Let me be the first to say that I think you stole a minty HUO SoF Congrats on the find!

Congrats, I played this at FPO last weekend. Great game!

Yep the dream is to one day own this game...

Congrats, it's a pretty cool game. Best music ever!

You made out very well!

Sounds like robbery.
Nice grab!

Now sell it to me!!

Nice find. its worth the drive.. Been there done that! I know how exhausted you are

CPR made repo plastic sets for Swords of Fury I believe.

Unless someone put some aftermarket decals on those inserts, those are not decals.

The numbers on the playfield inserts are normally silkscreened ink, not decals.

Close up pics, please.

yup. no decals there. that's original printed playfield.

Congrats on SOF. Won't find a better system 11.

I need to do something similar on my SoF. The original silkscreened ink over the inserts was worn down and the previous owner placed decals over top of those partly-worn-down graphics. This was done without lining them up very well, in some cases.

I'd like to strip the tops of the inserts down to bare plastic and add new decals. Is it possible to do this without removing the inserts from the playfield and sanding them, etc.?

Yep, no need to remove any inserts that are not broken.

Peeling up the old decals won't be too bad, I think. Would you use something like a flat xacto blade to gently scrape off the old ink underneath? Or is there a better method?

Congrats and enjoy! Still regret selling mine but glad you scored such a nice one.

Congrats On the game. That is my right in my backyard. Well, almost i'm in a suburb Rochester. I remember that ad. Is there a story behind why it was on Buffalo craigslist, but located in Rochester. I thought that was odd when i saw it. I had a Sword of Fury that was my first game that i sold long time ago regret it now, enjoy.

I hate to be the downer here, but that kind of insert wear doesn't happen to HUO games unless it got played just as much as a routed machine or suffered serious neglect. A good way to judge if the game is actually HUO is to look at the coin slots and see if there is any flaking paint where the quarter's edge would make contact with the door. Even the slightest wear would indicate the game was used commercially at least for a time.

The game's play counter is memory based and saved in the game audits, but since the batteries leaked, the memory without question got wiped, so there's no way to know how many plays are on it. You can turn the game on safely with no batteries in it, but you'll get an "Adjust Failure" error message notifying you that there was a problem saving/recalling the game's memory. You may also encounter problems due to battery acid on the mpu if it leaked that badly, which hopefully isn't the case (wouldn't mind seeing a pic of the mpu if you get a chance).

Again, I hate being the party pooper, but this might be useful information to someone.

With all that said, I owned a Swords of Fury for many years and it's a cool game that is certainly underrated. The soundtrack alone makes it worth the price of admission. Good luck and have fun!

-BB

best bet is to just pull of any decals someone might stuck on it. As vid said, never try to pop out or remove inserts that arn't loose or broken. No need to remove inserts. You don't have to sand them either. if you want to take off existing art. Use a scraper like a cuticle scrapper and it comes right off. A lot easier than you think.

Peeling up the old decals won't be too bad, I think. Would you use something like a flat xacto blade to gently scrape off the old ink underneath? Or is there a better method?

once you pull the mylar, you can just sand them they come right off.
By the way, your playfield even though your pictures are not clear-- the plastic and glass are blocking some of the view--- unfortunately it looks like your playfield has a lot of insert wear.

Neo-- Banzai Run is the best system 11

Greg- you would be bored and done with SOF in less than a week, not a bad game but it doesnt have a lot of shots, etc.

Here is mine that I actually sold to Chris Hutch HEP so he could utilize the cabinet for a high end restore. I pulled the mylar and a couple of inserts have the top side decals, you can see in the pictures from the light but indoors you cant tell.

sold to HEP for about $1500, listed on RGP a few years ago

Pin Princess was not included
Scott
Detroit Pinball

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I like to use a freshly sharpened chisel, completely vertically (not at an angle like you would shave wood). The ink and the clear coat easily comes right off.

Lay your first coat of clear, then apply water slide decals, then topcoat your clear.

Scott... Beautiful machine. Thanks for sharing.

-BB

The only pinball with cum in it.

Did they have the receipt from when they bought the machine? Just wondering how you know it was HUO. Swords of Fury is a great game! Enjoy it!

Congrats on the purchase.

Chris

Your game was routed, the mylar was removed already. They purchased from a retail store that sold it to them off route, the previous owners are not collectors and knew no difference.
I run into this all the time, with people selling their games that are not collectors.
My game was routed, take a look at the cabinet and playfield.

good luck with the restore.
scott
detroit pinball

Who cares if it's HUO or not?...this playfield is very obviously in rough shape......HUO doesn't mean squat if it's all beat to shit..

How could you think it had "killer" low plays when the inserts are worn that bad? My old Swords looked nicer than this and it lived at a campsite...haha..

Fun game though..congrats on the purchase, love the music, I did find the game to easy though, I could roll it over fairly easily, and mega long ball times..

You're only fooling yourself man..

How long have you been collecting pins?

99% of people on here would say it isn't HUO just by looking at the few pics u posted..have you seen a true HUO pin before?

If you were selling this as HUO to me, and I saw the playfield, I wouldn't even come look at it...condition is king..

Scrape the remaining insert decals off with an exacto knife. It's messy and tedious - sounds like pinball restoration! A magic eraser with 60-80% isopropyl alcohol might help to really remove the remains, but be very careful as using this method - too much scrubbing or scrubbing too hard can start to scrape off surrounding playfield paint (this might scare you, but the ME is really good at cleaning the heavy stuff of the playfield, such as swirl wear). Using the alcohol to loosen up the remaining decal might also help when using the exacto.

Wipe clean and polish the blank inserts with Novus 3, then 2, then 1 depending on how heavy the scratches are to begin with. Might get away with just 2 and 1 (also, I might have the order reversed, but I did it that way and worked great). They should get super smooth/shiny and ready for new insert decals.

Make sure you use tweezers to take the decals off the sheet and NOT your fingers - your fingerprints will stain the decal almost immediately. Be patient when lining the new decal up for application, because once it touches the surface, pulling it back up is a bad idea. Patience is key - it took me a very long to do this the first time, so don't worry if you feel like it's time consuming.

Oh, and of course... you'll need these (these used to cost $100 a sheet, though it was Banzai Run sheet that I bought, so that may have been it) -

ebay.com link: SWORDS FURY Pinball Machine Insert Decals LICENSED

Keep us posted on how it turns out and good luck!

-BB

Your lower translite lift channel looks to be busted in half too, I'm sure you already knew that though...

Think my best score was about 18million, that'll give you something to shoot for. My buddy in town still owns my old one, so I get to play it all the time LIONMAN!! It only saves scores up to 9,999,999 though..kinda lame haha

Also, as far as the HUO argument goes... might want to let that one go. This game is not Home Use Only. HUO is a loaded phrase anyway, and by loaded, I mean it entails that the game is pristine or will be pristine with a very basic shop out (rubbers, bulbs, and a wax). This game needs playfield restoration, but with a new set of insert decals, you should have an decent game on your hands.

Looking forward to the progress,

-BB

Someone on here stated it best a few days ago. HOU is a state of history of the machine and in no way indicative of condition. CQ or mint is a statement of condition; HOU is merely a statement of where the machine has been.

I am not sure if you are being serious or your kidding around with this..... I will play along with it just for sake of educational value.
A good amount of routed games dont have hack jobs, etc. The original owner would most likely never pull up the mylar.
I am a high end collector, and every time I go to an owners house (non collector) ,that has a pin that I am interested in, majority of the time they tell me they bought it new. It happend to me just over xmas this year-- HUO Corvette, son and owner swear up and down, pictures are always bad and in this case I was 90% sure it wasnt but the owner insisted so much that I drove the 60 miles and picked up Tom (Gear Head Droppings) to give it a look. Super nice house, we had to climb two sets of stairs and as soon as I get to the top I could see it across the room and still I could tell it wasnt HUO..... I walked right up to it, and showed the guy it wasnt HUO. In fact, it was operated in a bar, more specifically a PUB. This was a unbelievably routed beat up machine that was routed in the UK. Owner still swears up and down, and now says its never ever needed maintenance..... we open it up, lift the playfield, and there are parts laying all over the bottom of the cabinet; Do you also want to here the story about a Professor here at a local prestigious university swearing to me that her blown out Guns and Roses was purchased new, even though it had an operators card inside it.....

Here are more pics of my routed Swords of Fury... http://www.flickr.com/photos/detroitpinball/sets/72157624632828568/with/4850923779/
This was definitely routed and look at the cabinet....
routed doesnt mean blown out, and hacked to shit.

Scott
Detroit Pinball
owner called HUO Corvette-- UK alarm system, stickers all over the game for route.
G N R interior that Univ Prof claimed to buy New.

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Home Use Only, means Home Use Only.... I still believe in it, I also believe most of the blown out shit isnt HUO but people like to think it is and still try to pass it off as it. Some people dont want to challenge it, but I actually like that part.... brings out the CSI in me.

Scott
Detroit Pinball

Good find can't believe I missed that on Craigslist, right in my own backyard lol

Awesome grab man! I really want a SoF at some point. HUO or not, it's a great game

I use 80% isopropyl alcohol and Novus 2 for all surface cleaning (in that order). The alcohol will leave an ugly, hazy residue on the playfield, but works great for lifting the initial dirt off. As mentioned, a magic eraser can help lift the heavy stuff and get spiral wear out, but must be used conservatively since it is an abrasive surface against the playfield. The Novus 2 will remove the residue left by the alcohol and leave a very visible white coating on the playfield as it dries. Buff this coating off with a soft cloth to reveal a beautiful shine.

Don't use sprays or stuff like Windex. Windex is ok for getting surface dust off of plastics and plastic ramps but not good for playfields. If you're going to use any sort of spray, spray it into a paper towel or cloth and then apply it from there. Novus also works great for shining up plastics.

For metal surfaces/posts, I use Never-Dull to remove dirt and polish stuff up. There's probably a better product out there to do it, I just haven't experimented.

-BB

"Windex is ok for getting surface dust off of plastics and plastic ramps but not good for playfields".

Dont use Windex on anything plastic-- ok? Use novus #1 on the plastics and ramps. Ever seen a convertible car with its back window all brown looking? Or clear ramps that are turning brown in color? It's because of using glass cleaner on plastics.

Welcome to the club...

is that how you sold it to Chris. Damn those reds are red. I'll have to go visit mine again and see if my reds are that vibrant. I don't think i've seen one that was like that. Different print run on the playfield?

On that corvette. There is no fucking way on the planet that was HUO with the inside looking like that.

Congrats! As a fellow SOF owner I can say that it is a very enjoyable game(lionman callout can get annoying tho).

Agreed, lionman callout and flipper 'thwack' 'thwack' can get old, but otherwise the soundtrack is killer. Love the high score music!

LIONMAN!!!!!

bullshit. The lionman call out is my favorite. I love it. I think it should be there more often actually.