Joined the club today, finally after looking for a nice one for months. This is a special game. It’s obvious the first time you plunge the ball. They don’t make them like this anymore. That ramp is bonkers!

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Thanks! This one was a partial restore about 3 years ago, with CPR gold pf and all new ramps, mechs, plastics and rubber. So I just need to add Cliffys and update a few things to my taste. The cabinet is clean with very little wear so that wasn’t restored. So far it’s a great pin. The spinning lamp base wasn’t flush with the pf, and the tiger magnet was too low too. The ball was getting stuck on it. I adjusted them both and it’s playing well now. I got 6 of 7 jewels. Great game with plenty to do, but still feels like the end is feasible without packing a lunch. Fantastic ramp with so many diverters and loops!

Welcome and congrats! I just joined a couple weeks ago myself and I love this pin. The design is just clever as hell. The use of diverters and the innovative mechs make this game stand out in any collection. I understand why this game is such a grail pin for many collectors now. It really needs no mods. But you can change or upgrade a few things. I went with the purple base for the spinning lamp. I don’t know if I have the upgraded bazaar scoop, but since my example was restored only about 3 years ago, I’m going to guess yes.

Enjoy your new game, and that’s a sweet lineup you have!

They don’t, unless something changed. If you can connect with a Pinsider in Canada, or in Germany, maybe they can help you out. That’s what I’ve done when only Pinball Center had the part I needed.

No video mode. No third flipper. No kickback. No auto plunge. Yet one of the best games of all time!

Definitely shouldn’t kick out SDTM, but that’s what mine was doing when I first bought it. I tried bending the hood and made it worse. I replaced the scoop and it’s been perfect since, kicks to the center of right flipper every time. Just my experience. You may be able to adjust yours. Good luck!

I know your initial effort didn’t fully correct the problem, but bravo for the photos and detailed info you shared. Those before/after pics looked like the problem was perfectly corrected. I hope you were able to adjust the scoop again and fix it. Thanks so much for sharing your hard work, it’s still very useful and might save others some time. I had to replace my scoop, after which it works perfectly. I would also mention that I was able to temporarily adjust the trajectory of the old scoop by simply placing a small, postage-stamp sized piece of thick tape on the underside of the scoop hood. The ball would hit the tape and it seemed to take just enough speed off the ball to send it to the right flipper. Worked for a couple months until I replaced the scoop.

Can anyone confirm for me if all the bulbs are 13v under the spinning lamp? I read the manual and still can’t tell for sure. I think they are.

Thanks!

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Thanks for the tip! I actually just replaced the red spinning base with a new purple one, so no need to clean it yet. I’m not sure the bulbs are 6.3v though. I know at least one under there is a flasher and is 13v, and I am pretty sure the old bulbs I removed from under there were 13v, but I’m not 100%. Will a 13v bulb work in a 6.3v socket? I know the other way round could be a big problem. A 6.3v bulb can melt or fry in a 13v socket. I made that error once on an X-Men. Hopefully someone has replaced these recently and knows. Is there a way to tell from the socket itself or the wiring?

I was lucky to find a TOTAN with the genie modified to have lit eyes and red glowing ball in his hand. Lights up only when genie is hit or activated in a mode.

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I’ll have to look at it, it was already modified when I got it. I’m guessing a clear plastic marble with a hole drilled and tiny LED behind or inside it.

That is one awesome, glossy genie! I’m not sure you want the ball slamming into that guy now! What about a fanny pack made of those blue cushions to absorb direct shots? Great job, I need to get the courage to try that!

Congrats! TOTAN is one of the best ever.

Man, that genie has a serious physique. Dude is ripped.

I love new cab decals but I’m not quite there yet. So I’m trying Radcals to bring my cabinet up where my Mirco playfield is. My first try on the head went fairly well. Next the cabinet...

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Thanks very much! I haven’t done the rest of the cabinet yet. I’m glad to know I should start with the front. That’s so funny too, I bought 2 sets of Radcals, one for my TOTAN, and one for my FT. So that’s next up after this one! One question, if a black Sharpie is used on the corners to get a glossy black paint look, would sanding and painting the corners be best? Is the Sharpie just more convenient, or do you prefer the look to black paint? Just curious. Or were you referring to the edges of the Radcals? Thanks again!

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks very much! I will try that method soon and post pics.

Finally finished my RadCals project! Cabinet restored. It takes some work but the glossy look and durable material is awesome. Next up is Fish Tales!

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Thanks, Matt! Would love to hear how an all-MRS TOTAN plays! Fast and smooth I bet. I have MRS switches on several pins now. Great alternative to the standard micro-switch.

Are you leaving the Cliffy off? I bought one for mine, but it wouldn’t allow balls to eject after I installed it. Too tight. Even bending the scoop hood upward didn’t help. So I took it out. I put mylar around the scoop instead.

Mine isn’t the Mantis either, it was just the Cliffy. It still wouldn’t fit a ball after install. But my playfield is a CPR reproduction. The scoop hole may simply be too small. I even installed 2 different scoops to see if that fixed it. No luck.

That’s for sure. I probably average only about 50-75 plays a year on each of my pins, although the first year I tend to play them a little more. So although I install Cliffy protectors on most of them, I may not need to.

Trying something a little different from the original art. I need to trim the bottom yet, but it’s fun to change it up.

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No worries, it’s just on my machine, so nobody else has to embrace it. Plus, I still have the original, and I’m sure at times I’ll use it again. It’s easy enough to swap them out, to try something different.

Thanks to Chris Royalty for the brass skill shot bracket to match the brass on my TOTAN. The new skill shot looks awesome!

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I went with Radcals on mine and I really like how they turned out. New decals would look awesome too. I haven’t tried decals yet.

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I like the black with gold flake.

There should be a couple large stand up targets directly behind and at the base of genie. He simply pivots back when struck by a ball and triggers the switch. Check those switches in test mode and see if they register. There should be some discussions about the drop magnet mech in this forum history and people here can help with suggestions.

I suddenly lost my right sling, it wouldn’t fire with either switch triggered. One look at the original switch and I figured that was the problem, and both switches are daisy chained, so with one down, they both were. Replaced it and moved the diode to the new switch, works perfectly again. Nice when it works out.

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Is Pinbits in biz? Weren’t they AWOL for the past year or so? I ordered orange plastic protectors from Pinbits for my White Water and never received anything.

Mirrors look great! I have the blades that match the back wall too, which are consistent. I have some brass on mine and mirrors would really make it pop. Add these to the list!

Yep, same here. I was looking at them for my TOTAN too. $250 from Pinball Decals and $300 from Cointaker. I’m not sure how they compare in terms of quality. The last pair of standard mirrors I received from Pinball Decals were excellent. Cointaker is usually awesome too.

I bought a backup scoop from Markharris2000 a year or so ago and replaced mine that I couldn’t get right. I tried bending the hood and everything else. I replaced it (pretty straightforward) and it delivers the ball to my right flipper every time.

I do the same thing on mine, if 2 1/2 or 2 1/4 fit snug and have good tension, no reason to put 2” rubber on too tight and cause phantom hits. TOTAN is a fun game to customize, with so much color. My slings are yellow with purple posts lit with star post LEDs. The purple with clear posts looks great.

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I ended up replacing mine, but my prior scoop did this and I found an easy temporary solution. I put some thick 2-sided tape on the underside of the scoop hood. The ball would make just enough contact on the tape to alter the kickout from SDTM to the right flipper. It’s easy and worth a try. It solved my problem for months. You just need the right thickness under there, so you might need to experiment with it.

Nice upgrade. Mine had a brass-colored lamp that I added jewels to.

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Excellent restoration. I have a restored TOTAN also. The more these are restored and returned to the pinball galaxy the better!

They look like Radcals. I put them on mine also. Glossy!

I order these little guys from eBay I think for a couple bucks each. They come in handy for pinball mods with many themes (Elvira, CSI, TWD, BSD, etc). Only bummer is they ship from China and take several weeks to arrive.

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Looks good already!

Ruby is always a nice way to grab two quick jewels. I try to spin the lamp more than I should, as the bonuses can be huge if you get tons of spins. It does make ball control dicey. I can collect all the jewels about every third game, I agree it’s not super hard. But I always lose the second half of the wizard mode, the battle with the genie for the princess. I just can’t free her from that bottle! Such a great pin.

Question about the bazaar shop keeper for you TOTAN people. Is it really his last one? Sometimes I think he’s just working me.

I had no clue either! I will try that tomorrow! Thx. Moooo.

Looks like a beauty, congrats! When I bought mine in 2019, I felt guilty for spending so much. Now I would probably decline an offer for twice that. This game is always fun for people to walk up and play. It’s a fantastic design. One of the most satisfying single ramps to shoot over and over. Who doesn’t like battling the genie?

Finally! I had faced the genie many times, but he always beat me on the second wave. I paid attention to the rules this time and with a new strategy, rescued the princess from his evil clutches.

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Tilt Graphics makes nice blades that are very popular on this game. Maybe more than any other game, I see these same Tilt blades on lots of totans. Another cool version is by Flyland. See pics below…
Gold mirror blades look amazing on TOTAN too, but are about double the cost.

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Yikes. The creases are refund material. I like Pingraffix too, I have their blades on a couple pins. But I do feel Tilt makes the highest quality, packages them well, and they apply great and look awesome. I would email Pingraffix, attach pics of your blades, and ask for store credit, for down the road. Then order the Tilt version!

I buy these little guys off eBay. They usually come from China and take a few weeks to arrive, but are like $3-5 each. I have a bunch of them I use on BSD, Elvira, etc.

I also recommend these brass skill shot brackets from Pinball Plating. Very sharp!

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Is there a certain Cliffy version for the scoop that works well for people? I have a Cliffy for it, but it didn’t work with the scoop hood clearance being too tight. I tried bending the hood but nothing worked, I mangled the hood and installed an entire new scoop. Cliffy didn’t work with the new scoop either. So now I just use Mylar there until I can find one that doesn’t impede the ball.

The harem multiball happens on my TOTAN every once in awhile. I get the sneaky scoop from the pops, so the more shots to the pops the more I see that infrequent multiball. Cool when it happens. I don’t think the secret ball lock happens on mine. But with 3 ball lock lanes, it’s pretty easy to lock em up.

Mine goes into the pops.

Happy holidays pinheads. My wife got me some pinball socks. Lol. TOTAN, JM and Bad Cats. At my age, gotta expect some socks!

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I installed Radcals 3 years ago. I was happy with the result. The color was slightly different, but I think mine are even different from the recent version depicted above. So over time, they could be closer or further from the original, depending on when they are printed. Certainly, we see color variations in decals too, depending on manufacturer.

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I agree. Should be black and light blue, not brown and turquoise. I see it now. That’s unfortunate.

Mine came with the eyes lit and a red fireball in his hand. I wanna do the custom paint job others have done and posted here.

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I saved this example. The adhesion promoter is a good idea. I might try this.

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