Design: Steve Ritchie · Art: Doug Watson, Mark Sprenger
The Getaway is Steve Ritchie's 1992 sequel to High Speed, and it plays a lot like the original with new toys bolted on. A gear shifter replaces the plunger and gets used during play and in the video mode. The left ramp can feed the Supercharger, a raised loop where magnets whip the ball around until it shoots back out like a speeding car. ZZ Top's La Grange is the theme song. Doug Watson painted the car racing toward you this time, with Ritchie at the wheel, and Mark Sprenger did the rest. Williams made 13,259 and expanded the line to keep up. There are two versions. The first wasn't diamond coated, has a single playfield hinge, and lacks some insert text the later games have.
First version (not diamond coated, single playfield hinge, headlight cabinet front)Second version (diamond coated, later hinge system, stronger launcher)
High Speed II, High Speed 2, HS2, HSII, The Getaway
Bench check
Boards, playfield, toys and the trip home
Boards and batteries
The batteries sit on the WPC-089 CPU, which pairs with a Fliptronics II board, and a leak drips onto the switch matrix, so get a photo of that corner. This game is also known for blowing U20 on the MPU when a ball wedges under a slingshot and smashes the bulb there. A Ground Short error means look under the slings first.
Display
The 128 x 32 plasma panel fades with age, and sparkles, clouds or ghosting point at voltages running high. A photo of the display test shows both.
Playfield
There are two versions, and the first wasn't diamond coated. You can spot a first version because the five gear inserts lack the curved Redline RPM text and the word Gear. Ask which version it is and for raking-light photos of the flipper area and inlanes.
Toys and mechs
The Supercharger is a raised loop off the left ramp where three magnets whip the ball around. One slow Supercharger that kept blowing fuse 103 turned out to have failed chips on the accelerator board, and a flaky opto there can make the diverter act up. The red beacon on top of the backbox runs off a triac board, and the manual gives the wrong lamp voltage for it (48 VAC instead of 20 VAC).
Cabinet and art
First-version cabinet fronts show the car's headlights and no words. Later ones drop the headlights and add The Getaway under the coin door. Ask for photos of the front, both sides and the lit backbox.
Moving it
First-version games have a single playfield hinge, so the playfield won't slide forward for service. For the move, it's legs off and onto a dolly with a helper.
Parts and code
Game code runs up to L-5. Later games got a bigger, stronger ball launcher assembly and a deflector in the rear glass channel to stop air balls landing in the cabinet.
What to check
Battery damage on the CPU and a blown U20 from a ball stuck under a slingshot are the board faults to know. A slow or fuse-blowing Supercharger is the toy fault.
01Batteries: Ask for a photo of the CPU board around the battery holder. You want clean traces with no crust.
02Supercharger: Ask for a video of a ball going round the Supercharger. It should speed up hard and shoot back out.
03Version: Ask for a close photo of the five gear inserts. Curved Redline RPM text and the word Gear mean a second version.
04Gear shift: Ask the seller to launch a ball with the shifter. It should fire the ball cleanly every time.
05Beacon: Ask for a video of attract mode. The red beacon on top should spin and light.
06Switches: Ask whether the game shows any switch errors at power up. A Ground Short often means a ball under a slingshot.
07Display: Ask for a photo of the DMD during display test. Every dot should light evenly with no sparkles.
08Playfield: Ask for raking-light photos of the flipper area and inlanes. Worn paint shows as dull patches.
We haven’t been through this game’s listings yet. Search eBay and run every listing through the checklist above. Ask for a video of a full game, a photo of the CPU board and photos of the playfield in good light, and ask what’s been replaced. Pass on any seller who won’t answer.