The switch was a little damaged and was corroded but I was able to get her working right since I couldn't find a replacement. Thanks for your help.

Yep. I have only ever seen 1 NOS mini playfield in my pinball life - it was buy it now on ebay years ago, somewhere in Europe. I stupidly hesitated .....and then it was gone. Doh.

No but then again I have a hard time hitting the right ramp in general

How big a market you think there would be for a *new* upper playfield? I don't have a vacu-form machine, or the skill to 1 replicate the old one, but I do have a laser cutter and could probably prototype something 'serviceable' even if it doesn't look like the original real thing. So far Ive been cutting stuff for my homebrew pin and some airball protectors for my Ghostbusters. but if there was enough interest I'd take a crack at building a replacement upper for the machine.

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Allegedly, the problem with the upper playfield is that it was tooled as a one-piece injection mold. This much IS true: if you examine the part, you can see that it couldn't be simply vacu-formed like a traditional ramp. I believe the vented lamp domes for the lanes are where most of this complexity comes from.

Personally I have to think if the original mold existed somewhere, Planetary would have remade these by now. So let's presume it doesn't. New injection molds are boku bucks.... notgonnahappen.

But with that said, I personally wouldn't mind a vacu-formed replacement that is close enough to be serviceable. I mean if you take the lane domes out, what you're left with is really no more complex than a traditional ramp. Possibly even less so, since it's smaller and flatter. You might have some differences in the joint of the back wall to the floor (rounded instead of square corner) potentially, but that wouldn't affect functionality. Vacu-form the flat platform, with new holes to add traditional lane guides (or maybe Gottlieb's pyramid style so that you can keep the solid ends... or perhaps newly vacu-formed individual lane guides like the original Station ones)... just screw them in. Boom. Done.

Basically if a one-piece is cost-prohibitive, fine. Make it multi-piece. Beggars can't be choosers for original look, but if you want something that works, I think this could, um, work.

I have mentioned this piece to Rick at Planetary. Believe he is on the lookout for this mold and feel that if he did find it he would reproduce them. I'll reach out to him again.

I'm also in the market for a new mini playfield. Mine has been chewed on by squirrels! Hope Rick finds the mold but I'd be interested into a "close enough" replacement solution as well.

I'm sure if anyone tried to make one they would hear from Rick real quick, probably a nice letter...

Mark seems to have hit on the key. Different color, or other variation, and it's not a licensed repro part. It's an unlicensed modification. At least that seems to be the case.

+1 on a repro even if not perfect

I don't see why you couldn't laser cut/ fabricate something perfectly functional. wouldn't look exactly the same...

I could draw something up, but i would need a ramp to work from.

sounds like there might be at least a handful of interested people. I'll see if I can play around with a design. goingincirclez I like the idea of using traditional lane dividers! I'll have to look up measurements.

I think the toughest bit to deal with will be where the shooter ramp and the kicker join up with the upper playfield. I'll probably have to cut negative shapes to allow those lanes to be 'flush' with the playfield, and add a 2nd layer below it to secure the ramps to.

I'll draw up some ideas.

Doesn't need to be flush does it? The ball immediately enters a gate so it can't come back and hit the ends of the wireform.

Having a quick look at mine, the wireform sits proud of the surface of the upper playfield.

If someone made an upper pf, I’d be in

The upper playfield surface ‘dips’ where the connections are made to the wire forms to make room for the ramp support bracket and screw head.

It doesn’t look too difficult to deal with generally. The hard part I see is actually dealing with the ‘back’ of the playfield where the 1,2,3 lights are. If I’m laser cutting flat surfaces that makes those 90degree walls difficult to figure out. Need to cut multiple pieces and find a secure way of attaching them.

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Here’s a rough sketch of what i’d Have in mind....

In order to make the 90 degree wall on the back, i’d Need to cut that wall piece flat, and key it to the flat playfield so it can be seated and glued in place. The back wall would need to be slightly curved which I’m not thrilled about. I either need to heat the plastic and form it in that shape, or secure it cold and allow there to be tension on the form.
Likewise the ‘roof’ of the back piece would need to be keyed and glued in place. It’s possible I could include added support when I do the final design.

The ‘front’ wall is a problem. That sharp curve around the drain would require I heat and bend the plastic, which could yield inconsistent results. I’d be more comfortable replacing that front wall with a chrome wire form. Thoughts?

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I wonder how it would perform without the curved section of the front wall. The ball should fall in the hole anyway most of the time, shouldn't it?

Could the back wall be a second flat piece sitting in the same plane as the other two and the ball just rolls along the edge of it? Wouldn't look the same as the original, but wouldn't need curving? Kind of like the ball guides near the flippers. You could use standard post and separators to connect the pieces.

yea we could probably get away with not curving the back wall but would require a post with rubber ring 'behind' the main ramp gate. When the kicker on the right shoots up the ball it currently is curved to the Gate and bounces back. If that wall were straight we would need to put a post and rubber there for it to bounce off of, because were making negative space.

I wouldn't want to leave the front wall off entirely. Ive seen people play the game with broken upper playfield walls and it does just fall off sometimes. I do like the idea of lane guides if we are thinking of the same thing, the guides that are directly 'leading' to the flippers on the same angle? usually a flat piece of metal with spacers under it? we could replace that with blue acrylic and we might be on to something...

I mean rather than having the vertical piece you have for the back wall, cut another the same as the top flat piece, stack them with spacers and attach to the bottom piece (potentially by extending the bottom piece all the way to the back).

The curve of the wall is then the edge of the middle piece rather than a flat piece you have to flex into shape. Like the metal slice in the flipper lane guides.

Yea I think we’re on the same page. These could look super cool with light passing through em...

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They would.

But I mean at the back, where the flasher is.

yea I'd do the same thing back there too.

well damn, now I need to go remove my upper playfield so I can make measurements.

That would work perfect. And a wire up front would be the way to go.

Very excited about this!

It's so much fun seeing excitement in this Space Station group, so much more active than many other 80's pin groups , and the great pictures of colored lighting and helpful folks without all the drama. I think the Space Station group is the best one on pinside.
Keep up the great work on the upper pf, it's a much needed build. I finally finished the LED head / translite conversion tonight, after I LED'd the pf GI like ..... 2 years ago
Well except the 906 flashers, man it's got 30 bucks in flashers in just the head. Didn't have enough in my stash to do those. One side note, I still have incandescent 44's behind the translite cut out holes. Not sure how it would look being you can see the bulbs, and not dim out and back on in rotating sequence. Anyone try a diffused bulb there? Figure that might help

Yeah I like the club and the members also. I have red frosted dome led in my station holes. If you want to keep the incandescent bulbs in yours try red bulb condoms on the bulbs. Or whatever color you want.

I think you should try and curve the front piece. Bend it over a round form with a heat gun. it will take a couplke of tries but you will get the hang of it.

I think a dark blue edgelit acrylic would be cool.

Maybe try and etch some pattern in the front wall that looks like the structure of the station.

Also keep in mind you can get away with some glue block/strips in the corners to make this pretty solid.

I use the green colored glass bulbs and Love how they look, and carry on the 'green mode' theme. because they are visible through the windows I like that they are not crazy bright like LEDs and not too dull like the condomed bulbs.

http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/04-0044G

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Awesome.

My upper playfield is in good shape but I'd probably be in for a new one

So I noticed that I don't have this post behind the left standup target:
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I do have a hole into the playfield:
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There's no tee-nut. It looks like a nut would clash with the light socket for the green GI bulb:
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Does anyone have a part number for the part that fits here? A picture of the underside would be great too.

Looks like you have a looming UFO invasion in your translite, Scarybeard

As for testing bulb colors in the station translite, I used twist-off lids from applesauce pouches. You can get a variety of colors, they fit perfectly over the bulbs, and they also fill the cutout voids with a vivid dose of color even when off. Looks really cool, and a cheap way to test colors before purchasing bulbs.

Pretty clever design attempt on that laser playfield. I agree a latticed lower ball wall might look pretty sweet. Eager to see how it develops! Nice drawing skills too

How much would it cost to get that mini pf laser scanned then laser printed?

Quick question. I'm about to try getting the HV displays back up and running.I'm not 100% sure of the value of the two fuses in the middle of the backbox which is the HV power to the display. The manual says 1/10 amp slow blow. The stickers in the backbox say 1/10 amp but don't specify fast or slow whereas all the others explicit say slow blow:
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Should it be fast or slow?

Slow.

working on it. It's a pretty complex piece with all the hardware underneath. I'll post prototyping progress here as it develops.

Thanks @grumpy. I was guessing they ran out of space on the labels.

So.... The slow blow fuses... didn't. The power supply fuse went first. That's not the way that should work is it?

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/testing-williams-hv-display-board#post-4232780

The combined shorting across the 100 and -100 volts was less then the individual fuses for each power but more than the input fuse could handle.

That's great to hear. Yeah that's gonna be one complex scan, how long do ya think it's gonna take? I'd like to see a full length vid of the scan process.

I am hoping I'll have a prototype cut before the end of the weekend. Anything 'final' is going to take a bit longer. I need to work out all the wiring, and find proper switches and stuff, then I need to play with it a bunch in order to make sure it holds up well.

What color and material you making it out of?

I'm hoping for a light blue to match the super awesome ramps Freeplay40 makes... but my upper playfield is still intact, so I guess my vote doesn't mean much.

Would be good if it was transparent enough to see the USA lights without hunching down though.

I there!
Need help with the lamps on the GI that are very weak ...
On the power supplie board test point:

Board=5765-09466-0
TpTp1=5 vdc
Tp3=11.6vdc
Tp4= -14vdc

Tp1=10.1 vac
Tp3=24.9vac
Tp4=0vac

Any clue???

Yeah my vote doesn't count either cuz mines in great shape too so I wouldn't be replacing it.

Not to take a huge step back here but has Rick at PPS confirmed that he does/doesn't have the molds? Maybe if we all got together and guerilla emailed him it would light a fire?

Mines in great shape too, but I’m in on bulk emailing him, someone organize it and I’ll throw my message in the hat

[email protected]
PPS (Here)

OK, I just emailed him and Pinside PM'd him. The more people who do this means a better response. Here's what I wrote:

"Space Station upper playfield

Seems like there is great interest on Pinside for this and we were wondering if you had the molds to make one. There seems to be some confusion as to whether you have it. It is injection molded to the best of my understanding and impossible to replicate. Can you answer our question? We would love to know if this is in the hopper for your company.

Thank you.

<name>"

Here's where I am so far. Spent the day cutting out a cardboard proxy of the upper play field. I need to get it into the machine and see if my measurements were right and all the support holes line up. I am 99% sure I'll have to adjust at least something. hence the cardboard. I'll cut the next one out of clear plexi so I can fine tune the design. I have a lot of work to do with supporting the upper left flasher, all the lights, and the switches.

The final one could be made out of any color you want really. I have some blue transparent I want to experiment with. But I also need to do a little research on what plastic is most durable, and then what colors are available for it.

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1. There should only be 4 wires on the coil.
2. Connection #3 should have a blue/yellow wire. Nothing else.
3. Connection #2 should have blue wire which also connects to the EOS switch.
4. Connection #1 should have a pair of wires, a blue/violet and a blue wire which also goes to the EOS switch.
5. Now the cap wires do not go to the coil, they connect to the EOS switch with the blue wires. Direction does not matter.