The ramps are thicker than the originals yes, but i can not find any other indications they are pinball inc ramps. However, they probably are since sold by marco and thicker. Good to have new ones!

You are Lucky! =)

Its very Nice that people put so much effort into things like new ramps. What would we do without them? Feels a bit too messy and expensive to try to make your own ramps so it's very good that it's beeing done by the enthusiastic pros!

Hi again! Its been a while since any updates, lots of things going on so i have not had so much spare time.

Anyways, here are some pics of the parts for the new cab. Will be interesting to see if it fits but it looks promising! A few grades and things but it will be easy to sand and file to perfection.
Note: the top left pic is distorted because of the camera lens, its much straighter than that

newparts.jpg

This was the most fun thing yet Adding a new warning label for the backglass light board. What made it extra nice was I had the label printed at the local print shop. Thanks to "Inkochnito" who made this one as a pdf!

There are "official" repros available to buy at different places too but they were out of stock when i tried so I thought it would be nice to test the method of making your own. Now I now that if something is missing its possible to get a neat result with some image editing software and a decent print shop. Otherwise I think its important to support our pinball guys and gals who do repros on a professional level.

Anyway, here are the pics:

caution1.jpg

caution2.jpg

Wasnt you talking about HS being your next restoration after BOP too? I guess we have some things in common

I also test printed the FBI warning label and some other things like "inspected by", install X balls and so on. I have even made (well not finished quite yet) my own label that tells the machine number. That too will be nice to add later on.

machine.jpg

One thing I have not done yet is the blue/white serial number sticker that can be found inside the cab... will take some time but i will try to make one.

Yep thats the one! I will try to scan mine since the cabinet is in parts and as you did fix it in photoshop a bit. A nice thing would be to make a template from it so that its possible to add different numbers to it when needed.

This week-end I will test assemble the new cab and make sure the siderails and everything fit. I think it might be slightly off (flipper button hole and hole for side rail bolt in the front), like a couple of millimeters but shouldnt be a big deal. All other holes seem to have been spot on.

After that I will prep the parts, sanding and such and then I will paint them before putting the beauty back together. One thing I have not decided yet though is if I should paint the interior completely black or leave the bottom bare wood (with some clear on it). Some say its better to keep it unpainted because it will be brighter inside if you work on things or open the coin door. And I also think that dust will make it look less appealing if its all black... we will see!

Yes I think it would be looking great with bare wood. It allready has the coating on it so it would mean more sanding too. By the way we decided to make the bottom hard wood instead of the original "masonit" style that are original and that sucked up moisture and bent like crazy on some machines. It will add some weight but will probably benefit in other areas such as stability and durability. I'll post pictures documenting the testing of the parts when ive messed around a bit.

Same time, same channel next week! =)

Eh97ac, that sounds like a good idea! =)

That's great! Never thought about those mini labels but I need them as well. Thank you for suggesting!

Here we go! I have started to assemble the new cabinet for testing purposes... to see if it fits or if it needs some adjustments. It came out pretty nice and only some minor things like the flipper button holes seem to be off by just a couple of mm's.

The plan is to make sure everything comes together smoothly and then its time for painting before gluing the thing back together. Interesting indeed! Sorry for the workshop looking like a warzone btw... some of my buddies decided they wanted to make more space so they tore down a storage room we had in the corner but they forgot to clean up what was inside

Anyway, here are the pictures:

cab1.jpg

cab2.jpg

Soon this project is not a restoration anymore but rather a pinball building project with some parts from my BOP

Yeah it's a kinda big difference from the old cabinet, both looks and smell =) I think it's easier to paint it before assembling, at least the inside. One thing to remember though could be to mask the areas where the glue will go so it's glue on bare wood. Other than it's easier to paint the inside I do t know if there are any advantages to paint before putting it back together.

Yeah thats true... It might be better to do it when its assembled, that will also save some time masking the corners and other places where the glue shall attach.

Here are some more pics of the project:

Door fits like a glove in the new cab:
door.jpg

Painted "flaps" for the ramps:
rampthing.jpg

Federal sticker for the backbox plate:
fb.jpg
(Edit: I did clear coat the plate after all so thanks for pointing out! I used a 2 part clear that came in a spray can. Felt it would do the trick with this small board instead of messing with the paint gun and compressor. Im happy with the result but its possible that using the paint gun would've given a slightly smoother surface. Maybe next time! You need to test don't you? If you do this, remember to sand or file the holes or anywhere else where the plate needs to have ground. Like for where the ground braid attach to it. Never thought i would continuity test this piece of metal but now I've done it.)

New leg bolt brackets tested:
legbracket.jpg

More to come!

Thanks! =)

The coin door looks like new so im happy with the restoration i did on it. I may replace the orange plastics too but had none when i assembled it. I bought some so I have them now.

The leg corner braces, I will not forget the wood wedges (but who knows...) I did not just have them when I took the picture . And thats a great tip to drill the holes. It will be a lot more stable!

Never thought of the edges behind the coin door yet.. i will follow your suggestion because as you say its easy to have the wood splinter. Might do it at some more places like the "handles" in the back too since you grab the game there and lift it. Or wait... maybe thats just the vent? well.. some places could benefit from smoother edges.

The wooden bottom board is an improved style made of hard wood instead of the softer thing that was used originally. It is attached the same way the original was, slits made in all the side boards (front, back and sides) and the bottom "just" slides in there. When the sides are in place there is no place for it to go. I dont know if the original was even glued in there or if it just sat there like that. Anyway it is kinda tricky to put the pieces together because they all lock each other in. So you need to assemble the back and the sides, then slide the bottom in and then slide the front on with the sides apart. When the front is in place together with the bottom you push the sides together to lock it up. This will require at least two persons when its getting glued together otherwise it has the potential of ending up in a mess

Have a look at this picture:
bottom.jpg

I must point out that I did not make this cab myself but a friend of mine did. He did an awesome job so many thanks to you Patrik!

Thats something im worried about... we will see what happens. Otherwise i might try to get my hands on some factory made ones!

@MustangPaul, I have not measured it for super straight angles if thats what you mean, but it looks good so far. I might measure it later to see if its really straight to a T.

It has escalated to pretty much indeed! But I apreciate every advice or suggestion I can have. It's easy to stare yourself blind when working alone on something.

Yes I will give it a try and see how fast it tears.. the bar, do you mean the bar that holds the black gate? I have not planned to paint it. Thanks for all the small tips you guys are giving!

Some pictures of the progress with the bare wood. This part was a bit tricky to create but I think it will work. Hard thing is to know if the whole thing will fit together with the playfield and everything but time will tell! I transfered the special "bolt metals" for the backbox securing screws. Never knew these existed, or at least not how they looked, until I took my cabinet apart. You dont see these often.

wood.jpg

Hm, not sure exactly what it is but something like that. More layers than the original and should be high quality stuff! =)

Think it's about 11-13 layers. This weekend I hope to prep the surfaces and glue it together. Must check with the PF first though, I think I should mount it unpopulated in the game to make really sure the hinges etc fit. Also the two pieces that join at an angle in the back of the PF must align properly. You can see one of them in the pics above. It goes with another one looking the same but reversed in the back to "seal" off so there's no hole down into the cab. I'm not 100 percent about it but if I remember right it's how it works. Hard to explain but will post pictures =) also the plastic trim at the far top of the PF/ cab where the glass slides in needs testing. Don't want it to leave a gap between the backbox and glass lol!

More testing of the "fitness" of the new cab. It still looks promising!

image.jpg
image-623.jpg

Soon painting =)

Yeah it's pretty cool with the black cabinet! The switches for the eyes, are those prone to fail and it's better to replace them with the same style as the mouth switch? I have not digged into the head yet so I don't know what it looks like. And the PF, I would like a PM too! =) I'm interested in knowing the options to paint it myself.

Allright! I think it will work pretty nicely but might need the adjustments you describe after it's been teared down and reassembled. Thanks! =)

I'm doing the sanding and filling of the cabinet now so any day the paint gun is gonna get back on duty!

image-617.jpg

Painting on the way, here's some priming:

image-143.jpg