Back in the late 1980s, my wife got me a machine for my birthday, which was Mystic. It came with a 90 day warranty and, at the end of the 90 days, the guy was so tired of coming out to fix it he gave us our money back. Fast forward to this summer, when I found a new pinball parlour had opened up nearby (BOS Pinball in Garland). I was thrilled that they had a Mystic. I played it all summer and fell in love with it.

So, that explains me buying a project machine that I just had to have. Last Saturday, someone on Craigslist had one about 3 hours away. (And wouldn't you know, after I get that one, a Mystic in very nice condition was listed on eBay!)

Anyway, I got the Mystic and it was working even less after we got it home after a 3 hour drive from the laundromat where I picked it up than when I bought it.

A highly recommended tech is coming out in a few weeks to get it fixed up. In the meantime, I have lots of questions spinning around in my mind...

The wood isn't too bad, but the paint is faded and flaking off in many places. Where do I get the stencils to re-paint it? How do I find the right colors & kind of paint?

How do I know what score to set for a free game? Sure, the machine will be on free play, but it is nice to hear that POP and know that you've done at least that well. Is there a rule of thumb for that? I'm guessing there are suggestions in the manual that I don't have.

Same question about how steep to make the game when leveling it. Mystic has a captive ball so the harder the slope, the harder it will be to get the multipliers. I want it challenging, but still fun.

This is more of a philosophical question... the drop targets look new and have a bullseye on them. The original drop targets would have had a stylized starburst pattern, I'm pretty sure. Considering the rest of the machine is in mostly fair - good condition, should I try to find the right decals or leave well enough alone?

Its a four player machine. Two of the scores look ok. Two look like spaghetti. Someone told me those are no longer available. Is that right? Seems like there'd be an after market. I'd rather not go to LED scores if I don't have to.

The playfield looks pretty good. How do I know whether I need to "shop" it or just let it be?

I'm really not looking to rebuild a pinball machine as a new hobby. But I wanted Mystic and felt like I needed to get this one because it was available and within driving range.

Would appreciate your thoughts & encouragements!

Mike

Thanks, everyone!

The one at BOS Lounge here has it on free play, so I thought this one could be set that way, too. Maybe theirs has been updated.

One mod I know I can make on my own is a different plunger. This one has the point on it to discourage players like me from hitting it with our palm instead of pulling it back. Gonna get a shiney new round one.

Picture posted. I was so excited to get the machine that I didn’t even notice the scores were dark. I can post better pictures in a few days. At least it has the recessed eye. Stay tuned....

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I'll check on that and get back to you.

I saw a youtube vid on repairing old score displays. It seemed to go through every thing that could go wrong on the display board, but didn't even mention checking to see if the plasma is still good. How do I know if the problem is the plasma and not to bother messing with the board?

Went to my local place last night and played Mystic for an hour or so. (I can't get to mine for a few days and its still broken.) What does addicted mean?

It’s an altec board.

Found a seven digit LED display to work in my six digit Bally SS machine at XPin. Very tempting!

My Mystic is up & running!

Everything works now, it just needs some fine tuning. The pop bumper area isn’t as lively as it could be. Maybe new rubbers would help.

The ball frequently hits the glass off of the center drop targets. I don’t remember that happening on another Mystic I’ve played. Any ideas to fix that?

The gi is led. They don’t match well with the other lights, and they are too bright. Hoping there are leds available that match incandescent better.

The ball got stuck on top of dropped drop targets on the right bank. Hoping those can be adjusted so they are more flush with the playfield.

The plastics are loose, but the nuts seem to be as tight as they will go. What's up with that? Should I put some spacers in? What do folks use for spacers?

Thanks!

meSz Thank you!

@mesz
The drop target assembly is a box with screws all around. If the bottom plate is bent any, the holes won’t line up and it won’t be able to be screwed back together.

Which part is supposed to be bent out?

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Thanks. That was going to be my next step.

And then work on fine tuning the pop bumpers. Still thinking I should replace the rubbers, on general principles. Can’t hurt.

Thanks!

As far as the ball hitting the glass off the drop targets, I figure I’ll just raise the glass up some.

Moving along. Got a new set of leg levelers. One of the old ones was stuck on so bad I had to remove the leg, cut the bolt flush and drill it out! Won’t have that problem any more. Haven’t had time to do the drop targets or pop bumpers yet.

The Special inset is sunken down a tad, and the ball hangs on it. I'd planned to raise it up flush and secure it with a drop of superglue, but the tech who serviced the machine said not to touch it. Is that a harder job than it seems? Is there a clear coat seal that would break or something?

Adjusted the contacts on the pop bumpers. Noticeable difference. With new rubbers it'll really rock!

Didn’t have the time to disassemble and work on the spoons, but it doesn’t seem necessary right now. Will have to replace the light sockets in them.

Replacing the plastic flipper bats. One had broken. The other I could see is cracked.

Lost a set screw in the machine somewhere.

The good news is I found the washer that I lost a few weeks ago, messing with the drop targets. One in, one out.

Time to get a magnet. Think I’ll weld a rare earth magnet to a rod. Or maybe use my Harbor Freight gift card I got for Christmas.

My Christmas plan is to practice soldering on an old circuit board.