Its pinkitten with the beers , the esky full of tinnies does look great .

I made a few sets of cards after getting frustrated being unable to buy a set I liked.
Check them out and feel free to chum some cash to me at paypal/Zelle to [email protected]
Pictures are sized to print on photopaper 4"x6" gloss and simply trim top and bottom.

Fish tales Game card1 (resized).jpgFish tales Game card2 (resized).jpgFish tales Game card3 (resized).jpgFish tales Game card4 (resized).jpgFish tales Instruction card1 (resized).jpgFish tales Instruction card2 (resized).jpgFish tales Instruction card3 (resized).jpgFish tales Instruction card4 (resized).jpg

I've got those ones , I think they're the best and I got a mate to print them out for free

Looks nice. I'm interested in buying something similar, do you know the model scale so I don't end up buying something that doesn't fit or is too small.

Also, it looks like you glued it onto the playfield plastic or am I wrong?

I used clear silicone. totally removable. The truck is 1:64 scale. I also have a few people and a tent on order. I will add more pics when done. I just installed the easiest art blades ever! Tilt graphics make an awesome set that I requested. Amazing quality material.

69179221166__95D3DD16-E63C-4795-9BD5-E8E828A0EE3D (resized).JPGIMG_6591 (resized).JPGIMG_6592 (resized).JPGIMG_6593 (resized).jpgIMG_6595 (resized).JPG

There should be a metal arm that the small coil pulls in that then resets the standup target. You are missing that arm completely. Also the metal assembly the small coil is fastened to is missing the central tab too (a very common issue)

Check the manual for a picture of the whole drop down target assembly and all part numbers.

Edit:
Screenshot_20221206_124048_Drive (resized).jpg
You are missing parts 13, 23, 25, 27 and your 26 is damaged. There might be other parts missing too, your picture doesn't show the whole assembly.

New problem yesterday. Game had been working fine. After installing new side art blades the game powers on and seems to start up fine. Start button lights flashing but it will not start a game. 3 balls are there. Looking for ideas on what I should check first to hopefully get to the bottom of the issue. Thanks

Sometimes the start button microswitch pops out of its plastic holder causing start issues. Take a look at it.

Also any loose wires on the start button? Switch test in the diagnostics show it working?

Turns out the wire guide for the ball feed had flipped backwards and wasn't letting the balls through! Flipped the wire guide around and we're back in business! Dumb on my part.

Classic mistake, don't ask how I know

Thinking about building a topper for my machine which is missing the topper.
Anyone has a clue as to where can I find the actual fish? Will it ever be reproduced?
Any links for a fake one?! Similar?
Also if anyone has one for sell I'm in to that.

IMG_20221205_231414 (resized).jpg

PPS-A-15713L (resized).jpg

Pinball Center in Germany has the fish itself (not including the coil/mech that flips the tail), but they do not ship to USA. If you have a Canadian friend, maybe? You can get the dome and seashell decal here in the states. Ministry of Pinball also offers them. Even if yours didn’t flip the tail, you can build it, if you can get the fish from Germany. I usually have my fish disconnected. Too loud and distracting for me, but FT is prob my fav 90s game. Good luck.

I hated the metallic noise of the topper when the plunger hit the fish. I put a small rubber ring at the end of the plunger thus it does not hit the metal bracket that holds the coil..super silent now
Hard to describe..but no pic atm

This is the thread you want .
"Guide"
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/guide-build-fish-tales-topper-from-scratch#:~:text=Topic%20ID%3A%20286253)-,Guide,-%3A%20build%20fish%20tales

Thanks for the suggestions.
Im regular at the pinball center and they are out of stock. It's out of stock basically anywhere.

I saw the Guide from scratch post. It's excellent, but still I can't obtain the actual fish. Rest of the assembly isn't a problem..
I don't have any source for it and hope someone has a spare or something

I did the same and believe it was shown earlier here. Nothing complicated - just put one or more rubber rings on the plunger to soften the throw. Think I used two on mine. You can still hear it banging but nothing obnoxious. Definitely recommend trying that than just unplugging it. It's a must have feature imo.

Yes I think it was shown here in the thread

Can someone please measure the fish and post the measurements?

I have this Electronic Bass fish I am willing to sell. When you press the button the tail moves so its jointed and would be easy to modify. It would be an awesome Topper fish. If interested PM me. It measures 13" but is a bit more realistic. The Stock topper measures approx. 17" See pics

IMG_6639 (resized).jpg

IMG_6640 (resized).jpg

IMG_6641 (resized).JPG

Thanks. Shipping would be more than the fish. I will look for one locally and keep that in mind, thanks for the measure. Pretty big...
Liked your ring.

This is for someone who asked about back panel lighting .
The one I got from pinball bulbs has a splitter to do the front trough as well .
The strip for the back panel is on the very back edge of the cabinet above the panel .
It is a few inches shorter than the width of the cabinet , approx 25 LEDs .
I have it plugged into J 1116 , technically maybe not the right one as it stays on all the time .
It has a piggyback to plug-in what was originally there .

IMG20221209212617 (resized).jpg

IMG20221209201507 (resized).jpg

IMG20221209201018 (resized).jpg

IMG_20221209_231310 (resized).jpg

IMG_20221209_224838 (resized).jpg

Finished (for now) adding some more toys. Let me know what you think.

IMG_6673 (resized).JPG

IMG_6674 (resized).JPG

Whoa, that’s a keeper!

Put the hot glue gun away, and bring the toys back to the dollar store. You asked ♥️

Can't forget the Coleman.

IMG_6679 (resized).JPG

.

Mods are personal preference, and everyone has their own likes which makes it fun to make the pin personally yours.

I left kindergarten years ago

Were you valedictorian?

So, having previously re-seated the ribbon cables and seeing no change. I ordered 3 of the 4 ribbon cables and changed them out, still no change though. I think I'm gonna update my rom and see if maybe that changes anything. The chip is looking pretty old, so maybe it's got some issues with data loss or something. It's on L-4 currently, so I figured I might as well update to L-5 anyway. Though I can't find any information on any changes between the two.

Have you tried powering the game off and pushing on the square asic chip? I've had that solve wonkiness before.

I have given it a bit of a push in the past. But maybe I should buy an asic puller and reseat it. I'll try replacing the rom first and go from there. Thankfully these issues do not currently affect actual gameplay, just my pride. And, of course, there is a possibility whatever is causing this starts getting worse.

Anyone knows a source for L-6 rom?
I really want one before installing any leds and that xtre balle is annoying.

A ROM chip "looking old' doesn't mean squat, if the ROM was bad, you'd know and the game would have thrown errors. Have you ever done a RAM clear?
Pull the batteries and power off for about 10 mins, power back up and reinstall the batteries. You'll lose all your settings and scores, but that'll happen if you change ROM's anyway. Early WPC ('91-'92) games like Getaway, T2, Fish Tales etc have notorious RAM glitches, and sometimes a reset fixes it, sometimes the RAM chip needs to be replaced. My Getaway has needed the RAM clear done a couple times, my FT needed the RAM to be replaced.

I definitely wasn't banking on it but figured I might as well update the ROM to the latest version with the updated no ghost patch anyway and if it changed anything then great, it didn't. I'll pull the batteries later and see about that. I actually want to extend the remote battery holder wiring so I can mount it securely in the backbox rather than just hanging freely anyway, so maybe this will be the kick in the butt to spend the 3 to 4 minutes to do it!

I went to have a game and the casters lock wouldn't spin .
I turned it manually and it started to spin again but then it wouldn't recognise when a ball is locked .
I had a look and the switch at the entrance was missing its arm , I looked everywhere but couldn't find it .
I've got a mate coming over tomorrow who loves fish tales , so I thought id try to see if I could get it to work .
I got some wire and after some fiddling , got it to work great , not the prettiest but it will get the job done .

Question - if I find the arm , is that something you can reattach or just get a new switch , which looks like a pain in the ass to change .

IMG_20221231_004321 (resized).jpg

IMG_20221231_005838 (resized).jpg

IMG_20221231_010107 (resized).jpg

You can definitely reattach the arm. They just snap on. Assuming the little plastic nub isn't broke off of the switch. It's actually an easy switch to remove. If you find the arm, I bet you can fix it in about 15 minutes.

Thanks mate , good to know .
Looking at the picture it doesn't appear to be broken .
I spent a good half hour looking for it , it sucks when the machine eats bits

IMG_20221231_020916 (resized).jpg

Sure does. It will probably fall out from somewhere in a year or so when you raise the playfield for an unrelated problem

Tie a magnet to a piece of string and see if you can catch anything lol
Should just clip back on, just give it a squeeze so it sits on a bit tighter.
It’s in there somewhere

Saw this in traffic this morning and thought of FT. Now I have to go play a few games.

CEF920C4-132C-40B2-B148-FD4BD387FC6E (resized).jpeg

Just finished the restoration of my Fish tales. Everything seems to work well, but some times the reel will not release 1 of the 3 balls on the multiball. 1 will stay stuck within the reel. Anything I should be looking for?

Thanks.

Also, if someone has the monster fish mod they don't use or don't want any more. Let me know.

Did you replace the rubber belt that turns it? Many report slipping with old belts, etc.

Also, there is a reel test in the diagnostics that you can try.

On my Fish tales, this was due to the hole in the center of the reel being a bit enlarged.
This caused the reel to be a little bit out of alignment with the flat side of the metal rod spinning it around.
So when the game detected the hole to be in the right position to release the ball, it actually was gone a bit too far - and the ball caught on the edge of the hole, thereby not getting released.
I solved this by rotating the reel into the right position and inserting some material (can't remember what) to keep it in the right place.

Thanks, will check this and I think I have a spare rubber

Ok, will check if that is the case. The material would be installed where for it to not impede the reel from turning?

Just something in the center hole of the reel to jam it in the right position - a screw, a piece of wood or something.

still looking for a 2-slot coin door bezel like on my diner, whirlwind, funhouse, black rose and fish tales

Go to the pet/fish store and get some aquarium weeds and put them in there. It makes it look like the fish is swimming through them.