I think I am one of the offenders the OP is referring to, as I've been posting about/bumping threads of radical! and DH mod's. In the case of my Radical!, it was a dirty broken project when I got it. The cabinet art is all messed up and I'm never going to fix it. Now that it's working, I would rather make it "my own" than perfect. I honestly don't want to bother fixing the cabinet decals. It is never going to be collector's quality and I don't care. Even if I made it MINT... I bet my drunk friends and I would find a way to ding it up or otherwise mess it up on account of my noob-ness. What I'm saying is, I would rather have this be a player's pin that feels like a custom one-of-a-kind than a collectable that I can flip and profit from.

I restore Motorcycles and mopeds and feel the same way. Some of them are good candidates for factory-spec restores and can be made to look new without having to completely reassemble and repaint... others are beyond messed up from people tinkering with em over the years. Those latter bikes I see as an opportunity to make them unique and do things that maybe others had not thought of. I've taken both types of bikes to shows and 9/10 times it's the unique/mod'd ones that get the most attention.

That is just my two cents though.

Lol, I was just being as confrontational back to the fellow. As you know I like pinball. I prefer blinged out new games but I am just as happy spending three hours on any table. Just can't fix them. I can't help myself. Some people run when there is a fight, some watch and I of course always seem to want to jump in.

It is hard. Don't I know it.

Dan

Hey Guy's ( to the Veteran's ) I see 10 to 20 New member's Each day are joining Pinside . If I see a Thread's Topic that is as Stupid and Derogatory as this 1 , My advice to Us is to Stay Out !!

Some of the Nubbie's are Just Freak-n Ignorant & are lOOk-n to Start a Fuss !!!!!!!

cpsystem3 , Yr the 1st on my ignore List ... Later !!!!!!!!!!! ,, See_ya_!!.gif

Words of wisdom.

I genuinely applaud the effort, but I think people who do LEDs right like yourself vs. just installing a kit are pretty rare. I don't think I've ever seen a game retrofitted with LEDs tastefully in person, and I've seen a great many game collections. I know it's possible, though. You also seem to actually care about how your games play, which in my experience also seems rare among most obsessed modders, who generally only care about looks. This is reflected in both the way they modify their games, and many of the game choices themselves. Now that it's the big hot game of the week, I've actually had several people offer to buy my Whitewater who have either never played it or who have an extremely limited understanding of the game, simply because in their words it is "so moddable." They're not even thinking about playing pinball. They're thinking about how cool all the blue lights and rad white-painted mountains and stupid Yeti toy will look in their game row, and how many thumbs-ups they'll get (from other modders -- it's all a huge circle-jerk) when they post pictures and videos online. It's sad. That IS the "ricer" mindset. And in my opinion it's a dumb reason to want to own these awesome games.

I really don't think this thread was created to slam all mods, LEDs and add-ons across the board, or the people who like them. Just the people with a particularly ham-fisted approach to modding who seek out attention and praise for everything they do, seemingly not realizing that many of us think they are making their games worse. If someone wants to change a game in a way they like, simply because they like it, I can't really see having a problem with that.

So what LEDs are you using that magically eliminates ball strobing from GI lights that run on AC voltage? Sorry, but I have stood and watched strobing on high end LED games while the proud owner stood right there and said "see - no strobing".

In home use, 44 bulbs and 555 bulbs put very minimal strain on anything. Routed games have burnt connectors and fatigued electronics due to years upon years of heavy usage. Home use for pins is sort of 'leisurely retirement' Fix the connectors right and you'll be fine.

Any electricity savings is quickly gobbled up by the price of the LEDs.

I am one that believes in preventative maintenance. I assure you, my TFTC is in stout shape.

As for the price of LEDs, my kit that I hand-picked was about $50. Course, I don't "pay the premium" by having someone "do the work" for me, and I utilize the concave 170 degree lights. No nee for super-ultra-expen$ive LEDs. I try different things out and experiment.

Kits are for sheep .

Believe whatever you like 50 bucks will buy a lot of bulbs and a lot of electricity, as far as a typical home collection is concerned.

LEDs aren't for me. I have no problem with someone else enjoying them, though.

When I see a guy who goes to all the trouble to bolt a wooden wing to the back deck of his car, sure, I cry a little inside, but I also give him kudos for chasing his dream...whatever that dream may be! Bahahaha...OMG, the ford exploder with the glow...excuse my while I cry once more...well, OK, a lot. Now, those pins all look pretty good, I have to say. But then this comes from a boy that always wanted the outfit Robert Redford wore in The Electric Horseman. He was stylin before we even knew what was coming...

Agree with everything but...

,,,I like Bumbles.

I would never put him on my game or do the white mountains, but I think he is pretty funny.

Dan

I like modding my pins with LED's. It gives me an excuse to work on my pins when it doesn't need any.

Plus, if done right, they look far better than incandecent lighting.

I'm actually quite proud of my recent TZ mod.

2012-10-15_19-08-08_359.jpg

Look's Good ,
You Should do the Led's behind yr B/glass Now .. and the CoinTaker TZ door mod ..
also the FF Speaker Kit improves the sound 100%
Check out my video ..

This thread is going no where.

pointless1.jpg

I need to add some color to my backglass. I'm definitely considering the color changing mod for the door. But believe it or not, I did install LED's. The place I got my TZ from was a heavy smoking enviornment.

Most of the plastics are yellowed as well.

I'm definitely upgrading the speakers. A friend of mine has the speaker/subwoofer upgrade from Pinballpro.com in his TZ and it sounds amazing.

Nobody has mentioned the Color DMD.

Best Mod Ever. Yes, you could argue price versus necessity, but you really can't argue that it is not an improvement over an orange DMD.

Same thing with Invisiglass versus regular glass. Only debate is value, nobody is going to say the original glass is better.

I like to mod! God I miss that car.

Wagon9.jpg

I guess you can call me guilty for modding my pins out with added toys. But, if you look at most of the best Stern titles (not recent) most of them came with toys that DID come from a local ToysRUs. (Yes, I'm looking at you LOTR, SPP, SM, IM). But to me, as long as it enhances a pin and the owner likes it, then more power to them. Most, if not all, of my mods can be taken out by the next owner if I decided to sell it. But let's be civil guys, don't bash another guy because his pin collection is too small/big. BTW, Mr. Wizzo.....your posts crack me up!! LOL

LMAO Pugsley!!!!

It's kinda odd. I realized that reading these posts, for some reason things people do to cabinets seem not to be mods to me. I know they are, but a mod in my mind I guess is confined to the playfield and directly affects the play of the game and is evident only when the game is on. All the exterior stuff has no effect on gameplay, but adds to the owner's appreciation of the aesthetics of the game. Then there are the problematic ones to categorize like color DMD and sound upgrades that don't affect play, but the game must be on to experience them. Maybe the breakdown is sensory enhancements vs. gameplay. It looks or sounds better vs it plays better.

CPS3: Our daughter was born at Manchester Memorial Hospital while I was at UCONN and we were living in West Willingtom. Just noticed your location.

And a fine good morning to you too, sir. Yeah, I am scheduled for shcokk therapy on Thursday, so I may off tilter for a while.

Dan

LMAO!!