Pretty excited for this one. So I purchased this creech about two years ago. When I first got it was in rougher shape than it currently is. It was very dirty, had flipper wear on the FILM letters, and the ramps where in need of some love.

I have enjoyed this game for the past 2 years and its a great players condition game. But, being that it is one of my favorites I can’t wait to bring this machine back to its glory days and then some. I am also extremely pumped to finally be able to use my Kruzman NOS playfield that has been sitting under my bed for the past year and half. Going all out on this one

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Here is some before photos.
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Flipper wear fix I did a while back
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Flame polished ramps ( but all are getting replaces with new ones.
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Check out the gum, near the flipper button, I bet there is a great story behind that!
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Cabinet decals are all getting replaced!
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Playfield is actually pretty decent very little wear, the shack bar is worn a bit though you can’t see it as its got a Cliffy .
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Playfield is already out and the cabinet will be the first order of business

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Well got the cabinet cleared out and the backbox. After inspecting the cabinet further I realized - along with finding TONS of rust - the cabinet has some pretty serious water damage and is warped.

Soooo, sounds like I may just go ahead and get a brand new cabinet, I have to Say Paul at VirtuaPin did an amazing job on my Whitewater and I have no hesitation on ordering another from him .

Got my GoPro setup and I am doing a timelapse every time I work! Going to be cool to see the whole thing in a single time-lapse when it's done!
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Backbox has some interesting things going on with the decals
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Cabinet all cleared
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Some pretty bad water damage on the bottom, and sides
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Lockdown bar is going in the trash, and man this thing is dirty
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oh yes!! @sonic

Well new cabinet is on order, all new ramps, and started to dig into clearing the playfield.
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Tumbled and repainting all the carriage bolts
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Noticed one of the bowl light sockets is gone, but found replacements thankfully
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Great idea Kerry_Richard

Also noticed my rails are trashed in multiple places thankfully TaylorVA is making me some new ones
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I had some more fun in the garage today. Got the whole top cleared and moving onto the bottom.
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I forgot how many start posts this game uses
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Polishing up all the metal posts
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Next up the bottom
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We are getting closer. All the mechs are off the bottom!
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More Polishing
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Standard, all the metal yokes were trashed, surprised they were still in there.
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I try to label anything I might forget what it connects to
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Next, remove the rest of the screws and remove the harness... then time for some cleaning

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Today was a cleaning day. Cleaned and refrained the ball guides, cleaned up the wire guides, started the tumbler, and painted the mesh venting.

I had a few folks ask me about what / how to polish parts like posts, etc.. The best investment is a 6in. buffing / grinding wheel. On one side is a buffing wheel that I use green rouge on. The left wheel is a soft polishing wheel. Basically I go back and forth until I get the finish I like. Typically for a post it takes about 5 minutes.

I got mine from harbor fright: https://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-bench-grinder-with-gooseneck-lamp-61748.html

I also recommend a pedestal : https://www.harborfreight.com/universal-bench-grinder-stand-3184.html
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Time to bring this bunch of hardware back to a shine
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Washed a bunch of wire guides
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Ball guides looking really good.

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Here is my process for ball guides. I know some folks go full bore and hit these with a polishing and buffing wheel. Personally I like the original look. There is a fairly painless way to remove ball streaks and keep the stainless grain.

1) I start with a Scotch Brite pad and Bar Keepers Friend: Bar Keepers Friend Powdered Cleanser 12-Ounces (1-Pack) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000V72992/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_p.mGEbPMGC47G

2) Scrub in the direction of the stainless grain

3) After some scrubbing the ball guides should already look pretty good.

4) use some 1800-2000 wet sand paper. After a short time The ball guides should look really nice, with deep ball lines you may have to go a bit harder with the sand paper. Not this is NOT the only way to do this, it’s just what has worked for me, so thought I would share.
Before:
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After:
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Painted the Mesh Venting
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I started cleaning and rebuilding the mechs. Here is a before and after of two of em:
VUK
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Ball Feed
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Great Question. For the most part, I pull apart the major areas in chunks and then put them in bags with labels on them. I have lots of boxes to keep things kinda organized.
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I also Take TONS of pictures and then organize them in dropbox, so I can reference when I need to put the thing back together

Here is some Creature eye candy. SO EXCITED to finally be able to use this amazing PPS NOS playfield done by Ron Kruzman. It has been sitting under my bed for about 2 years.

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Words can not explain @Ricochet, truth be told I actually bought this playfield before I even had the game. I knew whenever I found a creature I would want to restore it when and if I found one. NOS playfields are like unobtanium, so when I found it on CL I jumped on it. I then proceeded to send it directly to Ron, and here she is. SO PUMPED!

3D printed a new baffle for the backbox
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I will let you know fiberdude120 ! The 3D printed one definitely has less transparent baffle sections.

Thanks to Sonic for saving me on this one. The creature bowl now has its missing lamp socket once again!
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Tracing paper to make my Mylar templates
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This right here is a lifesaver, I made a Tee-Nut puller with some washers, a bearing, and some felt.
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Tee-Nuts all in!
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Yes will post some detailed photos. So there is so much force when the screw is pulling the tnut into the wood without a bearing I was snapping screws. The combination of friction and pressure put a ton of torque on the screw. So bearing relieved that torsional pressure. Works amazingly

Here are some close-ups of the tee nut puller.
Large fender washer 1.99"
16mm Bearing:
https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-a13061400ux0831-Shielded-Groove-Bearing/dp/B00EDK5GIE/ref=sr_1_6

Felt and whatever size screw you need for the tee nut. I am going to be 3d printing a holder, as I had use to use sticky tape to hold this one together, its jenky but it works.
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Harness is on the new playfield!

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Annnd... realized a big miss drill. Gonna have to do a little filling and make some new holes
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Hole filled now time to carefully drill new holes.
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Brand new window

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Pop bumpers are like new!
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Very carefully deburring and drilling holes.
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Blue skirts, teal bodies, and I have Teal Tops. Also installing lighting in the pops
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Brand new beautiful rails thank you to TaylorVA
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The bottom is almost done!! Got all the light boards in, re-soldered all the necks but one. The flipper coils where trashed so they got replaced. Must have made the originals on Christmas.
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We have pop lights!! And these LEDs are WAAAY to bright lol
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drummermike thank you for this YES it is important lol good catch I'm ordering the correct coil now haha
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Bottom basically done! Time for the fun the best part!

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Metal posts are in, having to take this VERY slow and deburr then drill out holes, a drill bit even touches the clear it will lift

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