(Topic ID: 85150)
Linked Games
Embryon
Bally, 1981-
Future Spa
Bally, 1979
-
Paragon
Bally, 1979
Topic Gallery
Asbury Park, NJ
Quoted from Electronmagic:Just a little touch-up and you're there.
The playfield looks fantastic though.
I had hopes ... alas, it’s looking like a decal until Mirf makes repro aprons.
Thanks for the playfield compliments ... something to be said for full playfield mylars. They can be shined up nice and kept stock versus going the CPR route.
Added over 4 years ago:Btw, it’s Merf, not Mirf. In case you’re not familiar they make amazing repro aprons.
Quoted from pinster68:Apron was worse than I thought after a light rub under water to remove any loose flakes...
I dunno ... what do you think? :-O[quoted image]
Wow haven’t seen an apron dissolve like that before, kinda weird since the playfield is so nice.
Quoted from radium:Wow haven’t seen an apron dissolve like that before, kinda weird since the playfield is so nice.
Almost all of the Future Spa aprons do that. Something about that particular paint. Its the only apron Bally did in that color. Might have been a bad batch that eventually just peels away.
Quoted from Mk1Mod0:Almost all of the Future Spa aprons do that.
I've had 2 Future Spas in the last 2 years and neither one had issues with the apron paint.
IMG_2134 (resized).JPGQuoted from JethroP:I've had 2 Future Spas in the last 2 years and neither one had issues with the apron paint.[quoted image]
I'm thinking that's a California thing. Just like how cars don't rust there...
Now if that little old lady from Pasadena had a Future Spa for sale.... 
Quoted from pinster68:I'm thinking that's a California thing. Just like how cars don't rust there...
I just moved here from Ohio. Brought one of my Future Spas with me. Sold the other a while back. But bought them both in Ohio.
I'll tell you what....you're right about the rust. I've never seen so many vintage cars on the road as here in San Jose. 60's Mustangs, Chevy El Caminos, Etc...
I'm convinced (but I'd never do it), that I could put a pin on my back patio and it would survive just fine. Just need an umbrella to keep the sun off of it.
4 months later
1 week later
I should have known better. Was looking to save some time and found Future Spa apron decals on eBay (Classic Arcades, Jeff McAfee). Ordered 2 sets for the two Future Spas that I am restoring.
Received one of the two that I ordered in a box today. The color does not match to the apron paint. The size of the Bally graphics on the lower right side is wrong. The sheen is wrong. Only one of the two that I ordered was in the box. The font of the word "PINBALL" does not match original font. Spacing of pinstripes does not match the original art. Overall, not the quality that is expected in a licensed product.
Hope this post saves someone some time. I wish there were other options out there, but I don't see them at this time.
20200330_172459[1] (resized).jpg20200330_172556[1] (resized).jpgBALLY (resized).jpg
Ancaster, ON
Quoted from Sheprd:I should have known better. Was looking to save some time and found Future Spa apron decals on eBay (Classic Arcades, Jeff McAfee). Ordered 2 sets for the two Future Spas that I am restoring.
Received one of the two that I ordered in a box today. The color does not match to the apron paint. The size of the Bally graphics on the lower right side is wrong. The sheen is wrong. Only one of the two that I ordered was in the box. The font of the word "PINBALL" does not match original font. Spacing of pinstripes does not match the original art. Overall, not the quality that is expected in a licensed product.
Hope this post saves someone some time. I wish there were other options out there, but I don't see them at this time.[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
Ministry of Pinball also sells one but I don’t know if it’s any better. Shipping might be expensive. That’s the one I was looking at for my friend’s Future Spa. His apron paint is also a peeling mess.
1 week later
Quoted from Sheprd:I should have known better.
Well that scumbag Jeff McAfee shorted me on the refund when I sent his crap stickers back to him... buyers beware! Never again will I buy anything from him.
The apron decals are really bad, I need a good apron alternative for both my Future Spa and Paragon. The guys in Australia had amazing apron decals, not sure why Rick put a stop to them and kept Classic Arcades as the only source.
Quoted from Xenon75:The apron decals are really bad, I need a good apron alternative for both my Future Spa and Paragon. The guys in Australia had amazing apron decals, not sure why Rick put a stop to them and kept Classic Arcades as the only source.
Pinball Rescue guys in Australia are great. It’s a shame they lost their Bally license. I got my apron decal and plastics for my World Fair from them. All outstanding quality.
Melbourne
Quoted from phillyfan64:Pinball Rescue guys in Australia are great. It’s a shame they lost their Bally license. I got my apron decal and plastics for my World Fair from them. All outstanding quality.
They never had a license nobody does other than Rick, they can work with Rick and pay him a % of Sales of Copyright Material which they Didn't want to do
with any rights owned by others just add the small amount to the cost of the product like all the others do and seem to work.
Quoted from Ballypinball:They never had a license nobody does other than Rick, they can work with Rick and pay him a % of Sales of Copyright Material which they Didn't want to do
with any rights owned by others just add the small amount to the cost of the product like all the others do and seem to work.
Thanks for the info. Who is Rick? I honestly don’t know.
Quoted from Ballypinball:They never had a license nobody does other than Rick, they can work with Rick and pay him a % of Sales of Copyright Material which they Didn't want to do
with any rights owned by others just add the small amount to the cost of the product like all the others do and seem to work.
Damn! Those are killer-great. I'll love to get a set if you decide to make them.
Future Spa is in my top 10 games of all time. Love the gameplay, the cheeseball backglass, but love the Dave Christensen PF art especially. When I bought my FS 9-10 years ago the game got very little respect. Today it seems players either love the game or hate it.
Quoted from NinJaBooT:My apron on my FS is flaked off as well so made a magnet apron cover for mine. I'm also playing around with some cabinet decals.[quoted image][quoted image]
My apron is perfect, but I almost wish it was flaking so I could justify talking you into selling one of these to me.
Quoted from NinJaBooT:My apron on my FS is flaked off as well so made a magnet apron cover for mine. I'm also playing around with some cabinet decals.[quoted image][quoted image]
That's pretty amazing. Girl with the black hair is stacked like a brick house.
Quoted from phillyfan64:Thanks for the info. Who is Rick? I honestly don’t know.
Rick owns Planetary Pinball and holds all the rights for Bally and Williams. Period. Here's the legal -
http://www.planetarypinball.com/docs/PPS%20Rights%20Overview.pdf
I got his permission to do the game specific Bally harnesses and have been doing them for some time now. There's no logos or print involved but I cover my bases. He's a polite and reasonable guy who is protecting his interests.
Shawn
Third Coast Pinball
Quoted from Mk1Mod0:Rick owns Planetary Pinball and holds all the rights for Bally and Williams. Period. Here's the legal -
http://www.planetarypinball.com/docs/PPS%20Rights%20Overview.pdf
I got his permission to do the game specific Bally harnesses and have been doing them for some time now. There's no logos or print involved but I cover my bases. He's a polite and reasonable guy who is protecting his interests.
Shawn
Third Coast Pinball
Thanks for the info and link.
1 week later
Im in, replaced a transistor on the solenoid board two diodes re pinned the j4 connectors from mpu to solenoid board, pulled the loose inserts and reglued with 2 pac, game is playing great. UNFORTUNATELY someone PAINTED THE CAB AND APRON... was thinking about getting the stencils for the cabinet but tell those stencils cost half of what I paid for the entire game!
20200413_200910 (resized).jpg20200419_205724 (resized).jpgQuoted from Heaterguy:Im in, replaced a transistor on the solenoid board two diodes re pinned the j4 connectors from mpu to solenoid board, pulled the loose inserts and reglued with 2 pac, game is playing great. UNFORTUNATELY someone PAINTED THE CAB AND APRON... was thinking about getting the stencils for the cabinet but tell those stencils cost half of what I paid for the entire game![quoted image][quoted image]
I was on that listing as well but talked myself out of it as I own one already. Glad you were able to score it! Love the game!
Quoted from Heaterguy:Im in, replaced a transistor on the solenoid board two diodes re pinned the j4 connectors from mpu to solenoid board, pulled the loose inserts and reglued with 2 pac, game is playing great. UNFORTUNATELY someone PAINTED THE CAB AND APRON... was thinking about getting the stencils for the cabinet but tell those stencils cost half of what I paid for the entire game![quoted image][quoted image]
But, but, how do you say no... :
IMG_4804 (resized).JPG 1 month later
Quoted from Sheprd:Close enough?
That looks real nice. Been "in the spa" for just over a week and I've received my first round of part orders. Ordered spinner decals from action pinball dot com. They do not look good. Colors are splotchy. Looks like a low resolution scan of a water color. Especially noticeable in the (lack of a) black border line.
Your image of the spinner looks much better. Any chance you printed off a large batch of extras from it? 
Quoted from mr2xbass:That looks real nice. Been "in the spa" for just over a week and I've received my first round of part orders. Ordered spinner decals from action pinball dot com. They do not look good. Colors are splotchy. Looks like a low resolution scan of a water color. Especially noticeable in the (lack of a) black border line.
Your image of the spinner looks much better. Any chance you printed off a large batch of extras from it?
The graphic I posted is one I recreated from scratch in vector art (Illustrator) by overlaying scans of my originals. What I do is paint the spinners white, sand, get them nice and smooth, and then using the graphic I provided to create a water slide decal. Put those on the white spinner. Wait a day, and coat with spray clear. They hold up nice and look like they have been painted on! I use laser water slide decals. I just make them up as I need them.
Vinyl stickers look like, well... vinyl stickers
Mac (The SHEPRD)
1 week later
Quoted from Sheprd:... I just make them up as I need them.
Michael, I just mailed you a set. Enjoy!
Mac (The SHEPRD)
I was having trouble with the rollover registering, so I tried adjusting the switch. The contacts were too close and would occasionally touch/score from just pops firing. I readjusted the switch, but it was back to sometimes not registering when the shot was made, especially when it was a straight-on full-speed shot. I thought maybe it was because the ball was getting a little air born on the curve of the metal lane and missing the star (leveled at an appropriate pitch). When looking closer just now, I noticed the metal lane was bent a bit at the upper left corner against the post. Upon removing the plastic, I noticed there are two different screw holes for the top mount of the metal lane. They both look like they've spent a good amount of years being used as the hole.
It was in the left hole before I removed the screw. When in the right hole, the metal lane seems to align the ball path with the star a little better.
Was this an original choice for operator lib/con setting or did a previous owner just screw a new hole? Anyone else have two spots up top?
IMG_2834 (resized).JPGOnly 1 hole for that spot originally based on the 3 Future Spas that I have had. Left one looks original.
1 week later
Has anyone ever played with different color pop bumper caps? One of mine is chipped and am looking at going led and was thinking about adding differnt color caps and guide rails up top. Any thoughts
Also any decals for the apron (not classic, I already bought that one and its crap)
I personally like the warm whites. Looks nice and clean without too much undue pop. But, to each their own; I've definitely seen many (photos of) FS's with colored bulbs in the top lanes. That can be okay if it's what you want, but if you're considering changing the plastic lane dividers too, I personally would make sure to hold on to the originals. Can't replace those original formed lanes with the raised Bally logo.
IMG_2813 (resized).JPGIMG_2815 (resized).JPGMy sound is very weak on my FS. I reseated the connectors on the soundboard and the IC chips and the sound came back normal volume. The next time it went out that did not work tried adjusting the potentiometer which is mounted on the speaker and still the sound is very faint. Any suggestions as to what to check next?
1 week later
Noticed the GI lighting is out on Future Spa. Opened up the back box and found this:
I’m assuming my next task it to cleanup and reseat these pins. Any sage wisdom or advice on cleaning/replacing this molex connector?
C82ACE6D-3F81-4E66-882D-B418665E1C9B (resized).jpegDF91B054-B32E-435C-B2B5-70B168ED7F11 (resized).jpegQuoted from EasternBloc:Any sage wisdom or advice on cleaning/replacing this molex connector?
I had the exact same issue just a month ago. I tried cleaning up the connector, and even replacing the female pins on the wiring to the power supply (there is more than the one pin going to the GI). Sage advice as requested: Remove power supply, take to the bench, and replace ALL the header pins (J1, J2, and J3). Next, replace ALL the wire pins with trifurcon, and use new connector housings. The parts will cost a little less than $20. I recommend either The Pinball Resource or Great Plains Electronics for parts.
Quoted from JethroP:I had the exact same issue just a month ago. I tried cleaning up the connector, and even replacing the female pins on the wiring to the power supply (there is more than the one pin going to the GI). Sage advice as requested: Remove power supply, take to the bench, and replace ALL the header pins (J1, J2, and J3). Next, replace ALL the wire pins with trifurcon, and use new connector housings. The parts will cost a little less than $20. I recommend either The Pinball Resource or Great Plains Electronics for parts.
This would be my first time to desolder or solder anything to/from a board, so I go in with great trepidation. Would replacing the complete rectifier board be a better option that cleaning and replacing pins? My board looks dirty and a bit corroded in places. I found what I think is a direct replacement for $65 from PinballLife:
https://www.pinballlife.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=PBL-100-0070-00
I'm very thankful for the advice given!
Quoted from EasternBloc:This would be my first time to desolder or solder anything to/from a board, so I go in with great trepidation. Would replacing the complete rectifier board be a better option that cleaning and replacing pins?
Unfortunately, even if you buy a new board, you will need to solder to it. All the wiring from the transformer outputs solder directly to the back side of the board. You will be soldering to a brand new board. Rather than risk ruining a new board, why not try (practicing) repair to the old board. If you fail, what have you got to lose? The cost of the header pins is only about $6.
Quoted from JethroP:If you fail, what have you got to lose?
Touché, sir. Molexes and pins on order, desoldering vids queued up on youtube. Thank you, will report back.
Quoted from JethroP:You also have a molex crimping tool?
I will soon. I'm acquiring a great obscure tool tray from this and other hobbies.
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