Houdini
American Pinball, 2017The right scoop is shattering the wood in front of it. The playfield there is protected with mylar, but the mylar, the clear coat/paint, and the wood itself are all coming up.
It seems like this happened quickly; I didn't notice it a couple weeks ago.
At this point I'm going to try bending the top of the scoop up and reduce the eject speed on the coil (it's currently 20 of 34).
But I have no idea how to fix this kind of playfield damage.
Help please?
IMG_4863 (resized).JPGI would contact American Pinball - it shouldn’t be wearing like that this quickly. A cliffy is good protection for the future.
Might even remove it and put it in a vise before doing so. You are only pulling against 2 half inch screws.
Quoted from Tuna_Delight:Cliffy makes a scoop protector for Houdini:
[quoted image]
Shooter eject protectors too:
[quoted image]
Great photos, I'll contact him straight away. Thank you.
Quoted from vid1900:Take 2 pair of duckbill pliers and SLIGHTLY bend that upwards.
Turn the coil down.
Find a Cliffy that is the closest match.
Patch the hole before you Cliffy, or the Cliffy will quickly dish out.
Quoted from Tuna_Delight:Cliffy makes a scoop protector for Houdini:
[quoted image]
Shooter eject protectors too:
[quoted image]
2 reasons right here why even amongst all the craziness Pinside rules!
Quoted from pinballplusMN:Cliffy?
Exactly. After playing it at Pin-A-Gogo pre-release, I warned them repeatedly that that scoop would need protection or the playfield there would be chewed up, but they sent them out naked. Cliff has protectors for this hole you can buy, but they should be leaving the factory with them pre-installed, or at least as an option since it's a hassle in that location to install after the fact (though less of a hassle than a chewed up playfield).
Quoted from vid1900:Take 2 pair of duckbill pliers and SLIGHTLY bend that upwards.
Turn the coil down.
Find a Cliffy that is the closest match.
Patch the hole before you Cliffy, or the Cliffy will quickly dish out.
Cliff already has a protector specifically made for this hole on Houdini.
Quoted from triggur:and reduce the eject speed on the coil (it's currently 20 of 34).
[quoted image]
Mine is set to 8 and I've never had to have it anywhere remotely close to 20! 
That said I put additional mylar over the lip of mine prior to getting the cliffy. I did the same thing with the scoop on GOTG Pro.
Jeeze, this reminds me I need to order a Cliffy set for a AC/DC Premium I am getting today! Thx for the reminder
Quoted from sohchx:I have a personal rule for myself to not put a single play on a NIB pin until it has had full cliffy's installed
I'm not quite that hardcore (often because he doesn't have them made for brand new machines we get until he gets a PF), but this is very good advice. I'm glad to hear that AP is working with him to provide protectors for Houdini now. I hope they're doing it for the ones from the factory from here on out.
UPDATE:
With some careful effort and the kind help of Cliffy by way of AP, I've got the problem largely fixed/covered up. I removed the mylar and trimmed back the chipped clear coat to a line about 3 mm into the tip of the arrow, touched up the paint a little, and then clearcoated it back layer by layer, then I put down a new mylar.
Enter Cliff: I sent some pics of the scoop assembly outlines and such, and he produced a version with a deeper front lip, a notch taken out of the rear right to clear the rail, and a larger clip on the bottom front. As a result, the scoop assembly traps the lip nicely.
Thanks again, Cliff!
IMG_5078 (resized).JPGIMG_5079 (resized).JPGIMG_5081 (resized).JPGIMG_5083 (resized).jpgQuoted from triggur:UPDATE:
With some careful effort and the kind help of Cliffy by way of AP, I've got the problem largely fixed/covered up. I removed the mylar and trimmed back the chipped clear coat to a line about 3 mm into the tip of the arrow, touched up the paint a little, and then clearcoated it back layer by layer, then I put down a new mylar.
Enter Cliff: I sent some pics of the scoop assembly outlines and such, and he produced a version with a deeper front lip, a notch taken out of the rear right to clear the rail, and a larger clip on the bottom front. As a result, the scoop assembly traps the lip nicely.
Thanks again, Cliff![quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
Awesome. Thats why Cliffy is the man!
Quoted from Yelobird:Awesome. Thats why Cliffy is the man!
Yet another reason this should be installed at the factory, at the very least as part of an upgraded version with all the options. If they're offering installed shaker motor, magic glass, and art blades pre-installed at the factory, then throw a cliffy into that package option as well.
Quoted from PinMonk:Yet another reason this should be installed at the factory, at the very least as part of an upgraded version with all the options. If they're offering installed shaker motor, magic glass, and art blades pre-installed at the factory, then throw a cliffy into that package option as well.
Agreed though I don't think it should be an upgrade or an option as it seems clear the game and many others need them in short order. Having home use games fail this quick under moderate use shows this is more of a requirement than a suggestion.
Quoted from Yelobird:Agreed though I don't think it should be an upgrade or an option as it seems clear the game and many others need them in short order. Having home use games fail this quick under moderate use shows this is more of a requirement than a suggestion.
Well, I 100% agree, but trying not to be too much of a dick about it. Yeah, I believe Houdini should have had at least the one cliffy on the right from day 1 at the factory. I mentioned it to various AP people from the Pin-a-Gogo 6 months before launch forward a number of times. Seems like they've been reluctant to do it, but it completely solved JJP's problem with Dialed In playfield damage. It is a no-brainer for AP, too, and it's not too late to fix the issue by adding them from the factory from here forward. But if they aren't willing to do that, at least adding the one cliffy to the "from the factory upgraded install package" (glass, art blade, shaker, knocker) as an option would be the very least they could do.
Taking that one step further, Cliff has a ton of engineering background and would be a HUGE asset about the optimum shape of holes for scoops and VUKs (to bevel or not to bevel, corner shapes, etc, that is the question). AP (or JJP, or Spooky, or whoever) would be extremely wise to get his input on playfields at the design level so the holes are as perfect for protection as possible BEFORE being mass produced. He has more experience with playfield holes than anyone in pinball currently alive, and has made protectors for most of them. He should be tapped by the majors for the asset he is instead of being an afterthought or someone to rip off with no compensation.
See what you did?! 
Quoted from PinMonk:Well, I 100% agree, but trying not to be too much of a dick about it. Yeah, I believe Houdini should have had at least the one cliffy on the right from day 1 at the factory. I mentioned it to various AP people from the Pin-a-Gogo 6 months before launch forward a number of times. Seems like they've been reluctant to do it, but it completely solved JJP's problem with Dialed In playfield damage. It is a no-brainer for AP, too, and it's not too late to fix the issue by adding them from the factory from here forward. But if they aren't willing to do that, at leasting adding the one cliffy to the from the factory install package (glass, art blade, shaker, knocker) would be the least they could do.
And taking that one step further, Cliff has a ton of engineering background and would be a HUGE asset about the optimum shape of holes for scoops and VUKs (to bevel or not to bevel, that is the question). AP (or JJP, or Spooky, or whoever) would be extremely wise to get his input on playfields at the design level so the holes are as perfect for protection as possible BEFORE being mass produced. He has more experience with playfield holes than anyone in pinball currently alive, and has made protectors for most of them. He should be tapped by the majors for the asset he is instead of being an afterthought or someone to rip off with no compensation.
See what you did?!
Well said.
Quoted from PinMonk:He should be tapped by the majors for the asset he is instead of being an afterthought or someone to rip off with no compensation.
Hear hear. He's the best and should be compensated justly. Doubly so since he's our only resource for all the pins no longer on the market.
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