Dude great freak’n find. I’ve been looking for another set of these forever. Had some older ones my buddy hooked me up with when he restored my playboy. They were a bit yellowed but I did the hydrogen peroxide and sunlight for 4 days and it really whitened then up. A back up set is key though. So hard to come by.

I've got my game into a good long term operational state now and starting to track my scores. I grew up playing this game, but I can factually say that it is night and day with the playfield properly maintained, switches properly capped and adjusted, a flipper rebuild, and properly angled. This game has never played better!

It's currently at 6deg because thats the most I can get with the current legs on carpet. I was at around 5 or so and boy the game is so much more lively at 6. Is it worth it to find some wood or something to bring the back up to 6.5deg? The carpet should be flat and I've got the front all the way down and the back all the way up. I can only get to 6deg.

Bally Playboy memes:
- Get extra ball via rollover downward and then straight down the middle. Neat, but at least I get the bonus.
- Nothing is sadder than the end of ball bonus with 5x and 1 bonus point. Just five sad beeps.
- Any others I'm missing?

Has anyone got any rough statistics on which of the top 4 keys are most likely after grotto eject? I feel like mine are very often 2 and 3, sometimes 1, and almost never 4. Maybe a stupid question and highly subjective based on playfield angle and how smooth/waxed the playfield is.

Is there a general consensus on competitive switch configuration? I'm doing 5-ball, most hold-over settings (like keys, extra ball), no keys tied together.

Finally have my Playboy back together, and getting a mild, weird hum out of the speaker in attract mode. It's not constant like I would expect a ground loop hum to be, but seems to change frequency when the displays switch between high scores and "00"s

Not really loud, but kind of annoying. Is this normal behavior, or something wonky?

Are the caps on the sound board original? If so, I would replace them. That should take care of your problem.

Remove the ground screw on the soundboard and put a piece of tape to insulate that ground. Worked for me on my KISS machine.

Mine has done the same thing for 30 years. I assumed it was normal? Is it not? Mine does a low pitched heeeeeee hummmm as the displays cycle through. I've replaced all the caps on the sound board fixing another issue, but haven't isolated the ground. Please let me know if this works for you.

It's a known fix for the common hum these games have. Many people (me included) have done it on their Playboy, Kiss, and other machines with that sound board. You've got nothing to lose by trying it.

Hey PB owners I have a favor. My PB head doesn’t have any of the instruction cards and diagrams. I think they got misplaced during the restore.Does anybody have a file I can download and print out or maybe email me scans ? I would really appreciate it. Thanks in advance.

There’s a link online for Bally cards that are recreated with proper fonts.... I’ll try to find the link if you don’t find it.

http://www.pinballrebel.com/pinball/cards/

Got it! Thanks man. Could you maybe take a pic of the inside of the head for me so I see how they are laid out and arranged inside when you get a chance. No rush! Thanks again!

I Did my replacements in pink to match the side art...

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Super nice! Pink variation looks hot. Thanks again.

Anyone have a link to some good custom apron cards?

Sacrilege

i made a set when i did my restoration a few years ago;
scroll down (ready to print)
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/bally-playboy-restoration/page/2

Just picked up a Playboy and needing a backglass, some great information I've read here. Anybody have ever purchase a backglass from E-bay seller eclispspinball out of Ausbury Park NJ?? How is the quality vs CPR latest run. thanks in advance,

That ebay backglass you refer to looks like a CPR latest run glass. The giveaways are the rounded corners on the glass and the thin mirroring around the Bally logo.
The mirroring on my factory backglass around the Bally logo looks like this one - like a 3D effect:
https://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=1823&picno=54723&zoom=1

i ordered a backglass from cpr when it came out, way too dark i returned it.

or maybe they changed it since then but i doubt it.

I have an original one I would part with prob 8 out of 10 but would have to pull it out of storage to send pics if you want.

Ya, I sent a message to the E-bay lister and never received a reply! I see what quench means about the Bally Logo, so the e=bay glass is out.

Hey couple questions for you - 1) where did you get your stationary targets? I need to replace mine, i\and I’m not sure I’m up for ordering from PBR for new faces. And 2) what do the clear rubbers do (e.g. black light reactive?) Or are they just clear?

Getting ready to do a play field swap on mine as the last step in my resto. Any tips, thoughts or recommendations?

Hi is there any comparison photos between an original backglass and CPR's reproduction version?
Thanks

I'm glad I found all yaal! This gang is very informative and I am learning a ton of stuff well before I begin my full resto on my purchased BPB..I think I'm comfortable with the playfield issue since the game comes with one ready to go and the buyer is not a complete freak for this or any real pinball machine..my issue is with the cabinet. When I say ratty..I don't mean rough or icky or even nice and ratty..yaal.. its ratty..il toss out my first few questions just to get warmed up if that's ok..

1) obviously the front of the box needs to be replaced. What kind and thickness of wood is best suited for replacement? I have another machine that needs it as well, so I figure I'll cut my chops on replacing the front of that one amd probably use the same wood. BUT ..the BPB is going to dictate the type and thickness of wood considering the cost of material nowdeedays.
2) I am emotionally prepared for the reality that cabinet stencils are hard to come by anyway and I have spent days looking for new and used sets. Amy tips? My buddy owns a print and ship store and has a monster plotter,is this the way to go considering the rarity amd expense of the marketed set?
3) I really like the mods some of yaal have been doing and the pink stuff actually looks pretty bad ass..Any regrets or woulda coulda shoulda stuff? My buyer is pretty chill so he couldn't be open to some kick ass mods to the look and play of the game.
Thanks again yaal
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I would just repair what you have........ Fiberglass resin, bondo & time is all you need. I have obviously repaired way worse, that PB would'nt even phase me.

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I second the resin /bondo repair. Infinity easier than trying to replace the front board.

Hey all, looking for some recommendations, I got a Bally playboy at an auction awhile back. They had it powered up, all that worked was most light bulbs. It’s not in horrible shape but was the home for some mice for some time. I’m a pinball rookie but am gonna attempt a full restore on it, it will be great to see it back in great working order. When powered up I get all seven test flashes on Main board but no sound or follow up. No displays, not much else. Ill post some photos, one of the main issues is on the solenoid board there is a complete burn through on the board by the relay. My question is if I have to replace that board should I just change them all out to alltek boards or just go one board at a time once I start putting it all back together?

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Immediately cut that battery off the MPU. I always replace the rectifier board on the transformer, they are cheap and reliable. Looks like connector issues on the SDB. It should have the connectors replaced and repinned, parts are available from Great Plains Electronics. You'll need .100 and .156 pins and connectors. Everything you need to know is here:

https://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Bally/Stern

Thanks Tom, appreciate all the info. Do you see that burn through on the SDB between the connector and the relay, I haven’t pulled the board to see how much is damaged but that was why I believed I need to replace it. Thanks for your help.

send the boards out for repair.

I dont like the Alltek boards they dont seem to play right for me.

Chris Hibler does an amazing job.

Yes by the J2 connector. Above it is the flipper relay and the 1st 2 pins on that connector are for the flipper switches. Another choice if you want to replace the SDB is from Weebley:

https://nvram.weebly.com/bally-stern-sdb.html

I've got a fully working players condition I would sell. Perfect BG. Playfield wear. Cabinet faded but solid. Has Comet LED with controlled lamp led boards, and titan bands. Underside mechs and lamp sockets are immaculate. Would be a great candidate for a resto. PM me if interested.

Joining the club. Will take some time until the first play.

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Paid today but take ownership later this week

Since this forum is hosted in the Netherlands, is it allowed to show the modified version of my playboy playfield here? Or are the rules here American-style? If so, I think I will not be allowed to show it...

Heck yeah, Show it

Ok, I looked up the rules.

I think this playfield is PG-13. In Germany, it surely would be FSK 12.

Do not know if it is NSFW, I don't know if there is a German thing similar to it, so to be on the safe side, I flag it not safe for work.

http://www.abload.de/img/d6jaj.jpg

The slow, top down load made it even funnier imo

Joined the club
Now the tear down and start cleaning!
These girls got hairy looking arms, chest and legs!
Some pics show after initial scrub and touch ups in black

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That game looks great!

So my game has Alltek mpu and other new boards in it but I can’t find volume control anywhere
It’s super low right now

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Use a small flat head screwdriver to adjust the volume control potentiometer.

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Thanks didn’t see that

Girl got her legs and nails did!
New cabinet protectors
New leg bolts
New leg levelers
New bolt protectors
New leg paint

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Joined the club! Doing a full restoration. One question, all of the machines ive seen have the rectifier board mounted to the side of the cab, mine is mounted on top of the transformer, and i seem to be missing the cage (last pic stolen from this thread for reference) does anyone have an extra?

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Someone has obviously swapped in a transformer assembly from an earlier Bally.

Also need info or help to find a replacement ball gate for the grotto, even pics or size, ect would help.

Thanks!!!!