Bradley Challenger and variants

[brianward]

During the summer holidays hoping to restore an Old Bradley Challenger. Need help on two fronts. firstly can anyone give me the engravings on the top left and right, mine have faded quite badly. Also, is there anyone with original locks?

Brian

[badpenny]

I think I can help you out on both fronts, but not straight away as I'm currently flapping around carrying a Duomat up and down stairs trying to get it close enough to my scanner to enable me to clamp my scanner to its front with Gaffa Tape, then I've got to finish off Lora Marsden's degree project ............... The things I say I'll do, still it keeps me out the long grass down by the railway tracks!

[grabber]

Hi!
The locks are Union locks - the type you find on metal lockers; the shaft is 20mm.
I will try and copy my instruction plates for you.

[treefrog]

I also bought one of these from "Newbaby" Tony of Kings Langley a while back, he had three of them for sale and this looks like one of them?. Have yet to do anything with it, but the panels on mine are clearer, will try and take a picture.The thing that appears to have been common on these I have seen is for the top marque to crack, I have a very old repair on mine, which I will probably leave as it looks the part.

I was tempted to leave the original years of age/grime on it rather than strip down to a shiney new finish, so would be interested to see what you do and how it comes out.

[badpenny]

I tried to take photos of the corner plates for you (don't laugh Jem) but until the words are picked out in paint the letters are too flat to show .... sorry

[pennymachines]

The lettering on these embossed metal Challenger instruction plates often seem to suffer from this. I suspect Bradley over-worked his stamping dies until they were worn out. Later Challengers have cheaper-looking black plastic instruction plates with white de-bossed text.

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If the text has sufficient relief to be readable, you might try a restoration method that worked for me:

Carefully paint over the lettering with Vaseline using a very fine paintbrush and then over-spray the plates with whatever colour you want for the background. Leave for a day to dry thoroughly then carefully rub the paint from the letters using a toothpick or similar.

Pre-emptive note to BP - what I do with Vaseline in my spare time is my business.

[badpenny]

We're wasting money on the same script writer Mr PM

[pennymachines]

In reply to Dave's PM query - you could use a variation of the method to colour the letters as well as the background, but I wouldn't recommend it. The idea was to highlight the embossed lettering in shiny (bare) metal against a painted background.- they will stand out better and look more effective. I think this was the original scheme.

So, first I carefully applied a thin coat of Vaseline over the letters and the raised framing and then used a spray paint to cover the whole plate. When it was thoroughly dry, the Vaseline allowed me to remove paint off the raised areas only (where it had not adhered). I found it easiest to do this using a long fingernail (more sensitive control). I masked with tape over the very small patent lettering panel, because it was too small to individually highlight.

I used dark blue cellulose car paint on the instruction plates and British Racing Green for the main top, centre and bottom castings. John Carter bought the machine - it's on page 51 of Arcades & Slot Machines (in B&W).

[fourfive]

Here are a few pictures of a machine I have that is awaiting restoration. I assume it's a Bradley Challenger or variation of one, it has a Zig-Zag chrome badge on the top. Any information on the machine would be appreciated.

[pennymachines]

I've seen a few variations on the standard Challenger. The ZIG-ZAG plaque seems to be bolted over the original name. Also, your machine has the hinged cast frame around the front glass. Presumably, this was a later factory modification to help the operator deal with coin jams, which are inevitable and quite awkward to clear on these games. I've noticed this mod often seems to be accompanied by a change in the machine's name, so maybe it was to signify the "new improved" version. See, for example, this Shooting Star variant with its angular, Deco top casting.

[treefrog]

I think with the frame it sort of improves the looks and boy, you're right - this was a better modification than having to lift out the whole mech and glass to clear jams.

[pennymachines]

Grabber has sent the following pictures of his disassembled Challenger, including close-ups of the instruction plates, which should help anyone working on one of these.

[gameswat]

I have two Challengers and the instruction plates are all acid etched on brass plates, definitely not stamped. It maybe that some of the plates weren't bathed as long as others to explain the lack of definition. Or maybe over zealous polishing has worn them down?

I've never seen the modernized opening door frame before, looks nicely done as the design fits really well. Quite a change from many of the operator mods I've seen!!

[grabber]

The centre column in these games is always blocked when you buy them. I have unblocked mine and played the game but found that the machine paid out all the time and I preferred to play it with the centre column blocked as the game was more interesting that way.

[treefrog]

Carefully paint over the lettering with Vaseline using a very fine paintbrush and then over-spray the plates with whatever colour you want for the background. Leave for a day to dry thoroughly then carefully rub the paint from the letters using a toothpick or similar.

I will definitely have a go at this although one would need a very steady hand, I love these tips... there needs to be a tips section to add to the resource section... mind you I don't keep any Vaseline in the house...

[badpenny]

... mind you I don't keep any Vaseline in the house...

I am intrigued .... where do you keep it?

[peter]

Topic merged - Site Admin.

I was surprised at the price of £820 for the Bradley Challenger on Ebay.
This seems a high price for a fairly common machine - or am I missing something special about this machine?

[13rebel]

I agree, especially as the middle column (highest payout) had been blanked out.

[badpenny]

As an owner of such a machine (with the central column intact) may I say how joyful I am.

[The Grabber]

I think the game plays better with the centre column blanked off. I have tried to play the game with the centre column open and the game pays out all the time and it seems to get a bit boring. As for price, I don't think a complete one has come up on ebay for some time. At least with the one which just sold, you could put it in your front room and play it. Maybe that's why it made a good price.