Sharpshooter caps: Red or Blue?!?

[coney island]

 :-DDuh and yes Im stupid, but what colors on the caps came first? Red or Blue? Is there any other differences in the plastics as well?!?  Also, noticed that the ball plunger housing looks much like a Stern circa MPU 100 age! Did GP Buy this white now often faded plastic housing from Stern back in the day? Just wondering!TIA!

[BriMc]

Hi,
The bumper caps on the SS machines I have are White with Blue starburst with a blue 100o in the center. The newer repros you find today with red starburst seem to have a more transparent white.

[coney island]

Thanks! Glad I am getting the Blue Caps on my upcoming machine.  :-DWhat about the shooter rod housing though? That looks like Old Sterns stuff all the way

[BriMc]

I think if you look between 1978 and 1985 most of the shooter housing covers looked the same. I would be worried the guts would be different. I have never had to order anything of that nature as I use parts from oher machines. Marco specialties should have the correct parts for the gameplan shooter.

[coney island]

I think I miss-worded that. Not the housing cover, but the white plastic piece on the outside of the front of the cab. My older Ballys and Williams dont have that piece, just a metal plate. Only other place Ive seen that is with System 1 Sterns. Strange indeed!

[BriMc]

It is called a shooter rod housing or bee hive. They are available through PBR.

Brian

[coney island]

Thanks! Yes, a "Bee-Hive", but again, I wonder if they bought this part from Stern as Bally, who we know they borrowed heavily off of the boards sets for this era, had the classic metal plate for there pins as did Williams. Stern at the time of CPU-100 pins like Trident, Stingray  etc. used the same housing. Just kind of wondering who bought or copied whom.

[BriMc]

I know that my Gottlieb Bowling Queen had a white bee hive and that was 1964 or 1966