I've had my IJ for many years. It's the first pinball I've ever owned, and I'll probably never get rid of it. It's definitely my favorite game.

Years ago, I put a lot of time into restoring it and modding it, and essentially trying to make it "my own" (without getting too crazy). The lost plastic was the first thing I tackled. I figured, with all that new artwork back there, why not show it off? So I replaced the backboard with plexiglass and backlit it. I also put in some plastic trees here and there, installed a snake with led's (he lights up on Well of Souls), and put in a toy or two. Nothing gets in the way of the ball, and I think it looks pretty cool. I've done a few more mods to it since then, and moved some things around some, but I figured I'd share these pics with everyone. I just think it's a really great pinball machine.

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Glad you like it. I think it really adds depth to the game. It was a while ago, but I seem to remember routing out the pattern on 1/4 inch plexi from Home Depot (twice, since the back piece is 1/2 inch wood. Plus, I don't think they sell 1/2 inch). My original plan was to sandwich the artwork between the two. But it worked out just fine putting the artwork in front. I just removed the original wood piece, made a pattern for it, then used the router to cut it out of plexi.

The lights are all #47s. I used a bunch of #47 lamp holders and connected them behind the plexi to any screw I could. I also have the backlit mod installed, so that gave me a few more options to connect them. I just tried to light up any part of the back piece that the bridge mod wasn't lighting. The whole thing was then wired directly to one of the GI connectors behind the backglass.

Sorry I'm not more specific, but it's in storage right now in a different state and I'm trying to remember the best I can.

Swenny, I did. If you look above, it's pretty red. It's a #47 bulb with a bulb holder. Just screwed it into the wood beneath so the bulb rested in the space between the ejecting mechanism. It's a tight fit , but there's room. Then I soldered it to a nearby GI light.

During mine cart mode, you can ALWAYS go to the right the first 4 times, and the first 3 times of each wave after that. That way you only have to pay attention to the final few gates of each section. Makes it MUCH easier. (expert opinion )

This might be my favorite idea yet!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcasm

Yes. I did it on my machine years ago. There's some more pictures of it way back on this thread in post #142 (when I went all mod crazy on it years ago!). I took out the back piece and used it as a template to cut two thinner pieces of plexi from Home Depot with a jigsaw (because I didn't have the right tools). I then hooked those lamp sockets mentioned above to about eight different areas and hooked it into the GI. It was a ton of work, but it looks SO much cooler! You could probably get the job done easier with some LED's and a thicker piece of plexi cut with the right equipment.

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No. I re-cut everything except the long strip behind the bridge, obviously, and slipped the new lampholders all around the back to whatever post was available and wired them together. Grounded everyone with tape. Not pretty, but it's lasted me for years. I'm sure you could make it look nicer.

Here's a few suggestions that made mine work great. First,try bending the small metal tab at the path entrance out more, so the ball can fall more directly down and to the right. Also, try bending the whole bridge piece itself by taking it off and giving it a good twist with your hands (twisting CCW with your left hand and CW with your right). This will make the left side sit up slighly higher so the angle isn't so steep, and the ball will fall slower into the Path after the diverter lets it go. And finally, acoording to the manual the pitch of this game should be between 6 and 7 degrees. Mine's at 6.5, so you may want to try lowering it a bit. Hope that helps.

Yes. The whole thing. Unscrew it from the back so you can hold it in your hands, and twist it. You won't be able to bend it very far and you shouldn't, but you can get the angle slightly up if you do it carefully. You may have to readjust it a bit to make sure the diverter still clears the hole in the metal when you reattach it. It was a fix I read about years ago and it solved the problem on my machine.

I believe pinballinreno is talking about the same bending solution but using washers instead. If you put a washer or two onto the left bolt and nothing on the right bolt before you re-attach the bridge to the back, it will lift the bridge up on the left and make it more level.