Opinions: BSD

[Damian Parrino]

Hello there,

I'm going to see a Williams BS Dracula tomorrow. The seller said it's
working but it's not shopped.

any tips, opinions, and things I should check and look for? playfield
wear, display, faded cabinet, etc.

every tip and suggestion is more than welcome! :)

regards,
Damian

[c2]

Run the magnet test and note the errors. Long-throw optic is a pain
sometimes. Gates are sometimes missing. Make sure the flipper board is
correct. Has to be the one for Drac with the 100uv cap at c2...
otherwise the right gate won't work right (gate will bounce in test).
The big Dracula's face insert sometimes problematic. Sideart is
unobtainium - can be repaired but is a royal pain if its all pink.
Coffin up/dn ramp is not available, make sure its ok.

-Craig

[tomdotcom]

The center plastic over the standup targets is also prone to
breaking.
There is a drop target in the back LH side that's hard to see, it's
the video mode start hole. Make sure that works.

Great game, I just got one recently, not to deep but getting multiple
multiballs is a hoot!!

[appetite4pinball]

A lot of the playfields have planking (tiny vertical cracks) in them.
Especially around where the dracula inserts are. The red is also faded
on most cabinets. I'd also check the mist mechanism to make sure it's
working properly.

Mike

[John Wart, jr]

BSD is a great game. And it's a bit of a project to completely restore -
but it's worthwhile!

Things to watch for:

Playfield wear in several areas - where the ball lands from the skill
shot (difficult to see), in front of the bats hole, around the big
Dracula face insert, at the ball drops near the slings.
Playfields are prone to cracking aka planking. Lenc Smith playfields are
more prone to this than Sun Process Playfields. How do you tell? Look at
the part # on the playfield. It's under the apron, so you may need to
pull the apron. You might be able to tell with a flashlight by removing
the left side pricing / instruction card. The Lenc Smith playfields end
with LS in the part number, the Sun Process playfields end in SP. This
is important, I've seen nice LS playfields crack after a humidity change
in a very short period of time. You can also check for existing cracks
by running your hand over the playfield and looking at the artwork and
wood surface.

Check the mist multiball assembly. It has an opto that runs across the
playfield that can sometimes be finicky. May need to clean it if it
fails the test. Run the test from the diagnostics menu. Let it run
through a handful of times. Also make sure the gates on either end are
intact, they are getting hard to find, and do break as they are made of
a softer metal than some gates are. If everything is there, it's rarely
expensive to repair, but is often tedious.

I've noticed that the red display cover can hide a weak DMD.

Look for faded cabinet and broken plastics. Curly has some plastics, so
you can have an idea on replacement cost:

http://littleshopofgames.com/Games/drac.html

The target cover and slings (1st and 2nd) are the most common and most
obvious broken.

Haven't seen a lot of problems with the ramps in this machine, but give
them a good look regardless.

--
--john
CARGPB34
http://www.myhomegameroom.com
Columbus, Indiana USA

[nieve taladro]

This is important. Yea, you can "look for" all these things that may
be problematic, but what do you do if they are there?

When I first got into the hobby, I made the mistake of thinking if I
found any of these problems, I should walk away or lowball offer. I
missed out on a few good deals before I realized I didnt really care
if the sideart was faded, or there were a few lights out in the dmd,
or (insert minor flaw here).

So you need to decide what its worth to you in good working shape,
then IF it has flaws you can or can't live with, what they are worth
to you. BEFORE you start negotiating.

On this machine, I think the biggest is that the mist multiball works
properly. long throw optics, motor, and gates are all critical. I
found out the hard way that the gates are more important then you
would think.

[Damian Parrino]

Thanks a lot everyone for such a detailed tip list. I'll bring a
notepad on my trip to check that BSD. :)

I feel like I'm doing my homework =)
thanks again

regards
Damian

[Mike M. in MI]

My opinion:

Buy it, get it working 100%, shop it out and get it good and clean,
and never sell it!!!

GREAT GAME!

Mike