Still working on this mod. Not certain when I'll start taking orders, but I intend to start shipping within two weeks after that point, then runs every week afterward. *As I've learned from other mod runs, buyers prefer to remain anonymous, so I won't post who is in on the mod in this thread, but I'll plan to keep everyone updated on where they're at once I begin.*

I put a short slideshow together to show some of the process (couldn't figure out how to embed a gif, so YouTube it is):

3 silicone molds were made (one of the factory rails to make copies I could destroy, and one of each final rail [certainly the most expensive and time consuming project I've worked on--countless hours over a period of months for the love of pinball and art ).

As seen in the slideshow, I first created a simple CAD design as a base for the idol I wanted to make, then melted the PLA to shape before applying clay. Rest came together as I went along. Carvings made outside of the clay were done with a dremel--the ball contact path didn't get any extra details outside of a few vertical lines, so these are intended to perform like the factory rails.

These photos are for an LED version (already drilled), but the LEDs haven't been installed yet (non-LED version will get domes for the eyes). This video shows some of how the LEDs will perform (there's a capacitor in the circuit to enable a fiery fade and flicker rather than sterile blinking).

EDIT: LED video test (painted rail):

-- Installed photos, LED interaction video, another color option, etc. will be added here as they're ready.
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Going to upload a video clip soon of the LED function on the painted rail (LEDs of course don't look all washed out in person).

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...and the video clip (again, isn't blown out in person and has a deeper red tone):

Couple photos to show the wiring. Any necessary instructions and routing information will be included with each set. The rail hides all of the wiring, including the resistor, capacitor, etc. There's a plug connector in the wiring for easier installation.

It's possible this will change slightly for the production run.

Taking a couple days away from this project for now as I'm backed up with other work, but I'll have more updates to show soon after

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I appreciate the positive feedback While I'm not planning to make any other IJ mods (lots of other mods in mind I'd like to get to), you're not the first to ask if I'd offer a painting service for those pieces. It's not out of the question. I imagine pricing would be in line with how Modfather prices his painting services (at this stage, it's TBD).

Depending on demand, I may need to wait before entertaining such commissions to make sure I can get my mods out in a timely fashion, but this sort of request could be figured out. If not many people want this service, then perhaps I could fit it in amongst the runs.

Thank you!

Expect an update here on Sunday night (pricing information will be decided then). By then I should have my existing orders shipped out (unrelated mods), significant other entertained for the weekend, etc.

Anyone that has posted interest in this thread, the main IJ thread, or PMd me have been accounted for and added to the list.

When I open up orders (after I can reveal all details and options), I'll first ask those on my list if they'd like to purchase. If so, the order I put people on my initial list will be first in line (not payment order). That order may be altered slightly by color choice for runs, but as I'll be shipping runs as often as I can (going back and forth with colors if necessary), color choice shouldn't affect shipping date by much. Once I satisfy those that expressed early interest, I'll open up a Pinside listing as well.

As I promised pricing would be revealed tonight, the plan is $199/$235 (non-led/LED set) + shipping. Not taking any orders yet.

Still working toward final fitment/consistency adjustments and such, but it's looking good. The reveal on this was a bit early for how I usually go about my mod reveals, but various details about this particular mod led to that. This project has been going on in some form since Oct., but we're in the final stretch.

Still plan to get a second color option revealed soon and I'll be working on that tomorrow (in the midst of casting a second set right now).

For now, here's an idea of what gray stone looks like against the yellow playfield.

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For those asking about dimensions--my left rail only adds about 1-2mm of height thickness over the factory texture where none of the thicker vines are placed (in some areas I was nearly flush with the top of the factory stone texture, so less than 1mm in places). In the skinnier areas, the vines merely fall into the curve and don't add extra height. Such visual design choices were made with player perspective in mind, as well as creating the idea of more depth in areas I couldn't do much carving due to wanting to keep the ball contact path smooth (still well enough above the ball path). No clay was used in the ball contact path on either side. The right rail also adds very little material on top (more over the idol) as I didn't want to inhibit ball visibility. It's very slightly higher than the left side as I added a bit of material to the top of the skinnier segments for a more substantial appearance (left side has a bit of that appearance as I was able to square off the curved edges a bit, so it looks a little wider).

EDIT: To add shipping information, I'm not sure on international yet, but US shipping should be $14.99 (actual USPS shipping cost is ~$11+$1 per box + packing materials, handling, etc.).

More materials/tools for this project are arriving tomorrow and Wednesday.

Plan is to run it off the PoA flasher, but as it will have a fair length and use gator clips, any suitable 12V source could be chosen.

Unfinished paint here as I work toward finalizing the second color option (just stone color in this pic thus far). Will get the vines and final touches done tomorrow at some point. I'll still be hoping to be able to produce at least 5 of these a week once I go into production, but they're proving to be a lot of work, mess, and hours per set in this testing and prototyping stage (fortunately I enjoy doing this sort of thing).

Went with brown, orange, yellow, and sand tones this time around. I imagine it should blend with the game colors a bit better than the gray option.

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Another color update.

Machine fit test went well on the previous set. For an extreme test, with the habitrail all the way to the left, there was a very slight touching, so that area is getting a slight shape change to make sure that isn't an issue in anyone's machine (already changed on this rail).

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Will have more to show by the end of the weekend and should be opening up orders soon.

For now, this gives an idea on color comparison.

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Couple more angles of the gold. I believe this is the first I've shown the area near the ramp. I designed that area to expose the wood as there was zero clearance to work with in that area, and to avoid any of the other obstacles I had to design around. I dig how it came out in that regard (in my biased opinion, covering the wood up front has proven to be a significant visual enhancement [and allowed me to sculpt an idol face that scaled better with the game]). I intend to have some sort of video to show soon. Currently building up some runs of my popular mods so that I can streamline these once I get into production.

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Have been getting some of these cast in preparation Casts start out rough, then get dremeled (re-carved in some areas), holes drilled, belt sanded, hand sanded, etc. before getting cleaned with a solvent and primed for paint.

Planning to start sending out order messages to those on my list within the next couple days (will eventually have a Pinside shop listing as well). I have some video taken that will be edited and posted tomorrow I expect.

Cat photo shows where the wires are now being routed for the LED version.

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Quick video of the rocking function and flasher test while installed in the game:

Prepping some of these right now (ready for the belt sander stage for the initial reshape of the areas I pour--yes, this post is mostly for comic relief ). Hoping to have a non-LED version to show tonight if possible before opening orders. There's currently about 20 people on my list, and as noted, I'll be honoring early interest by shipping these in the order I received interest (regardless of payment order), with some slight re-arranging based on paint color. Runs will be weekly and I expect 5 or more sets per run (I'll soon discover what is feasible after the first run--individually, each set is a multi-day project, but I'm hoping runs help speed things up on average).

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Thank you

I was hoping to have a painted version of the non-LED version tonight, but these rails are about to get primed (even with rails already cast, these continue to prove to take a ton of time to get ready for paint), and once dried, it would still be a few hours of paint before clear coats, so I'm just putting these here for now. Should give a good idea of what the non-LED version will look like. These eyes start as 3D printed plugs, then I use a dremel to carve them into the proper shape and smooth them. BEFORE and AFTER pics are shown of the plugs.

I'm going to start messaging the first chunk of my interest list tonight. Pricing will be slightly higher than originally estimated in this thread for the non-LED version (No change to the LED version pricing). Pricing will be $210/$235 + shipping for non-LED/LED--shipping is still $14.99 as original quoted.

***BUT I will be honoring the original shipped quote for everyone that was on my interested list before this post***

Pricing doesn't take into account the hundreds of hours it's taken to get to this point (over the course of 4 months), nor the high expense of the materials (as noted, this has been a labor of love for the hobby). I had hoped to list these for less, as I realize they're ultimately plastic with paint and lights, but these truly take a ton of time to complete.

NOTE: As these aren't 3D printed and the casting material is expensive with a short shelf life (batch I made the initial casts from did in fact expire before casting the sculpted rails [lots of dry, flaky chunks in the resin after just a couple months]), I imagine these will only be possible to make with enough interest for a proper run, so it's possible these will become more difficult to fulfill once initial order interest fades out (I assume I'll have some extra casts on hand to use up material whenever that time comes). After taking orders from my interest list, I'll open a Pinside listing that will remain open until I get to a point where I need to create a new interest list for another run (may switch to "stock" when I'm down to final parts on hand).

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Just sent PMs to those on my list. If you believe you had asked to be put on the list and didn't get a message, let me know.

A Pinside shop listing should be up within the next couple days. As noted above (due to material cost and shelf life), this mod will only be available during filled runs, or when I have spare parts on hand (I will cast any excess from filled runs), so it helps me to know early on what interest I have.

Thanks again to everyone for the encouragement. The positive feedback here and in PMs has been greatly appreciated. This has been quite the journey.

All PMs have now been responded to and everyone that has paid has been marked (had a lot of PMs to wade through, so if I somehow missed responding to anyone, please let me know). The sandy/gold color is in the lead for sure (100% thus far). Hopefully by the weekend I'll know the decision of everyone on the list so that I can move forward. If anyone that was already on the list gives a late response, I can just move you up to the nearest run if you were in an early slot.

First couple runs were filled from the early list. I have materials getting here on Monday and will be shipping run #1 by Friday (15th). Still planning to have a Pinside shop listing, but may wait until the first run is complete.

While 100% of the interest has been for the LED model, for anyone that may be interested in a non-LED version, below are some photos (with and without a ruined eye [optional]).

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Quick update. Changed my screw hole drilling method this week and lost some time making some new casts. It would be impossible for me to overstate how much time and mess is required to get to this point for one run (has me hesitant to open a Pinside listing, particularly when some on my list are still on the fence and paid orders are into run #3 at the moment).

Primer is dry and sealed before the hand painting (as pictured). The primer stays slightly tacky without the sealing, but exhibited by far the best adhesion of the several tested (as the ball makes contact, I needed these to be as bulletproof as possible). These rails have already been routed for LED wiring and dremel shaped/hand sanded.

Planning to be up through the night painting these (one set has previously taken over three hours in prototyping, and I'm hoping doing these as a run will be less than the 15+ hours that would suggest). Looking like I may have to ship Saturday to be able to complete all of the wiring and account for additional drying times, etc. They won't be rushed

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Still plugging away at these. Stone portion is done and I'll start on the vine details in a moment.

The ruins here were damaged (cracked and a chunk missing). I repaired the chunk by casting some resin onto the factory part and sculpting it similar to the surrounding factory design (I chose to raise the stone that sticks out there rather than lower it as it is on the factory mold). Parts will receive at least three coats of clear once finished (4 on the inner rails with sanding before the last).

Not much chatter in this thread, so hopefully all is still looking okay.

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/\ I appreciate the positive feedback (negative feedback is also appreciated as it's often times the sort that leads to improvement).

The parts in the photo have been through all of the clear coat stages. I'll be working on the LEDs and wiring tomorrow and will ship as many as I can (hopefully all of run #1, but if not, Monday at the latest for any left--run #2 will still be planned to ship this coming week).
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Was glad to help salvage your set and save your NOS set. Hopefully I'll get a chance to see a photo of everything in your game once they're installed

Will be shipping all non-international orders from run #1 today (4 of the 5). My last USPS pickup here is 7pm. The international order will ship Monday as the desk closes at 4pm for customs.

Already have the under playfield segment of the wiring complete and the LED circuit installed in the rails (just have to finish affixing the wires through the rails and solder the final connector plugs in, then test everything).

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"The Mods Have Eyes"

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Paper versions of these instructions will be included starting with run #2. I'll also be including zip ties going forward.

Everyone in run #1 has received tracking information by now. Hoping to be able to ship run #2 by Friday, but I expect that time-frame may be difficult to meet based on how much time went into Run #1. Of course I'll update here by then once I'm further along.
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Everyone in run #2 was updated through PM before I left for Texas (TPF). I presume I'll get more photos from run #1 soon. For now I just have a few photos from Vegasbills that got resized too small through text (better ones soon).

This mod will also be available to see and experience at Diversion Amusements in Las Vegas

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Run #2 will be shipping out tomorrow for sure (PMs sent to everyone in this run). As these runs are taking a colossal amount of time and I have other things to attend to this coming month, I won't be accepting any new interest for now . I may accept one or two more orders for run #3 to honor those on my existing list that were on the fence, but otherwise, this mod will likely be discontinued for about 6 months. At that time I may see if there's interest for another couple runs (or perhaps just make some without the pressure of having customer money in hand [being that gold/LED has been 100% of the orders, that's what I'd make in that case]).

I plan to tackle some other IJ mods that will be more feasible for me to produce in a timely fashion, and my ACNC gets here tomorrow that will get some mod attention as well soon.

Was hoping to have more run #1 photos and videos by now, but I'm guessing the removal of the PoA is lending itself to a slower install rate for this mod.

Pssh! House sitters these days...

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Some Green LED images from a custom request in run #2. Nice to see something different

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