1978 Bally Mata Hari SS

Mata Hari was one of my first restorations and since I had never done a playfield swap at that point, I opted for a hardtop install. That meant only a topside tear down was needed to fit and install the hardtop, and I did not need to totally remove everything from the underside.

I did remove and clean the drop target assemblies (and installed new springs and targets) and of course I did flipper rebuilds. Flaky lamp sockets were replaced and all connectors were re-pinned.

The cabinet got some bondo and putty fillers for the gauges and carvings. I tore out the water damaged fibres on the backbox rear, sealed it, then applied bondo and sanded down smooth. The cabinet floor also got some new support strips installed to provide sturdy stability and eliminate the sagging.

Topside on the playfield, I repaired the wood damage in the saucer with putty and then taking a cue from another pin restorer, I painted the saucer black to better camouflage the wood repair (and make it look a little more sinister).