Picked up a SS a couple of weeks ago in fair condtion. Machine is playable but overall the appearance is looking tired. Picked up a CPR playfield, got the game running, and played around with the lighting with LED's so far. I have a few ideas I want to add on top of the original as I go thru the machine.

I'm making all my mods reversible with no drastic physical changes so I'm thinking of this project as a Special Edition (or maybe I'll call it the George Lucas Edition).

Decided to look at the backglass first. The original was baked pretty good. Faded, bubbling, and cracking. Better than nothing and originals are in short supply. And the art is a little dull so I thought I would try and give it a remake. Here's what I've come up with so far:

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Here's the old backglass. I call it the Space Shuttle Leopard:

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Interesting. How did you hook up the sub MustangPaul?

Thanks MustangPaul, i added a 1/8" female jack and played around with PC speakers sets with subwoofer. Did not achieve desired effect. I'm going to try adding a 100 watt amp to just the subwoofer speaker ($20 - China). I want to boost the volume in the cabinet only.

Had the art and mask printed on translight. Sandwiched the translight between 2 pieces of 0.093" plexiglass. Installed. Need to boost the colors a little with the proper LED's but it looks a whole lot better now.

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I did a little looking around but could not find anyone making new glass. I read that Ed Chueng was selling his as time permits. But you can use mine if you like, send me a PM and I'll send you a link to my jpegs (around 25 mb each). If you want I can get you the contact info for the print shop I use.

I saw a night launch from Navy boot camp Orlando Fl. in late 1991. I saw my own shadow and the shuttle was at least 50 miles away. Awesome! Reading up on it's history and how it was developed, very interesting.

OK I'll bite. Yep, I know all about those image formats. Been using photoshop for 10 + years. Oh, and I invented the internet. But ya know I like compression, saves space. Any image viewer can open a JPEG. Makes sharing easy cause it's free. The image is at 300 DPI, once it's printed the pixals tend to bleed together in the ink soup. Thank you great digital warrior for sharing your wisdom.

So I was sliding between SS and another machine when I noticed a tingling on my arm. I measured the voltage between the two from side rail to side rail and I get around 50 VAC. I know the ground prong is missing so I bought another one already but have not replaced it yet. Seems to me I have a short to ground and this will pop the circuit breaker as soon as I "fix" the plug.

Anyone know why I might be having this issue?

vid1900 1980 Shuttle: That does look cool, so was Zaccaria a European company?

Here's a pic of a shuttle I did on photoshop for a custom plastic piece I'd like to place over the launch lane. When the ball rolls over the launch lane switch in the playfield it triggers a jet sound effect. I want to light the thrusters on this piece at the same time. Small led's with a flicker that dies off would be cool. I'll have to do it up on circuit maker software.

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Here is the launch plastic installed. Details: printed on photopaper, sealed with triple clear, and attached with clear tape on back of Lexan plastic. I experimented with spraying triple clear on plastic and laying photo on top. That failed twice, could not remove the air bubbles, looks foggy. Turns out the simplest tricks are the best (in my opinion).

Going to start the CPR playfield swap today and will consider the extra lighting of playfield as I go. For anyone still interested in the launch plastic I can make a small batch of extras. Just need to pay for materials so I'll ask for $7 each. Or if you want to make your own I'll gladly share the shuttle image. PM if interested.

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Thanks Frax! Yep, replaced plug and problem went away, no side effects.

Ya about those drill holes. I got to stay home from work and play pinball, catch was I got to watch 3 kids. I forgot how to measure towards the end of the day.

On making custom plastics, I learned from this guy: http://www.rainfall.com/pinball1/machines/Gottlieb-Airport-1969/How-To-Make-Pinball-Plastics-Restoration-Repair.html

It works for me. On a large project I would have it printed on translight. I tried photo paper on this one and it actually came out to my satisfaction.

Here's a pic of another batch. Shrank the image down a hair to allow more plastic edge to give the tape something to stick to. MustangPaul suggested no screw holes. Just use velcro. Good idea.

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I bought strips of velcro (free with every purchase!) to check the room . I cut them in half length wise and it clears the clear with plenty of surface on the rails to attach to. Always compromises to be found. EL paper, hmmmm

I like the EL Paper idea but since I decided to replace the paper covered wood rails with red pine I decided to customize them with LED strip pockets at the bottom in a couple of spots. Drilled a small hole underneath the rail to punch the wire thru the table. This gave me a chance to see the launch plastic lit with blue:

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Picky is good and I look at how these materials play in the light too. The led strip is 12 VDC and comes by the roll (eBay: 5M Blue 5050 SMD 300 LEDs Waterproof). It can be cut up in 3 light sections. DMD era machines have a 12v circuit but on this one I'll hsve to use a small power adapter. My early solid state machines use that wallpaper on the rails. Hate it man.

Whew, I'm glad you got it beatmaster. I try to make the pieces to the best of my ability. But without the help of hi tech equipment there are limits. And I try to price it as low as I think as I can go. I've gotten pretty close to finishing the playfield swap and it's looking pretty good. The shuttle and ramp is going to slow me down though, I have some ideas

Hey CW, your plastic and rail mod came today and they look GREAT!!! Thanks
Now when are you going to do that backglass remake? I like it especially if you could keep the colors when back lit.

Glad you got it. My backglass is installed already MustangPaul, so are you saying you need one? I still want to play with the lighting behind it a little.

Just got the playfield back in the box yesterday. Turned it on, GI light circuit short somewhere and flasher bulbs in center stay on all the time. All game features are good. I have some tracing to do. No black smoke! Repainted the inner box. Added a saphire blue metalic glitter and clear coated.

Have an idea for the pop bumpers. A custom wet slide decal for a blue cap.

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And all blue areas are to be cut out. The outer circle will turn into flaps that fold down on the sides.

I see that you guys have been busy. So I got off my keester and finished my launch mod. Here are some pics, may it guide you in your quest. It may be a truely great idea or a warning, you decide.

Components: 1 555 LED socket with intergrated mount, 1 red led (looking for fast flashing one to replace it later), 1 Cherry micro switch with long wire actuator (used N.O. contacts), and wire.

The switch steel wire was cut down to around 1 1/2" and the last 1/4" bent at 90 degrees. Used the G.I. 6.3 VAC circuit for power. Solder directly to braided wire.

Operation: When Ball is loaded and holds down the rollover switch it also holds the micro switch closed and powers light. The switch steel wire actuator crosses over the original rollover switch wire under the PF. After launch the micro switch opens 1 leg of light circuit and light extinguishes. Don't mean to over explain but you never know who's reading.

Simple effect but I think it cues the operator to launch visually along with the "Ready Pilot One!" audible. And it is on G.I. circuit so it flashes when a special is won prior to launch.

BeatMaster, I like the scorecard idea alot!

Launch LED

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That's the spirit! Like the card. Still pondering what I want to do with mine. I've got my Space Shuttle up and running. Now I've got just a few tweaks left. And I'm ready to stencil and paint the cabinet. Only problem is I can't stop playing it.

Sound improvement: I replaced the cab speaker with a 200 Watt mid-range 4 ohm speaker by Pyramid and got a definite improvement in sound. It also lowered the treble a little. Now those sonic echos don't hurt my brain. Do not buy PYLE, they are a PYLE of crap.

12VDC power now synced with main power switch: I added a 120 V outlet mounted to a board and tapped off the load side of the power switch underneath. It uses the main power neutral. I plug the 12vdc adapter into that.

Repalced shuttle with new one and added a 6 LED strip underneath it in yellow. Lights the ramp with a nice "not too bright" yellow glow.

I'll post final pics soon. Viva La Space Shuttle!

Just wanted to rap up this thread. I had a lot of customs ideas coming into this project, but ..... I'll save those ideas for a machine that deserves to be made over. Looking for some seriously ugly art package. Anyway, thanks for CPR for popping out these new backglasses. Although, I was also surprised by the blue saturation. But after putting it in, it doesn't bother me. Actually I think it works better since I added a few extra blue LED's to the playfield. Even though I like the details I added to my custom backglass (can't get over the plastic look) I can't deny the feeling that when a mirrored glass is installed it now feels classic. I'll probably punch out some of the colors on the glass with brighter lights later on. And these guys deserve a lot of credit for bailing out guys like me who are dispirit to save these machines. And at a fair price.

Overall this project went pretty well. No MPU problems at all. The cab was a little heat baked but not rotted. The original glass was screwed and oven backed. But I found a nice CPR repro! The playfield had been almost completely covered by mylar on an already worn playfield. During my playfield swap I didn't find to many atrocities. The jet bumbers were fried but that's about it. New flipper parts, new coil sleeves, a very gentle contact cleaning. Clean as you go, you know. That shuttle launches.

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Mr. Mustang, I think if you sold it you would fell perty terdy. Hang on to it for awhile. Thanks for all your nice comments and inputs. Everybody needs a little feedback and input. You and beatmaster were great.

I fell pretty much committed to that gig so I'll PM you when I'm on duty! Thanks for the comment and I hope we can play this one 2 player.

Firepower will fell great in your hands when your done. That looks like one solid build. Pinball head yet?

Affirmative. I hope it lives up to your expectations. I am an old Heavy Metal Magazine fan from the late 70's. That is the inspiration for most of my art. So a 1979 Flash worked out better than I expected.

OK, one more artistic swing. Just enjoying the bouncing of light on the glass. Not free for reproduction.

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I know, funny huh. I just think it would make a great album cover. Probably 20 years too late! You'll get there Frax. Hang in there.