So here is my gate (Broken on the bottom one in the pic) and the one I made and a drawing of what I figure it should look like. It works almost perfect, but if the ball would have been rejected, it sometimes sits on the gate, but the gate holds the ball just between the drop target and the VUK and I have to wait for a ball search. When the drop target goes up, it knocks the ball on to the VUK and all is fine. I just need to adjust it so the gate doesn't allow the ball to move back far enough to let the ball sit in between the two. Happens about 10% of the time. So it's getting there. I might use a bit thinner wire so it is easier to bend, but for now, I am pretty happy with it.

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For what's it worth, my game has that gate.

Ditto!

CPR mini playfield / boat ramp seems to be sold out everywhere i look.
Anybody have a line on one?

You can try Kevin at CPR. They sometimes hold onto non retail candidates. I got mine this way. Bare with me that was 2 years ago.

French Canadian busted! I won't even correct it.

I'm in The Club.

My first machine (and probably my 3rd fav of all the machines I have ever played).

So, when one jumped up within striking distance...
well, I couldn't help but take the bait.

Love the Monster Fish Mod you guys have!

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Looks like a beauty!

Nice clean game! Better than average fade on the cab

Watch out in the stairs

Checked my machine for that gate........didn't even know it had one

Thanks!
Not without a few flaws, but way nicer than I had hoped to find. And local-ish!
Have to replace the balls as it came with a couple egg-centric ones in it. But that will give me a chance to clean and wax and such.

Monster Fish Mod ordered up, as well.

Anyone put RadCals on Fishtales yet? Does anyone have pics?

Picking up Fish Tales tomorrow (will be the 5th machine in my line up) and I cant wait. Even though there are two Fish Tales at bars within 2 miles of my house, I am looking forward to having this machine in house.

It is a project machine, but most of the work that needs to be done looks to be cosmetic (fingers crossed). I already have Cointaker lights and Titan rubbers that I will put on when I get the machine home and will post some pics tomorrow. Im ready to go fishing!

Grats!

Welcome to the club!

Check out my ft project here if you're intereated:

Or, maybe this link will work?
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/fish-tales-restoration-2

anyone have a playfield set they want to sell? I know someone looking.

I have a main playfield and a plastic set, if interested have them PM me.

One of my favorite mods, something I did way back in 2012... I had the shooter handle chromed by Mike Chestnut (R.I.P.) and I replaced the shooter button with a decent one (an illuminated Stern tournament button). My daughter did the artwork for the button.
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Finally got my pins set back up today, and started by cleaning good old Fish Tales. Come up nicely (it’s a shadow on the speech bubble) with a helping of Millwax. Only issue is the button on the caster handle is getting stuck in, so I’m hoping it’s pretty straightforward to strip that down. Anyone else had this problem?

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No but I did replace my button earlier this year with the one in the link below. You can use other buttons but I prefer a more stock look. The handle very easy to take off. No need to separate the two halves.

https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/20-9804-1

Thanks @jawjaw, I’ll take a closer look later.

Picked up Fish Tales this weekend and brought her home. She was very dusty after sitting in a garage for a couple of years. Good news is playfield is in great shape and is Diamond Plated (was a pleasant surprise but are all Fish Tales Diamond Plated? Looked at pics this weekend and saw a lot of playfields that were Diamond Plated), plastics and rails are in great shape, and topper is in good shape other than the plastic dome.

Bad news is the board has a good amount of corrosion from the batteries and will most likely need to find a new board for it (was told it powers on and works from the guy I picked it up from and this is the second machine my buddy and I have picked up from him but will have to wait and see). Also, the playfield doesnt have a "stand arm" on it to hold the playfield up. Leaves me a little paranoid to stand up the playfield to do work so will have to rig something to ensure the playfield wont fall as I am working on it. Any suggestions or ideas to rectify this?

But looks like most of the work needed are cosmetic with a few molex connectors needing to be replaced (already completed). I took all the incandescent bulbs out (there were A LOT of lights) and will clean all the inserts this week and will put in Cointaker lights when they are delivered. I will post more pics as I keep working on it.

Any suggestions/ideas from the Club of Experts about this machine as I put her back together?

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"Starting with Gilligan's Island, all of Williams playfields were DP, whether
marked or not. LTG "

Definitely replace the board if severe corrosion damage. Will save you headaches in the long run.

Don't even use the stand arm - they are almost never safe, and push up on one side of the playfield, often causing twisting or breaking plastics. I have the convenience of being able to tie a support to the ceiling above in my workshop.

Good to know about DP, so I assume my Roadshow has it as well. Are the boards still easy to find? I have not started looking but that would be one of the priority items to get. Are they available used or has someone spent the time to make new ones?

Looks and sounds a lot like mine when I first got it. Finding another mpu board shouldn't be hard. You can look for a used original or buy a new Rottendog replacement. When you do get another board, get nvram to avoid this problem again.

I'm not sure the "stand arm" is factory. Some games have them and some don't. They don't feel very secure to me so I never use them. Just rest the pf on the rails or lift all the way up.

If you are already digging into the game, I recommend replacing the reel drive belt, pulleys, and opto transmitters. Make sure the pops are working and not busted up. Two of them get burried under plastics and much easier to deal with when everything is off pf. Mine had busted parts, broken lamp socket, and some blown out screw holes.

K's arcade has the rottendog CPU board. You can order the generic one and move over your processer, ASIC chip, and ROM, or for +$80 they will include those chips. Also they will add NVRAM for +$25. I ordered the generic one, and it has worked great for 4yrs. (*note - get a chip puller tool to remove your ASIC chip from its socket)

I have the coin taker LED kit and am happy with that.

I don't see anyone with the topper dome in stock, except in Europe.

https://www.pinball.co.uk/game-specific-parts/fish-tales/plastic-dome-03-8653/

Also here.
https://www.rtbb.com.au/product-category/game-specific-parts/fish-tales/

You can get the toppers in the US. Got mine from here: https://littleshopofgames.com/shop/toppers/clear-topper-dome-for-fish-tales-or-white-water-pinball-machine/

My reel shooter has seen better days and has an after market push button to launch ball. What is the best way to get the reel looking better?

I have, they didnt turn out to bad. You can see pics in this thread.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/what-you-working-on-today
Im hoping to be done the machine by weeks end.

Replace it with a new one!

Thanks for the Pic, I believe your gate is broken in that picture. The top gate in this picture is what I believe it should look like, the bottom one is my broken one. The gate uses the ball guide on the left side to keep it from opening and allowing the ball to leave the caster shack.

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Ive only been able to find the left side of the shooter reel. Have you seen the reel anywhere else?

Pretty much not available anywhere that i know of unless you find a 2nd hand one. If yours is only cosmetically damaged, as in the nickel plating is worn off, then just get it re-coated. You can get them done in black nickel, brass, chrome or powder coated in any colour you choose. I had mine chromed and it came up a treat

I was planning on chroming out mine. Is it a process or just spray paint kind of thing (which sounds to easy to be true)?

Best option is to have it chromed professionally, it may cost a bit more but the results will be worth it and will LAST. I personally wouldn't use any chrome type spray paint as it generally doesn't wear well (particularly with something being handled a lot) and the finish will dull with the handling quickly. I had mine chromed for about $240 AUS (about $170 US) but on hindsight i paid a bit too much for it at the time.

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I did the swap here. Great work

http://www.pinballplating.com/quick-exchange-parts/fish-tales-fishing-reel-1

Bought some chrome items from this bloke before, sure does some great work

I've got black nickel on mine and love it.

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I would not say that the handle gets a lot of action nor is "handled" a lot. I personally press the button without touching the handle. It's more a cosmetic thing...

If you're thinking about replacing the cabinet art (looks pretty faded), check out "Radcals" decals from Mirco (pinballsales.com). I saw the Fish Tales ones at TPF and they look incredible.

Does anyone have a pic of the wires going into the coin door buttons? Ours were all cut when we got it.

Would it be the same for all WPC's?

Thanks

I can get you one when i get home

Photo of the Fish Tales bill of materials on facebook. The total cost photo showing $1795 is in the comments section.
https://www.facebook.com/PinballMuseum/photos/a.1090567814312209/2143057519063228/?type=3&theater

Anyone know where to get the proper right boat ramp entry microswitch (or equivalent?) Looks like 5647-12693-18 but NO ONE has it.

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