1964 · Midway
Flying Turns
Upper: flat sky-blue painted brick wall. lower: an outdoor dirt oval speedway with grass infield, wooden fence, packed covered grandstand hung with red white and blue bunting, and wooden perimeter hoardings carrying advertising signs.
- Year
- 1964
- Maker
- Midway
- Type
- Electro-mechanical
- Display
- Score reels
- Players
- 2
Made by
- Art
- George Molentin
Vision analysis
On the playfield
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Playfield
- blue
- tan
- red
- yellow
Fingerprint: Large red open-wheel racing car three-quarter view dead centre on perspective wooden board-track disappearing to blue horizon, cartoon driver in yellow-black racing suit sprawled in second car above, yellow arc of twenty numbered diamonds spanning full width labelled BONUS CAR LENGTHS, four red-and-white score reels atop with arrows, blue pennants reading 1ST PLAYER UP 2ND PLAYER UP flanking flippers
The single most memorable element is a big red open-wheel racing car painted mid-field on a wooden board-track that rushes toward a deep blue horizon, with a cartoon driver in a yellow-and-black racing suit sprawled in a second car just above it. Second, the long yellow arc of twenty numbered diamonds over the words BONUS CAR LENGTHS, which spans the full width of the playfield like a banner. Third, the four red score reels in a neat row at the top, each ringed by a red-and-white arrow and captioned WHEN LIT, with a fifth blank reel at the right. Fourth, the mirrored pair of pale blue 1ST PLAYER UP and 2ND PLAYER UP pennants side by side above the flippers, the only text that is not inside a white instruction box.
Setting
- Wooden board-track racing circuit seen in perspective
- Deep blue horizon with white speed streaks
- Tan and orange plank-textured racing surface
- Pale blue outlane and apron areas
Symbols
- Numbered diamond row 1 to 20
- Black-and-white chequered flag printed on both inlane plastics
- Red directional arrows behind every instruction card
- Circular 1/4 and 3/4 lap medallions
- Blue-outlined white star on the cabinet side panels
- Red and yellow triangular arrow motifs on the lock-down bar
Notable shapes
- Large oval cutout drain at bottom centre with radiating white spoke lines; long yellow arc of twenty numbered diamonds; three tall red-and-white reel windows; two circular metal saucer-like covers at upper left and right; symmetrical v-shaped tan boards converging on a central vanishing point
Art motifs
- Converging perspective speed lines
- Sunburst plank texture
- Pennant banners
- Winged medallion badges
- Chevron and lozenge borders
Themes
- Motor racing
- Board track
- Speedway
- Bonus car lengths
- Lap counter
- 1950s driving game
Text on it
- BONUS CAR LENGTHS
- 1ST PLAYER UP
- 2ND PLAYER UP
- ADVANCE CAR LENGTHS
- ADVANCE CAR 2 LENGTHS
- COLLECT BONUS CAR LENGTHS
- WHEN LIT
- SPECIAL WHEN LIT
- 1/4 LAP
- 3/4 LAP
- FLIPPER
- FLIPPER BUTTON
- PRESS TO SHOOT BALL
- TURN TO AIM BALL
- MIDWAY MFG. CO.
- 5050 PADDOCK AVE.
- CHICAGO 18, ILL.
- MIDWAY FLYING TURNS
- Produced in 1954
- FREE PLAY
- To Start, press left button on coin door.
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Vehicle | Large red open-wheel racing car, cream/gold grille and cockpit trim, white-walled tyres, drawn in three-quarter view facing the viewer, occupying the centre of the playfield |
| Other | Second smaller racing car in yellow and black above the red car, tilted as if climbing the banking |
| Man | Cartoon driver in a yellow-and-black racing suit and helmet, arms out, sprawled across the yellow car |
| Vehicle | Two small dark-green race cars painted on the left and right lower side panels, one at each edge below the collect bonus car lengths cards |
| Vehicle | Partial red-and-yellow car artwork at the far left and far right upper corners, behind the outlane plastics |
Full-view photograph of an electro-mechanical racing-game playfield seen through the glass, with the metal apron and lock-down bar in the lower third. The art is a head-on view down a wooden board-track: warm tan and orange plank-textured boards fan out from a deep blue vanishing point, with white speed streaks. A large red open-wheel racing car with a gold-trimmed cockpit sits dead centre, drawn in three-quarter view. Below it, two pale blue banners read 1ST PLAYER UP and 2ND PLAYER UP, each with a red UP medallion. Across the middle runs a yellow banner edged in red reading BONUS CAR LENGTHS, with a row of numbered yellow diamonds 1 through 20 arcing above it. Four red-and-white score reels sit in a row near the top, flanked by yellow side panels. Instruction cards in white with black borders are stencilled around the lanes, each with a red arrow: ADVANCE CAR LENGTHS (three times), COLLECT BONUS CAR LENGTHS (twice), ADVANCE CAR 2 LENGTHS, and 1/4 LAP markers. No human figures appear anywhere; the cast is vehicles and a cartoonish rival driver.
On the backglass
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Backglass
- pale blue
- bright yellow
- orange
- purple
- cream
Fingerprint: midway's flying turns - painted speedway scene in lower half showing full dirt oval track with red open-wheel racing car carrying white-clad driver plus dark motorcycle-like racer on right-hand curve, cartoon crowd of roughly nine men in bright jackets cheering with raised arms above press box, two mirror-symmetrical yellow sunburst player panels with number windows flanking purple ribbon title, advertising hoardings along grandstand wall with readable business names
The most striking feature is the painted speedway scene in the lower half, showing a full dirt oval track with a red open-wheel racing car carrying a white-clad driver, plus a dark motorcycle-like racer on the right-hand curve and a car-shaped board standing upright on the track. Above the press box a cartoon crowd of roughly nine men in bright jackets cheer with raised arms, one in a blue suit waving from the top. Two mirror-symmetrical yellow sunburst player panels with number windows flank a purple ribbon title. Advertising hoardings along the grandstand wall carry small readable business names. Faint ghost lettering reading GAME OVER shows through the yellow beneath each LAPS panel.
Setting
- Upper: flat sky-blue painted brick wall. lower: an outdoor dirt oval speedway with grass infield, wooden fence, packed covered grandstand hung with red white and blue bunting, and wooden perimeter hoardings carrying advertising signs
Symbols
- Two round race cars with spoked white wheels used as player emblems, a large white numeral 1 on the blue car and a white numeral 2 on the orange car, six round reel/spoke-wheel graphics behind the player panels, a car-shaped board standing upright on the track in the lower scene, red white and blue swag bunting
Lettering
- Bold hand-lettered display type; players and the 1st/2nd player up ribbons in heavy red block capitals with drop shadows, flying turns in large yellow serif capitals with black outline on the purple ribbon, midway's in white cursive script, ball in play in red capitals with the word in in script, laps in black capitals with white and orange outlines; small hoarding signs in hand-painted mixed-case
Themes
- Auto racing, speedway, dirt oval track, grandstand crowd, motor sport spectators, player-versus-player lap racing
Title on it
- Midway's flying turns
Text on it
- 1ST PLAYER UP
- 2ND PLAYER UP
- PLAYERS
- 1
- 2
- Midway's
- FLYING TURNS
- LAPS
- BALL in PLAY
- 1 2 3 4 5
- GAME OVER
- JIGGIE'S GARAGE
- DRINK
- SPARK'S PLUGS
- HANK'S
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Other | Centre press box: about nine adult men in caps and brightly coloured jackets (orange, royal blue, red, yellow, purple) leaning on the rail, arms raised and cheering, one in a blue suit and white cap waving from the highest point. lower vignette: a dense crowd of hundreds of small indistinct spectators filling the grandstand, a white-suited driver seated in a red open-wheel racing car, and a dark motorcycle with a leaning rider on the right-hand curve |
A painted pinball backglass split horizontally into two halves. The upper half has a pale sky-blue brick-pattern background and a symmetrical three-part layout: a purple ribbon banner across the top centre, and two large yellow player panels flanking it, left and right, each with radiating sunburst lines, a car graphic and a LAPS area. The left panel carries a cream ribbon reading 1ST PLAYER UP, two rectangular number windows both showing 3, and a blue open-wheel race car over LAPS. The right panel mirrors this with a cream ribbon reading 2ND PLAYER UP, two windows both showing 0, and an orange race car marked 2 over LAPS. Centre-top is a small cartoon crowd of about nine cheering men in coloured jackets leaning out of a white press box. The lower half is a framed painted scene of a dirt oval speedway with a packed grandstand, bunting, advertising hoardings and two race vehicles on the track. Condition shows crazing and staining on the outer cream border.