Turbo Bumpers

Sega’s proprietary name for Pop Bumpers, the solenoid-driven Active Bumpers that kick the ball away on contact. Sega adopted the “turbo bumper” branding during its brief stint as a pinball manufacturer in the 1990s, when it acquired the Data East pinball division and produced machines under the Sega Pinball label from 1994 to 1999. The mechanism itself — a ring-and-rod assembly beneath a mushroom cap fired by a skirt switch — is identical to the Jet Bumpers and Thumper Bumpers used by other manufacturers. When Stern Pinball succeeded Sega, the “turbo bumper” name fell out of use, making it the shortest-lived of the active bumper brand names.