(Topic ID: 232742)

The Adams Family

By wawa

5 years ago


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#1 5 years ago

My wife bought an Adams Family pinball for me during Christmas this year. This is my first pinball machine. It was a routed machine, but plays very well. There are some issues as expected as described below. I was looking to get guidance regarding having it completely gone over and restored by a professional (I would like to keep it as close to what it looked like when it came off the line without making newbie mistakes):
1)The original playfield is still in place but has wear as seen in the pictures. I was directed to classic playfield to get a reproduction and ended up buying the gold quality playfield. I am planning on having the reproduction installed during the restoration and sending the original playfield out and have it touched up and stored until a latter date.
2)Regarding the case, one side panel has separated in half as the wood is made in sheets if you look at it closely. The separation occurred in parallel with the other sheets in the side panel. This does not affect the side art. You can appreciate this in the first two pictures hopefully. Is this a common issue? Can it be fixed or will I have to get a whole new side panel? If so, where would you recommend getting a whole new panel? If it can be fixed, how do you recommend it be fixed? The remainder of the case has been touched up and still has the warranty stickers from Midway attached to the case. Does it take away from the machine value if you have all new decals replaced and the cabinet restored?
3)The ramp is cracked as you can see from one of the pictures. I'm having a hard time finding a smoked replacement ramp for when it is restored. The clear ramps are easy to find. Any ideas on where to find a replacement smoked ramp?
4)Any other issues/decisions that I will be faced with?

Thank you all in advance for your time and advice for this newbie

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#2 5 years ago

Great first game. Welcome to the hobby!

I’ve seen way tougher TAFs. You have some things to fix for sure, but that playfield isn’t actually that bad.

#3 5 years ago

Congrats. You’ll get plenty of help here.
Relax and enjoy it.
Your wife did well and is awesome.

#4 5 years ago

Will sending the original playfield out to a well respected personal in this area to have it touched up devalue it? (ie, Should I just leave it alone without having it touched up and store it while the reproduction playfield is in place?)

#5 5 years ago

That being your first and only game - just play it and enjoy it . Maybe after you have another 5 pins to play - then do the resto. your talking about . Because it will take at least a year to do and 2 grand in parts and labor .

#6 5 years ago

Agree. Take it in as is and enjoy being a new owner. My recommendation is to embrace the fundamentals of basic care and maintenance before going all in on a restore that may be completely unwarranted. It’s surprisingly rewarding to see the transformation for Novus 1 and 2 (2 on occasion) and wax. If you are anything like me, you will quickly enjoy the satisfaction of troubleshooting and resolving seemingly complex electro mechanical bugs.

#7 5 years ago

I’m with guy above - play it and enjoy it. TAF was my second ever machine and was - and remains - in pretty much the same shape as yours. Plays beautifully now and I’d hate to tempt fate with a renovation!

#8 5 years ago

Hi Wawa

1st your wife is wonderful. She bought you a pinball for you as a Christmas gift. This is an amazing. Your playfield looks good. At the end this is a 27 years old machine. Enjoy your machine. I agree with TenaciousT, you can resto your TAF once you have a few more pinball machines. Actually you can reduce all the wear and tear when you have 6 pinballs machines or more. Just remember playing, fixing, buying and waiting are part of this addictive hobby

#9 5 years ago

I agree with with most everyone. Just play it. Make sure it works, and don't worry about the wear. (Mine is way worse and plays well.) Fix anything that's broken, keep it clean, and don't worry about a restoration.

As far as value, you will probably not devalue it by restoring it--but you probably won't get your extra expenditure back, either.

#10 5 years ago

Fantastic machine for your first, this was my first choice when I started collecting but ended up being my second due to availability. Had mine for 10 years now and still enjoy every game whether it's good or bad. Welcome to the hobby.
I must agree with TenaciousT to send it off for restoration can take some time and you will just spend all of your time looking at the space it used to be. Wait for your second before releasing it from your grasp.

I bought my smokey ramp from Mr Pinball here in Australia some time ago. Touch base with Wayne he might have one stashed away. One thing about the clear ramp is that it allows the GI's to light up the playfield easier. Mine (smokey) tends to make things a little darker that I would like.

#11 5 years ago

Give it a good cleaning fix any issues that effect playability and enjoy it.

#12 5 years ago

I see a problem - it's outnumbered by exercise toys. Perhaps you should follow your wonderful wife's awesome example and get her a pin for valentine's day!

11 years later I still own the Cue Ball Wizard my pretty wife bought me; my "give-back" was a skee ball machine! Somewhere along the way I've picked up 11 additional pinballs... Thanks for sharing your present as it brought back great memories of when I was in your shoes

-Rob
-visit http://www.kahr.us to get my daughterboard that helps fix WPC pinball resets or my replacement LED display boards for model H and model S Skee Ball

#13 5 years ago

I think you made the right choice on swapping the playfield. I just love the look of a shiny playfield. Novus and wax can only do so much. And you could get a few bucks for the old one, as I've seen much worse.

#14 5 years ago

play it and enjoy it. doing a restore like that on your first pin is nuts. play it.

#15 5 years ago

Are playfield overlays such as the example below just cheap way of making a playfield look better than it truly is?
ebay.com link: Addams Family Pinball Machibe Playfield Mansion Overlay

#16 5 years ago

Yes, it hides the common damage.

#17 5 years ago

I agree with those guys, just play it like it is. Great first game, only problem is you will probably want only advanced games now, lol.

1 week later
#18 5 years ago

Thank you to everyone for their input. We have been enjoying the pinball machine since Christmas. In the upper left corner of the picture there is a piece that appears broken. Some of it appears plastic. If this is correct, what piece would I be looking for to replace it? Or is it all part of the wooden cabinet? Any help would be appreciated.

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#19 5 years ago
Quoted from wawa:

Thank you to everyone for their input. We have been enjoying the pinball machine since Christmas. In the upper left corner of the picture there is a piece that appears broken. Some of it appears plastic. If this is correct, what piece would I be looking for to replace it? Or is it all part of the wooden cabinet? Any help would be appreciated.
[quoted image]

That's part of the wood cabinet. Not much you can do.

#20 5 years ago

I put in a new clear ramp. I like it better. The game is so dark to begin with.

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