I got this baby 1.5 years ago from a bar in Jerusalem for about $800. Right away I took all the Mylar off and thought it would do as long as a new playfield wasn’t available, but since this became an option a couple of weeks ago . I’m now gonna wait for it to get released from customs (maybe tomorrow?) and hopefully to replacing it soon enough. Actually got two but a friend who has an ES wants it so we’ll probably do the replacement at the same time.

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Congrats on the pickup! Just wanted to add that I really like your youtube videos. The series you did on your Robo-War restoration was fantastic. Thanks for taking the time to document it and upload them!

Several of my inserts were "blank" as well and I repainted them. I have a plotter cutter for making vinyl stickers and decals. I made stencils for the inserts and painted with spray paint. Later, the whole playfield was clear coated. If anyone wants to make their own stencils, here are the files:

https://app.box.com/s/8bskzn4iw8gkkxsr3sa0pozm291g2rfb

They do not have the "crack" design as the fault zone numbers, that was too fine of a detail for the plotter cutter to do. If interested, here is the "cliff notes" version and full photo dump links:

http://4130-products.com/pinball/index.php/earthshaker-restore/
https://photos.app.goo.gl/9P7gEwDRURCpk9te2

Good luck on your new project, post updates!

Received 2 new ES CPR playfields
Looks fantastic

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Anyone interested in a sinking building mod? I bought one and sadly don't have the game to install it anymore. I'd sell it for exactly how much it cost (I think $275+shipping)

I've always wanted to add that to my game, in fact I took a shot at making my own, but it didn't work out the way I hoped.
Its a cool effect, but just not dazzling enough to justify blowing $300+... There's SO much more I could do with that much cash!

So, I found another one. After 3 years an Earthshaker is coming home and will be cherished. I missed it, from all my machines I have ever owned and sold I only regretted selling Earthshaker. I will pick it up next weekend and bring it home.

Next step is fixing it as it doesn't boot. Then i will judge the state of the machine, it obviously will need new decals and plastics but I will see if the playfield and ramps need replacement too.

So, I'm super stoked. Will post some restore progress in this thread.

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Ooof... In the USA, that's a $10K "great condition" game!!

Im interested in the sinking building mod. Is it a final rev 3 build from basementarcade?

Yep it's the real deal. Still in the plastic. PM me

if anybody is thinking of selling .... please let me know would love to grab one !

HarrieD Congrats on the Earthshaker pickup! I almost bought this same machine about a month ago. Strangely, two separate people on Marktplaats seemed to have the same machine for sale within one week...same photos with the worn out area around the start button. I couldn't really nail down a decent price with the second guy, and eventually I gabbed one up near Den Bosch 3 weeks ago and I'm restoring it now. Mine also needs a new rear ramp and a new playfield. I just bought the playfield from CPR and it is still in the mail on its way here. Marcos Specialties has the ramps and plastics.

Instead of decals, I've been repainting my worn cabinet. So far I think it is coming out well. We'll see.

Good luck with your restore!!

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That looks great! My cabinet is rough and I don't have the tools or confidence to tackle fixing it up. Did you make custom stencils?

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Thanks, good luck on your restore. CPR also has the plastics, or else ministryofpinball here in NL. (Maybe you can save yourself some shipping costs). Ramps can be bought at pinballshop.nl (I like that guy better than that douche from ministry).

I am debating on buying a new playfield from CPR. Will pickup the machine next sunday and will make a decision on that matter when it's in my basement. Decals aren't too expensive so I will definitaly install a set of new fresh decals, rails and legs.

May I ask what you payed for your machine? Mine was 2300.

**edit, you live in Gangelt I see, that is really nearby. If I'd fart you might propably be able to smell it

Currently I am repainting all of the dark blue a bit at a time without any stencils. Bondo, then lightly sand where the paint has cracked, and then touch up with 2 coats. Once the blue is done, I'll move onto the off-white stripes. It won't look perfect, but from a few feet away it looks much better than it did when I started and it won't cost me much. Decals aren't really that expensive though...so that's probably a much easier solution for you. You'll still need to bondo and prep for that, so also a fair amount of work involved.

Yours is really flaking badly, but it's almost all on the blue and white areas. This is easy to repaint (just takes a lot of time). The blue paint color was tricky for me to match...I finally got a can of RAL5015 and added some violet to bring it to the correct shade and brightness. The off-white is easy, the yellow and orange is a gradient color transition and will be really tough to touch up, but from what I can see your EARTHSHAKER lettering is fairly decent.

I'll probably also clear the cabinet when I'm done so it doesn't flake more in the future.

We’re letting these sit out for a month and hope to get the first project going by may

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Do they smell?

No mine didn't when i received it. CPR recommends that you let them sit out in the open air for 30 days to allow the clear to completely cure.

PM Sent.

My Mirco whirlwind pf stunk up the garage for over a month. I think he dried it for 5 minutes before throwing it in the box.

I got a new micro playfield and it fell off the new rotisserie so i have a small divot about the right inlane still excited to move it all over, but that divot makes me sad.

Excited to be joining the club soon! Will post pics when I have the game....in May.....Can't wait

Chris

Playfield swap started a few days ago. Cleaning and moving all mechs over first. The CPR playfield looks great but the pre-marked holes don't really line up that well. At least CPR just laser burns a small mark where the hole "might" be, and doesnt pre-drill holes like my Mirco Nine Ball playfield had.

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Hello everyone, my friend has asked me to do a PF swap on his ES. He's thinking of picking up a CPR repro. My last couple of experiences with CPR make me a bit gun-shy. I see there is already a post about the holes not lining up.

For those of you with new repros that have started to install, is there anything else that I need to know? Any other glaring issues? Chipping paint or clear?

Thanks in advance.

You can copy off old playfield dimple locations. I had no problem with actual holes. I would say the PF itself should be re-cleared. Seems like the clear they use is a little soft, you can see the clear dimpled everywhere after 50 games. I send mine out to Kruzman. Worth the wait if game is a keeper.

I didn't have any issues with my CPR playfield and I do not have dimpling issues at all with mine. The screw dimples underneath didn't quite match up, but I have not had a playfield yet that do.

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Glad to hear the new CPR playfield is working pretty well. My next swap is one of these and just ordered one.

Thanks for the info everyone. Soft clear and incorrect drilling I can handle. Exploding paint and clear, not so much.

Anyone have a sinking building mod they want to sell? Customer wants me to add one.

Found. Thank you!

Just joined the club!

My backbox GI and rear game GI is dim, and the white/yellow GI wires coming out of the transformer read 1.5Vac, the solid yellow read 5V.

But it seems weird to have any transformer issue, let alone one that affects two out of four strings the same way.

Could use some advice on where to go from here (and will I have to look into supplying 5V externally if it’s the transformer?).

Bump for System 11 fixers!

I had a similar issue with my Whirlwind a few years ago... It would be dim when on, and occasionally the playfield GI would just randomly go off and back on. It turned out to be a poor connection at the GI connector near the transformer. I cleaned all the contacts with a contact cleaner spray, and a wire brush on the contacts I could get too... No issues since.
I suspect that at some point in its life, a spill in the cab caused some corrosion in the connector, but who knows...

First thing to check is your GI connector and headers on the interconnect board. See the marks on the photo. Probably you have a burned connector creating resistance and dimming your bulbs in those strings.

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I have an ES playfield on the way. Anyone else spraying some clearcoat spray on the back before starting? If so, is there a product preference?
I'm going to leave the thing out with the wood side rails to prevent warping. Need to order a few parts and LEDS before I start anyway.

Does anyone have a source for the coil bracket on the front VUK? Mine has the incorrect one and a zip tie leaving the coil at a slight angle.

Last time i saw that issue, I had a friend make me a new one, they are not produced anywhere

There are mixed schools of thought on treating the backside. Some say doing so make it so the wood cannot breathe and crates issues down the road. Others scoff at that. I lean towards doing it and just get a satin varathane or something and apply with a rag on the back.

I fill my insert holes with paper towels before doing so.

I will definitely hit that board with connector rebuilds. The ones in question have been rebuilt once I can see.

But that doesn’t account for the low voltage right at the transformer… right?

IIRC transformers should be AC. How are you testing it?

There’s a 4 pin connector with two yellow and two yellow / white wires. Setting my MM to AC I probe each hole in the connector and ground the other probe. The yellows read 5.9Vac or close. The yellow whites read 1.5.

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Check the voltage upstream of the F2 fuse and see if it also reads 1.5 VAC. Make sure there isn't a bad fuse holder creating resistance there. Then probably unplug the machine and measure resistance across the AC terminal 2 of connector 2P6 to ground, then do the same for pin 7. Difference? Transformers rarely go bad. Usually something else.

What happens when you read the AC by putting one probe in a yellow and one in a yellow/white. Likely those are the 2 sides of the winding you're trying to measure. Most AC you shouldn't read with respect to ground.

You need to test yellow and white together-do not ground. Just like if you were testing the wires at the sockets. So one probe on the yellow, the other on the yellow/white. It's AC, not DC.

THAT would explain it. Ok will check and then move upstream to the very likely connector issues!

I did the same thing on my Demo Man four years ago.

Any chance someone can take a closeup of the wiring on the relay boards (Sol 10 &15)? I have some hacked up wiring that I am trying to make some sense of. THANK YOU!!

Rebuilt female J7 to the back box GI and got one string lit, but white/green is still dim. Pulled the interconnect board to replace the male end and it’s been hacked to bypass a fuse or two… :/

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Great to see that's most likely the issue. If you dont want to try and fix it, those interconnect boards are easily available. Make sure you get the right version as there are some resistor differences between some of them.

Just received my CPR playfield today. Looks great! From any distance you can't see it, but am I correct that they are also now flatbed printing these instead of screening? You can see only up very close, the "banding" from the overlapping print head passes. Really only then in the reds.
I use similar industrial printers at my job and I'd say it is extremely good for that process. Maybe I'm wrong.
I'm going to let it cure until Fall just in case.

Yeah, they have been for a while now.