What do I mean by "enhanced"?
I simply mean that I've brought the ball roll edge of the frame up to the level
of the flipper rubber. For some unknown reason Williams wasn't very precise with
both the width of the frames nor the placement. This is crazy obvious on games
like Firepower which uses a B-8239 on the left side and an A-8108 on the right.
This is a VERY common frame set used on MANY games, including many Data East
games. The obvious difference is the width across the frame. The B-8239 is 1"
wide. The A-8108 is .93". A typical modern flipper bat with rubber is about .85"
at the widest point- the "hip". So I needed to make the frames the same width
and align the mounting holes such that the ball roll edge of the frame ends up
on the same plane as the flipper rubber. Thats what I mean by "enhanced"
Is there still room for error? Unfortunately, yes. I cannot control where the
manufacturers located the mounting holes on the playfield, for example. However
my enhancement does resolve the vast majority of hop problems. In extreme cases
where the frames were screwed down way off the user may need to plug and redrill
the mount screw holes for best alignment. I've only seen this twice so far
though.
Bally was also guilty of this lackadaisical sizing and placement of flipper frames so I've been slowly gathering them up and enhancing them as well. Many early Bally's used butyrate plastic! Not only did they break but they continuously shrink and warp with heat from lamps and time. I'm making my stainless frames for these that go under the plastic so you keep the appearance but gain a MUCH better playing game. See pics below
First lets look at the common wear areas on a flipper return frame. What
should be a straight, smooth transition to the flipper has become a dip, the
reverse of a speed bump if you will. This dip cause a ball to launch up and over
the flipper instead of rolling smoothly down.
Wear at the junction of frame and flipper bat on a Road Kings. This causes a
ball trap and can be quite annoying shoving and flipping to loosen the ball.
THE REPLACEMENTS
On the left are the direct replacements for the purist. On the right are my
enhanced versions which match the shape and width of the B-8239 exactly.
To the left is the direct replacement for B-8239-1 and my enhanced A-8108-R. The
pic on the right shows the difference between the enhanced and original more
clearly.
Below are pics of Steve's Firepower showing the fit of the new frames.
Wonderful! This is the direct replacement set.
THE ENHANCED VERSION
Here's my enhanced A-8108-R on Steve's Firepower. Note the precise, smooth
line from guide to flipper. MUCH better than stock - ZERO ball hop!
David's Cyclone
Steve Faith's Data East Time Machine. Yep! Data East!
Andy's High Speed
Matt's Whirlwind!
Phoenix adapted to use my A-8151 frames by Scott Harvey - WOW!
 Common Williams |
 Funhouse |
 Creature Black Lagoon |
 Whirlwind |
 Addams Family |
 Eight Ball Champ |
 Alien Poker |
 Barracora, Gorgar... |
 Bad Cats, Jokerz... |
 Bram Stokers Dracula |
 Embryon |
 Eight Ball Deluxe Flash Gordon |
 Mousin' Around |
 Phantom of the Opera |
 Road Kings |
 Shadow |
 Time Warp |
 Centaur |
 Fathom |
 No Fear |
 Swords of Fury |
 Space Shuttle |
Pictures above show all variations I'm making. Check back often as more will be added. I'm making some game specific sets now too. In all cases check the part numbers against your games manual as the same types are used in many games across multiple generations.
Steve Turner created a nice guide showing how to install frames with attached spacers. Click HERE for his guide, thanks again Steve!
Get the ball rolling the way it was meant to be! The A-8108 series are $11 each
side. The B series and game specific frames are $12 each side. Prices do not include
shipping. CA residents must add sales tax. Email me
HERE to
order a set for your game!
USPS First Class and Priority Mail shipping available and remember, I always combine shipping to save you money!