I’m in for one.

i'll support how I can. My playfields aren't very good so i can't help with scans. We also need plastics for this game. I'm definitely in on reproductions.

Yep

Yes, definitely...

Go with CPR rather than Mirco, the quality is not up to par with Mirco. It's a gamble and high chance the artwork is flawed and glaring errors are left in place when Mirco rushes to dump their product on the market.

I've already spoken to Stu and Kevin at length about a SF playfield reproduction from CPR. You would think since they already did the backglass that they would be more willing to make the playfield - but they are NOT. The relatively low production numbers of SF coupled with the fact that this is a multilevel playfield (which requires more wood per set) is the reason. I am sitting on an NOS playfield that has already been cleared by Kruzman. Since the reproduction is probably never going to happen, I have started to populate the underside of my playfields. It's a shame really because I believe there are a lot of fanatical SF fans and every game out there needs a new playfield. I think they are making a mistake but I have given up on the prospect of having repros made. I would like two sets myself for future projects.

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Any chance you got a good scan of the play fields before you started attaching stuff?

It took them ages to sell the backglass, not surprised they won't do the playfield.
However I could be interested in one.

would love to have a good scan we could do overlay or wood printing.

I have been approached recently to do a restoration on a Solar Fire that is in really bad shape. After looking through these posts, it appears there are several owners that could use a better playfield but it's unlikely CPR or others are going to reproduce them. To restore a playfield of this complexity requires a lot of time but if I can do several at once (at least 3), it can be cheaper per playfield. I'm adding this post to gauge interest. How many Solar Fire owners would be interested in a playfield restoration and clearcoat? Depending on the condition of your playfield, cost would be in the $800 to $1,500 range. Please post here or PM me if interested.

Thanks,
Tim Crowley
Las Vegas Playfields

Please contact "akvgc" on Pinside who owns lasvegasplayfields.com he will sand down the playfield on Solar Fire and rescreen all the art. He needs at least four interested parties and he'll do the project for us. I'm 2nd on the list

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I'm in as well!

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I have received a few replies about this project and I think we can probably make it happen. We will only need good 'core' playfields - ones that have solid wood that has not been water damaged or separating too badly. We can reinstall or replace inserts and the existing paint does not matter. They just need to have a decent wood substrate. If you have a candidate and are interested, please contact me!

For the most part, we will be sanding and repainting the entire surface. If a playfield has decent existing art, we may use our normal processes to restore that playfield or section. We do not use decals, overlays or water transfers to restore anything. We do not use computer printers either. Just old fashioned spray guns, screens and paint.

Playfield reproduction companies have been taking some heat lately due to their diminishing quality. I believe their quality slipped when they started using computers to print this art. I regularly apply decent clear coating on their products and can attest to the poor color and coverage on their computer printed playfields. We took over from HSA and learned how to restore playfields with real paint, just like the OEM manufacturers used. I'm hoping we can get this project underway and see if we can scale the restoration process up to save some games with painted art as it was originally intended.

Thanks for your interest,
Tim Crowley
Las Vegas Playfields

A collector who I do a lot of work for just dropped 2 Solar Fires on me. Glad I found this thread.

I’d be psyched to sent both of them off to be reprinted. That’s awesome that you guys are doing that!

Is there an accompanying move to produce reproduction plastics as well?

Tim,
I'm curious if you will be screening the half-tones on the playfield.

I also would be interested in a set of plastics ( possible two)

Bob,
We will be screening the half tones. The finished product will look just like the originals, only with our clearcoat as well. They will never wear again.

So here is the plan. We will be taking playfields for this project in September. Some people have mentioned having more than 1 set. Plan to have your playfield(s) ready to ship to me the first week of September.

Email me at [email protected] with your name and how many playfield sets you will be sending in September. I have several of you on a list with Pinside handles but I'd like a more definitive list of prospects. If you want your playfield done but haven't contacted me yet, do it now. No deposit is necessary. We can do as many playfields as people can send.

This will cost $900 to $1,000 per playfield set plus return shipping. The only thing that changes the price is how much insert and wood repair is required for your playfield. Paint wear is irrelevant. You will get your playfield back. It will have all new art and our polished clear coat finish.

We have never done a project like this before so I'm not sure what the timeframe will look like. We intend to have them done before Christmas, if all goes well. No promises though. I will probably document it on this thread as we proceed.

This is not something we can do now and easily do more later. The process requires several playfields to do economically and if this works we will move on to another title next. If you want an economical Solar Fire restoration, now is the time.

Thanks!
Tim Crowley
Las Vegas Playfields

I contacted CPR and they will produce Solar Fire plastics if they get a good full set of plastics from someone to reproduce. Mine aren't very good. Can anyone else help? It would nice to have a set of plastics with the restored playfields.

Do they need to be 100%?
Mine are all present but there are a couple of broken off corners. Could definitely be rendered digitally by someone with some decent Illustrator chops.

Just looking at mine again. although a couple are broken, i think the pieces are there? The big one that wraps upper to lower is the worst for me - rivetted together. Seth - which of yours are broken? Maybe we can get there together.

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That large plastic is mostly intact but I am missing a chunk of the lower corner. I would think they could work with what I have, or if they were being sticklers they could combine scans from yours and mine.

My other plastics are mostly intact, see attached photos of the ones that are damaged.

I’d be happy to send some or all off to them if it moves the project along.

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I think my plastics still have all those corners so maybe we can get these together. My long rectangular one is also not broken. I'll pull mine this weekend and we can see if we have everything.

Thanks for offering to help. I've done a bunch of stuff with CPR over the years with good experiences.

Here's mine. Upper right tip is broken off, lower left to left ball lock clear tip broken off, big piece riveted together with a target cover plastic from Pinball Lizard (Game Plan). Looks like we have enough to pull this together. Am I missing any?

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Oops - i'll send these pix to CPR.

Has anything happened with this thread? I have a very good set of plastics with only one flaw, a cracked "Solar" tube shot plastic, but it would scan with very little photo repair.
I'm willing to send them to CPR if this project is still alive.
Rod

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Sethbenjamin and I got a couple decent plastic sets to CPR - Kevin is working it. I'll check in with him to check progress. He had other things to work so not sure on timing.

September has arrived and if you want to get in on the Solar Fire playfield restoration project with us, now is the time. Please send your fully stripped playfield sets (remove all the wiring, light sockets, tee-nuts, etc.) as soon as possible. I've got 3 sets here now and several more on the way. We can handle as many as people are willing to send. This will likely be a one-time chance, we don't plan to keep the screens once they are done. Cost will be $900 to $1,000 per set, depending on what insert problems your playfield has. The ones I have so far don't need much insert work. You will receive your playfield back when finished. I'm reluctant to post my address on a public forum so message me, email me or check our website for shipping information.

On a separate note, I need some information on the plastics issues so we can color match what is out there. We will only be using one set of colors for this project and need to match them up. I suspect the original or NOS plastics may, as often is the case, be faded. I understand CPR is remaking these plastics? If so, I can contact Kevin and match his colors. I'll probably need a few original plastics along with any reproductions to compare to the original playfield art colors.

Since this is our first go at a project like this, we are building the tools and jigs to facilitate the work. I'll be documenting much of the process on Pinside but be patient. If it goes well, we plan to do 1-2 larger scale restorations like this per year. It seems there are several titles that need playfields but are not big enough volumes for playfield manufacturers to reproduce them. In any case, we are excited to be doing this.

Thanks,
Tim Crowley
Las Vegas Playfields
[email protected]

This is getting exciting. While on the subject. Does anyone know of a fix for a worn apron? Decals or stickers perhaps?

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I have 2 SFs, and one is missing it’s apron.
I’ve been thinking of scanning the one I have at high resolution and trying my hand at making some waterslide decals.

(I found a beat Gorgar apron on eBay and sandblasted & repainted it.)

Hoping that, by scanning the original at a high resolution, I can avoid having to do a bunch of reconstructive digital work, since there’s a lot of detail there. A black and yellow clear decal over the red painted apron should work pretty well.

I haven’t turned my attention to it yet, but if I end up with some files that work I will be happy to share.

That sounds too awesome. Thank you very much

So, as of October 9 we have 10 playfield sets in house to restore. That's a great number for us but if there are any others out there, get in touch with me now.

We are trying to get some other playfields finished up but have started building extra racks for these and planning the art reproduction. Will be getting them cleaned up, sanded and replacing necessary inserts soon.

A little side note, they were not produced in a consistent fashion! I suspect it's rare for anyone these days to get more than a couple OEM playfields all in hand at once. As we were discussing how to build a tool to hold the playfields as they are screened, I discovered the multitude of holes and art vary in placement by as much as 3/16 of an inch.

In summary,
The playfield blanks are consistent in external dimensions.
The holes through the playfields are consistent in spacing from each other. Not all are the same shape though. A few are round, other playfields may have some that are somewhat oblong. Not worn oblong but cut oblong. Slingshot kicker holes, for example.
The "collection" of holes and corresponding art, in comparison to the blanks edges, can vary up to 3/16 side to side or top to bottom.
The art is centered on the holes, not the edges.

I suspect this is due to different manufacturers making the same playfield titles but not sure. In any case, we caught it early and getting the art to line up properly will not be an issue. It may explain why some games play a little differently than others though!

It will take us several weeks to get these all fully prepped, develop the art and build what we need to screen the art. I'll post more information and some pictures before we start screening.

Tim Crowley
Las Vegas Playfields
[email protected]

Thanks for the update, Tim.

Good luck I had the same situation doing Sorcerer restorations. People think all playfields are perfect & cut the same for lenses. They were not all the same. Then people blame you that the alignment is off. All you can do is try your best & hope you do not have anal customers. Which you will find out about your color choices also.

Great thread. I just stumbled on this and am going to rush to strip down and send my playfield to Tim.

And update on the plastics? I have all the plastics without cracking or damage but they do appear faded.

Will there be an order as a group for a plastics set or once they create a set, they will just simply be available for reproduction and order moving forward?

Many thanks.

Ditto.

Glad to see this is getting done. If I had a set of playfields I’d send them in.

The plastics are in the queue at CPR. I assume they will just go on CPRs website when ready.

Thanks!!! Sounds great

Doesn't sound promising but fingers crossed.

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If more people write this person, perhaps they will get the urge to make the plastics for us.

Small O/T.
Side note on CPR: I am working on a Bally Centaur. CPR cut corners on some of the
---------------- plastic set pieces. All they did was reproduce the right side art,
---------------- then mirrored the artwork for the left side. I honestly believe this
---------------- to be quick and dirty. OEM left side art, is slightly deferent than the
---------------- right side.

God speed to akvgc for making the rescreened Solar Fire restorations possible.

Uh, I sent my Solar Fire plastics to CPR on the assurance that they needed them *in order to produce new ones.*

I damn well better get my originals back if those guys aren’t going to follow through.

I sent my Dr. Who mini PF to CPR and took them over a year after repeated emails to get me what they promised from the outset.

Watching these CPR plastics comments and hoping this works out.
Have my playfield over with Tim now, along with many of you.

Would be nice to have new plastics to pair up with the playfield. I have a clean, complete set but they have the normal yellowing after 40+ years.

That was my first complete playfield tear down… a lot of work!!

Same here. I'm scared when I look at the bag full of screws that will need to be put back one day.

CPR still has the plastics in their queue. They have a lot of work ahead of these so they likely won't come until after the playfields are restored.

Just a quick update for those that are curious. We have been trying to catch up on other playfield work but the Solar Fire project is coming along. George, my artist, is making good progress on getting the files assembled to make screens. The playfields are sanded and getting new inserts where necessary, should receive their initial clear coat by the end of the month. I expect we will start the screening process sometime in January. This is kind of like painting a car; the preparation work takes most of the time, actually applying the paint is quick. I will have some photos to post at that point.

Thanks for the update! It’s fun to imagine these things sanded down and one step closer to completion.

This is going to be great! Happy Holidays.