Wonders Flyover

[polaris]

I received my latest barn find today. Very happy about this one (Wonders a particular favourite). It needs some work but not too bad. I'm interested to know why there are significant differences comparing the one in the Wonders list?

[aristomatic]

Great artwork.
Very nice find.

[bryans fan]

Wish I had barns like yours where I live. The only thing I ever find in barns begins with S and ends in T! I think jimmycowman knows what I mean!

[widget2k4]

I agree, some good old barns in Scotland. Nothing like that in England.

[polaris]

Lol actually been a nightmare getting here came all the way up here from a boatyard in Kent went missing for a week along the way when parcel force attached wrong labels

[pennymachines]

I'm interested to know why there are significant differences comparing the one in the Wonders list?

Yes, the playfield layout is quite different, although the artwork appears identical. I wonder which is earlier.

[treefrog]

What is even odder is that two gantries overlay each other, so you wonder why they would not have used the square finish ones instead of the fancy ones to address this, as Wonders used both type, as shown in the other picture....

Nice find - I do like Giant Wonders.

[JC]

Have you also noted that the gallery scrolls are upside down - (sort of). They've clearly been made like that, but the fancy scroll bit should be at the top, above the hole cut-outs for the Win/Lose tabs (or in this case the number of coins to be paid out). Very odd.

[badpenny]

If you look at it upside down and imagine the cups and wining numbers reversed (as they would be) then the overlapping curls in the middle protrude a lot.
Possibly far enough to deflect the ball into a cup, especially as there are no pins to bounce them away.

You'd have to set one up to check it or use a powerful bit of physics software.

BP

[polaris]

Hi,
All restoration well under way now on the Wonders machine. Looking ahead, I will need to replace the plastic covering the artwork. Can anyone advise on what I should be looking for and possibly where I would be able to find a suitable replacement?

[widget2k4]

How to replace and re-cut a plastic backflash

[polaris]

Cheers Keith, I had a look at the Honest Joe material - almost identical. Now for a couple of chrome parts. The majority came up really well.

[coppinpr]

What exactly is it you need to replace?

[polaris]

Hi coppin, I'm looking to replace the plastic sheet covering the backflash. The original is not too good.

[gameswat]

I'm sure the fact that Wonders used printed paper artwork with separate clear covering over the top is as largely responsible for the high values of all their machines. When you have a machine all apart, I figure - buy the best quality (whatever) you can, so it doesn't need to be redone for a long time. Thin poly-carbonate plastic sheet works perfectly, doesn't seem to shrink and hard to crack or scratch.

[cheeky]

... and the reasons for Bryans machines prices being so high?

[gameswat]

I don't follow Bryans allwin prices at all so no idea how desirable they are? (not much of a Bryans fan ) And I've never owned or worked on any of his allwins so not sure if the plastic backflashes buckle like the Whales etc. do? But since they all seem to have the same generic art except for the Pilwin then not too hard for most people to get sorted themselves with minor work. But the Whales and other silkscreened artworks can be a big job. Well, except for those now available here on Penny Machines thanks to some of us! Just saw one of my restored artworks from here on an ebay machine today funnily enough. Placing new plastic sheet over a Wonders backflash is child's play in comparison.

[cheeky]

Child's play seemed so much easier in my day! I think the desirability of Wonders machines may, and I stress may be because of their reliability from an operator's point of view.

[polaris]

Hi gameswat,
With you all the way on buying the best possible - I would hate to put back together and beat myself up for not doing the best job possible. It's one of the main reasons I ask on the forum as there is a great wealth of knowledge here and always someone willing to lend a hand. I actually bought 0.75 mm poly carbonate sheet, but still feel it's a little too thick, so may I do a bit more searching. As regards prices of Wonders, reliability and good quality artwork would certainly come into it and I think the build quality of these compared to some other allwins is far superior. I had a bit of a result with the damaged payout cup on this machine. On taking it out, I noticed it's identical on the inside and cleaned up like new - made my day.

[badpenny]

..... looks like a duck that's run into a revolving door.