Franken-Bubbles

mtnyeti

Active member

Donor 4 years: 2015, 2017, 2019, 2025
Joined
Jul 8, 2014
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Location
Wise, Virginia
Realizing how long it takes to get to these projects really makes you realize how fast life runs past us. "I probably got this a couple years ago"......how about 6, yikes. Well, better late than never. Purchased this conversion of a conversion thinking I would be getting myself a Sinistar; but the paint stripper revealed otherwise. Not that I'm disappointed in the least, just had to source a few more parts. Five years from marketplace grab to stripping years of operator upgrades, and that was a year ago now. To say I've neglected my forum participation is an understatement.
 

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and now we start on the "oh yeah, I remember doing that, what the crap did I use on there?" Luckily my own delay in getting this going lent ample time to get the right tools for the job. If it's worth stenciling, it's worth doing it right @ThisOldGame . I'll also admit a little help on paint color choice from @Charles Kline being so gracious to share his bubbles journey. I'll fully agree the ivory bisque for white, and seaside lent themselves beautifully to this cab. For reference, double coated the navy base coat, wet sand with 2000 grit in between. Week later, stencil 1 and 24 hours later stencil 2. Allowed 4 or so hours dry time before removing each stencil layer, and no issues at all.
 

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and the money shot. Now what excitement is in store as we figure out if my collection of original parts will come play nice together......once I remember where they all are :oops2:
 

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I have been in this position with so many games, so many times. In fact, I remember my Bubbles being the same way. Got started on it, shoved it aside, waited a few months/years, started it back up, shoved it aside, started it back up, etc. Eventually, I did finish. I think my choice of colors was very close. I started with the gloss navy and wish I would've stuck with it. I went from gloss to satin navy and satin navy looks much darker and less blue. I think I did a standard white and then I used 'aqua' instead of 'seaside', but I think those colors are next to each other on the old Rustoleum color wheel.

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Tracking the small progress along the way; easy to forget all the time spent on stuff that rarely even gets seen. "Why yes, I did spend an unnecessary amount of time retrofit an original fluorescent fixture to fit T8. Because LEDs don't pop the same, that's why". And thank you fellow degenerates for noticing. Polished Williams signature monitor adjustment mirror, upgraded metal speaker grill compliments of @Winslow and cleaned 30 years of crud off a pretty nice overall transformer. Not a bad way to spend a sunday afternoon.
 

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I mean, how satisfying is it to put a new overlay on a CP? Local metal shop cut me a new panel to take care of my extra hole problem. Put a coat of primer on the bare steel just to make sure rust wouldn't ever be an issue down the road. Can't help but smile when you see the art package Williams did on this game. To that note, the marquee is the only piece I'm still searching for if anyone has an original they may be willing to part with? Promise it'll get a loving home :)
 

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Rust was taking it's toll on an otherwise pretty decent coin door. Full strip down and repaint, and full strip and cleaning on all the internals. Another one of those pieces that's oddly satisfying to put back on the cab during a restore.
 

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Where did you get that CPO from? looks great!

That's all I need to finish off my build as well.
 
Thank you! CPO and stencils came from the same (and best) place, @ThisOldGame . Looks like CPO shows currently in stock on their site. Their quality is top notch.
Nice. I actually put an order in for one a few weeks ago.

I have TOG CPOs on my Joust and Smash TV. Should have used them for Robotron as well. They get the texture right.
 
Little before and after of some quite nice results for all those who appreciate a well polished knob :sneaky:. One benefit of taking 6 years to get to a project is that you have time to source these essential pieces of the puzzle, and thanks to the KLOV hive, this bubble will slide around the sink as nature intended.

For future reference, very lightly wet sanded the ball top with a piece of worn out 220 grit to start (chucked the shaft in the cordless drill), then wet sand with a 2000 grit to polish smooth, turtle wax polishing compound as step three, then finished with paste carnauba wax. Steel wool on the shaft and metal parts, and a overnight roll in the tumbler with walnut shell for the mounting plates.
 

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Gave a truly filthy K4900 a hose bath and degreasing and then a recap. Surprisingly with all the conversions this cabinet has seen over it's life, the burn in (and Williams serial stickers) tell the story that this in indeed the original monitor. As prone as this game is to burn in, I don't see it bothering me in the least.
 

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In a stroke of luck, a couple years after I bought the cabinet, the same operator posted a lot of bezels for sale, and to my amazement, this little gem was in the mix. Needless to say, I didn't hesitate to snag what I'd guess is the original off this cabinet. The instruction card window had been spray painted over in black from the rear, we will assume possibly during it's playchoice years? Luckily a little water, a sharp razor blade and patience and I was able to remove almost every trace of the black, leaving the factory graphic in tact. First two pics show the spray, and next two after removal. Basically I'm just lucky this turned out so well.....started with the intent of just cleaning the bare glass as needed for the card, but getting the rest of the white that clean was just a bonus.
 

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No major progress this past week, but a major piece of the puzzle did roll in from Golden Age arcade. Since the jamma conversions on this cabinet had pretty well destroyed the factory pcb and CP pieces of the harness Ken was able to hook me up with color matched quality replacements. Now we move into the "Fun with PCBs" stage :). Also, little detail of the instruction card added back to the bezel.
 

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Well after a few weeks of working through all the standard stuff on Williams; headers, roms, ram upgrade (& sockets a go-go), rebuilt power supply, interconnect cable, voltages verified. Finally felt confident enough to flip the switch..............poop.
 

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