I have made the tentative decision to trade my MET Pro for a Shadow and a Pinbot (plus a little cash). The only two things with the Shadow that aren't good? Missing one Dagger and has some Sanctum wear. How easy/hard is it to repair wear on the Sanctum area? I'm no strange to an airbrush, so I'm all for painting and mylaring over it.

Sanctum Wear.JPG

easy fix but the dagger may be a hard find GL.

Re: the dagger, what exactly is missing? If it's just the decorative Phurba "topper" for the diverter, those are available:
http://www.planetarypinball.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=PPS-03-9249P
http://www.ministryofpinball.com/en/game-specific-items/bally/the-shadow/the-shadow-phurba-dagger.html

If the entire diverter assembly is missing, that's a much bigger deal, and you'd probably have to hope to find someone parting out a Shadow.

Here's a thread discussing various Sanctum restoration options:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-shadow-inner-sanctum-repair-tips

Hi. Is there a way to tighten the yellow shooter on the mini playfield ? I played T.S at a friend's house and noticed an immediate difference. His shooter does not sway sideways as much as mine when moving it left and right. If I place my hand ontop of my shooter I can rock it sideways a bit. Just like it needs tightening or something beginning to get worn. His is more firm and won't budge and lean as much as mine. There probably should be some flex but mine is definatley too much.

The arm is linked 90 degree and goes straight into the coil.

Help please. I can't see any evident tightening nut.

Thanks
Matt

It's just the plastic Phurba. I was honestly thinking of just casting my own with the good one that's already there.

And thanks for the resto link. The wear in the pic I received from the guy looks like it was already covered with mylar. In that case, I'm tempted to get the mylar off and do a really thorough job on the repair of it.

I have a small issue. The left slingshot fires when the sanctum magnet throws the ball. It doesn't really affect anything but is mildly annoying. Any ideas on the cause?

Probably the band on the slingshot too tight or the leaf switch blades need adjusting, they will be too close together and it will randomly fire.

Flippermat, let me know if you find a fix for this. All the shadows I have ever seen have the sway back and forth, but would be nice to have it tightened up.

Thanks, I'll check that out.

Woo - got a Shadow!

Question about the left Phurba ramp...With the dagger set to diver the left ramp to the left, the ball tends to go up and isn't really...Uh...Smooth. It sometimes rolls UP the wireform a bit. Does that mean I need to adjust the diverter slightly? If so, is there any good "writeup" on adjusting and tinkering with them? They work fine, but that sort of DESTROYS the flow of that shot.

E: Also, the soundtrack of this game is RIDICULOUSLY good. I keep humming the main theme.

Yep. Think it's one of the best pinball-sound packages out there. The vicious laughs are also great, but my favorites are the spacy "Hotel Mode" sounds combined with the whispered "concentrate" callouts and the best sound ever in pinball - the "electro-crackling" noise when hitting the shots in the bomb defusing mode
And it gets even better with PinballPro/FlipperFidelity speakers, especially the thunder effects on MB start are seriously impressive with the speaker upgrade.

How much of a bear is this game to teardown? I am considering trying to repair the minor sanctum wear on mine. It's got mylar over it, but this game is just too good not to have in perfect condition. There is no wear on any of the scoops (which blew my mind), but even the minor Sanctum blemish is annoying me as a result!

Mine does this too. I tried messing with the wireform positioning but it didn't help. Happens so fast during game play, it's hard to see what is actually going on.

OK - if it's not just mine, I'm not touching it. Those assemblies look scary to mess with.

It is not that bad. I am about a month into mine and almost done. As soon as I get my wire forms from Chestnut and get them put back on I am done. I tore it down all the way to nothing and this was my first full shop/restore job. Putting new armatures on the diverters tonight and then patiently wait for a phone call to pickup wire forms.

Mine too, but only if I perfectly hit the shot with speed.

I think it might be that the ball is coming out of the solid ramp a little to high, hit's the metal "hoop" above the ramp exit and get's slammed onto the wireform so hard that it slightly travels upward.

It's not really a problem, but it does kill just a little of the smooth flow of the rest of the game.

11037474_10152702299321814_4911260558352194434_n.jpg19119_10152702299026814_5384895408825796916_n.jpgThe Shadow was one of the easier shop jobs I've done. Once you remove the battlefield, you'll see the playfield isn't too complicated. The wireforms look scary but they aren't really tough to piece together. I think I had to unplug 13 connectors below the playfield in order to remove everything. Painter's tape makes good labels for loose plugs. Stripping the entire playfield gave me a new appreciation for the Design. It's just a well thought out machine in every aspect; layout, unique diverters, high risk/reward shots, music, dots, and maintenance friendly.

Repairing the sanctum isn't bad either. I used a wood epoxy. Put a little extra on and in one hour it had set enough to sand level. I let it dry for another 23 hours. Mixing the paint was the hardest part. Let the paint dry overnight then hit it with clear from a rattlecan. After another day of drying, I used progressively fine sandpaper and then Novus to buff it to a shine. Color isn't an exact match but it's pretty darn close and you would have to strip the playfield to see the transition lines. I put a piece of Mylar over it to keep it pretty forever.

Is there a way to protect the Battlefield plastic from the arm smacking into it? Mine has a buuuunch of microcracks on the top.

I thought I saw a Cliffy or something similar once, but i'm not turning anything up on a quick search. I'll edit if I can find it.

New member to the club! Picked up my Shadow on Thursday and still need to unload it from the van. I'll be performing Sanctum repair and full tear down shop job.

I'm beginning to wade through this massive thread, but had a few questions.

1. Has anyone installed one of those playfield protectors? What are the thoughts on those? Wondering if I should install one since I'll be doing a tear down?

2. OCD LED board. Should I install one and what's the price?

3. I'm missing a ring cover, are those available?

Thanks.

Definitely! I'm a big fan of the board in my Shadow -- the fade effect alone is well worth the $150 price.
http://ledocd.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=8

Note that if you don't already have LEDs in your Shadow, you should avoid the more expensive "non-ghosting" bulbs. Unnecessary since you get that from the LED OCD anyway, and the non-ghosting circuitry apparently intefers with the LED OCD fade effects. I used the "50/50" SMD bulbs from Comet Pinball and am very happy with the result: http://www.cometpinball.com/product-p/1smd5050.htm

For what it's worth, here's my post on LED bulb selection: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-shadow-club/page/28#post-2259482

Unfortunately I think they're relatively hard to find -- you'll probably need to post a WTB and/or keep an eye on eBay.

I got mine with one of those already installed (the PF is perfect). My first thought was ripping it out the moment i come home with the machine. But wanted to play so it stayed, and it played well. Still didn't like the thought of plastic covering the PF, on the other hand the Sanctum is perfect and it will be exposed without the protector, so it stayed.
As of today i have to admit that I love it, it's great!

Always hated these things, don't have any plans on getting more protectors. But if you don't want to clear your PF it is a very valid option for games that have serious wear problems like Shadow.

Thanks for the OCD info. Thinking I'll buy one for No Fear also, that would look so much better with those effects too.

After reading through some of the looong threads (german & here on pinside) about those protectors, I concluded that a majority of people were happy with them if you were looking for an easier and cheaper option to Clearing. I ordered one for my shadow recently and it's sitting waiting for me to finish cleaning her up, get the rest of the LED's in, rerubber & shine the wireforms. I think I'll be done in a week or so and will say something regarding my opinion of it. Difficult decision as I don't entirely like looking at the cut-outs around switches etc.. but I played A BOP 2.0 recently with one and hardly really noticed it. I guess worst case it's just a few hours to tear down again to remove it.

Does Shadow really need protectors? The playfields I've seen have a pretty good thick coat of factory clear. Only pf wear issue is the Sanctum which we all know about ...

Yes, only the sanctum is heavily prone to wear. Also the mode inserts tend to slightly wear at the edges, but that's no different than on other pins. The saucers and everything else is pretty well designed and typically doesn't wear excessively.
Protectors (e.g. Cliffy style) for saucers are not needed.

After a month long tear down here it is..... all new plastics, mantis ramps, Chestnut platted wire forms and chrome gun, LED's, new diverter assemblies, new flippers and assemblies, few mods, and a really good cleaning. Will probably add chrome lockdown, legs, and side rails after I get some play in.

20150630_091921_resized.jpg

20150630_092131_resized.jpg

Finally I solved the problem. I had to replace the motor control board A-16120. I bought a second hand one in internet from a TZ.
No all works fine

I really like that cityscape decal on the back of the playfield. Where did you pick that up?

Just joined the club! When going to pick up the game and play testing it smoke started to billow up from the playfield. A coil had locked on. Need to figure out what happened so I can start playing this bad boy. IMG_2437.JPG

Does it matter how the red/black wire are attached to the coil? looking at a pinball ninja video I can see that they are reversed.shadow.JPG

If there's no diode between the lugs it doesn't matter if the are reversed

Hello Shadow fans.
I'm about to join the club this Friday so I need some advice.
What are the critical points of The Shadow pinball.
I know about the playfield wear above the lock magnet. I need to know what else do I have to check before buying it.
Thanks in advance.

Check out post 1595 and following.

What was the cost of plating the wireforms? Will consider doing that when I shop my Shadow depending on the price.

Thanks.

The coil is upside down in the pic you posted. The wires look correct to me.

Sorry, the second pic the coil is upside down. Check the transistor.

A few days ago, the wall target/ magnet effect stopped working correctly. I checked the switch and everything was ok. When I tested the magnet the ball is not been thrown up. It just stays on place and I got the message bad opto 33. But the opto also works as it should.
I think the problem is very simple. The guy that owned the shadow before put a decal over the wear of the magnet lock. And also the rest of the playfield is clearcoated I can feel a very small dent under the decal, it is just enough that the ball stays there and won't be released by the magnet. When I put a smal poker card over the decal, the ball will be captured by the magnet and everything works as it should.

So what do you guys think should I do?
I am not experienced enough to fill the dent and clear coat it, so I do not trust myself to remove the decal to look under it. Should I simply put mylar over the decal and hope that it will be then flat enough so the ball won't be held anymore?

I had no repair experience either, but look at my post #1617. It would be real simple for you to fill that divot in with wood epoxy and then just tape off the area and sand it level. Just cover it with the decal if you don't want to try clear coating it. Very simple to do.

Joined the club today!
I have the LX2 ROM now on it and I can see that LX6 is available as the latest.
Where can I find a changelog for every change up to LX6?

http://www.planetarypinball.com/mm5/Williams/tech/roms/shadow.html

also interested in the price for plating the wireforms, those look so nice and i've already got everything torn apart. doing new flippers, pop bumpers, scrub down, sanctum is painted but not cleared, and all LED's going in.

Super fun project as its my first pin.

Thanks @someoneelse

Send your forms + $160. They look amazing.

Go ahead and email him and get yours sent in while you got everything torn apart. It took less than 2 weeks. Depends on how many he has pending also, because he does it in batches.

I've got enough interest in my alt translite to do another run. If anyone needs one send me a PM, it's getting harder to do these now, one of these days I'm just not going to do them anymore.

Looks fantastic I was wondering where this translite came from lol count me in, i'll PM you as well.

Anyone have any pics of the black plastic shroud (battlefield) that goes around the mini playfield? Pinball life said they could prob 3d this if they had some pics and measurements.

I thought about using Shape ways for a few parts to have extras. Never thought about it for that part...

Gawd knows they would sell a few if they remade them. Nobody makes em and lots of machines have cracked ones.