Cleveland, OH
What takes your vote on the most complicated games to restore?
Currently working on a DM and the frustration has prompted me to wonder!
(Topic ID: 121640)
Linked Games
Baywatch
Sega, 1995-
Blackwater 100
Bally, 1988
-
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Williams, 1993
-
Demolition Man
Williams, 1994
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Earthshaker
Williams, 1989
-
Hook
Data East, 1992
-
Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Stern, 2004
-
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Williams, 1993
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Which ever one I happen to be shopping lol.
Out of the ones I have worked on, Earthshaker seems the biggest pain. Having to remove so many ramps and the Ca/Nevada hardware just to replace the rings kills me every time. Hate trying to get Ca/Nevada back together due to lack of space.
Marbella
STTNG without a doubt.
Kettering
The 2 toughest I've done to date are No Fear, and TAF
Quoted from PinballOrphanage:The 2 toughest I've done to date are No Fear, and TAF
I didn't think either one of those were all that hard.
Quoted from skywelker:BSD was the game that made me realize why operators don't take care of their games. However, I'm working on ES right now and I think it is just as bad, maybe worse.
ES sucks because you have to lift the playfield out of the hinges to slide it forward to actually get to anything.
I haven't found any one pin to be difficult to shop at all. I think the only pins that ended up being a PITA were some Williams System 11 and Gottlieb System 3 where there is Loctite on every post. Yes, I know the soldering iron trick, but it still takes a long time for something that should be very quick.
I though NF was pretty simple...lots of metal rails but ramps are pretty easy.
WH20 is more of a chore to me getting the upper ramps in the right order...but not too bad.
I DID NOT like DH...plenty of screws/nuts hiding under things that need to come off before the intertwined ramps, which are a little tricky.
Quoted from ralphwiggum:you have to lift the playfield out of the hinges to slide it forward to actually get to anything.
Can I just say a big THANK YOU for that tip. Never thought about it but that makes getting at the back sooo much easier. I was planning on taking the whole playfield out, but now I can leave it attached to work on it still. What do you rest the playfield on to stabilize it when you pull it forward?
Quoted from pinballholder:Can I just say a big THANK YOU for that tip. Never thought about it but that makes getting at the back sooo much easier. I was planning on taking the whole playfield out, but now I can leave it attached to work on it still. What do you rest the playfield on to stabilize it when you pull it forward?
I use a long 2x4 from the playfield to the floor. Trying to find a spot on the bottom of the PF to brace it on can be difficult. If you're shopping the game, your better off pulling the entire thing and putting it on a rotisserie
I remember shopping out a lotr a few years ago and it seemed like it took forever to get it back together. I don't remember it being very complicated, but something about it made it drag on and on.
Quoted from mountaingamer:I don't remember it being very complicated, but something about it made it drag on and on.
For me that "something" was the game next to it that I played during "breaks" 
Quoted from pinballholder:Can I just say a big THANK YOU for that tip. Never thought about it but that makes getting at the back sooo much easier. I was planning on taking the whole playfield out, but now I can leave it attached to work on it still. What do you rest the playfield on to stabilize it when you pull it forward?
There's plenty of room to slide it forward and rest the back of the play field on the pivots in the cab. I use a 2x4 under the front to prop it flat and keep it from resting on coils... A lockdown bar does the same as a 2x4...
Indiana Jones was awful for me but it may have been because it was my first full teardown. The minifield, temple and drops sucked. The worst thing was having to undo a bunch of crap and redo it all over again to get the minifield just right. I tore Corvette down topside really quickly and got it back together in comparison.
Grimsby, ON
Quoted from Eddie:Starting My first STTNG restore and its not that bad and I have done many restores on the posted list.
I havent Restored a Stern WPT or DE VND but working on them at Modern Pinball I believe it would be hell to have to tear either down.
Taking it apart wasn't that difficult . Putting it back together was another story.
Anyone have any good tips besides the taking photos and bagging parts together to keep it all straight. I can plan, plan, plan and document the heck out of it and I still have a moment where I'm like "really?!?!?!?"
Quoted from pinballholder:Can I just say a big THANK YOU for that tip. Never thought about it but that makes getting at the back sooo much easier. I was planning on taking the whole playfield out, but now I can leave it attached to work on it still. What do you rest the playfield on to stabilize it when you pull it forward?
A better long term solution is to replace the factory hinges with the later slide-out-and-tilt system. It won't work on all games due to placement of mechs where the slides need to be attached to the PF. Sometimes GI gets in the way, but it's not difficult to relocate. Here is a pic of a T2 changed over:t2.JPG
Quoted from Turboderf:Black Water 100 is a real pain in the azz
I've done one of these myself, and all of the gates and spinners on the upper level are connected down to switches underneath the main level with thin wire tie-rods. Of course each one is unique, so keeping track of their placement is a bee-otch!
Add in the fact that most of the playfield is covered with thin, easily breakable vacu-formed plastics, and you've got a perfect recipe for intense aggrivation.
Later,
EV
Warsaw
6 months later
POTC has a bear of a playfield when it comes to disassembly. Getting that awkward double-ramp-plus-upper-playfield off is the first challenge, dealing with the left ramp and spinner is the next and then there's still a layer or two of plastics to get through.
Most playfields I've come across can be handled in phases, but with POTC, it has to be everything at once.
Corvette and Baywatch for me.
So frustrating I wrote down all of the steps to make it easier in the future.
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