Eugene, OR
Quoted from loghome895:Museum quality! Assume work!
I was just thinking that exact thing after standing over a recently restored HEP game... museum quality is a good description!
(Topic ID: 225528)
Linked Games
Addams Family, The
Bally, 1992-
Airborne
Capcom, 1996
-
Alien (Heighway Pinball)
Heighway Pinball, 2017
-
Black Knight
Williams, 1980
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Bram Stoker's Dracula
Williams, 1993
-
Centaur
Bally, 1981
-
Centigrade 37
Gottlieb, 1977
-
Champion Pub
Bally, 1998
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1 month later
Chris I was curious, of all the games you have restored (condition being equal) is there one title that is particularly more challenging than other games, maybe something like TZ due to all the mechs?
Quoted from High_End_Pins:That’s a moving target since I am always getting new games to work on some I haven’t done before.
I think for the most part the WPC and WPC-95 platforms are the easiest for me because I am well versed and fully understand them.
When your talking about those even a game like TZ isn’t that bad there is just more of it.
Of those games I really dislike dealing with some because of the way they stack ramps together in ways that are frustrating to deal with like CFTBL or JD.
Other games in that group that are super packed and tight underneath would be STTNG,SC and BSD.
System 11 games can be a nightmare also. Some of its self inflected since I prefer to paint them instead of decal them when I can. The playfields are horrible to deal with if you don’t have a new reproduction.
Banzai run is really hard almost like two games in one.
Gottlieb games are toughest traditionally. They are built like tanks and wired in a way that is maddening. The color coding of that wiring requires a lot of study.
I almost forgot EMs. The cloth wiring ,burnt coils and location sensitive nature of those is probably the worst for me although I have been getting much better at dealing with them over the years.
I could see how games like STTNG could be a major pain but I never even thought about games like Banzai run 
1 week later
That TZ is gorgeous!
Quoted from High_End_Pins:C37 finished.
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Stunning!
Interesting I thought TOTAN would’ve been on the more difficult side of the restoration scale. I’m guessing the other games mentioned are much more difficult due to no cabinet decal availability, so you have to hand repaint damaged artwork on the cabinet then?
Quoted from High_End_Pins:TOTAN
Crusty [quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
Interesting [quoted image]
Cleared playfield
Cleared over all the dirt and wear
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Oh man so much for an easier game to restore 
Quoted from High_End_Pins:Tearing down the TOTAN. [quoted image]
As I start getting deeper into it I make a discovery.
Whoever cleared the playfield on this used my old method of diagraming everything.
Small writing F5 means flasher write on the playfield [quoted image]
Write on the socket. [quoted image]
Pretty smart
Then I think to myself that looks an awful lot like my handwriting.
S19[quoted image]
Let me write that myself. [quoted image]
Okay holy shit! I am the butcher that did this!!!
This was long before the HEP days or even the true hobbyist ones because I didn’t even sand inside the cabinet or anything like that.
My best guess is that this is the very first TOTAN I ever owned
I took it apart at night.
Took the playfield to work the next day and shot a coat of clear on it.
Then reassembled it that evening 2001 maybe?
Crazy.
This game came from a customer in NY. How this game got there or anything like that is a mystery I have seen and done so much since then it’s all a blur.
To have it come back through this garage twenty years later not even knowing is blowing my mind.
That moment that it hit you must have spun you out for a minute! Pretty cool that the game came full circle back to you after all these years.
Quoted from High_End_Pins:Just had this one dropped off.
It’s a game I did back in 2005 or 2006 I think.
Has a pretty decent original cabinet.
Looks to be holding up well.
Will be curious to see it opened up.
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Oh man Chris I sure hope this is the game I think it is! Is that the original screened cabinet art?
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Quoted from High_End_Pins:It is!
It is.
ABB521B9-3AB2-41D1-99ED-37F050CEA423 (resized).jpegQuoted from High_End_Pins:TOTAN lower is decaled.
I will finish the edges up and move on to the head.
Corner alignment is so important on this title.
It’s usually not possible from top to bottom on most decal offerings so the most important ones are are the top four black lines
The white lines on the sides are thinner than the front. I have double checked that with the factory and it is correct but something to keep an eye on. After that you are under the legs and safe.
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You accomplished more today than I will get done in the next week! Not sure how you do it but it’s fun to watch it all come together.
1 week later
Quoted from Jenk540i:Chris:
Glad to see that you are branching out!
Looks like you got the business slogan correct.
Oscar
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High End Plumbing 
Quoted from High_End_Pins:TOTAN is finished.
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Beautiful!
Quoted from High_End_Pins:All in a days work. [quoted image]
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Cheesecake? must be cheat day.
Quoted from High_End_Pins:90/10 for me these days.
Sometimes I get tempted to switch to trying to do everything right a hundred percent of the time but then I realize how miserable that would be.
Yea that doesn’t sound fun at all! Life is too short to not enjoy some goodies at least once a week. When I used to train and and had a very strict diet Sunday was my cheat day... all things in moderation 
Quoted from High_End_Pins:Time to pack and ship the TOTAN [quoted image]
I don’t want to drag it to warehouse in this summer heat so let’s build a pallet.
I grab just enough wood to do that so my truck will be nice and empty when I am done.
48x48 works well. Exactly half a sheet of plywood and half of 2x4x96 for one easy cut. [quoted image][quoted image]
That TOTAN is jaw-dropping! Sometime if you ever have the time I’d love to see a few pics and a very brief step-by-step on how you palletize/prep a game for shipping.
Quoted from High_End_Pins:The other thing I need to do is completely gut the old MM I did.
I am going to rework the original playfield on that and the original cabinet. [quoted image]
It’s seen some play these last 15 years. [quoted image]
It’s held up well in key areas like the Merlin hole and ball drops. [quoted image]
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What I didn’t do then are things I will do now. Paint the insert wear and edging is the primary thing I see at a glance. [quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
Metal plating polishing. [quoted image]
Other than that pretty clean just not my style these days.
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Couple questions.. why do CV inserts ghost so bad? Every CV I have ever seen has ghosted inserts, also is the ghosting a problem with the insert or just the clear coat pulling away from the insert?
On restoring an original playfield like MM do you have to completely remove the old clear coat to make the repairs/fixes you had mentioned? I had always wondered how you sand a playfield down to get all the clear off without getting into the actual artwork, it must be a very fine line to get the clear off with out taking artwork off too.
Quoted from Mr_Tantrum:Love seeing the concealed color calibration strips.
I never understood why those calibration strips were there?
Question Chris on original screened cabinets you mentioned that they are fragile, once you have made your repairs do you clear coat the entire cabinet to protect it? and if so does that make the screened art a bit less fragile?
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Quoted from High_End_Pins:Now that I know where things are headed with the MM cabinet I stripped that and fiberglass filled all the seams and trouble spots. [quoted image][quoted image]
The bolt holes were filled with dowels first then glazed over. If you don’t do this it’s likely going to show back up eventually how drastically is hard to say but still probable. [quoted image]
Fiberglass fill. Sharpening the corners up. [quoted image][quoted image]
I managed to get the floor looking good. That’s tough on MM because they have such a heavy factory overspray and that paint really wicks into the mdf. [quoted image][quoted image]
The fiberglass work is done.
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Cabinet looks really good Chris!
1 week later
Quoted from High_End_Pins:Final cleared the Mm,CV and R&B also.
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Beautiful
3 weeks later
Quoted from ToucanF16:I check in every day to get my HEP fix. I see Chris has posted a YouTube video.
That TOTAN looks like it has seen a lot of quarters!
1 week later
I have to put on a drool bib every time I look at that CV!
Quoted from NC_Pin:That CV is amazing.
Some people buy artwork to hang on their walls, to me Chris’s restoration’s are functional art.
Quoted from Jack8765:CV arrived this week! I am blown away! The packaging is second to none, and even the lumber is pristine! I mean even the 2x4’s are the nicest I’ve ever seen.
[quoted image]
And the custom ziplock bags? It’s the nice little touches like this that show how much thought and care goes into everything.
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Ready to unpack, but forgot to make room. Anyone want a TBL? (PM me)
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Ready to go!
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Chris, thank you for a truly great experience. It was a real honor to work with you and follow the progress on YouTube and Pinside. You are a class act!
Damn that CV is stunning!
PS. Good call on the chrome
1 week later
Quoted from High_End_Pins:Sample ES done.
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Wow!
I just wanted to post a few pictures and give a big thank you to Chris. My MM finally came today, the game arrived in perfect condition thanks to the standard HEP packing job. When I unwrapped the game I was blown away, it is absolutely beautiful! Even my wife who normally doesn’t even notice if I get a new game was walking by it and stopped in her tracks and was like “wow that’s pretty!”
Thanks again Chris, it was a awesome working with you! Now I have to figure out how to save up enough to have you do another one for me 
13997A1B-FD92-4260-B4EB-BC2CB9B5BAA6 (resized).jpeg37C4752E-DBF6-4F96-AF09-6CAC54EAD93E (resized).jpegD11C02D0-5A33-40BE-91DE-AE3BB58ABE97 (resized).jpegFB59AB0C-9269-4EBF-A9F7-DAD22D07241C (resized).pngC4DD58EB-FD7C-44C1-B453-86D98E543EDB (resized).jpegE88455ED-559F-487A-939F-0AD6CFDA5849 (resized).jpeg9AE5B0FB-29E4-4965-9280-8ACE65B71597 (resized).jpeg3B75235D-7BE1-4D23-ABD5-5A7D12143D77 (resized).jpeg 3 months later
Quoted from High_End_Pins:Just waiting on some displays and legs. . I opted for a blue set at the last minute and some chrome legs.
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Beautiful work Chris!
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