I painted mine along with the couch, ramp switch holder, spinner, all hex post etc anything else that was satin black. Painted in a purple.
Done a few other mods whilst I was at it.

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Hmmm interesting lineup there

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Been a member of the club for a few years. Want to get a price check. What are these going for these days? Real nice HUO. Has color DMD, NVRAM, all cliffys, plastic protectors, manual, beefier inside cabinet corner plates, etc. thanks for any input. Mìke

i've seen them go above $7k for nice ones, but prices seem to be all over the map.

Really nice upgraded examples are selling for $7-$8K+ depending on upgrades i.e. color dmd, glass, mods, powder coating, PinSound, speakers, etc...

In todays pricing market, I would think somewhere around 7k.

Nice work!

Mind sharing what brand of paint you used, and how well its held up to bart sliding back and forth on it? Just some enamel in a can?

I have always hated that tan DD Bart base, as well, and I considered a decal at one point. I actually like the idea of having it powdercoated. Now to decide on a color.

oh duh, he poweder coated it

I think he did paint. It gave me the idea to powdercoat.

Nice. Is that a bowling ball ripper on Simpsons.

It has been almost a year. All the painted and powder coated(yellow monorail and ramps and all external parts. All parts are holding up really well. No chipping. I thought I might have had an issue on the garage door, but no paint has come away. Bart is sliding along nicely.
I used Dulux Dura max in a can. Also I used an automotive gloss clear coat over the top(not 2 pac just in a can) At least 3 coats of each minimum was applied. Probably only 2 cans of each.

Its some kind of Simpsons puzzle that my Girlfriend's son made when he was a kid, found it when they were moving...works perfect for the machine...

As pinbits isn't selling neither the stainless or clear hole protector (https://pinbits.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13_19&products_id=74 ) is there anyone else that is making these?

Last time I spoke to cliffy he referred me to pinbits aswell.

I recently ordered a full set, contact him direct.

You mean cliffy?

Yes,Cliff Rinear

HUO versions of this game seem to have asking prices of $6-$7.5k. Its a big range.

What's it worth? Well depending on your local market and how nice the game is that's up to you. How patient are you? I think if someone listed a TSPP at above $7k no matter how nice they'd maybe take awhile to find a buyer at that price. [Edit - recent pinside archives shows I may be wrong on that]. Other variables include how many toys are on it (that you'd have to remove) and how hacked up it is. People love toys on this game and some people hack up the harness and do other bad things to add them. Or maybe you find value in the toys and don't mind the added price.

My personal opinion is the only modifications which add value in this game are Cliffys, LEDs with an LED OCD Board (otherwise the LEDs don't work correctly and the fading effects are missing) and a color DMD or pin2dmd. Everything else is just stuff on the game I wouldn't pay a premium for.

The market is hot and prices are crazy but if you pay attention you'll see some stuff starting to sit awhile. Many people (not buying) comment like "great price" and "this will go fast" but they aren't the ones opening their wallets and many games are sitting at the inflated prices.

I agree with most of your assessment although there are some nice mods that are worth paying for i.e. side blades or mirrors, pin sound board, upgraded glass, and speakers (just my opinion). I have seen a few HUO games sell for north of $8K that had all the items u listed + nuclear rails and powder coating. Considering what a NIB Stern premium sells for these days $7K seems like a steal for this game.

I haven't seen any mods/toys that "hack up the harness." Can you give an example? Most I've seen have adapters or plug directly into the aux plug.

My game came with the backbox panel led lighting behind the translight (can't remember what it's called, but the towers on the translight glow different colors). The brackets for the fluorescent tube were modified to accommodate, but that's the only mod I can think of that may be considered a hack.

I would add a PinSound board to that list.

Maybe 4 years ago when I was TSPP shopping I looked at a number of examples of TSPP. I saw a couple of toys wired up with those "wire taps" to controlled lights. I just remember seeing the tap the first time and learning fast to ask a seller in advance if I saw toys in the photo how they installed them. Maybe some remembered wrong but I'd get responses like soldering, splicing etc.

So to be fair based on that experience I was making a (probably overly broad) comment about mods in general versus mods that are "mass produced" for Pinside sales which may be more reversable.

Does Pinsound make the original sounds better/clearer or just adds new stuff? Or both?

Download my TSPP Pinsound package. It makes makes this good game great.

Both....its a massive sound upgrade

That’s good to know, thanks

Love to share a piece of Baptiste his mix again

wow! is that pinsound or something else?

edit: ok its pinsound.

I also run the Baptiste mix and it's amazing.

Anyone know where I can get a custom shooter rod for this game. I’m thinking Homer but open to other ideas.

Also, what’s the best strength (color) spring to use for this rod? I have blue but need to replace it and just noticed there are several options available.

Does it still have all the audio cues though? I've been in the fence about it. I'm so tuned in to hearing the otto eject and upper playfield eject that I'd be lost without it during multiball. I gotta have those cues that the ball is coming. I also won't miss the constant hurry up music from comic book guy

Pick yourself you favorite World of Springfield character. Rip the head off and drill a hole for the end of the shooter rod.

I have Abe on my game and I put Krusty on my brother’s game.

Nice. Might have to get myself a pinsound. Definitely good for a change up. How many different sets can you have saved on the pinsound and how easy to switch between them.

You can have as many as will fit on the USB drive you use. Takes 1 second to change between mixes using volume buttons. At least that's what ive read. Never had the need as Baptiste mix is PURE GOLD. He spent over a year on it and it shows. I'm *STILL* hearing new stuff when I play.

The Scandell mix is great too. I have the original, Baptiste, and Scandell on one thumb drive and occasionally cycle between them with the volume knob on the headphone kit. These new packages give a whole new experience to the game. The Pinsound board with upgraded speakers also sounds fantastic—particularly with the new mixes.

Hi Dr_Gonzo,

Yes I changed the sounds of otto eject and upper playfield eject for other sounds of better qualities, but they are well audible and distinct.

Many thanks Only_Pinball and Pinpeet for your feedback and your appreciation to please you with my mix!
Scandell has also worked well on it and offers a different mix than mine, which has the merit of offering diversity in the player’s choice. The main thing is that now Pinsound allows the improvement of the sound by several choices and several mix and that’s the main one.

As Spelunk71 says, having all the versions and trying everything makes you happy.

For anyone else having issues with the Otto hole, be it during multiball or normal play, I have finally fixed my issues and have yet to see a missed ejection after lots of testing. I even had 3 balls stacked up back there and all were jettisoned perfectly.

Lermods recommendation of shortening the throw of the plunger helped for a while, but I would still get traffic jams during multiball.

So of the following I am not sure which in particular solved the problem, or if all contributed but I thought I would share:

First I removed the bracket and filled the screw holes with quickwood and sanded smooth, then I removed the ramp and plastics above the hole and, with the table upright in service position, held the ball in the hole and aligned the plunger to the center of the ball and marked the holes were the bracket sat. Drilled the new holes (drill stop and brad bit) and reinstalled the assembly. The end result was the plunger had moved closer to the hole almost a screw hole's width.

Next I cleaned and waxed the hole as part of the shop job I did on the game.

I then replaced the sleeve, the plunger with the same part number, and the coil with a stronger one.

https://www.pinballlife.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=090-5036-ND

https://www.pinballlife.com/saucer-kick-out-plunger.html

End result has made me WAY happier with the table and hope this helps someone.

Scandell did a great job as well. I put a shaker on my machine and it works with Baptiste.

I know this is an old post to dig up, but it's an interesting bit of TSPP trivia and a feature I'd really like to see restored.

Back in the Usenet days, TSPP designer Keith Johnson used to post frequently in rec.games.pinball. He said Homer's head was originally designed to follow the ball around the table - whenever a target or switch was hit, Homer would look in that direction (I have no idea how they handled multiball).

It was indeed William's patent on Rudy - where Rudy's eyes track the ball around the table, that caused Stern to nix the idea for Homer. So Homer was nerfed from cool, almost but not quite unique feature into a sorta confusing element that may as well be static. That patent is more than 20 years old now, and I have no idea if whoever held it at the time renewed it or not, but it's fairly likely the patent has expired. Would be really cool if Stern released one last ROM update with Homer's head working as originally designed.

The mechanism is a flipper style mechanism that I'm guessing wouldn't allow for his head to track as I don't think you can get enough resolution from a flipper coil. I'm guessing it would have to be a stepper motor mechanism similar to the most secret machine hole on Willy Wonka.

That's an interesting point, I have no idea what the granularity was supposed to be, but probably better than simply right or left. I'm pretty sure on Funhouse they used 2 solenoids for Rudy's eyes, getting left, right and center. But a stepper would be a really good way to implement that. Either way though you're right, it's probably a bit more than just a ROM swap.

Hey guys,

Going to see a tspp this week for a possible purchase. Pictures attached of the machine. Looks very good from the pictures.

Couple noob questions:

-how do I check the number of plays?
-other than wear under lock bar, wear on ball plunger and wear on holes, anything i should look?
-can I take a color dmd from one of williams 90s pins and plug it on a stern?
-can I take a pinsound card from one of williams 90s pins and plug it on a stern?
-led bulb, i use frosted 2smd cool white in all my williams pins, whats the best choise for a tspp?
-whats are the commun mods to purchase ?

Thanks

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how do I check the number of plays? You can check in standard audits, but they won’t be accurate if code has been updated.
-other than wear under lock bar, wear on ball plunger and wear on holes, anything i should look? Does couch hold and recognize balls, garage stay open, Otto kick out working, tv working?
-can I take a color dmd from one of williams 90s pins and plug it on a stern? Yes, but you need different harnesses.
-whats are the commun mods to purchase ? We have a few at lermods.com

First thing I did, and highly recommend is emailing Cliffy http://www.passionforpinball.com/protectors.htm and get on the waiting list for a set of his protectors.

The ramp in the garage is unprotected and dangling in mid air as the ball actually hits a smaller metal ramp first and is launched into the plastic portion, so they can get pretty smashed up. Its unseen, but its less a cosmetic issue and more a functional one because the shot could become impossible after enough damage. Those ramps seem to be very hard to find as well.

based on the pics Id say its unlikely, as that machine looks well cared for.

Obviously check under the batteries because whitestar boards are pricey these days.

I had a surplus of cool frosted white as well, and seeing as the game is so blue I tried it in mine, and I am happy with the result. My only complaint is it can kind of wash the ramps out a bit when the GI sits directly underneath. When I get the gumption I might go back through and depopulate the GI in those sections and bit.

Great game, cant stop playing it, you wont be disappointed.

Check if the cabinet has been redecaled. The repros have the background characters much brighter than the original direct print. It is hard to tell from these pictures, but it looks like the sides may have been swapped. You can decide if it is a positive or negative for the value.

I'm in the process of fully cleaning out my TSPP but I would like to lift out the entire PF and get it on a rotisserie. When I took a peek at the wiring it didn't look like there was an easy way to remove the lamp wiring from the PF. Am I stuck lifting it out with the wiring still attached? Or is there some trick I just overlooked?

new owner!

lcd color dmd and pinsound ordered!

side blades? mirror or graphic? which one are the best for a TSPP ? any pictures anyone?

i want to order the ocd too but it seems like they dont ship to canada?

what people use for LED bulbs? frosted non ghosting 2smd cool white or warm white?

Hi there and welcome! I'm actually fairly new too but I do have a little bit of information on your questions.

Most of the folks here seem to prefer a graphic side blade. There's a very popular one that looks great that was created by sillyoldelf but I'm not sure if these are still being made. You may need to ask if someone has extras they haven't installed.

Regarding LEDs there is this thread:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/tspp-owners-what-is-the-best-led-kit-for-inserts

The short version seems to be dependent on whether you plan to install the LED OCD board because those work best with regular LEDs. If you aren't planning on it (and I think you should based on the amount of fading the bulbs do in this game) then go with the non-ghosting LEDs. The Comet 2SMD cool whites are your best bet and there are folks within the thread that are very particular in color matching some of the colors but not others. I'm still debating exactly what to do here myself but I'll post what I end up doing.

I just got these for side art:

https://www.tiltgraphicsinc.com/product-page/the-simpsons-cityscape-gameblades

You'll never know number of plays because they are reset when the software was updated and can easily be reset regardless.

You can move a color dmd with a software change - and you'll need to make sure you secure power from the appropriate place as well which will be different than the Wiliams pin since the hardware is different.

If you want to LED the game - make sure you look at the LED OCD board. This game has a lot of fading effects that you lose when you upgrade to LEDs and the game looks odd without it. That should be your FIRST mod. I recommend you buy it before you spend money on toys that don't actually improve the game or make it look better. I used regular 2smd cool white comets in my TSPP and then the LED OCD board to prevent ghosting and preserve the fading and original effects built into the game.

Last tip - there is a great tutorial on youtube I linked below which teaches you to play this game. Spend as much time watching that video and learning the rules as you can. It seems many people are too obsessed with modifying this game that they don't even bother to learn the rules and PLAY IT! I've met several that have fully loaded games but don't know the rules and it surprised me.