There's something oddly satisfying about taking something that looks quite poor and making it look sexy again. And that's what we're going to be doing with this Rocky and Bullwinkle pinball machine. Now the thing is, a lot of people would love to be able to just take their very first machine, tear down the playfield, put it all back together without encountering any problems or issues. the chances are no matter how many times that you do this something's bound to go wrong so you've got you a pinball machine and you want to make this thing really look sexy and one of the ways to go about doing that is to do a complete tear down clean and wax and reassemble everything and as much as I would love to say that it's an easy task it's always game dependent. Now I've never taken apart a Rocky and Bullwinkle machine before so this is going to be a learning experience for me as well as a little bit of a learning experience for you. Now granted this video is not just for a Rocky and Bullwinkle disassembly this is going to be hopefully a tutorial showing you how to go about performing certain tasks on all the machines that you're going to be messing with. So my first tip is to make sure that your game is working 100%. This is for a variety of different reasons because if your game is working 100% without issue and you go doing what you're doing here, taking apart whether it be just one section or the entire play field, and then all of a sudden you start seeing issues after your work, then you know for sure that it's something you touched and something you did. You don't want to have a game that's kind of sort of working and then go taking things apart, putting it back together, because you're going to be possibly implementing more issues doing this process. So you kind of want to narrow that field down of error to something that you have done during this process. If your game is working a hundred percent then let's proceed to step number two step number two is to provide yourself with the proper documentation on where everything goes so pictures guys you need to take lots of pictures there you can the number one rule about taking pictures is that you cannot take too many so by all means you want to get pictures from every different possible angle in certain areas the more complex the playfield, then obviously the more pictures that you're going to have to take. If you're dealing with a single level playfield, you're probably not going to need that many. But the best thing to do is while you're taking the playfield apart, whether it be in sections, make sure you're taking pictures after you remove something, especially the plastics, to make sure when you're replacing the posts that you're putting the right posts in the correct location. I still remember my very first machine I decided to just assemble the top side of it on. and I thought that I was going to be able to remember all of it and where everything goes. That was a big mistake because I did not remember where everything goes. So you talk about having to look online at a lot of pictures that other people have taken of their machines and having to build the machine back up again. So since then, I take lots of pictures just to make sure that the reassembly process goes smooth. So by all means, to reiterate, step number two is to provide yourself with great documentation on the origin of all pieces of this puzzle. So what I'm going to do now is that I'm going to raise the play field up. And I'm going to be looking for all of the wires that are being fed through the top side of the play field down to underneath. There's usually going to be stuff like this or switches. there's going to be a molex connector that connects those two points that would basically hinder me from being able to remove things from the top side so all i'm going to be doing is going through the bottom side of the play field and disconnecting all of these probably like a four pin or maybe even a two pin molex connector from one another that's going to give me the ability to keep the play field at one position at all times and being able to lift things off the play field. If you forget a molex connector then you're going to have to reach up underneath and it's just going to make it more difficult. So your best thing to do is to get your play field upright and start going through and making sure you're disconnecting all of those small molex connectors. So let's raise this play field up. This is a data east so you're definitely going to be wanting to remove the balls out of here otherwise they're going to be coming all down but make it a common practice guys that whatever the make of the game take your pin balls out so this has got three balls now they're all gone all right play field is up let's go through here and start disconnecting all of these lines This is one of those four pin connectors I was telling you about try to keep the Z connector on This end that's one less thing. You're gonna have to feed it through underneath the plate field, but that's all I'm talking about right there You're gonna have things like this all on the underside for things to be fed back through that direction So that's one let's keep working our way around. All right. I see I've got Two lines feeding up right here. I think that's for the switches. So we're gonna to cut off the zip tie that's going to free up both of these connectors right here and then remove that and that so that's going to free up those two an easy method to use whenever going through is basically just start from the bottom any kind of wires John Youssi coming through a hole like right here just follow it up to the Molex connector disconnect it and now you know that one should be able to freely be taken out Move around to the other side just kind of weave back and forth and John Youssi oh I got this connector going through so I can disconnect that one And then just keep going from left to right, like, oh, I have one right here going through, disconnect that one. rinse and repeat until you get all the way back up here to the top knowing that everything should be able to be removed from the top side and now we can get the play field laid back down. Now I've got a video as of just recently showing the method on how I do this with stern machines but this also works for data east and I'm sure many others I just haven't got around to proving that fact yet. So in order for me to access this portion of the play field and being able to easily access everything, it's best to be able to lift this up, making sure that your playfield mounts are in the slots right there on the lockdown receiver. Then you should be able to lift it up, slide these clamps into place, and then they rest like that. Now I have complete access and it's secure to this whole top side of the playfield. So when it comes to disassembling the top side of your play field there are things that you're going to need starting with these gallon sized ziploc bags this is for organization purposes basically uh if you can get bigger ones then get bigger ones i'm pretty sure i've got multiple different sizes in here but the bigger the better this is what i typically use just these gallon sized bags so you can get those from your local retail center. Then you're going to need a multi-tool. This is a Klein tool right here that I've got. This gives me the ability to have my flathead as well as a Phillips. It can even act as a socket, like a nut driver. So it's real beneficial. So that's a nice tool have if you don't have of course the nice Klein then you can get the good old trusty Harbor Freight version for like a dollar or two this is very nice also these work as nut drivers and you have the ability to do the flat blade as well as a Phillips so you're gonna need that and along with that if you order on Titan pinball you can get the full nut driver set for all the sizes that should be on your pinball playfield. Also with Titan is this nice handy dandy little blade right here. I got this via Texas Pinball Festival. You're probably thinking what is this going to be used for? This is actually very useful for getting the, and you know what I'll show you here in a minute, but sometimes when you're trying to take off these particular posts right here, this nut on the top, you'll be unscrewing the actual post from the playfield instead of just the nut. So this is real beneficial for getting under there, holding that still, and then all you're going to be doing is removing the nut that's on the top right there. Very handy. Keep that on hand. And of course, a magnet antenna. I'm hoping I don't need this, but this is just in case you drop something somewhere you can't quite reach, then that's always a nice little helpful tool. I think that should be all the tools that I'm going to need. If you have to snip any kind of zip ties and everything, then by all means, get you some cutters ready to go. That is a very high probability. Here we go. oh Alright, so let me stop right here Whenever I tried to twist this one I got immediate like resistance like this one doesn't want to turn so I'm gonna stop right there and see what's going on this one Same ordeal Okay so it looks like these two and Possibly this one might be okay. Let me see here. Yep. This one's okay so Now every playfield is gonna be different so that one's free This one's just about free. All right, so that one's free. So these two have these particular nuts that are down here that are keeping these in place. So what I'm going to need to do is actually take these off first. And then we'll see if I can access them. the only way I'm going to be able to access them is if I lift this plate build up or or I'm going to have to get another tool so if I lift it up a little bit I was able to loosen it up and I can take off that particular nut throw that into the bag I've got one more right here once again gonna have to lift up to access it loosen it up All right so now should be able to take these out If you have really hard resistance whenever you're trying to disassemble your playfield, you probably need to stop and evaluate the situation. So not only did I have an issue getting these off due to the nuts that were under there, The T-nut was also basically not very secure to the playfield. So I had to use vice grips, clamp this thing down, and then unscrew it from the top. So let me put that into the bag. Probably going to have to replace those things. So let me show you in real time. I got that T-nut held down with the vice grips, making sure that it doesn't twist around. then I should be able to slowly but surely get this screw or bolt rather out of that particular t-nut now one of two things as I say one of two things can happen either one it comes out or two you're going to break off the tip of that. So good news is that it's basically out and free now. Bad news is I'm going to have to replace that particular damn bolt. So joy. And I'll add that to my shopping list of things to replace. so that's basically all I'm going to be putting in this bag right here is just that little section right here with that wire form that's all I've got in that one bag so that lets me know that that is all right there keeping that in that one bag Now obviously all the items in a pinball machine are not going to fit in a bag, so some of these are going to have to be zipped up the best that you can, but you'll know that that goes in there. So let's hold that right there, and let's get this off now. And yes, I even throw the rubbers that were in here into that bag. just that way. I know for sure that that rubber went in this particular section. They're going to be tossing the trash, so it's whatever you want to do. I'm sure these got the locking ones. Well, this one seems pretty easy to remove. Nice. That one's good. yep immediately felt resistance on this one and what sucks about this one is that i've got a light board in the way awesome so the bottom 25 percent's done now it's time for the back 75 percent and this is where things can get tricky so now i'm just going to be going through and just studying this play able to figure out am I able to take this portion or this ramp or this particular wire form off without having to remove other items and basically you need to find which item you can remove without having to remove other items so if you're able to remove something without having to remove something else then you've chosen the correct place to start so chances are if I had to guess about where I'm going to be able to start. It's going to be probably this right ramp right here. I've got two screws into the playfield and then a screw up here up top that's holding it in. And I think that's just kind of slid into position right there. So that particular ramp should be able to come out real easy. And I'm going to have to remove this diverter from underneath the playfield. I forgot about that. And just as I thought, we had one screw up here, two screws that were on the ramp flap, as well as a little sheet that connects to this particular form right here. Remove those three, and then that ramp portion comes off like so. Now I think the next thing I'm going to take off is this shield right here. This looks like it's pretty much just going to be pretty straightforward got a screw right here screw right here and I think this might come off but probably not without taking off nil if I had to guess but I've got it to where this whole motor should be able to come out I've got a molex connector I think I forgot luckily it was easy to access from right here. So, this whole mech should be able to come up actually if I take off this screw, this screw, and this screw right here. Okay. so it looks like this connects to this so I'm going to have to remove this that should slide out all these connectors should be able to come up. Alright. And that is the whole nail assembly that I could remove. It's already looking a lot more bare with just this portion of the playfield missing. So now I think maybe a good time to So yeah we going to be removing this ramp right here it looks like So I going to have to remove that diverter All right, so I forgot to go ahead and remove this portion right here. Just had a nut there, a nut right there, and then that piece comes off. So now I have complete access to everything underneath there, and I can set that next to the NEL motor. Now I think I might be able to remove this ramp Without removing this diverter Maybe I'll know for sure here in a second A little bit of finagling Can I do it? Alright, so that ramp can be removed without removing the diverter. And if I did everything correct earlier, I should be able to pull this cable through the play field. I might have to be able to see if I can get my hand through there. Where is it at? I missed one. So luckily I was able to easily access that. That slides up underneath there. Set that down and out of the way. Now I think everything else is pretty straightforward on how to remove stuff. This should be able to be pulled out and then everything else is pretty much single level. Now hopefully I didn't forget another one. Probably did. I didn't forget it. It just weaved in between a bunch of other stuff. There we go. And then I've got this post up here. Okay, that one just literally was sitting up there. Okay. oh I was like what is keeping me from moving A little more effort on getting that weave through, but it's off. All right, everything else is pretty much straightforward, guys, on how to remove. I mean, it's pretty much down to the single level. Nothing else that's a real mystery on how to take everything off this play field. So we're just going to skip over to having all this stuff right here removed. And here we have a topside teardown of a Rocky and Bullwinkle. Now, obviously, not everything is off of the play field, But this is everything that needs to be removed in order to access everything and that includes swapping out the rubbers Which I'm going to be doing Changing out this because this is broken on the side So that's going to need to be switched out being able to access every inch of the plate build to properly clean it and These are going to be getting changed because these are broken as well as just don't look very pretty Changing all the bulbs out finding other pieces of other stuff that is hidden and throw that down there. And, yeah, getting things off and getting them polished up because this is, like I said, I think this machine was near the ocean or it wasn't really kept in a very good climate-controlled environment because almost all the metal has got residual on it. But no worries. It should be able to be easily cleaned off. It's not really heavily built up on it. But that is how you tear down the top side of a playfield. You want to know what a pile of parts look like, like that. And so what I'm going to do here is one bag at a time, when reassembling it, is going to be taken apart, thoroughly cleaned, and then reinstalled in the opposite of how I took it off. So the last thing taken off was going to be the first thing reinstalled. And so far, you know, so on and so forth. That's how that's gonna go. Alright. At this stage, you will be able to reach every nook and cranny to clean up the playfield. All bulbs are easily accessible for LED upgrading. Installing new rubbers is a breeze too. If you need help on how to clean your playfield, I have a well-known video you can watch. Link will be in the video description. Once you have everything all afraid of the clean, just clean everything in the Ziploc bags before you reassemble starting from the last component removed and working your way back to the apron. Stay tuned and I'll have a video in the near future showing you how this game looks after the shop and polish. That's it for now, thanks for watching and until next time, peace out. We'll see you next time.