New RBION owner! Questions for existing owners..

Earlier in the week I acquired a Ripley's Believe it or Not (RBION) machine. So far I'm really digging it, however I do have a few questions/requests from existing owners (or previous owners).

First off, this game is DARK.. Granted, the frosted neon LEDs the previous owner put on the back strip isn't helping much, but still.. Is the game supposed to be naturally dark in general? I do notice some areas of the playfield that have working GI bulbs during the attract sequence (for instance, the bulb directly behind the closest and right-most tombstone standup), but they are off during regular gameplay. Is this intentional? Or maybe I just have a flaky socket or two..

What have you done with your playfield from a lighting standpoint? Feel free to post some photos of your game. I am looking for ideas for what to do with mine. At this point I am considering going with clear-domed two-LED incandescent-style bulbs to really brighten things up, like I did with my LAH and AC\DC. But if the game looks really nice with more of a cool hue, I may be willing to try that as well.

I'm not much of a modder, but I'm still curious to know what's available or what has been done with the playfield. Has anyone done anything cool with this game asides from the basic bling (mirror blades, premium side rails, powder coating legs, etc).

Here's my game as I received it. As you can see, it's kind of dark. So much so, the backglass gets in the way of seeing the playfield. Going to have to mute that backbox tube a bit as well, now that I think of it..

rbion.jpg

#2 10 years ago

MAT

mummite

Pinside+ Frequent

Redwood City, CA

12y 91,650 2,245 20 28

Congrats on your new RBION its a great game! I added a spotlight and its mounted on the bottom right sling. I know there are a couple people making some cool mods coming soon for the temple plastic and other items to be added to the game.

#3 10 years ago

AKM

akm

Pinside member

Highland Charter Township, MI

Quoted from mummite:
I added a spotlight and its mounted on the bottom right sling.

Cool! How tough is it to do that? That just reminded me that I actually bought a couple of spotlight rigs from PinballLife a ways back, so I could try to wire one up on one of the slings. Although I'm not sure how the wiring goes.. I'll have to take a look at my parts tomorrow and see if I can figure it out.

#4 10 years ago

TIM

TenaciousT

Pinside+ Frequent

10y 57,550 788 7

I just added this to my RBION .DSCF0338.JPG

#5 10 years ago

TIM

TenaciousT

Pinside+ Frequent

Highland Charter Township, MI

10y 57,550 788 7

Playfield pic'sDSCF0340.JPG

#6 10 years ago

MAT

mummite

Pinside+ Frequent

Redwood City, CA

12y 91,650 2,245 20 28

Here is an old link with some pix of my RBION, Since these I have added mirror blades and some other items.

http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/ripleys-rbion-calling-all-roller-skating-penguins

Also this scoop mod from pinball refinery is great and easy to install.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/new-rbion-light-mod-for-scoop-for-1500-shipping

#7 10 years ago

TIM

TenaciousT

Pinside+ Frequent

Highland Charter Township, MI

10y 57,550 788 7

So - I'm not a big fan of LED's everywhere and I only used some in the GI. Added (a 555 socket) for the green under the Idol ( under the top plastic ) two more in the 2- tree areas. Red under the ramps ,two purple and two blue in the spotlights for the Shrunken Head .

#8 10 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent

Springfield, VA

11y 181K 8,678 5

Add spotlights to the slings. Cheap and easy. See the above thread for pictures.

#9 10 years ago

AKM

akm

Pinside member

Quoted from TenaciousT:
So - I'm not a big fan of LED's everywhere and I only used some in the GI. Added (a 555 socket) for the green under the Idol ( under the top plastic ) two more in the 2- tree areas. Red under the ramps ,two purple and two blue in the spotlights for the Shrunken Head .

Ahhhh, so that's why those areas are lit up (and mine aren't, haha.. I was hoping maybe I had some burned out bulbs I was unaware of . I will have to look into doing the same, it looks pretty nice on your game.

#10 10 years ago

AKM

akm

Pinside member

Quoted from mummite:
Here is an old link with some pix of my RBION, Since these I have added mirror blades and some other items.
http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/ripleys-rbion-calling-all-roller-skating-penguins
Also this scoop mod from pinball refinery is great and easy to install.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/new-rbion-light-mod-for-scoop-for-1500-shipping

Thanks for the tip! I just placed an order with Pinball Refinery for one of the scoop light kits.

#11 10 years ago

LER

Lermods

Lermods Pinball Co.

11y 201K 10,856 58

This is really a great game. Just beat my high score, hitting 84 mil. Started all continents and got a 10k bonus. Special saved me twice (I have it set to award a ball), only had two letters. Completing some of the modes, like the spinner, can be very tough. Love the double scoring mb.

#12 10 years ago

DBC

danczaz

DBC Pinball

Hampshire, IL

10y 86,100 3,842 8

Look at the post I just added. I just got a RBION like 4 weeks ago. Ordered the purple LED from pinball refinery. I just put in LEDs in every socket! Used mainly the clear domes non ghost from pinball life. When I was done game was too bright. I change a couple of the clear inserts from a cool white clear dome to a frosted purple. Changed all the flashers to green and purple (with matching caps). Added a couple green lane guides. Looks awesome now! I just bought some LED strips gonna tie in somewhere. Used those 4 LED 47s for plastics. Too much red in game; gonna change out pop bumper caps too!

#13 10 years ago

AKM

akm

Pinside member

Quoted from Lermods:
This is really a great game. Just beat my high score, hitting 84 mil. Started all continents and got a 10k bonus. Special saved me twice (I have it set to award a ball), only had two letters. Completing some of the modes, like the spinner, can be very tough. Love the double scoring mb.

Yeah, I'm really enjoying it so far. It's definitely a "players" game. Each mode is pretty nuanced, especially the multi-ball modes. For instance, Antarctica--at first I thought the jackpots were stupid-low. Then I found out that by hitting the vari-target, you raise the jackpot value! Then when I've gotten the two ramp jackpots and need to hit the right orbit for the third, I can either second-stage the upper flipper and make the shot from the left flipper, or have one ball on the right and quickly pop it up as a backhand shot. Another multi-ball, Africa, I use for nailing the Idol, which in turn builds the main multi-ball jackpot value. Good stuff..

I agree with the modes being difficult as well. I try to stack them into the main multi-ball when I can. Some I do play out though, like Asia (usually takes one or two spinner shots), and Australia (can be a little chunk of points pretty quickly, especially if you can send the ball all the way through the vari-target).

I've only gotten the Continent Jackpot twice. One time though I managed to set up 2X scoring, then cashed it in. Talk about a good feeling!

Sometimes I like to get a mode going, then start Road Trip, then begin the main multi-ball. So many stacking options in this game.

Those outlanes are a total b*$&% though. That has to be my only complaint about the game so far. Everything else is very, very solid.

#14 10 years ago

SMK

TheLaw

Pinside+ Addict

Probably my favorite game to play. It's not the easiest and some of that stuff is super hard, but it's balanced so well it keeps you coming back for more. Frog Frenzy, all Super Jackpots +1 is almost impossible. Took me almost a year to get to Atlantis the first time.

I tried LEDs in it and it looked no diff'rent to me at all...so i kept normal bulbs. I personally think it's lit well for my tastes anyway.

Hitting the right ramp and right spinner/loop with right flipper is key.

EDIT I did put Mirror blades in mine but I never even notice them to be honest...doesn't add much for me.
http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/mirror-bladeslets-see-them

#15 10 years ago

DXV

chadderack

Pinside member

Quoted from TheLaw:
\Hitting the right ramp and right spinner/loop with right flipper is key.

If you can hit the right spinner with the lower right flipper, you must be lightning quick on the release, because the upper flipper would get in the way.

That's one of my challenges... several of the modes need that right orbit shot to get a Ripley's letter... and it's hard when one of the two (three) balls keeps coming back to the lower right. You have to park the ball in the magnet or something and quickly hit the right orbit.

#16 10 years ago

SMK

TheLaw

Pinside+ Addict

Quoted from chadderack:
If you can hit the right spinner with the lower right flipper, you must be lightning quick on the release,

That's what the ladies & RBION tell me.

Pretty simple on mine.

#17 10 years ago

AKM

akm

Pinside member

Yeah, you do have to be quick on the release for the right orbit backhand, but it's totally doable repeatedly. I don't seem to have a problem with it on mine, but it could vary from machine to machine.

Quoted from TheLaw:
I tried LEDs in it and it looked no diff'rent to me at all...so i kept normal bulbs. I personally think it's lit well for my tastes anyway.

I am going to do the incandescent-styled LEDs from CoinTaker for both GI and the playfield inserts. They will help brighten the GI (it's a dark game in general), and the incandescent-style will make the inserts look fuller than they do now, while still keeping the original hue. I will eventually add the LED OCD to it to lower the brightness of the playfield inserts and smooth out the flickering/flashing/strobing of the inserts.

Mirror blades are interesting. When I added them to my Rolling Stones, I didn't notice them much at all at first. Still don't, really, when playing. But they are awesome for onlookers watching me play. I will definitely be adding them to my RBION to spice things up a bit.

#18 10 years ago

SMK

TheLaw

Pinside+ Addict

OP
Quoted from akm:
I am going to do the incandescent-styled LEDs from CoinTaker for both GI and the playfield inserts. They will help brighten the GI (it's a dark game in general), and the incandescent-style will make the inserts look fuller than they do now, while still keeping the original hue

Just remember a lot of those inserts are so small you won't need, or you can save monies, by buying the smaller LEDs.
Round inserts for Modes & head hits don;t need a full sizer.

I think the only LEDs i kept were a blue in SJ and blues in the ABC on the back wall since I find those get a little harder to see.

#19 10 years ago

LER

Lermods

Lermods Pinball Co.

11y 201K 10,856 58

OP
Quoted from akm:
I am going to do the incandescent-styled LEDs from CoinTaker for both GI and the playfield inserts. They will help brighten the GI (it's a dark game in general), and the incandescent-style will make the inserts look fuller than they do now, while still keeping the original hue.

My advice, fwiw, avoid any led that is not non ghosting for the inserts in this game. Those retro style bulbs won't work in the inserts and will ghost/flicker badly. They are fine for GI.

#20 10 years ago

DBC

danczaz

DBC Pinball

Hampshire, IL

10y 86,100 3,842 8

Lit up a few things with LED strips! Game is finally nice and bright!!!
image-472.jpg

#21 10 years ago

DXV

chadderack

Pinside member

Quoted from TheLaw:
Hitting the right ramp and right spinner/loop with right flipper is key

Quoted from TheLaw:
Pretty simple on mine.

OP
Quoted from akm:
Yeah, you do have to be quick on the release for the right orbit backhand, but it's totally doable repeatedly. I don't seem to have a problem with it on mine, but it could vary from machine to machine.

Well, I'll be. Just went and practiced that shot a bit, and it is very makeable.

I don't tend to need it too much, though, because I can hit the right orbit much easier with the left flipper. Maybe if you had one cradled on each flipper and the right orbit was your next shot, it would be easier to hit it from the right.

What I do in those cases (usually) is park the ball on the shrunken head (from the right) and then hit the orbit from the left. That puts more balls in jeopardy though. Guess I'll give the backhand/right orbit shot a go next time.

Thanks guys.

#22 10 years ago

SMK

TheLaw

Pinside+ Addict

Quoted from chadderack:
I don't tend to need it too much, though, because I can hit the right orbit much easier with the left flipper.

It's a good shot to know because it's safer than the left flipper and can use it easy to complete the firewalking mode, and a way to serve up a good SJ shot. You need all the help you can get to Frog Frenzy that bad boy.

#23 10 years ago

AKM

akm

Pinside member

Got to Atlantis last night! Thought it would take longer, but I'm finding that if you control this game as much as you can, it's totally doable. It seems pounding through the continents is a good idea as well, because after getting the Continent Jackpot, the modes reset and you can try to collect the rest of the Ripley letters by playing the easier modes a second time. The Continent values also stack/snowball if you roll through the continents a second time (which I did last night), and the value becomes pretty huge.

Quoted from Lermods:
My advice, fwiw, avoid any led that is not non ghosting for the inserts in this game. Those retro style bulbs won't work in the inserts and will ghost/flicker badly. They are fine for GI.

Don't plan on getting non-ghosting bulbs. For the flicker, that's what the LED OCD is for. Don't worry, I know exactly what I'm getting into.

Quoted from chadderack:
Well, I'll be. Just went and practiced that shot a bit, and it is very makeable.
I don't tend to need it too much, though, because I can hit the right orbit much easier with the left flipper. Maybe if you had one cradled on each flipper and the right orbit was your next shot, it would be easier to hit it from the right.
What I do in those cases (usually) is park the ball on the shrunken head (from the right) and then hit the orbit from the left. That puts more balls in jeopardy though. Guess I'll give the backhand/right orbit shot a go next time.
Thanks guys.

I find the backhand is the most useful for Super Jackpot shots, and when in the Penguin/Antarctica multi-ball. Since the third Jackpot in that mode is the right orbit, it can be tough to hit it since I usually find myself having a ball cradled on each flipper. The quick back-hand lets me get around that without dealing with second-staging the upper flipper, which I find myself less consistent at (and less consistent with the left flipper when I'm trying to finesse the right upper flipper at the same time).

#24 10 years ago

DXV

chadderack

Pinside member

OP
Quoted from akm:
Got to Atlantis last night! Thought it would take longer, but I'm finding that if you control this game as much as you can, it's totally doable. It seems pounding through the continents is a good idea as well, because after getting the Continent Jackpot, the modes reset and you can try to collect the rest of the Ripley letters by playing the easier modes a second time. The Continent values also stack/snowball if you roll through the continents a second time (which I did last night), and the value becomes pretty huge.

Congrats!

I find the backhand is the most useful for Super Jackpot shots, and when in the Penguin/Antarctica multi-ball. Since the third Jackpot in that mode is the right orbit, it can be tough to hit it since I usually find myself having a ball cradled on each flipper. The quick back-hand lets me get around that without dealing with second-staging the upper flipper, which I find myself less consistent at (and less consistent with the left flipper when I'm trying to finesse the right upper flipper at the same time).

The Antarctica mode seems like a good place to use it; I played a few games yesterday and tried it out and it worked. However, you can totally do it without second staging by just throwing the ball on the right flipper at the shrunken head magnet, hitting the orbit shot with the ball on the left flipper, then recatching.

#25 10 years ago

?Z?

phishrace

Pinside member

Unknown

12y 46,900 4,913

OP
Quoted from akm:
Yeah, you do have to be quick on the release for the right orbit backhand, but it's totally doable repeatedly.

If you can backhand the right spinner, your flippers are likely adjusted too high. Backhanding the right ramp is doable, but not the spinner if your flippers are adjusted properly. The adjustment holes are behind the flippers. With the flipper rubbers removed, the back of the bats should be right against the holes.

Mine came this way (adjusted high) and someone else pointed it out to me. With them adjusted high, the penguin jackpot and super jackpot shots are way too easy. Still, with the flippers adjusted properly, post passing from the right flipper to the left is easy, then you can make the super or penguin shot.

Don't see any good pics of the adjustment holes on IPDB, so it's possible some playfields didn't get them (mine has them). My game is on location, or I'd offer alignments tips based on art. Next time I service the game, I'll take a pic.

#26 10 years ago

AJS

altan

Skillshot Combo

19y 107K 2,349 20 1

Quoted from phishrace:
flipper rubbers removed, the back of the bats should be right against the holes.

With the rubbers removed? Interesting... not sure I've read that specifically stated before... must research.

While this thread is going off topic (Maybe we rename it the RBION appreciation society thread? ... I'll ask...

How do you guys hit the idol in the mode(s) that require it? I find it VERY difficult. Using the tip of the right flipper is quite hard... and left flipper doesn't seem to offer any solution.

#27 10 years ago

DXV

chadderack

Pinside member

Quoted from altan:
With the rubbers removed? Interesting... not sure I've read that specifically stated before... must research.
While this thread is going off topic (Maybe we rename it the RBION appreciation society thread? ... I'll ask...
How do you guys hit the idol in the mode(s) that require it? I find it VERY difficult. Using the tip of the right flipper is quite hard... and left flipper doesn't seem to offer any solution.

With two balls cradled on the left, it is easy to flip the top ball into the idol. On the right flipper, try to roll the ball up the inlane a bit first, and hit the idol shot on the fly. Single ball cradled on the left is almost impossible to hit the idol.

#28 10 years ago

AKM

akm

Pinside member

Did anyone have issues installing their scoop light kit? I installed it and have the z-connector how it should be, but it doesn't seem to be functioning properly. The scoop light comes on, but it never goes off (I was under the impression it was supposed to go out with the light on the arrow sign?). This in and of itself doesn't bother me much (it still looks cool!), but the issue now is that both of my Special lights are constantly flashing. Taking the modded z-connector out and putting the old one back in, everything works as it should (minus the scoop light, since it's disconnected in that setup).

#29 10 years ago

JTB

The_Gorilla

Pinside+ Frequent

Pleasant Hill, IA

13y 116K 5,602 2 160

Quoted from phishrace:
If you can backhand the right spinner, your flippers are likely adjusted too high. Backhanding the right ramp is doable, but not the spinner if your flippers are adjusted properly. ll

I thought I remembered that shot happening frequently in the Papa tutorial

#30 10 years ago

?Z?

phishrace

Pinside member

Unknown

12y 46,900 4,913

Quoted from The_Gorilla:
I thought I remembered that shot happening frequently in the Papa tutorial

The guy playing in that video (his own game) is the guy who pointed out my flippers were high. I watched that whole video and don't recall him backhanding the right orbit.

#31 10 years ago

AKM

akm

Pinside member