Centaur
Bally, 1981
Fathom
Bally, 1981
Flash Gordon
Bally, 1981
Nitro Ground Shaker
Bally, 1980
Quicksilver
Stern Electronics, 1980
Seawitch
Stern Electronics, 1980
Silverball Mania
Bally, 1980
Skateball
Bally, 1980You're applying layered vinyl as opposed to cutting stencils and painting right? Probably less work and could theoretically change easier in there future if you wanted. Will be interesting to see how well it holds up or if it starts to peel. No clear over the top right?
Nice work on the graphics.
Quoted from BorgDog:You're applying layered vinyl as opposed to cutting stencils and painting right? Probably less work and could theoretically change easier in there future if you wanted. Will be interesting to see how well it holds up or if it starts to peel. No clear over the top right?
Nice work on the graphics.
I know automotive clear is compatible with mylar pops rings. Perhaps automotive clear is compatible with the vinyl and these graphics can be locked in with some clear. It is just a guess.
Quoted from BorgDog:You're applying layered vinyl as opposed to cutting stencils and painting right? Probably less work and could theoretically change easier in there future if you wanted. Will be interesting to see how well it holds up or if it starts to peel. No clear over the top right?
Nice work on the graphics.
No clear, if something gets damaged not a big deal making more now that I have generated the cut files.
I can also change graphics with ease should I change my mind.
Quoted from Madmax541:On front Bally on left running vertically and stern on right running vertically.
Was thinking smaller bally stern under the coin door with the data east logo in the center.
Have to get a DE in there somewhere.
Still poking at some ideas, dont want to leave the front blank.
Quoted from cottonm4:It looks really good !
Thanks to EVERYONE for their encouragement, been a heck of a journey!
Small list of nit-pick stuff do after a few dozen games.
Install caps on upper flipper coils (just arrived yesterday) DONE
1 or 2 sockets are fussy or go dim time to time (upper drop blue, 1X white, left lower sling) DONE
Check popper GI connection. DONE
Front cab graphics.
Correct "long" shooter rod.
One drop targets drops time to time on reset.
The pointed shooter rod is visually bugging me, have to see what i can find before the show or fabricate.
Game is still rock solid with the Alltek MPU, not a single crash. Still no random pops noted either.
Looking forward to throwing some flipper caps in Flash Gordon to see if it fixes, it does random pops a lot!
Gary
Quoted from gdonovan:The pointed shooter rod is visually bugging me, have to see what i can find before the show or fabricate.
Load the shooter rod into a drill press and get out your mill files and file it down. Followed by some sandpaper.
My Seawitch came to me with a pointed shooter rod handle. I assume it was factory but this pin was heavily routed so it is anybody's guess.
Quoted from cottonm4:Load the shooter rod into a drill press and get out your mill files and file it down. Followed by some sandpaper.
My Seawitch came to me with a pointed shooter rod handle. I assume it was factory but this pin was heavily routed so it is anybody's guess.
Well ideally I'd like to use the new shooter rod I purchased for it 2 months ago!
Oh, and I found something else to 3D print tonight. Details matter!
switch cover (resized).pngQuoted from gdonovan:Well ideally I'd like to use the new shooter rod I purchased for it 2 months ago!
You mentioned something about welding on the tip in another thread. IIRC, you said the new rod is 1/2" too short. Could a 1/2" length of metal rod be Mig or Tig welded to the tip of the rod and be covered over with the shooter rod rubber? Most of the yip will remain hidden under the shooter gauge, correct?
I used to do some heliarc welding so I know Tig welding would work but a lot of Tig welders won't fire up their welders for less than $50.00. You have to have the equipment but you have a Mig welder. Could you weld on a tip?
Quoted from cottonm4:[quoted image]
Interesting. What is it?
Switch cover for the power switch on the floor of the cab.
Saw a guy at York ground one out with a coin box, pretty sparks. I'm careful, but still poo happens. For the small amount of plastic it will take to make a no brainer.
Load file on the card, load it in machine and press the button. Come back 2 hours later and install. Don't get better than that.
Quoted from cottonm4:You mentioned something about welding on the tip in another thread. IIRC, you said the new rod is 1/2" too short. Could a 1/2" length of metal rod be Mig or Tig welded to the tip of the rod and be covered over with the shooter rod rubber? Most of the yip will remain hidden under the shooter gauge, correct?
I used to do some heliarc welding so I know Tig welding would work but a lot of Tig welders won't fire up their welders for less than $50.00. You have to have the equipment but you have a Mig welder. Could you weld on a tip?
Yes I could weld it but again looking for a more elegant solution and not adverse to making a few for other people to help fund the projects.
Quoted from gdonovan:Soon.
[quoted image]
I would love to do a Centaur. Is the Inline drop from Harlem Globetrotters the same as Centaur. I am not sure what the unobtainable parts are for that one.
Quoted from SR230CC:I would love to do a Centaur. Is the Inline drop from Harlem Globetrotters the same as Centaur. I am not sure what the unobtainable parts are for that one.
A lot, the ball trough mechs are singular. I'm looking to make a drop in replacement. Gates can be fabricated which is another issue.
I made an inline drop mech for Flash Gordon so not overly concerned. Itching to get the ball rolling!
Here is my initial artwork for the front.
I might change the graphic around the start button, have not decided yet. Thinking a ring of circles or two. Might put something on the bottom, have not decided on that either.
Found a little used tool in Photoshop that does a great job of smoothing out the jagged edges! This graphic started out as a cell phone picture I took yesterday afternoon.
I squared it up, sized it (22 x 16) and then started to work.
Yes this is deliberately low res for posting, the file I'm working with is excellent enough for commercial work at this point. It is actually more accurate and even than the original artwork.
Quoted from gdonovan:Here is my initial artwork for the front.
I might change the graphic around the start button, have not decided yet. Thinking a ring of circles or two. Might put something on the bottom, have not decided on that either.
Found a little used tool in Photoshop that does a great job of smoothing out the jagged edges! This graphic started out as a cell phone picture I took yesterday afternoon.
I squared it up, sized it (22 x 16) and then started to work.
Yes this is deliberately low res for posting, the file I'm working with is excellent enough for commercial work at this point. It is actually more accurate and even than the original artwork.
[quoted image]
That really does not match your cab side art.
Quoted from cottonm4:That really does not match your cab side art.
The artwork I'm using on the sides is derived from Bally Midway pins from 85-88 or so which had no art at all on the front.
I'm looking to put something on the front that gives a nod to Data East in some way. The colors are the same green and blue used on the sides. I may end up adding a white border around the art to see if it ties in better.
This is just the first cut which like the side art I started with may or may not reflect final product when I'm done poking it with a stick.
53a5ae812fd6bb5edccf869cf44dfc2bcd6ffeff (resized).jpgQuoted from gdonovan:Always be stepping up your game
well done!
Quoted from gdonovan:Had some down time so spent a little time making the show backglass less offensive to the eyes. Was even able to turn up the lamp brightness a touch.
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
Quoted from gdonovan:Best illuminated "before" picture I could find on hand.
[quoted image]
I don't know what you did, but it sure looks good.
Quoted from cottonm4:I don't know what you did, but it sure looks good.
Thanks, been honing my craft of backglass touch ups for 4 years now. Combination of several different paints, techniques and lighting can make a huge difference.
Quoted from gdonovan:Thanks, been honing my craft of backglass touch ups for 4 years now. Combination of several different paints, techniques and lighting can make a huge difference.
Maybe I should send you my OG Big Game back glass 
Now that things are shaping up; I can turn my attention back to a surprise I have been poking at. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to upload a video to Youtube and do a bit of a reveal. Testing last night finally confirmed a solution and I should have the wiring done late tonight or very early tomorrow morning.
Quoted from SR230CC:oooo Centaur!
A Pinsider reached out to me and asked if I was interested in parts from it and I prevailed upon him to sell me the whole unit.
The playfield is average condition and missing a number of switches, minor parts of the harness has been scavenged and there is some other bits and pieces missing but nothing that is close to a show stopper.
Solid foundation for "Bally/Stern Module #2"
I do have a CPR playfield, backglass and plastics in route.. and a set of Mantis ball guides so I should be able to make a pretty cherry drop in.
Even though I have the mechs, I'd still like to see if I can engineer replacement parts and 3D print them. It would be one of the more daunting titles to clone, but it can be done.
Time for a new build thread soon! Will finish Flash Gordon playfield first though.
20211108_171006 (resized).jpgQuoted from gdonovan:And here is the other.
Getting those flashers to work was a PITA, thanks to Quench for pointing in the right direction!
The back mirrored panel has 1" clear starburst playfield inserts glued in place with socketed 8SMD Comet flashers. I used the clear inserts so colored flashers can be swapped in so the look can be tuned to taste depending on which game is in the machine.
Officially as far as I can think of this wraps up the Seawitch portion of this project. Its 100% ready for Pintastic and the next phase of the project will focus on a Bally title dropping into the cabinet while maintaining Stern compatibility of course. I'll decide if it will be covered here or not in detail or make a separate posting.
In a nutshell this will involve the following;
1) Transformer update to later Bally spec (with -54 rectifier board) with backward compatibility to early titles. The only real hurdle here is the playfield to A2 board connection is different so will either just make a short adapter harness or graft a second connector to the Seawitch playfield harness. An adapter makes the most sense as there will be other titles down the road that also use the early rectifier board connection but the grafted connector is electrically more appealing.
2) Logic flipper switches need to be added to the cabinet harness (lane shift)
3) Bally soundboard wiring needs to be integrated into the cabinet. Going to start with Squawk and Talk board wiring, may make a "plug and play" harness for easy swaps for early Bally titles. Have to consider the different volume controls Stern and Bally utilized so they don't clash.
At the moment here is a list of future "expansion modules" I have my eye on. Aside from Centaur and Quicksilver no particular order as you never know what will show up.
Bally Centaur
Stern Quicksilver
Star Trek
Eight Ball Deluxe
Skateball
Kings of Steel
Galaxy
Night Rider
BMX
The list is not definitive, some will depend on what pops up or not and what catches my eye if the gameplay looks interesting. A few Bally titles I already own so not looking to duplicate (Xenon for example)
Star Trek I'm looking to obtain so I can try my hand at custom rules and sound as I always though the title suffered from weakness in those areas.
Flash Gordon (II) I'm still on the fence about making a drop in or completing the whole cabinet.
Question- Should Centaur be in "early solid state tech" or "restorations" ?
This started out as a restoration, but grew to something more techish.
I have Flash Gordon II over in early solid state, which is more restoration by comparison.
Looking to be more uniform in the future as I move from playfield to playfield. What would be best? I'm leaning towards Restoration as tech seems full of "my pin is broken" posts.
Quoted from gdonovan:Question- Should Centaur be in "early solid state tech" or "restorations" ?
Restorations gets more eye traffic. The work also falls under that category as well considering the extent of the repairs.
Quoted from gdonovan:Question- Should Centaur be in "early solid state tech" or "restorations" ?
This started out as a restoration, but grew to something more techish.
I have Flash Gordon II over in early solid state, which is more restoration by comparison.
Looking to be more uniform in the future as I move from playfield to playfield. What would be best? I'm leaning towards Restoration as tech seems full of "my pin is broken" posts.
Please post a link here when you create a new thread so all the viewers know where to tune in next!
Quoted from Skidave:Please post a link here when you create a new thread so all the viewers know where to tune in next!
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/bally-centaur-playfield-module-2-for-bally-stern-cabinet
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Spokane, WA
