|
Wasn't sure what I'd find when I
purchased this. |
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|
Wasn't sure what I'd find when I
purchased this. |
Update:
This project has finally begun. This game has been buried, for 15+ years, it's time has finally come.
This game was put into storage all those
years ago during a move from NY to Florida , it needs a lot of
attention..
First will be the restoration of the
cabinet. This includes replacing both doors and the cabinet bottom.
Here you can see a piece of plywood was
added to the bottom of the cabinet to reinforce it by the seller.
Without it the bottom would have fallen apart.
Here I am removing the added bottom plywood
along with the original bottom fiber board.
As you can see it pretty much fell apart, except where it was glued to
the plywood.
You can also see the condition of the paint on the cabinet, yellowed
from cigarette smoke (actually turns a green color)
Here is the condition of the bottom
door, it is swollen and falling apart like the other non
plywood parts of the cabinet.
This is the upper door, all the edges of
this door are swollen .
On the hinge side, bottom there is a chunk of it missing.
This is one of the major challenges, along with removing and
replacing the cabinet bottom.
The parts on this door seem to be in
remarkably good condition.
There is a smaller problem with the door, on this game, every
part is suppose to be labeled, with information, they are mostly gone,
if there with little to no text .
Hoping to find another owner that can take some clear macro photos, so
I can reproduce those labels, which seem to have dissolved.
(now have some photos supplied by a few other owners and the promise of
scans sometime in the future)
The exterior paint / art will need to be
rejuvenated.
This a a photo of the top of the game area, showing the back of the
front lighting board , the top of the periscope with contact arm
along with the periscope position pcb and the speaker over to the
right (Utah)
On the left and right, though only one side is seen here are 2 latches
that prevent the front art glass from being lifted and removed to gain
access to bulbs.
Another thing not shown on the floor below the lighting panel are (2)
brackets left and right that secure the front glasses in place so
they can not be lifted.
The center glass is installed below the lift bar on the front.
When that glass is removed it allows lamp replacement.
Again, all of this is in great shape.
Note: a lot of the wiring harness has plugs, the lighting board does
not, it is hardwired to the backdoor board electronics.
Why they did this,, unknown. But it makes the job of transferring parts
from an old door to a new one a big challenge.
The periscope must be removed to be able to pass the lighting board out
the back.
This is the game surface removed from the cabinet, with the torpedo bar
in front of it.
There should be a third ship (aircraft carrier possibly a fourth?) on
the "water" surface
I have the carrier but it was not attached. There is some discoloration
on the
back of the vinyl surface caused by what appears to be something red
that spilled into the game. That material coated the entire length of
the torpedo arm
I don't think it will be fully removable
but
the game is only lit in black light so I doubt it will be noticeable
anyway.
That surface is much like a printed vinyl shower curtain. However
it does glow under black light.
To remove the ocean assy from the game, you must tilt the
game forward so it can clear the cabinet back brace.
That torpedo arm holds 17 #55 bulbs..
The bulbs are mounted on 3 galvanized plates, held on the arm by 3
screws. Each bulb can be individually removed from the strip if wanted
or
the whole plate removed to access 5 to 6 bulbs at a time.
The arm itself does not need to be removed to replace bulbs.
This is the periscope assy removed from the cabinet.
It is chrome plated, the bottom was painted silver sometime after
it was built, It turns out this is made of plastic
My intention was to have it re-plated, however the plater I use
can not plate plastic.
So, I will have to come up with an acceptable alternative.
Originally I thought it was metal, as a magnet stuck to the
surface, apparently, to the plating alone.
The line you see running around the circumference in the middle was
caused by wear from the ball bearings at that spot.
The ball bearings are a tight fit , covered by a plate that has
the stops for the periscope extreme positions (also protects the
3d front)
Care must be taken removing the scope and replacing it, because of the
ball bearings.
To put the scope back in, I suggest covering the exposed holes in
the tube to avoid ball bearings dislodged from the race falling into
the scope
There are additional parts to this
assembly not shown
This is the optics assembly that
mounts inside
the periscope tube. The leaf switch is the torpedo fire
switch which
mounts inside the right scope handle. The other wiring is for lighting.
While
working on the cabinet , I noticed something I wasn't clear on
how it worked.
This is
what I was looking at.
Here is what it looks like when
in the usable condition Here
shown extended like in the 2nd pix
Like
this it's now possible to lock the coin box in place. The left
side of the assy is spring steel, the right arm is hinged. It was
pushed back as far as it would go.
Thanks
John Robertson of John's Jukes for the answer
Here is
the scope re-assembled. It turns out that the top will have to
come off to get it back in the cabinet
The plug at the top supplies power to 4 #55 lamps and the connection
for
the trigger switch.
The small opening above the viewer has 2 lamps to
illuminate
the interior of the scope, the loose wires
connect to a plate that covers that hole and has 2 more lamps to
illuminated the central cabinet scope picture.
This area of the page was
created when the game was purchased years ago
I did some research on WWII subs, and there was a Sea Devil.
Info. on it below.
The ships used can be seen on
the archived page below:
Here's Brian Amyotte's Page on the
Sea
Devil game
I made this topper at the
time, and it may wind up on the Midway Sea Devil when done
Sub model
| This is a Revell model of the WWII
"Balao" class submarine "LionFish SS-298", which is a sister ship (boat) to the "Sea Devil SS-400". I believe this to be the correct class of sub depicted by this game. It's a 21 inch long plastic model and will fit nicely on top of the game. |
 |
This is a photograph of the actual WWII SS400
SEA DEVIL .
Launched February 28, 1944
Click on the link BELOW FOR THE ACTUAL
HISTORY OF THE SEA DEVIL SS-400
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