Right on. I can't wait to play it this weekend. It will definitely be easy to spot with that speaker panel!

Yup, it was the first game I played once the doors opened on Friday and the set up crew as "allowed" to play. I noticed the panel falling forward a few times and pushed it back for you. Here's the picture from the other thread you linked. It really made the game stand out.

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New (ish) club member here. I bought the game as a project a few years ago and haven’t dug in yet but a recent abundance of free time along with ramp availability and @Apinjunkie’s recent restoration posts means I now have three big packages on the way-A new hardtop, a new black ramp with clean white shuttle, and a big box of miscellaneous from Marco!
Question regarding some parts I didn’t find at Marco. Drop Targets. What are you guys using for replacement drop targets? I know I need two different styles ( B-9534 for the single and B-8451 for the 3 bank) and that they’re red from the factory. Who has them?
And speaking of drop targets, my single drop target mechanism has a broken “reversed L bracket” coil stop (A-9548) I haven’t had any luck finding it online. Is it welder time for this?

@apinjunkie I know I told you I wouldn’t be copying your insert ideas but, damn that looks so good! I LOVE the intensity meter! I was replacing the white “Lite Outlanes” insert and it’s location between all the yellows kept bugging me. Your solution really nails it.
It looks like I’ll by flattering you with some imitation

I bought a bunch of white inserts in case the array between the slingshots don’t look bright white enough once I sand off the yellowed topcoat they currently have. I also bought the hot dogs because I’ve restored a few playfields with severely dished or cracked hot dogs. Once I sand/polish I’ll judge what, if anything, gets changed. Before the hardtop they’ll be sprayed with PPG 2PAC so I’m sure they’ll be glossy enough.
I helped a friend with his hardtop and we used rattle can clear over the original inserts, they still look great. And I’ve played an early hardtopped Space Shuttle that only had polished, not cleared inserts. It looked great to me too.
Basically, no real need to mess with inserts at all.

I’m right there with you! I started with removing all the triangle inserts, sanding them flat then resetting them. Just about every playfield I’ve restored has had issues with these popping up at the tip. Most of mine were that way, I definitely did not want any coming up under the hardtop.
I then sanded to 320 grit. I received my hardtop a couple of hours ago so I was able to check the alignment. Looks pretty good! Tomorrow I’ll paint in some of the areas that will appear bare through hardtop holes then follow up with PPG 2PAC clear. I hope to adhere the hardtop next week, once the clear has cured sufficiently.

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Ha! You have no idea... I severely broke my left wrist on Feb 4th, had surgery (8 screws!! I’m bionic!) on Feb 7th. Been away from pinball ever since. Just last week my physical therapist added 2 lb weights to my workout AND a hammer for one of the exercises. I figure if I’m allowed to hold a hammer I can definitely hold a sander. So I ordered the ramp and the hardtop and awaaaay we go!

The only reason I’m clearing my inserts is because I’m also clearing the shooter lane and the bare wood under the apron. Otherwise I would just move through the grits and polish away.
The original reason I liked the hardtop was the thought of restoring a playfield without having to clear coat, but the shooter lane definitely needs it!
Tip, make sure you really de-wax anything you’ll clear to avoid fish eyes. (preferably before sanding so you don’t dig it in) I use naphtha with multiple clean rags.

If you’ve got an order coming up with any of the suppliers you can buy target foam. It’s just the right amount of squish.

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Question for those of you who have added strips of wood to the back of your playfields to protect the ramps/plastics when you raise it, how thick is the strip of wood? Do you have any pics of where/how you placed it?

My playfield is stripped bare and out of the game at the moment so I don’t have a reference to check. I’m about to pull out my table saw to make new wood side rails. I’d love to get this strip made at the same time cuz it’s a major PITA to get my saw out

I see new oak rails and I want them painted black.

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These new black rails are replacing the crappy vinyl covered wood side rails on the playfield. I didn’t want to reuse them in with my new hardtop.
Earlier today I had asked about a wood rail people have added to the back edge of their playfield so they could lift the playfield all the way and rest it against the backbox for service without breaking the ramp or plastic up there. When I started working on this game and before I posted anything here I read all 50 pages and this wood strip was mentioned a few times. I don’t want to hurt my new ramp so I’m still looking for the info.

I really recommend applying a sanding sealer over any wood areas you’ve sanded before clearing. It really helps prevent fisheyes. I applied it on the shooter lane and the under apron area of my mostly sanded bare playfield. The lane and under apron area look great, all the other bare wood areas that will be covered by the hardtop had some fisheyes going on. I’ll see if I can grab some pics before I attach the hardtop.

For spinners I touch up, like you did, or print my own decals for I “laminate” them with adhesive Mylar (or even “heavy duty” clear packing tape.) I do the same with drop target decals. They’ve survived thousands of plays this way.

Also in regards to sluggish pop bumpers: I installed my hardtop on a game that had been sitting neglected, on a back porch for years, and that I’d never actually played so it should come as no surprise that I also had sluggish pop bumpers and slingshots after installing my hardtop, as well as some stubborn switches. I’d cleaned all the game’s switch contacts with a “toothy” folded up paper strip (I was fresh out of crisp hundreds) when it was blown apart and completely rebuilt all the mechanisms. New sleeves, stops/brackets, plungers, the works. I didn’t replace the pop bumper switch spoons but I did polish them clean. After days of messing with my switch adjustments with no improvement, this morning I used 91% alcohol and a soft brush to clean the switches. That worked. The pops are super fast now, the slingshots are strong, and all my rollovers score instantly. Zero issues all day.
I have no idea what kind of life your game led but maybe try the alcohol? (and make sure the gaps are properly set, of course)

Rockin good news. I’m glad the alcohol did the trick for you.
I had a similar problem with the IJ7 connector too so, rather than rely on crappy IDC connectors, I repinned it with trifurcons and installed a new header on the board. (By the way, lamp 38 is the triangular insert “stop and score w/l” under the T insert, 39 and 40, I believe, are in the backboard, and are the three 44 exhaust lamps)
While I had the board out doing repairs, I replaced those eight ugly, hot 2 watt resistors you highlighted at R13, R11, etc, with zero ohm resistors, and replaced their driver transistors with mosfets. It drastically cuts down on the heat in the backbox and will keep IJ7 from cooking again.
Next time I have my “hood up” I’ll follow along the wiring for the lane change switch, see if I spot any obvious potential problem areas.

Oh, and “UP R standup Sw” #47 is the switch directly across from the 3 bank drop targets. The switch chart on p19 of the manual shows all the switch locations.

I have a Starship Fantasy black ramp on my hardtopped SS. I trimmed the hardtop back about an inch from the ramp entrances (under the ramp, not visible) and shaved down the plastic posts a bit as well. Nothing too difficult.

Can some of you please post a pic of your flippers activated, at full extension? I’m curious what the full range of motion should be on these. My buddy is comparing them to my Junkyard’s range.
Thanks!

Thanks, Apinjunkie, for the picture.
My buddy was right, I did not have the full range of flipper motion. At this point, after some troubleshooting, I’m blaming it on the coil stops. The flipper kit I ordered from Pinball Resource was supposed to have the shortest coil stop (8.4mm) but, we agree, we’ve both seen shorter (he’s been teching for 40 years) He is borrowing my game because it’s his wife’s absolute favorite game and today is her birthday so he really wanted it dialed in right. (I.e. easier ramp shot )
He didn’t have shorter coil stops on hand and my stash is at my shop far away so he made up for it by removing the rubber bumper the flipper pawl rests against (also included in the PBR rebuild kit), 3D printing and installing one half as thick, and resetting the flipper rest position and now it matches your range. A 1.5 mm difference in bumper thickness made a huge difference.

If anyone is interested, according to the Pinball Resource, flipper coil stops that work in our mechanisms have the following height:
A10821 (Short) .330 (8.4mm)
A12111 (Med) .370 (9.4 mm)
A12390 (Tall). .420 (10.7 mm)

I’m hoping I have some shorter than 8.4 mm, if not, maybe try shorter flipper plungers?

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