It's just white plastic. I plan to paint mine.

I got it for my project TZ which I'm waiting for the cold weather before 'crossing over in to the zone' and starting. That's a story for another day.

I see the power ball in my pin is light tan with brown crackle like marbling. For some reason, I though it was more blue/purple mother of pearl colored. Not sure where I got that idea, I checked the power ball in pinball arcade which is also light tan. Well maybe I will paint my shooter rod mother of pearl colored anyway.

Blue behind the translight logo is a nice touch.

This area? Grabbed a few angles from inside my project TZ. Waiting for cold weather before starting.

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Searching around online, I found the first prototypes were made in Feb/March '93, and release was April.

The latest manufacturing date I saw on www.ipsnd.net was 8/23/93, but I didn't click every single one, and many don't register there.

That wouldn't work in those days. No OP would want to buy a new pin that had already been on location for a long period elsewhere in town.

The factories probably ran nights and weekends. Imagine the endless truckloads of cabinets, playfields, circuit boards, and parts that arrived daily.

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How may GI bulbs in a TZ playfiled?

Need to get some parts lined up for my project.

Thanks, that's a good start. Some 'cool white frosted' LED should brighten it up, and their bluish tint should match the theme.

Next I have to decide on black or white rubbers.

Anyone have comparison pics?

I floated some black and white oil paint on water, then dipped my white shooter rod to get a swirl effect.

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More pics plz!

If you scroll up, you can see the image of his back box. The doorway is white on the side of the back box, not orange/yellow.

I didn't realize the trough had four switches to count balls. That does make sense, to determine if the gumball machine needs to be loaded.

It seems that with extra balls installed, I would just get the power ball less often. No fun in that. I think I will stick with 5+1.

Nice touch!

Nice! I love the spiral back wall and bright lighting. The two tone clock is an eye catcher too.

Need to do something to make mine unique, but fixing the clock is low on my long TZ project list, but the cool weather is coming, and I have ordered some parts, so it's high time to start. hehe

It seems every TZ that I play on location does not play very well, and I wondered if the TZ gameplay in Pinball Arcade was nothing like the real thing, but I recently played one that rocked, and I won a few free games. Now I know that TZ can kick ass in real life, and imagine once my project is done, I am going to be a happy camper.

Not sure. Never seen one before, and no results on google image. Post a pic here!

Ahh.. I was looking for a slot machine shaped topper. I had seen slot machine parts on other pins like Fester on TAF, but it's the first I have seen that. Pretty snazzy!

None. Gumball machines are whimsical childhood Americana from days gone bye, which fit the theme perfectly.

I know in TAF on Pinball Arcade they had to change Festers face because they didn't have the license for Christopher Lloyd's likeness.

Would love to hear other TAF inconsistencies!

Right. The end with larger connectors with the black and white wires goes toward the transformer and power switch box. Specifically the one at the very end of the line connects to the transformer and the one next to it goes to the power switch box output. Look closely to determine the end one since they are tie wrapped together. Looking closer I see one is male and one is female, so you can't go wrong.

On the other end, the flat connector with the red/black wires goes to the coin door harness near where the door hinges, and the square connector is not used.

It seems besides supplying the 120vac to the transformer, that cable supplies it to the coin door area where it is not connected. The hose covers the wires where they pass over the tilt sensor area and under the left flipper.

I think the fact that all the wiring is gone, is a deal breaker. Maybe there is a TZ out there that already has the items listed above and needs a populated playfield, but I would not start with that.

Spend that cash on a better camera.

http://www.pinballspareparts.com.au/03-8821.html

Maybe just go to the grocery store and buy a jar of something with a similar red cap, if your not that fussy.

Nope, no cover or holes for a cover. Looks like another difference with your early machine.

What is that yellow plastic under it? I have red.

OK, that part is the same. If you get bored, you can think of some fun way to decorate that plastic cover (without modifying it, since it is unique.)

Some would say it is worth the value of a nice TZ, minus the cost to repair it.

That being said, nobody wants to pay a lot for a project. They can roughly estimate what is costs to fix, however some fixes are not as easy as they appear, and other issues will probably be found once the initial items are fixed on a 23yr old pin that has not been maintained. Projects sell well at auction, but they get a cut.

Maybe $3200 as is, but shopped and repaired, you could get a decent price.

Wow, that black on black armor looks great!

Is the playflied angle set to 6.5 degrees?

Maybe the magnet is recessed and the ball is just sticking in the depression. (maybe during ball search, the magnet is fired, and that shakes it loose) If you try with the glass off, when you hit the right ramp, can you confirm the magnet is on?

There is a diverter that sends the ball over to the gumball machine VUK called 'gumball diverter'. Use test 4 (solenoid), number 6 -repeat. You will hear it open/close in the test and if you stand on the right side of the game and look between the ramps, you can see it flip.

If that works, then the switch in the right orbit must not be working. It tells it to open when the ball is coming from the right. Do a switch test to confirm.

The plastic from my 6/93 TZ has the same white area printed on the left side as that one. Two differences I see are that the blue used on mine is much darker (mine looks dark blue, yours looks sky blue), and mine has no part number printed at the bottom.

I assume mine is original, since it is warped and filthy. I got my busted/filthy TZ in a 2-fer deal last summer, so it has been sitting, waiting for the cold weather to start shopping. I spent last night cleaning metal ball guides, and the night before that on subways. I will be putting up high scores in a few more weeks/months.

Seems like it would show things down a bit. Info here:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/fa-twilight-zone-custom-spiral-ramp

How does it feel mechanically? With the power off, hold the rod that pulls it down. You should be able to push it down against the spring with medium resistance, and the spring should pop it back up freely. Maybe the coil sleeve is binding up, or the pin that the carriage pivots on is binding up. Maybe the coil bracket under the playfield came loose, and it is misaligned.

If not a mechanical issue, maybe one of the coil wires are not soldered on securely. You can test the coil electronically in the menu 'T-test' -> '#4 solenoid test' -> '#5 R.Ramp Diverter' - select repeat, and it should activate over and over.

I was just putting mine together and noticed that the moving the mini PF around applies torque to the rod for the carriage, and makes the tilt movement tight. I moved the mini PF position until the carriage tilted easily by hand.

It could also be that your rod is bent and applying torque which is binding it.

I assume that means when pressing the flipper button. I have never put a current clamp on one. I wonder what the other flipper measures when flipping.

While waiting for parts you could ring out the all the coil wires to ground, and to each other -

Unplug J902 and J907 from the fliptronic2 board, which totally disconnects the 4 flipper coils.

Measure resistance between a lug of each flipper coil and the cabinet ground and confirm it is open. (no shorts to ground or other components in the harness)

Measure resistance between a lug of each flipper coil to a lug on the the other flipper coils and confirm it is open. Check all 4 that way. (no shorts between coils in the harness)

The powerball is supposed to be white?? I like the patina on mine.

I have been telling guests that it's a 'marble', but ceramic would be correct.

Often the ball kicker on my TZ kicks the ball out of the trough, and the ball hits the post and bounces back in to the trough, and repeats until it finally it lands at the plunger after a bunch of tries.

Any experience with adjusting this??

Yup, gave the shooter lane ball rail a little extra bend. That did it. Thanks.

Right, BW DMD games with 3 coin slots were export games. My Fish Tales is the same, and still has the German instruction cards and individual slots for 1DM, 2DM and 5DM coins.

Re imports can have lots of hacks, heavy wear, bad cabinets, etc.

Bottom line.. As usual, don't trust photos when buying a pin. You have to see the game for yourself. That is the only way to confirm the condition/value.

That sounds great!

I don't bother with plastic protectors on any of my games, just large nylon washers in certain spots like the front of the slings. I guess if I had something super rare, and no plastics could be found at any price, then I would.

I notice the sun is a white circle between the letters T and Z in the last photo. On my cab, that is almost all yellow, with just a thin section of white at the horizon, but it might be the lights in that room, etc.

In the end, I would not stress about it myself, but maybe the merchant would give you a bit of a refund or credit if you brought it to their attention.

That would make this the third revival. Here is a short history if you don't want to read all the wiki pages:

The story of the accident that occurred while making the TZ film was interesting. I remember hearing about that when the film came out in the 80s, but did not know the details.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight_Zone_accident

Welcome to the Twilight Zone!

Standard pinball has been 3 balls since the end of the EM era. Manufactures pushed that on operators to increase revenue across the board.

TZ is one of the games with the extra ball button, which I could never resist, and set a bunch of 4 ball high scores. I disabled the EB button and just set it to 4 balls for consistency on my TZ.

Nice looking TZ, congrats! I'm always in too much of a rush to get a pin home to remember to get pics of the trip.

You get one for a few bucks + shipping...

http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/12-7082

Where does that connector go?

EDIT - OK now I see, it goes to that 4 pin connector.

DOH. I didn't even notice! The name is probably trademarked.

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When I got my TZ, the balls were stuck in the upper right 'robot shot' multiball lock. A part was laying in there, blocking them. Take a look around, and all will be revealed.

Maybe the slot machine kickout has an issue, or the VUK for the gumball machine does. The subways are clear, so when you stand the playfield up, you can see any issues.

The powerball sensor position adjustment is critical, and often the connector there can have cold solder joints.

Back to your original question. No, there is no reason the power ball should kick out of the slot machine any different after plunging it, than the other balls.

If you go to switch test mode and plunge it in, does it trigger the slot machine kicker switch like a standard ball?

Get a new one for $7.55

http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/20-9663-9

Is there a broken weld, letting the top of the scoop flex if you push up on it?

Do the optos all appear to be working in the test mode, showing the time counting?

Reflow the solder on the connector pins (header) on the board where they attach.

I have seen that statement many times, but don't agree. Mine was Red,Yellow, and Amber at the bottom when I got it, like pinball arcade. Also the original Bally flyer is that way.

I feel it is more aesthetically pleasing with the Yellow in the upper right. (breaking up the similar red/amber side by side)

We need Pat to settle this!

The parts list does show the yellow at the bottom and amber in upper right.

Probably failing caps in the power supply circuit they are connected to.

www.pinballsearch.com found some:

http://littleshopofgames.com/product/twilight-zone-speaker-panel-31-1420-50020/

Swap the left and right flipper button opto board as a test. They are identical, and you can see if the issue swaps to the upper right flipper.
Marco has the dual opto flipper boards in stock for $20 each if needed.

Yes, 2 optos. That allows you press the flipper button lightly and hold the lower flipper up and press the rest of the way to operate the upper flipper, which is handy for trapping balls with the lower while using the upper flipper in multiball, although not easy.

Your ramp looks like it is attached to the upper PF correctly.

Stole the day-glow plastic marbles out of a kids game called Tumble. They add some much needed color in my opinion.

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Fuse 106 through 110 are for GI and located in the lower left area of the driver board. That should narrow it down.

Nice mod!! Compared to the other pins in my lineup, TZ seems to be lacking some pizazz. Those interactive lights are just the ticket!

I hate coincidences. Disconnect the cables going to the clock and give it a test. (you can even disable the clock in the settings so you don't see clock errors when testing unplugged)

As you noted - the times when it shoots out weak, it is not all the way against the kicker arm.

Is the game level, side to side and at a 6.5deg pitch?

Does the switch have too much spring, not allowing the ball to settle? (sometimes they get gunky and stiff, which holds up the ball, and the switch needs to be replaced)

There appears to be some divet there, which is not helping. You may need to repair that also. (see threads here about repairing scoop hole wear)

To remove the coil sleeve, you have to remove the coil from the bracket, and the sleeve will come out the back side. (it may be very tight, indicating it is deformed. If the new sleeve will not go in, you need to replace the coil)

That's a good idea!

I bought one of those last year. The quality was good on these:

http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/31-1765-28

Right, comet has a lot of strange options. Don't end up with something too dim!!

I used this on my FT, which is enough for 4 legs:
5ft x 1ft (5 Sq/ft) Avery SW900 Supreme Gloss Orange Vinyl Car Wrap Film

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/fish-tales-casters-club/page/20#post-3512631

I am thinking of doing my TZ legs in white.

You might find 1smd is not bright enough, but try it out.

Same here.

Three leg holes. Use the bottom two leg holes front and rear.

Mine has 3 holes for each leg and large bolt plates with 3 holes that can be seen from inside. Maybe your bolt plates were worn and swapped with standard ones or maybe your cab was swapped and decaled.

http://www.marcospecialties.com/control/keywordsearch?SEARCH_STRING=bulb+cover

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/twilight-zone-ball-save-feature

Avoid the clock target between the ramps to reduce the SDTM.

It should be aligned with the inside of the rubber. You should move it down.

Yes, it is just a roll pin. Push it down.

If you set the ball there, you may notice either the ball is magnetized or the metal core is not level with the playfield. You can easily adjust the height of those and replace them when too beat up and gouged.

Yes, those get stripped and sometimes need replacement, and yes the each plate has a ground attached or routed behind it for safety. You might want to grab some bolts too if you notice any wear on the threads of yours.

I mean - test the balls there and see if they stick with the power off, meaning they are magnetized.

Also, check if the metal core is level with the playfield, or if there is a ridge there.

Noticed the same thing on my TZ - There is a bit of pucker around the legs like decals!?!

Did some searching..

Turns out the BW cabs of the 90's were 'primed' with white vinyl, and then silk screened. That is why they are prone to fade and leave white marks when scratched.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/factory-cabinet-decals-vs-screeningstencils-bw

http://www.flippers.be/pinball_cabinets.html

You can confirm in the play field repair thread. I believe that rubbing naphtha on the clear will confirm if the damage is the clear coat or the paint. (Naphtha briefly hides cracks in clear, and not in paint.)

Example -
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/review-3m-scratch-removal-system

Also - Make sure keep your new PF waxed with carnauba wax. Wax literally works like a shield layer for the clear coat and paint.

https://mezelmods.com/collections/twilight-zone-pinball-mods/products/pinball-tv-video-display-mod?variant=10894441732

Looks like that connector is just used for power. That link shows a little inline power splitter for it. That is probably installed in your TZ if you take a look. Maybe under the PF or tucked under a plastic on the top side. Check the upper playfield area top and bottom.

Maybe some screw or other part fell in there and is laying in the subway, causing the ball to get stuck occasionally.

It looks like one wire is not soldered on!!

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Welcome! How did you get that in there?

If you pull F112 out, does the line fuse still blow when you test turning it on?

Test -> 15 -> empty -> [enter]

to empty the trough:
Test -> 4 -> 9 -> repeat

Yeah, I doubt all 4 optos died at once. They get weak before failing, and not all at once.

The cable goes to the left flipper board and then goes on the right board. Is the left flipper board getting 5v? Are the opto output signals changing at the board when you press the button?

Yup, likely when you worked on the coil, that cable for the start/coindoor buttons is getting jostled and working on/off. Maybe a cold solder joint on a header.

I like it noisy. I used to think vol 8 was good for B/W pins, but with multiple in the same room and not wanting to drive out my guests, I have turned them down to 7, which is still pretty noisy with them all playing at once.

Depends on condition, and if you can find a deal.

Boston Pinball tracks Ebay sales. In the last year, seven sold on Ebay for an average of $7839 each. That is similar to retail price.

The Pinside price listed is $5550 - $6450. I consider that a good reference price for one in good condition when buying from a private seller.

The Sparky Pop Bumper Enhancement looks sweet, and you could probably make something similar with holographic glitter paper from the craft store. Would be a nice project for the kids.

My original clock board also had some burn from the bulbs and clock errors. Cleaning up the connectors corrected the clock errors.

Since my board worked, I installed white LEDs and resistors in place of the bulbs and diodes, and have been running with my original clock board for a year without issue and I saved some cash. Just FYI.

If your getting a clock error, I would expect you would see the flakey opto in the clock test. You could then ring out the wires with a meter to confirm or eliminate any bad connection. The cables/connections should show a solid low resistance. Beyond that, measure the opto output voltage level.

It could even be something as simple as the clock hand not quite blocking the opto. Some have needed to extend the flag part of the clock hand with a bit of black tape folded over.

If you watch TZ and other 4 flipper games played in big tournaments, you can see examples of staging where they trap with the lower flipper while simultaneously flipping the upper flipper.

It's typically done by holding the button in partially with the middle finger and then pressing it in fully with the pointer finger, while keeping the middle finger in position. It takes a steadier hand than mine.

So you can run the clock forward and backward in test mode and time counts correctly?

If you stop the clock and watch the switch test mode, and tap on the clock, connectors, and cables, no switch fires?

The only small nuts that are visible in that area are the 2 that hold down the plastic on the right of the gumball machine, and the 2 that hold the skinny plastic in front of that with the picture of the quarter on it.

Just store that spare nut in the coinbox. That's what its for.

UV light fades the red to pink or orange initially, and other colors over time, leaving the blue like above. If your gumball machine is red on the side of the cab, then I say there is minimal or no fade.

You can also compare the reds on the left and right sides, since one side always seems to get more sun than the other, if there is fade.

Dip q-tips in vinegar and wipe off the acid, then use q-tips with water to remove the vinegar.

The vinegar neutralizes the acid and then the water removes the vinegar. If the components aren't damaged, just clean it up, let it dry, and then test it.

In my case, half of my CPU board was covered with acid, and I could see some fine cracks in traces when holding a light behind it, and they measured open with my merter, so I swapped it.

Remove the battery holder to clean around it, and you can go with a remote holder or NVRAM later. With no batteries, the pin will still boot up. (just open the coin door and press enter to clear the error when powering on)

one other note - you can buy the rotten dog board without the CPU/ROM/ASIC chips, you need to buy an ASIC chip puller tool.

I had to bend the flap on mine, but kept the rubber.

Hate seeing faded cabs! BAM has cabinet decals in stock.

Don't forget the mini PF.

When I have a discolored translite, I wipe down the white back side with a rag and simple green. Not sure that is the best method, but it takes off the discoloration and greasy fingerprints without any damage in my experience. (I use cool white in the back box.)

Go for it! Take photos as you go and dive in. Plenty of folks here to help if needed, or if something goes wrong. (better to practice on a working pin, than a broken pin, since you can assume if it stops working, just recheck what you touched)

Yes, but LEDs draw less than bulbs, so not much.

J120 and J121 are GI connectors that draw a lot of current and got hot and have burned over the years. (playfield, backbox, coindoor, topper) The connector and the header (part it plugs in to) need to be replaced. Switching to LED GI bulbs would draw less in the future.

And protecting GI J120/J121 connectors as well as more illumination!