Gorf vs Mad Planets joystick plastics

taulpaul

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I'm going through a Mad Planets restore, and wanted to document the difference between a standard Gorf / Tron / Satan's Hollow joystick plastic cover, and the Mad Planets / M.A.C.H. 3 cover. On the outside, the look very similar, but once you open them up...they are very very different. Hopefully this helps you identify them in the future. For every 20 Bally Midway sticks I see, I see 1 of the other.
 

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Good call. (MP is on the left btw, with the clips at the top, instead of the screw.)

I have a couple of spare MP shells, if anyone is looking for one.
 
Anyone out there have any good tips on how to separate the halves for the MP joystick shell?

I have an NOS MP shell that came joined that I am afraid to separate...I've tried a bit with a small flat-edged screwdriver to lift up the upper clipping tabs, but they really don't seem to want to budge all that much and I'm afraid that if I push too hard, they will just break.

So any advice on how to proceed is appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

Jon
 
I looked into this when I refurbed the stick I recently sold.

There is a trick. It involves twisting as you separate them. I'm traveling at the moment so I can't explain much more detail right now, but it can be done. You basically need to pull them apart and twist/wiggle them at the same time, and they will pop apart without breaking the clips.

It helps if you have an already separated set, to see what direction to twist. But I had it down so I could do it reliably and repeatedly.
 
I looked into this when I refurbed the stick I recently sold.

There is a trick. It involves twisting as you separate them. I'm traveling at the moment so I can't explain much more detail right now, but it can be done. You basically need to pull them apart and twist/wiggle them at the same time, and they will pop apart without breaking the clips.

It helps if you have an already separated set, to see what direction to twist. But I had it down so I could do it reliably and repeatedly.

Thanks for the tip.

When you get back home, any chance you could post a video of the procedure (assuming you still have an example to work with)?

Jon
 
Just hands.

I did look into trying to get a tool in there (and actually tried a couple of tools), but it turns out that isn't enough, as you can only pry one of the clips up with a tool, and you'd need to pry both clips at the same time to get it to let go. So I think the only way is the twist method.

I'm not really set up to do vids, but I'll see if I can come up with something later this week. I'd need a tripod or 2nd person to film, as it's a 2-hand procedure. But maybe I can get someone to help this weekend.
 
That'd be great if you could post something.

I can't seem to picture using only my hands to do the deed...the two halves for the NOS plastic I have are very tightly held by those 2 clips.

Jon
 
Five-year bump for Jon, since he just asked me about this via PM, and I never replied to this originally, lol.

Full disclosure, this is hard to explain. And I take no responsibility if you break anything.

hold the empty shell as it is oriented in the game (i.e., trigger at the top and away from you), grab the bottom two halves (after you remove the screw of course, and the trigger parts, which I think will fall out if you spread the halves partway, that part I don't remember as it's been so long since I had a full stick apart).

Apply GENTLE spreading pressure from the bottom, then slightly push the right half (in your right hand) away from you, while pulling the left half toward you. Then wiggle the two halves gently back and forth while keeping the spreading pressure as consistent as you can until they pop apart. (And make sure the spreading pressure is less than the amount that will crack the plastic, lol.) Note that when they do pop, it will still sound like something cracked, even if nothing did. So don't be alarmed if it sounds like something broke (unless something actually did, in which case it still won't be that bad, keep reading.)

The wiggling is important, as it will help 'walk' the barbed tabs to the point where they'll disengage. The number of times you have to wiggle them will vary depending on how worn the tabs are, but you'll need to wiggle it more than you think, like 15-20 wiggles at least, again while applying GENTLE spreading pressure. Better to err to the safe side, worst case is you'll wiggle them 50 times and they still won't come apart. Slow and steady is part of the trick. If you push it too hard, you'll crack or break one of the tabs, usually the one closest to you.

The good news is that even if that happens, the other tab (closer to the trigger side of the stick) will most likely still be ok (as it receives less of the stress), and that one will still be sufficient to hold the halves back together tightly when you reassemble. I have three spare used shells for these, and two of them have broken or cracked outer tabs, but the inner ones are still ok. And they still snap back together fine.

Here are some pics of what the tabs look like, to help you visualize.

Clear as mud? Good. :)

IMG_0807.JPG

IMG_0809.JPG
 
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