Tomy American Pinball
Tomy's American Pinball is a clone of Tomy's Astro Shooter pinball. I already have an extensive Astro Shooter web page. If you're looking for background or repair information about these toys, you should start with my Astro Shooter page.
I already had an Astro Shooter, but then I saw a good eBay deal on an American Pinball. So I acquired an American Pinball as well. I prefer American Pinball's theme and art package. American Pinball also has a more complex circuit and operational arrangement.
An overall shot of the innards. Except for the color of the parts, this game is mechanically the same as Astro Shooter.
The circuitry and operation are more complex than Astro shooter.
One problem with this game is that the lights on the spinning disk did not work. As shown in the pictures above, the disk is contained under a red translucent lens. The lens includes a pair of electrical wipers that contact a circuit board on the disk. The picture below shows the disk and circuit board with the lens removed. The disk lifts right out of the game. The two bulbs are connected in series so if one is burned out, neither work (which was the case with this game). I replaced the old bulbs with a pair of miniature 6-volt lamps I found at Radio Shack. The new lamps are about the same size and include wire leads just like the originals. The repair was as simple as removing the circuit board and soldering in the new lamps.
Here's the spinning disk with the red lens unscrewed and pushed off to the side. Note the small yellow drive gear, which engages teeth on the underside of the spinning disk.