I joined the club last week! I have read all 40 pages of this thread... whew. What an awesome resource! I remember playing this game when i was 10 and just getting destroyed drain after drain. Since then its only been via Wii and TPA.

Its my third machine and the youngest in my collection (first was 1975 "300" second was 1978 Mata Hari). I feel like i am traveling through time of pinball history in sequential order!

The machine is dirty as hell, but is in great shape. Player 1, 2, 4 displays were out and once i got it home noticed the "big blue" top left plastic was badly reproduced. Vortex and playfield look good. New rubbers have already arrived from PBR and Pinscore LED display is on order.

I want to mod for LED and continued a thread here document the process:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinbot-led-advice

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Anyone own a copy of the Pinbot Wizard by Skating Party CD :
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KAQCRUY/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_-ScxAbG83ZDDD

Are there red lamps in place of the 1251s? This is kinda cool.

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Now here's some dedication to the game

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I started doing a light vacuming of the playfield and pulled the blue shoulder ramp to find the switches are connected to the bottom. What's the best way to deal with this removal? Desolder the switches? Cut the wire and install new connectors? If yes to connectors, anyone have a link to what kind and a tutorial?

DOH!! Thanks for the heads up!

Hey all! I have torn down the playfield and noticed a few things...

Energy flashers aren't flashing. Never have since i bought the machine a few weeks ago. I thought lamps were blown until i replaced them and still no go. It looks like i am missing a resistor from the flasher board. Do you think a new board will solve this? Marco is out though it looks like they may have a new model to replace the old? Is there another source for the original?

The three kickout plastics are white. What color should they be? I have see red for the eyes in some pictures.

My mask under the visor is busted. Anyone have a line on a new one? Are the plastic protectors from marco worth it?

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How did you install the speaker grille? Is it held on with adhesive?

I can do big dumb soldering jobs, but I have never done board work. Know a good tutorial I can watch?

Impzilla & GRUMPY ,Ya'll are the bee knees. Red eject holes and a 10w 5ohm resistor ordered from Marco.

No. I am handy with autocad and my bro-in-law is a tool and dye maker and says he can make me one if i provide the files and material. Love the concept.

Ok... dumb question... i have never had a machine with a 2nd playfield... does the feme-bot mini field get waxed? No, right? Since it's plexi?

Good enough for me!

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Good to know! I have a tin of Miguel's carnauba.
Also doing a little reinforcing of the vortex with super glue! Hopefully this is the only vortex i will ever need.

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wayout440 , I swear by it. That Locktite PROFESSIONAL LIQUID Super Glue is some strong stuff ($8 at Michael's). Make sure it is the PROFESSIONAL LIQUID type. My sunglasses broke in half 6 months ago at the nose bridge and I used this stuff. I use the sunglasses daily and they don't budge. It drys clear and you can sand it down if needed.

Several years ago I read something about it on a pinball forum and have used it on the underside of cracked plastics that can't be replaced. I also used it on my cracked in half red Pin* Bot topper. Within 10 minutes I could hold either side of the 2' long topper with no sag. the stuff is like concrete!

On the vortex, I've done several layers to build it up. Apply, wait several hours, Apply, wait several hours... etc. You also have to prop it at the right angle and watch it to make sure the glue is pooling, and not slowly moving to drip off the edge.

Here's an explanation of how this glue works:

https://pinballrehab.com/1-articles/tools-and-supplies/184-super-glue

...and a video of a suspended 5.2 ton truck being held with 8 drops of the glue

wayout440 it's the liquid, and I used the 40% off any one item at Michael's coupon currently available, so it was only $5. I had to buy a new one because i didn't let the glue dry on the applicator before putting the cap back on. DOH!

The liquid can flow into hairline cracks. The gel probably would have been a better application for the vortex, but I mainly bought the new bottle to repair and stop cracking on the under-visor face plastic.

I do have the red spring, but still noticed a hairline crack forming. I'm not sure much can help the 30 years of abuse from a dense metal ball hitting a plastic piece that is becoming more brittle with age. Plastic breaks down over time... that's why OSHA requires workers to buy new hard hats every few years and child car seats have an expiration date to be replaced. Figured better safe than sorry.

Yeah, I read about that... Just didn't want to do that much work... Thought I'd try super glue and see how it holds up. Also thought about working on a 3D-print file so anyone can just print a new one. I started tinkering with it last night and geometries are hard to nail down. Don't know how much farther I'm going to go with this... But here is my start. Pencil trace of vortex, with red graphically drawn in to represent top view. And then a snap shot of my first attempt to convert to autocad. Idealy I'd like to emboss the arches and point values into the ramp walls to eliminate the need for stickers.

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Interesting... Does it discolor the glue if the glue dries clear?

I was tempted to buy some new decals for pinbot, but since i am a cheap bastard, i thought i'd do a little experiment with the hairdryer. My wife has a very nice professional grade hairdryer so your results may vary... I figured if i heated up the old vinyl stickers, it would reactivate the adhesive and make the curled edges calm down. This worked way better than i expected and only took a few minutes!

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Was able to flatten the plastics today too! Oven set to 225, popped the plastics in on a parchment covered cookie sheet for about 5 minutes while watching them like a hawk. As soon as they laid flat, i pulled them and pressed them between 2 playfield glasses and parchment paper. Worked like a charm. They have to be clean first so you don't bake and press in the dirt.

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Blue spring ordered! Thanks guys... coulda sworn i read somewhere it was the red spring.

Anyone have a list of brand and out of the box paint colors for touch ups that match well? I found the below in a google search from Butterflygirl24 listing the following:

I have done a couple Pin*Bot PFs.... the colors I used are Americana
acrylics...
Red= True Red
Orange= Tangelo
Blue=Calypso
light gray (locks)= sky gray and or slate gray (depending your
particular PF and if you are painting the entire area, or just trying
to match for a small spot)
Dark blue=True Blue
Dark Gray=Neutral gray
Yellow=Yellow Light (Bright yellow is very close, and I have been
having a hard time finding yellow light...)

Anyone have a decent scan of the playfield? PM me if so.

Its faster just to call them.

3/8" 16 (or course thread) 3.5" hex bolts. 2.5" was not long enough for me.

Anybody have a rubber ring chart playfield diagram?

Nevermind... found one.

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I manufactured a new ADV. "X" sticker using my wife's vinyl cutter!

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It was just a one-off, but I suppose I could make some more if there is interest ...but first i need to get my Pinbot put back together!

Yep, remove cotter pins and washers on both sides. Then unscrew the two hex screws holding down the metal plate on the playfield. Niw you should be able to lift off the mask and connected base plate.

Here's more explanation (and an excellent blog on a pinbot rehab):

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/2014/10/17/pinbot-restoration-visor/#more-1320

Got her put back together, all nice and clean! Still have to finish putting LEDs under the playfield. When I got this at the begining of January, your finger would be black after swiping the playfield and only the player 3, credit, and ball displays were working. The lower half of the backbox GI didn't work and one pop bumper switch wasn't registering.

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Duplicate post

I had noticed my visor 5 bank drop target was uneven and when I touched it, it wobbled quite a bit. I pulled the whole visor motor assembly and found the two black plastic pieces have been broken and glued back together several times. I've glued the whole thing back together with Locktite Professional Super Glue (which is amazing, by the way, and you should own some) for now, but have created some 3D models of the two pieces to recreate the unobtanium parts with a 3D printer. I'll let you all know how it turns out...

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Interesting... well now that i've drawn them up i'd rather print them.

Maybe. I will have to look into how it works... I'd like to be compensated on my drafting time and don't know how i feel about someone else making a profit on a model I created.

I also have this light baffle for the visor and mouth in the back box ready for printing. "Pinbot circuits activated!" I wanted to incorporate the eyes into pinball life's baffle:

https://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=3928

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Gogojohnnyquack

Wolfmarsh just posted one of the pieces to shapeways.

https://www.shapeways.com/product/ZBV2NZAFQ/pinbot-part

I would imagine so, though I don't have a jackbot.

Hey All! Just finished putting in LEDs on my Pinbot. This was my first attempt at LED-ing a machine. I had alot of fun researching and working this out and am really pleased with the results. I'm not a fan of the washed out Blue/Red schemes. I tried adding a few Red/Blue GI's above the playfield and didn't like it, with the exception of 1 red and 1 blue under the slingshot plastics to make the thumbs pop.

This scheme assumes no flasher #89 and #1251 incandescent bulbs will be replaced, so no modifications to your machine are needed... just put in the LEDs and play!

Attached are the diagrams I created if you don't want to spend an extra $100 on a kit. The only thing I did differently was to add 3 purples under the left 3 bank drop target 41,42,43 inserts (to counter-balance the purple feme-bot in the backbox) and I went the cheap route without using non-ghosting bulbs. There is a faint flickering in the bayonet underplayfield bulbs, so I've updated my schedule accordingly. Regular wedge bulbs in the matrix worked just fine for me, so I didn't change those to non-ghosting.

Also, I want to call attention to the 2 red towers below the vortex ramp as they really make the thing glow! Additionally, the slow color change bulb in the back box between "Pin" and "Bot" works well with the color bleed into the red and blue.

Hope this helps people out there...

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Here's a video of my LED installation. At the end you can see how my light baffle mockup works.

Not just you. It worked when first uploaded, but seems to have gone corrupt. I re-uploaded the link above.

Ooh! Where did you get the mirror blades or how did you make them?

goingincirclez was this your Pinbot at the louisville arcade expo? Looks nice!

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Hey all! Thought this might be of interest to some... that big blue plastic in the back corner that is always broken is being re manufactured by Planetary Pinball for JackBot. Based on the scan I have for pinbot, it looks like it will work, but may need some modification. Also as the back area is clear, it will probably brighten up the ramp and that dark corner. In looking at my game, I don't think missing the rest of the blue is going to matter. Anyways, for $12 I'm willing to be the guinea pig.

http://www.planetarypinball.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=PPS-31-2313-4

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Also, I have an autocad drawing I did from the scan I have (still need to match the colors and confirm size with machine). I was going to remake this piece, but may scrap the project if this works.

EDIT: Just realized i forgot to include the clear part under the ramp.

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Yes, i have seen this on several machines, not just PinBot. I usually put very thin washers on top of the posts A) to prevent further indentaion B) to get the plastics to lay at the same height/plane. I also like to replace all the off-white/dirty nylon acorn nuts with shiny stainless steel acorns to give it that classy EM look.

Hey guys. I have the material to make 64 of these ADV X sticker remakes. PM me if you want one.

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To follow up on this... i got the Jackbot plastic yesterday. I had to drill a few small holes and cut out one of the larger flasher holes. The whole process took about 45 minutes. For $12 i'd say this is a win! It even makes the ramp glow a little.

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United States Space Robot (U.S.S.R.)

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Hi all! I was able to make a batch of ADV. "X" decals this week and just put together letters for all the paid orders which will be mailed out Monday. If you have PM'd me and requested a decal, I will have that amount of decals reserved for you, but will not mail until payment is received. Below is a list of current requests. Thanks to everyone who has been interested!
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If you are interested in a decal, but have not contacted me, I still have several left from the batch I have weeded. PM me for more details.

Anyone own the cliffy protectors for pinbot? Considering ordering some and want some honest opinions.

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I think they're more to protect the wood from eroding over time like so...

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$93 and includes The Flipper guides and shipping.

For the $90 plus shipping (and taxes for CA residents) you get 2 enhanced flipper frames, 3 kickout hole protectors, the moving bank protector, and ball ejector protector.

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Get your backbox Visor Light Baffle here:

https://www.shapeways.com/product/3U4QQ3CS3/pinbot-backbox-visor-baffle-stand-alone?optionId=65240178&li=marketplace

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

This backbox light baffle modification for the 1986 Williams Pinb*Bot pinball machine eliminates light bleed from the adjacent bulbs from lighting up the face, allowing it to light up with more clarity only when intended. I remember playing this machine as a kid, only seeing the eyes behind the visor occasionally light up and getting freaked out. With LEDs the lights are so bright that they bleed over and expose the face when you're not meant to see it, so it's not as dramatic when the eyes light up. The visor baffle eliminates the LED light bleed and gives you the designers' intended effect with modern LED lighting. Its a must have modifcation for the Pinbot collector!

INSTALLATION

Find the midpoint between the two eye light sockets and draw a straight line with a ruler to the midpoint of the middle bulb to light up the orange square. Use the triangular points to center the baffle horizontally on the line. Use the elongated screw holes for minor vertical adjustment.

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No. I'd prefer to make money for my efforts to support my pinball habit.

Get your enhanced 5 drop target base and 5 drop target back here:

https://www.shapeways.com/shops/chaskett

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Pinbot/Jackbot Enhanced 5 Drop Target Base
This is an enhanced underplayfield drop target base for the 1986 Williams Pin*Bot and 1990 Williams Jack*Bot pinball machines. This piece is often found broken or glued together on the pinball machine. Having a new base is ideal to keep the moving target rigid and free from wiggling in the up or down position. I have enhanced the slim piece that attches to the under side of the playfield by thickening the material and adding a diagonal cant to make the piece able to take more abuse.

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Pinbot/Jackbot 5 Drop Target Back
This is a replacement drop target back for the 1986 Williams Pin*Bot and 1990 Williams Jack*Bot pinball machines. This piece is often found broken as it is constantly getting hammered by the silver ball. Having a new back is ideal to keep the moving target rigid and free from wiggling in the up or down position.

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Well I didn't realize those bank target parts were already available. Honestly, I wouldn't have gone to the trouble if I had known these were available.

Enhanced (per the description) means I thickened the bottom leg from 1mm thick (original) to 4mm and put a 45 degree thickened cant to strengthen the joint. My prototypes in PLA kept breaking at the 90 degree angle.

I know its hard to believe, but I'm only making +/- $5 per piece. Shapeways is expensive! I tried to get them to use PLA instead of the hard plastic to pass the savings on, but they said they won't do that for consumer products.

Yes, I talked with Scott at Pinball Life and told him I had the mask available to compliment his 5 light baffle and asked if he wanted to sell it. He was not interested, though liked the idea. I was not planning to make a stand-alone mouth baffle to respect his business. Hopefully no one rips off my face baffle. So anyways, there's a good chuck of time wasted... oh well... learned alot.

Also, way to be "that guy"

Now that you post that, I do remember your previous link... sorry. Somehow i had it in my head that they were unobtainium with the exception of wolfmarsh's base variation on shapeways. Pinbalinc was not on my radar.

I felt a little wierd about the high prices of shapeways anyway, so i have taken them down.

Glad to (again) see this stuff is afforably available

I had made these for myself at my library's digital media lab when i thought there was no other option and was trying to make it available for others too.

Plumonium has an excellently detailed blog of his pinbot restore. It was invaluable to me as i worked through issues on mine. Scroll to the bottom and keep clicking "older entries" to start at the first entry, read the whole damn thing, and you will be Pinbot expert.

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/category/pinball/pinbot-williams-1985/

You can probably bend the wire back in place without buying a new one. Also, you might want to check that the wire is attached to the switch under the playfield and the switch is gapped properly first before tearing everything off. Hope this helps.

Somehow i had it locked in my head this was you! Now i am questioning my own reality... c'est ne pas une pipe.

for the bubbled decals, you can try heating them up with a hair dryer and pushing the bubbles down. It worked for me, though mine weren't that bad. How to die the ramp, get new decals, etc. can be found within this 50 page thread.

WOW! What a difference! Thanks for posting.

I realize I have several requests for stickers. Summer is in full swing and I haven't had time to make more. The kids will be back in school in a few weeks at which time i hope to make more. Stay tuned...

I work from home and do the same thing Its a great stress reliever.

I've now made more Adv X decals. PM me for details if you're interested.

I like the easier settings so its fun for everyone who steps up to play. Mine is set for Five Ball with extra balls set at 2,000,000 and each mill after. At first i had timed shots set up for infinity, but that was no fun. Now I have the planet drops set to 60 seconds and the solar value set to less. All items carry over for each ball. Of course you have to set the planet to URANUS so the score reads "REACH URANUS FOR SPECIAL" because its too damn funny. for bragging rights, its set so the high score never clears (unless i replace the battery).

I will vouch for Statictrances ROMs. They work great in Pinbot. Took all of 5 minutes to install.

Yep, me too.

There is also the Pinball Life mouth light baffle:

https://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=3928

and my face light baffle:

https://www.shapeways.com/product/3U4QQ3CS3/pinbot-backbox-visor-baffle-stand-alone?optionId=65240178

Is there any interest in a new minimalist decal mod for the transparent blue/red pinbot ramp that Freeplay40 is making? I have an idea to do something in black vinyl that pays homage to the original design, but allows light to shine through. I've aquired some high resolution scans of the original stickers in order to do this.

Here's what I was thinking for the new custom decal for the freeplay40 translucent blue/red ramps. This would be large transfer decal in glossy black vinyl. Therefore all the stars and everything white would be the blue ramp. I'd do something similar for the right which would glow red. What does everyone think?

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I do cut vinyl, not screen printing. There would be a lot if waste and a lot of man hours to cut and align multiple colors.

The more i look at it i don't think you're missing much leaving out the yellow and gray. Assuming the new ramp would glow, any color on top of it would most likely be silhouetted anyway.

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Totally agree. I am anxious to see video of one installed in a game situation.

Don't forget that the vinyl is opaque so its more of a play between light and shadow / positive and negative space than color hues. Any vinyl color will read as black when backlit in a dim setting. I really think black is the best choice in this situation.

To get the effect you are looking for you might be better off transfering your old sticker temporarily onto a cutting surface, cutting out any blue/red areas with an exacto knife, and them transfering the sticker to the new transparent ramp.

That is the assumption i am working on. I have the jackbot replacement big blue plastic installed in mine and it really brightens up this corner. With a blue transparent ramp, it should really glow.

Looks like a fun project! Welcome to the club.

Spent awhile searching for pinbot quotes on the interwebs. Finally found them. Thought i would post here for posterity:

"Pinbot circuits activated" - Start button

"I am in your control" - Complete grid (open visor)

"Partial link-up" - lock one ball

"Now I see you" - lock two balls, start multiball

"Shoot for solar value" - relock ball in multiball

"Energy transferred" - collect energy value under ramp

"Tilt - all data lost" - tilt

"We control the universe"- light all the planets to the sun.

"Million activated" - When you make it to the 10th vortex shot on the same ball. The 100,000 skill shot is worth x10.

"I see you" - Shortly after a game is finished.

Everytime people who are unfamiliar with pinball come over to play my machines, they're unsure of how to start the game. I want to light the start button with a blinking light tied to the "game over" light. Not sure how to do this... is it as easy as wiring a new socket to the game over light in the back box?

Also want to make a custom sticker that encircles the start button that says "activate circuits".

Additionally, want to design a custom coin door sticker with the willams logo saying "Williams - We control the Universe" with the rainbow chest background.

Found these within the forum. Going to try this with my next marco/pinballife/comet order:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/vids-guide-to-lighted-flipper-buttons-for-418#post-351583

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/williams-system-6-11-start-button-led-mod#post-3571843

Anyone have a source for 24v bayonet LEDs to replace the 1251 incandescents at the eyes?

ChrisPINk25 can these replace 1251s without messing with the circuitry?

Damn. Just put in my order at cointaker which is selling them for 2x the amount.

If nothing else works, drill out the lock with a large diameter metal bit (1/4") using oil to lubricate and keep the bit from over heating and breaking.

Yep! Still have some if anyone is interested send me a PM.

I have the ADV X Decal for his lift ramp and am working on some updated decals to show off the transparency.

RichWolfson , I sent you a message via Pinsidemail. Thanks for the interest in the ADV X decal.

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Here's a similar thread: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/1251-color-led-bulbs-anyone-carry-these

I bought the 1251 LEDs from Cointaker and they look great in the back box. Haven't gotten into the playfield yet, but was only planning to replace the eyes above the playfield and leave the ones below the red kickouts alone (cause those little suckers are expensive).

Getting closer to a final design of modded decals for FreePlay40's blue/red transparent pinbot ramps... white areas will be the transparent blue. Staying true to the original, but was thinking about adding transparent planets in the black or something to make it more original. Thoughts?

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Cointaker 1251 LEDs can be added to eyes without modification.

I don't know. I didn't want to pay over $200 fot the kit. I am considering buying some of the 89s. I am also curious if any modification is needed.

Here's a link to my LED setup munus the 1251 LEDs:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinbot-led-advice#post-4255397

Duplicate post.

Just clean with Novus 1 & 2. When you install comet natural white bulbs, all the yellowing of clear stuff and yellowed white on the playfield isn't noticeable. It all looks bright white again!

I have read about doing a hydrogen-peroxide bath to take away the yellowing on plastics but have never done it.

Well done! I didn't know you could do that with lexan. Are you heating it up to bend it?

If anyone else is looking for a baffle, i designed one that can be purchased here:

https://www.shapeways.com/product/3U4QQ3CS3/pinbot-backbox-visor-baffle-stand-alone?optionId=65240178

Did you see this post?

Can someone please take a picture of this modification in their machine?

Right. I understand the concept, just wasn't sure what to do with the loose wires. Do i wire nut them together, solder the wires together, or what? Just want to see what the finished modification looks like.

I am not sure what this means. Is this a typo?

1976 Gottlieb Super Soccer
https://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=2443