Love seeing your work Chris. Great job as always.
(Topic ID: 225528)
Linked Games
Addams Family, The
Bally, 1992-
Airborne
Capcom, 1996
-
Alien (Heighway Pinball)
Heighway Pinball, 2017
-
Black Knight
Williams, 1980
-
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Williams, 1993
-
Centaur
Bally, 1981
-
Centigrade 37
Gottlieb, 1977
-
Champion Pub
Bally, 1998
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You're currently viewing posts by Pinsider gcs2000.
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1 week later
I like it. I was thinking the blue door looked good but needed some accents on it (think pinstriping on a car). I am digging the orange outline for sure. The gray hmmm .... its good but not sure its perfect. I would keep the orange outline and blue door though.
Now this is cool. Will be watching to see how this turns out. BTW is this added proto feature just a VUK that spits the ball back on the PF or does it do something else?
2 weeks later
Nice games very sorry to hear of the passing. I am sure others can help with the values of the games. As you already know something you restored will have a fair bit of additional value added to it.
Quoted from High_End_Pins:Pinball Magic is packed up.
14 years after arrival.
14 years to get a game done, what the ... hope you charged a storage fee 
I can't even imagine the amount of time Banzai Run would take in wiring alone, much less everything else.
1 week later
Chris how nervous do you get when the game gets turned over to the shipper? I would hate to let some of these guys handle a game I had restored by HEP.
Quoted from LTG:Ventilation parts for the new building.
LTG : )
Leave it open like in the last pic and its got all the ventilation it needs!
1 week later
1 week later
Quoted from High_End_Pins:Thanks guys.
Kid has no filter at all can be a challenge at a restaurant or the grocery store especially these last 10 years
Then he is just like my 75 year old mother
Happy Birthday to him!
2 months later
I know the feeling on the tree. We had one in our front yard that did just that in storm. Missed the house by inches. Odd when it was removed but we got used to it very quickly and now don't even realize it was there before.
1 month later
Just curiosity question ... how many times have you been doing this kind of work and got completely stumped on how to repair something or put it back together. And I mean really stumped like had to back off take a day or 2 and come back and deal with it. I know you always get it done no matter what but as I marvel at the details of what you do I cannot help but think how many times I would have just lost it and abandon all hope of getting something back together/fixed. Clearly its why I don't do this kind of work.
5 months later
1 week later
I am always more impressed with how you bring back the older games vs newer ones (all the IJs, MMs, MBs, etc). Especially like seeing how you have to come up with ways to "skin the cat" and problem solve difficult situations. Clearly your eye for detail is uncanny. I am guessing you are a little OCD as well based on your meticulous work and how organized and clean your shop seems to be.
Well done!
4 weeks later
Chris does your talent extend to drawings or paintings at all. I mean your painting skill is insane when looking at what you are doing here so it has me curious.
Amazing work for sure, something I could never do or understand how to do.
The Fathom's so bright I gotta wear shades ...
Love the art on this game and it always looks good after a redo like this.
1 month later
1 month later
Quoted from High_End_Pins:Decided to spend a minute with the Silhouette
I have now convinced Marshall that I have been certified by Chick-Fil-a and that anything that comes out of the air fryer is officially chick fil a
The mans autistic. He has quirks and verifications go a long way.
[quoted image]
Nice work and very smart!
4 weeks later
Quoted from High_End_Pins:I usually have the opposite problem.
My accountants seem to have little understanding of my business and it’s expenses so I tend to overpay.
It’s not their fault it is just hard for them to get.
For about two years I noticed my furniture and office fixtures kept growing in my fixed assets.
I had this line called cabinets and it was like $15k Or so at that time.
I asked WTH!
They said “it’s all those cabinets you keep buying. “
I said “they are PINBALL cabinets not furniture for the office!!!!!!!!“
Another thing I had an issue with was my Automotive Expenses.
The were listed as $30K or so one year.
I don’t have any auto expenses!
Again “I ask WTH!“
They tell me “Ohh that’s all the money spent at the auto supply place”
I say “that is where I get my paint to paint those cabinets!“
Running a business like this as legitimately as humanly possible is extremely tough sometimes.
Not to get into your business but this is exactly why you need a new accountant. I am in the business (and no I am not marketing to you just passing on advice) and can tell you that would never happen at my firm. The first thing an accountant should be doing is asking you questions about your business and your transactions. In order to properly do your work and provide appropriate tax advice they need to understand what you do. No that doesn't mean they need to know how you do your job but they need to grasp the concept of your business and how you not only make money but spend it as well.
I don't bad mouth other accountants or firms but it drives me crazy when I hear/read things like above. It means people aren't talking to their clients and getting to know them. Accounting is a personal service business plain and simple and if you don't get to know your clients or what they do then you aren't doing your job right. Its not just about numbers on a piece of paper.
Quoted from High_End_Pins:Yeah. Trust me I have debated getting a new one for years but I finally trained this one and would hate to start all over.
What I figured out to do was just go over every statement(I only have three) and put the category each purchase or check should fall into before I hand it over to them.
Just takes me a couple of minutes once a month and has solved most issues.
If this place were bigger or more lucrative I would definitely demand better though.
I hear ya. Just bear in mind you are paying for a service and if you aren't getting service then ....
If you have questions and would like a second opinion just message me otherwise keep crankin' out the beautiful work.
Greg
Just curious but with all the years of doing this do you have a "favorite" game you like restoring and is there one you just loathe when you see it show up?
1 month later
I'm probably the only one but I actually liked the look of the cab w/o the blue. Just the red silver and black looked great to me.
7 months later
1 year later
I’m not a wood guy but how does that happen. Bad wood to start with assembled wrong? And no dense I wouldn’t think a cabinet maker would let that product out of their shop.
Always amazed by Chris' work for sure but I often wonder is all this "repainting" on a PF like this one especially with the cuts in the PF that you mentioned from the mylar that was added - worth it vs a new PF.
Of course I am aware (thanks to this thread) about how many of the replacement PFs can be as bad or worse then what you are starting with sometimes.
Still a pleasure seeing these games go from trash to treasure.
Quoted from High_End_Pins:It’s hard to say or justify sometimes.
Even harder to explain mostly situational.
A new playfield is the point of least resistance.
Even when made sometimes they go out of stock,have flaws that make them less ideal than a rework and then sometimes people really want the original redone.
I don’t have a preference if the playfield is actually restoreable within my skill set I like new just fine when practical.
In this case new playfields are likely out of stock until mid May or I pay way over the going rate for one that’s at a retailer with unknown accountability if it’s a dud.
By the time that’s sorted out I can have this one done so that’s its individual situation.
Yep makes sense. Only you know the time it all takes and your skill set - mine would be how much will it cost me for someone to do this as I don't have those skills.
Appreciate the explanation.
BTW I have always wondered what is the game you have redone that you said WTF why is someone spending all this money to restore _____________? Just curious. I mean get rare games like Krull, KK, Airborne etc and then legends like MM, AFM, TAF, MB, CC and so on but has someone come along and said I want Chris Hutchins restored Popeye?
Quoted from High_End_Pins:I really look at all these games about the same the titles don’t mean much to me because it’s pretty much the same process on the same subject matter.
What makes one more “worthy” than another is solely based on what the overall hobby dictates are the best ones but I am still straightening wooden boxes,painting,clearing wiring rebuilding mechs etc.
The pictures, shapes bells and whistles don’t factor in too much beyond that.
The game I was most resistant to restore was this woodrail. I knew it would cost a lot more than normal and would have far less value in the hobby but not to the person that owned it.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/hep-this-week-9-17-18/page/140#post-5662167
I remember that one. And yes I agree if you have the money and the game means a lot to you then do it.
For us it would be a Silverball Mania fully decked to keep forever (if we had space and $$) as it was the first game we ever owned. Lots of memories for us.
1 week later
Quoted from High_End_Pins:CC is gone.
HEP Banzai Run is back for a ten year repack.
[quoted image]
well this will be interesting to watch for sure
4 weeks later
Quoted from mmr61184:Not an expert but Klein are magnetic and that is a huge help especially the long ones
Klein is great but not cheap. Being magnetic is a huge help though.
1 month later
Gotta wonder if this one was even worth saving. The ratio of new parts going into this game vs old parts being reused has to be like 90/10, yikes.
Good luck with it.
6 months later
Quoted from High_End_Pins:It’s a straight gloss black.
I try to avoid any custom trim colors because they can be impossible to match again if needed unless it’s something I am painting.
When it comes to the black parts sometimes I use powder coated ones but more often than not these days I metal etch,epoxy prime base and clear raw steel parts myself because powder never looks quite slick enough and often has an unacceptable amount of trash in it.
Thank you.
Quoted from High_End_Pins:I have shuffled deck.
[quoted image]
These aren't both for the same person are they?
Quoted from High_End_Pins:Thanks.
Much more challenging than the one beside it on so many different levels but I think the majority of those challenges are behind me now.
Are these going to the same person meaning they will have an OG WW and then Total Chaos?
Quoted from High_End_Pins:No they are for different people.
Someone would have to really love Whirlwind to do that but it would be cool.
Well you never know there are some crazy collectors out there and you probably know most of them, lol.
Can I ask question about the STTNG you did a few months ago with the separate PSU for the colorDMD and the Borg ship.
I would like to do the same. I figure this PSU would do the job https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005T7EZM8/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_1
How did you wire the colorDMD to it? The colorDMD folks are telling me not to as it needs to share power with the display board.
Thanks
Quoted from High_End_Pins:Yes that is a good power supply it provides the 12 and 5 volts.
You can make individual taps coming off a single line like I did on TAF or buy the splitter from PinballLife where you plug a single line coming off the power supply to the splitter then that feeds everything else.
Not sure where the colordmd guys are coming from on that it shouldn’t matter as long as the power supply is on the switched side but I am sure they have to worry about a lot of variables.
When you’re dealing with these games with multiple mods using the power driver as the lone source for the 12 and 5 volts it leads to problems.
I can think of none from separating them from the driver.
Thanks. On STTNG I think it’s prime candidate for doing what you did as that game is so taxed power wise already it doesn’t need anything else hitting it.
Quoted from DumbAss:There is only one reason I can think of for this recommendation. The DMC (dot matrix controller) sends digital logic signals out over the ribbon cable to the DMD (dot matrix display). Digital logic is either logic low (0V) or logic high (5V). The reference voltage level is ground. If you separate the voltage supply for the DMC (controller) from the DMD (display) they MUST have the same ground reference since there are shared signals between the two boards. If the supplemental supply does not share the same ground reference then you will end up with different logic levels for the signals and possibly damage to the boards. If someone can do then someone will do it.
This is absolutely correct. The game has 16x opto pairs in the playfield, 7x opto pairs in the ball trough and 4x opto pairs in the flipper cabinet switches. Each transmitter is driven hard at around 0.040A (40mA). That's 27 x 0.040A = 1.08A. That's 1/3 of the allowed current draw from the +12VU circuit right there, just for the transmitters. That doesn't account for everything else used in the circuit (the receiver side circuitry as well as the motors for the cannons).
Good explanation that actually makes sense to a nonelectrical dummy like me. I guess my concern is the normal pinball owner will not be able to accomplish this but a more experienced tech like Chris its not a problem.
FYI here is the exact email reply I got from them just so there is no confusion with what I am trying to pass on here.
"We don’t have any direct experience with auxiliary power supply installations. We haven’t ever needed them and don’t really recommend running the ColorDMD off an auxiliary supply. Since data communication is required between the ColorDMD and display board, it’s generally better if they are running off a common supply.
Auxiliary supplies are generally better for LED lighting and other mods that don’t need to communicate with the game.
If you do use an auxiliary supply to power the ColorDMD, the ColorDMD power requirement is 12V and less than 1 amp."
If its this PSU from Pinside it says it ties back to J118 on Williams games. Would that solve the grounding issue?
Ad specifically states for using with colorDMD
https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1233-arcade-upkeep/03718-dual-voltage-mod-power-supply-kit
High_End_Pins Additional question on your STTNG restore again please.
You mentioned you preferred the old spring style for the flipper buttons vs the plastic ones and that it was a direct swap to do this.
I just want to be sure this is correct part.
https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/A-17316
Thanks
Quoted from High_End_Pins:Those are fine.
I personally like these the type 1 with the all metal interrupter best. I have no issues running them on IJs and STTNGs.
The ones with plastic interrupter without the spring steel are pretty much worthless.
https://www.pinballlife.com/fliptronics-1-flipper-opto-board-set.html
Very good thanks!
1 week later
Quoted from High_End_Pins:There probably is something good in there and a couple black widows.
And a Rocky BG too 
Quoted from High_End_Pins:They really don’t make them like they used to do they?
Six jet bumpers
Three flippers
Two drop target assemblies
Two ramps one that lifts
Three spinning disc and a blower on top.
Not bad
Its Total Chaos I tell you 
1 week later
Quoted from High_End_Pins:Thanks. I was moisturizing back then.
Proper skin care should never be overlooked
Quoted from High_End_Pins:We are at an impasse right now.
He doesn’t like my behavior and I don’t give a fuck.
Make sure to tell him you (and many others) don't like his behavior - not that he cares.
1 week later
As you said in your videos the PF really needs a total repaint which I won't be doing .... umm looks like its headed that way, lol.
Nice work no matter what though.
2 weeks later
Quoted from High_End_Pins:That’s great that you can provide an income for not only yourself but also your sisters. Definitely a struggle under these current circumstances where business rules and regulations are so geared towards bigger operations with lots of cushion. It’s hard to get there on such a small scale.
When I first started I brought my brother (RIP)in, it went so bad I hesitate to ever tell the story but will one day.
Try working with your sister and your wife in the business you own for the last 25 years. Probably not the smartest move.
And oh yeah be thankful your accountant has not charged you. Its what I do for a living and no way could I afford to do that. I have regular fights with clients over my fees almost every day and I charge nowhere near what others do in my area. Of course I am blamed for everything that happens them as well especially at this time of year (14-16 hour days 7 days a week for 3 1/2 months).
That being said I am not complaining and am very thankful for what I have - wife, 2 kids, a good home, and food on the table. Kids are now done with college - one completely on her own (well except for that car she just bought this weekend) and the other will be by the end the year. Of course now we have the opposite effect as we had to have my mom move in with us and are now caring for her - circle of life I guess.
There are major pluses to owning your own business but there is also something about working that 9-5 and just going the hell home each day and leaving that BS behind. Can't do that when its all on you.
On a scale of 1-10 that hit a 15 on the rent meter.
I get it though. The BS I get about what I do and people not wanting to pay their bill is ridiculous. Even sadder is the clients that come to me from someone else who did absolutely horrible job and charged the person 3X what I do and get away with it. If I could get what some of these guys get for I would have maybe 1/3 the clients I do work a lot less hours and be a lot happier with the same money.
But yeah today’s video was a world class rant. Dare I say a High End Rant 
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