Flatten OW backflash & unidentified tin

[greg]

I just added "The Lucky Twelve" Allwin to my collection. Banging around inside was the small metal container shown in the pictures. I looked everywhere for the two screws it would have hung from. I even checked in the bottom cash drawer for screws or screw holes. Maybe all the pennies that found their way into it were donated to charity or some other good cause. My hour long search turned up no possible place for it to attach. So, all I know to do now is turn it over to all of you ....THE ALLWIN EXPERTS!

Also, if someone has come up with an innovative new way to flatten the plastic play field I would love to hear about it. This poor game is unplayable until I find a way to flatten the pay field over the winning holes.

[treefrog]

That is because it is not from an Allwin, but a Mills Sega Bandit. It is a coin overflow or reject tin that sits inside the cabinet next to an escalator.

Search the site as many have made attempts at flattening these backflashes, from removing backflash and placing between two sheets and gently applying heat from say a hair dryer, to another member who put his in an oven. I have stopped buying Olly Whales machines and sold all mine last year as not such a fan of this flaw.

[greg]

Thanks TreeFrog for the information. If anyone needs a Mills coin overflow feel free to stop by my house in Beautiful Greensboro, North Carolina and I will be glad to give it to you.

I have tried flattening a play field with the gentle application of heat from a heat gun with not much luck. I even tried laying a piece of glass over it to distribute the heat evenly. The glass shattered.

The oven scares me. With the heat gun I only screw up one small area at a time. With the oven I can destroy the entire thing in one shot. I'm sure someone has a "Double Secret" way to flatten play fields they have never shared....it's time to share your secret with the world and the world will love you for it!

[badpenny]

I think gentle persuasion may be the secret to this greg.
Try laying it between two pieces of single ply wood sheeting and then place the largest flat bottomed pan you can find on top and fill it with boiling water.
Keeping the water hot and repositioning the pan in order to give all of the back flash a chance may produce results.
What sort of results you'll get could be a bit of a mystery, but at least you'll be more informed than us.

I'm in Rugby in Warwickshire England'land. I don't really need a Mills/Sega escalator slug catcher but could never resist something free, are you at home during the week?

BP

[coppinpr]

you might try looking at methods used to flatten warped 78rpm records,there are several methods ,most are on you tube I think, I even saw one once using very hot water

[brianh]

Ref playfield or backflash, if all else fails would you consider replacing it? So long as you take a decent hi-res photo of it you can then clean it up a bit with photoshop (or, as I don't have that prog I used the "paint" prog on my PC) then get it printed to right size - I tend to get the print laminated but I believe it can be printed onto plastic to be a bit more like the original.

It may not suit the purists but if the original playfield renders the machine unplayable I would prefer a replacement and a fully working machine. Attached pics are one I am working on at the moment. Takes hours of playing around with colour matching but at the end I will be able to win - and eat the kitkats

[widget2k4]

Takes hours of playing around with colour matching but at the end I will be able to win - and eat the kitkats

why did you not just get the one ready done from resources ?

[brianh]

Would have done so, widget, and maybe I should've gone to specsavers but I still can't find it in resources

That apart, though, it was good experience and at least it used a pic of the actual backflash from the original machine so sort of not cheating?

[widget2k4]

Win a Kit-Kat retouched backflash

[greg]

Thanks for all the great suggestions on fixing the play field. Here is what I have tried in the past and also what I did this time.

Try #1. On another Allwin, I completely removed the play field from the game and tried to evenly heat the entire thing with a heat gun. I thought that if I got the entire thing to the same magic temperature it would just flatten all on its own like a good little play field. It didn't and I wound up melting one corner.

Try #2. I decided it needed some weight on top while I was heating it. I placed a large sheet of glass on top of the play field and some heavy weights on top of the glass. I then heated the glass for a long time with the heat gun. Not enough heat was getting to the play field and eventually the glass shattered.

This time #1. I decided to try flattening the play field in the game. I removed the 12 winning hole thingie. Just 4 screws on the back so that was easy. There were 4 tiny nails in the plastic just above the holes. They took a while to get out because I didn't want to crack the plastic were they were driven in. Then I took out my heat gun, set it on low, and heated one small section for about 30 seconds. No change so I touched it to see if it was hot enough. It was and have the burnt finger tip to prove it.

I decided I needed to protect my little paw so I got out the old family asbestos gloves. If you don't have a pair of asbestos gloves sitting around an oven mitten will work. Just don't use the one with old food stuck to it.

This time #2. I applied heat to the play field, one small section at a time. Then stopped the heat and I rubbed it (with my gloved hand), pressed it flat, held it as it cooled and told it that it was pretty pretty play field. I kept repeating that over all the bad spots. It only took about 15 minutes and it was flat enough to work again.

I had to trim the plastic a little around the slot where the 12 winning hole thingie goes. I also didn't put the 4 tiny nails back in. They were a big part of the reason the play field buckled.

I don't know how well you can see it in the earlier picture but the play field was buckled all the way across the top of the winning holes and it was impossible to get the ball in any hole.

The play field isn't perfect but game plays great now and that is all that really matters.

Thanks again for all your help.

[greg]

BadPenny...I will sit the Mills/Sega slug catcher aside until you get a chance to stop by for it. You will probably have better luck catching up with me at my shop in Downtown Greensboro so I will take it there. I sell shiny stuff and do watch and jewelry repair.

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&pb ... QQoioIbDAK

I'll even take you out for a pint. They just finished "Little Brother Brewery" a mini-brewery next to me. "Natty Greene's" is another brewery across the street or if you prefer "McCoul's Irish Pub" behind me. Your choice of course.

Greg

[13rebel]

Nice job and information Greg. Good usage of the word 'thingie' - a term that we can all understand. Would you say that the most important thing to remember to do is to keep calling it a pretty pretty backflash?

[greg]

Rebel...Thanks for the kind words. People don't always use the word "Thingie" in the correct way. Or you can tell they are really old because they will use the last century term "Thing a ma bob" instead of today's hip term "Thingie".

Also, I have always found that "pretty pretty" works with most inanimate "Girl" objects to get them to do what you want. But, I have found that animate "Girl" objects seem to respond better to small presents and being taken out to dinner.

[13rebel]

[bryans fan]

Thanks for giving such a detailed account of the various methods you tried. Very interesting. I think it was well worth saving rather than replacing with new. Well done.

I have been dithering over my Pilwin back flash for 10 years!