Thanks for starting the club. Long overdue. I have a PM which I've been doing lots of work on lately - chrome trim, colour matched incandescent bulbs, and most recently I've installed a couple of yellow optmax spotlights. The effect is very good on this game which needs a bit of help with lighting.

I have many questions about the game. The first is does anyone else's games have Magna Matra saying something in Italian followed by a count down from 10 to 1 also in Italian? I'm guessing there's a time limit for each round of tricks and she's shouting at you to hurry up.

Here's a scarce competition overhead video from Randy Elwin. Some spoilers here. If you want to be surprised when you work through the game you might not want to watch the whole thing.

https://vimeo.com/15715553

PM FAQ.

Q. Can you put mirror blades designed for Bally Williams in a Pinball Magic?
A. In my personal experience - yes.

Q. Can you put LEDs in a Pinball Magic?
A. From reading forums and watching @Blackrose Yewtoob videos - you can. But. No matter what you do or who you buy from you will still get flickering. Coloured and white incandescents were my preference. The rise and fall effects of the lighting in this game are stunning.

Q. Was this game secretly designed by Mark
Ritchie?
A. I've never heard a qualified response to this question. I read about PM in one of Michael Shaloubs books and was satisfied that Bryan Hansen did develop the game. He's a real guy. There's a picture of him working in the Capcom office. It seems Ritchie was more so the supervisor of the project.

Q. Did Williams steal Capcom's idea for a magic themed game?
A. I dunno, except on the PM cab there's a drawing of a little guy with binoculars and a t-shirt with WPI on it as well as a plastic with a guy running away holding a case that has WPI Magic Plans written on it. I read that as Williams Private Investigator. Perhaps Capcom are claiming through their artwork that there was a case of industrial espionage going on.

Q. Are spare parts hard to come by?
A. In my experience I've been able to get what I needed most of the time from Pinball Spare Parts Australia (PSPA) or Ride the Boney Beast (RTBB). Plastics are still around and generic bits and pieces which are common to lots of pinball machines are easily found. Things such as mechanical assemblies are drying up but no worse than lots of other games.

Q. How much are they worth?
A. The only source I can reference is the Boston Pinball ebay sales stats. Average of all 33 recorded sales - $2067. Lowest price - $811. Highest price - $5495. Sales during 11/2013 to 11/2014 - 2. Average price of those two sales - $3947.

You can. Try Ride the Bony Beast www.rtbb.com.au

http://www.rtbb.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2005

Sadly the owner Greg passed away a month or so ago, however Nino has taken over the business and is doing a great job.

This is 100% colored incandescant bulbs in the backbox, GI and inserts. I've added 4 comet optmax bulbs - three in spotlights and one standalone. Can you see where I've put them?

Two yellows on the slings, a green behind the hat and a red hidden behind the ramp entrance. Makes a big difference.

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Double post

Can you tell me how you powered the purple led light strip under the backbox? Is it on all the time or tied in with something that flashes ? Thanks

No worries, I just assumed they were the same but now see there is one that looks like the coin door one but with a border around it.

Pinball Spare Parts Australia - www.pinballspareparts.com.au stock Capcom as well but I don't know about those stickers.

Thanks Hogbog. You can start by passing on my thanks to Bryan for making such an awesome game that has brought me and others a lot of joy. The uniqueness of the pin and back story alone make it such a pleasure to own. I have a few questions.

Were the wireforms gold powdercoat or gold plate? Mine are gold powdercoat, but someone else on Pinside claims they were plated.

In my game which is an Italian re-import, at one point Magna speaks Italian. She is saying something followed by a count down from I think 10 to 1. The rest of the game is English. Does Bryan know anything about this?

The Pinball Magic flyer shows a machine with stainless steel armour and legs. The production machines were powdercoated black. What were Bryan's wishes for the trim? I've had mine chromed and its a perfect fit for the machine.

What's Bryan up to nowadays?

Cheers and thanks for bringing The Great Hansen to his fans.

This may not be exactly what you are referring to, but possibly the solution to a common PM issue. I posted my solution in post #20.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/capcom-pinball-magic-issues#

How did you go? Did Bryan show an interest in the thread? Would be great for him to come on for a chat.

I found a few cool insights on this Italian Pinball website.

http://www.tilt.it/xfiles6.htm

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Some help please... Where does this plastic go? It's possible its off my Airborne also, just not sure.

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Thanks so much.

Someone just put one on location at a pub near me (Coogee Bay Hotel). Must be the only one in Aust on site. Hopefully I can "blow it up".

My flippers are tighter than all my other games too.

Did you leave the club Art?

Mine was broken too. Took me months to get around to removing it and getting it repaired. I got ripped off but didn't know what else to do. They are as rare a rocking horse shit, so a repro would be great - perhaps re-engineered to be more durable.

I put a call out for EOIs to the Aussie Arcade forums.

Any got any ideas why my wand diverter won't close by itself? The solenoid moves freely but the spring isn't powerful enough to push the diverter closed (to allow "Ride the Magic Carpet" etc. It feels like the shaft is somehow binding but looks like a pain to remove.

Solved: I "just" had to remove both the stage diverter and wand diverter assemblies and give them a good clean. Various shafts and solenoids/sleeves had started to gum up - just enough to cause the diverters to jam or be sluggish. A typical PITA job but both mechs work nicely now. I also waxed the playfield. My example of this game is very fast. Haven't beaten it yet and loving the challenge.

I just bought the last one - coming Downunder for my Airborne. Thanks for the effort Herg - I love watching people conceive an idea on Pinside and then bring it to market...and sell out. I'll send you some video when I'm done.

^^^Mine is busted too. I was just going to buy a new one one day as when I got may stage ramp repaired it was nearly as much as buying a new one would cost. Of course they weren't available so I had no choice, but I believe there's still some NOS versions of these.

Every shot on the game has to be made to kill Matra Magna I believe.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/pinball/915937-pinball-magic/faqs/1450

Very nice feature. At the other end you can also tip it forward and rest the front on the slingshot mechs, although if I was doing a lot of work I'd probably put part of a broom stick or a pillow under there for more support.

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Here 'tis

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Just pull it out. It's a ball on a stick.

Mine has been doing something similar where it is detecting a ball in the trunk when there isn't one. Eventually an unwanted ball is kicked into the shooter lane. Post #618 above sounds like a similar issue. When I run the opto test one of the trunk optos is flickering on and off. How did you fix yours?

Okay thanks. I will pull 'em out tomorrow.

It's great to see someone like yourself discovering this excellent game for the first time and having such positive things to say about. You've clearly 'been there - done that' in pinball with that awesome past and present collection. I love playing mine. It definitely has loads of character and it's tough to beat.

A big crystal ball that changes colour in sync with the little one on the playfield.

I found these rare pictures of a Capcom factory tour while Pinball Magic was on the line. So great to see the origin of our games. Check it out at this link:

http://www.tilt.it/xfiles7.htm

Just a side note - you mention that you upgraded to all led lamps. I know herg says not to change the flashers with leds when using led OCD for Capcom. Nothing to do with your issue but just thought I'd mention it.

Todd from TNT Amusements always says to put a big old cable tie around them to hold them firmly in place. I think they even pack something between them.

He talks about it with a couple of Airbornes.

How is this topper coming along? Also interested in the power tap you're getting done.

Edit. My mistake, it was CraZyMuffin getting the power tap made.

Was he sad to part with it?

Another interesting chapter in the Pinball Magic story.

How about that. I have an Italian version as well with the ticket dispenser. It was covered with a fob thing and when I removed it, someone had filled the hole with putty. I'm in the process of trying to tidy it up - either paint over it or drill it out back to original. Good timing with you photo which I can use to recreate art.

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Thanks. I was the last poster in that thread but had forgotten about it. Such a good result. What sort of paint did you use for the purple?

Thanks anyway. I think I'm making progress with some colour matching myself.

You could try arakissun - he had some Flipper Football parts which might be compatible.

Here's mine. Has a metal plate but doesn't seem to guide the rod into the spoon.

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I'll be taking apart the top half of the bumper later on this week so I will explore more then and report back.

I was putting in an led wafer so took these pics but it’s obviously not a total tear down.

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First time! I was cleaning and polishing moments earlier and left the gloves on.

Yep has happened to me. Not sure what caused it or whether i had opened the door mid game for example.

I rebuilt two sets of flippers for my PM and Airborne using mostly original Capcom parts sourced from PSPA and Marco Specialties. I used Williams plungers (which could be the same?) but it was a good result.

But aren’t the Capcom flippers superior?

Just snappy and powerful.

I think I just connected mine via alligator clips to the tabs on a slingshot bulb. Left for left spotlight and right for right spotlight. I found that you can’t connect any alligator clips to the tab with the diode band connected - just the other tabs. Then the connected led will behave the same as the light it’s powered from.

Mine is strong too - to make the wire form loop and then the orbit.

First lock is always lit on my game. I’m assuming to show new players that that feature is an objective.

If I’m seeing correctly those wires aren’t clipped but broken off the switches. The kicker won’t fire when the switches without two wires attached are closed. The new part is correct. I’ve fitted ones just like it, although they busted off after a few months and I replaced them with thicker wires. Mine (Euro model) doesn’t have the resistor though. I think there was a bulletin back in the day to say remove them, but perhaps not for US users. I’ll try and find the bulletin.

Edit. Found the bulletins but no mention of the resistor. Maybe I read it on this topic? Someone else will chime in.

So are these pics of the scans before you touch up the art?

I had this issue a while ago and I couldn’t work it out either. I reseated all the connectors and it went away. I’m not sure if it will come back but it seems I was chasing the wrong end of the fault by pulling apart the trunk.

The skillshot runs a timed countdown. Could that be something to do with it? The dmd counts down after the switch in the shooter lane is released.

Not sure then. Someone will know.

I still haven’t beaten this game after five years of ownership. I have it on three balls with the right outlane all the way open. I love the challenge...

How about you guys - anyone else still working on beating Matra Magna?

It’s so well designed that it becomes increasing difficult to complete the objectives without being punished for missed shots. I won’t give up.

I made a video that details all the tricks. You guys probably know all this but new owners might appreciate the details. Sorry about the slight angle of the video. I had to clamp my iPhone to a stand in front and above me, and I needed it to be to the left a little so I could see the playfield.

Hey guys my red flasher at the back isn’t working. I’ve changed the bulb and socket with no luck. I unplugged connector from below the bulb and even stuck bulb wires in there to see if it would flash. No luck. There’s a second bulb on the backbox that flashes with the test (Solenoid 24/J21 on the driver board) so I’m wondering does that mean the power flow is good from the board? My j20 and j21 connectors are swapped compared with the manual but I’m guessing they’re both the same and it doesn’t matter? Any help would be great.

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Same for me too. A few hours of troubleshooting at the flasher end. But just repunched the connector as well and all fixed.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/where-to-find-capcom-flipper-parts#post-4916263

Post #23 I’ve put some pics.

Here’s one of my pics from post #855 in this thread.

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My old machine came from Italy and it was exactly the same powered coat colour. I wonder if some came this way as powder coating wasn’t really a “mod” for operators back in the day.

Sorry if this was answered later in the thread but the Capcoms (and I think Sterns today) had a particular shooter housing with an oil impregnated bronze bushing called Oilite- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oilite

I bough a NOS one for my Airborne but you can buy the bushings from engineering type places.

I had to drill my old bushings out very carefully and tapped in the new ones. Made the world of difference.