The middle metal ball guide should be at the same level or just above the flipper rubber when assembled.

chances are that someone took things apart to shop the game and just didn't put them back in the same order. there are a lot of parts, so it happens from time to time. this is why I prefer taking a ton of photos before and during the dis-assembly process.

I made the mistake of removing a section of my RFM and then a week later was left scratching my head on what went where.

Mine are big/small/big.

I don't know what's correct and I don't have a degree in physics.. but.. no matter how you put it together with those spacers, you can't get the ball to be in contact with two guides at the same time without the ball lifted from the playfield.
Most other games only have one guide, the lower.

With a big/tall spacer at the bottom the lower guide is in line with the center of the ball.
If it was too high the ball would try to wedge itself between the guide and the playfield. Too low and the ball will try to climp up on the guide and might get airborn... correct?

I could be wrong as don't have the game anymore so don't trust me

Mine sorry for bad pics.

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I’m not saying mine is necessarily right either. I did have the playfield sent out and cleared and did a refresh, but put things back as they came to me when I got the game in 2011.

Maybe we should get some others out there with a poll.

Must've been pretty awful, having to wear that head-to-foot thick rubber getup for hours at a time. Unless they shot in the fall or winter, in which case at least the underwater portion could have been more akin to diving with a wetsuit on.

Super nice guy! I met him and Julie ("Julia") Adams at a horror convention back in 2015. Both signed my translite and a poster. Pics are in post 611.

RIP to both of them.

Regarding Spacergate, I did swap mine around and it plays much better with big on the bottom. When the ball hits the ball guide (which often happens on a rejected left ramp shot), it bounces on the playfield a little or dies then rolls to the flipper. It doesn't bounce upwards like it was previously.

It's interesting a lot of people have it the opposite way which was causing me to get airballs. Don't your balls jump when they hit the guide?

Nope I never have. How you have it makes more sense. I just kept it the way I got it. Crazy thing is if this was a playfield swap for customer, I’d had done it to Joe it makes sense. I think you have it right. Lol spacergate. That’s good!

So very excited to bring home my first pin today: a CFTBL. I've loved this pin since first play. Mine is a little beat up, so I'm going to slowly make my way through this thread to look for mods and other suggestions. Hope there are still some good mods available (my holo is dead, for example, so I'm curious about the LCD options).

But for now I'm just going to play!

Creature is a lot of fun to play. I love mine. Good luck with your new addition.

Congrats and welcome. We just finished production of our custom interactive hologram video mod. You can find out more here:

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1206-pinshakers/07788-cftbl-interactive-hologram-video-mod

Best Regards,

Robert Goebel
Pinshakers LLC

I'd really like to try this mod. The only thing that turns me off about it is the black masking tape. I wish there was an alternative. I understand why it is needed, but I am a little too obsessive with looks and wouldn't be able to cope with the randomness of it. The potential residue left by the tape is also a turn off.

Does anyone have any reviews of the mod that they can share? Any ideas for alternative masking?

I mean, try the other mod. Or design (or pay someone) a different frame which doesn't require masking, and 3d print it!

How hard is it to replace a flipper? My left flipper gets out of alignment and is a bit "soft" on the flip and return to place. I have gone under the playfield and tightened the nut for it, but that only lasts a couple of games before it goes back to out of place again.

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I would say do a flipper rebuild on both flippers if it looks like it’s been a while since it was done. You’ll thank me later lol

Agree with DK. Did you crank on the nut really hard? Also check inside the flipper bat before ordering parts as often the bracing areas break over the years and may need new bats (unrelated to slipping on the shaft).

I totally agree, I wasn't a fan of the black masking tape either. That is why we decided to create a custom made black elastic nylon band instead. I apologize, I hadn't had a chance to update the listing yet but it is updated now.

Now all you have to do is wrap the black band around the screen, mount the screen to the playfield, then fold out the band to mask the edges. It is much faster, no tape residue to worry about, and looks cleaner.

Best Regards,

Robert Goebel
Pinshakers LLC

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I cranked on the nut with a wrench pretty darn hard. I stopped when I checked the other one (the functional one on the right) and noticed it was looser than the one I had just tried to fix. Which indicated to me that the tightness was not the issue in this case.

often the flipper won't sit properly due to the shaft not sliding smoothly in the coil sleeve so a flipper kit should fix it

Is there anyone out making repop wireform ramps? I know Marco has the Straight ramp, but I'm looking for all 3 wireforms, or at least the left and right wireforms.
Thanks!

Would this flipper rebuild kit work?
https://www.thepinballwizard.net/flipper-parts/flipper-rebuild-kit-williams/bally-wpc-2-flippers/

Yes that’s the one you’d want.

yes

also double check your coils as well are correct as the left is different to the right

That is much cleaner. Thank you for the updated images. I have some thinking to do.

How does one go about resetting the all-time scores? Since I just brought this home, I'd love my family to be able to crown our own grand champion.

There will be a setting but worse case, remove the batteries and re-install but might change free play setting etc.

Why you are at it, replace the batteries connected to the boards in the backbox as these will eventually leak and cause damage.

I think my seller mentioned he had replaced them with a chip (NVRAM?). I don't see any batteries back here. Can you double check me?

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Looks like as no batteries connected
Remove that sticker and post a pic from the chip underneath

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the very bottom left is a red and white battery of some sort ???

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Ah yes of course....

I think that sticker says "warranty void if sticker removed" Is this a prank? Haha

Also, I've done some further testing on my bad left flipper. It seems like it only falls out of place when the game is running, i.e., the flipper is supplied with power. I ordered a rebuild kit but maybe that's a clue to someone who knows more than I about where the failure lies. See below:

Would love to hear any expert opinions

Honestly, as everyone has pointed out, start with a rebuild of the flippers. Did you order flipper bushings as well? (I don't think they come with the kit) The only other thing it could be is that the flipper paddle (white part) is actually broken loose from the steel shaft.

With the machine turned off, can you push the flipper down towards the apron? Like the way it "falls " after you activate it and hit a ball with the game turned on.

Has anyone done a Creature playfield swap and thus have a worn playfield for sale? I have a client doing a retheme that wants me to print a custom playfield for them. It does not have to be pretty because it will be sanded bare.

Fantastic

Yes. I can swing it all the way down toward the apron and all the way up toward the rest of the playfield. Also, when I hold the flipper mech in place under the playfield, I'm still able to swing the bat with my other hand. (The right flipper does not move freely when I'm holding it under the playfield)

When you hold the mech and swing the bat, does the flipper bat’s metal shaft rotate? You’ll need to look closely at the mech or put a mark on the shaft to make it easier to tell. I suspect the shaft isn’t moving but rather the plastic bat has cracked and is slipping on the shaft. If this is the case you simply need to replace the flipper bat (it comes fixed to the shaft)

^^^^

You're correct, the shaft doesn't move assuming I've tightened the nut recently. But it seems that nut needs to be tightened every 15-30 minutes of gameplay (as opposed to my right flipper which I've never needed to tighten).

Even after tightening, the flipper has a habit of becoming offset from its correct resting position during play.

The bat shafts could have a groove. while doing a flipper rebuild also add new bats then you don't have to touch it for a long time

I'm having an issue with my slide shot. The ball doesn't seem to feed correctly to the left side of the playfield. Instead it kind of crashes/falls off near the end of the wireform by the P.A.I.D. lanes. Can anyone look at this pic and see if I'm missing a guide piece or something back in that area?

Here's video of the ball falling out:

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Looks like the end of the wire form should be pulled back to the right and slightly lower at the end. I would loosen the form and try to get the whole thing more to the right side of the cabinet.

The coil should be AE 23-800 for the popper. See if the cup is not broken where the ball sits before eject.

What is the ball hitting? You can adjust the wireform where it's mounted on the back panel. I circled in red where you can make the adjustment. Loosen the screw and adjust as needed.

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I don't have the game anymore but here is a shot of what I have from when I did a strip down - looks like the wireform needs to lowered down

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Great stuff, guys. Thank you! I will make the adjustment.

You can put the end under the bracket instead of on top.

Here is a pic of mine. Wire form is lower. Never had a bounce back like your video shows.

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Looks like the L bracket on your backboard is either bent up or misaligned. Should be an easy fix. I can see in your pic the L is on a slight angle. Adjust it so it is straight up/down vertically.