Winchester Chuck E. Cheese V2 (Animatronic)

Winchester Chuck E. Cheese (V2) was an animatronic created by Fantasy Forest in Summer 1978 for the Pizza Time Theatre on San Jose, CA (370 S Winchester Blvd) as an animatronic version Chuck E. Cheese. The bot was controlled & programmed through the Winchester Control System & Winchester Hardware Setup.

The bot would remain at the store until its removal in 1981 when Winchester would receive Cyberamics. It is currently in the possession of Travis Schafer.

History

Pre-Production

In or before Summer 1978, Pizza Time Theatre would ask Fantasy Forest & Harold Goldbrandsen to create a second model version of the Chuck E. & Crusty bots.

Installation at San Jose, California (370 South Winchester Boulevard)

Chuck V2 would replace its predecessor in Summer of 1978, sitting up in the right main entrance wall corner. The bot was programmed to the Madame Oink I Showtape. The bot would later be programmed to the Foxy Colleen I Showtape. The final confirmed Showtape the bot had was Madame Oink II. The bot would make an appearance in an Australian broadcast known as Four Corners in mid to late 1979. The bot was also seen in the Great All American Pizza Show Franchisee pamphlet. The bot was sent to the Pizza Time Theatre Sunnyvale, CA Corporate Office in 1981 when Winchester got Cyberamics.

Bankruptcy

Following Pizza Time Theatre's bankruptcy, costume designer Jul Kamen would rescue Chuck V2 along with two other animatronics from Winchester, Pasqually and Jasper T. Jowls during the corporate move from Sunnyvale. Kamen had the three animatronics on display in her home, and even created brand new cosmetics to have Jasper and Chuck E. match the curtains in her house.^[1]

Post-Merger

After the SPP / PTT merger, Jul Kamen gave permission to the newly formed Showbiz Pizza Time to display the Winchester animatronics in their Support Center. The three animatronics were rigged to a button to play a short Pizza Time Theatre skit. The characters wore down to a point where they could not properly function. Brian Hagan of the Entertainment Department made an attempt to repair the characters, even replacing the original cylinders with the newer Bimba-branded cylinders. However, this got to a point where they had to be turned off and only had the skit audio playing.^[2]

In 2004 during a remodel, the Pasqually and Jasper animatronics were destroyed; presumably ordered by Gene Cramm. Chuck E. was rescued by the Entertainment Department and displayed in the programming room for the time being. The bot had also deteriorated slightly over time.

Present

Gabriel Vasquez urged Jul Kamen to get the Chuck E. animatronic back into her possession. Sr. Director of CEC, Paul Tenayuca, managed to return the animatronic back to Jul Kamen. The next summer she moved and no longer had the space to put the animatronic. In 2011, Jul got into contact with Gabriel and sold him the animatronic, however Gabriel also didn't have the space to put it on display, so he then sold it to Travis Schafer in 2014. The animatronic now sits on display with Crusty The Cat (V2).^[3]

Design

Base

Upgraded to better reflect the improved designs and movements seen from guest characters at the location, the second iteration of Winchester Chuck differs greatly from its predecessor. The biggest improvement is the fact that it was built to be three-dimensional, and, as a result, is capable of head and body movements. Additionally, to match the aesthetics and designs of the guests, Chuck's proportions are much less exaggerated and cartoonish.

The bot features the same latex snout mold that was used for the prior version of Chuck as well as early walkarounds. However, unlike V1, this bot's inner ears and hands were also cast in latex, better matching the more realistic designs seen on guest characters. Similarly, the eyes were updated from the flat, googly mechanism to fully three-dimensional ones.

Chuck's eyes were created using the same process that was used to make the eyes of guest characters and the updated Crusty: pouring resin into light bulbs to create a perfect half-sphere, which was then broken out of the light bulb once it hardened. Afterwards, the irises were hand-painted on.^[4] Unique to this bot's design are also the bushy eyebrows, which haven't been seen before or since.

The bot's features a zipper on its back cosmetic fur piece to gain access to the inside of the torso as well as an opening at the back of the head, likely to accommodate for any needed maintenance.

Costume and Accessories

While retaining the basic design aspects of the prior version such as the derby, vest, inner shirt, and bow tie, V2's wardrobe features several differences. The thick, yellow-trimmed vest used for V1 has been replaced with a thinner, paisley vest that features a diamond pattern throughout. The pink bow tie has also been replaced with a black one.

Additionally, Chuck now sports three black buttons on his inner shirt, a quality that would persist in subsequent iterations of the character for the next decade. This bot's red & yellow derby hat is also fully three-dimensional to accommodate the fact that the back half of the character was no longer directly attached to the wall.

This bot also marks the first time Chuck E. would ever hold a microphone or cigar. The microphone remains a consistent accessory for the character even decades later. The cigar, however, would only carry over to the Kooser bot before being retired completely only two years later.

When Chuck V2 was saved by Jul Kamen and moved into her house, the bot was given a new outfit with specific patterns that matched her curtains. The outfit consisted of a black top hat with a green band, a green vest with a black trim, and a white tuxedo undershirt with three buttons. The black hat can only be seen in a single photo, as most photos afterwards show the bot wearing the original derby. The bot was given an Uncle Sam hat and tag that displayed the American flag at some point, presumably as a reference to the PTT skit they would perform.

Movements

Mouth
Eyes Left
Eyes Right
Eyes Up
Eyes Down
Eyelids
Ears
Head Up
Head Tilt
Head Turn Right
Body Turn Right + Left Arm Twist
Right Arm Up
Right Elbow

Parts

The Eye Assembly is the mechanical assembly that would've moved the eyes of Chuck E. up, down, left, and right.

The double-acting cylinder that makes it possible for the animatronic to move its eyes up and down is mounted to the fiberglass shell and onto the assembly of the double-acting cylinder that makes the eyes turn left and right.

Part Gallery

The Eyelid Assembly is the cylinder assembly that controlled the eyelids of Chuck E.

The two single-acting cylinders that control the eyelids would be bolted into the base of the head and would connect to the eyelids via the piston rods alongside springs going back onto the cap of the cylinder. These eyelids would be synchronized in movement by being connected by a 3-way connector piece.

Part Gallery

Chuck E.'s torso is a gray faux fur coat-like cosmetic with a zipper in the back that would reveal the hole in Chuck E.'s back for maintenance.

The Chuck E. and Crusty animatronics both used the same hand molds for their respective props, for Chuck E., he had a microphone in his right hand. The prop microphone had a black head and a silver body with a cord coming out from the end that would lead into the other side of the frame Chuck E. originally was placed in.

in Chuck E.'s left hand was his infamous prop cigar. The cigar gave the appearance of being already lit with the intentional wear and tear and redness given to the outside end of the prop. The prop also appears to be split in half so it could give the impression of it being held by his left hand.

Gallery

Chuck E. Cheese with Scott Wilson, former voice of the character.
Chuck E. Cheese on display at the SPT Support Center, 1996
Chuck E. with an Uncle Sam hat.
Chuck E. Cheese on display in Dept 18, 2006
Close up, 2011
Chuck E. upon arrival in Travis Schafer's collection, 2012
Chuck E. in a newly built display area in Travis Schafer's collection, 2021
Chuck E. and Crusty in storage, 2022
Back, 2022
Head Internals, 2022
Chuck E bot in frame, Date unknown.

References

[1] ttps://www.tapatalk.com/groups/retro_pizza_zone/viewtopic.php?p=1097#p1097

[2] ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mqJMsr_PLU

[3] ttps://www.tapatalk.com/groups/retro_pizza_zone/viewtopic.php?p=266#p266

[4] ttps://www.tapatalk.com/groups/retro_pizza_zone/viewtopic.php?p=847#p847

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