This is a players condition, early run F-14 Tomcat. I will attempt to describe it’s condition in detail to avoid any surprises to potential purchasers.

I don’t know the history of this pin beyond my picking it up from a Pinsider from Minnesota in the parking lot of the Chrome Dennys in the Wisconsin Dells back in September. As you can see from these pictures http://tinyurl.com/nasj6am, it needed a bit of work, but I was looking for a project pin and found one.

If I had to guess, it seems it has spent most of it’s existence heavily routed and left in temperature uncontrolled environments, but did have competent tech service performed at some point and now and plays without issue.

Repairs and condition:

Cabinet: Most of the cabinet was sanded down to bare wood and repainted. It was my first stencil job and I would say it passes the five foot test. Meaning it looks decent from 5 feet away, but if you look too close, you can see where the stencils were not perfectly aligned or the paint pooled a bit too much around the edges. It is not collector quality and HEP has nothing to fear from me. I then used a water based poly that raised the grain a bit more that I would have liked, but as previously stated, it looks okay and much better than it did before I started. The translight looks good, but the plastic rail that goes on the bottom of the glass is cracked. Both locks were replaced. The support Latch on the back of the backbox is broken.

Playfield: Many of the inserts were raised. They are now much flatter. The playfield was stripped, cleaned, and waxed. The mylar was removed before I purchased the pin. A playfield protector has been installed. The game now plays smooth and fast. It has a few worn spots, a big horizontal scratch, spiderweb like cracks in the paint, discoloration around where it was not protected by the original mylar and paint around the inserts is inconsistent. Other than that, it looks pretty good from a distance. The playfield protector is like a removable poor man’s clearcoat. It looks shiny, smooth, and protected, but you can still see the blemishes underneath. The five foot test applies here too. I think it looks pretty good until you look too close. With the playfield protector it should not get any worse.
All the rubber, balls, and flipper bats were replaced. It is currently sporting Super Bands.

Lights: All the controlled lamps were replaced with a cointaker LED kit. F14 is really an amazing light show. The GI was replaced with Comets and a few others I had about. The pop bumper has a new LED cap on it. The flashers and backbox bulbs are incandescent and all functioning. The lights on the topper work, but the rotating reflector dish under the middle beacon is missing.

Plastics: New, clear plastic protectors were installed to prevent further damage to the plastics. Most of the plastics are in decent shape for a pin of this age. However, the lower right sling is cracked and the middle aircraft carrier plastic is missing a chunk.

Legs: New leg levelers were installed and the legs cleaned and polished. They are scratched and still a bit dirty in the nooks and crannies on the back. The cabinet is pretty dented around the legs, but felt protectors were put on to help with further damage.

Display: The display is bright and functional. I have seen an intermittent error where the top LCD line of the bottom two displays will disappear. It will work fine for a week and I will think that I’ve fixed it. Then be gone the next two times I turn the game on. It’s not really that noticeable.

Boards: They all seem to be original and everything is functioning without issue. That said, at some point before my ownership, the CPU board had a significant issue. It has a big burn mark and a hole in it. It was repaired before I got it and I’ve put dozens of games on it and have had absolutely no issues with it.

Mechanicals: Never checked the coin mechs. I tinkered and replaced some parts on the flippers. All the switches play nice with no errors.

Sound: Seems to work fine. It does have a bit more of a hum than I would expect if no other sound it being played. Adding the LEDs seemed to limit it, but not remove it.

Original manual included.
Overview:
Good:
The game works and plays rock solid. It’s fun and fast.
Many new parts and lots of hours have returned it from the mostly dead.

Bad:
I should not be allowed near an airbrush or paint brush.
Weird intermittent display line issue.
Playfield and cabinet are not going to win any beauty contests.

Ugly:
The CPU board was obviously professionally service and works fine, but has a burn mark and a hole in it.

Price: $1,000. Cash only.

Trade: I would be open to a trade. Another system 11 era equivalent or later. Fantasy or Sci Fi themes are preferred, but not required. I would be willing to kick in money for a nicer pin. Let me know what you’ve got.