Internet  Pinball Database

Spider-Man's entry in the IPD

Flyer

Front - Spread - Back

Manual

Schematic

ROM images

spidermn.zip

WAV files

n/a

Rule sheet

Repair tips

S/I card scans

Repro parts

Spider-Man auctions on eBay

I fully shopped and restored this game for the 2002 Wayne NJ pinball show.  At the show, I had arranged to pick up from Shay of the Shay Arcade Group one of the first available reproduction backglasses for Spider-Man.  I brought an extra metal glass lift channel, which we installed easily on the glass, and then I installed the backglass on the game.  The glass came out incredibly well, in my opinion.  This is the first reproduction glass that has the blue tinted score windows, which require a perfect color match and very precise silkscreening.  They did a great job.  I have yet to see an original Spider-Man backglass that doesn't suffer from peeling or other problems.  Ironically, many of the original backglasses have meandering cracks in the paint that look something like spider webs.  So it's a real pleasure to finally see what the original backglass was supposed to look like.  Spider-Man started out in 1962 and he remains one of Marvel Comic's flagship characters.  Spider-Man fans can find out more about this Marvel super-hero at SpiderFan.org.

This was my first experience with clearcoating a playfield.  Rather than use an automotive clearcoat or a polyurethane (or urethane) coating, I used acrylic lacquer.  Until "Diamondplate"  and "Stealthcoat" coatings (similar to automotive clearcoats) were implemented in the 1990's, all playfields were protected with lacquer - first with nitrocellulose-based lacquers and then with acrylic lacquers.  I decided to use lacquer because the new lacquer binds with the original surface and does not create a new layer of finish.  For a game of this vintage, I wanted to restore it to the best possible original condition and avoid the extreme glass-smooth finish that you get from automotive clearcoats, which I don't feel is appropriate for older games.  The major steps involved were: stripping off every component from the top of the playfield, including all rollovers, switch contacts and slingshot kickers; cleaning and wet-sanding the original finish; minor touch-up using water-based acrylics; eight to ten light coats of gloss acrylic lacquer; wet-sanding with progressively finer sandpaper; Novus 2; wait 3 to 4 weeks; more Novus 2 followed by four applications of a carnuba-based wax.  Then, everything can finally be reassembled.  It's nice to be able to apply the polish and wax to a bare playfield because the results are better and you don't end up getting wax all over the posts.  The plastic parts got an ultrasonic cleaning, the small metal parts got a tumble polishing, then new drop targets, stationary targets, spinner, flippers, pop bumper mylars, skirts, bodies and caps.  Overall, I'm extremely pleased with the results, but it's a very time-consuming process.

Underneath, everything was cleaned, replaced and adjusted as required.  Nothing unusual there, but I took special care to polish the rollover switch wires so that they would not detract from the immaculate playfield.  After spending all that time on the playfield, getting the electronics going was pretty straightforward.  The game used the old style pop bumper boards, which needed to be upgraded.  The main power filter capacitors were replaced, as were about 50 edge connector pins that became corroded and lost their grip.  I reviewed the on-line discussions about the grounding problems with System 80 games and implemented what I feel are the appropriate modifications to fully bullet-proof the power distribution in the game.   I'll try to document this better with the next System 80 game that I work on.

Even with strong rebuilt flippers and a well-polished playfield, the ball still moves pretty slowly across this big, wide-body pinball machine.  Gottlieb's System 80 games (of which Spider-Man is the first) are both wider and longer than the popular Williams Super-Pins like Twilight Zone and Star Trek - The Next Generation.  Spider-Man has two pop bumpers near the top of the playfield, but they are too far apart to get any real action between them.  But there are lots of things to shoot at, and there are a good variety of sequences to complete.  The sound board is a carryover from the earlier System 1 technology - nothing much to get excited about.  You'd have a few more games to go before System 80 games got speech (Mars - God of War has that distinction).

So, in the great scheme of things, I'd say that this Spider-Man turned out to be a better looker than a player.  Nothing wrong with that - It's a nostalgic blast to be able to play a machine that's now well over 20 years old that looks and feels close to new.