Baltimore, MD
Following this. One of my fav pins.
(Topic ID: 233801)
Linked Games
Theatre of Magic
Bally, 1995
Topic Gallery
Blasting with some ground glass, then a bit more wet sanding made short work of removing the old paint from all the door components...
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The coin return/slot bezel is beat up a bit more than it first appeared, this will get filled and sanded smooth before texture is applied...
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Parts cleaned up, just a small amount of detail work until they are ready for the next step...
20190204_210653 (resized).jpgMight I add a suggestion you probably already thought of? When I did my full tear down resto of ToM I added Reese Rails. These things are beautiful and add superior support and rigidity to the play field over the soft original rails. My play field hardly flexes when I rack it out to do anything.
Quoted from GreenMachine19:Might I add a suggestion you probably already thought of? When I did my full tear down resto of ToM I added Reese Rails. These things are beautiful and add superior support and rigidity to the play field over the soft original rails. My play field hardly flexes when I rack it out to do anything.
Good point, I always replace my rails but I make them myself, many were originally made with "finger joint" splicing and have weak/broken spots that do indeed cause playfield flexing.
Here is a set I made for my last resto..
Old back panel and rails on the bottom, new replacements on top...
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The last few parts are coming out of the ultrasonic...I use the small Harbor Freight model, it works ok but next time I am buying a bigger one...
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I finished sanding the door frame and small bezels, they dont need any further attention until painting so they are put off to the side...the door skin and larger bezel require a bit of repair before they are ready for paint, first bit of bondo is applied
..not much is needed here...
20190205_111939 (resized).jpgRepairs are done, parts are primed...White may seem like an odd choice for primer when the top coat will be black but I do it this way because the next step is to apply the texture and I use a black laquer for that so the white base allows me to better see the texture build up...
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The texture will hide any remaining imperfections on the door assembly...meantime, back at the ranch, the coin door wire harness needs to be cleaned...nothing to serious here just some warm water, purple power, and a toothbrush... Hand cleaning the harness like this allows me to inspect for any loose wires at the connectors or anything else that might look suspicious...luckily it just took a few minutes to wash and dry the harness...
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After...
20190205_182557 (resized).jpg 1 week later
Not much progress this week as we got a tremendous amount of rain and I had to deal with some flooding on my property. Today I get back to painting...Im doing 2 coin doors at this time and got the second one sanded and primed...
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Texture is applied by putting a can of black lacquer in the freezer for about 40 min. Once the temp has dropped down you can just slightly depress the nozzle and the lacquer will "spit" blobs of paint....I test it on some cardboard to get the pattern correct...
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Then begin to apply it to the parts, the texture is built up in layers with some drying time in between...here is what it looks like after the first pass, more will be built up until it looks about right...
20190217_172622 (resized).jpgQuoted from cosmokramer:The last few parts are coming out of the ultrasonic...I use the small Harbor Freight model, it works ok but next time I am buying a bigger one...
I used that same model for years. It finally gave out last year and I upgraded to a 10L model. I am way happier with the larger size.
After a bit of time to dry, additional coats are built on top of each other....
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Here is an original coin door, I want to get as close to this pattern as possible...
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This looks pretty close, I wont know for sure until I spray the top coat....
20190218_211139 (resized).jpgVery cool! I recently watched an old video done by Bryan Kelly with a slightly different technique. Good to know if I ever try it! Thanks for posting that.
Quoted from 2pupPinz:Very cool! I recently watched an old video done by Bryan Kelly with a slightly different technique. Good to know if I ever try it! Thanks for posting that.
Yeah, I knew of the Bryan Kelly method too. Start with the flatter black, and build up the texture with the glossier spatter...
My concern with the method currently being done in this thread is that what do you cover the texture with in the end that doesn't then take away from the flat with glossy splatter texture effect where the glossy looks shiny over the flatter base coat...
Here is the video that I used years ago when I did my Theatre of Magic coin door.
Quoted from nickbuol:what do you cover the texture with in the end that doesn't then take away from the flat with glossy splatter texture effect where the glossy looks shiny over the flatter base coat...
Like these?
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I have never seen the Bryan Kelly method, maybe next time I will give it a try...
Reversing the order may give it texture without the high gloss, all depends on what you’re looking for in the end product. Looks great cosmo! Just enough shine and texture. What flat paint did you use, and how many coats of flat over top? It appears that the flat doesn’t completely adhere to the lacquer splatters and achieved a great look!
Quoted from cosmokramer:Like these?
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I have never seen the Bryan Kelly method, maybe next time I will give it a try...
Those images are pretty small and don't enlarge well, but they look good. Not sure how you are getting the mix of flat and gloss if you are texturing first and then covering later, but if you are getting good results, that is all that matter.
1 month later
Got a good portion of the shop remodel completed so I am starting back up on this project...I fabricated some temporary metal leg stand offs to protect the new decals so I can get the new cab on some old legs....
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Now with the lower cab on some temporary legs I can begin the process if moving the guts from the old cab to the new...
20190408_193112 (resized).jpgQuoted from cosmokramer:I bought this about a year ago... a Mirco playfield ..[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
Those colors are much different than your original playfield. I can't even read the text in the blue area (under the flipper area). Not a big fan of the color choices on this repro playfield.
Quoted from Tommy-dog:Those colors are much different than your original playfield. I can't even read the text in the blue area (under the flipper area). Not a big fan of the color choices on this repro playfield.
There were 2 original Theatre of Magic playfield manufacturers. One had colors more like the general world considers to be best/most correct (TAG or Thomas A Grant playfield), and the other is more purple, had moire issues in the middle of the playfield with the gradient dots (might actually be a Micro printing issue), and the lettering was fuzzier (Sun Process playfield).
I went around and around with Mirco on this and he basically just said that the only film that he could get was the less desirable one (at first he didn't even know that it wasn't the "right" one so to speak).
To the casual player it will still look amazing.
Here is a link to HSA Pinball's site where it shows the difference between the two...
http://www.hsapinball.com/HSA_PINBALL/hsa072914tomdiff.html
Again, as the only option for reproduction TOM playfields, it still will be very nice. As a purist, if I was doing it on mine, I would send my playfield away to be touched up and any repairs made to keep the TAG version. Of course I am totally scared about doing so as it takes many months, and even with all of the photos and videos in the world, I feel like I would forget how to put it back together. LOL Plus my wife won't let me spend $1000 on the playfield that she says only has 1 flaw with it... Oh well. This isn't about what I would do, this is about what cosmokramer is doing and how gorgeous his TOM will be in the end.
Quoted from nickbuol:There were 2 original Theatre of Magic playfield manufacturers. Here is a link to HSA Pinball's site where it shows the difference between the two... http://www.hsapinball.com/HSA_PINBALL/hsa072914tomdiff.html
I never knew that there was 2 different TOM playfield colors.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/theatre-of-magic-club/page/46#post-4130873
This is a link to my comments on the Mirco playfield last year when I got it....basically its not what I would prefer but it is whats available....im not a purist, just want the game to look "new" rather than "original"
Quoted from cosmokramer:https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/theatre-of-magic-club/page/46#post-4130873
This is a link to my comments on the Mirco playfield last year when I got it....basically its not what I would prefer but it is whats available....im not a purist, just want the game to look "new" rather than "original"
Like I said, yours will still look beautiful and most people won't know the difference. It is still a reproduction of a real TOM playfield.
Heres the mess Im starting with, everything needs to come out and get sorted for cleaning...
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Playfield is removed....
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Looks like one of the wires from the transformer burned up in the connector and was soldered together...no tape, no heat shrink tubing
20190416_204047 (resized).jpgGutted the lower cabinet with the exception of the looms and a few small parts, the serial number and other decals will be reproduced
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The back box has just the boards and knocker left in it. The game played ok when I got it, but I found what I believe to be a fix for the game shutting off during play. The board was made in 2016 so its obviously an aftermarket part...
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Looks like I should send the boards out for service...
All the removed parts are put on a table , I will start to clean and evaluate these parts as I install them in the new cab...
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Preparing to place another order, heres whats on hand and ready to go...
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I have the Ron Kruzman playfield kit....
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I saved a few pieces of an old oak desk I got rid of awhile back, ripped it into some stock to fabricate a new set of playfield rails...
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I will get these cut,sanded and laquered over the weekend.
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I added a bit of felt to the angle on the rotisserie with some spray adhesive as I prepare to install T-nuts and pop nails into the new playfield before securing it on the angle with some clamps...
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Randers
Quoted from Phantasize:Looking really good. Is it safe enough for the connectors to be exposed to the water? And maybe a dumb question, but do you use soap?
Yes, soap is used...I was a bit skeptical myself but you can read up on it here: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/cleaning-playfield-harnesses-vids-guide/page/2#post-4966893
After the washer is done I will hang it out to dry...
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Old decals that have been scanned for reproduction...
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Transformer cleaned with some simple green and an old toothbrush (cleaning wires and housing only, do not saturate transformer)...
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The last few usable parts are removed from the old cab, I will keep it on hand for reference then probably repair, repaint and decal it before offering it up for sale...
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The new cab is brought into the shop and ready to be re-populated. Yes, much to the dismay of most pinsiders I painted the bottom of my cabinet. After doing it this way for a few customers I started to like the way it looks and it really makes it easy to keep clean...
20190504_160217 (resized).jpgQuoted from northerndude:flashinstinct makes a good set of cabinet decals, it a full set.
Thanks, If Im not satisfied with my own repros I will take a look.
First test run with the silkscreen. I thinned the ink and gave it a try on an extra back box display I had on hand. The screen worked great, was very easy to use and the text looks great....my only error was to not use enough ink to fully cover the screen, leaving some missing content.
Overall I am happy with the test run, this is the first time I have tried to screen print since high school graphic arts class....
20190505_144205 (resized).jpgQuoted from cosmokramer:First test run with the silkscreen. I thinned the ink and gave it a try on an extra back box display I had on hand. The screen worked great, was very easy to use and the text looks great....my only error was to not use enough ink to fully cover the screen, leaving some missing content.
Overall I am happy with the test run, this is the first time I have tried to screen print since high school graphic arts class....
[quoted image]
I was in the same boat... I test printed on brown paper I had lying around 
I just put a ton more on.. and dealt with the cleanup. Much easier than having a failed print (I had one of those too) and having to repaint and try again.
I think printing some with the screen on some dummy material first can also help.. as the screen gets filled and uniform.. then do your precious print with the screen already staged.
Quoted from flynnibus:I was in the same boat... I test printed on brown paper I had lying around I just put a ton more on.. and dealt with the cleanup. Much easier than having a failed print (I had one of those too) and having to repaint and try again.
I think printing some with the screen on some dummy material first can also help.. as the screen gets filled and uniform.. then do your precious print with the screen already staged.
Yes, there is a learning curve, I imagine after doing a few I will get the hang if it. I practiced a bit more and then screened my backbox...
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It came out pretty good with the exception of the top right corner....
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User error...since I already have the head decaled I am not going to sand it off and repaint. Im confident that I can fix the area up by hand to make it look acceptable. Now that I have the screen on hand, next time I can print the warning before decaling in case I need to remove and reprint.
Head and lower are put together as re-population begins, all the cab components have been cleaned/refinished as needed. Populating a new cabinet takes a bit of time as there are obviously no screw holes to identify parts locations but for the most part its a fairly easy process...
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I will let the screened ink dry for a day, then tape the blemished portion off for touch up...
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Im am almost as far along with the cab as I can go until the new connector for the transformer arrives. I cant do to much with the head yet because I still need to service the boards, rebuild the knocker mech and paint/install the corner brackets so I guess its about time to move on to the playfield. I made a support for the rear of the playfield and am preparing to tear down the top of the playfield, a few hundred pictures will be taken along the way...
20190505_101649 (resized).jpgQuoted from pintechev:Not factory...
Maybe a ball hang up issue? I will pay close attention to this area when assembling the new playfield.
Didnt get as much done today as I had hoped but the topside is almost clear.
20190505_210903 (resized).jpgEnjoying this thread! Miss my TOM
Topside is clear, playfield is flipped over to start the bottom. This is the first chance I will have to examine the playfield mechs for any broken parts or curious hacks...
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After removing the boards and some of the larger mechs I am able to take more detailed photos. Now I have acces to the playfield so I can make any notes or draw routing maps with a sharpie...
20190506_185208 (resized).jpgReally enjoying this. Been 3 years since I did my TOM and have to say... you are about to get to the fun part. This machine has the most interesting mechanism I've restored. Truly clever. The trapdoor VUK Trunk mech that can take balls from both ends as well as accumulate is really quite a feat.
My two suggestions are minor but I think helped my TOM a lot. One: Get some LED lights to brighten up the trap door. And two, polish the inside of the trunk mechanism. You see the column when you are shooting the trunk shot, and it really ups the game when you see shininess inside the trunk. Factory has just dull metal, but shiny makes it almost look like a sword or some 'magic' object inside.
Finally, my one troubleshooting tip when you get to it. Make absolutely sure you have a clean roll from the trunk to the trap door. The under PF habitrail that connects to the trap door mech needs careful alignment so balls roll freely. Mine would occasionally have a ball 'just not quite make it' over the transition. It was such an intermittent occurrence that I thought the problem was an opto or other electronics. After lots of chasing gremlins finally found out it was insufficient fall in the habitrail.
Love what you are doing and wish I had your Cab. But stoked I have my retouched PF 
Would definitely like to see how you take apart the Trap Door mechanism. I'm really bad at this stuff, and that mechanism seems hard to take out and service?
My own ToM has started ejecting the balls from the trap door straight down between the flippers. Not always, but for periods of time. So i can have 50 games where it shoots to the right flipper, but the all of a sudden shifts just enough to the left that no flippers can touch it. And this may last for 20-30 games before it "corrects itself" again.
I have some play in the VUK coil, so i am thinking this might be the problem. Probably have also been covered in the ToM owners thread, but i wouldn't know where to start in souch a big thread. So following along here, hoping to learn a thing or two
Quoted from Skarv:Really enjoying this. Been 3 years since I did my TOM and have to say... you are about to get to the fun part. This machine has the most interesting mechanism I've restored. Truly clever. The trapdoor VUK Trunk mech that can take balls from both ends as well as accumulate is really quite a feat.
My two suggestions are minor but I think helped my TOM a lot. One: Get some LED lights to brighten up the trap door. And two, polish the inside of the trunk mechanism. You see the column when you are shooting the trunk shot, and it really ups the game when you see shininess inside the trunk. Factory has just dull metal, but shiny makes it almost look like a sword or some 'magic' object inside.
Finally, my one troubleshooting tip when you get to it. Make absolutely sure you have a clean roll from the trunk to the trap door. The under PF habitrail that connects to the trap door mech needs careful alignment so balls roll freely. Mine would occasionally have a ball 'just not quite make it' over the transition. It was such an intermittent occurrence that I thought the problem was an opto or other electronics. After lots of chasing gremlins finally found out it was insufficient fall in the habitrail.
Love what you are doing and wish I had your Cab. But stoked I have my retouched PF
I appreciate the advice and tips. I will pay extra attention to those areas.
You are correct about the engineering of the mechs in this title, very interesting...
Quoted from Phantasize:Would definitely like to see how you take apart the Trap Door mechanism. I'm really bad at this stuff, and that mechanism seems hard to take out and service?
My own ToM has started ejecting the balls from the trap door straight down between the flippers. Not always, but for periods of time. So i can have 50 games where it shoots to the right flipper, but the all of a sudden shifts just enough to the left that no flippers can touch it. And this may last for 20-30 games before it "corrects itself" again.
I have some play in the VUK coil, so i am thinking this might be the problem. Probably have also been covered in the ToM owners thread, but i wouldn't know where to start in souch a big thread. So following along here, hoping to learn a thing or two
I will spend a little extra time documenting the removal/service of the trap door mech...
I got a few PMs asking about remembering where all the different size and style post go when repopulating the field. I like to photograph each post or standoff, including its mounting hardware, showing where it came from...
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It also allows me to make notes right on the pic, this one reminds me that the post near the trunk was missing....otherwise I would have thought I misplaced/lost that post...
20190506_131354 (resized).jpgThat post tends to be missing because it is the one that can pinch the ball if the trunk catches it in that dead space to the right. Some take the post out so you can't strip the gears in the trunk gearbox. My guess is some op took it out of yours preferring some hampered gameplay to a baked trunk. On mine, what I did was scoot the trunk mech as far left on the screws as possible, and then put this post in tapped all the way to the right. The key is that the ball not be able to stop the trunk from turning. The other key is to smooth over that T nut that is just to the left of the post. On mine, it formed a saucer that would naturally hold the ball in the worst position.
My solution was to sink the T nut deeper and smooth it over. I've posted it before, but here's a picture... I embedded a dime on top of it, and the applied thick clear on top so the ball rolls out smoothly. I thought it worked with the theme, and it improved the mechanics of this area. I know you are working with a New PF so this might not be so practical, but to those doing touchup and clear, this is an option. Just take care the screw from the bottom is not too long or it will push out the dime!
IMG_9825 (resized).jpegQuoted from Gotfrogs:I had so much fun playing this game at a bar in Houston. It is at the top of my list for my second pin.
[quoted image]
Did that happen to be Einsteins?
Are you doing anything special to the Mirco playfield before installing? Does it need any clear coating? Holes drilled?
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