Frontline pics

jonathan1138

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Hey all - Got a Frontline on Monday that had seen better days - very rusty, filthy. Fortunately the cab was in good shape. I took this one on since i couldnt find another... Glad i did.

I stripped it down completely, washed all large parts in the dishwasher (boards, metal parts, coin door, etc). Rock tumbled all screws and hardware - came out with a wonderful shine. Nothing better than polished screws everywhere.

When i removed the brackets holding the machine together, I was worried that the cabinet would fall apart, but it held up pretty well. Stuck a spare bolt in a hole on both sides to keep it together. One time while sanding, a slot holding the sides came undone, thought she was going to fall apart!

Used a Harbor Frieght HVLP gun. There is "tiger striping" or uneven spray pattern - I tried to correct it - I knew the fan (left to right spread) was too narrow - maybe 3 inches, which causes this - the gun wouldnt spray wider. I could have switched the needle in hindsight to a 1.8mm to see if i could of gotton a wider fan, but its ok, since it came out alright. Very smooth finish - little to no orange peel.

New control panel overlay installed, touch up work to the bezel (until i can find a new one since this one is pretty flaked up). New tmolding too.

The front panel i hit a snag on the stencil. I "forgot" to put the primer over the brown (the orange paint needs a Ben Moore primer underneath). After i sprayed the orange and it dried, damn stuff bubbled / peeled right off! Fortunately, the stencil marks were maintained from the peeled off paint, so i retaped them off and got it near right, not perfect.

Finished the job by Thursday. Here are some pics - i didnt take as many as i would have liked, i usually hate to stop to take pics.....

http://s663.photobucket.com/albums/uu352/jonathan1138/Frontline/

Pretty happy with the results - not perfect, but it will do, and a lot better than it was before. The one area i was MOST happy with - the prior owner had rebuilt the base. I added 6 plastic tap in slider legs, and the game is perfectly level and stable. I hear the bases on Taitos originally were MDF and weak, so again, happy to have a good and level foundation that i didnt have to spend eternity on getting level (unless i screwed and added leg levelers which i didnt want to do).

Most guests dont seem to take to this game - its not a universally loved classic. For me, this is my grail - i love the gameplay, the genius control, and the goal of the game itself is rare for the time it was made (get to the base and blow it up - the game actually has an ending). I also have fond memories of it when i was a 7 year old kid.

Let me know about your thoughts on Frontline, and, if you have one, how it has held up. Thanks for looking.
 
wow...not perfect?? It sure looks nice to me. Congrats man on a finding and restoring this. I've been looking for awhile and can't seem to find one, sigh.

Does the game have an ending or can you keep playing indefinitely? I only played it as a kid and wasnt good enough to get that far to know, heh.

Tom
 
wow...not perfect?? It sure looks nice to me. Congrats man on a finding and restoring this. I've been looking for awhile and can't seem to find one, sigh.

Does the game have an ending or can you keep playing indefinitely? I only played it as a kid and wasnt good enough to get that far to know, heh.

Tom

No ending.....
 
Nice job Jon!!!! I acquired a Front Line a month ago and believe this WAS priority number one for the "next game" list! I also have many fond memories of playing it in my childhood....

The game I got is immaculate, bezel and marquee included... I think it must have been a HUO cause of it's condition. The only thing I need to do is get a new overlay and rebuilt the spinner, seems sticky.

As far as the bezel goes I think touchups are the only route you can go for now! :(
 
Thanks for the nice words guys.

Yeah - touch ups for now on the bezel.... It was spider cracked everywhere. In the later pics, you can see the faint touch up lines - sprayed triple thick (clear coat) over it and painted some enamel paint on it (tryed acrylic from Michaels, but too transparent). Came out ok, probably the most noticeable weak area.

As for the ending - sorry to confuse there. Your mission is to reach "the top" or the enemy base. Once you get there, throw a grenade over to "win". Yes the game goes on forever repeating that same mission, but the short term goal of getting to that base feels like a purpose, with an ending. Kind of like the Star wars blow up the death star goal, or elevator actions get to the bottom / to the car - something to aim for.
 
Oh Shusler - congrats on finding a nice one. For the overlay, let me know via PM if you need a contact - i can get that via my emails over to you (dont know it offhand).

For the spinner - i took it apart and cleaned it all - not too difficult. Be careful of these small metal (i mean SMALL) grommits - there are two of them - VERY small again that fit in the shaft. Also, getting the spring / barrel and ball bearing assembly back together was a bit of a hassle - but its doable. Finally, when i had it clean and back together, it was still a bit sticky on the press for fire - the spinner wasnt returning to the upright to reset for next gun fire. A little three in one oil fixed that. Good luck and let me know.
 
Oh Shusler - congrats on finding a nice one. For the overlay, let me know via PM if you need a contact - i can get that via my emails over to you (dont know it offhand).

For the spinner - i took it apart and cleaned it all - not too difficult. Be careful of these small metal (i mean SMALL) grommits - there are two of them - VERY small again that fit in the shaft. Also, getting the spring / barrel and ball bearing assembly back together was a bit of a hassle - but its doable. Finally, when i had it clean and back together, it was still a bit sticky on the press for fire - the spinner wasnt returning to the upright to reset for next gun fire. A little three in one oil fixed that. Good luck and let me know.

I had the same issue with my spinner not returning after pressed.... I was going to give a good cleaning first....
 
Also, getting the spring / barrel and ball bearing assembly back together was a bit of a hassle - but its doable. Finally, when i had it clean and back together, it was still a bit sticky on the press for fire - the spinner wasnt returning to the upright to reset for next gun fire. A little three in one oil fixed that. Good luck and let me know.

Yeah, the spinner assembly can be a pain if you let the ball bearing get out of place. Took me a while to get it back together. I also had the same problem with the spinner not returning to upright. A good cleaning and some white lithium grease fixed it up good as new.

I also replaced my control panel overlay as well.

IMG_7956.jpg

IMG_8351.jpg



but back on topic... Beautiful work on the restore. Looks really good.
 
VERRRY NIce job, i'm amazed at some of the talent on KLOV, i have a TON to learn.
Frontline is in my top 20 games, glad to see it getting the love it deserves.
 
Yeah, the spinner assembly can be a pain if you let the ball bearing get out of place. Took me a while to get it back together. I also had the same problem with the spinner not returning to upright. A good cleaning and some white lithium grease fixed it up good as new.

I also replaced my control panel overlay as well.

IMG_7956.jpg

IMG_8351.jpg



but back on topic... Beautiful work on the restore. Looks really good.


Nice work on the restore guys.

All the pic's give me some inspiration for the one I'm about to scratch build.

How did you get the fire button looking so shiny?

Is that base orange on the side of the cab, the same orange as on a zookeeper?....it looks to be.




john


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I'm still in need on the *fire* sticker on the spinner... Weren't these being reproduced at one time or in the near future?
 
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