I've found an Apollo 13 and it's going to be delivered next Friday. I will post pictures when I get it.

There really is not much info out there on this game. Not many mods mentioned or even pictures posted. There are a few videos on youTube and there is one cool mod where somebody put LEDs inside the blasters on the rocket.

Lets all start here with pictures and mods that you have done. How about some ideas for mods?

For a game that is loaded with features it doesn't seem to get much respect. I bought my SST a couple of years ago and not regretted it one bit. This baby will go right next to it.

The first thing I will be doing to mine when I get it is take off that factory mylar.

Will do buddy. I'm going to do a few things like paint that ship and the inside of the cabinet. Probably some other mods too. Looking forward to a little pinball work. It's what I really enjoy doing, although it's hot as hell here in Texas. I will post pictures of the whole process.

Post some pictures. Love to see the condition of that game after it's been sitting in storage so long.

I hear if you set the settings to hard play the game is much better. Much harder to reach the 13 ball multiball.
Have you done any mods to it? Lets see some pictures.

That's good to know, thanks Nexyss.

That's a fair price. Did you do any mods to it? Post some pictures here when you get it ready.

This is a nice video that shows all the features in the game, including the moon magnet. It's not mine.

Will do, I'm really looking forward to seeing the OCD board difference. BTW do you have to plug in a laptop to make and edits to the software? How do you adjust the light settings?

I forgot about the shaker motor. When does it go off? Is it integrated well into the game?

My baby is on the way. Should be here on Wednesday.

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Cool, I can't wait! Will post pictures tomorrow when I get it.

Anybody have some pictures to share of their Apollo 13? Mod Ideas?

Just found out today that my Apollo 13 won't be arriving until next Monday or Tuesday.

Got the game today. Now let the mod in' begin. Had some moon magnet issues but seems to be working fine now. The wires inside the magnet were broken.
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Got me some speaker lights and some cliffy colored post rubbers.

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Next I have to repaint the rocket and figure out a way to build new mount tabs back on it. One is missing and the other is broken.
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Thanks. It's a fun game. Post some pictures here when you get it.

Thanks. They were already put in by the previous owner. He also added a OCD board which in my opinion makes a huge difference.

Thanks bull, I was thinking of using a piece from a model kit. I just need to find one at the right scale.

Mylar is coming off easily with the freeze spray. Playfield looks brand new underneath!

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Scraping the glue off now. Let the Goo Gone sit a few minutes and it comes off pretty easily. Now all I need to do is wax this baby. More pictures to come.
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No wax at all. Just the original beauty that awaits underneath the mylar Wax goes on tonight. Pictures to follow.
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Thanks. I'm not worried about the playfield, plus I've set 13 mb to hard. Won't happen very often. I also know of another Apollo 13 game that has the mylar off.

Where are all the Apollo 13 owners? Certainly there are more than this?

There is factory clear on the field just like any other pin. I don't know if Sega put mylar on all their pins or not. I have a Starship Troopers and it doesn't have a mylar on it, but that doesn't mean it wasn't taken off by the last owner. One could say that they put the mylar on the Apollo 13 because of the 13 mb. For location it makes sense but for home use I don't think it's necessary. You just need to have the proper mylar spots where the ball drops.

I know there are more Apollo 13 owners than this on Pinside.

Waxed it last night. The playfield looks brand new. I changed to white rubbers and blue post sleeves. Next is the speaker panel light kit.

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Thanks, I still have much work to do. The cabinet needs some work, outside and inside. I also have that rocket issue to deal with. Would love to find a replacement. But the previous owner already tried that route.

Still having some problems with the wires going into the moon. They seem to rub and drag on things through and under the playfield. Cool feature but poor design. The blue ramp rubs against the moon a little bit too.

Dude that would be great. Please take one from the top looking down into the hole where the moon drops the ball too.
Fantastic!

Yes this helps a lot. Thank you so much!

Looks like your ramp is rubbing on one side of the moon too? Your wires are similar to mine but they are tucked a little different underneath. I will see if I can do the same as yours. Does your moon ever drop the ball and miss the hole slightly and then the ball rolls on down the ramp to the flippers?

I installed a speaker light kit from speakerlightkits.com. Which color do you guys like? The red, green or blue?IMG_3867.JPGIMG_3866.jpgIMG_3865.jpgIMG_3864.jpg

Thanks Brian,
Mine probably needs some tweaking but I'm so tired of messing with that assembly that I'm probably going to leave it for now. I probably don't have the band lined up with the gears perfectly.

I have another question for you though. Does it seem like the VUK to the auto launch seem a little strong? When the ball is launched to the shooter lane it hits the side of the cabinet so hard it makes a real loud whack sound. I imagine that it's because the ball is hitting the metal band that runs along the right side of the inside cabinet. I checked the coil size and it matches the manual. It just seems too strong. I put some dead bounce rubber on the spot where the ball hits and it helps but still not enough.

Good to know. Thanks.

Yes it's brighter but with the green you can't see the text "Apollo 13" on the speaker grill. Seems like blue and red are the best. I'll put it on cycle for awhile.

Does anybody know what this plastic is for?
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It has three holes, so i dont think its a key fob.

Speaker kit was real easy. Ive done a few of them so it went pretty fast for me.

Just replaced the coin eject buttons. I also figured I would clean the coin door. The door had a sticker in the middle and the outside trim needed to be repainted.

Here you can see the sticker in the middle of the door and the torn up coin eject button.
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Taking out the screws to separate the door from the trim.
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Clean the surface before painting.
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I used this paint. I like the thickness and durability for this purpose.
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I didn't show the picture here but I painted the trim with a primer before I applied the black epoxy.
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And the final result. I still need to do some cabinet touchup but the door is good enough now.
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Anybody?

That's a great guess, I believe you are right. Thanks.

Yep, you are on the right track. Should be a lose cable.

I have read about the balls getting magnetized. This could be the case. Try some new balls and see if it helps. You should also be able to test each opto in the switch test.

Sorry to hear about the damage to the cabinet. Some filler and paint should fix it. Was there any other cabinet damage?

Just got my cover from András and it looks great. I only use these covers for the games in my garage.

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I figured I would post this in order to help somebody else down the road. I took off the rocket to see how I would repair it. Suddenly I noticed that there were two flashers inside. Never seen them go off before. Then after closer inspection I noticed the wires had melted together and there was corrosion on the socket tabs.

Here are the wires I pulled off of the two flashers inside the rocket.
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Here is the inside of the rocket and you can see where the bulbs had burned and actually melted it.

This is the area after I have replaced the wires and the burned inside of the rocket.
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Naturally when I go into flasher test mode I find out that there are 8 flashers not working in the game. I jumped the transistor in the power supply board and the flashers light up. So this tells me I have a logic problem. I'm not positive yet but it looks like I have a transistor blown and maybe a diode too. My theory is the wires melted together and shorted out the string. You can see in the first picture that the orange wire is black on one end. I have ordered the parts and I should find out for sure this weekend. Wish me luck.

Just FYI in case anybody is checking. The problem was two transistors (Q32 and Q28). No back to the rest of the restoration. Next up is repainting the rocket.

There are two opto boards, one is an emitter and the other is the receiver. Only the emitter should have a red light on it. You can also go into switch text mode and test each switch with you finger. You should hear a beep if the switch is working.

I finally have repainted the rocket ship. It's not perfect but it's a lot better than it was. It's just too damn hot here in Texas right now for me to care that much lol.

Here is the before picture.
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I ended up removing the decals and then reapplied them after the paint is applied.
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Now comes the base coat of white spray paint.
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Now comes the masking for the black shapes.
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Here is the final result. With the decals back on. Not perfect but good enough for me. I still need to fix the last broken mount tab. I just realized I need to paint the silver top section.
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More final "in game" pictures to come.

Go into the switch test mode and start hitting switches on the playfield to make sure you're getting the sound to indicate that the switch is working. This way you know you are in the right test mode.

The take a piece of paper just big enough to block the emitter beam going to the receiver opto. You should hear the same sound as the other switches to indicate it's working.

Here is the rocket ship painted and installed WITH the working flashers inside.
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I added another mod. I found this Saturn V ship on Amazon.
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Thanks. Yep, you should get a sound when you interrupt the beam. Sounds like a lose connection somewhere. Reflow the pins on the connector. Check the connector itself too. May need to be replaced.

Mine is glued don. There are no screws in the three holes. Post some pictures of your game. Have you done any mods? Lets see em'

Ouch! I bet that was expensive.

Yep, Ouch! LOL

Welcome we can use all the members we can get. I'm actually surprised there are only a few people that own Apollo 13. This may be one of the most underrated pins. Now that I have mine working all the way I'm really enjoying it. Really interesting shots. The back ramp flap makes for some interesting combos. Really love the left orbit that comes back to the left flipper. It sets you up for the hurry up right ramp shot. I might add that this shot may be the only one like it in pinball.

Found out something new today. If you turn the shooter handle during the game it locks or unlocks the mission.

It's beautiful. Thanks for posting the pictures. You're wife has good taste.

I decided to paint the inside cabinet. One side had some scratches and the other had melted soldier all over. Here are some pictures in case anyone is interested.
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I like the way you think. OR how about a spinning disk? LOL.

Also, thanks for the compliment.

Interesting. Too bad it was cut because that would have been total mayhem. I wonder what else was cut?

That sounds about right. I noticed mine is yellow while others are white. I don't know what that means but I'm guessing the whites are original and the yellow is a replacement handle. The flyer shows a white handle.

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Nice Sega collection. I have my Apollo 13 next to a ST. Does your Apollo 13 have the OCD board in it?
Lets see some pictures!

NICE! You got to show us some pictures. I don't think I have ever seen that many Segas in a row.

I'm not a tech guy but try checking your ribbon cables. Also check all your connections to the sound board.

Thanks man. Removing the mylar was the best thing I did to the game. The playfield looks brand new.
I don't think it matters what kind of canned air you use. It's all the same as far as I know. Just take it easy and you'll be fine. I used Goo Gone to remove the glue.

Congrats! Please post some pictures when you get it.

Let the Goo Gone sit for a few minutes then go for it. Use whatever wax you prefer. Even Mill Wax. Yes I said it. There are many threads on wax and the general consensus is to find one with more carnuba wax in it. Some will say to never use Mill Wax. Iv'e been working on pins a long time and never had any problems with it. It cleans and waxes at the same time. I know it contains solvents so all you wax snobs stay off my back

Nice work on the rocket.

I got mine on Amazon. I believe this one is it.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007J4GG8U

Yep, I thought about doing this mod myself but lost interest once I realized the mods done to my game are enough. Just pie on cake at this point . Really enjoying playing it.

How is your game coning along?

Looks nice. Those LEDS really brighten up the game. Have you tried to add a couple of blues in the slingshots? Maybe some in bottom lane guides? Looks a little bright by the flippers. But what do I know. You may like it that way, lol.

I think the OCD board really helps with that brightness. Also try blue bulb under the slings. There are two sockets under each sling. Try one blue and one white under each one and see if that helps.

I believe mine has this kit: http://pinballbulbs.com/kits/apollo-13 . However I think it's way too expensive for what you get. I LOVE the blue LED strip at the back box. Make a HUGE difference.
There are four UV spotlights on my slings that I really love too. Also you need to get the OCD board if you're going all LED. It really makes a big difference.

Did you look here?

http://www.ipdb.org/search.pl?any=apollo+13&search=Search+Database&searchtype=quick

Cool, lets see some pictures when it's done.

Looks really nice. You've been busy.

Looks nice. I'm still enjoying mine. Man those shots are tight. I think I hit the posts on Apollo 13 more than any other game. I would love to put some side mirrors on mine but that metal side rail on the right really makes that impossible. Unless someone create a side mirror with a cutout.

Anybody find a decent lunar lander replacement for the stock one?

Added these flipper area armor plates. Blends in with the side rails nicely.

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http://ns8313.hostgator.com/~gameshop/product/sega-stern-cabinet-flipper-button-metal-protector-kit/

The kit comes with two protectors. Don't be dumb like me and order two

There is. If it doesn't work in test mode, check the wires underneath the playfield leading to the magnet on the the moon. They usually get pinched from the moon rotation.

I just pulled the playfield out of my game and next I will take the head off. Getting ready to do a full inside cabinet restoration. Then I'm going to take the three parts and haul them upstairs to the game room. It's officially a keeper

I will post pictures of the restoration soon.

Can someone please take a picture for me of the "inside" of the cabinet? Specifically the right side area where the prop bar is attached to the side. I have an extra ground braid that I think goes there.

Anybody there?

Still need that picture.

Thanks but someone else just sent me some. I appreciate the offer.

Love the command module model. I want to put that on my game. Where did he get that?

My game is down. Still looking for a transformer. However from my memory it plays during rocket multiball.

Great mod ideas dude. I ended up using red LED flashers.

Did you ever find out where he got that command module?

Finally got my game up and running after many months. Here are some pictures. I also found a little mod for the module. I tried to find the exact one from one of the post above but only found this. It's really small but I guess it's better than nothing.
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That's what I heard