(Topic ID: 198771)

A Fish Tales rebuild...PICS UP

By cosmokramer

6 years ago


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There are 367 posts in this topic. You are on page 4 of 8.
#151 6 years ago

I can’t either. I love the detail you’re taking in the cabinet work. You’d never think it but I always look at the joint in the back box for separation so I am sure others would have noticed it for sure

Fishtales gets closer to whirlwind in my list of favorite games every single day. I play it three to one over all the other games I have

#152 6 years ago

Heres the finish on a brand new WPC coin door....

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Heres my FT...close but still a ways to go...

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The can is back in the freezer, another medium coat might do it...

#153 6 years ago

This looks about right, the flourescent bulbs in the garage make it look a bit more grey than it is...Im happy...

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Obviously you can see I textured the door skin as well, I just was'nt happy with the results when I only did the bezel. The frame was done to match.

#154 6 years ago

Coin door looks great. I've done a few like that. It's better than when people paint them with black gloss

#155 6 years ago
Quoted from patrickvc:

Coin door looks great. I've done a few like that. It's better than when people paint them with black gloss

I agree that the gloss look is awful, I am guilty of trying it myself in the past. The combination of satin black for the base and laquer for the texture gives a very close finish to what came from the factory...

#156 6 years ago

Coin door done...like a dummy I didnt notice the two different tags in the push buttons, one tokens one quarters...and of course now the coin chutes looked scuffed compared to the new looking coin door, so I will probably order new buttons and chutes...just more $ right

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#157 6 years ago

Wow that coin door looks amazing

#158 6 years ago

Looks amazing @cosmokramer, I’m picking up a fish tales next week!!

#159 6 years ago

That door turned out great!

#160 6 years ago
Quoted from MagicSmoke:

Wow that coin door looks amazing

Quoted from Plumonium:

That door turned out great!

Thanks

Quoted from Soulrider911:

Looks amazing cosmokramer, I’m picking up a fish tales next week!!

If you are going to restore it, Ron Kruzman has a beautiful playfield I think you will like...If I knew I was going to be putting so much work into this project , I would have bought it myself.

#161 6 years ago

Wow, whose stupid idea was it to rebuild this parts machine...what an dumb move!

Im glad I chose to not keep track of hours spent, its a ridiculous number...

Last night I washed the cabinet wire harness in simple green, cleaned some boards and broke down the power box for painting...

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I also had trouble using my WH20 to run the FT playfield, I thought I could just swap the roms and playfield connectors but no luck. So I am using the proto cabinet as a test rig to mock up the FT until the new cab is done...

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Thanks to my friend MagicSmoke for helping me with some ROMs, 3d printing, moral support and general information... thanks buddy.

Last but not least...yes, this is another box from Marco...I needed some side rails, glass guides, back box hinges, pivot bolts, back box lock and latch etc to have in the shop to mock up new cabinets, so I bought all new stuff for the FT and I will use the old stuff in the shop...and since I had to buy it anyway for the cab builds, I am not counting it in the cost of material for this project...

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#162 6 years ago

Can we change your name to crazycosmo?
Dude, awesome work and attention to detail is amazing.
Man, i keep hoping to email you any week now, maybe by xmas, with an elusive missing part.
Fingers crossed, guy says he found it..
Yes, im being cryptic, dont want to get your hopes up.
Hope you had a good weekend.
And THANKS again for Surf n lead. So excited its going to museum.

#163 6 years ago

That package from Marco looks sooo familiar I am always excited when I receive a package from him
Good luck with the resto ... will be following it !

Charles

#164 6 years ago

So my last post was bitching about the amount of work, but I must say I have learned more from this project than any others to date. I have memorized every connection on the WPC boardset, not having any boards to begin with made me study the schematics like never before. This info will be quite helpful on future restos and trouble shooting.
And I really like doing it....

Again not too much to show, busy with a few other things going on outside of pinball but I can show a little bit of progress...
The transformer, power box and rear plate looked pretty beat up and plain...

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For the rear plate I just hit it with some 400 grit sandpaper, primed, and painted with satin black. Satin is a great choice for coin doirs, legs etc. as it does not appear to shiny like gloss does...

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Next is the power box, I didnt want to do just satin with this because the cab interior will be black as well and the box would blend with the side panel of cabinet. I didnt want a crazy red or white finish either so I chose to finish it like I did the coin door. This will give it just enough contrast to stand out without looking odd...
Im just waiting for a buddy to print up the decals...

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#165 6 years ago

You have that texturing technique down, looks awesome!

#166 6 years ago

i have an extra shooter handle and a ton of other FT parts, hit me up with what you need.

-c

#167 6 years ago
Quoted from CraigC:

i have an extra shooter handle and a ton of other FT parts, hit me up with what you need.
-c

PM sent

#168 6 years ago
Quoted from CraigC:

i have an extra shooter handle and a ton of other FT parts, hit me up with what you need.
-c

That’s awesome. Your game is going to be gorgeous. I hated it to have a normal push button. I’m glad one turned up. I hope you get it

#169 6 years ago

looking great. The experienced gained and confidence from it makes it all worth it

1 week later
#170 6 years ago

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#171 6 years ago

Love the attention to detail cosmokramer I’m going to have to steal ur idea and paint and polish my power supply also nice work

#172 6 years ago

Exellent work ,Cosmo!! I did side rails,coin door,lockdown bar,legs, and all glass channels,in Chrome from Chris at Hot Rod Arcade! Im using Pinnovators headphone mod,and doing the shooter in Flat Brass! Also got the ColorDmd LCD display,and last,but not least,a 3D Translite !! This game rocks!!

#173 6 years ago

Doh' ... I just spotted some blue painters tape still stuck on the transformer in that picture....

#174 6 years ago

This pin is going to be so nice you will never be able to play it.

#175 6 years ago

Today is hopefully the big day, I finally got the missing chips for mpu board, and some last minute goodies...going to see if it will actually come to life!
I rigged up every component that will used in this game so I can test everything all together, its all wired up, grounded, playfield connected, dmd hooked up...lets go!!

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#176 6 years ago

Hmmmm...well, It didnt catch on fire so theres that...
First hiccup to address- no dmd display, it displays fine when I use the buttons on the back of the color DMD for settings, but its not displaying data from the game...

On a positive note the playfield is displaying proper lighting and coil firing , wheel spinning, catapult catapulting etc. It appears to be functioning in attract mode, so it is showing signs of wanting to flip...

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#177 6 years ago

Got home from the auction this afternoon and started troubleshooting...after about 90 minutes I got her up and running!
I really couldnt be happier as this was a huge undertaking to try to piece together a working game from almost nothing...

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Still not sure why the color DMD is not working, I had to take the dmd panel from WH20 but all the boards and everything else belongs to FT...to my suprise the only switches not working is 1 pop bumper and the spinner...the reel passed the reel test, flippers work great in flip test, sound, flipper buttons, everything else is good to go...

#178 6 years ago

Still need to hook up topper and light board for translite...

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#179 6 years ago

Wow amazing job, what an accomplishment on bringing this machine back to life

#180 6 years ago
Quoted from Soulrider911:

Wow amazing job, what an accomplishment on bringing this machine back to life

thanks, this is the first project where once I got 30% into it I was l like, WTF did I do? It feels good to see some light at the end of the tunnel. I am by no means near the finish line, but it feels good having the largest obstacle behind me. The rest of the project consists of paint and decal the new cab, install insert LEDs, reassembly, fine tuning...still a good bit of work but all stuff I am very familiar with

#181 6 years ago

Your killling it buddy !! Watching closely !!

#182 6 years ago

Got color dmd working...been enjoying some of the animations, looks totally different than the standard dmd...by far one of the best products on the market...the playfield switch issues have been worked out so now I have been debating raising the back side of my rotisserie to give me a 6.5° pitch so I can start playing it now...

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#183 6 years ago
Quoted from cosmokramer:

I have been debating raising the back side of my rotisserie to give me a 6.5° pitch so I can start playing it now...

Go for it !! Just watch out for airballs !!

#185 6 years ago
Quoted from SUPERBEE:

Go for it !! Just watch out for airballs !!

They might end up in the lake ( - :

#186 6 years ago

Wow. I'm following since day one but just reread the whole thread - seems like I had already forgotten about the bugs.
What an amazing project so far...

(I must confess that I'm a little jealous of your father's woodworking place...).

#187 6 years ago

I think FT and CFTBL make good use of the colour DMD. Can't wait to fit them in both of mine.

#188 6 years ago

I hear so much praise about the color DMD but can't wrap my head around the cost. Especially if the current DMD is fine.

Nonetheless, well done!

#189 6 years ago
Quoted from Plumonium:

I hear so much praise about the color DMD but can't wrap my head around the cost. Especially if the current DMD is fine.

I thought the same thing until i finally bit the bullet and got one for my Getaway and all i can say is WOW ! what a difference it makes and I just love it !

#190 6 years ago
Quoted from SUPERBEE:

I thought the same thing until i finally bit the bullet and got one for my Getaway and all i can say is WOW ! what a difference it makes and I just love it !

I agree... Im not a mod guy but its night and day, I can actually make out what the animations are supposed to be.

Took me awhile to troubleshoot the problem I was having with the DMD.....turns out the brand new ribbon cable is no good...

#191 6 years ago

I have a spare bedroom and a Fish Tales in need of some more tlc than I can probably provide.... ever been to northeastern Saskatchewan?

#192 6 years ago

Certain games, a color dmd Totally changes the experience and almost always severely enhances video modes. Indiana Jones is a good example the mode cart video mode is super tough... but with a color dmd the contrast and color make the video mode so much more enjoyable. I would say fish takes is a game that benefits for sure!

#193 6 years ago

Not too much to report, next week I hope to prep the new cabinet for paint and decals, then final assembly will begin.
In the meantime I ran a switch test after adjusting the pop bumper and spinner and all is good. I changed all the insert bulbs to color matched non ghosting LEDs. I had some green and blues in the GI, but I am kind of getting away from the color GI look so I changed it all to frosted white (it looks better). Also color matched LED flashers. All lamps, flippers, reel, flashers, drop targets, and coils passed testing on the first shot. I received my replacement ribbon cable from Marco so the dmd is up and running.
Basically I am done until the cab is complete...

2 weeks later
#194 6 years ago

As usual, delay after delay...been too busy with work, back injury and packing up to move to get much done.
The name of the game lately has been templates, we are making router templates for all of the cut outs. Not needed to make one or two cabinets but I want to be able to produce them fairly quickly so these will speed up the process...

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Assembling Fish Tales cabinet 2.0...

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Routing speaker hole and power switch hole...

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Starting to look like something...

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Rigged up a quick jig to drill the corner braces perfectly centered...

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#195 6 years ago

I'm really jealous of your woodcrafting skills.
I wished you lived a little closer to me, I could use some help with my Time Fantasy cabinet...

#196 6 years ago

Just amazing. It’s looks beautiful

#197 6 years ago

Wow what a project to take on, but your patience and skill are really showing. I hope someday I can bring a pin back to life as you are doing. Thanks for taking the time to share this great adventure with all of us pinsiders. If you need any help with heavy lifting or flipping maybe I can help.

#198 6 years ago

What an undertaking! Impressive man.

#199 6 years ago

Just Wow ! Amazing! After this one, you have qualified in most of the available skills within pinball restoration - if not all of them !! With honor !

#200 6 years ago

Test fitting FT cab 2.0 with some mock-up parts...a perfect fit so far...

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Sorry kitty, no fish in the fish tales...

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