here is mine from 3-4 years ago:

I found one in the states for $50 off Fleabay including postage and thought that will be worth it if it works.

9 months later and I had time to fit today in 90 minutes and it has the right effect.

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I started by drilling a 1.5mm hole through the back of the creature and tied in fishing line through the hole and locked around both armpits to help stabilise him once he is tied in place.

I then disconnected both the motors as they don't work anyway and then I snipped the wires from the lamp in the back of the cabinet and removed the lamp holder to clean and relocate.

I then purchased $2 of wire from Jaycar and connected the wire to the snipped light source wires. I then routed these 2 cables from the original light source up to the hologram location.

photos below are of the fishing line and the lamp holder to be relocated.

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I then drilled 4 strategic 1.5mm holes in the cardboard type shield that surrounds the lagoon see through panel and then tied the Creature into place with fishing line to what I thought would look ok. I then fastened the lamp from the back of the cabinet to the hologram holder in the centre and directed the lamp towards his crest area. I soldered in the wires from the original light supply via the Jaycar wires.

I purchased a green #89 LED flasher lamp for $6 and installed it into place.

below photos show the creature and lamp fastened into place, and a screen shot of the globe that I used.

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I then put the playfield down and turned on and went into the test mode to check everything. It worked which was good, but just needed a small adjustment of the creature and of the lamp.

I then started a game and hit the required targets to get to the FILM mode quickly and once I placed a ball in the subway during the multiball period the light came on and it didn't look bad - better than a blank lagoon and it's always green and will not go blue and it's a 3D object so I am happy.

If I had to buy a hologram, mirror and 2 motors and some freight for all I would be up for $600 there abouts compared to the $58 I spent.

Hope that helps........

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no worries

I also have the same toy and it looks amazing.... IMHO, much better than the original hologram... At least it's a real 3D ....

I'm currently working on a solution to give it a similar moving effect.... I plan to install a small motor, either on the creature itself (first option), or on a lamp below...

this is my plans in 2017 to use the mirror motors to roll and / or tilt him and going to change the mount from fishing line to a clear acrylic post in his back (already made this 2 years ago) - would just need the mount post to fasten to a small block that fits to a rod / dowel and connect one of the working motors to roll him either side to side or front to back. The rod can just be supported by 2 small bearings and 2 x mounted bearing blocks with then one of the motors linked to the rod.

Swinks is da-man!

I need to try this. Very cool!

My hologram is garbage.

o-din

I will document and will share how to this for others to follow with free downloadable 3D print parts

Nice mod

Great job with that figure swinks! Since I also wanted to do something similar, I was wondering, is it visible when the lights are off? Did you took the clear green one because was the last one and suggest a normal figure of the same size or it was strategically chosen? Can you show us better how you linked the creature to the cabinet? I don't see any cable or holes on the figure!

I strategically selected the transparent figure as it was green and also when back lit (light through his back) it has a nice glow and appears suspended which technically it is and resembles a holo (though never seen one installed).

You can see the figure a little when not lit but you ignore it until it is back lit and then jumps out in front of you.

I basically used clear thin nylon fishing line and tied around his armpits and legs (knees) and secured to the black shroud so he appears floating and just moved his arms into a position that looks like he is reaching out for the girl. Also since he is suspended on the fishing line he has a slight side motion if the machine is moved and noticeable when back lit. He has been having there for about 4 years and going strong.

I found 2 original photos and you can see the fishing line pass through 4 holes and tie onto cable brackets and mirror bracket.

hope this helps

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Jady, in order to "not see" the creature when it's not supposed to, my solution went a bit different than yours.... I got rid of the original hologram machinery and built a "cave" around the figure, with a black thick cardboard.... I'm also using the green lake plastic, purchased at BAA, instead of the original clear one... Oh, and for the lighting, I installed a green led strip around the lake.... I'll try to get some pics later....

Cool! I'll discuss this with my buddy who's helping me on this project... Let's exchange some experiences here!

Very cool, gents. I just looked at a Creech tonite and the Hologram is gone. I did not think that replacements were not available. Was about to move on until I saw the thread. Now reconsidering. Thanks.

Some double negatives there. Just kidding! I hope you go back and strike a deal.

Lol. It made much more sense when I was typing!

Found the figure unboxed on EBay for a steal. This is a great fix and will suffice until Mike D sells the upgrade again or if the hologram ever gets reproduced at a reasonable cost.

Now that I have a solution for the hologram I made a deal and pick up the game on Monday. It all came down to Pinside and an action figure!

Best,

Cyrus

Congrats Cyrus, you will enjoy and this mod is effective and will give you the holo experience

Looks great Swinks! I've been meaning to post this for years and finally found the pictures and a good thread to post them in.

I wanted to do mine so it was reversible just in case I found a reasonably priced hologram. So I found a Creature Bobblehead on ebay for $35 or so that seemed the right size (unfortunately, he dosen't "bobble" very well). Mounted him to a piece of plastic on a bed of hot glued plastic fish tank weeds that slides into the hologram plate holder bracket. Made a light shield and mounted two pairs of spotlights (each pair wired in series and hooked up to the 12 V that supplied the cam motor). Hot glued a smoked plexi on the bottom side of the window to finish it off. Experimented with color changers, but settled on super bright green & purple.

I'd like to get a more realistic creature eventually, but this guy just makes ya smile!

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nice work, and real 3d

hehe... I know this little fella...

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Not my best pics, but....

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Look who arrived today from Minnesota! Lol

Got to get some fishing line and some wire. Will try to get him installed on the weekend.

Did anyone remove any of the original equipment, other than just disconnect the power to the mirror and the panel?

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no all the original hardware can stay in, though slide the holo and mirror out to avoid creating weird reflections etc. Dsiconnect motors and then splice into the holo lamp feed and relocate to the hardware near the window. Yell out if you need any other help.

I made one last attempt to salvage the original design. I got the lamp upgrade and the very pricey green lagoon plastic cover. The hologram can at least be seen now, but it is still purple and the quality is low. Crazy that we can't find cheap replacements for the hologram. But today going for sure to the action figure option. Gave the pf a good wax yesterday and ordered replacement plastics. That will do.
For now. My distributor called and Batman66 arrives next week. Busy month for pinball at my house!

It took a while and need to tweak a little more, but looks much better than the purple and barely viewable hologram. Ordered some aquarium plastic weeds and will place on either side to hide the fishing line. Still a drastic improvement over the faded hologram. The green lagoon makes a huge difference. Just ordered new plastics. This restoration will be an ongoing project but the game plays great. I hate that multi ball!!!! Lol

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I'm really enjoying seeing the different ideas for doing this!

I had my 8 year old Grandson over last night, and he was digging thru the DVD's for as movie to watch. Sure enough, he found CFTBL, and it was an automatic choice!! I haven't seen it in a year or so, and he'd never seen it. We had such a blast watching it. Such a GREAT movie that I highly recommend as a must see again (or ASAP) for any Creature owner!!

I have to admit--I've never seen it!! Might queue it up this week if it's on Netflix or Amazon. But, I had never seen an episode of The Walking Dead until the week I ordered the pro, now I'm a big fan.

It is good to see another alternatives for how to solve this hologram issue. I was watching CFTBL with my boy two days ago. Good movie. I still haven't watch any Twilight Zone yet. On the other hand, this sea creature kick my butt all the time.

I took a page from Tullster and put aquarium weeds on either side of the action figure, more so to hide the fishing line. It looks much better but I need to straighten the figure out just a bit.

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Great job! Wish I had the energy to do this haha.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that someone will figure out a legit hologram replacement some day.

I actually broke down a few weeks ago and bought the replacement hologram from Pinball Decals. I got a small discount on the price. It was still expensive but it's a really good hologram. I have the halogen light upgrade but the LED flasher I got from Comet lights it up just as well, just not as bright. I was going to hold out for the Mike D upgrade but I have no idea when that is going to happen. The hologram was the last thing I needed to restore my Creech. I was actually really happy with the action figure but I started thinking that once Pinball Decals ran out of the hologram...would they be produced again, and if so, when? So...I have to continue eating ramen noodles for another few weeks to pay for it.