85vett,

I think you have just made a case for why kits make sense - especially for a first outing. I am about 80% complete with my Cointaker kit for my DE SW and am very pleased. This is my first conversion and I find it quite straightforward.

It gives you a good base for making minor mods and changes. I have played with trying different colors in some locations and in most cases left them as suggested. After I've played a while I might decide on a different color in another spot or two, but it is only a 5 or 10 dollar change even with shipping. This way I get the convenience of a kit with the ability to exercise some creativity.

Oh, and the Cointaker LEDs look GREAT! Chris at Cointaker is a great guy, the LEDs look great, he is a Pinsider, and he gives fellow Pinsiders a 10% discount.

Here's some LED information i was reading this the other day http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/led-information-all-you-wanted-to-know

It would be great if the members on here told what kind of led < frosted concave wide angle 3 led 5 led and so on.> where they got them and maby a pic of the playfeild. That would help greatly to the members who are thinking about doing a led upgrade to their machine. Im not bashing anyone but its great if your pin has a led kit already made up all you have to do is buy it and wait, but there are many machines out there that dont have this option and many people that have the thought of
"Hey i dont know if i wanna waste the money on a led kit because I didn't get the same results as person A because i used the .59 leds when person A used the 2.00 leds but didn't know the difference"
Im jumping the led bandwagon myself on my BH and ill take before and afters. Im just going by what i have read on various sales venues and going from there. Like i said im not bashing anyone please dont take it as that and everyones tastes are different but PICTURES ARE WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS. And it would help to see what you are buying to make the right choice.

The threads are listed in the sticky section.

The threads are listed in the sticky section

I understand that and so does everyone else but telling what they look like and what they actually look like are two different things. Heres an mighty fine example of what im talking about. Just by looking at this most people will conclude hey .59 a led and my pin can look like that, im sold. In reality im quite sure those are not .59 leds. This pin is amazing and i hope the owner does not get upset i used his pic.

ct2_069.JPG.resize.jpg

_{Post edited by Shane300zx : more to add}

Yes, that T2 is nice, PM Coasterguy and ask him some questions, he has got amazing examples of TAF & ToM

I feel ya 85vett i have to drop 200 on a ni-waumpf board for my sons Black Hole and am thinking about adding some leds to the main pf. But like i was saying there is no kit avail for my pin so have to buy and hope it looks killer. BTW i got a 40th anniversary vette so nice sn. Im just tore on which led to buy.

IMO I think you should order what you need. The kits are nice but it might not be what you want. You can always get the sample kit from CT for like 8 bucks and try it out to find what you want. I did my Spy Hunter, inserts (color on color) and GI lights. I used the 170 degree $.59 lights from cointaker. For the white lights I used the cool white. I did not do the back box yet.

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Thats what i was thinking about color on color.So pf lights are 170 deg cool white thats awsome. Ive noticed on some machines you can see the leds shadow in the pf artwork if you will in the form of a bright circle.Again looks amazing soapman. From what cointaker says the frosted leds are brighter? Im wondering if they broadcast out around the light well.

Frosted bulbs are good for exposed sections, but don't really "throw" the light out...
If you have certain things you want to highlight go with the 'flex supers'. If you have dark areas go with the 'Ultras'.
For PF/GI, ghostbusters (frosted or wide) or retros are nice and easy on the eyes.
Supers are great for most covered (surrounding) plastics, behind rubbers or under slings.
Unfortunately the kits are just a stepping stone to the true creative possibilities LED's can bring to a pin...
You kinda have to bite the bullet and get an organizer bin full of everything that Cointaker makes.
Only then- will you be "truly" satisfied with the outcome...
I am still messing with my LOTR! (It's been 6+ months! )

I've purchased pins that were done with Cointaker kits. For the most part they look quite nice, but I have to admit I am quite perplexed by some of their choices.

+1

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Really! "KitFace!"

Experiment.

For me some LED's are too bright and same bulb looks very different in different games under different inserts.

As an experiment I need to slightly tone down a frosted T10 as it is still too bright so I am going to put an old fashioned condom on it and see what it looks like.

I would never buy a kit as part of the fun is continued experimentation with all types of bulbs until the right effect is achieved.

I built a LED test fixture for #44 and#47 bases.

Check out this thread and the you tube video.
http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/led-and-lights-test-fixture-jig

Now i need to add 555 sockets to test LEDs with a 555 base

Easy to build and works well to see the differences between LEDs
Also doubles as a conventional #44 or #47 bulb tester.

I have led's in all of my pins and I love em. It's the easiest and nicest way to bring new life to your pin. I've bought kits for the first couple but I wasn't satisfied with all of them. I'll never buy another kit again. It's a lot more fun to experiment. I've got all kinds of
Bulbs in all of my pins now and I never seem to stop changing them around. It's a lot of fun and sometimes I'll get bored with the schemes. I say just go for it and buy extra everything. Have fun your gonna love it.