(Topic ID: 65903)

Flash Gordon: Saviors of the Universe Club

By TheShameGovernor

10 years ago


Topic Heartbeat

Topic Stats

  • 2,794 posts
  • 269 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 9 hours ago by mad_carl
  • Topic is favorited by 147 Pinsiders

You

Linked Games

Topic Gallery

View topic image gallery

IMG_6256 (resized).jpg
IMG_6257 (resized).jpg
IMG_6253 (resized).jpg
IMG_6254 (resized).jpg
c928de729783bf855db2c4fad7afdbee637c54ed (resized).jpg
cc89192186c76bbcfae62d319969e24fd9478da8 (resized).jpg
N-68X (resized).jpg
Big Daddy Flash (resized).png
IMG_1200 (resized).jpeg
IMG_6257 (resized).jpeg
IMG_6256 (resized).jpeg
Thumbnail (resized).png
IMG_20240228_124335477 (resized).jpg
66277047031__BE249FBD-B8DB-45D1-8EC8-5FE147B2324B (resized).jpeg
IMG_6646 (resized).jpeg
IMG_6619 (resized).jpeg

There are 2,794 posts in this topic. You are on page 18 of 56.
#851 4 years ago
Quoted from Spraynard:

Upkicker coil reading at 14 Ohms. According to this table (https://www.flippers.com/coil-resistance.html), that is normal for an AO-27-1300 coil.
The tip of the arm itself is not deformed in any way.

Are you giving your machines steroids for a competitive advantage? JK, no clue what your problem is, hope it is resolved soon.

#852 4 years ago
Quoted from Tsskinne:

Are you giving your machines steroids for a competitive advantage? JK, no clue what your problem is, hope it is resolved soon.

The saucer, when kicking the ball to the upper playfield, is hitting the glass.

#853 4 years ago
Quoted from FatPanda:

The saucer, when kicking the ball to the upper playfield, is hitting the glass.

This would probably be a band-aid, but you could add one or more compression springs to the saucer upkick coil to slow down the armature. Could also try a weaker coil.

How about the little fingers that position the ball? Could you send a top down picture of the saucer?

Capture (resized).JPGCapture (resized).JPG
#854 4 years ago
Quoted from mjalexan:

This would probably be a band-aid, but you could add one or more compression springs to the saucer upkick coil to slow down the armature. Could also try a weaker coil.
How about the little fingers that position the ball? Could you send a top down picture of the saucer?

I think I’ll try putting in a stronger compression spring and see if that helps

The ball holders within the saucer are a bit worn, nothing too dramatic though.

image (resized).jpgimage (resized).jpg
#855 4 years ago
Quoted from Spraynard:

I think I’ll try putting in a stronger compression spring and see if that helps
The ball holders within the saucer are a bit worn, nothing too dramatic though. [quoted image]

Okay - nobody will like my solution, but I had the same frustrating issue [it was just the opposite direction - a mighty fling into the pop bumper] and the spring thing didn't work, the tab thing didn't work, none of the quick fixes worked - except one. I was going to put in a weaker coil, but as a stop-gap until I got around to that, I rummaged around and found a coil stop that had a much deeper reach than the stock one on the mechanism. I could not tell you what machine the replacement stop was from, it was just in a bag of old nasty goodies, but it worked, and it worked three years ago when I was rebuilding my then newly purchased FG, and I have long since abandoned the thought of messing with replacing the coil. It has for three years been very nicely popping out exactly as it should. it was a very mechanical,low tech way to restrict the throw of the plunger that has had no side effects as far as I know.

#856 4 years ago
Quoted from zahner:

Okay - nobody will like my solution, but I had the same frustrating issue [it was just the opposite direction - a mighty fling into the pop bumper] and the spring thing didn't work, the tab thing didn't work, none of the quick fixes worked - except one. I was going to put in a weaker coil, but as a stop-gap until I got around to that, I rummaged around and found a coil stop that had a much deeper reach than the stock one on the mechanism. I could not tell you what machine the replacement stop was from, it was just in a bag of old nasty goodies, but it worked, and it worked three years ago when I was rebuilding my then newly purchased FG, and I have long since abandoned the thought of messing with replacing the coil. It has for three years been very nicely popping out exactly as it should. it was a very mechanical,low tech way to restrict the throw of the plunger that has had no side effects as far as I know.

I think it's a great solution. It might be that the original issue is a worn/depleted coil stop. A fresh or longer coil stop will most certainly shorten the throw of the arms, and I think it is a much better solution and any of the other you mentioned.

#857 4 years ago

Fun game last night

E869B298-67C7-46C2-9CE3-A11C8C979FE7 (resized).jpegE869B298-67C7-46C2-9CE3-A11C8C979FE7 (resized).jpeg
#858 4 years ago
Quoted from zahner:

Okay - nobody will like my solution, but I had the same frustrating issue [it was just the opposite direction - a mighty fling into the pop bumper] and the spring thing didn't work, the tab thing didn't work, none of the quick fixes worked - except one. I was going to put in a weaker coil, but as a stop-gap until I got around to that, I rummaged around and found a coil stop that had a much deeper reach than the stock one on the mechanism. I could not tell you what machine the replacement stop was from, it was just in a bag of old nasty goodies, but it worked, and it worked three years ago when I was rebuilding my then newly purchased FG, and I have long since abandoned the thought of messing with replacing the coil. It has for three years been very nicely popping out exactly as it should. it was a very mechanical,low tech way to restrict the throw of the plunger that has had no side effects as far as I know.

Any idea how much deeper that coil stop was? That is an ideal method if you have such a thing. I was contemplating stuffing something down the core of the sleeve to sit against my stop.

#859 4 years ago
Quoted from BJM-Maxx:

Any idea how much deeper that coil stop was? That is an ideal method if you have such a thing. I was contemplating stuffing something down the core of the sleeve to sit against my stop.

It was about twice as deep as the original. I actually tested my theory before I went on a scrounge for the part and put a headless, slotted bolt in the sleeve to see if my logic worked. I had that bolt in there for longer than I should probably admit, but it worked fine. Had I not found my deeper coil stop, I probably would have just left it there. It's not like the mechanism is a finely adjusted bit of technology, it's pretty much just hammers and anvils with a bit of remote electricity. But that's just me...

#860 4 years ago

So I wasnt able to find a coil stop in my parts bin, but I did find some heavy duty compression springs that were exactly the same diameter as a coil sleeve. I cut the spring down to a few centimeters and dropped into the coil sleeve between the stop and the plunger. Totally worked. I had to cut the spring smaller because the first time it was too big and the ball didn’t make it to the upper playfield. I need to find an actual coil or I’m sure the plunger will get chewed up, but this will work for now! Thanks @zahner for the idea!

#861 4 years ago

Just finished installing Comet Led’s tonight. Used 2smd frosted for G.I. and 2smd Faceted for inserts besides the orange which are frosted 2smd. Gonna play around with the arrangement of the LED’s to get a look I’m satisfied with. What do you guys think?

EDE2D92C-4321-42C8-94FC-FF8A16661946 (resized).jpegEDE2D92C-4321-42C8-94FC-FF8A16661946 (resized).jpeg
#862 4 years ago

Moving on to the cabinet in my Resto Mod Flash Gordon build. Did a photoshop of what I’m aiming for. Keeping a good portion of the original artwork with a few tweaks. What do you guys think of the before and after? Still debating on what I’m gonna do with the head and the gold/yellow stripes on the body

B82CC625-49A6-4623-9EA9-BB4CE46F618A (resized).jpegB82CC625-49A6-4623-9EA9-BB4CE46F618A (resized).jpegA59FCDAE-4683-4C29-928F-22156043E6D8 (resized).jpegA59FCDAE-4683-4C29-928F-22156043E6D8 (resized).jpeg
#863 4 years ago
Quoted from Andyzola87:

Just finished installing Comet Led’s tonight. Used 2smd frosted for G.I. and 2smd Faceted for inserts besides the orange which are frosted 2smd. Gonna play around with the arrangement of the LED’s to get a look I’m satisfied with. What do you guys think?
[quoted image]

Did you replace a bunch of inserts? Most of the colors on mine are completely different. Yours looks great, though!

#864 4 years ago
Quoted from BRW84:

Did you replace a bunch of inserts? Most of the colors on mine are completely different. Yours looks great, though!

Thanks! Yes all inserts except arrows were changed to clear when I installed the hardtop, so now I can customize my insert colors with LED’s which is nice!

#865 4 years ago

As mentioned before, my saucer was also hitting the glass kicking it to the upper playfield. I have no comparison prior to cleaning and new coil sleeves, but after that it definitely did. I tried numerous "fixes". But the one that ultimately worked was taking a spare saucer plunger, and TIG welding about an eighth of an inch to the tip and grinding it back down the best I could with a bench grinder and then sanding it smoother. It now no longer hits the glass yet pops up perfectly into the upper playfield. Probably not the best method, but it did work great

20190430_215104 (resized).jpg20190430_215104 (resized).jpg
2 weeks later
#866 4 years ago
Quoted from FatPanda:

ebay.com link » Bally Flash Gordon Pinball Machine Drop Target Set
Yeah, I just saw that. It is very misleading to state that you have a hot stamper (In action) but that they didn't state specifically that the targets were hot stamped. The assumption is there. At 50+6 shipping, and a negative feedback, I would pursue a refund and get the real thing from PB resource. They are $4.00 each plus shipping from Steve. Cheaper and the real deal.

For those interested: Classic Arcades stopped communicating. I issued a dispute on Paypal, to which they didn't reply either. Paypal now gave me a full refund for receiving an inferior product. Sad that things have to go this way, but at least justice is served. Or something.

#867 4 years ago
Quoted from Jappie:

For those interested: Classic Arcades stopped communicating. I issued a dispute on Paypal, to which they didn't reply either. Paypal now gave me a full refund for receiving an inferior product. Sad that things have to go this way, but at least justice is served. Or something.

It's a small victory. Make sure you leave the negative feedback and a 1-star review on the item, so that future buyers will know that the targets are not hot stamped, and that there are other places that offer a genuine replacement. We don't need these kinds of vendors in the hobby.

#868 4 years ago
Quoted from Andyzola87:

What do you guys think of the before and after?

Looks great to me...purists will probably have a different opinion.

Are you going to make cabinet decals?

Robert

#869 4 years ago

I became a proud owner of Flash Gordon today.

Robert

IMG_20190515_123835 (resized).jpgIMG_20190515_123835 (resized).jpg
#870 4 years ago
Quoted from MrSanRamon:

I became a proud owner of Flash Gordon today.
Robert[quoted image]

Congratulations. Looks like it is in nice shape too!

I'm still looking for one (in just about any condition) so I can join the club too. I want to try some code updates like I did to an older Bally Blackjack game.

Have fun with it.

#871 4 years ago
Quoted from Robotworkshop:

Congratulations. Looks like it is in nice shape too!
I'm still looking for one (in just about any condition) so I can join the club too. I want to try some code updates like I did to an older Bally Blackjack game.
Have fun with it.

I have been looking for a ROM disassembly of a Bally SS to look at. I actually had a Black Jack. I would love to update my Eight Ball to be 15 ball or something similar. Not sure where to start.

#872 4 years ago

My old Blackjack with the patched/updated code was at the PATZ show. Got to try a Flash Gordon there and would really like to find even a project game (complete or not) to restore and tweak the code. Have some ideas for updates like Multiball. If it works out I want to do it in a way that is easy to replicate and undo if anyone wants a stock machine. I'm currently working on Elektra and need to see how much carries over to the other machines.

#873 4 years ago
Quoted from BJM-Maxx:

I would love to update my Eight Ball to be 15 ball or something similar.

Bit off thread topic, but how about changing Eight Ball from 3 to 8 balls per game

ROM U2
$0400 BD -> B8
$04E0 03 -> 08

#874 4 years ago

Does the playfield multiplier combine with bonus multiplier when you collect bonus at the shooter lane? I saw elsewhere that a 25x collect is possible but I'm not sure.

#875 4 years ago
Quoted from Robotworkshop:

My old Blackjack with the patched/updated code was at the PATZ show. Got to try a Flash Gordon there and would really like to find even a project game (complete or not) to restore and tweak the code. Have some ideas for updates like Multiball. If it works out I want to do it in a way that is easy to replicate and undo if anyone wants a stock machine. I'm currently working on Elektra and need to see how much carries over to the other machines.

I would love it if this game could be made into a multiball. The thought had crossed my mind as basically making it so that if you light a playfield multiplier the saucer now serves as a lock and a second ball ejects, saucer kicks out when the other ball hits a switch on the playfield after the shooter lane switch. Keep the playfield multiplier running now until a ball drains instead of the original 15 seconds.

#876 4 years ago

What are good examples of games that have players managing multiball on upper and lower playfields?

#877 4 years ago
Quoted from UNCgump:

What are good examples of games that have players managing multiball on upper and lower playfields?

Don't want to derail the thread but the main and upper playfields on Elektra are similar to Flash Gordon and Elektra has two ball multiball.

The third ball in the lower playfield on Elektra only come into the picture once the main balls drain.

#878 4 years ago
Quoted from UNCgump:

What are good examples of games that have players managing multiball on upper and lower playfields?

How about some of the Williams system 7 games like Black Knight, Jungle Lord - etc.

#879 4 years ago
Quoted from UNCgump:

What are good examples of games that have players managing multiball on upper and lower playfields?

Steve R claims that Flash Gordon is partially copied from Black Knight by a designer who left Williams for Bally.

#880 4 years ago

Anyone looking for a decent restorable playfield set?

20190510_220439 (resized).jpg20190510_220439 (resized).jpg20190510_220413 (resized).jpg20190510_220413 (resized).jpg20190510_220403 (resized).jpg20190510_220403 (resized).jpg
#881 4 years ago

Does anyone know what the cabinet paint colors are?

Robert

2 weeks later
#884 4 years ago

In the club. God damn, i love pinball...

20190608_143340_HDR (resized).jpg20190608_143340_HDR (resized).jpg20190608_143401 (resized).jpg20190608_143401 (resized).jpg20190608_143426 (resized).jpg20190608_143426 (resized).jpg
#885 4 years ago
Quoted from Lysurgeon:

In the club. God damn, i love pinball...[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]

Looks like it needs a fuse

#886 4 years ago

FYI,
Anyone on the fence on whether to purchase a FG Hardtop.Iam down to my last 6.

#887 4 years ago
Quoted from Skypilot:

FYI,
Anyone on the fence on whether to purchase a FG Hardtop.Iam down to my last 6.

Never to be produced again?

#889 4 years ago

I am considering doing a restore on my Flash Gordon.

I have been working on generating side art, to possibly make decals for the cabinet. But I still can't decide whether to make a decal or just repaint the cabinet.

I have seen a few repaint jobs that look great, but painting certainly isn't my specialty and I really don't have an existing space to dedicate to a paint booth.

I did a retheme of a Bally Night Rider into a "Whack That Mole", some pics here:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/bally-night-rider-ss-re-theme/page/2#post-4447565

Those decals turned out pretty good, so I'm leaning towards them.

I have borrowed some graphics I found that I think would look good as a FG cabinet art. Today I had a B/W paper sample of the coin door cabinet graphic printed by Kinkos.

I told Kinko's to print the graphic full size and of course they printed it to some other size. But it's close enough to get an idea of how a decal might look.

The dark color is "Black" and the lighter color is "Red".

Front first cut (resized).jpgFront first cut (resized).jpg

Any comments are welcome.

Robert

#890 4 years ago

Is the head on Flash Gordon hinged like games similar to Elektra or does it just bolt on like earlier games? Any suggestions for shipping a game?

#891 4 years ago
Quoted from Robotworkshop:

s the head on Flash Gordon hinged like games similar to Elektra or does it just bolt on like earlier games?

Hinged.

Robert

#892 4 years ago

Back in the club!

Picked up a local game that is far from perfect but still a fun player. Perfect backglass but whoever maintained this game used whatever drop targets they could find as I think only two have the correct design. The strobe lamp needs some help as well. . . almost forgot how much I liked the callouts on this game!

5J5A0151 (resized).JPG5J5A0151 (resized).JPG5J5A0153 (resized).JPG5J5A0153 (resized).JPG5J5A0152 (resized).JPG5J5A0152 (resized).JPG5J5A0150 (resized).JPG5J5A0150 (resized).JPG

#893 4 years ago
Quoted from TractorDoc:

Back in the club!
Picked up a local game that is far from perfect but still a fun player. Perfect backglass but whoever maintained this game used whatever drop targets they could find as I think only two have the correct design. The strobe lamp needs some help as well. . . almost forgot how much I liked the callouts on this game!
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]

Awesome! You gonna do a restore on this one? Seems to look in pretty good shape from what I can tell!

#894 4 years ago
Quoted from FatPanda:

Awesome! You gonna do a restore on this one? Seems to look in pretty good shape from what I can tell!

Not sure on this one -- its good enough to play and have fun with but needs help in a lot of areas. I'll probably play it for awhile and upgrade some of the little things over time. Thinking of swapping out the game (Meteor) at the office for a different one. . . this FG may be a good candidate.

My brother has a FG with a blown out playfield that I want to install a hardtop on, that one may get the full treatment.

#895 4 years ago

I am a new member of the club! Owning this machine makes me like it so much more than when I have to shovel quarters into it!

Question for the club. . . What are people using for settings?

I am on 3 ball and I put all the switches to "conservative", but with the difficulty of the game, I was wondering if there was any consensus on some good settings are? It seems like the "liberal" settings carry over progress from ball to ball more which doesn't seem like a bad thing for FG!

I am still learning the rules, but dang, this game is good.

#896 4 years ago

I'm at conservative settings for everything, except for the upper drop targets, which carry over from ball to ball. Even then, I rarely ever drop a full lit set. I think most people will say set it to conservative for everything. I've been too lazy

#897 4 years ago

I replaced the speakers in the game...minimal improvement, but they do look better.

Robert

Speaker Replacement (resized).jpgSpeaker Replacement (resized).jpg

#898 4 years ago
Quoted from Aeon:

New sound has to be the same length or shorter in most cases, but not all. It depends on how the software in FG uses the different sounds. Sometimes it doesn't even play the full length of the original sound either. NBII does not support multiple sound clips in a folder.
Here are a short video just so you can get a feeling of the custom music and sound that you can change with the NBII board. You can hear a different "machine gun" sound from the pop-bumpers (sound clip from the movie of course) and Flash Gordon himself talks when you loose a ball in the outlane.

Well THIS is awesome! Anyone tried to do something similar using Pinduino? Seems you'd have a lot more freedom and flexibility to use whatever original sounds you wanted with proper movie callouts and Queen songs... Sorry if I offend the purists.

#899 4 years ago

A new personal best with Flash Gordon (after months of humiliation!)

IMG_0809 (1) (resized).jpgIMG_0809 (1) (resized).jpg
#900 4 years ago
Quoted from FatPanda:

I'm at conservative settings for everything, except for the upper drop targets, which carry over from ball to ball. Even then, I rarely ever drop a full lit set. I think most people will say set it to conservative for everything. I've been too lazy

Wow, do most people really set it to "Conservative"? That's brutal. I assumed that might possibly be the case for tournaments, but the manual says that "Liberal" is the recommended setting for all switches when on 3-ball.

20190620_105558 (resized).jpg20190620_105558 (resized).jpg
Promoted items from the Pinside Marketplace
From: $ 649.95
Lighting - Led
Pin Stadium Pinball Mods
Led
$ 7.00
Playfield - Decals
Pinball Haus
Decals
From: £ 135.00
Electronics
Retro Electro Designs
Electronics
From: $ 150.00
Displays
PinballSolutions.eu
Displays
$ 20.00
Hardware
Volcano Pinball
Hardware
$ 12.00
Tools
Nezzy's Pinball Prints
Tools
$ 22.50
Magazines/books
Pinball Magazine
Magazines/books
$ 399.95
Lighting - Led
Pin Stadium Pinball Mods
Led
$ 199.95
$ 40.00
Gameroom - Decorations
The Flipper Room
Decorations
From: $ 399.95
Lighting - Led
Pin Stadium Pinball Mods
Led
$ 10.00
Playfield - Protection
UpKick Pinball
Protection
From: $ 14.00
Electronics
Third Coast Pinball
Electronics
From: $ 2.99
5,000 (OBO)
Machine - For Sale
Houston, TX
$ 179.00
Cabinet - Other
Pinball Pimp
Other
$ 22.95
Eproms
Pinballrom
Eproms
3,200 (OBO)
Machine - For Sale
Elkhart, IN
$ 45.00
$ 10.00
Lighting
Yoppsicle
Lighting
$ 90.00
$ 15.00
Hardware
Volcano Pinball
Hardware
$ 44.99
Cabinet - Shooter Rods
Pinball Shark
Shooter rods
From: £ 35.00
Displays
Retro Electro Designs
Displays
From: $ 170.00
Displays
PinballSolutions.eu
Displays
$ 20.00
Playfield - Plastics
UpKick Pinball
Plastics
Wanted
Machine - Wanted
Boston, MA
$ 119.95
Boards
Allteksystems
Boards
Wanted
Machine - Wanted
Berkeley Springs, WV
From: £ 135.00
Electronics
Retro Electro Designs
Electronics
Great pinball charity
Pinball Edu
There are 2,794 posts in this topic. You are on page 18 of 56.

Reply

Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.

Hey there! Welcome to Pinside!

Donate to Pinside

Great to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!


This page was printed from https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/flash-gordon-saviors-of-the-universe-club/page/18 and we tried optimising it for printing. Some page elements may have been deliberately hidden.

Scan the QR code on the left to jump to the URL this document was printed from.