I see your problem, your cabinet is upside down.
Quoted from Phantasize:Did you spot the error then??
Of course he did....the PF is missing.
I have to wonder if the potential problems with dimpling under star posts doesn't have more to do with a softer sub-strait (plywood) than the clearcoat?
Quoted from cosmokramer:Hahaha...what a dumbass!
Hey, no smoke right? I always say that no smoke is good smoke.
Most insert lights working, there are 2 that are not. Probably just need to be reseated in the lamp holder.
All switches test ok by hand, however it appears that I have a lot of adjusting to do to get them to work with the ball...
All solenoids that are in place are functioning properly...
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Whats pretty slick with the adjustable miter stand for the base of the rotisserie is that you can pitch the playfield perfectly to 6.5° for testing....
Quoted from Atari_Daze:But its magic smoke!
Thanks for reminding me George, a quick thank you to pinsider MagicSmoke for scanning and printing me some replacement decals and coil wrappers. He also scanned the playfield and cut some custom mylar for the trunk and basement areas...
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Im really happy with the quality of the new plastic set...I have seem some (Taxi, for example) that are way off, but when comparing these side by side they look fantastic...
I ordered 40 new GI lamp sockets, the originals are pretty flakey with bulbs flickering on and off, or lighting up just a bit. I know they can be "refreshed" by soldering on a jumper wire but at this point in the rebuild I dont think its time to cheap out...
Also ordered a new lock down bar.
May I ask where did you purchase the Bally/William's style lamp sockets from? I usually purchase used ones from parted machines for replacement.
Quoted from Mikespinball:May I ask where did you purchase the Bally/William's style lamp sockets from? I usually purchase used ones from parted machines for replacement.
https://www.pinballlife.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=a-11905
Not much to report. It was very challenging to get the popper for the vanish hole in the right position. It wanted to shoot the ball right into the gate, then the ball would dribble back into the saucer. I finally got it in a spot that seems to work 100% of the time with the playfield at 6.5°
Next I was testing the trunk. I completely rebuilt the gearbox, but when I went to test it, there seems to be more noise than before I touched it.
So next up is to remove the trunk gearbox, crack it open, and see whats up...
Time for the service rails...dirty and dark...
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Before I clean and polish them I need to get the old polishing compound off my buffing wheels...
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Some low grit abrasive with a light touch tears off the very tip of the wheel...
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Leaving a brand new surface to use....
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Then the usual steps are taken to clean and buff the metal to a nice shine...
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Playfield is finally ready to be placed in the cab...all lamps have been tested (more on that later), all switches have been adjusted and solenoids tested.
Back panel and hangers have been installed, and the playfield slide assemblys got a little grease applied to them.
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Thick construction paper is used as "paper blades" to protect the inside of the cabinet, they are simply stapled in place at the top...
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Then the playfield is easily slid in...
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That is one nice looking ToM!! Nothing tragic about that machine anymore. Damn i wish i had your skills. My own ToM could really use it.
Quoted from Phantasize:That is one nice looking ToM!! Nothing tragic about that machine anymore. Damn i wish i had your skills. My own ToM could really use it.
Thanks for the kind words, this project has taken a lot longer than it should have but I am finally getting to the end...
Quoted from cosmokramer:Thick construction paper is used as "paper blades" to protect the inside of the cabinet, they are simply stapled in place at the top...
Excellent work and a very nice idea I might copy for my own next restoration...
2 plastics are missing from the sealed set I bought, and one of the ramps from fantasy had the wrong decals sealed in the bag with it and the other ramp is missing decals all together.
The rubber set is missing 2 small rubbers...
I guess I need to start opening these parts and inspect them as soon as they arrive....
On to the ramps...the ramp guards are regrained in the sane fashion as before...
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Hardware is cleaned and polished individually...
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Big difference in the new clear plastic vs. 25 yrs of service...
Test fitting everything together, i will have to take the ramps back out to put on the missing decals and ramp protector. It has been quite a challenge to get everything to slide into the proper location. Using parts from several different sources (cabinet built by myself, a playfield from Mirco, ramps from Starship and plastics from PPS ) means there is a lot of tedious adjustments to get the fit and finish where I want it...it really is amazing how tightly these playfields are packed in some areas.
Still lots to do, but starting to look like progress is being made...
20190826_203904 (resized).jpg
I truly believe that your ToM has to be one of the nicest and cleanest ToM's in the world today! And there are some nice ones out there! But the attention to detail you put in your work is incredible!
It looks stunning, and i really like how you keep it true to the original, and don't put mods all over the place
I may have missed it if it came up earlier, but how are you lighting the machine? Are you using full or partial LED? Color matching inserts? Would like to hear your thoughts about this. Personally i like incandescent for GI, and occasionally color matched LEDs for inserts. But if i had a pristine newly restored machine like yours, i would consider using LEDs for the GI as well.
Quoted from Phantasize:I truly believe that your ToM has to be one of the nicest and cleanest ToM's in the world today! And there are some nice ones out there! But the attention to detail you put in your work is incredible!
It looks stunning, and i really like how you keep it true to the original, and don't put mods all over the place
I may have missed it if it came up earlier, but how are you lighting the machine? Are you using full or partial LED? Color matching inserts? Would like to hear your thoughts about this. Personally i like incandescent for GI, and occasionally color matched LEDs for inserts. But if i had a pristine newly restored machine like yours, i would consider using LEDs for the GI as well.
I wanted it to look clean, uncluttered and as original as possible. The only "mod" may be color dmd, im not sure yet. I have an original Cherry dmd that has no burn at all, I am going to use that first and then make a decision when its done.
As far as lighting, I have really gotten away from any color GI these days. I appreciate the classic look of incandecents, and will be using frosted sunlight comet bulbs to get close to that original look but still get the benefits of LED over incandecent. I am using the same sunlight bulbs for the inserts, there again I may change some to color match the inserts but I want to avoid anything that is overpowering.
TOM has such a brilliant color scheme, I want to highlight it with good light, not cloud it in color.
Quoted from dmacy:The Brass really makes your work pop! Nice work Cosmo!
Coming from you, that means a lot. I used a lot of tricks and techniques I learned from studying your documented playfield swaps. Part of the reason I like to document my restorations is because I enjoy getting PMs from people thanking me for outlining a process in detail, which allows them to take a shot at it when they otherwise would be a little apprehensive to try.
Quoted from Atari_Daze:That brass kicks ass! I had Chris do some brass for my Atlantis, it really made the theme pop.
Yeah he does great work and is easy to deal with.
Any thoughts on brass plating the ramp flaps? I did the ramp flaps too and it looks really nice. Brings some of the brass to the middle of the playfield instead of being a bit heavy on the right side (not that it looks bad by any means).
Quoted from nickbuol:Any thoughts on brass plating the ramp flaps? I did the ramp flaps too and it looks really nice. Brings some of the brass to the middle of the playfield instead of being a bit heavy on the right side (not that it looks bad by any means).
Possibly, I was hoping that brassing the newton ball and captive ball as well as the spirit ring would help balance the bling...I have a short list of things I may do/change once the game is playing, I want a chance to get the rails and glass on, clean and install the lamp board, and get her all lit up.
Once I can see the results of what I have done so far, then I can make a decision on what to tweak.
Bulbs and ramp guard showed up yesterday, I also needed a full set of ribbon cables for another project. I will put the brand new ones in the TOM and use the old ones in my project FT. Kudos again to Marco, I ordered parts at 11AM on Monday morning and got a tracking number by 2PM. Package arrived yesterday, about 48 hours after placing order.
Well, I reached out to Larry at Starship Fantasy about the missing decals. He got back to me very quickly, apologized and has replacement decals on the way.
Thanks lrosent345
Starship Fantasy is great! So so happy all those hard to find ramps are being made...and fairly priced too!
Quoted from 2pupPinz:Starship Fantasy is great! So so happy all those hard to find ramps are being made...and fairly priced too!
Yes, its nice to see a repro part that is actually better than the original.
Moving to the lamp board...nothing fancy here. Just clean it up, new warning decal, new bulbs etc...
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Typical burned connector, this will be replaced...
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This set of tools makes this a breeze...crimper was about $25, I got the wire strippers out of a storage unit bought at auction, not sure what they retail for...
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New glass, new PPS next gen translite, new speaker panel, new trim kit...
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I left the protective film on the front of the speaker panel to protect it. I have a feeling I will be removing the panel several times.
Fantastic work!
Played it yesterday at the Asheville Pinball museum. What a great game. Kinda mixed feelings as I really like most of JPOPs games.
Quoted from cosmokramer:Time for the service rails...dirty and dark...
[quoted image]
Before I clean and polish them I need to get the old polishing compound off my buffing wheels...
[quoted image]
Some low grit abrasive with a light touch tears off the very tip of the wheel...
[quoted image]
Leaving a brand new surface to use....
[quoted image]
Then the usual steps are taken to clean and buff the metal to a nice shine...
[quoted image]
Do you have only good experience about this cleaning method? I heard that's risky, a small grit can move to the buffing wheel, then can cause deep scratches later.
I have buffing rake, but low grit method looks more effective.
Quoted from Davi:Do you have only good experience about this cleaning method? I heard that's risky, a small grit can move to the buffing wheel, then can cause deep scratches later.
I have buffing rake, but low grit method looks more effective.
I try to check the wheels pretty good before I use them again. I have never had it happen to me, but I can see how its possible.
Quoted from jsa:Where did you get a new speaker panel?
I bought it about 2 years ago, I should have the receipt somewhere
I will look into it and let you know
Quoted from jsa:Where did you get a new speaker panel?
https://www.pinball.center/en/shop/pinball-parts-by-game/theatre-of-magic/4185/display-cover-for-theatre-of-magic?c=0
When I bought this (and some whitewater boulders) I had to get a german mailbox and use a mail forwarding service because at the time they did not ship to the US...I dont know if that is still their policy.
Installing new side rails. This is done with two sided foam tape applied in the inside of the rail....
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Then I apply a second tape because I have had the backing tear off while pulling it in the middle of installation. That sucked...
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Then I pull about 6 inches of backing off and fold it so it faces down...
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Then simply put the rail in position and install the bolt but dont tighten it, pull on the piece of backing that is hanging down while pressing the rail in place...
Easy...
Quoted from cosmokramer:. I need 3 of these new balls..
Hehe....then I added the 4th ball to eliminate the "pinball missing" error im getting...
Its been awhile.......
Got pretty lucky on this one as far as no real issues during the first test games. I let my wife play the first few games, she has a certain "knack" of finding and breaking anything that is not rock solid...this is true on any pinball, really, she is amazingly talented at causing shit to come apart. She failed to destroy anything (yet) and reported that the game was lightning quick and smooth as can be. I played a few games and agree, it does play better than any game I have done so far. The shots are smooth as silk, flippers feel and shoot great....slings, pops, basement, vanish lock, trunk etc all working properly.
I forgot to adjust the eddy sensors, so the trunk wasnt always registering hits but did manage a multiball
Lots of fit and finish to do, but very happy so far...once the ramp decals come, and I tie up a few loose ends I will take it outside for some proper photos...
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