Medieval Madness (Remake - Standard)
Chicago Gaming Co., 2015As the title says, I bought my first pinball machine, a NIB MMr. Really excited to get it in a week and a half or so. I want to take care of the machine really well and was wondering for those of you who have the MMr, did you do anything out of the box? I've read about waxing, maybe getting some different balls but nothing pertaining to MMr. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
What I like to do when I set up a new game.
Get it set up. Remove the playfield glass. Look over the bottom of playfield and inside the back box for any connectors or anything else loose from shipping. Install the two big wing nuts to hold the head down.
Lower playfield. Quick clean easy to reach areas and a coat of a good wax. Clean balls and install. Get the game in position. Set playfield to 6 1/2 degrees, level left to right, front and rear. Put glass back on.
Turn the game on. Set any adjustments or anything I like. Start playing.
LTG : )
Do not play the game until you get at the very least a protector for the castle shot. The clear WILL crack almost instantly (I learned this the hard way). I'd say get all the protectors you can.
Quoted from pinball_ric:Do not play the game until you get at the very least a protector for the castle shot. The clear WILL crack almost instantly (I learned this the hard way). I'd say get all the protectors you can.
Which protector set did you use?
Quoted from white1ce:Which protector set did you use?
I have all of the protectors listed on Cliffy's MM page at http://www.passionforpinball.com/mm.htm plus a couple others that probably aren't on that page he offers (I don't think i saw the protector for the drain to the ball trough on there.) Email him and he can help get you sorted with what you need for MMr.
For the castle area I use the protectors from Mantis at http://www.mantisamusements.com/mminstall.htm
I would avoid the merlin hole protector from mantis as I had trouble getting mine in and eventually ended up breaking it. It's very soft aluminium and you have to bend it to get it in. I bent and unbent it too many times trying to get it to sit right.
At a minimum I'd say you need the ball eject, trough drain, and the 2 castle protectors but strongly suggest getting all of them. They're expensive but they're definitely cheaper than a new playfield or having to have the playfield clear coated again.
Quoted from pinball_ric:Do not play the game until you get at the very least a protector for the castle shot. The clear WILL crack almost instantly (I learned this the hard way). I'd say get all the protectors you can.
I wonder if you have faulty clear. My MMr has over 10k plays and the clear looks great.
My MMR had a solid year of play from me and the only protection mine had was at the Merlin hole. Zero to minimal wear anywhere.
Cliffy’s are great, but play your game and enjoy it first, especially if this is your first. You definitely don’t need to let it sit unplayed while you wait for them to arrive and get installed.
Quoted from GorillaBiscuits:My MMR had a solid year of play from me and the only protection mine had was at the Merlin hole. Zero to minimal wear anywhere.
Cliffy’s are great, but play your game and enjoy it first, especially if this is your first. You definitely don’t need to let it sit unplayed while you wait for them to arrive and get installed.
This is what I was thinking. Cliff is usually several weeks behind. You should play while you’re waiting. Also, some of the protectors can be difficult to install. I don’t remember if MMR has any difficult spots. In some cases you have to be comfortable removing playfield components and reinstalling them. I remember the first time I had to do this I was scared I would screw up my new pin. Maybe there is someone near you who can help you out the first time?
Get a shaker motor. I have my MMR in my garage apartment and when the castles blow up the whole floor shakes and you can hear it from the house. It's amazing. It scares the guests.
Quoted from Grizlyrig:Get the color chip for dmd animations.
If you get this. There is a software update that goes with it. You may not need to use that. In the CGC menu, the first page has what software version is in your game. 2.0.2a is the latest. If that is already in your game, for color you only need to install the big chip on the huge board below the playfield.
Information on the CGC menu starts on page 1-10 in the manual. A manual will come with your game, or you can download it here -
http://www.chicago-gaming.com/Brochures/MMR_Manual_Rev_1_2.pdf or this video may help -
LTG : )
Quoted from zacaj:Readjust the flippers to be at the correct angle if they're too low
This! I found my flippers to be a little saggy, and just a slight upward adjustment made the game play much better (in my opinion).
Quoted from brucipher:This! I found my flippers to be a little saggy, and just a slight upward adjustment made the game play much better (in my opinion).
I had the same issue with mine. I ended up swapping the bats with translucent purple ones with Williams logo and readjusting.
I believe that Cliffy makes an MMr set that he doesn't have on his website you just have to ask him for it (although I don't know how different it is from his MM set he does charge a few more bucks for it). I too had trouble with the clear on the castle gate and the Merlin hole (actually the 'v' part going into the hole). On a machine with less than 400 games on it I was a little surprised, that said I love it. I agree play it out the box and enjoy it, but do order the Cliffy's.
My machine also developed a stuck pixel but Chicago did an awesome job of sending me out a new panel no questions asked even though my game was a month out of warranty.
Quoted from pinball_ric:I have all of the protectors listed on Cliffy's MM page at http://www.passionforpinball.com/mm.htm plus a couple others that probably aren't on that page he offers (I don't think i saw the protector for the drain to the ball trough on there.) Email him and he can help get you sorted with what you need for MMr.
For the castle area I use the protectors from Mantis at http://www.mantisamusements.com/mminstall.htm
I would avoid the merlin hole protector from mantis as I had trouble getting mine in and eventually ended up breaking it. It's very soft aluminium and you have to bend it to get it in. I bent and unbent it too many times trying to get it to sit right.
At a minimum I'd say you need the ball eject, trough drain, and the 2 castle protectors but strongly suggest getting all of them. They're expensive but they're definitely cheaper than a new playfield or having to have the playfield clear coated again.
Looking at the Cliffy's, I'm a little concerned with the amount of modification that I might have to do to install these, is it difficult for a first time owner to install these or will I have to drill holes in the playfield, and remove lots pieces to be able to place these?
Quoted from zacaj:Readjust the flippers to be at the correct angle if they're too low
How do I know if they are at the correct angle and how would I go about readjusting them?
Thanks everyone for the information, I am super excited to get this in. I bought the shaker motor to be installed before the pin is shipped to me, I am also planning on getting the color DMD in the next day or two so it will arrive by the time it gets here.
Quoted from white1ce:Looking at the Cliffy's, I'm a little concerned with the amount of modification that I might have to do to install these, is it difficult for a first time owner to install these or will I have to drill holes in the playfield, and remove lots pieces to be able to place these?
No drilling should be required, and any disassembly is usually trivial to install them. I learned that pinball repair usually sounds worse than it is.
Quoted from Ronnie1114:No drilling should be required, and any disassembly is usually trivial to install them. I learned that pinball repair usually sounds worse than it is.
Great, I'll send him an e-mail.
Quoted from LTG:Now might be a good time to hook up with some local collectors and get a little hands on help.
LTG : )
I wish I could, I live out in the middle of no where, my nearest pinball machine is over 100 miles away.
Quoted from white1ce:I wish I could, I live out in the middle of no where, my nearest pinball machine is over 100 miles away.
Plan a bit. Try and have a get together at your place. Some fried chicken, a beer or two. There are pinheads in your state that will crawl 100 miles for pinball.
LTG : )
Quoted from Deez:I wonder if you have faulty clear. My MMr has over 10k plays and the clear looks great.
I don't think so. I don't have any problems except in the back of the castle. The ball moves so fast up into the castle and around and it just smashes into the side of the PF. There is zero protection there. Even if the playfield wasn't cleared the wood would be damaged eventually too and it wouldn't take all that long.
Yes cliffy can take a couple weeks but mantis is fast and the castle protectors are all he'd need right off the bat. Can play while waiting on the cliffy protectors if he decides to get those.
Quoted from white1ce:Looking at the Cliffy's, I'm a little concerned with the amount of modification that I might have to do to install these, is it difficult for a first time owner to install these or will I have to drill holes in the playfield, and remove lots pieces to be able to place these?
I think the 2 most important ones from cliffy are the ball eject and the drain protectors. Those require either minimal removal of things to get installed or possibly no removal of things. I haven't actually installed mine yet.
Quoted from white1ce:How do I know if they are at the correct angle and how would I go about readjusting them?
Thanks everyone for the information, I am super excited to get this in. I bought the shaker motor to be installed before the pin is shipped to me, I am also planning on getting the color DMD in the next day or two so it will arrive by the time it gets here.
I'll echo everyone elses statements. Find a local collector and ask them if they can swing by and give you some basics and some help. There are quite a few people who are willing to lend a hand to a new person in the hobby. I had a few people help me out when I first started collecting.
Your best bet is to read through the established MMR Owners pinside thread. Years long discussion already...
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/mmr-owners-club-all-things-mmr-discussed
Grab the awesome double headed dragon and lit troll eyes from here:
http://www.pinwize.com
As a new game owner, you should obsessively study your playfield for an hour a night for any signs of dimpling, and then photograph any found dimples with a macro lens and post here in a panic.
beyond that I'd just play it. Most mods are dumb and you don't need to do anything special to protect a HUO game.
Congratulations,I almost bought the same game for my first pinball machine two months ago .I ended up with a different game, because I was afraid that when I destroyed the castle at 2:00 a.m ,my wife wouldn't be a fan of pinball anymore. 
Great game ,and I'd like to own one some day!
Quoted from Mark66:Play it for a month or two then become bored with it and trade it for an imamculate Baywatch pin. I hear they are very popular!!
I hear they are very popular ...... c’mon man you know without one your collection is not complete!
Quoted from Thor-NL:I hear they are very popular ...... c’mon man you know without one your collection is not complete!
I know but every one I find comes with legs, its much more challenging without them. Also i'm very particular about the number of plays...…. 
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