewhere. I’ll look when I get to the office.

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#7 1 year ago

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Quoted from ryanbrooks:
It’s definitely the factory inspection checklist. I think I’ve got an unused label in a folder somewhere. I’ll look when I get to the office.

NICE!

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#8 1 year ago

JEF

jeffc

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12y 91,550 2,168

Most of the pics above do include a typical inspection/checklist label. Would there have been 2 of them?

I didn't see any cards present in the late 60's that are suddenly missing in the 70's.

Screenshot 2022-10-03 091928 (resized).jpg

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#9 1 year ago

LXL

Isochronic_Frost

Saratoga Silverball

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Quoted from jeffc:
Most of the pics above do include a typical inspection/checklist label. Would there have been 2 of them?
I didn't see any cards present in the late 60's that are suddenly missing in the 70's.[quoted image]

Was just about to point this out, most of them have factory checklists stapled on the underside playfield anyway.

Classic Stern’s and Bally’s do, for sure.

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#10 1 year ago

GHL

Garrett

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Pinckney, MI

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Williams Aztec. Is this it? The only pic I have on my phone now. Will have to get a better pic tonight. From what I can see I think it talks about gapping and the pops. Every other label for the most part is gone on this pin.
IMG_4944 (resized).JPG

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#11 1 year ago

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Quoted from Garrett:
Williams Aztec. Is this it? The only pic I have on my phone now. Will have to get a better pic tonight. From what I can see I think it talks about gapping and the pops. Every other label for the most part is gone on this pin.
[quoted image]

The card in the upper left on your pic is the 'NOTICE" card for the pop bumpers. Its the label that would be next to it, you probably have 2 staples and bits of paper under them right next to it.

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#12 1 year ago

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Quoted from jeffc:
Most of the pics above do include a typical inspection/checklist label. Would there have been 2 of them?
I didn't see any cards present in the late 60's that are suddenly missing in the 70's.[quoted image]

That inspection label is adhered to the playfields. All 3 of my Williams games have that one. The one that is missing is card stock.
Also the inspection tag has black ink, the card stock under the staples has a bit of red text.

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#13 1 year ago

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Here’s the bottom of the Strato Flite with my first attempt at the Notice card recreation. Missing something to the left.
FDC82C29-F652-4D73-B547-9E03E903186A (resized).jpeg
Here the bottom of the Space Mission, missing something to the left. When I pulled the nails the card stock had red lettering under the left staple.
0DB77955-555D-4BD6-9F7B-6C93CC6BE924 (resized).jpeg
Here’s my second attempt at recreating the Notice card

94E8255B-1A90-404F-BBCC-82DB8C126849 (resized).jpeg
My Shangri La from 1967 doesn’t have the notice card or any staples up there. Just the adhered Inspection sticker that doesn’t line up with what I’m looking for. Seems these cards were on games in the 70s.

My Firepower from 1980 doesn’t have staples in this area.

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#14 1 year ago

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Also in the Star Pool picture you get the most detail and it’s definitely not the Inspection List

8F8EE0A0-C882-4A6B-BDF1-DD3834185BA3 (resized).png

E77132C0-F66E-482D-AA8A-F7AB2B332E0C (resized).png

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#15 1 year ago

TK

Tuukka

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Lempäälä

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First I thought it might be a label, that the person doing playfield final assembly signs his/her name or initials and game serial before letting the playfield go on. But since the playfields were probably assembled by many people on a conveyor belt, there is only the final inspector left. And there is another sticker for final inspection!

Maybe an instruction label for the final assembly, on how to set the game option jumpers to "factory default"? But why would then the label needed to be removed?

Most likely, a check label between playfield blank manufacturer and game factory.

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#16 1 year ago

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Quoted from Tuukka:
First I thought it might be a label, that the person doing playfield final assembly signs his/her name or initials and game serial before letting the playfield go on. But since the playfields were probably assembled by many people in a conveyor belt, there is only the final inspector left. And there is another sticker for final inspection!
Maybe an instruction label for the final assembly, on how to set the game option jumpers to "factory default"? But why would then the label needed to be removed?
Most likely, a check label between playfield manufacturer and game factory.

Yeah it has to be a checklist of some sort. In the pic above you can see it’s 1. 2.
But the card is landscape instead of portrait like the inspection label.

It’s such a dumb thing to hunt down but thats what I love about this hobby. The weird little things like this are cool to me. Someone else has to share this obsession,
Right?…..
Anyone?

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#17 1 year ago

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dr_nybble

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If you can post a scan of the Notice label I can recreate it for you. The way I do it, if you have the recreated label on top of the scan you cannot see any difference between them. This involves manually tweaking every character so it matches and placing all letters individually.

This font is more like what you should use -- https://www.linotype.com/2995908/futura-medium-condensed-product.html

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#18 1 year ago

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mrm_4

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Quoted from dr_nybble:
If you can post a scan of the Notice label I can recreate it for you. The way I do it, if you have the recreated label on top of the scan you cannot see any difference between them. This involves manually tweaking every character so it matches and placing all letters individually.
This font is more like what you should use -- https://www.linotype.com/2995908/futura-medium-condensed-product.html

Thanks for the link, I’ll down load that and see if it’s any different than what I have. When I was making it I tried every futura font I have and Helvetica ended up looking the closest

8C737D60-E517-42E7-A3DA-B9A98DB5822E (resized).jpeg

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#19 1 year ago

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dr_nybble

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STD. is also all-caps, and your line breaking is not the same as the original.

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#20 1 year ago

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mrm_4

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I definitely use the futura font on other labels. I’ll tape the original up on the monitor and tweak.

A2164009-9AB8-464B-9427-FC0CBA7D192E (resized).jpeg

FAE5A19C-E2B6-4098-AE2C-AE5ADBEA6900 (resized).jpeg

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#21 1 year ago

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Quoted from dr_nybble:
STD. is also all-caps, and your line breaking is not the same as the original.

Not on this card
It’s different than normal
5F8D3070-42B4-4C54-AC03-D6BDF3ADCC8A (resized).jpeg

Im still working on spacing and line breaks. Im not claiming to be a xerox machine, just having fun making labels and trying to get better at it.
My interest for this thread is more to what is the missing mystery label

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#22 1 year ago

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dr_nybble

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Ah, I was looking at the photo you had above, where you showed the label on the playfield.

This label has full-justified text which is different than your left-justified.

The Std. 502 looks to be New Century Schoolbook.

Kind of interesting they printed the labels with different font/layout.

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#23 1 year ago

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Quoted from dr_nybble:
Ah, I was looking at the photo you had above, where you showed the label on the playfield.
This label has full-justified text which is different than your left-justified.
The Std. 502 looks to be New Century Schoolbook.

I just noticed also I left the word original out of the last sentence also, so its a work in progress. haha

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#24 1 year ago

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mrm_4

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Quoted from dr_nybble:
The Std. 502 looks to be New Century Schoolbook.

Just changed it and you're right its dead on

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#25 1 year ago

GHL

Garrett

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Pinckney, MI

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Quoted from Tuukka:
First I thought it might be a label, that the person doing playfield final assembly signs his/her name or initials and game serial before letting the playfield go on. But since the playfields were probably assembled by many people on a conveyor belt, there is only the final inspector left. And there is another sticker for final inspection!
Maybe an instruction label for the final assembly, on how to set the game option jumpers to "factory default"? But why would then the label needed to be removed?
Most likely, a check label between playfield blank manufacturer and game factory.

I'm with this line of thought too. Every pic I've seen has that label pulled off. It must have been used during the prodcution process. Not many pictures out there from the old William's factory that I found.

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#26 1 year ago

COL

Colsond3

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I think these two might know what it was.

E18FB3CE-2BC0-4209-B99D-8C6B52E41FAB (resized).jpeg

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#27 1 year ago

COL

Colsond3

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Or perhaps it was a QA label showing that the playfield wasn’t chipped. Removed once the inspection was done and it was confirmed that there weren’t any.

Stern should look into it.

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#28 1 year ago

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Quoted from Colsond3:
Or perhaps it was a QA label showing that the playfield wasn’t chipped. Removed once the inspection was done and it was confirmed that there wasn’t any.
Stern should look into it.

ZZZZZZZZZING!

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#29 1 year ago

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Quoted from ryanbrooks:
It’s definitely the factory inspection checklist. I think I’ve got an unused label in a folder somewhere. I’ll look when I get to the office.

Any luck on finding some kind of checklist with numbering on cardstock with red letters?

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#30 1 year ago

DJP

Sea_Wolf

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I believe it supposed to read D O N T F O R G E T T O D R I N K Y O U R O V A L T I N E.

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#31 1 year ago

LTG

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Quoted from Sea_Wolf:
I believe it supposed to read D O N T F O R G E T T O D R I N K Y O U R O V A L T I N E.

A crummy commercial.

LTG : )

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#32 1 year ago

GTW

Gotemwill

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None present on my Super Flight sample game.

D5CB4A82-A50E-400C-BBA5-8FB5ED3DA4E6 (resized).jpeg

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#33 1 year ago

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Quoted from Gotemwill:
None present on my Super Flight sample game.[quoted image]

Thanks for checking!

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#34 1 year ago

GHL

Garrett

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Pinckney, MI

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Quoted from Gotemwill:
None present on my Super Flight sample game.[quoted image]

That has no staples at all, correct?

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#35 1 year ago

GTW

Gotemwill

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Quoted from Garrett:
That has no staples at all, correct?

Right. I looked in other spots along the apron as well.

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#36 1 year ago

COL

Colsond3

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Quoted from Garrett:
That has no staples at all, correct?

Right, and yet the inspection sticker is there too. No staples through it though…unlike the “missing card” on all the other games above.

The plot thickens.

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#37 1 year ago

AAP

AndrewP

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“Redeem this coupon for a free copy of Peter Frampton’s latest album, ‘Frampton Comes Alive’.”

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#38 1 year ago

DJP

Sea_Wolf

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Louisville, KY

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Add my Space Mission to the list.

44666CBB-12A1-44B8-B75A-C8976051D538 (resized).jpeg

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#39 1 year ago

DEN

jibmums

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I think I found it -

mattressesdonotremovetagmain (resized).png

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#40 1 year ago

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mrm_4

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Things are not getting easier for me in this hunt for the truth.

I keep getting calls in odd hours of the night. I answer and the person on the other end doesnt speak then hangs up after I repetitively ask who it is.

Just this afternoon on my lunch break, a box truck that I thought was FedEx but I realized was unmarked, ran me off the road and a passenger in a black suit threw a stack of aged card stock at me in the ditch.

I know Im getting close, because theyre attacking me in broad daylight now. Im determined to find out what this label was, even if it means I might be killed!

Who ever is behind covering up this label’s existence is getting nervous.
EC8ACEC5-88B8-45A9-8441-65C46A971DDF (resized).jpeg

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#41 1 year ago

JEF

jeffc

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12y 91,550 2,168

3 (resized).jpg

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#42 1 year ago

GHL

Garrett

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Pinckney, MI

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Quoted from jeffc:
[quoted image]

And we have a winner!

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#43 1 year ago

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mrm_4

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Quoted from Garrett:
And we have a winner!

Ha! This is definitely not the card, I'm not calling the search off yet.

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#44 1 year ago

RCC

RC_like_the_cola

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I have an Aztec and an Argosy I can check tonight. Probably used to say remove upon setup or something lol.

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#45 1 year ago

GHL

Garrett

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Pinckney, MI

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I looked a bunch of pictures on the web, all removed.

Maybe a tag after painting of the table was completed?

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#46 1 year ago

WTF

SirScott

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Dearborn, MI

11y 66,800 1,470 24

Here are pictures of all of my Williams games.

Strato-Flite:
Strato-Flite (resized).jpg

Space Mission:
Space Mission (resized).jpg

Pat Hand:
Pat Hand (resized).jpg

OXO:
OXO (resized).jpg

Grand Prix:
Grand Prix (resized).jpg

Gulfstream:
Gulfstream (resized).jpg

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#47 1 year ago

GTW

Gotemwill

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OP
Quoted from mrm_4:
Things are not getting easier for me in this hunt for the truth.
I keep getting calls in odd hours of the night. I answer and the person on the other end doesnt speak then hangs up after I repetitively ask who it is.
Just this afternoon on my lunch break, a box truck that I thought was FedEx but I realized was unmarked, ran me off the road and a passenger in a black suit threw a stack of aged card stock at me in the ditch.
I know Im getting close, because theyre attacking me in broad daylight now. Im determined to find out what this label was, even if it means I might be killed!
Who ever is behind covering up this label’s existence is getting nervous.
[quoted image]

And that will lead to another clue, and that will lead to another clue! There is no tag!

I wasted 20 years of my life. And now you've destroyed yours. And you pulled me into all this….

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#48 1 year ago

RCC

RC_like_the_cola

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Quoted from Gotemwill:
And that will lead to another clue, and that will lead to another clue! There is no tag!
I wasted 20 years of my life. And now you've destroyed yours. And you pulled me into all this….

Nice reference. I would wager it was a final inspection tag that the inspector was supposed to remove after the playfield passed all tests.

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#49 1 year ago

OP

MRM

mrm_4

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Quoted from SirScott:
Here are pictures of all of my Williams games.
Strato-Flite:
[quoted image]
Space Mission:
[quoted image]
Pat Hand:
[quoted image]
OXO:
[quoted image]
Grand Prix:
[quoted image]
Gulfstream:
[quoted image]

Amazing! This secret society of label snatchers is unreal!