Whew! Just read through 7 years of posts in this thread. Great contributions from many helpful enthusiasts, more than a few bookmarked for future reference. Hadn't found this club until now, reimported my A13 from Italy a year ago which clearly was on location. Converted back to 110v, cleaned pf and most plastics 100%, bought replacement plastic from Pinball.center (they're noticeably darker than originals) and fabricated a half dozen plexiglass protective covers for high-impact areas. Replaced broken pop bumper mechanism along with other broken/inoperative features. If/when replacement moon belts are made I'm in! My moon belt has 40% of the partitions gone so I repositioned the belt so the motion of travel is about 180 degrees offset from its prior position.

A13a is currently part of my 7 pin collection and still holds the place of my most "stressfully fun" game, even with a few games 25 years newer!

Will try to help with a few of the latest inquiries with separate posts. And that's how we do that!

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Oh, you must be working on the subway or trying to access the many lights and boards between it and the pf. How about the moon and ramp area too, that's fun. Take your time and enjoy the journey!

That's a big reason why I converted all my pf inserts to NG LED's but left the pf GI's incandescent. The last time I stripped the playfield to give it a "100 year" cleaning, cleaning all the plastic art and replace all the burnt out incandescent bulbs, I swore I wouldn't do that again any time soon. Of course now, I wish I had replaced the GI with LED's. Never cease to be amused by my short-sightedness. Your A13 pf will look great when you're done - the spectacular clarity of my inserts has really changed my play.

Morgoth00 I have purchased an entire replacement set from pinball center and have the shooter lane. PM if you're still looking for one.

I too would be interested in a new replacement moon belt. In the interim, if your existing belt still has half of the belt intact, you can attempt to reposition the belt 180 degrees since the operation doesn't actually use the full belt. This approach has worked on my game. The only challenge I had was finding the ideal position of the belt so the normal operation wouldn't get too close to the compromised section(s). Good luck!

Understood. In the mean time, don't ignore potential root causes behind moon gear belt damage. Mine appeared to have been caused by prior owner(s) applying electrical tape to blue plastic ramp to prevent balls stalling at the moon magnet area, but the clearance between the moon magnet base & tape/ramp likely caused the moon movement to be hampered (or added resistance) which I believe contributed to the belt damage. Of course, repetitive use over 26 years can't be ignored. Good luck - and let the owner's thread know if you find viable replacement.

Check the plastic bushing in the playfield for the solenoid plunger to see if it's impeding the travel. I found my plunger binding with plastic bushing and ultimately removed the bushing entirely, haven't had a problem with the plunger holding or releasing the 8 ball reserve since. Hope it helps.

Really looks great! Ironically today I pulled some old notes out along with the owners manual thinking that I'd once again address the original 4 flashers associated to that rocket during multi-ball. I recall reading the designed circuit exceeds the 102 original and replacement 122 transistors. You've taken it to a whole new dimension! Well done.

Congratulations on joining the A13 Club! Your alternate cabinet decals look nicer than the original set. Your moon appears to have been painted and the rocket engine boosters painted red inside (which is a nice touch). I've got everything working finally after resolving the rocket flasher circuit issue. Ironically, my moon stopped working about a 7 months ago but after replacing a broken wire just as it exits the moon, my magnet is back in operation. Be really careful with the moon belt as that baby is unabtainabum. I had to realign my moon belt 180deg to gain access to the remaining links, but it still works. It's a great game and always feels rewarding to play. Enjoy!

I've gone "inside the moon" probably 3 times. I choose to remove the retaining ring on each side of the moon axle, spread the metal clamp/bar holding the moon by hand. The moon halves pop open easily and allow for inspection of the interior. An easy check once you've accessed inside the moon is to check continuity on both wires from the magnet to the fuse/underside pf connections due to moon movement/rotation wear potential. Also make sure there's a zip tie or some other stop on the wires just inside the moon shell to preserve some slack inside the moon and prevent motion from pulling on the connections inside.

Never thought that I'd get a replacement moon belt for A13. My new belt is safely stored in the coin box for that inevitable day when the last half of the original belt finally disintegrates. Thanks for making this long unavailable belt "obtainable" once again!

Please don't mind what is likely a dumb question: Is the board an enhancement bringing new features or replacing original equipment, no longer available? Thanks.

You may not have been asking me ... but let me add that while A13 is the earliest game in my little collection, I usually start with 3 or 4 or 5 games on A13 before going to 1 or 2 of my much more recent games. As everyone always said, the 13 ball multiball is a gimmick but insanely fun (might I say brief too). My choice of play is always "mission" and love the moon-grab and rocket launch mechanics. The video game lunar landing is yet another very nice feature that brings the player back to the '90s era.

Game is a fast play with frequent air-balls. I've selectively added plexi protectors under strategic plastics to avoid destruction. I don't have any hard negatives on this game. While I've replaced all inserts with non-ghosting LEDs I have kept most of the GI incandescent with the exception of the slingshots & 3 pops. When the game starts strobing I admit the stress level rises to make me "feel" as if my life depends on it in outer space. Hope you join the club!

I've had my game 3 years. Reimported this game along with 3 others from Italy. All were previously routed games in Europe. Needed a project to keep me busy during Covid shutdown.

Magnet isn't activated every time the ramp is achieved. Not sure what triggers activation from memory - if there aren't other responses I'll visit my machine later today in attempt to get you the answer.

That location is a high frequency victim of bullet shots. After ordering a full plastic replacement from Marco I fabricated my own plastic protectors from 1/8" plexiglass in the hopes of avoiding the rapid destruction.

I recently bought Retro Refurbs art blades for my A13 and haven't decided the best approach to installing the right blade. Initially I was going to gently pry the 4 fasteners securing the metal plate strip that protects the cabinet and reinstall it after the art blade was added. There's always the risk of minutely deforming the metal during removal which could impact ball projection during launch. The alternative installation would be to install the artwork over the metal plate, either leave it covering the metal or subsequently cut the vinyl material carefully to reveal the metal.

Has anyone installed art blades on their A13 and have recommendations/experience to share? Appreciate any guidance.

Really appreciate your reply and thoroughness of thought outlining your analysis Morgoth00 regarding the installation of the right art blade. After further analysis of the physical conditions and several reviews of your write-up, I've arrived at my final strategy: Friday will be my "I" day, as in installation day!

Here goes: Based on the ~1/16" thickness of the metal plate and the slight button top head of the nails/fasteners, I've decided to cut the art blade using the metal plate and apply the excerpt slightly offset over the plate. I'm going to clip the vinyl art (with backing still applied) in the desired final position on the cabinet. Using a thin metal straight edge I'm going to carefully scribe the outline of the art blade around the metal plate. Upon complete separation of the scribed section I'm going to remove the backing and install the art blade. I agree with your logic that removing ~4 or 5" of the vinyl where the VUK supplies the ball, revealing the metal plate makes the most sense. I intend to install the remaining scribed vinyl over the rest of the metal plate BUT deliberately offset the vinyl `1/16" upward in an attempt to partially mask the metal plate upper edge.

There's going to be some deformation caused by the button head fasteners but there's limits to my OCD. Not sure that the vinyl will permanently adhere to the 1/16" metal edge but I'm going to bias the view from the vantage point of the player. The art blade has rather sparse artwork and leaving the metal plate fully exposed would interfere with some of the most important graphics. I will apply rubbing alcohol over the metal plate before final application to increase whatever chances there are for good adhesion.

Good, bad or ugly - I will post a picture or two after my "I" day mission. Wish me luck!

The installation of the right art blade was a success: Only took me 2 hrs but it's partly due to having low ceilings and not being able to position the pf ideally. I'm really pleased with the end result and greatly relieved it's over. Key takeaways that may be helpful for anyone else considering art blade installation.
1. Decided to apply vinyl art OVER most of the 1" metal plate on the right side of cabinet,
2. Took ample time to preposition vinyl with backing still affixed, found blue painters tape especially helpful,
3. Lightly scored vinyl with my thumb nail around THREE (3) sides of metal plate: Left, bottom & right sides only, (Not cutting top allows vinyl to wrap over the metal edge, maintaining graphics continuity,
4. Removed entirely ~ 5" of vinyl in the area of the VUK
5. Removed vinyl, placing on a flat surface, using a sharp Xacto knife and straight edge, cut the 3 sides as stated above,
6. Decided my best application strategy was to cut backing paper into 3 sections to facilitate a 3-step application, put painters tape tabs on paper backing to help position vinyl initially and to facilitate pealing off the backing in stages while partially installed,
a) section below metal plate was best starting point: Full access & established alignment of the entire art blade
b) section above & covering metal plate
c) rear section (about 1/3) just beyond the almost vertical playfield, keeping with the alignment established in 6a
7. Placed interior blade protector over right art blade, lowered pf, applied credit card to finish/smooth out vinyl

Thanks for reading and not falling asleep. Hope it helps.

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Love the "hope the round nail heads may double as 3d planets". I forgot about using the rubbing alcohol to clean the metal plate until I was applying the 2nd stage... oh well, good intentions. But in the end, I really am pleased with the end result. Please share pics of your installation. Good luck! Oh, and have a good Memorial Day weekend all!

Unless I misunderstand your question, the 1" metal plate runs roughly 26" from memory. I overlayed the art blade over about 21", leaving only 5" of exposed metal nearest the violent VUK action. If you zoom in the 4th photo you can see the slightly projected surface of the vinyl covered metal plate, with a nearly invisible open seem at the bottom of the metal plate. Other than when the ball is jettisoned by the VUK, the ball doesn't appear to contact the cabinet wall.

Hey gb, I'm interested but have a question: The large clear plastic on the right side of my A13 pf is thinner (about 1mm) and has "molded" or deformed somewhat over the lowest red dome light cover. The hex posts supporting this clear 1mm plastic appear to be correct at ~1" and bring the plastic to the right metal rail of the right habitrail (any higher and the plastic might interfere with the ball travel). Where does your clear plastic sit relative to the right metal habitrail?

I previously fabricated my own lower clear plastics near the ball drains with 2mm stock and thought 2mm stock on the larger right plastic might not work over that red dome cover without increasing the hex post lengths. If this can work, I'll go in for a set as you outlined.
JZ

PM sent. Thanks!

Brings a smile thinking of the LEM/Command rotating around with the moon. Then as an engineer, my OCD self thinks about the scale of equipment vs the moon: Reminds me of the Rick and Morty episode where they land on a planet they can walk around in minutes - right back to smiling! Please share a picture of the successful landing...

Welcome to the club! Here are two quick pics of the back box to get you started.

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The 3rd photo shows the white button you need to depress to open the speaker panel from the left side. The hinge is on the right. My white button requires a hearty push to get it to click open. Let me know how you go. And welcome back to the Club. I Agee that A13 is a special game that deserves to stay in a collection. I reimported mine from Italy 3 years ago: needed a lot of TLC and repairs but it's 100% now.

We see A13 for sale ads periodically here but I was motivated to import 4 games as projects during the early part of Covid. All 4 were player games of course and needed extensive cleaning and repair after converting them back to US voltage (110v). I'm still quite pleased with the whole process and end result. Kept 2 of the 4 and then went nuts buying nib and games made post 2016. There is something very satisfying about playing A13 that makes a strong impact with me: I honestly expect to keep this till I'm "done".

Correct: The up-post between the flippers is supposed to rise immediately after exiting the rocket and lunar lander, staying up for 5-7 seconds. After doing a switch test if it doesn't work then check the solenoid lug connections.