Just picked up an F-14. Can anyone provide up close pictures of how the speaker panel cover attaches? The top section was glued and it's no longer holding. I'd like to fix it the OEM way.

I'm used to seeing H-trim above the display/speaker board to hold the cover in place. My trim piece is Z-shaped and bolted in place on the backside. There's no ledge up front to go over the speaker panel cover. Make sense?

I am pretty sure mine has the H-trim along the top of the speaker panel.

Yes...H Trim

Mine had the Z type, with no lip on the front and the panel is glued. Check the IPDB entry for the machine, there is some mention there of different types :

http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=804

I suspect what you have is original.

Playfield with left-hand ball trap area sticker modification, and Russian MIG jet model over kicker lane.......

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Looks great !! Im going to be doing a Mig and F14 model mod to mine shortly. Just need to find the time to build the models !!

Yeah, tell me about it!!!

Couldn't find a cheap enough cast iron MIG, there is a decent F14, which is also installed up near the top right flipper.......

-Nate

Don't make the models, they are cheap enough on Ebay/Amazon and the correct scale..

http://smile.amazon.com/Hot-Wings-Planes-F-14-Tomcat/dp/B000V1RB46

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Finally shopped it out and have it working 100%. Added the extra flashers back in. This game is a great system 11. So fast and unforgiving.

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looks awesome, Ill have to post photos of mine soon once i get the new pop bumper cap on

Has anyone placed a Shaker in F-14?

I haven't yet, but I have the shaker and a PIG2. I'm hoping to tackle this project along with my Firepower playfield swap this summer.

I bought some 1/200 scale Herpa die-cast planes for my machine, but I haven't decided where to put them yet.

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I placed two shakers in mine(both go off at the same time). I only wanted them for the center rescue targets when hit. The two motors(12v) I used were $10 total. The relay board was about $15. Since I just need a quick on/off I went simple with this. I have other controllers for more advance stuff but I don't want overkill. It works awesome for $25!

I am also adding new sounds and a F-14 fighter (similar to the above pic) which will actually take off when you launch the ball (outside the cab on the side rail). Goes about 18 inches up the field then resets when the next ball hits the drain switch. Almost done and will post a video when finished. It will be unique for sure.

I bought smaller diecast for the playfield. I think the one I am now using for the launch is a little bit out of proportion to the field.

That sounds pretty sweet.....I'd love to have that one mine.

Do you have a detailed how- to on that? sounds cool!

Ditto.

i agree , want some love on this !

Great game. I don't have the game but would enjoy it in the collection one day.

I have F14 and Space Shuttle in my collection at the moment and hope to have more but now that i have my F14 working top notch it would never leave my collection !

I just used a simple 12v relay board. You power the board with 12v and it outputs 12v to the motor. I added a couple of switches to the underside of the playfield. When these push down the ones that were added push down with it turning on the motor. This is a little bit time consuming if you are going to wire more then a couple.

I thought this was the simple choice. Took only 5min.

The sounds and switched jet taking off mod are going through a controller. 2 triggers. One at launch switch which starts the routine then one on the drain switch which interrupts the routine to return back to starting position. This way the jet knows when the next ball launches. We all know the ball time of this game

I can add 24 different sounds. 8 on takeoff switch, 8 on drain switch, 8 when the machine is idle. So far I only have a few effect sounds, but I would like to use them all eventually. Any ideas on sound?

Just bought my F-14 yesterday finally!!!! I'm locked on....

That was my first.

I also have a few "negative" quotes from Top Gun that are on the drain switch. Three of them. Need some themed music on idle. Only have around 6 of 28 total mp3's. First suggestions get into the game.

Hey great for you! Where did you find it?

I placed a little F-14 on the top PF today. It looks good but it needs a light. I'll be doing a LED upgrade soon, I need to find a way to brighten the top flipper area.

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I added flex led's by the stand up targets and tied them into the GI. Does the trick nicely.
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I found one in Austin. Man, that F-14 looks awesome! I was gonna get two jets like that and place them inside. I'm stoked to shop this out and LED it. This game will NEVER leave my home.

sorry... my reply was in your quote.

Two red on left and two blue on right.

hey guys...anyone have mirror blades on their F-14? I wanted to get some but really don't know who has them...

That would be cool but after looking at my machine i honestly dont think there is enough room between the playfield and sides.

on my Creature it was tight..but once they are in and have a little felt on the sides of the PF it fits fine. I have an e-mail into pinballmirrors.com to see if they have something for the sys 11 games....I will post back after I hear from them...

cool !

Also found a pinsider that was making these and in one of his posts, he mentions doing a set for Sys 11 games...we will see....

Don't think mirror blades would be worth it on F14, the entire right-hand side is just about covered with all the "hardware?" Would look cool with some type of "sky and clouds" sticker along the sides!!

Heck, somebody has to have one of those LED'd bumper caps - seems the absolutely simplest way to light that dark upper pf area?......

Hmmm, sound, how about some nice rocket launch effects??

As soon as I have enough ceiling clearance for the topper, I'll work on it

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Here is my topper... Well, actually ceiling-hanger... The machine already has a topper. I need to do some repair to the landing gear, I was doing some ceiling work and snapped the mono-filament...

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Ordered and on its way

I put one in a year or so back. Ordered from Europe, glad Pinballife has them more local now.
It does help light things up, but the flex lights by the stand ups does more.

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A little too big for the topper...but will be used for sure...
it's original and from the CAG's plane....if you look closely, you can see it in the picture....

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Just put the newer style caps in. I really love these things. I will start a new thread on all the moving mods, shaker motor and sounds soon. I will dangle the carrot to keep you coming back. First up will probably be the moving jets.

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Need your opinions! I have all LEDs on the play field of my F-14 and I am thinking about doing the back box too. What recommendations do you have for frosted vs clear, Ultra bright or regular etc. Love to hear your thoughts. Thanks.
Al

Backbox: Frosted to diffuse light. I used cointaker and pinball bulbs frosted ones (appx 69c each after discounts). Went with cool whites on top and left to really bring out the blues, then warm whites on the remaining to bring out the reds/oranges from the explosions/reflections on the plane. (I did similar on my High Speed and Jokerz, a nice mix of CW/WW frosteds)

I am going to try the Comet singles as a few of mine have a hotter spot and overall it's a bit too bright over incandescents and want to tone it down just a tad in a few spots.

Selling my F-14 Tomcat if anyone is interested. Just posted in Market place. PM me for information or more pics.

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I'm thinking of getting one of the new lighted pop bumper caps. They look great. Thinking of doing blue since it might light up that upper area better. Anyone try a blue one yet? If so, could you post a pic. Curious to see how it looks compared to the red one.

I just bought the red jewelled cap and i love it. I think blue would actually look pretty cool also !

Whats the best size toy model to put in? I wanna do two if possible somewhere on the playfield. I see 1/200 is what someone said....Will that work for two of them?