**Well, I guess I now know how a topic with zero posts gets made. Sorry about that, mods!(Feel free to delete that other one)**

On a whim, I decided to look into making my own polar bear rug mod. Well, after perusing many different storefronts and cruising through Etsy, I came across what some other people already have on their TAF's. But, I didn't necessarily want LED's in my bear rug(or pay the high price). So, I decided to source my own, paint it, add little touches to it, then stick it on my TAF and see how it works.

What I ended up using is the bear rug toy from a kit sold/made by Playmobil:

http://ronsrescuedtreasures.com/Playmobil-Gray-Bearskin-Rug-3151-Klicky-Figure-Accessory-Vikings-Bear-Skin-3-12-Inches-P2800556.aspx

Well, these things are available on eBay every so often, so I bought a few. One to make and try out and if the paint doesn't work out, or it breaks, or whatever, I'd have a couple more to work with. Well, my first one has been working out great and these things are impossible to break as they're made from a very soft, very flexible rubber/vinyl material. I used Krylon Fusion Satin White paint and while it came out looking right, the paint didn't "fuse" to it the way I thought it would. Better prep work took care of that on my next two. But, since my first one was the sacrificial lamb, so to speak, I installed it on my TAF to give it an in-game beating and see how it'll last.

I mounted it with a square of sticky backed velcro. I did that mainly because the adhesive is pretty strong, but comes up clean(it is stainless, after all) and the velcro acts as a softer base that has some give if you were to hit it with the ball. I have actually bounced a ball off it a couple times and while it did shake it, I haven't seen any damage, yet. I don't suspect there really would be any since even the material is super soft and pliable. I really don't see how a ball could damage these things, outside of rubbing off some paint.

Anyway, here's what it looks like mounted. I mounted it with the square of velcro just behind the head. That way he's not sticking way out over the playfield, and conversely, his left rear leg doesn't interfere with the leaf switch housing.

I've got two more of these made that I'm hanging on to right now until I'm happy with how long this guy lasts. I may sell them off soon, but since this was a DIY mod, know going in that this may take at least a little bit of future "maintenance".

BTW, I had painted the inside of the ears black, but it came out looking too much like a cute puppy. He's still a little "cute", but at the angle you're viewing it from, it works.

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Thanks guys. I love doing things like this for myself and saving a bunch of cash while doing it(I guess that's why I like fixing my own pins, too.)

Forgot to mention that I did the eyes, mouth, and toenails with an "industrial" Sharpie I had laying around. Again, I just wanted to use simple, readily available items that I knew anybody could try themselves with a minimal amount of fiscal risk.

Nice, Russ! I didn't think about doing the ears grey like that. That looks really good.

Between the grey ears, doing a smaller nose, and attempting to do some teeth, I've got some work ahead of me this weekend!

Now you see what I mean about it being a nice soft material, too, huh? I've got NO worries about the ball hitting it!

Because the "bear rug" on the playfield looks nothing like a bear rug. It's pretty much just a face.

Besides, this mod idea I put up just as a much cheaper alternative to the LED lit one. I don't need crazy flashing eyes on mine.

My ultimate goal is to show how a bunch of these mods are just cheap kids toys with minimal painting and stuff. There's no reason they should so danged expensive.