I remember when the Twilight Zone pinball machine came out. It looked so cool brand new at my local Aladdin's Castle (Sandburg Mall in Galesburg, IL). I was around 13 or 14 and not a great pinball player. As such, I remember walking away after several games feeling like it was kind of boring. The Addams Family pin that sat right next to it certainly felt much more accessible.
Fast forward 21 years...
After having owned 10 pinball machines (including Addams Family--which I sold after only 4 months of ownership), I tried TZ again at PAPA 2014....
Mind blown. This game is incredible! How did I miss this?! I've got to pick one of these up!!
The only problem: TZ typically sells for what I consider a lot of money, which I didn't feel comfortable spending (part of the reason why I sold my TAF so quickly).
After much searching (around 12 months), I finally found a reimport from Italy that, while quite beat up and desperately needing some TLC, was within my price range (albeit just barely). This forum post will serve as my running documentation of bringing this particular Twilight Zone back from the dead.
1st, a caveat: I'm not HEP. I don't claim to be able to do the level of restorations that Chris does. Most of my non-pinball friends think the level of detail I spend working on my games is ridiculous; Pinsiders may very well be disappointed with that level. By all means, offer suggestions here (as I really love learning) but know that a) I'm not an expert, and b) I have limited pinball funds.
I absolutely love restoring both arcade video games and pinball machines, and feel like for each one I do, I get a little better.