would love to do my alien in the green. but looks like a lot of work to remove glass and ship that large section in a box

It is a bit of work, but worth it, I wouldnt ship it - just find a local powder coater to do it for you

Awesome can’t wait!! Definitely doing becons also. Probably pinstadium as well

may get mine power coated green. how hard to remove the glass from frame. Then remove anything else before shipping

The piece that looks difficult to remove to me is the metal band around the head. At first glance, it looks like that piece is holding the head together.

I think @partyking had his trim powder coated.

Ok...so I put PDI in mine (looks amazing on this game btw)...a couple things learned:

The glass magazine comes off easy but is heavy. The factory glass is THICKER than standard (didn't put a mic on it,but a good thing to know going in)

Glass itself is secured w (4x) metal pieces of flat stock, screwed into standoffs that are welded to magazine. Sandwiched in between the metal stock and magazine is in essence rubber weatherstripping, which keeps the glass snug. Standard thickness glass will be held firmly, btw.

HERE'S THE IMPORTANT PART- Those standoffs are metal ....... the glass could potentially hit one of them if jarred and Kapow...shattered glass. You will recall a few of the cobbled together first runs came w shattered glass...this is why.

The machines come now ( at least mine) with (4x) rubber "spacers" which go in between the top and bottom standoffs. 4 posts on each of those sides, so they used it on every other one. THERE ARE NO SUCH SPACERS ON THE SIDES!!! I ended up putting rubber spacers on the side standoffs as well, to insure if the game did get a hard side hit, the glass wouldn't shatter. I highly recommend doing this for peace of mind.

I suspect you could get some exact size rubber tubing (possibly 1/4"ID) and cut them to fit, for a nice clean fit. I didn't have any on hand, but did have 1/4" rubber weatherstrip which I cut in about 2" lengths and fit fine. That is what they provided.

Everything is nice and solid, and will say that it's great to be able to pull the magazine off, set it aside (quite strong), work on game, then put it back without ever touching the glass (I always seem to find a way to smudge the inside of the glass, and don't catch it until I've reinstalled.)

Just be careful, and have a nice flat surface to set the magazine on....pull the glass...and off to powder (mine is already green, so leaving it alone). Good luck....

wow. thx for the detailed instructions

No biggie....just wanted to provide a heads up before you took it apart....scared me when I first saw the config....

yeah. i’m not home for a few days but i remember seeing something every few inches and thought there were like 35 screws

Thanks mk6

Is there an official green color for the LE Trim? thought it looked close to the AFM LE green trim. that main glass frame is pretty big to go in a powder coating oven so hoping i can get it done.

Those greens are spot on, and the magazine is textured so should come out fine. Doubt we'll ever get the exact # manufacturer of the color as there is so little documentation.

I'll take a pic of my AFMR LE lockbar on top of the magazine tonight if it helps...

My powder guy ( and most of the true pros) have ovens you can walk in, so no worries...shopping carts are big business).

so the greens are same? may ask you for his info

I own both, and they look quite similar, if not exact. Should be able to post a pic tonight so you can compare...(camera shots don't always give the best look).

My take is yes, but would be best for you to make the final decision after I show you the pic......mark

Taking the glass out isn't bad, lots of screws is all, just remember to go buy some new weather stripping before you get it back homedepot carries the same stuff they used.

For colour my guess would be one of these (too bad prismatic doesnt do free swatches any more):
https://www.prismaticpowders.com/shop/powder-coating-colors/PRB-6841/lime-peel
https://www.prismaticpowders.com/shop/powder-coating-colors/PRB-6594/sweet-pea-river
https://www.prismaticpowders.com/shop/powder-coating-colors/PRB-4022/neon-green-river#

thx. which weatherstripping? the long rolls?

Agreed, just placing it in-between the standoffs is a bit unnerving....

Prismatic sent me some swatches when I was matching my BM66LE color, as I recall...have to check ( that was a tough one to exactly match)...

Yea its a roll, its the rubbery stuff not the foam, take a chunk with you after you take it apart

A pic for your discernment...

Natural white led overhead...the AFMRLE appears to have a slightly darker green, but not much, than Alien....sheen irrelevant as Alien is textured...hope this helps....( I'm not a color expert by any stretch, btw...

IMG_20180721_194749226 (resized).jpg

thx. tough call. the afm color would look great

Agreed... no reason you can't pick the shade you like, imho...

back from page one:
nice, but I would have extended the "cliffy style" metal piece to use existing holes instead of adding more to the playfield. there's a #6 hex head 1" north of where you made the one hole and my guess is that there's probably another right under the apron

Huh? I didn't drill any new holes. I removed the lane protector and used a dremel to cut it back a bit, and then re-installed it right back where it was originally.

ah, my bad. I thought that you had made the part yourself and added 2 more screw holes to install it

One question please: is there a shot as difficult as the SIM card shot on DI?
Sorry for the reference in this thread but I was really wondering to buy an Alien and I was warned that this game was a difficult one ( rules comprehension, shot). So as long there is not a weird and impossible shot to make like the SIM card one, I would go ahead.
Thanks

greenhornet want to jump in here?

That scream save yell is kind of creepy. Dont' recall that particular sound effect from the movies. Alien is kind of a scary game.. best played during the daytime with the window shades open.

I've always wondered about one of the tilt warnings. The "uh uh uhhhh" sounds like it came from Jurassic Park - like the warning received when they try to mess with the guys PC after he races away with the embryos.

Two shots from the upper right flipper are difficult, the ramp and the inner loop. This is due to the lack of a consistent feed to the flipper. However, changes were made to the code to help address this by diverting the ball into the pops when a shot needs to be made by that flipper.

I think this works well, it allows you a good chance of getting the ball to that flipper from the orbits, the upper left flipper as well as the tougher lower left flipper and random bounces. Still not easy but all the more satisfying.

I don't find them nearly as difficult as the SIM card shot in DI.

If I could make a change, it would be to add manual control to the diverters because the ball is not always diverted to the upper flipper when the ramp or inner loop is lit.

You could make it so that if the inner loop or ramp is lit, a shot to a spinner would enable the the diverters to be controlled by the flipper buttons. For example, left spinner hit, left button controls right diverter.

Double post

Thing is so heavy its hard to tilt . Could use it as a blocking sled.

Mind blowing game!

Someone told me the cabinet wood is different then Sterns or JJP. Is this true ? I think the build quality is excellent. Almost as good as my JJP Dialed in CE.

To me its every bit as good as JJP and I've got an original WozECLE.

Def reminds me of JJP fit and finish. It's def a beast!

Blows away everything else I've got on video and sound.

Mine actually sit side by side........Alien easily equal on many fronts, and better visually and audibly.......theme vs DI?.......umm.....not gonna do it....biggest (only) true knock on this pin is the failure of the company, so more couldn't experience it......easily could have set a new bar...

Anyone changed the voltages on one of these? Helped deliver an Alien LE that someone had shipped from Australia. Never checked the voltage, it is 220. I am assuming it just needs a different power supply, but figured I would ask to see if anyone has converted on yet.

simple switch selection at power supply AND center board under plexi

And a new power cord!

whoops!!! forgot to mention that....thanks!!!

Thanks guys, figured it was that simple.

Can a DIY hardware or post/wireform help to drive the ball to the upper right flipper?

with recent versions of the software it is possible to manage the power of all the coils independently. for the top right flipper, just adjust it a little more powerful and more worries

Maybe, but at this point, I don't feel it's necessary. I think in single ball play, the ball gets to the flipper often enough and the feed from the pops and chest burster target is visible and easy to track.

It's definitely more difficult in multiball play where you don't have time to take your eyes off the action to track the ball and line up the shot. In this regard, it may be a bit more challenging than other games that have a shot that consistently feeds an upper flipper, but not to the point of being unfair or not fun, IMO.

If I were going to try and increase the percentage of feeds from the pops to the upper flipper, I would play with the sensitivity of one or more of the pops. However, this will effect the number of pop hits so might not be worth it even if it's effective.

I was thinking of adding a mod which blows hot air in the face when the game's siren lights go off. It would be awesome during the Queens nest part where you blow up the eggs.. the light in the face and heat would make it seem real. Just need to figure out how to wire it up.
Mo

Good idea, doesn't seem too involved. Maybe a blow dryer, a relay and an Alien bust. Air shoots out the mouth.

Speaking of mods, I've always hated how the ball launches right into that dead-end, then dribbles back to the right in-lane. Why not launch it up into the pops?

HMmmmm.... So I just purchased an old wireform ramp that will hopefully work. Basically, I'm going to cut off the dead-end, and mount an extension ramp so the ball will launch directly into the pops. ...curious why it wasn't designed that way in the first place - seems it would make for a much cleaner launch.

Of course, the proof is in the pudding as they say - so I'll report back if I can get it working.

Then I hope theses 2 shots are very satisfying when succeeded

In a previous version of the playfield layout, the launcher lane launched the ball into the right orbit, which diverted it to the upper-right flipper (no longer a possibility, obviously).

Anyway, trying to launch a ball up such a long wireform may result in failed kicks falling back to the shooter lane... and you'll probably nix any chance at a skill shot... but of course feel free to try it.

Good point about the skill shot - I hadn't considered that. The thing is, I'm getting plenty of failed kickbacks now, as maybe 5 or 10% of the time the ball bounces off the dead-end and falls back to the shooter. I thought it would be smoother to remove that obstacle and let it flow up the right loop. Of course, it will only be an improvement if I can get it working 100%. I also figured it might help during multi-ball because sometimes things get all clustered up down near the flippers. ...those darn Pinball Amigo's got me thinking I can just add ramps wherever I want.

Of course, I don't plan to do anything permanent or something that can't be put back to original. ...but it's an itch I gotta scratch now.

I've actually bought all the stuff to do this on my Hobbit - I just haven't had the time to put it all together. You'll need a blower of some type, a relay, a topper bust or head and some tubing. Marine supply stores have some great black flex tubing used for boat heaters. If you could pull air out of the cabinet (above the CPU), it might be decently warm. Heating it on the fly probably isn't possible with the velocity required (at least not economically).

You might think about a Pinduino and Opto-Isolator for intercepting/processing inputs/outputs.

Are you using drop dead foam at the top of the form? Works way better than stock rubber.

That piece pretty much solved for me...got the trough loading correctly about 95% consistently w some tweaking as well...just some thoughts..