Well, I can't believe it's done, but it is! Short of a couple adjustments I mentioned in my previous post, my Attack from Mars PF swap is complete.
I know Bryan said earlier that this is one of the more easy ones, and I do believe him, but wow, what a job. Doing one of these is definitely a test of one's organizational skills as well as a test of your patience and understanding. Needless to say, I'll wait to do TAF until my Masters is done (Spring 2020).
This is where I will reference 
mof 's PF swap guide: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/playfield-swap-guide. Holy smokes, this is easily in my top 3 best threads ever on Pinside. Seriously, this is a VERY well done thread, and it is such a shame I found it AFTER I completed my swap. That's right, I did my swap WITHOUT his thread. Now, that brings two perspectives:
1. I did it!!!
2. Holy crap, this would have been easier with his thread referenced...
Now that being said, I have read his thread, and wow, does he have some valid points. There were many times I read it thinking "Yep, I remember that...!" or "Yep, I almost did that." or "You ain't fricking kidding...!" or "Boy, that would have been nice to know."
Now, my swap was simply that - a "quick" swap where I thankfully did not have to address cleaning the wiring harness or swapping out a bunch of lamp sockets or anything crazy. Mine was a literal swap where everything was taken off the old playfield, and the new playfield was dropped in. Nonetheless, it was a thorough job, and I have a couple quick thoughts and tips for anyone interested.
Quick thoughts:
1. A PF swap is what I would consider the "next step up" from a traditional shop job. Don't get me wrong - a thorough shop job where the entire topside of the PF is stripped down and every rubber is replaced, all parts are tumbled and polished, all plastics are swapped, and lights are upgraded, and the entire PF is cleaned and waxed - that is a solid job. Being audacious enough to remove EVERYTHING from both sides of the PF is another step into either character, stupidity or both. There is no half-assing this. You either get it done or you don't. I treated this as a major project and waited until distractions were at a minimum: school is out until January, work in the DoD is at minimum manning, and I worked around, after and in some cases through the holidays.
Quite frankly: it is not for the faint of heart. Some owners love to play, some love to tinker, some love to do both. I will confess I much more prefer to do things like this over playing my games. If you can swap playfields, you can play your games, but the converse is not necessarily true. I like the sense of freedom and autonomy it gives me to know "yes, I can do this if I really want to." That being said, we all have 24 hours in a day, and some prefer to let others do this level of work, and hey - nothing wrong with that. Different strokes for different folks!
2. The sense of accomplishment you get when you see that brand new PF in your game and everything is 100% working is close to pinball nirvana (2nd place to doing a cabinet swap - a feat I still have to do). The journey though can be quite daunting along the way. The way I minimized road blocks:
A. I had ALL parts I needed for this job up front; I tried to think of every last little thing I could need. This was especially true with the pop bumpers: I knew I would need the (3) anchor screws, new light fixtures, and new pop bumper bodies. I had extras of nearly everything I could think of as I did not want to get started, miss one thing, hit my brakes, and wait 3-5 days for something to arrive so I could continue.
B. Having all the right tools. This is probably the most paramount step: a job is SO much easier if you have all the right tools. If I had to pick one absolutely essential tool: a magnetic hexnut chuck. I used this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0028TB140/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00
This by FAR cut my time down by 25% at a minimum as I didn't have to balance a bit with the screw in it, holding my breath and keep my hands more steady than a surgeon. I could just "load and go" at any angle. WELL worth the price of admission.
C. Seeing the end goal. It goes without saying, but let me ring the bell anyways on this one: see the end goal. Use whatever mental image you need to keep yourself going. For me, it was knowing that, soon, all my tools would be put away, that the game would be in one piece, and that my grail game would look pristine again.
3. Pictures, pictures, pictures. No matter how many photos you take, it will seem like they won't be enough. I seriously think I took over 300 photos before I started this job. One thing mof mentioned that I did not do was take videos of "trouble areas" - areas that you might struggle to remember the orientation of when putting it back together. One such area was the VUK scoop that transfers the ball to the left habbitrail whenever you destroy the saucer or lock a ball. That scoop fits into two underside components: the VUK that launches the ball up and the ball trough that takes the ball from the drop target to the VUK, and those two have to fit together right for the scoop to slide into place. Ultimately, I got everything to fit back into place, but it sure would have been nice to have a video for this area of re-assembly.
A couple things I learned along the way:
1. Make sure ALL your molex connections for top-side components are THROUGH the holes and waiting for you on the underside of the PF. Near the very end, I was looking for two molex connectors responsible for lighting the flashers on the left ramp. I finally realized that they were still on the top side of the PF underneath the left ramp. I had two options:
A. Disassemble the left side ramp area.
B. Use a curved hook and a long thin flat-head screwdriver to push the connectors near the hole, and then use the dental hook to snag the wires and gently but firmly pull the connectors through the hole.
I opted for plan B, and let me tell you, that took some patience. I made it happen, but I won't deny, I had to take a break here and there and let my hands recover and reset my "mental patience".
That being said....
2. Patience and taking breaks. We have all been there: things seem to be getting in your way, slowing your progress down. A bolt falls on your floor and bounces 25 feet across the room....on carpet. Your magnetic chuck seems to repel every piece of hardware you put in it. When things are not going your way, and you're THAT close to being done - stop -STOP - put your tools down, and rest for 5 minutes. Get a drink of water, rest your feet and arms, clear your head and try again in a little bit. Whatever you're working on is not going to spontaneously combust while you take a break. A scratch in the clearcoat, a damaged PF, or blowing an electronic component is FAR more frustrating than the relief you'll feel from taking 5-10 minutes and taking a breather. It's worth it, trust me.
I'm sure I will think of more to add, but for now, I'll conclude this post with a quick 1 minute-ish video. If anyone is interested or needs them, I can share any of my pictures for reference purposes.
Thanks, everyone!
Glad to help you in the future on 
Lakeville, MN
Pinville
