My records show you sent us only five backglass close-ups, last Sept 28. I was late to have emailed you back on December 1st asking you for a full backglass picture. You replied that you thought you had sent one but wanted to wait until you got your game room finished before you could send one. Your full backglass and your many nice playfield and internal view pictures were submitted to us yesterday. They are now up on the site.

I don't recognize your username. Please identify the game by name and manufacturer and I will check into it.

In this period of time, Bally began their serial numbering with 1001 so yours is the first one off the line.

The IPDB images show only one example of this game. We like to show at least two examples of every game, even if the images are duplicative of what we already have. Especially if the images are duplicative, so that we might know if the one game we show has after-factory changes on it of which we were unaware.

Please consider submitting to us images of your game, inside and out. Ideally, using a regular digital camera and not a cell phone camera or ipad camera.

Thanks,

Jay

gmkalos, you and I conversed via PM and I was to ask Steve Ritchie about your playfield. I confess I kinda messed up and didn't ask him everything. When discussions stretch out over several posts in a thread like it did here, and with me moving from issue to issue to issue like I do, when I came back to this I didn't comb through the posts thoroughly to ask for his thoughts about red versus blue or about clear coating, sorry. He is a busy guy so I always expect one-and-done when it comes to replies, no multiple email volleys, so I'm not going to contact him again at this time. Perhaps we can hit him up at Expo next month for the details that I missed.

But, I had sent him your image of the May 1982 dated playfield edge and the back side image showing the "ribbed" inserts. I offered him this:

"Whether second run, third run, fourth run, whatever, I could call it a subsequent run where Williams used ribbed inserts. After 1980 Black Knight, I notice ribbed inserts did not start appearing with regularity until 1981 Black Knight Limited Edition and later.

"The Accounting sheets given me by Ken Fedesna show all 17,410 units of Firepower were accounted for in Fiscal Year 1980 therefore any Firepower playfields stamped 1982 and with ribbed inserts could not have gone out on a fully assembled game in 1980 but were made for replacement stock."

He replied, "I think you are absolutely correct. Willy produced replacement playfields with Starburst inserts, because they had no other alternative inserts to use. All inserts had been converted to the Starburst style."

So, that's what I have to offer you at this time from Steve.

EDIT: Steve did email again, just to chat, so I asked him the remaining questions about the clear coating, the red versus blue, and the date 5 AUG 10. I'll post here if he replies to them.

**

Steve also reminded me that these inserts are called "starburst inserts", not "ribbed inserts". That is my bad habit to call them "ribbed" inserts when I am discussing these inserts so that people know I am not talking about "star rollover inserts" if I were to say "starburst inserts". I note both types are on your playfield. The Williams 1980 parts catalog refers to both the round ribbed inserts on your playfield and your ribbed arrow inserts as the "starburst" pattern but they show pictures to make the distinction clear. Black Knight has the "jewel" pattern.

The Williams catalog identified what I habitually call the "star rollover insert" only by a part number 03-7538, but various online parts houses all seem to refer to this insert as the "star rollover housing". Ha, it's not an "insert" but a "housing".

Jay