Quoted from Andyzola87:Any recent news on a Flash Gordon hardtop?
I might be needing one of those Flash Gordon hardtops!
Quoted from Andyzola87:Any recent news on a Flash Gordon hardtop?
I might be needing one of those Flash Gordon hardtops!
Quoted from arcademojo:I might be needing one of those Flash Gordon hardtops!
Looks like my Black Knight! Brutal!
I am curious how much variation there is in insert locations from playfield to playfield of the same game. I know the Hardtop makers do their best to make the best fit but is it even possible? I do not own a single factory playfield that does not have a couple of crescent shapes of bare wood next to an insert. Has anyone got an idea of the tolerance of the insert locations as opposed to the factory having the additional problem of aligning the artwork to the wood that hardtop installations can fine tune?
Quoted from jjoravec:Is Frontier ready yet?
Yes,I finished prototyping it a few weeks ago. Check their website.
Quoted from Skypilot:Yes,I finished prototyping it a few weeks ago. Check their website.
Hasn't made it to the website yet
Quoted from Outsidedge:Hello All, and Happy New Year! Frontier is now live for ordering at http://www.pinballgifts.com Enjoy!
Woot woot! Congrats. Any idea what the next game(s) might be?
Quoted from Skypilot:Yes,I finished prototyping it a few weeks ago. Check their website.
Quoted from Skypilot:I will give him a shout
Quoted from Outsidedge:Hello All, and Happy New Year! Frontier is now live for ordering at http://www.pinballgifts.com Enjoy!
I want to change my Avatar to "HARDTOP OVERLORD"
Quoted from Outsidedge:Hello All, and Happy New Year!
How close are we to seeing Black Knight for sale? We gotta be close right...?
Any Canucks out there purchase a hardtop yet? Do we have an idea what we are being charged to get them across the border?
Just learning about this product! I have a frontier that I might consider doing this to. Has anyone reviewed how these play relative to standard clearcoat games? How well do they hold up over time? Is there any chance there will be a game with one of these installed at Texas Pinball Festival this year?
Thanks!
Quoted from Spraynard:Just learning about this product! I have a frontier that I might consider doing this to. Has anyone reviewed how these play relative to standard clearcoat games? How well do they hold up over time? Is there any chance there will be a game with one of these installed at Texas Pinball Festival this year?
Thanks!
Gameplay and durability have been discussed severaltines throughout this thread. Cliff notes, it plays great and seems to hold up well.
If I dream hard enough when I go to sleep tonight for Black Knight to be released maybe it will actually happen...
Are we close? We gotta be close, right? The anticipation is just killing me! I want to get this project started!
I think this is the same technology Homepin is using for their Thunderbirds playfields. The future of playfields? Prevents all the issues the current manufacturers are having such as ghosting, excessive dimpling and chipping. Plus easily replaceable.
Quoted from cooked71:The future of playfields? Prevents all the issues the current manufacturers are having such as ghosting, excessive dimpling and chipping. Plus easily replaceable.
That's what I've been thinking for a while now. I wonder why Stern doesn't do this? No ghosting. No dimples.
Quoted from Rum-Z:That's what I've been thinking for a while now. I wonder why Stern doesn't do this? No ghosting. No dimples.
Question is, do they even need to keep the base pf as plywood? I'm guessing repairing, manufacturing is easier fixing to wood. Unless there is another material that can be repeatedly screwed into and easily drilled?
Another thought - if new games were made with this technology there might be an aftermarket where new pf art could be easily created by the community. Black and white comic book TWD playfield comes to mind, but there are plenty of other candidates.
You could even "easily" re-theme an old playfield to a completely new game (assuming you can re-code).
Quoted from cooked71:I think this is the same technology Homepin is using for their Thunderbirds playfields. The future of playfields? Prevents all the issues the current manufacturers are having such as ghosting, excessive dimpling and chipping. Plus easily replaceable.
...which is precisely why Stern isn’t interested, IMHO. The last thing they want is their PF to last forever. As it is, with so many games going into private collections seeing minimal wear Stern realizes the used games market is a growing threat to future NiB sales. So long as the overall pinball market keeps growing it’s ok, but watch out when/if it starts to contract.
Quoted from Fytr:The last thing they want is their PF to last forever.
I do get that, but the hardtop play field construction would seem like a way to get out from under the "Ohmigherd Ghosting!!!!" warranty issues, or potential warranty issues should any real egregious ghosting show up in light of the Stern "ghosting is normal" warranty statement. Does the play field lasting forever outweigh sending out replacement play fields for ghosting issues every now and then?
Quoted from Jason43:The hardtop doesn't adhere to the inserts
I thought people were spraying down clear adhesive to attach?
Quoted from Jason43:The hardtop doesn't adhere to the inserts
From their website, "Aggressive permanent adhesive ensures it attaches securely and lays flat".
None of the inserts have adhesive. It's just a clear window. The rest of the overlay does, just not where there's an insert. This is the reason you don't get ghosting if the insert starts to cup
Quoted from Jason43:None of the inserts have adhesive. It's just a clear window. The rest of the overlay does, just not where there's an insert. This is the reason you don't get ghosting if the insert starts to cup
If there is a gap between the hardtop and insert, will it look off though? Not full ghosting.
Quoted from 1iblind:From their website, "Aggressive permanent adhesive ensures it attaches securely and lays flat".
I think this product looks amazing, but we really won’t know how it holds up long term for many years. Possible the colors fade, or the glue gives in spots causing raised ‘bubbles’, etc.
But it absolutely improves a ratted out pf 1000% so worth the risk. Worst case you might want to redo it in 10 years, though I expect removing one of these probably isn’t an option in any case.
I'm confused by the picture above... with hard tops do you have to sand the entire playfield? Also to remove the paint on the inserts is there a chemical that can be used instead of sanding?
Quoted from darcangeloel:I'm confused by the picture above... with hard tops do you have to sand the entire playfield? Also to remove the paint on the inserts is there a chemical that can be used instead of sanding?
Sanding the playfield will take care of any paint on the inserts.
Quoted from Slim64:Sanding the playfield will take care of any paint on the inserts.
That is true but wouldn't that make the inserts appear all scratched up and cloudy? I think it would be easier just to remove the paint on the inserts with some chemical and then just make sure to remove that chemical before putting the hard top down. Just curious if anyone has gone about it this way.
I guess I could be wrong but I would think sanding the inserts with a very fine grit would make them nicer than any chemical remover. Also sanding makes everything flat and level.
Oh and Flash Gordon as well as Seawitch and Flight 2000 please!
Gonna buy a Taxi soon.
Quoted from darcangeloel:That is true but wouldn't that make the inserts appear all scratched up and cloudy? I think it would be easier just to remove the paint on the inserts with some chemical and then just make sure to remove that chemical before putting the hard top down. Just curious if anyone has gone about it this way.
Final sanding won't leave heavy scratches, especially when using an orbital. After that, the clear coat fills them in and leaves it nice and smooth/clear.
Quoted from darcangeloel:That is true but wouldn't that make the inserts appear all scratched up and cloudy? I think it would be easier just to remove the paint on the inserts with some chemical and then just make sure to remove that chemical before putting the hard top down. Just curious if anyone has gone about it this way.
With a fine enough sandpaper, they won't be cloudy. Original playfields are sanded, inserts and all, before screening.
When you sand the playfield, you either sand the inserts down to a fine grit or clear them. You want them liking as nice as possible before laying the hardtop down.
And as far as the adhesive letting go and creating "bubbles"...i don't see that happening. First, the adhesive they use is pretty strong stuff. I couldn't imagine it ever letting go of a properly prepped playfield. Second, the material they use is fairly stiff. Even if the backing did let go, it doesn't seem like it's flimsy enough to make a raised bubble in the middle of the playfield. Compare this to a playfield protector. They use no adhesive on those and don't seem to have any issues.
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