(Topic ID: 243939)

My poor man’s Indiana Jones (eldorado city of gold retheme)

By sixtyfourbits

4 years ago


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10
#1 4 years ago

I wasn’t quite sure where to post this, so I may have already messed up. But I wanted to share my fun little project I’ve been playing around with for a couple weeks.
Introducing, my Indiana Jones and the temple of doom pinball machine (aka poor man’s Indy aka eldorado city of gold retheme).

It all started when a project Gottlieb eldorado city of gold popped up on Kijiji (Basically Canada’s Craigslist). It was listed quite cheaply. When I texted the owner, I was second in line. Well, a day later and I heard back that the first guy passed on buying it. So I go to see it. The good: a nice clean playfield, and it plays. The bad: some displays are out, no sound, no backglass. But again, the price was great, so I figured why not. I’m still very much a pinball noob, so this will be fun to learn on. Here is what the pin looked like when I first brought it home and set it up:

B9B19AE2-CEDC-45F1-98DF-535A245AB6B1 (resized).jpegB9B19AE2-CEDC-45F1-98DF-535A245AB6B1 (resized).jpeg

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Yes I know what you’re thinking. There’s swelling on the top of the head box! Yes I address that later.
Oh, the custom backglass? Yeah how could I say no to buying that! The previous owner said that the original translite was ugly and worn out, so he made his own. While I was tempted to rock it like that, I decided this was the perfect reason to try my hand at a very basic, low cost retheme project.

#2 4 years ago

The first thing I did after getting it home was clean it up. The playfield, while looking ok originally, looked even better after a quick clean. The cabinet looked pretty worn, but after a very strong cleaning, it’s much better and good enough for what this low budget project is.
The cabinet had a small bit of swelling on the front under the coin door, as well as on the top left corner of the head box. These mid 80s Gottlieb cabinets are made of some pretty poor particle board, and they swell quiet easily. Again, I’m not going for a quality restoration, so I simply shaved the two swollen areas down to flat level and repainted them. I touched up a fair bit of the black on the cabinet, and that helped the cab look a lot better as well.
Then I tackled the displays. I was lucky in that all that was needed was a solid cleaning of the connectors and board contacts and all the displays work perfectly now.
I don’t really have any pics for this post, as it was all just cleaning. Stay tuned for the next post when I start talking about the retheme.

#3 4 years ago

So after getting the game displaying and playing as it for the most part should (still no sound but that’s ok), I decided to make the playfield a bit nicer.
So I installed LEDs throughout (thanks again to Malibu-SS for the LEDs, and for being a great friend and source of info too). I used green under the jungle plastics, and I’m very happy with how they look.
Next, I installed all new rings and flipper bands from Titan Pinball. I was very impressed with the quality, pricing and shipping costs from Titan_Pinball , and will definitely be buying from them again in the future.

Here are a few pics with the new bulbs and rings:
Out with the old:
6D9F769A-61E8-460C-B149-00527534EBF0 (resized).jpeg6D9F769A-61E8-460C-B149-00527534EBF0 (resized).jpeg

And in with the new:
EA634CBB-9281-4ECC-A7F1-16C2BBA8D886 (resized).jpegEA634CBB-9281-4ECC-A7F1-16C2BBA8D886 (resized).jpeg

3BB520A5-4135-4618-A6C0-3DC95985FC12 (resized).jpeg3BB520A5-4135-4618-A6C0-3DC95985FC12 (resized).jpeg

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7F22B753-3A1A-46BC-9304-DB5EC87C8D6F (resized).jpeg7F22B753-3A1A-46BC-9304-DB5EC87C8D6F (resized).jpeg

I just realized there’s a sneak peek here at both the custom instruction cards as well as translite. Oh well, I’ll be getting to those in the next post anyway Hahaha.

#4 4 years ago

One of the first things I started doing when I got into pinball ownership was making custom instruction cards. Mostly because it’s something that is easy for me to do, and I quite enjoy the creative aspect of it.
So once I knew that I was going to retheme this el dorado city of gold into an Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, I made some instruction cards for it.
Also, in case anyone was wondering why I chose Indiana Jones and the temple of doom, I just thought that this is what Gottlieb would’ve chosen originally for their theme if copyright wasn’t an issue. Both temple of doom and el dorado city of gold came out in 1984.

Here’s a couple pics of the instruction cards:

21E7E298-5282-4194-8CE4-74D2CDC5C8AD (resized).jpeg21E7E298-5282-4194-8CE4-74D2CDC5C8AD (resized).jpeg

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DF9A087F-4D44-49C1-8A26-484B104A7466 (resized).jpegDF9A087F-4D44-49C1-8A26-484B104A7466 (resized).jpeg

14
#5 4 years ago

So one of the biggest parts of this retheme is the backglass. For this I used the free program gimp 2, which is a wonderful Image editing program that I highly recommend. After I had an image I was happy with, I sent it to a local printing company that is able to print on backlit material. Because I did all the image work it was pretty cheap to have printed. Here is the end result:

BE95EE48-4C9B-423F-80C9-CD0AD51AF352 (resized).jpegBE95EE48-4C9B-423F-80C9-CD0AD51AF352 (resized).jpeg

31A7FA04-B61B-466B-B1B5-E187BA49F451 (resized).jpeg31A7FA04-B61B-466B-B1B5-E187BA49F451 (resized).jpeg

Here is the game over part lit up:
C691CA81-AAF5-4AA5-B13F-DE9D4D2F1A0D (resized).jpegC691CA81-AAF5-4AA5-B13F-DE9D4D2F1A0D (resized).jpeg

And my favorite, the tilt lit up:
36FBD0AF-AF71-46F7-BC06-AAACF8792762 (resized).jpeg36FBD0AF-AF71-46F7-BC06-AAACF8792762 (resized).jpeg

It’s midnight here now, so I’m off to bed. Tomorrow I will cover the new legs, as well as the custom pop bumper and flipper decals I had made. I will also discuss what is left to do.

#7 4 years ago
Quoted from Daditude:

Incredibly cool!!
Are you going to re-do the cab and playfield too?

Thanks!
I feel that the cab and playfield fit the theme well enough that they are ok to leave as is. For eldorado city of gold, it really only said the title on two places on the entire pin: the backglass and the pop bumper caps, and both of those are gone now. With this being a budget project, I’m ok leaving things as they currently are. I also added custom pop bumper decals and flipper bat decals, and they help retheme the playfield a bit more to the Indy theme.

#11 4 years ago
Quoted from Metengo:

I would recover the targets with letters in Indy-Font. The targets on the upper end * * I N D I A N A * and the targets right J O N E S.
It would integrate the theme a little bit more.
It is esay to do:
Printing on Photo-Paper, laminate the front side with clear tape and the back with double sided sticky carpet tape, color the small side with an edding in the color of your targets (best would be black).
Ready to use.
That is the way i fresh up old targets like you can see here[quoted image]

That’s an awesome idea! The letters fit the drop target arrangements very well, I’m not sure how I didn’t see that earlier! I will definitely be giving this some more thought, thanks for the recommendation. I think I would go INDIANA for the first 7 across the top, and then use the remaining 3 for pictures of the three protagonists faces. Then JONES across the second set of targets.
Thanks again for the neat idea as well as the useful tips on how to do it.

#12 4 years ago

So another small change I made was switching from chrome legs to black legs. The chrome legs were in pretty nice shape still, so instead of painting/powdercoating them, I just swapped them with some already black legs I had. I’m not too worried about not having the exactly correct legs, and these are very close anyway. I much prefer the dark legs on this cab.

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#14 4 years ago
Quoted from PantherCityPins:

The Hulkster approves!

hulk-hogans-approves (resized).jpghulk-hogans-approves (resized).jpg

#19 4 years ago

Thanks for the kind words everyone!
I still have to post about my custom pop bumper and flipper decals, and maybe a post to show total costs so far. I originally wasn't going to disclose costs, in case I trade/sell it down the road, but I feel that if I'm going to keep saying its a budget build, most people are going to want to know what I have into it so far. That's half the fun when reading about budget builds lol.

Quoted from gdonovan:

If I may offer a suggestion? I have looked at the backglass a few times and something was bothering me I could not put my finger on till just now. If you are going to redo it for any reason a red or yellow border or mask around the score displays would make it look factory.
Awesome re-theme!

No worries, you and I think alike. I was originally going to have a border around the score displays, but had to abort that idea before settling on my final translite print. The reason I didn't was because I wasn't sure exactly how the displays would line up against the translite. I had a pretty good idea, but if I was off by half a centimeter (and on a 25x25 inch translite that could easily happen) then the display borders would look terrible and the whole translite would look bad. So I took the safe route and didn't have display borders. Being a budget build I didn't want to risk having to reprint the translite, even though the cost of printing it was pretty cheap. I agree though, they would look nicer with borders. I may still think of some way to add them yet, I'm not sure.

#20 4 years ago

Next was the custom pop bumper and flipper decals.
I’m very happy with how these turned out, for two reasons. First, I think they look great. Second, they were free! That’s awesome when running a budget build.
I created the png images to be used, and then my sister was able to print/cut them out of vinyl with a machine she has. Before applying, I removed the painted eldorado logo from the top of the pop bumpers. As mentioned in an earlier post, the only places on this pin that actually said el dorado city of gold were the pop bumper caps and translite. So now all traces of the previous title are gone.

Here’s a few pics:

AA0300D8-8590-42AF-B6E6-B760771958BC (resized).jpegAA0300D8-8590-42AF-B6E6-B760771958BC (resized).jpeg

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#23 4 years ago

So with that last post, I'm pretty much caught up on all the work I've done to the retheme. There are a few things left to tackle though.
With Metengo 's drop target post, I'm adding custom drop target decals to the list of things to do. I really like the idea of spelling INDIANA to build points, and JONES to build the multiplier.
The machine still has no sounds/music. I've debated getting the sound board fixed (I'm 95% sure its a problem with the sound board itself, as it shows signs of being previously worked on), but el dorado city of gold's original sound effects and drum beat background isn't exactly that great to begin with, so I may just skip fixing the board and do a custom music setup with Indy music. Or I might use the el dorado drop target and roll over sound effects with Indy music (which would save me adding double switches to all the existing switches). I'm still debating the best way to do this and what route to take, so if anyone has ideas, feel free to share.

So with me constantly saying this is a budget re-theme build, I thought I'd share a cost breakdown, so that everyone following can see how cheap I've been so far lol.

Costs:
El Dorado City of Gold pinball machine - $550 Canadian / $408 US
LEDs - $55 Canadian / $41 US
Titan Pinball order - $67 Canadian / $50 US
custom translite - $35 Canadian / $26 US
custom instruction cards - $0 / made myself
black pinball legs - $0 / already had
yellow leg protectors - $10 Canadian / $7.50 US
yellow cup holder - $20 Canadian / $15 US
custom pop bumper and flipper decals - $0 / family member printed them
------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------
Total Pin cost so far - $737 Canadian / $547.50 US

Now that I've actually done the math, I'm very pleased with how the pin has turned out for what I have into it. Getting custom music added will likely cost me, as will the sound board repair as I'm not talented enough to tackle that myself yet. But the drop target decals should cost very little / might be free, so that's nice.
I might not have an update for a while now that I'm all caught up on my current progress, but when I do more to the pin, I will be sure to update this thread.
Thanks to everyone for the kind words so far, I really appreciate the support.

Added over 5 years ago:

Since this point I have ran into more costs, such as sending boards away to get worked on, buying new replacement boards, more cosmetic work/materials, etc. I cannot edit this post to adjust/update the current costs, so I will just leave it as the budget/costs have gone up, but are still at a level I'm ok with having in to this pin/project.

#26 4 years ago
Quoted from Shredso:

Great work! I think making some custom plastics would really take it over the top and would be easily reversible.

Thanks!
I debated making custom slingshot plastics, and I still might. So while I likely wouldn’t do a full custom plastic set, I do agree that even a couple would really add to the retheme, and would be easily reversible

#27 4 years ago
Quoted from SantaEatsCheese:

You can do a lot with $50 on Amazon with the key words "Indiana Jones Playset".

I did search on amazon a bit before, as I was looking for a custom topper. The playfield and glass are quite close together, so I’m not sure about adding anything to the playfield, but I’ll take another look on amazon

#29 4 years ago
Quoted from jrpinball:

Sometimes simple is better. Really a fabulous retheme!

Thank-you! I appreciate that

1 week later
#31 4 years ago

Small update.
I’ve sent my sound board and cpu board to Jerry Clause for repair. I’ve heard from a few people that he’s a board wizard, so I know they’re in good hands. Hopefully this fixes the two gameplay issues I was having, which is no sound/music, and no high scores being saved. He will also be checking the boards thoroughly over, so they should be good for a long time. I’ll update again once the boards are back in my possession.

#33 4 years ago
Quoted from ImNotNorm:

Where do you get a custom translite made? Are you doing the art yourself?
I'm thinking of tinkering with a light re-theme down the road. So I'm eagerly following this.

Thanks for following this project!
I made the custom translite art myself. I actually made this one and a custom Shaq attaq one as well. I used the program gimp 2. It’s a free program and is very user friendly.
For printing, I used a local printing company. I originally was thinking staples, but the one I called couldn’t do backlit material. Plus, staples is a lot pickier about possibly copyrighted material. The local place I went to were pretty relaxed about what I was printing, especially once they knew it was for personal use only and was a one off print. They also had awesome pricing, as I only paid about $35 a translite. I think the cost was low due to me doing all the artwork myself and having it properly sized for printing, so they didn’t have to do any image work.
Let me know how your project goes once you start it, I’d love to see what you have planned. If you need any help with creating the translite, I quite enjoy doing that too and could offer to help or give tips.

#34 4 years ago

Here’s the custom Shaq attaq I made, in case anyone was curious about it now that I mentioned it.

60E055FB-3CEE-42E1-95B3-84FAB78D6149 (resized).jpeg60E055FB-3CEE-42E1-95B3-84FAB78D6149 (resized).jpeg

#38 4 years ago
Quoted from ChipScott:

Awesome job! Looks really cool!
Yeah, I think putting the word "Indiana" at the top drop targets and "Jones" on the right drop targets is a really super idea. Easy to do and would absolutely bring some additional integration to the pf (in addition to your pop bumper caps, which look really great, btw). Since the word "Indiana" only has seven letters and there are 10 drop targets, as opposed to having stars, or whatever, on the left and on the right embedding that name, it might be cool, since it is the Temple of Doom (and he collects those three "special stones"), to have some form of picture/shape resembling those 3 stones. Also, can consider adding some covering stickers to the advance rollover standing targets on the left (in front of and behind the left pop bumper).
I know there's a Williams symbol, but these are cheap and could work in a pinch:
ebay.com link » Indiana Jones Williams Nos Pinball Promotional Stickers
Or:
ebay.com link » Indiana Jones Target Body Armour New Material Design Lifetime Warranty
Also looks this fella has something as well you could use:
ebay.com link » Lot Of 9 Pinball Promo Coaster Cutouts Twilight Zone Indiana Jones More
Anyway, following this project.
Great job thus far!! Fun!!

Great input!
I was planning on doing the Indiana Jones letters on the drop targets after Metengo suggested it, but I really like your idea of the three stones from the movie filling in the 3 remaining drop targets.
I also like the idea of adding decals to the advance rollover targets a lot.
Thanks again for sharing both ideas!

#41 4 years ago
Quoted from ImNotNorm:

I'm just in the brainstorming process now. Looking at el dorado city of gold, comet or alien poker. (I'm preferring an Alien theme because that gives me more options)
I don't want to do a DMD or EM

I agree, early solid-state pins lend themselves best to rethemes.
I actually had a different theme I wanted to do first, but when this eldorado came up for sale, I knew I had to do Indy and the temple of doom. I’m also glad I started with this one, as it saves me doing a custom playfield overlay. I’ll work my way up to that on the next retheme.

#43 4 years ago
Quoted from ImNotNorm:

I actually got the idea after seeing this thread. Figured if I could get a nice copy for cheap enough I could do a light re-theme. (plastics, translite, stickers, props etc)
El Dorado City of Gold -> A Fireball Island (board game) re-theme. Maybe "Fireball Temple"
Comet -> Would re-theme it to Edmonton K-Days (annual carny fest in the city)
Alien Poker -> Re-theme intended with the wife playing poker against Aliens. Maybe "Amanda and the Aliens....play poker"?

All three of those ideas are awesome. Do you know of project pins of each that you could buy cheap enough right now? Or will your choice be heavily determined by what pops up first?
With how you edit gifs, I’m sure you will be able to tackle all the graphic work yourself. But if you do need any help or have any questions, feel free to message me.

#45 4 years ago

So I’m trying to make a decision, and thought I’d ask here for opinions.
I created circular graphics of short rounds head and Willie Scott’s head. I was planning to put them on the standing targets circled in blue. I’m happy with how the graphics turned out, but with the metal dot on the center of the stand up targets, the graphics do not sit well/correct.
I then had the idea of making them bigger, making an Indy one too, and putting them on the 3 plastics circled in red.
My question is: would that look good and help the look of the retheme, or is this an unnecessary addition and I should stick with the idea “less is more”?
I’m very much on the fence so any input is appreciated.

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Also, I hope to have the decals done soon to customize the drop targets to spell Indiana Jones. I’ll post once they are here.

#48 4 years ago

I customized the slingshot plastics, but please read my logic here before looking at the pics.

I debated creating full new slingshot plastics, but decided against it for a few reasons, and instead went with customizing the existing ones. Here’s my reasons:
- I enjoy the look of the originals, and how the jungle background ties into the playfield and other plastics.
- I really wanted any modification to be more small and subtle than big and busy.
- the way I modified the plastics is completely reversible, in case I or the next owner decides they don’t like them.

I started out wanting to have a different character on each of the three plastics, as show:
8B96626D-FC61-4515-91DA-8AA0D71D2C99 (resized).jpeg8B96626D-FC61-4515-91DA-8AA0D71D2C99 (resized).jpeg

But what I found was that Willie Mitchell was far too white/bright, and Short Round was borderline the same problem. The only one that looked decent was Indy. Short Round is my favourite character from the movie, so I was a bit disappointed, but I didn’t want to edit another image again, so I decided on using two Indy’s. which, I feel fits the theme/look/age of the pin.

4C4E3166-CBA8-487F-80A5-881A05185BA0 (resized).jpeg4C4E3166-CBA8-487F-80A5-881A05185BA0 (resized).jpeg

The way I created Indy was by printing the graphic on label paper, so that he had a sticky background. I then cut him out, and placed him on top of the slingshot plastics. I then cut Mylar the shape of the plastic, to give Indy a more shiny/finished look, while adding protection.

In the end I’m happy with how the plastics turned out. Again, I wanted it to be a subtle change, and I feel it is. And as mentioned it’s completely removable if I decide against it down the road someday.

Here’s some more pics:
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#49 4 years ago

Another thing that I do to all my games is create a keychain for their key. I’ve probably created 10 by now, but being a pinballer on a budget means that quite a few have left too lol. I hang all the keys together on a light-up letter-board on the game room wall. Today I got around to adding one for Indiana Jones and the temple of doom.

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#51 4 years ago
Quoted from Metengo:

In my opinion a drawn Indy (Williams-Look) would fit bettter to the drawn playfield.
Use pictures like this one https://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/15-503/Indiana-Jones-and-the-Tomb-of-the-Gods-3
You can cut out the head like you did with your ones (Stern-Look) and label it on the slings.

Hey Metengo , thanks for some more input. I agree, a more hand drawn Indy image would’ve likely matched the existing art a bit better. For now I’ll likely keep what I have, but in the future I might make the swap.
A question for you. I plan on using vinyl cut out decals for the drop target letters, the same way I did the pop bumper and flipper decals. I’m trying to decide if clear packing tape or Mylar would be the better cover. I feel the packing tape would give a better finish over the letters (less air around the letters as it’s thinner) but that Mylar would be stronger. Any thoughts?

#54 4 years ago
Quoted from Puffdanny:

Awesome work !!!! I'm about to start a similar project on a Raven I just picked up.I'm going to change it to some sort of jungle drug lord/DEA theme.

Neat idea. I look forward to seeing pics of it once you start.

#58 4 years ago
Quoted from roffels:

Please don't hate me. The playfield art is a good match for The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull's ending set piece.[quoted image]

Haha I don’t hate you for mentioning that. I fully agree with you. Actually, with the temple of doom based in India, I’d go as far as saying the kingdom of the crystal skull scenery fits this pin better.
But, I’m still happy I went with the temple of doom movie. Just because both came out in 1984, and I feel the older movie fits the older pin style better.
But still a valid point!

#59 4 years ago
Quoted from Metengo:

I am a friend of low-budget modding , so us packing tape, you can´t play it weary. Do it.
Here an example of my low-budget modding on GoT Pro https://www.flippermarkt.de/community/forum/threads/sparbroetchen-modding-am-game-of-thrones.177751/
Most of the parts are created for nearly zero Euros (or Dollars, in this case it´s the same )

Thanks for sharing! I love how you put pictures of the more expensive mods beside the low cost mods, to easily compare. Your work is both awesome and inspiring!
So you’re saying that packing tape on drop targets doesn’t age poorly? My biggest fear is that I’ll change the decoration on the drop targets, only to find the tape and decals get worn after a few games and look bad.

#62 4 years ago
Quoted from ChipScott:

The Indiana Jones pictures turned out pretty cool on the slingshots. This is only my opinion, and of course my opinion carries no ultimate weight to your decision-making, but my impression is that the Short Round and the Willy pictures really don't go very well with the look of the game you're working on. To me the starkness of the pictures looks a bit distracting, I think. Maybe I'm wrong. Again, I would give consideration to either small hand drawn Indiana Jones pictures, and or some picture of a Indiana Jones related object for the stand up targets on the left, and maybe leave the playfield plastics (outside of the sling modification you have showed) as they currently are.
Looking good. Great project.

Thanks for the kind words. I also appreciate you sharing your opinion. It’s quite similar to mine. In the end I won’t be using the short round or Willy pics, as I fully agree, they’re just not right for this pins colors/graphics/art style. I think for now I’ll leave the Indy slingshot graphics as the only mod to the plastics.

I think next I’ll tackle the custom drop targets, get my boards back in and working 100%, and probably call it done for now after that.

#64 4 years ago
Quoted from mark532011:

Very cool. I like what you are doing. If you feel like experimenting, You can pretty easily make some removable modifications to the playfield using printed paper cut to the right shape. I did that with a low budget rescue 911 pf repair but the same technique would work if you wanted to play with some minor changes to the pf.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/rescuing-a-rescue-911

Thanks for checking out my project. I've been following your rescue 911, and have really enjoyed watching you bring it back to life. You have done an awesome job so far.
I think for now I will be leaving the playfield as is, as I feel it fits the theme well enough. If I choose to revisit the idea down the road once all my other project ideas are completed, I will definitely consider going the route you did, as it worked well and is removable. The playfield in this is the Mylstar version, which was limited to 150 total before they switched to Premier, so that's why I wouldn't want to do any permanent changes to the playfield.

3 weeks later
#66 4 years ago
Quoted from Mageek:

I use this stuff all the time, it's perfectly clear and a little thicker than most packing tape.[quoted image]

Thanks for the heads up! I'm getting the boards taken care of first, but may revisit the idea of custom drop targets after that, so this is great to know.

Just a small update; My CPU has been fixed and is currently in the mail on its way back to me. Sadly my sound board was non-repairable. I may have a line on a replacement one from a good friend though, so I'm hoping that works out. If not, I will be ordering a replacement one from pascal. I will post again once I have my boards all sorted out.

#68 4 years ago
Quoted from jedimastermatt:

Great repurposing of the original game... but, the kid in me does have to chuckle at the "Ball in Play" text location on the new backglass art.
Keep up the good work.

Hahaha it’s ok, the kid in me laughed at that part too. In the end I left it as I couldn’t think of a better way to label that display, and for the giggles it sometimes produces from myself and my immature friends.

#70 4 years ago
Quoted from Chapmant:

This is really cool. I'm a big fan of Indiana Jones and finding this made my day. Keep up the good work![quoted image]

Thanks! I’m glad you like it! I’m mostly done both the cosmetic and mechanical/electrical work, but I do have one or two things planned yet, so stay tuned.
Thanks again for the kind words.

#71 4 years ago

It's topper time!

One way that I thought I could help make this look more like an Indy pin (while still keeping it easily reversible if I or the next owner so chooses) is by making a custom topper for it. Now, technically its not quite done, as I hope to run lighting up to it in the future. But with my cpu board still in the mail and not back here yet, that might have to wait a little bit. But regardless, I'm quite happy with how it has turned out so far, and would like to share.

So I started off by looking for a figure, statue, etc. I found one on kijiji (basically Canada's version of craigslist) for $20.

top0 (resized).jpgtop0 (resized).jpg

Awesome! It was out of the package, but in great shape. It came with a base and removable items such as hat, whip, book, sword (not a machete), revolver and fertility god gold statue. I decided that to fit the Temple of Doom theme, I would use the hat, whip, book and revolver. But for anyone with the stern or williams Indy pins, this figure could easily be used for one of those too.

The removable items the figure came with fit loosely, so first thing anyone nudged the machine, the items would fall off, and the figure would fall over off the base. So I used a bit of model contact cement to help hold the items to Dr.Jones (no time for love Dr.Jones!) and to hold Dr.Jones to the base.

top1 (resized).jpgtop1 (resized).jpg

top2 (resized).jpgtop2 (resized).jpg

top3 (resized).jpgtop3 (resized).jpg

This on its own looked ok, but I figured that to get it to look more like a traditional topper, it needed a bit of a flat background behind the figure. I also think that when I get the lighting done, having the flat background will look even better. For the background, I simply image searched the web for "mossy stone wall", and found an image I liked. I then printed it, cut it out, laminated it, cut it out again, and then slid it between the rock blocks and rock column on the base of the figure.

top4 (resized).jpgtop4 (resized).jpg

top5 (resized).jpgtop5 (resized).jpg

top6 (resized).jpgtop6 (resized).jpg

top7 (resized).jpgtop7 (resized).jpg

And presto! One custom Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom topper for $20 Canadian total.

top8 (resized).jpgtop8 (resized).jpg

top9 (resized).jpgtop9 (resized).jpg

1 week later
#73 4 years ago

Update time!
The CPU board arrived in the mail today. The game plays wonderfully again, and high scores are saved. Hooray!
On a sad note, I still can’t get any sound or music. My buddy Malibu-SS has 2 eldorado city of gold sound boards that he was kind enough to lend me to test, but sadly none of his or mine produce anything. The 6530 chips in these are known for failing, but I’m starting to suspect (and hope) the sound problem lies elsewhere then the sound board. Any tips or advice on what I should all check?

#75 4 years ago
Quoted from ChipScott:

Very cool! Great find, looks awesome. Agree with getting some lights up to the topper... a couple lights emanating between Indy and the rocks would be a very cool look.
Since that Indiana Jones figure is so realistic, I will say that while really cool, don't get me wrong, the paper background is a bit of a rough match. Can consider going to a hobby store and getting some fake rocks and building them up behind him, can glue them together, even add some fake moss. Can do it in a similar shape to your paper background. Just a thought to consider, especially since that Indiana figurine is so cool and detailed.
Any progress with adding decals to the drop targets yet?

Thanks for the kind words and thoughts. I agree, a more 3d block background would look better. I live in a small town with limited shopping options, but next time I head in to one of the larger neighboring towns, I will have to check out a hobby store.
No new progress with the drop targets yet. I've had limited time to spend on Indy, and lately have been concentrating on getting it up and running smoothly, and trying to track the sound issue. I do still plan to make custom drop targets for it. I have a buddy who has extra gottlieb drop targets, so I may go that route so that I do not have to take the original decals off the back drop targets. We shall see. But I do still hope to tackle that part of the project eventually/soon.

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