Great Synopsis.

Thank you.

No sweat! Forgot to mention that when I installed the new decals I was concerned about aligning them properly. On the first side I used painters masking tape (the blue crap) to try to get the top and back aligned properly but it just threw me off. I wound up just eyeballing it. I used the 2nd gen decals (pinballdecals.com...I think) and they were pretty forgiving when it came to re-positioning. Just use a light touch when you are first laying the decal down and trying to work out the position. I researched the wet method for decal application but it seemed like such a mess.

alittle soapy water and squeege makes alignment easy once in place work out the bubbles LOL

No wet method here.

Did you prime the spot after sanding and before laying the decals on ?

i decal mucles cars and the wet method is the way to go

Mixing water and wood just seems like a bad idea. Wish they made a full set of TS decals! I had a blast doing my first set and man, talk about a clean machine when you're done.

Jazzmaster, were the head decals cut the same as the original, or do they extend all the way out?

note assistant does not need to be pregnant

I used this guy's method. A bit of caution and no water between my decal and cabinet... came out looking great.

I sanded the original paint off just down to the primer so I did not have to re-primer.

I feel the same way about water and wood. I realize that there are several layers of primer and paint between the decal and the wood but still makes me nervous and, honestly, the direct apply method was not a big deal.

The head decals were not extended beyond the originals. Both were printed on a single sheet of white vinyl. Another thing to note is that they were not die-cut on the vinyl sheet. So, keep in mind that they do have to be trimmed by hand when you decide to install.

Odd behavior from the kicker on the left under the left hand ramp. If I am in a multi ball game and a ball falls into that kicker it doesn't get release until the system goes though the 'lost ball routine'. Is this supposed to happen?

Also, I have balls getting stuck coming back down off the battle field. Looking at the kicker it appears to have a V shaped piece on the main shaft on the right to direct the balls back into play but not on the left. Should there be one there?

Thanks

So if you put a ball in there during multiball it stays in until all other balls have drained, and then it does a ball search?

Because it's supposed to stay in the saucer during multiball for a little bit, giving you double jackpots while it's in there.

Probably a silly question but does anyone know if it's possible to remove the Mongol figurines without taking apart the left ramp? From a quick glance at the near-left Mongol I thought I'd be able to just pop the figurines out quickly (planning to have them repainted) but as I look closer I didn't see a way to access the nuts on the underside of the plastics without removing the ramp. But I'm hoping I've missed something and someone can point me in an easier direction. Thanks!

I am having problems with the magnet, it is grabbing the ball but it is not throwing it back into the sanctum.
Any ideas?

The magnet will hold the ball for an extended period of time and then just let go, letting it roll down the playfield if there is a problem with the drop target or drop target switch. This is what I believe is a cause for excessive sanctum wear.

The drop target is raised by a lever system that gets worn at three different places. Thus causing the target not to raise all the way up and lock into place.

Is your drop target functioning properly? I mean does it stay up?

The drop target is working fine.

Does the magnet ever send the ball into the sanctum or is it random?

No the ball remains stuck on the magnet, if I give the game a nudge the ball will then move back down the pf.

If you have sanctum wear and there is a dip there then the ball cannot roll back to catch the magnet's second pulse which is what then sends the ball forward.

If your playfield is smooth there is an opto on both sides of the magnet that may be dirty or have a problem. I removed my magnet assembly today from underneath and cleaned the optos. I also repaired my drop target system that was causing the symptoms you describe. The drop target would not always stay up, and the closed switch on the bottom of the drop target put it into some kind of default mode causing similar to what you have. Mine works perfect once again.

Thanks very much for your help, I will give that a try.
Is it a big job?

Nah.. you may want to take a close look at the drop target switch if everything else looks OK. They made it EZ by using connectors on both assemblies for simple removal.

The three parts that wear are the pin that is attached to the coil plunger
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the lever that pushes up on the drop target-
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and the bushing that is in the bracket-
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I already ordered new parts, but by flipping the coil plunger around and adding a couple of washers to keep it steady, it now rides on an un worn part of the pin , which is enough to take up the slack until the new parts arrive. It will probably work great for a long time this way.

These are pics of new parts. I thought about taking pics of the old worn ones, but I just wanted to get it back together and play some Shadow.

Thanks for the photos mate.

Stock photos from Pinball Spare Parts, Australia.

Thanks for posting this.

I had been struggling with my wall target not staying up about 50% of each game. It would click up about 3-5 times simultaneously and then give up and stay down. After many adjustments to the spring tension, switch arm, changing the switch and adjusting it's position, etc., I was at a loss.

Then tonight I took it back apart and noticed the wear in the lever and bracket bushing, very sloppy. I did what you mentioned above and now it's 95% better. It did stay down twice in two practice games, but I'm sure that's because there's still a little slop there.

Time to order some parts. I checked Marco but they're out of stock on the bracket w/bushing, who else has these?

Thanks!

Your welcome!

http://www.pinballspareparts.com.au/parts-by-machine/bally-parts/the-shadow/a-18778.html

This is a hard club to gain access to. I've been trying and trying, had the same game on my line twice just to have it spit the hook on me at the boat.

Anyone looking to get out of the club?

You're kidding, right?
th-4-873.jpeg

I almost have enough people to do another run of alt Shadow translites and speaker panels. Trying to get a few more so I can make it happen for the people on my pre-order list. Might be the last one, I thought the previous run was going to be, always hard to know.

$175 shipped in the US (+$30 for international).

If there's anyone interested shoot me a PM.

shadow-package.jpg

Guys, I have a quick drop target question:

The target that blocks the VUK to the battlefield. When it's down, the ball will sometimes stop in the cutout. In other words, I think that when the target goes down, it goes down TOO far. It needs to be flush with the pf so the ball doesn't get caught.

Is the correct way to adjust this just a matter of that machine screw that points out at the bottom of the assembly? Just a matter of screwing it up a little? How do I get the drop target flush with the pf?

That would be it. Adjust the stop screw.

I have this happen every once in a while, only if the ball is going really slow though. The ball search will pop the target and scoot the ball into the VUK, which I find kind of amusing, so I've never actually thought about if I could change it.

Well, there's always a chance someone in the club has found a nicer example and wants to sell me their beater, right?

On a side note, I was talking to my non pinball playing father last night and he ended the conversation with "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!". I almost $hit my pants. I took it as a sign that i need to get the game. I have no idea what we were even talking about prior to that. lol.

That is correct, you can adjust the screw at the bottom of the assembly, it still happens on mine every once in awhile, but pretty rare.

Anybody ever noticed that after youve put over 2k plays on shadow, when you start the game, the sayings arent always said. Mine for example, for the longest time it just quit saying the two sayings when you start a game, it would literally just be the piano or a long laugh. I thought the sound roms were going bad, so i took em out and cleaned up one by one, and it didnt change anything. I had over 3k plays on it at the time, and I reset the cpu, and the sayings came back every game, however I just hit over 2k plays again, and they went back to not saying them everytime you play the game again, wierd I dont know.

Maybe it is like a credit dot but a way to judge plays.

Huh?

You might want to contact Troutfarm. He did mention selling his other one.
http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/fs-nice-shadow-with-clear-coated-pf-no-sanctum-wear-4500

Sorry to bump my own question, but thought it might have gone unnoticed with all the recent activity. Anyone who has removed (or installed) Mongol warriors have any thoughts on this?

I don't believe you can safely remove them without taking off the ramp, unless you want to bend the plastics up far enough to get an open-end wrench under there. Of course there's that chance the plastic could break, but they are fairly durable.

You only have to loosen the screws a little to slide the Mongol out, but the one on the left side of the ramp would be a real pita, if at all possible.

Just wanted to share a few progress photos, as I'm nearing completion on this pita project.

Tonight's goal; Get new legs and mounting plates installed, got the back ones done anyway 'till the rum slowed me down. And before anyone says anything, I have soft foam strips running on the backside of the cab protectors so they don't dig into the decals.

IMG_0823.JPG IMG_0832.JPG

Here's a few overall pics for now, I'll post more when it's completely done and probably post a link to an album for those interested.

IMG_0826.JPG

IMG_0829.JPG

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That's looking sweet! I also have the front 3 flashers purple, I have them lit with purple LEDs, really pops them the proper color. Nice pic of my translite too, it's hard to photograph. I'm gonna put it in my thread since I'm trying to get one or two more people.

Thanks! I believe I got the idea from seeing your pics. I didn't know you could get purple flashers, I'll have to get some. I had the backboard domes also in purple, but they looked too washed out with led's and incandescent bulbs so I put the orange back on.

Your translite looks great, btw. I had to mess with the led's to get the look I wanted. I have 2 greens behind the "Shadow", maybe a bit too green, but of course it looks a lot better in person.

For anyone that's done LEDs for the GI, I got 36 of the GI bulbs swapped without too much trouble by unscrewing each fixture from under the playfield. But there's one GI fixture burried under the right ramp that seems virtually inaccessible from under the playfield (at least with the standard harbor freight socket wrench or the various pliers I've got in my toolbox). Is there a secret to getting at that, maybe an alternate tool people have successfully used, or do I have to go at it from the top, removing the large brick plastic under the right ramp (which would appear to require removing the right Phurba and at least part of the ramp as well)? Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

You mean the one remaining incandescent bulb in my game? That one?

Yes, as I was cursing at it last night I thought I remembered reading a post of yours about the one bulb you weren't able to reach. Sorry to hear that I found it too!

I can finally post in here, as my baby has arrived!!! Been a long time coming!!

To answer my own question, the GI bulb under the right ramp is replaceable using this "1/4 inch Drive Universal Joint" angle attachment for your socket wrench, $5 at Home Depot if you don't own one already:
Universal Joint.jpg

This attachment was also handy in replacing the right ramp flasher (accessible but a real PITA to get out with a standard socket wrench).

It was still a bit of a hassle to get the screw out and then back in again after swapping in the LED, so if you don't already own this or a similar tool I would only recommend doing this if you're anal enough about this kind of thing that it's always going to bother you a little bit that you only converted 97% of your GI to LEDs. I'm that guy, so I'm glad I made found a suitable tool for the job and got that last LED installed.

Got my shooter chromed and I replaced the beat up coin door.

chrome.JPG

Thanks Aurich. I'll have to investigate a bit more but I think you are on to something. My gate for the battlefield is stuck down due to a faulty switch (still still waiting for the replacement) and the ball always gets stuck on the battlefield kicker arm which I can't move as the battlefield isn't activated. Maybe that's the issue. Only just back from holiday so will investigate more this weekend.