Tales of the Arabian Nights
Williams, 1996I won’t bother calling this one a restoration.
Instead we will call it a build since it will use a new cabinet and playfield.
Starting with the cabinet. Loaded up ready to go into the paint shop. 21144722-943D-4E20-8181-4CD88A6EA448 (resized).jpeg
Now ready to prep.
86198EFC-2E2E-4532-9D94-CDB15FB6E550 (resized).jpeg9FDAAEA3-6F4F-42F4-A501-F4538D568F14 (resized).jpegQuoted from Wharhed:So, does that mean this one will be basically built from spare parts?
No just means I won’t be restoring the original cabinet or playfield.
From there it just depends on what it needs.
When you call it a restoration they say it isn’t,when you call it a build they say it isn’t so I like to keep it controversial 
Quoted from Rondogg:Let's see that rat infested donor machine!
We will once I get the cabinet and playfield ready.
No telling what we will see in the donor game. Might be nice this time around?
Now onto the playfield.
It is a CPR silver 1F130E52-5ED0-4214-81EC-6325684ABDCA (resized).jpeg
There are some obvious minor places.
4BB26314-074C-4F79-9C72-A72EE5538B2C (resized).jpeg51279839-6822-46F4-B46C-3F113E4C7F9C (resized).jpegC84AE0CD-89F9-4279-9F99-A14636BD219B (resized).jpegD0A61794-630E-44B3-8F4D-D676D2D7CC0E (resized).jpegD10A1E39-5E96-4376-A22A-CEB2C349DA96 (resized).jpegF0E37451-B7FA-42D6-BD50-18DEFF3D7B41 (resized).jpeg
One semi major one
image (resized).jpgBefore I leave I will check my TOTAN parts stock.
Looks like I have an apron and some other stuff.
image (resized).jpgimage (resized).jpgQuoted from AUKraut:The warehouse????? Intriguing........more info please....personal stash or customer pins???
Customer games. I hate pinball
Outside is typical TOTAN fade.
image (resized).jpgimage (resized).jpgimage (resized).jpgimage (resized).jpgimage (resized).jpgCabinet itself is rough both from the build and fit as well as some patch work.
The head does not properly fit the lower. image (resized).jpgimage (resized).jpg
The back is popping out on the lower left of the head. It is flush at the top. image (resized).jpgimage (resized).jpg
The corners are separated and severely dulled. image (resized).jpg
There is some type of filler in the front.
image (resized).jpgOpening it up image (resized).jpg
Has a new apron already but that is already chipping. image (resized).jpgimage (resized).jpg
Playfield is typical WPC-95 era ghosting inserts. Not terrible I have seen and done much worse but luckily I don’t have to these days. When that changes I am ready though.
image (resized).jpgimage (resized).jpgimage (resized).jpgimage (resized).jpgimage (resized).jpgimage (resized).jpgInside. Pretty dirty but not filthyimage (resized).jpg
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Playfield wiring. image (resized).jpg
Lots of writing on the connectors
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Never seen one of these before. image (resized).jpg
Probably some smashed wires in here from the eject plunger.
image (resized).jpgimage (resized).jpgInside the head.
Translite panel dirty but looks to be solid. image (resized).jpg
Dmd panel has some scuffing in the gold Williams script. image (resized).jpg
Has ColorDMD and an early version Flipper fidelity speaker kit.
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Board set. Original driver has been replaced this is ok if no other alternative but my preference is the original board especially on the WPC 95s because the fuse style in the replacement is incorrect and could confuse a future owner if they are not well versed and working off the manualimage (resized).jpg
image (resized).jpgQuoted from chad:Not sure if you have discussed this, but what games do you have Chris??
No games personally anymore but I always have something nice sitting around here to kick around if I feel like it.
My love of the hobby is based on working on them.
The cabinet has dried overnight and down to the appropriate gloss level for this build. image (resized).jpg
What that means is that it is not too glossy nor dull. I had some questions in a previous thread about that and there seems to be a confusion at times about the difference in slickness of a finish verses gloss level.
Here is an old gloss black hinge placed on top of the recently refinished cabinet.
What you can see is both are straight,relatively smooth and reflective.
The difference is solely in the glossiness. If you were to see the 75% glossed Cabinet solo you could probably confuse it for full gloss because it is straight,slick and reflective since it is applied to perfected surface.
image (resized).jpgAnother thing I see asked is why replace the playfield instead of restore it.
I just finished restoring an original TOTAN playfield and have the one destined for this build right beside it so I will go over the differences.
There is a segment of the hobby that wants an original playfield even if restored. I understand and can cater to that obviously but I shy away from it these days even on my own builds if there are other options because I am more concerned about longevity and the factors in place I cannot control.
Here they are side by side original restored left cpr silver reworked right.
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The reworked original looks nice and will look even better once installed. image (resized).jpg
The downside is that due to wear,repairs ,bulb burn and ground in dirt it requires a repainting of the natural wood.In this lighting it looks much more drastic than it is but that is the concern with reworking the original. Using the box around the saved numbers you can see how subtle it truly is though. image (resized).jpg
The repro doesn’t need that. image (resized).jpg
In the center we can get into inserts.
The original had ghosting image (resized).jpg
Despite the many hours spent reworking it there is still a hint of that here or there image (resized).jpg
It isn’t bad at all I know but my true concern is it will come back . I can’t control that because it is the factory screening on the lens that is the culprit.
The repro has true clear inserts not prone to ghosting. That milkiness just isn’t thereimage (resized).jpgimage (resized).jpg
The reworked original has a nice repair at the saucer hole. I always do what I can to make it look as real and clean as I can by exposing the layers image (resized).jpgimage (resized).jpg
The repro is real and will have the better look.
image (resized).jpg
When you start looking up higher it becomes less obvious.
Small things that will be covered or not really noticeable. A very faint fade in colors that would require a massive and impractical repaint. image (resized).jpg
Not a concern with the reproimage (resized).jpg
And a final concern is previous population.
When a playfield has been populated there are lots of chips,nicks and dug in spots.
These will all be recovered at reassembly but the presentation is just not as good as new.
Rework
image (resized).jpg
At the end both will look great once installed and some wouldn’t know the difference these are some factors I look at and consider knowing firsthand what it takes to do it and how it can weather overtime.
TOTAN is a tougher game to decal properly because it can be very hard to get all the art details aligned perfectly on the front corners.
After cutting the excess off I lay them out to start plotting proper placement.
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What would be ideal is for each thing to line up once placed as shown. image (resized).jpgimage (resized).jpg
The reality is that probably cannot happen because of the way the decals are sized and will overlap one another. Another consideration is that some lines are thicker than others so the imperfection is already built in.
image (resized).jpgThe amazing thing about HEP is not only the high level of detail done to each game but also the great level of effort being put into documenting each step of the process along the way. As always Great Work sir.
The front needs to go on first after test fitting.
It needs to go as far down as it possibly can and to be perfectly Center’s so both side columns are equal in surface area.
Front is placed. image (resized).jpg
I then pick certain mirrored spots in the art as alignment points and measure them to make sure they are within reasonable specs of each other.
image (resized).jpgimage (resized).jpgimage (resized).jpgimage (resized).jpgChris it sounds like you really have a lot of faith in the repro playfields these days? I want to do my TZ playfield swap, and have bounced back and fourth with wanting the original playfield restored and getting the Mirco. My playfield is really really nice, but sadly there are raised inserts that will start to chip eventually. The reason I ask is because I believe you mentioned in the MM restore thread that you really don't have to do much reworking these days with repro playfields? I really seem to hear a lot that holes don't line up or are missing and there are fit problems etc with them? I would think even though you stated that the new playfields probably have better longevity that the originals would pose a lot less problems overall?
Quoted from Squeakman:Chris it sounds like you really have a lot of faith in the repro playfields these days? I want to do my TZ playfield swap, and have bounced back and fourth with wanting the original playfield restored and getting the Mirco. My playfield is really really nice, but sadly there are raised inserts that will start to chip eventually. The reason I ask is because I believe you mentioned in the MM restore thread that you really don't have to do much reworking these days with repro playfields? I really seem to hear a lot that holes don't line up or are missing and there are fit problems etc with them? I would think even though you stated that the new playfields probably have better longevity that the originals would pose a lot less problems overall?
It really comes down to the playfields as far as the repros go.
I could probably make a list of each one what the pluses and minuses are.What I have to do to get them install ready.
Some little to nothing others almost major surgery but compared to hours of repaints,clearing sanding clearing sanding,clearing sanding and on and on even a repro that needs significant tweaks can be a better solution.
Most repros are based off NOS samples and commonly have the same missing holes and such as NOS
Final assembly of a reworked original can be easier but also stripped screw holes and soft wood can haunt you on the back end of the process as well.
I am lucky that I could take either route but I think the new route with the proper tweaks and careful attention to parts alignment and placement at rebuild yields the best results overall when possible.
Sides are placed.
This is pretty tricky on this game because as you move the decal forward or backwards the angle of the art accents change putting you closer or further from alignment. It is a situation that is impacted not just by going up and down but side to side.
I can perfect the placement as well as possible by looking through the decal. image (resized).jpg
In theory this is close.
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The only problem is that you can never align all accents perfectly do it is best to pick those that are most seen after final assembly.
These are not perfect since I chose perfection higher up but they are still close and will be under the legs. image (resized).jpg
What is more interesting though is they do line up even better on the other side. I attribute that to the way the art is scaled from one side to the next and how time consuming and crucial a proper TOTAN decal install can be.
image (resized).jpgQuoted from High_End_Pins:Edges are sanded and rails placed. [quoted image]
Homer Simpson radioactive rails?
After that it gets beyond documentation it becomes an art project that involves whit,black and red
The final results are I have convincingly duplicated the art.
image (resized).jpg
The white lines on the right front are a little wider than white lines on the right side so we can be 100% perfect there up close but it wraps well in normal situations image (resized).jpg
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Matthews, NC
Edmonton, AB
