Gomez's Design Details
(Continued)Gomez's Design Details
(Continued)
The Back Box
One of the most eye-attracting parts of any pinball machine is it's back
box. The back box serves many purposes. Most immediately, it is a
beacon of flashing lights, sounds, and art combined to attract potential players
to the game. However, the pinball technician knows that the back box
serves a much greater purpose. It is truly houses the brain of the machine
- an extremely sophisticated network off computer cards networked together to
create the game play.
The Back Glass
The Addams Family Pinball Machine back box is no exception. The back glass depicts a picture of the Addams house, as portrayed in the blockbuster hit movie: "The Addams Family", in the background. Mortica (Angelica Houston), Gomez (Raul Julia), and Thing are proudly standing in the foreground, while other family members are scattered about the grounds, or seen in the windows of the house doing kooky things.
Periodically, a bolt of lighting will appear from the top, striking Uncle Fester from an upper room's window, and also striking a lightening rod held by the children, Wednesday and Pugsly, on the ground.
A series of light bulbs behind the back glass flash on and off at periodic random intervals, illuminating the translucent back glass. The backglass is constructed of plexiglass, with the artwork stamped on the reverse side. The plexiglass is secured on the top and bottom with two thin metal groves that slide in place, adding rigidity to the plexiglass. The back glass is then inserted into a grove above the digital display, and locked in place with a key lock at the top.
Back glass pieces from pinball games are highly collectible - especially if they are in excellent condition. I, personally, prefer to see the back glasses mounted in the back box of a pinball machine. However, others mount them in frames and hang them on the walls of their gallery.
Williams was clever to construct the back glass using plexiglass, as most pinball machines from this era use, instead of regular window glass. The back glass is safer to use, and if it breaks, it will not break in to hundreds of sharp pieces as would window glass. Unfortunately, however, kids visiting arcades often get wild and scratch up the backglass. If the scratches are light, they can often be buffed out, however deep scratches may call for a replacement back glass.
Inside the back box
The back box is located directly behind the back glass. The back box contains the brains of the pinball machine - all of the game boards, including the power driver board, the audio board, the CPU board, among various other boards. I t also houses the dot matrix controller and the game speakers along with the lights that illuminate the back glass and the machine topper.
To access the back box, you must insert a key into the lock located at the underside of the center of the header. Once unlocked, lift up the back glass and remove it by pulling it forward. Behind the back glass is a door with all of the lights for the back glass mounted onto it. Lift the door lever, located on the right side of the door, to open it.
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