Yup after two sets cracking right there, I bent both metal scoops ( Snackbar and Kiss) to be more curved and have a lower profile so the plastic wouldn't touch it and have not had a problem since. Something they should have done in at the factory.

How exactly did you bend the scoops? By hand or ??

I took out the snack bar scoop and bent it in a vice. The tab is on the small side and I did not want to break it. The kiss scoop I pushed down by hand in the game.

I just heated my plastics and flexed them to match the scoops and that worked great also.

that is what started my quest to design the snackbar mod to dodge the scoop and common broken plastic issue.

CFTBL - Snackbar Mod v2.2 (resized).jpg

I didn't realise this was a common problem with this plastic. I have never seen one with a broken plastic here and have had multiple Creech's come and go in my lifetime.

Well I bent the snackbar scoop a bit and it seems ok.

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Here’s my progress thus far with the rebuild. I can’t tell you how many post holes were stripped out. Thank god for the toothpick and wood glue trick.

1A1BA092-093B-4540-B451-ECE7D4C5D6B0 (resized).jpeg

Just received the new CPU ROM ver 5.0 and about to install, here we go.......

**follow up**

Ok I can confirm all is working fine with ColorDMD and Pinsound Board without issues.

Only played one game but I did notice some fixes with The Unlimited millions mode and I think it was running with "Move Your Car" as well, in girl search mode did get the girl on the second tunnel now too. That's where it ended as the wife called so will need to dive into this more so later on.

Same...but you'll beat me to install I think....

Is it just a matter of swapping chips over?

Yep, swap the CPU ROM and re do your settings.

Bad news for anyone with the MikeD mod, the new ROM does not appear to work with it. It randomly shuts down the video screen when it should be triggering a new video. Maybe it is just mine, but it was working perfectly before the ROM swap. Bummer.

Hey mate, been a while. Believe Nino is looking to bring some chips in for us from PPS

Anyone else experiencing this? Would be nice to confirm the issue from multiple sources.

Crap! Got my rom today but haven't had a chance to install... I can try and test it tomorrow. Specifically any mode or something the issue occurs, or is it instantly noticeable?

It went wonky as soon as a video was supposed to change to the next one. I hope it is just mine, as it is still wonky even with the old ROM. It did work perfectly before the swap to the new code, however. Hope you have better results!

I'm going to hold off for now, seems like Soren is going to do a write up on the change, but I'm not sure we can update MikeD's code to read the lamp matrix differently, so I think we may be stuck on L-4 code.

That is a bummer. I thought I finally got things back to normal by re-seating all the connectors and the SD card, but it is still not working correctly after I re-installed L4. I would think that someone else is gonna have to bite the bullet and try the new code to confirm this is an issue and not just my particular mod issue?

Temporarily

So all with MikeD mod in, do not upgrade. I do not have that mod but also do not think why I should upgrade. Any reason?

It really depends whether you want any of the below fixes or enhancements:

Creature From The Black Lagoon
Revision 5.0

Summary

Broken features within the modes Multiball, Big millions, Snack attack and Move your car are fixed.
Random elements within the modes Multiball, Snack bar and Playgound can now be set to run in patterns.
Two new feature adjustments.
The never used left inlane scoring indicators now have a purpose.
Upgraded lamp procedure.

Improvements

Fully suitable for competition play.
Supports LED lamps.
No playfield indicators left for incomplete usage.

The detailed description for the above changes are here https://dotsandloopspinball.com/rn/Creature%20From%20The%20Black%20Lagoon%20rev%2050%20Release%20note.txt

^^ 100% why you should.

I just ordered it from Mikes. Looking forward to it. Thanks soren

I guess the only reason "you should" would be if you run comps and want to throw CFTBL into the mix. However if you experience any of the existing bugs, or simply you want that latest and to try out the left inlane scoring then it could be enough for you to upgrade - I don't think the changes are ground breaking but it depends whether they are compelling to you.

I have the Aussie LCD mod I wonder if the upgraded ROM isn’t suitable. I know the left inlane light does nothing but I wasn’t aware of the other bugs lol maybe just leave as is.

I assume the music playing at a low level after the game over music stops is a software bug. At least that’s my understanding. Would have been nice to have it fixed, but honestly, I’m grateful for what has been done.

I have the updated roms but need to finish my shop job, hopefully done tomorrow or Friday. I can’t wait!

Hey Pete - what's connectors / lamps / flashers does the Aussie version connect up to?

Geez no idea mate it was on when I bought it lol. It works fantastic with awesome graphics on the screen. Although since adding my color DMD the screen sometimes resets, I’m told it’s due to the power draw on the system and I need to add another power source

yep the resetting is power which is the screen and color dmd and if you have the speaker panel definitely pushes it over the limit

good video and beautiful looking game

Welcome to the club! Great video - well done

I got this far into the reassembly of my machine and realized I forgot to install a ball guide for the lift ramp. Time to walk away for the day, not pleased. Oh well, some of the wire looms need routed correctly anyhow, so it’ll give me the opportunity to make that right.

Every damn ramp on this thing is broken somewhere, short of the ones I replaced. Seems like the older games can be real money pits.

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Awesome video. Can you link the side art please I love those.

Great video and enjoy it very much, well done! Welcome to owning a Creature.
Note: on a couple of things. LED lighting, I never buy the kits due to you are limited to what they send you. I always buy many different colors to make my own choice. Frosted LEDs work best in the upper GI playfield lighting due to the glare factor back at you during game play.
Your machine has many more mods than you showed. Would like to hear about the other's installed.
The video showed you putting LED's in the Creature ramp and whirlpool (individual), but are LED strip lighting in the video at the end. What did you do to make the change? How does it work with the control board?
Would recommend removing all parts on the playfield before cleaning that includes the metal lanes, star posts and posts. Clean these all separately and replace star posts as needed. Works better on a complete shop out job.
None of this is meant to be critical, but hopefully helpful.

Good video!

I’d recommend adding a couple coats of carnauba wax to the playfield as part of your shop routine, that Zep Powerhouse cleaner says it removes wax.

Also cleaning the underside of your inserts with some cotton swaps and alcohol or Novus 1 makes them look great!

Any feedback on the glow in the dark rubbers? Do they look good, UV lighting required?

I finally got my creech back together this morning. First thing I noticed is the chaser lights on the swirl / whirlpool aren’t working correctly. They don’t turn off when expected. A little reading leads me to believe it’s due to the LEDs not putting enough load on the MOSFET outputs.

I assume the solution is to return to incandescent or buy and expensive aftermarket board?

Frustrating. This game, I bet I’ll have well over $1k in parts invested in it. And it still needs more. Seems like $2k is a reasonable budget when fixing up older machines. That’s what I put into STTNG.

Darkfader Very nice Creech you have there. I like the addition to LEDs to the shooter lane.

I would like to switch my CFTBL ROM to English (currently in French, horrendous translation as always), I have the ROM code, I have the programmer, but I would welcome the ROM chip reference (I could probably get it by opening the backbox and removing the sticker, but my wife keeps playing it )

Thanks !

I have Comet LEDs in my Creature bowl. They work as they should. I have all LEDs in this pin.

Are your CPU jumpers set correctly?

https://www.flippers.be/basics/101_wpc_country_settings.html

Hi everyone,

I posted my review of the new MOVE YOUR SNACKBAR mod created by stumblor

This is a fantastic mod that is a must own for anyone that has a Swink's Snackbar mod.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/stumblor-move-you-snackbar-a-lighting-mod-for-swinks-cftbl-snackbar/page/4#post-5983549

11 (resized).jpg

You are right - it's to do with the current draw not completely turning off the mosfets. All of the (current) aftermarket boards from what I understand don't solve this issue as they're all based on the same architecture as the original so suffer the same problem.

The cheapest solution while still retaining the look of the LEDs is to just replace one or two of the leds with incandescents. You can do this in relatively inconspicuous areas, and it will fix the issue for the most part (but not completely). When I tried this method it worked about 9 out of 10 times.

Or... (and this is a shameless plug so take it or leave it) you could wait for a few months and pickup one the new chase boards I'm building. Brand new patterns, brand new architecture, build for leds (but will work with incandescents) and proper ac trailing edge fading. Less cheap than a few bulbs though, we're looking at about 175 usd plus postage from UK.

I don't have a dedicated thread yet but there's a video in my other thread showing the patterns.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/stumblor-move-you-snackbar-a-lighting-mod-for-swinks-cftbl-snackbar/page/3#post-5949580

All the best,
Davey

I’m down for waiting on a viable solution. Ironically, I just wrote you on another forum.

I love the LED look, but about 1/3 of my chaser lights lock on. Maybe for the time being I’ll go back to regular bulbs...

On my chase lights I kept the original bulbs and dipped them in greem translucent model paint and they look great.

Did the same.

Ok, next creech question. Should the jackpot sign push down on the “move your car” switch? Seems like I’m missing a spacer or something?

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That’s normal on mine. It just touches.

Yes, that is normal. It just rests on top. If you're having difficulties you can angle it a bit more or try pushing the grey cover down on the switch a bit.

Coming along nicely!