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Epsode 409 - Fox Hunt Refurb, 1934 Chicago Coin Show Boat

For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·29m 39s·analyzed·Nov 16, 2017
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.026

TL;DR

Restoration deep-dive: 1940 Fox Hunt refurb challenges and 1934 Showboat mechanical history.

Summary

Nick Baldridge discusses his ongoing restoration of a 1940 Chicago Coin Fox Hunt pinball machine, detailing extensive cosmetic work including removal of deteriorated rubber bonded to the playfield and bumpers, lamp socket replacement, and cabinet refinishing. He also covers troubleshooting electrical issues on the Fox Hunt, updates on other EM projects including a bingo conversion and RoboFrenzy wiring, and concludes with a deep dive into the 1934 Chicago Coin Showboat—a pre-war flipperless game with an innovative center lane multiball advancement mechanic.

Key Claims

  • The Fox Hunt's old rubber bonded differently than modern rubber—it melted and reformed rather than dry rotting, requiring careful X-Acto knife removal rather than scraping

    high confidence · Nick Baldridge describing restoration methodology on Fox Hunt

  • All bumper bodies and skirts on the 1940 Fox Hunt were in perfect condition except for grime coverage, which is unusual for a game this old due to typical plastic warping and shrinkage

    high confidence · Nick Baldridge noting rarity of perfect plastic condition on pre-war game

  • Pre-war games typically used spring-based side rails for ball nudging rather than rubber-on-wood rails that came later, and replacing old worn springs is an inexpensive way to revive gameplay

    high confidence · Nick Baldridge sharing restoration/gameplay technique for EM games

  • Pre-war lamp sockets came in two types: enclosed screw-base (standard) and spring-based versions; the Fox Hunt had spring-based sockets that were heavily corroded with hardened dielectric grease

    high confidence · Nick Baldridge detailing electrical restoration on Fox Hunt

  • The Fox Hunt has no schematic available, requiring electrical troubleshooting through logical deduction and understanding of electromechanical game principles

    high confidence · Nick Baldridge explaining current challenge with Fox Hunt electrical system

  • Chicago Coin Kilroy was produced in massive quantities ('$100 billion' - likely hyperbole for very common) and most examples are worn; the specimen Steve Smith acquired is in unusually good original condition

    medium confidence · Nick Baldridge commenting on Kilroy example he helped move

  • The 1934 Chicago Coin Showboat uses a center lane with up to six balls that advance down a track when a ball lands in a top center hole, with each advancement ringing a bell and increasing point value

    high confidence · Nick Baldridge describing Showboat's core mechanical feature

  • The Showboat's center lane multiball advancement mechanic was conceptually repeated later by Bally in games like Mad World (1960s) with balls advancing on the right side of the playfield

Notable Quotes

  • “it's like it bonds to it it really does something kind of odd it melts into a puddle and reforms so to get it off you can't just take a fingernail and scrape it off”

    Nick Baldridge @ early in cosmetic restoration discussion — Describes the unique challenge of old deteriorated rubber on pre-war machines, explaining restoration methodology

  • “I've worked on other games which are as old and older, and I've worked on other games which are newer, but only slightly. And so some of that experience comes into play too.”

    Nick Baldridge @ late in Fox Hunt discussion — Reflects on how experience with similar-era games informs electrical troubleshooting without schematics

  • “It's got an interesting mechanic up on the top of the play field, so I want to see that in action if I can.”

    Nick Baldridge @ discussing Kilroy — Shows enthusiast curiosity about game mechanics despite having never played a Kilroy before

  • “the center hole there and the game goes ding and advances the balls down That is a pretty cool mechanic”

    Nick Baldridge @ Showboat description — Enthusiasm for the Showboat's mechanical innovation and the physical satisfaction of ball advancement

  • “I think this is a cool gimmick I gotta say, and of course they repeated it later on just in a slightly different form and a different manufacturer but obviously it has legs and there's something about that animation of the ball actually physically kicking that is very satisfying.”

    Nick Baldridge @ conclusion of Showboat analysis — Highlights the enduring design principle of physical mechanical satisfaction in pinball

Entities

Nick BaldridgepersonRyan ClaytorpersonSteve SmithpersonSteve YoungpersonChicago CoincompanyBallycompanyGottliebcompanyUnitedcompanyFox Huntgame

Signals

  • ?

    restoration_signal: Pre-war rubber bonding mechanism (melting and reforming rather than dry rot) requires X-Acto knife technique rather than standard scraping; original artwork intact after careful removal

    high · Nick's detailed description of Fox Hunt playfield and bumper restoration methodology

  • ?

    restoration_signal: Spring-based screw lamp sockets on pre-war games can be hardened with old dielectric grease but respond well to standard socket cleaner pencil tools; all sockets on Fox Hunt tested and functioning with 9-volt conductivity

    high · Nick's testing protocol and successful restoration of Fox Hunt screw-base sockets using Pinball Resource socket cleaner

  • ?

    restoration_signal: Automatic buffer tool for cabinet paint restoration is effective and time-saving; Nick used it successfully for first time on Fox Hunt despite initial skepticism

    high · Nick's positive experience with automatic buffer on Fox Hunt cabinet finishing

  • ?

    operational_signal: Spring-based side rail replacement on pre-war games significantly improves ball action and gameplay feel; inexpensive maintenance with high impact on player experience

    high · Nick's recommendation to replace 50-60 year old springs on Fox Hunt as part of routine restoration

  • ?

    design_innovation: 1934 Chicago Coin Showboat featured center lane with six-ball advancement track; conceptual precursor to later Bally right-side advancement mechanics (Mad World, 1960s); gimmick shows legs across decades

    high · Nick's historical analysis comparing Showboat's center track to Mad World's similar mechanic

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.089

0:00
What's that sound? It's For Amusement Only, the EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast. Welcome back to For Amusement Only. This is Nick Baldridge.
0:15
As usual, here recently, a very tired Nick Baldridge. I've had a lot of stuff going on at work, but that's not fun stuff.
0:27
That's not pinball. So let's talk about some pinball. At York, I picked up a game for Ryan Claytor. It's a 1940 Chicago coin fox hunt, and I've been working on that pretty much nonstop since I got back from York. the first order of business was some restoration type stuff a lot of the rubber from some time ago I don't know if it's original but it's really old whatever that rubber was had bonded to the playfield and I had to get that off of the playfield in order to clean it unfortunately this rubber had also bonded to most of the plastic surfaces as well there are no playfield plastics on this game but there are a ton of passive bumpers and unfortunately every bumper skirt and every bumper body was just coated in this goo and there was stuff on metal springs and just all over the place.
1:46
So the way I attempted to remove that, I went through a few different approaches, and the whole thing is I knew that the art underneath, well, I hoped that the art underneath was still intact.
2:03
This old rubber bonds in a different way than newer rubber that dry rots. it doesn't just stick to the surface it's like it bonds to it really does something kind of odd it melts into a puddle and reforms so to get it off you can't just take a fingernail and scrape it off especially because these puddles that I'm talking about were so thick, they were very deep I guess and you couldn't really get a fingernail underneath of it to lift it and the surface area was so large that your chances of actually damaging the artwork were pretty great if you tried to do that.

medium confidence · Nick Baldridge making historical comparison of game mechanics

Showboat
game
Kilroygame
Mad Worldgame
RoboFrenzygame
Twin Jokergame
Yukongame
For Amusement Onlyorganization
Pinball Resourcecompany
IPDBorganization
  • ?

    historical_signal: Chicago Coin Showboat (1934) is a 43-inch flipperless game; limited documentation available (blurry Billboard ad); no known examples easily located by enthusiasts; Nick seeking firsthand accounts

    medium · Nick's difficulty finding clear images and request for listener reports on Showboat examples

  • ?

    collector_signal: Chicago Coin Kilroy is common production title with most examples worn to wood, but recent specimen acquired by Steve Smith in excellent original condition with vibrant playfield and backglass

    medium · Nick's commentary on Kilroy's massive production run vs. the exceptional condition of Smith's example

  • ?

    product_concern: Fox Hunt has no available schematic; electrical restoration requires deductive reasoning based on game function and electromechanical principles; coin slide integration with relay reset creates complex interdependencies

    high · Nick's explanation of Fox Hunt electrical challenges and lack of documented specifications

  • ?

    restoration_signal: 1940 Fox Hunt features unusual wiring architecture with multiple common tie points held by single screw and solder blob; old but not dry-rotted; requires voltage testing to identify power distribution problems

    high · Nick's description of Fox Hunt wiring architecture and ongoing troubleshooting approach

  • ?

    operational_signal: Fox Hunt (1940) and Showboat (1934) lack motorized reset; reset occurs simultaneously when coin is inserted; free-play relay mechanism bypasses credit activation; knockoff button removes credits one at a time without motorized replay

    high · Nick's detailed description of Fox Hunt coin slide mechanism and relay logic

  • ?

    community_signal: Nick actively seeking listener participation in game research (requesting photos and firsthand accounts of Showboat machines); builds community knowledge base around rare flipperless titles

    medium · Nick's direct request for listener reports on Showboat examples and offer to document with photos

  • ?

    content_signal: For Amusement Only operates on monthly or longer episode cycle; host mentions it's been about a month since last episode despite ongoing active restoration work

    medium · Nick's reference to monthly production schedule and heavy workload impacting release frequency

    • 2:49
    So instead what I did is took an X-Acto knife, a fresh X-Acto knife, not a scraper, but just a handheld X-Acto knife, and slowly worked back and forth and scraped away the rubber one tiny fraction of a piece at a time. And that worked really well.
    3:14
    Emboldened by that, I took a look at the bumper skirts and the bumpers themselves. And these bumper bodies are kind of unique for a game that's this old. Again, this is 1940. most games that old, the plastic that they used isn't like the plastics that they started using in the 1960s it's not quite the same so what happens is over time it'll shrink and settle and warp in these odd ways and so most older games, like much older games that you pick up you'll have, maybe all the bumpers are there but they're contorted and odd.
    4:01
    Well, luckily, every single bumper on this was flat-out perfect, except for the fact that it was covered in all this junk.
    4:09
    So normal cleaning methods weren't working, so I ended up trying the X-Acto thing again, and again, I was just emboldened by what had happened with the playfield surface. and at the end of the day or several days in a row worth of work I managed to remove all that junk from the bumper bodies, the bumper skirts and the play field and the original art was intact and the bumper bodies and skirts could be reused and it looks great so that was the hardest part of the cosmetics. Of course, I took out and tumbled and polished and did all that stuff for all the metal and replaced springs and did those kind of things. So, I don't know if I've talked about this before, but here's a little minor tech tip. On a game that old, a lot of the action of the ball comes from, actually, the side springs. Later on, most of the manufacturers switched to rubber on wood rails that ran on the left and right side of the playfield surface.
    5:26
    But earlier games used springs, kind of like bingos, that surround the entire playfield playing surface. So there would be blocked off sections where extra artwork would be or extra lamps or whatever the case was. but as the ball is careening down the play field you can actually nudge it skillfully off of the side springs and if you're playing on springs which are 50-60 years old and have been extended for that period of time they've lost some of their sproing and replacing those is a pretty cheap way to really liven up an older game like that So, did that, polished all the plastic and, you know, all the typical stuff, and it really looks great. So, that's pretty exciting.
    6:26
    Now, let's talk about lamp sockets, because lamp sockets for older games say most things that are pre-war. I don't know exactly when the changeover happened. That's what I'm trying to think about here. But most things that are pre-war have screw-based lamp sockets.
    6:53
    And I've worked on a few games with the screw-based lamp sockets before, but this was the first one where every single socket...
    7:05
    Let me back up. The screw-based lamp sockets come in two different varieties. There kind of an encapsulated one or an enclosed one where it functions like the screw socket for a typical incandescent light bulb that you might have in a floor lamp or whatever
    7:29
    So those are typically just fine. You know, occasionally they might get a little mashed or whatever, and you can bend them back into shape and they're fine.
    7:40
    The second type, and this is far more annoying, is there's a screw base type that is essentially just a spring.
    7:53
    And you screw the screw base into the spring, and the spring is electrified as well as the base, and so it conducts electricity just like any other socket. It's just kind of funky.
    8:06
    Well, every single one of those sockets, they must have used some kind of dielectric grease or something at some point in the past, and it had hardened into super glue. I mean, that stuff was tough.
    8:23
    The sockets were all heavily corroded. And breaking the bulbs free meant actually breaking the glass envelope and removing it.
    8:36
    So gloves were a must because once you remove those, you're left with a lot of sharp edges. even though all the glass is gone there's a lot of filler junk inside a bulb and of course the edge of the socket itself or the base is sharp so eventually unscrewed all those somehow and I set about to cleaning those amazingly I was shocked by this, but I was able to clean up all of those sockets just with the standard socket cleaner pencil tip thing that Steve Young sells at Pinball Resource.
    9:28
    And they shine like new. I've tested each of the sockets with a 9-volt battery. and you just put the battery across the lugs with the lamp in there and see if it lights. And you can also test with a meter. So I ran out of bulbs at one point. Only some of the bulbs were actually good, which is not a shock.
    9:55
    So rather than unscrew and then re-screw these bulbs over and over and over again, what I thought I'd do is just test with a meter. and sure enough, all of the sockets conduct 9 volts, so I think it'll be just fine for 6 volts.
    10:14
    So, flash forward a little, and I did some light cabinet restoration as well, sanded all the wood for the rails,
    10:24
    we shipped a set of legs for the game that are not necessarily correct for the game, Although it's unclear what is correct for that game, the pictures on the IPDB are not certain. And they seem to indicate that it takes a bingo-style cut leg and probably a bingo-style height leg, which is what ended up going on this game.
    10:56
    Well, there were four different legs, and three of them are exactly the same. one of them is a different type so I wanted to go ahead and sand all those and stain all of the wood trim for the back box the side rails and the lockdown bar as well as the legs and coat everything with a light poly and it's beautiful so it looks great and it feels great underhand, and that's wonderful. I also used an automatic buffer on the cab itself, and this is my first go-around with one of those, and I will tell you that I was not a firm believer, especially as it's thrown around a lot of the cleaning goo that I use, but when I was finished, and that cabinet is bright and shiny and looks wonderful. I waxed it by hand, but the initial cleaning just did such a great job. I think I'll try using that again in the future for, you know, the next cab that I do. Just really saves a lot of time on scrubbing and is gentle on the paint as well. So that's pretty cool. Then it came time to really refurb the mechanics. So I went through every bit of the game, refurbed every stepper,
    12:33
    double-checked every relay, took a look at every switch, you know, the usual, fixed up things like the coin slide, which somebody had just jammed more and more grease into over the years until it stopped moving. and same with the lifter I'm shocked that somebody hadn't broken that lifter assembly trying to make it work because it was so gummed up nothing would move it I mean you could push on the lifter rod and nothing would happen so extremely lucky that none of that was bent and everything cleaned up and it works like new. It's great.
    13:20
    So, now I'm on to electrical. And here I've run into a bit of a problem. Now, normally I don't do kind of the cosmetics,
    13:32
    heavy-duty cosmetics, until after I've gotten things mechanically running and electrically running. but in this case I went ahead and did that as time is a factor. So now that I've got that done, the problem that I have is that there's no schematic for the game.
    13:55
    So I know essentially what it needs to do. There needs to be a relay that trips and tilts the game, for example. There needs to be a relay which trips and chooses a selection, I assume. There needs to be a relay that trips and resets the game. Again, an assumption. So, there's no motor in the game, which makes it interesting. That means that the reset has to happen all at the same time, and all as part of pushing in the coin slide.
    14:30
    The other thing that has to happen is the Electro-Lock needs to turn on, which will enable coil power as well as lamp power. so here's where I'm at there a bank of three trip relays which are attached to the end of the baffle when you push in the coin slide at the end there this little bracket that extends down and it pushes all three trip relay levers back into the reset position And so then they can trip and have whatever impact on the game that they're going to have.
    15:09
    One of those is tripping immediately, and I believe it's the tilt. So I manually misadjusted one of the slam tilt switches, and it causes that to trip immediately. Now, if that tilt trip doesn't trip immediately, then the Electro-Lock will not latch. The Electro-Lock is not turning on the playfield or backbox lights, nor is it enabling any other coils in the game to function except for replay reset. So this game has a knock-off button, and you push this button and it will remove one credit at a time. It doesn't have a full replay reset that's motorized, like, for example, a bingo. It's an earlier game that you could be paid out on, if the bar owner so chose. It doesn't automatically pay out. so that works and that's great and it stops at zero, wonderful unfortunately there's no lit indication of how many replays that you have and certainly nothing else lights up either when that relay is latched that one that I'm assuming is tilt and the electrolock is on at the same time which it's not supposed to be at least according to the behavior that I'm witnessing, then the lights on the play field are active, but only very, very briefly. So I'm not sure what the next step is, but I'm just beginning kind of this phase of troubleshooting, and we'll see what happens from here. Once I have coil power active, then I think I will be able to troubleshoot the actual gameplay and make sure that the game does, in fact, choose a horse and advance horses and all that good stuff. Right now, if I hit a bumper, absolutely nothing happens. The game is essentially dead. None of the switches are stuck closed, which, you know, that would be something to look for if nothing is functioning, you know, something is stuck on. Nothing is stuck on. None of the coils are buzzing or doing anything except for the electrolock. So it's really kind of a game of guess which thing to address next, because it has to be attached to this coin slide somewhere, but it doesn't seem, from just logical poking and prodding at this thing, and a basic understanding of how it should work,
    18:01
    that my lamps should be off, but they are. On top of that, there's no tilt lamp, which is active, so I'm not even certain that that relay is a tilt relay. It could be a reset relay, and maybe it thinks it's done its job, and so reset time is over.
    18:23
    There are only two switch pairs on that relay, which I would find incredibly strange if it is handling all of the reset logic. There are very few relays outside of those three, which could be considered to have anything to do with anything at all. There are two relays in the head, and there's an additional, I think, five or six momentary relays under the play field. there's also a relay for free play which is attached to the coin slide and it just pulls the dog or I'm sorry, pushes the dog up into the coin slide so that it can move freely that, even if replays are on the unit the credit unit is not activating so there's some kind of power problem and it must be coming from the common but power is getting to the play field and it is able to hold the electro lock on so I'm just going through and measuring voltages and seeing where the drop is the wiring for this game is quite strange there are several commons like tie points which they've made and the tie points are just held together with a screw and a single blob of solder holding, I don't know, half a dozen wires together.
    19:56
    It's very strange, but it should function. And everything is relatively clean. The wire is not dry-rotted. It is old. I mean, you know, it's 1940. It's not new.
    20:13
    So it needs a little attention, but it's getting there. So, what else is going on? Boy, I guess it's been about a month since I did one of these.
    20:30
    I was able to pick up a card-themed bingo playfield. And I've got that here along with the plastic set. And I'm going to, you know, clean that up and get it ready and wired into the multi. And as part of that, what I'm going to do is program in all four of the card-themed bingo games. That's Twin Joker, Yukon, and two others, which I don't recall off the top of my head.
    21:04
    Yukon is the only one, if I recall correctly, that allows you to play for replays. The others are all novelty games, like Twin Joker. so you're just playing for competitive fun instead of for the thrill of winning hundreds of replays so I'll be working to get that done the other thing I'd like to do is finish wiring RoboFrenzy I'm sitting here staring at this back door with all the units attached to it and there's no wiring attached to it whatsoever I had gone through previously and stripped all the units of all the wire that was attached to them. So they're ready to be wired for me to build the harnesses, but I just need to do it.
    21:59
    And unfortunately, I haven't had the time. But soon. So, speaking of other things which are taking my attention... I helped my friend Steve Smith today move a beautiful Chicago coin Kilroy
    22:21
    That was one of the nicest original condition games that I've seen. And it's surprising on that particular title. They made $100 billion of that game. They made an awful lot. and most of them are just worn down to the wood. This one's play field is in pretty good shape. All the bumpers are incredibly excellent and the back glass is great. The only problem with it is some of the mirroring is starting to kind of pull away and a little bit of some of the colored sections on the edges of the glass. But other than that, it is gorgeous, beautiful and vibrant. I was shocked when I saw how nice that was and the cabinet paint is also just fantastic so hoping to maybe get out there and help Steve if he needs it or at least get in his way while he fixes it up and then give it a play or two despite how many they've made I've never seen or played one before so I'm interested to see how it plays. It's got an interesting mechanic up on the top of the play field, so I want to see that in action if I can.
    23:47
    And other than that, you know, that's been kind of my EM highlights here. I've been working on Foxhunt like crazy, just trying to get that done here, and I'm in the home stretch, and this is really the fun part for me. I do love seeing the cosmetics pop back into the way that they should, getting the rubber off of there and so forth, but for me, one of the most fun parts is puzzling out these electrical issues.
    24:21
    And especially on a game this old where it's really just gut instinct. There's no roadmap to success. I've worked on other games which are as old and older, and I've worked on other games which are newer, but only slightly.
    24:41
    And so some of that experience comes into play too. And just basic things like, well, I know the game's got to reset when you put in a coin. some of these switches must be involved somehow so just knowing that helps me narrow down where I need to look if that makes sense I apologize if I have been more pause-y than normal and I know I pause a lot my phrasing is very distinct, somebody told me once but the reason for that I'm just flat out exhausted and I apologize.
    25:24
    So, let's talk about the year of Flipperless. Today's game is 1934's Chicago Coin, just carrying on the theme here. Showboat.
    25:41
    Now, Showboat might be familiar to some of you long-time listeners. I've probably talked about both the Gottlieb wedgehead with unique flipper setup, as well as the United Bingo, the only six card that United made. This is a completely different animal.
    26:02
    Being 1934, it's pre-war. It is a smaller game. It's 43 inches. and the unique feature in this game, it's an early electromechanical, and there's a center lane in which up to six balls in a center track.
    26:26
    In order to advance them down this track, you can land a ball up at the top of the track, and that's worth 1,000 points. each time you land a ball in a hole at the top it will kick all the balls in that lane down one position which increases the score that they're worth and it will also ring a bell at the same time so land a ball in at the top of the track your next ball, you hit that center target up at the top, the center hole there and the game goes ding and advances the balls down That is a pretty cool mechanic And it's similar to some of the later Bally multiball setups Like on Mad World in the 1960s Where the balls have to advance down this track on the right side of the playfield This is front and center though And it takes up the vast majority of the playing space in the center On the left and right are arrayed a series of holes Unfortunately, the only picture I could find was a blurry ad from Billboard, which I'm thankful that exists, of course. It's just unfortunate that I can't see the point values, or really if there is a higher scoring pocket than the bottom gate, as they call it on the flyer, or this ad. so the bottom gate is worth 7,000 points and that is after you advance 6 times really cool feature I'd be really interested to see one of these and of course take some pictures if anybody has one of these or has played one of these I'd be interested in hearing about it the gimmick is really neat that's quite a come on especially in this early electromechanical era 1934, they're just starting to experiment with what they can do with the games to really attract players and keep them coming back and putting in more money and I think this is a cool gimmick I gotta say, and of course they repeated it later on just in a slightly different form and a different manufacturer but obviously it has legs and there's something about that animation of the ball actually physically kicking that is very satisfying.
    29:02
    All right, well, that's all for tonight. Thank you very much for bearing with me. My name again is Nick Baldridge. You can reach me at 4amusementonlypodcast at gmail.com, or you can call me on the bingos line at 724-BINGOS1, 724-246-4671. you can listen to us on iTunes, Stitcher, Pocketcast via RSS, on Facebook, on Twitter at Bingo Podcast you can follow me on Instagram also at Bingo Podcast or you can listen to me on my website which is foramusementonly.libsyn.com thank you very much for listening and I'll talk to you next time