Count me in the club. Just got one yesterday from Pinsider Norm - great guy and great seller. I have a couple of questions about the machine if anyone can help:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/congo-price-check-parts-concern

just got the last of my parts for a game shop and these rubbers were hard to find

http://www.rtbb.com.au/catalog/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=23-6702-6&osCsid=a197608e15b0dc957addc994e02baea3&x=-792&y=-695

Those yellow grommets always feel sticky to me and they get dirty black where the ball hits them really quick.

Just got done cleaning, shopping and getting everything working on my Congo. Just a bit of a difference

Found blue ramp bumpers at Marco, figured better than nothing.

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Anyone put ColorDMD on Congo - I moved one from from MM - and did not reload sigma rom - and all is white but at least score is multi-color...
Any other rom accidentally add more color bits?

I hate seeing an otherwise perfect Congo decked out in green GI. It turns the Ghost Tribe men into Martians, and the effect is more "Saint Patrick's Day in Africa" than jungle foliage. While I'm ranting, I don't like orange or green armor. The nicest Congo I ever saw had gloss black armor...very slick. I hope to do that to mine soon.

Powder coat black gloss would be interesting.

Anyone have this plastic? Mine's busted...I know I could order one from pinballcenter.eu, but figured if anybody domestically bought a full set and wants to sell some pieces they don't need, it would help us both out. Thanks!
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I might have it. I'll have to wait till Monday when I get back to work no Monday to check

On a side note I scanned all the plastics from a new set and sent them to Joe at LaserTraffic. He should have a plastic protector set available soon

Funny you mentioned this. I was assembling my Congo and started with green frosted in the GI. It looked ok...but I'm waiting on parts..so I had a long time to look at it (and its at work). I should also mention the game has new plastics on it.

Today I notice that all of the details in the plastics were completely washed out. It basically looked like one giant blob of green. I pulled the greens and put warm frosted in it..it looks soooooo much better.

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Mine came with the green in the GI so I rolled with it for now. Had a bunch of other things to get working first. What are other people using? I have a few of both Frosted warm and cool, might experiment when I get a chance.

I did throw some blue under Amy, and a red under the trav con plastic and volcano.

While I am thinking of it, does anyone's ramp diverter sorta of stay on and vibrate/buzz when routing to the left?

Found the answer to the diverter earlier in the thread, guess its normal.

I had the same question..I thought it was locked on. And another FYI the left flippers both activate off the lower flipper switch (and the upper switch) simultaneously. Normally..the 2 would work independently from each other. In other words if you slowly pressed the flipper button..the bottom flipper would fire...then press a little further for the top flipper.

It doesn't work that way with Congo...they both fire at the same time. I spent a couple hours 'troubleshooting' then found and old thread on RGP where numerous people confirmed that the flippers do fire together

I messed with cool and warm whites also. I kinda like my machines looking original....thus I ended up using the warms in the GI. The theme is supposed to be kinda a junglish eerie theme..the popping warms whites didn't cut it for me

Invented a new part to strengthen up the mounting points of the VUK chute.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/congo-pinball-volcano-chute-base-support

https://www.shapeways.com/model/2189393/congo-pinball-volcano-chute-base-support.html?modelId=2189393&materialId=62

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I need to replace my volcano chute (already have one of those reinforced replacements versions) and also just ordered the new part to strengthen the mounting point because I might as well while I'm in there (thanks swinks).

Question: How big a deal is it to replace the volcano chute? Is it like 30 minutes with a beer in my hand - or a couple of hours of frustration and excessive swearing?

Thanks for the support Scylla, and like I said I did the mod to help my chute, but if it benefits others at least it is out there.

I reckon under 45 minutes to remove stuff in that area - some ramps, volcano and then you are in there - just take photos. I had everything on top stripped from the top side of the playfield in 2 hours so I could clean and polish everything.

What's a nice Congo worth now days? I have one I might be selling, but haven't decided yet for sure. Really nice cab, playfield, ramps, clean and plays great with no errors.

I changed the flasher under the Volcano...it took about 15 minutes round trip. It was just after I shopped it so the disassemblely was fresh in my mind.

From what I remember...

Jump ramp has 2 nuts
Remove wire form that crosses in front of the slings
Big plastic ramp and wire form in the back
Volcano has 2 nuts in the back...and 2 machine screw at the ramp entrance
I think you have to slightly bend up a plastic to sneak out the front of the volcano ramp to remove it. No need to unhook any wiring.

Describing a game as "nice" or "really nice" isn't enough info to go by. A perfect, restored, clearcoated, powdercoated example might reach $5K. Does yours have any cab fade, scoop wear, etc?

I'm having intermittent problems with my switch #25 (right eject rubber). I get the (a) on the test and if I play with the connections underneath, it goes away temporarily. Solder joints seem fine, so I think the switch is acting buggy and needs replacing. But the part, A-17794, doesn't seem to be available anywhere as a subassembly. Does anyone know where I can get it? Or barring that, can I cobble together different parts (switch, diode, etc.) to make one? And what would I use? Thanks in advance!

And, oh yeah...one more thing! I get (a)'s on the ball trough switches in the test screen as well, but they seem to be functioning perfectly and don't set off the alarm when I power the machine on. Should I be worried, or is that normal?

Trudeau mentioned the alternate design in an interview with clay harrel years ago. It was supposed to have three levels of playfields kind of like haunted house I think but it was costed out if I recall what he said. I've looked high and some low on the inter webs for pictures but haven't found anything.

Not sure which switch that is off the top of my head, but most of the switches in there are the same, just the metal arm of the switch is different.

I'd check the switch in test mode, running a ball over/through it, and see if you can find where the inconsistency lies.

A properly nice one just sold for $3500 (maybe less if an offer was accepted.) I feel like there was one listed higher that either didn't sell, or sold way under asking price. I paid $2500 for mine, though I'm about $3000 deep into what's basically a glorified players game. I'd say what was once a wide range on this game has now narrowed to the low 3s for a good example.

I think I may have a nice original, from when I put my repro plastics on. If you're still looking, shoot me a PM.... I think that's one of about 3 originals that wasn't busted on my game.

Did all the switch tests, but it's not responding. It's the map VUK (far right kicker closest to the player). The switch clicks when I press on it, but it doesn't respond in the test. Can't find that switch anywhere...

Okay...fixed that problem!

Does anybody have a hand scanner that can send me a scan of the area around the outlane post between the Z and I on the left side? I have a round area of wear around the post and have to fix it, either with decal or paint (if I can get a clean scan, I can repair it with a laser-printed decal and blend it in). Yes, you'd have to remove your post to scan it for me, but I'll buy you dinner next time you're in Jersey.

Anyone?

Is this the same Congo? Yep! Sho' nuff is!

New powdercoated armor, translite, topper, blinky airplane thingy, LEDs and GI, Gorilla PF and window, FF sound system, PDI glass, superbands, plastics, ramps, shaker motor (because, really, shouldn't the machine shake like a bitch when that volcano goes off???), mirror blades, recolored cabinet and probably about 10 other things I've forgotten. I think I put about 2k into it. Will I get my money back? Hell, no. Do I care? Hell, no. Great game!!!

Before:
CG1.jpgCG4.jpg

After:
photo 2.JPGphoto 3.JPG

Looks very nice. Great job on all the mods..

I left the club today. Didn't necessarily want to so soon but was offered up a nice Shadow for it and couldn't resist. Carry on, Congo owners, and watch out for those hippos.

I saw you got a ts. Cool pin. I have both ts and Congo in the line up. Two pins bolted to the floor.

Congrats!

TS is a cool game, regardless of a kinda off movie, etc. In that respect, similar to Congo. I am sure you will enjoy it. I get to play TS at a fellow pinball league members house.

Funny the TS/Congo talk. I just traded my TS for a Congo. So, I've joined the club here!

Welcome!

I have both TS and Congo. Congo, to me, is the better package. Both amazing pins, but something about congo is just more fun. It's not so serious. And I'm sick of modes

I have a very nice RFM. Lots of upgrades and LCD. Anyone want to let me in the club in a trade let me know.

Mike

Hmm, wonder how that happened?

Shh! Go away. You traded your machine. You're not allowed to post here anymore...

Congo is on my number one of pinballs, although an ex-aequo with others

We had one, had to sell it to sponsor our house, so we bought it again now. The volcano on the previous one was repaired too, but these pics are from the current one:

volcano repair (1).JPG

Gave it a stained silicone filling:

volcano repair (2).JPG

Shaped it with a brush:

volcano repair (3).JPG

Colored it:

volcano repair (4).JPG

See, light falls through, as it did originally before it was broken:

volcano repair (5).JPG

We added custom painted inlanes:

Congo metal lanes colored.JPG

Could not resist on adding a DC2 plane and hippoooooooossss

DC2.JPG

hippos mod.JPG

We have a gorilla topper too, it's just a 4-5 inch high plastic gorilla on 4 paws, but it's nice.

Does anyone have a clear scan of the lower PF just above thru flippers ? I have flipper wear from thru right flipper just on the plane. I would like to have the Congo logo with the plane if possible. I have posted about this once before. A nice guy sent me a scan but it was a little.blurry. If anyone has a good one let me know. Thanks!

Here it is

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Picked mine up yesterday, been chasing one for quite awhile now.
Loving the game, it's a pretty easy game but it is a lot of fun.

I do have a issue with the volcano.
On my game almost every time a ball is ejected from the volcano it overshoots the ramps and hits the pf.
Not sure what might be causing it, maybe the coil is too strong?

congo 007.JPG

Just got mine!
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nice lookin game

check the flap on the top of the volcano chute to see if it has a crack or is bending up as this will allow it to then over shoot. Also check if the chute is loose at the base as it only has 3 small tabs and if one cracks it can cause it to deflect when shooting the ball up and out. I made a base support mount available on shapeways to combat this.

Thanks for the info mate, much appreciated.

Yes I have a color DMD in my Congo. Have had it since they first came out with them. I had it in there to display the single color choice at Expo that first year. It was originally for MM, but I just set it to green in the menu. I have since updated it to the Sigma, so I can get rid of the "dots" and smooth it out. I couldn't go back to orange now! I am in the process of getting rid of all my orange dot displays for ColorDMDs...but hubby keeps telling me No!!

Phoebe

I have to say, your husband might be right on this one. I'm the king of modding my machine, but the dots are kind of a part of how the machines were released. I'm waffling about whether I'd want a green hi-res display on my Congo. Anybody else have this? And can you post video of it on your Congo, ButterflyGirl?

I don't have any video...and not many close up pics, but this is when I first got the ColorDMD for AFM (proto) and put it in Congo to see how it looked before getting one for it as well set to single color. I have since upgraded it to the Sigma, and also added Sigma Color DMDs to my SM and Metallica, with the speaker light kit upgrade so they change colors with the light kit and change with the remote.
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Phoebe

I have a color did in my Congo set to green as well.

I must say that actually looks pretty nice!

The green color dmd looks the goods.
Another mod I will have to add down the track for sure.

agree, green dmd for this and creature would be cool.