Time Pilot Semi-Restoration

OldTymeToys

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Donor 3 years: 2011, 2013, 2018
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Time Pilot was the second game that I bought when I started collecting back in 2009. I have awesome memories of this game from BITD and always wanted to have a nice one in my collection. I picked one up from a local collector for cheap but the game was pretty beat- horribly hacked control panel, chunks of cab missing, bad slashes in the woodgrain sides, hacked wiring, etc:

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A few months later, I came across a Centuri cab in pretty decent shape. It was a converted Vanguard with a swiss cheese control panel, but the monitor was crisp and the woodgrain sides were nice. So I swapped cabs and that now houses my Time Pilot. At that point, me and a few other KLOV members attempted to repro the side art. Follow that story here: http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=204615

In the months to follow, I traded for a bootleg cpo and "customized" the control panel with a yellow wico and button colors to match the bootleg overlay. Eventually, I'll look for a NOS Monroe stick, but for now I think the yellow wico looks sweet:

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I found a 9/10 marquee and began work on a repro Time Pilot bezel, which I finished in Jan. 2011 and installed:

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Old bezel:

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Repro bezel:

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Sometime in the last year or so, I cleaned up the coin door. Here it is on the old machine:

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Some Rustoleum hammered finish for the door, swapped the plastic coin rejects and added custom reject inserts:

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Oh, you might notice the kick art... well, after a lot of work from members pomme and Rich from This Old Game, the art package became a reality a few weeks ago! http://www.thisoldgame.com/products/time-piolt-side-art
 

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Yesterday I received the Time Pilot art package from Rich- the art really looks amazing! I was a bit worried since the box was almost bent in half, but there are only minor wrinkles in the art that weren't a problem at all. I took some time to install the front art last night, as seen above.

Tonight, I had a bit of time to install one side while the kids were playing in the driveway. As everyone already knows, Rich's products are top notch and this art is no exception. Beautiful, bright colors and perfectly sized.

Here's one side after I got it on and put all of those damn carriage bolts back in:

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Not enough time to put on the second side, so back it went out of the way until side #2:

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I repainted the bottom kick area and the other areas that were black to freshen it up. I also did a bit of bondo work to the t-molding channel on the right, front side. I'll see how that looks when I get the new t-molding in. I ordered the black Centuri-specific t-molding from Arcadeshop and that should be here by Friday.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I picked up the high score save kit from Matt Osborn- it rocks!
 
Here's a quick pic of the small amount of bondo work I did to the right t-molding channel:

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It was bumped pretty hard there and the impact swelled the mdf. So I applied some wood hardener and clamped it, then bondo'd the channel. I covered it with black paint that matches the inner edge so the lightness of the bondo wouldn't be seen. Not sure what I'm going to do on the woodgrain side of it...
 

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Really looking good man. I'd had fun with Time Pilot the 2 times I played it.

Thanks man. Time Pilot is a true classic, but gets little love. Probably because 1.) the cabinet is woodgrain, 2.) the game is on the 60 in 1, and 3.) the cabinet is woodgrain.
 
Bah, got the Centuri t-molding in from Arcadeshop and it is offset too much! I've got an overhang on the inside of about 1/8 inch! Anyone have luck with trimming off a bit of t-molding all the way down a side?
 
Finished up the other side tonight and wheeled it out to take some pics. Here's one from my cell- I'll put up some better ones from my camera when I get a chance to upload them.

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Finished up the other side tonight and wheeled it out to take some pics. Here's one from my cell- I'll put up some better ones from my camera when I get a chance to upload them.

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Looks great, best Time Pilot i have seen since 1983!, Where is the key chain hanging from the door though?
 
A few more:

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Looks really nice. The art is great, really hides that woodgrain. :D What was it about Centuri and all the damn bolts? My Gyruss cocktail was all bolts and brackets holding it together, didn't look like they used any glue or anything.
 
Looks really nice. The art is great, really hides that woodgrain. :D What was it about Centuri and all the damn bolts? My Gyruss cocktail was all bolts and brackets holding it together, didn't look like they used any glue or anything.

Thanks man! Yeah, those damn bolts suck. I wasn't stripping the entire cab so I just laid it on its side and removed the bolts and put them back.
 
Very nice, thanks for sharing! Time Pilot is such a great game - what's your high score?

I have a 1943 that was converted from a Time Pilot. I have the Time Pilot PCB in another cab right now, but it would be great to get it back to this state.
 
Very nice, thanks for sharing! Time Pilot is such a great game - what's your high score?

I have a 1943 that was converted from a Time Pilot. I have the Time Pilot PCB in another cab right now, but it would be great to get it back to this state.

Thanks! I can't recall what my high score is ATM, but I can get to the second UFO stage on a good day. I'm not great at gaming, but I still love playing.
 
It looks great Jon :) Well done.

I've got most of the art I need now to build one of my own. I don't have a cab so will need to get the saw out :)
 
It looks great Jon :) Well done.

I've got most of the art I need now to build one of my own. I don't have a cab so will need to get the saw out :)

Thanks man! You'll have a better time building one- you won't need to use all those damned carriage bolts! ;)
 
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