Swapped out the drop targets today.
When I picked this up it had Red Bull’s eyes in the valley of demons. Much happier now.

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Did CPR finish their Paragon run? Has anybody heard anything? There's another thread saying they are shipping Space Invaders playfields now.

As they said publicly: they are making Paragon pf's in waves of 20-30 at a time...........the first batch was wave 1

Thanks. I did not see that announcement.

Picked up this game yesterday. I’m ecstatic!

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Paragon for sale on Pinside. HUO it claims and "perfect condition!". There must of been a high volume arcade in this home by the looks of the playfield.

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/classifieds/ad/97324

You’re missing out on the bashing
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/for-sale-paragon-35#post-5687965

Darn. Didn't realize it was a forum topic, makes mine look NIB. LOL

I have entered the Valley of the Demons.

Anyone know where I can find a Rubber Chart for this beast?

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www.ipdb.org

I started to restored "Paragon Pinball Aprons" some months ago. I stopped my work because I could not find main font of some little text (example: "We make the games...") using seaching engines, but I started a manual seach some days ago and I found it yesterday!

"Paragon Pinball Aprons" (BALLY) for to restore in Zona Arcade & Mikonos.
https://www.zonaarcade.com/fotos/capturas/Paragon%20Pinball%20Aprons.%20In%20restoration%20Mikonos1.jpg
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Greetings!

I designed these Paragon apron cards and coin door inserts for Jamon and wanted to share the pictures he sent me. If you would like a set too, I just put them in my pinside shop. The cards are laminated cardstock $7 and inserts are $5 each. These are an inexpensive way to give your machine a little pizzazz.

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1256-upkick-pinball/04020-paragon-coin-door-inserts-

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Hey fellas, i just moved my machines & wondering what is the proper/ideal angle to set Paragon to?

The Bally factory advice is:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/xenon-background-music#post-5607173

Like the Cards, though they need more Cheesecake to fit Paragon. Or, at least to go on my Paragon.

Those Coin inserts are Dope, though!

Well, I finished the Main Paragon Pinball Apron, but I´m not happy with display snapshot because you can not see all designing details I chose and how accuracy is my restoration work. For this reason I´m preparing an extense comparative with samples and some explanations.

I´m working in Paragon Pinball Shooter Apron too.

"Paragon Main Pinball Apron" (BALLY) restored by Zona Arcade & Mikonos.
https://www.zonaarcade.com/fotos/capturas/Paragon%20Main%20Pinball%20Apron.%20Restored%20Mikonos1.jpg
Paragon Main Pinball Apron. Restored Mikonos1.jpg
*I take bigger screenshots and photos, for to avoid blur effect of pinside´s miniatures click to enlarge images (and click again on display image mode if it is necessary).

Greetings

Well, here is my restoration in details. I think you will undestand all my decision and improvements. Opinions all welcome!

I don´t like to vectorize but with pinball aprons I think it is the right way in most of cases. All this Apron was vectorized.

Details in "Paragon Main Pinball Apron" (BALLY) restoration by Zona Arcade & Mikonos.
https://www.zonaarcade.com/fotos/capturas/Paragon%20Main%20Pinball%20Apron.%20Restored%20Mikonos2.jpg

Paragon Main Pinball Apron. Restored Mikonos2.jpg

*I take bigger screenshots and photos, for to avoid blur effect of pinside´s miniatures click to enlarge images (and click again on display image mode if it is necessary).

Greetings

...and this is the last apron:

"Paragon Pinball Shooter Apron" (BALLY) restored by Zona Arcade & Mikonos.
https://www.zonaarcade.com/fotos/capturas/Paragon%20Pinball%20Shooter%20Apron.%20Restored%20Mikonos1.jpg
Paragon Pinball Shooter Apron. Restored Mikonos1.jpg
*I take bigger screenshots and photos, for to avoid blur effect of pinside´s miniatures click to enlarge images (and click again on display image mode if it is necessary).

Greetings

Got Paragon as my first pin a little over a year ago and decided shortly thereafter to go in over my head and take a perfectly functioning machine (more or less) apart in an effort to preserve the play field, which looks pretty good imo for being 41 years old. Plan is to touch up a few wear spots then clear it. Putting it back together will be the real challenge

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My latest adventure...

Local friend, he says take my time, fix all 3, keep one.

Why yes, I can manage that!

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Wow, three Paragons! This is not usual!

Tell me if I can hel you!

Best regards

HUO Paragon for sale:
https://pinside.com/pinball/market/classifieds/ad/101962

Worn PF but the nicest OE cabinet I ever saw. Why the seller would post a pic of the OE battery without installing a NVRAM at that price point is disappointing.

Remote Battery Holder is sufficient and costs about $15 to buy and install take minutes.

If the Cab and glass are as clean as advertised (and they appear to be) I don't see much wrong with that pricing at all.

Highest priced Paragon I've ever seen at $6500. For that money I'd expect a new coin door skin, leg bolts and a CPR PF, not an overlay.

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/classifieds/ad/104018

I love the game but for the money I’d expect a Fathom thrown in.

Greetings fellow Paragonians,

I had recently purchased my ALL-TIME-FAVORITE pin. This is a nostalgic and endearing machine to me for several reasons. 1.) I played it back in my college youth rigorously. Very challenging pin for the day. 2.) I won the dorm pinball championship on this pin.

Having said that, this baby needs special attention. When I brought it home, I played the hell out of it. The lower right upper second flipper would stick and shake. I put a new rebuild kit on that flipper, but now it won't function. I began looking throughout the machine and discovered a rotten, wrecked rectifier board. Ugh. I am sure there are a lot of other things going on with it, but perseverance and patience will eventually get me to a nirvana state of euphoria.

As you can see by the photos attached, the pin is of moderate condition. I have a long way to go to perfect this sentimental prize.

I just thought I'd pop by and let you know I appreciate this forum. I hope to learn a lot here and the quirks this baby may have. Right now it's not in use. I am in the process of converting the old rectifier to an XPin after the hack job that had been done to it. As you can see, the white pin connector is broken in half.

— Geo

PS — I will be catching up on all the post in the next few days. I am an artist/graphic designer by trade and have recently retired. Working part-time here and there.

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Congrats on your recent purchase. I don't see a rotten rectifier board, but maybe a hot spot? Hard to tell by the pictures, but I would say it needs new header and pin connectors. I had intermittent lighting issues with my Paragon when I first bought it a while back. Had burned connectors on the rectifier board. Replaced those connectors and problem solved.

I also had a shaky flipper on a pin once that was caused by a bad diode connection on the coil.

Getting my CPR playfield and plastics next week. But look at this playfield. Worst problem is the ADVANCE BONUS as shown but a waterslide decal could take care of that, and under the overlay it would be just fine. The cracking you see is throughout the pf but it's only really visible when the light is just right. Plastics are all there, just need to be flattened. Previous owner replaced the bumper bodies and caps, and all the rings. I haven't played this game yet; it needed board and underside pf work. Perfect backglass.

I bought the German polycarbonate overlay for it awhile back. I could just clean this up and install the overlay. That would prevent me having to deal with the cupped inserts. It's only original once. Then I could look for a truly blown out example to install the CPR in.

Opinions?

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My 2 cents....I'd clean it, polish, wax, and play.

Maybe turn up the heat a little. She looks cold.

I'm with Jethro. Clean it wax it a couple times and flip on that thing.

CPR will have playfields available down the road and for a bit. If you gotta have a perfect PF, buy one to use later.

Like others have said, wax it it and enjoy playing it. I read somewhere this week that CPR will be running more Paragon playfields very soon. Check their site once a day as it should be back in stock within a couple of weeks.

I’m with the wax it and play it crowd! If you have cupped inserts, and if you already have the playfield protector then you might want to install it. I did it on mine (it’s not that hard to install on paragon) and the gameplay improved considerably...ie the benefit from addressing the cupped inserts outweighed any detrimental effects on how the ball rolls. I clean and wax the installed protector every so often, and about once a year I remove it to clean and wax both sides, and the playfield.

Paragon is sweet sweet pinball!

Major cuppage on all the inserts. I think any of the big PARAGON letters could actually be a ball trap.

Will install the protector but also use new star rollovers and set them to match the height of the protector. I did this with a Hot Hand protector made for me by pinsider cottonm4, and it works very well. (I'm one of those weirdos who actually likes Hot Hand).

Later I might replace all the inserts and use a vinyl cutter to reproduce the graphics on them. (If you haven't seen David Yopp's work on this, find his channel on youtube). Probably not though since I have the CPR I can install instead.

As a teenager I loved waxing machines (it was a requirement of my first job) but now fixing and playing is far more fun. An old-age goal is for my friends and I to play the hell out of my machines without much worrying about the paint finish. I figure there are four possible routes: Regular waxing, A serious clearcoat, mylar, or a protector.

I filled my cupped inserts, wasn’t that difficult. I was ultra conservative though since I never did it before and probably did more thin coats than I needed to... just kidderdone! Do a few of the small ones in the upper playfield first to get a feel for it, then save the large Paragon letters for last. I’d only say no matter how thin or thick you make each layer, make sure there are absolutely no air bubbles it it before letting it dry. And of course make sure your play field is perfectly level before any applications. My 2 cents !

My inserts are cupped as well, and before the protector a slow-moving ball would swerve and meander over the bonus triangle. Frustrating! The protector was an easy fix for me because I have zero experience in using clear...

If you do end up installing the pf protector remember to adjust the height of the inline drops to avoid ball traps from lowered targets (it’s an easy adjustment from below the pf). You need to remove the flipper bats, pop bumper caps, spinner, and all gates but that’s it. My pf has a small nail near the upper right rail rebound thingy that the protector did not allow for so I had to make a small snip to make it fit.

I have a Playfield Protector V2 never used. If anyone is interested please PM me.

Thanks!

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Does anyone have a spare red rectangular stand up target assembly, or just the target face?

PBR is sold out.

Thanks

Try Mayfair Amusements. A fellow Pinsider bought several nine ball stand ups from Mayfair at a show. Mayfair has a lot of nos parts in stock.

Hello everyone! It's lookin like I may be joining the Paragon owner's club this weekend, but as it's only my 3rd pin I have a couple questions I was hoping some of you might be able to help clear up?

1) Being a widebody, I assume this is *heavy*. Does it fit on any sort of dolly/lift cart for easier transportation? What might be the best option to get it down bulkhead stairs?

2) I don't own a truck so I've got to rent a Uhaul. Would this machine fit in a cargo van, or will I need to go full-on box truck? I'll be driving ~220 miles with this so the "friend with a pickup truck" option won't be adequate. I really hope I can get away with the van but I value your experienced opinions!

Thanks so much for your time and feedback! I look forward to bugging all of you again once it's in my home.

It's bigger than a normal pin, but not crazy big! It's got a bit more lumber, but not as much iron in it as an EM. I think my smaller Target Alpha was heavier to move. Paragon is only wider... but not longer.

I was able to move mine easily with a dolly, and we were able to get it in the back of a good sized SUV. I'm sure it would fit in a family van if you can take the seats out or the model allows them to fold flat/hidden. (and I'm assuming you're taking the head off to transport). I'd probably prefer a family van since it's carpeted; more traction and less chance of it sliding around. I was able to get it into the basement with the dolly... we have a landing 3 steps down, then a turn. Best if you have help of course.

Maybe someone can provide measurements. If not, I'll try to post them later.

ps... bring a sawed off wooden shovel or spade handle to put underneath it to help roll it into place in the van.

Van would be fine. It's Wide, but not heavy. If you can pull the head, it makes loading and moving it in and out a breeze.

As far as getting it down a set of tight stairs, I pulled the head, took the PF out of one recently and we were able to get it into a basement in under 10 minutes.

Awesome, thanks for the info! I remember moving a Williams Big Ben EM into my basement last year and it was a heavy sonnofagun so your responses make me feel a bit more confident about the task ahead.

I ended up renting a cargo van, so that's an awesome tip for the rolling it in, thank you! I was previously just planning on bringing some old blankets/towels and pushing it back, but that seems it'd make things a bit easier for sure.
Will definitely post an update afterwards. Thanks again!

Rent an suv for a flat fixed daily rate, no mileage. Cargo vans are less comfortable to drive and you pay a daily rate and mileage.

to be 'zactly... (well... rounded up for 1/2 inches)
Base
29" wide
52" long
16" (front) and 19" (back) deep

Head
31" wide
30" high
10" (bottom) and 12" (top) deep

And he only really needs to worry about the cabinet. Once you get the cabinet in it’s usually easy to find a space for the head.

For example I drove from Atlanta to Dallas round trip three years ago in a Hyundai Santa Fe. I put 1,600 miles on the rental car and it was only $159 weekly rate plus taxes, NO mileage fees.

Will the Santa Fe hold a pin?

Yes. Very tall inside. Here’s a helpful article on what vehicles will haul a pin. When you rent a car, suv etc. they don’t guarantee a specific model will be there, so bring a tape measure to check the clearance (height) to fit a pin.
https://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Vehicles_for_Moving_Pinball_Machines

First decal I've ever applied, before and after. The red area with lettering is the decal. A friend at a print shop has the color laser, so I'm going to let the slight red shade difference go, but I'll probably get my own printer. The bottom left isn't exactly aligned but it looks intentional, and this pf is far from perfect anyway. This game is getting the German clear overlay, so it should be fine as it is. (I did spray a coat of Triple Thick on the decal before applying it).

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Finished! Let's play some Paragon! Notice that EVERY SINGLE SWITCHED LAMP is working, and no dim, half-lit GI bulbs. I replaced all of the light sockets on the playfield. I'm using good ol' 44 incandescents for now. This Paragon for some reason had the power supply for Kiss/Future Spa/Space Invaders when I got it, with the beefier transformer and switched illumination circuit. I decided to use it so I rebuilt it along with all the connectors. Incandescent switched lamps burn brighter with this power supply.

I replaced all four star rollovers and raised them to match the height of the playfield protector. The ball rolls smoothly over them.

The protector didn't fit perfectly around the rollovers (no surprise there), so I enlarged the holes with a Dremel trimming bit. Also this Paragon has a nail beside the left ball gate at the top of the arch. The protector had no hole for this, so I gave it one.

My experience after using a couple of these protectors: An important key to success is that the protector should not be pinned down by or touch any playfield parts. It will expand slightly with heat, and if it's touching anything, the expansion will make it raise up a bit, which will be very noticeable and may affect ball action.

With the protector installed, you should be able to lay your hand on it and move it freely a bit in all directions. This will confirm that it's not touching anything. You should expect to have to do some minor trimming to get it like this.

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