Ah, gotcha. so basically hard top will just make whatever title planetary approves, regardless of what CPR has done or will do?

Great, I would much rather run a hard top than a full playfield swap at this point. Hoping cprs new policy doesn't affect your plans for the future.

Another one for Elektra

I thought firepower was already a done deal...no?

Wow looks like a new poll with many titles but from that list the only one I own is a SBM which was original mylar and is in good shape.

Flash
Mr Mrs PAC Man

Can I just join an email and be notified if a title I own comes to market?

They had posted in another thread that it was going to be for sale on their site within 10 days. That was over a month ago now I believe.

I am the holdup. Sorry, it has been an unbelievable year. BUT, the good news! Firepower is very, very close. The prototype is applied and about half reassembled. Done by this weekend (I hardly dare say that - now something else will happen).

XENON is what im waiting for. firepower to.

Here's a short video of my (mostly) completed Black Knight installation:

This worked out very well, it plays great and it looks fantastic! Feel free to PM me if you any questions!

Solar Fire is what Iam waiting for!

So is high coming out or what’s going on with it?

Wishing for a Silverball Mania Hard Top

I just restored a baby pac using the mylar overlay from Phoenix Arcades. Nice quality and not too hard to install. Came out great.

That's good news! I'm excited for this. I've got 2 Firepower sitting here waiting right now.

I'd totally be down for testing a Flash Gordon if those were ever created.

I've got a pair of Flash Gordon here waiting and 3 play fields that are just completely trashed. I've got one sanded down to the wood and dents all filled and sanded in. I was going to put one of the classicarcade overlays from eBay on it. Yes, it was that bad! About 1/2 of the paint was already gone. I just don't know about those overlays though. This seems like such a better option, and the colors will probably be much more accurate.

I bought one years ago and the mylar that the artwork is laminated to lifted in a spot so I never applied it. I think Phoenix has some kind of exclusivity to baby pac so likely no hardtop will be released.

It's done. Worked great. Star rollovers are no big deal.

20180707_133829 (resized).jpg

Well done!

Is this factory spelling or typo?

92792525-837E-4B11-A861-D39ADC13B709 (resized).jpeg

Just the way the font is. It came that way

Here's a comparison shot. 2 old playfields, a CPR and the Hardtop.

20180510_203519 (resized).jpg

Seriously? You have that many Firepower playfields? Geez....

Another vote for Mr and Mrs Pac Man please!

I’m curious as to what is going on with the yellow on the “blast/explosion”.

If it was in a game, I probably wouldn’t notice but compared to the other three it sticks out like a sore thumb.

Ok cool thanks for the clarification.

Scroll up, that Hardtop in the comparison picture is the one on the playfield of that game. Back on the comparison shot look at the "blue/green" small planet. The CPR board doesn't have much green in it. It's been mentioned before that the colors used on Firepower components vary widely and I suppose that's what's going on here. Personally I like the brighter colors in the explosion on the Hardtop. Anytime you see a Firepower look at that explosion. There is lots of variance as it goes from the solid red to the edges of the blast. I've seen boards that are pink at the outer edges of the blast. You can also often see blotches and irregularities caused by poorly cleaned silk screens. I had a NOS Firepower playfield I bought brand new back in 1982 that had terrible blotching in that explosion area. At the time I worked for a distributor and had the parts department order it from the factory. I assume it was a pull or "last run for spares" part.

What's the logistics of the star roll over? Just pop it out and re level it to the new surface and adjust the switch underneath accordingly?

Looks fantastic!

Yes. Although I recommend you buy new ones. The hole in the Hardtop is smaller than the star rollover insert hole so you have to enlarge it, carefully, to match. That way you can make it a snug fit and it will be perfectly aligned. Probably should do them a bit earlier in the rebuild process too. I had to take some stuff back off to get room.
IMG_8157 (resized).JPG

I used a sanding drum in a Dremel tool.
IMG_8156 (resized).JPG

I apply the glue to the wood in the hole and push the insert in using a small piece of glass so I get it level with the surface.
Star Rover glass piece (resized).jpg

Wonder if a router with the proper bit would work. Put some felt pads on the surface so it doesn't scratch up the hard top. You'd have to clean out the existing hole pretty smoothly so the wheel followed inside the hole just right.

Any other tips/suggestions on the rebuild?

I bought this Firepower back in about 1982. It was already worn and, of course, they don't improve. At the time I worked for a distributor and bought a new playfield but never put it in. That playfield was the one that eventually got scanned and sent to CPR artist Jim Smith for artwork for CPR's remake. That would be the CPR board in the comparison photo previously. Then OuterEdge posted looking for a Firepower playfield to develop the Hardtop. I knew it was time, stripped the board out of another Firepower so I could do this one like anyone else would. When you send a playfield for hardtop development it has to be completely stripped, top and bottom. Bigger job. Hardtop is applied. Bottom mechanics from stripped board are going on the CPR playfield to go in Firepower #2. The plan is to have both at PATZ next year. Come play and compare!

Before:
20180522_211805 (resized).jpg

Remove inserts, sand smooth and remove any lettering (amazing how much whiter they get):
IMG_8053 (resized).JPG

Align Hardtop. I use two 4' flourescent lights in slot in two boxes below the playfield and a spotlight above it.
IMG_8127 (resized).JPG

When it's just right, clamp it. Here's my method:
IMG_8129 (resized).JPG

Now peel the backing from the top half. Be careful not to peel the adhesive layer.
IMG_8134 (resized).JPG

I cut it off about 3" from the clamped area and fold it under itself:
Peeling Back CUT Ready to stick (resized).jpg

Carefully bring the Hardtop down and apply to the playfield. Rub it down all over.
Remove the clamp.
Now you can pull on the cut pieces from the other half. Pay carefull attention to the shooter lane outside flap.
IMG_8138 (resized).JPG

Again, carefully lay the Hardtop down and stick it to the playfield. Rub it down all over.
Rebuild:
FINAL FP_8168 (resized).JPG

Interesting demo. Thanks for posting. I had thought one had to remove all the graphics feom the board (so it is just bare wood). Obviously not.

You don't have to remove everything. Just all the graphics on the inserts and would recommend sanding a bit of area around any rollover switches as the Hardtop has just a bit of clear area there (typically, wherever the original playfield has bare wood the Hardtop is clear so you want to refinish that area so it looks nice thru the Hardtop. Also, any loose ink must be sanded off and any rough areas which will include those little ridges around the screw holes when you remove the posts. Conversely any low areas (ie: sunken inserts) must be brought up to level.

To clarify: you don't have to remove all the graphics. Basically, the playfield must be smooth and the inserts must be blank.

You do have to remove all the posts, hardware and rails on the top of the playfield so you can apply the Hardtop. In my case I remove the screws from some of the mechs (slings) and switch assemblies to drop them under the playfield to make it easier to sand.

"No....there is another....."

I believe you also need to remove stuff like mylar, glue, etc. I think I’m going to just sand mine then clearcoat and block sand as I would any restore.

I sanded my entire playfield then reglued any loose inserts and made sure they were at or below the level of the playfield. Used some 600 grit wet sandpaper on the inserts to get heavy scratches off of them and then I shot 4 or 5 coats of clear over them out of a spray can. The weren't perfect but they looked pretty good.

One thing I would suggest simply because my hardtop went down slightly off in one small section it to add a bit of black paint around each of the inserts similar to the original keylining. This will keep the bare wood from being visible through the clear section of the hardtop should you miss slightly.

missed_hardtop (resized).jpg

Take a closer look at any original playfield. The black keylines are never perfectly center. If you add black to fill in the bare wood spots, your keylines will be inconsistent thickness.

I've seen some horribly off original playfields where they weren't even close. My friend has a CPR BK playfield and it's way worse than what happened to me. I agree that the keylines will be inconsistent thickness but we are talking such a minor amount that unless I pointed it out to someone they'd never even notice. Hell, if I didn't point my mistake out to people, they wouldn't see it either.

I just know it's there!

Maybe if you were to paint a red (ie the insert color) ring around the insert it may have blended a bit better than the bare wood showing and not affect the keyline width.

I'd paint bare wood around keylines black, if wood is going to be showing even in the Hardtop's best alignment.

If it's black, your eye will not be drawn to it.

-

I did a Comet if you guys want to see another install, including some installation tips:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/vids-guide-hardtop-restoration-comet

Ordered! Super excited to upgrade my Firepower.
Where do people buy the star rollovers?

You can get them at PBR or Pinball Life

Awesome. Thanks, Vid!

Any update on High Speed? Sounds like the prototype will be test fit any day now.

So how are people cutting out the missing right slingshot GI light on Space Shuttle? Or are you just saying forget it and not installing it?

Just Dremel it out with an abrasive bit.

Or drill it out with a drill bit.

If the lamp socket is a tall one, pull the 2 staples from the underside, and drop it out of the way.

You are going to have to drill other holes to make the Hardtop line up, so don't worry about making a lamp hole.

None of the holes for the wood rails are drilled either due to variances in their location from playfield to playfield.
Just put the Hardtop on and run a small drill bit up from the bottom to put a hole in the Hardtop.