Missile Command Cocktail trackballs

mhkohne

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I'm currently restoring a Missile Command cocktail, and I've got a question about the trackballs. They are, of course, the 2 1/4" trackballs, but mine are yellow, while all the replacements I've seen for sale (and the original flyer I have!) are white. I find this interesting because I actually have 2 of these cabinets (One bought with no boards), and both have the same yellow balls.

Further, when I look into rebuild kits (like the one sold by arcadeshop), I notice that the rebuild kits always have 6 bearings and 3 rollers. Mine only have 5 bearings - the idler is just a bearing bolted to a post, it has no shaft.

Now, the question: Has anyone come up with a good way to polish these things? Or does anyone know where I can get new ones? They are quite old and beat, and I'd like them to look a bit nicer. I haven't ordered the rebuild kits yet (I'm sanding and repainting the legs at the moment), but when I do, I'd also like to do something about the balls.

One more thing: Does anyone know where I can get a rebuild kit that doesn't include the idler shaft? It just seems silly to pay for parts that I'm not going to use.
 
Bob Roberts carries balls and I believe Happ does as well.

If you wan't to try polishing you old ones someone on here detailed how to do it on their restoration website...
 
The 3 roller/6 bearing versions are for happ trackballs.

The 2 roller/5 bearing versions are Suzo and/or imperial.
 
I assume these are the earlier version of the 2.25" trackball units which are pretty much all-metal construction and look like miniature versions of the units used in full size Missile command games. I've been looking for good samples of these trackball units so I can reproduce them. I actually prefer them over the all plastic version made by HAPP.

I would be willing to do comparisons, figure out if the encoder shafts are the same and repro them if not. At the same time, I could take good measurements for reproduction purposes. This is right up my alley.

Oh, and I sell the balls for $10/pair, shipping included. Contact me directly for this deal.

Dave
 
Oh, and I sell the balls for $10/pair, shipping included. Contact me directly for this deal.
Dave

The Zen of Quotehack: When you just need to hit "quote" and don't have to change a thing.

Seriously though, as I recall Daviea's done a couple metal fab repro items and the work has looked very good, I'd imagine there might be a few folks out there looking for repros of these. Think of the time spent lending them to him as preemptive karma/community service. :)
 
I assume these are the earlier version of the 2.25" trackball units which are pretty much all-metal construction and look like miniature versions of the units used in full size Missile command games. I've been looking for good samples of these trackball units so I can reproduce them. I actually prefer them over the all plastic version made by HAPP.

I would be willing to do comparisons, figure out if the encoder shafts are the same and repro them if not. At the same time, I could take good measurements for reproduction purposes. This is right up my alley.

Oh, and I sell the balls for $10/pair, shipping included. Contact me directly for this deal.

Dave

Yes, these are all-metal units. I've never seen the full-size units, but I'd guess they are similar.

Balls: Do you have them in yellow? Everything I saw on your web site (I did look there) was either white or black. Good colors, to be sure, but not, I think, original to these particular units. Note that when I say yellow, I mean yellow, not off-white.

Rollers, etc: If I pull a unit apart and take some measurements, we should be able to compare to the rollers you make for the later ones. I have a suspicion that the main rollers are the same, and I think the bearings are the same as well. So it could just be as simple as re-packaging what you already have. I'll try to get one torn down in the next couple of days and get back to you with photos and measurements so we can see if these are the same parts or different.
 
Bob Roberts carries balls and I believe Happ does as well.

If you wan't to try polishing you old ones someone on here detailed how to do it on their restoration website...

The one guy I found that did it basically did it by hand. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure I can't sit and do that for the time required. I was looking for an automated process.

I'm going to look around the garage and see if I can come up with something to do this automatically. I'll post again with my thoughts and let you guys tell me I'm doing it wrong.
 
It is what it is. You're not really paying extra. The kits are also made for Centipede minis which have the third roller shaft.

Ahh, since the rollers are the same part for both, there's no question about them fitting (I was a little unclear). Thanks for clearing that up for me.
 
Closing the loop

To close the loop:

Droler came up with the same trackballs I had (in another thread), but he finally came to the conclusion that the trackballs ARE white, but in fact have yellowed massively with their age (he took some 400 grit paper to one to prove it). I then polished one of mine a little with some automotive compound and it's distinctly less yellow (instead of more) now that the dirt is gone.

So I've ordered parts from RAM Controls. Thanks!
 
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