New to the club. Always respected WH2O over the years but never found a nice local one at a decent price...until now. This game is even better than I thought. The rules are solid and deeper than they first appear, and the art, music and callouts are fantastic. But the ramps are off the charts. Dennis really knew how to have fun with complicated ramps. I love Popaduik’s TOTAN ramp, but these ramps are the best I’ve played. Such a fun pin.

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Got one for it! Installation soon...

I’m sure it’s something obvious, but what are the two star posts above the plunger on WH2O for?

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Paid $6250 last month for a partially restored one with new cab decals and nice original pf with new clear coat on it. Topper is very nice. Boulders and ramps are all nice. Ramps were probably replaced because they are very clear. White powder coat with blue sparkle. I added a new lock bar receiver, the original was showing age. I added color DMD and new blades and sling plastics and some target decals and little mods. It’s a very nice example. I have a little over $7k into it.

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Check it out! My wife is pretty creative and made me these target decals! I’m thinking about having her design them for several other pins!

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Rollin’
Rollin’
Rollin’ on the REVIR!

They are just prototypes. Probably just artwork and no letters is the way to go.

You have to get mirror blades to read it. Like REDRUM

Great score!

I had a couple tech errors after bringing my White Water downstairs last night. The upper flipper EOS switch and the secret passage switch. Turned out the secret passage simply hadn’t been hit in forever, and that went away when I finally made that lucky shot. A wire on the upper flipper EOS switch had broken off the previous solder. It was very tight and not easy to reach under the upper pf, testing my solder skills. But I was able to solder it back on and now zero warnings. Great when it goes that way.

I also added some wood-grain flipper toppers, which look kinda like oars.

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It really is. I was always lukewarm on this title until owning one. Now I’m sold. It really has that “world under glass” feel. More to do than it first seems.

What started as a quick switch adjustment became a replacement of my Spine Chiller ramp. Went smooth and turned out great!

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Nice job! SEVEN ramps. That’s bonkers. Would they ever make a game like this again? I found new appreciation for this game last night just replacing one ramp. They are all intertwined and wrapped around each other. It’s an incredible design. What a game.

I have an extra set of custom REVIR target decals if anyone would like them on their game. PM me and I’ll mail them to you. No charge. UPDATE: Someone claimed these. Thank you!

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Finished the vacation planner for the first time today and joined the billion club! I won’t describe what happens when you start multiball while on class 6, having completed Boulder garden and Wet Willie’s, but it took me by surprise and scared me a little! Lol. What a fantastic game.

Bigfoot is messing with you. He doesn’t want you to make that shot. Oh, no!!!

Because it gets sunny on the mountain.

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Same here! When that Hot Foot mode, the one where his head spins around and he says “uh oh!” when you send the ball to the upper playfield, I always over-think the shot trying to hit the ramp and send the ball through his cave! Great modes, great game. One of my all-time favs now.

I agree. If you can hit 1 billion or above, that’s a very nice score on WH2O. I completed the vacation planner and was awarded the vacation jackpot of about 200m and change, and still barely hit a billion.

I had the same problem on mine recently, except that switch wasn’t registering when the ball passed under it. Not enough contact. So I bent the arm slightly down and it did the trick. After 3-4 weeks it hasn’t trapped any balls.

MRS switches are awesome. Excellent alternative to a metal arm switch in certain areas where the arm slows or stops the ball. MRS doesn’t touch the ball at all! I installed 3 of them on my Who Dunnit main elevator ramp so the ball wouldn’t stop or slow down. They worked like a charm. Just a matter of personal choice, some like the standard original switches. But in tricky spots these are a creative option.

Marco should have the riverbed/boulder decals. I just ordered a few ramp and PF decals from them. You could cut them to fit on the Mantis protectors.

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I recently replaced a couple ramps and they seem pretty close, certainly tolerable in terms of fit. They look amazing when new too. I bought that same replacement Boulder in your pic and it’s much darker than the original ones. But I suppose it could be painted. I did burn some coin on a full set of the white/blue arctic version, while they are available. Around $250 I think. Or you can replace the entire set of brown ones for around $200 or a little more. Good luck with your pin!

Agree. I’ve put on dozens of these, and the one time I did it alone was a pain. It can be done, but with 2 people holding each end it’s pretty easy. Keep it 1/8 inch or so below the glass channel! That glazed skull mountain looks like peanut brittle. Mmmmmm

They are a favorite of mine for hard-to-find items. Often, they are the only ones who have a rare item. It’s expensive as heck, but I have a couple friends outside the states who are nice enough to help me out. Gotta find a workaround if you live in ‘Merca.

Just wondering if the missing mountain is available anywhere these days? If not, would a slice of pizza work? I was noticing the shape and trying to think outside the (pizza) box.

Can you explain how you did that and maybe link to where to order the parts? If I can eliminate that pop when powering up/down for fairly cheap I would like to.

Those are my favorite WH2O blades too. My game came with them installed but slightly too high, so the top edge was peeling from the glass rubbing against it. I ordered the same pair of blades again.

Seems true, and I would agree. But the full story behind this topper is available online and tells all about how the original topper was made, and how other companies have tried, and mostly failed, to produce an exact replica. Other versions have been released, but have always looked different or failed to really capture that cascading water look. It had something to do with a press, and producing the proper foil to give the shimmering effect. With toppers going for hundreds more than they were a few years ago, it seems possible someone could reverse engineer these for $500 a pop, and I bet they would sell. The full story is a really interesting read. Many, many man hours and lots of money have gone into trying to remake this topper.

I should have some parts to contribute. I’ve been gradually adding new parts and ramps to various areas to make it a full restoration, and I have some original parts that are in good shape. Are you missing anything specific? Do you have a decent dome for the topper? I’m replacing mine with a new one and my dome on Fish Tales, so I have a decent original one. Only prob is I’m guessing it’s $25 or so to box and ship. Message me and I’ll try to help.

Hard to say, unless you auction it off! Someone just paid $14,000 for a DE BTTF, so it’s kinda crazytown these days.

Seems like it should be feasible to make a boulder shooter somehow. I know the stock shooter rods are available with threads on one end. But what material would be the best medium to work with I wonder. I have a clear shooter rod on mine. I would prefer a nice-looking boulder. Too bad Flintstones has an auto-launch button. I bet boulder rods would have been common on that game.

Has anyone found a small, plastic boulder of the correct size? I bought a raw shooter rod with nothing attached and I want to drill a hole and make one.

The topper can’t easily be replaced or repaired. A fully working original topper is always good. Look for wear on the playfield and upper pf, and behind the light/lock stand up targets up the middle. Cracked ramps. Good luck!

Sad. While it’s true that it is a collectible game, they made about 7,000 of them, and people are restoring many and taking care of them. Unlike that operator, who doesn’t care if people put quarters in a game that isn’t fully working and can’t be bothered to clean or service it. Then he doubles the fair value in a cynical attempt to hustle you. I paid $6,250 for a really nice example last year. Keep looking for a fair deal from a collector.

Added a pin gulp for those long rafting trips.

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Looks like you did mine too! The lighting on that pin looks great. The backbox is very well lit and really pops.

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3M and others make 2-sided tape in different thicknesses. I have a couple rolls that are quite thick, like a sticky soft pad about 1/8 inch. I would try something soft like that to limit movement of that metal protector. Just an idea. Incidentally, my protector is straight too and not flush with the ramp. I haven’t experienced any issues with it myself.

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Whitewater is a pretty crazy design with like 6-7 ramps all interwoven together and affecting each other. It’s no wonder any two games with 28 years of being in different environments and having different owners and different adjustments done to them might not have the same dimensions today. I’m working on my new Spine Chiller right now and can’t quite get the end to marry properly just before the VUK.

Could you apply heat to the area I circled and gently apply force down to increase the drop angle? Maybe keep the heat at a distance and keep it moving until that bend becomes pliable? Some risk, but if the current shape isn’t usable.

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Well done.

I used two tiny short screws with nuts underneath.

This looks perfect. My favorite new word is chamfered.

Do you even need the escape routes? I’m not sure about other people, but the ball always makes the full journey down the waterfall ramp if I hit it hard enough to reach the summit. I’ve never had a ball dribble out an escape lane. Maybe you won’t need to alter them?

They do? Is this a new development? I’ve had to ship everything from Pinball Center to a friend in Canada first. No direct shipping to USA for years. But this is good news if they do!

Of course! I have a few Canuck pinpals!

I’ve always been impressed by the simple ingenuity of the AFM design. That scoop with access in the front and rear is awesome. So is the ball lock and the mothership scoop protected by the 3-bank and then single drop target. So simple yet clever. MM and AFM were just about the zenith of 90s pinball, I think.

I like the white rails on White Water. Mine came that way, with silver fleck in the white. I don’t know if I would have had it done, but I’m glad it was done well. If people don’t care for that look, that’s fine, that’s a nice way to put it. Everything is subjective, there is no objectively attractive or ugly choice. I bought the white mountain kit, but haven’t changed from the original mountains yet. Both styles have their fans.

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Except for this hat, and Polaroid to snap that indisputable proof of Big Feet!

Right! And who would ever go rafting on a mountain with Big Foot!
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Yep! Amazon. I took a close up pic with my phone, cropped it and printed it.

The Bigfoot crossing sign is available at Back Alley Creations.

I might have one, I’ll PM you.

I am crafting one myself. I found some toy boulders on EBay in both brown and grey, which are the right size (about the size of a golf ball). I have a raw shooter rod to screw into it. The only issue is the boulders are hollow plastic, and very light. I need to fill them with material that will firm up and harden around the shooter rod. I’ll post pics when it’s finished. These are the boulders.

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On mine, a full plunge will send it down the ramp, but you can make contact with the left flipper and save it. I use a slightly softer spring so that only a full plunge will even make the ramp. A 3/4 plunge will drop behind Bigfoot for the skill shot, and anything less comes back to the shooter lane. Also, you can add the most recent ROM, which adds a ball-save feature. So you can save your ball that way too.

I think that’s true.

Wow, what a score! I’ve busted the 1 billion barrier a couple times, but usually I run out of gas around 700 mil. I need to string multiball together with 5x playfield bonus more often, and hit all 3 ramp shots to start multiball. Huge points potential!

I bet that chrome powder by Prismatic is awesome. Plus, at $25 a pound, you need about $50 worth of powder for all the rails and legs, and door. The powder I chose from Prismatic for my FT was $45 a lb, so $90 just for the powder, before the labor cost. But it turned out amazing. I would think that chrome powder is a good option to get the look of chrome, plus the benefits of powder, for maybe half the cost of chrome. I hope someone tries it.

Yep. I have a transition gap after adding a thicker ramp. I’ve tried a few solutions, but I still get balls stuck about once every 3-4 games. I can launch another ball to clear it, or remove the glass. I can’t shake it free. I need to consider shaving the thickness of the new ramp down a bit at the end, but I’m nervous about causing damage.

Added some art to the coin buttons…

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My upper flipper is suddenly noticeably weaker than before and struggling to make the ramp shots. Strange, because I checked it manually and it’s smooth, and moves easily. Still, I installed a new coil stop and sleeve. No improvement. The coil is an FL-11629 and easily made the shots before. What would cause a coil to fire with reduced power? Could it be the Fliptronics driver board?

I see the light board for White Water topper available at Ministry of Pinball for around $30 which uses the less common 194 bulbs. I know another person who melted some bulbs swapping them for standard 6.3v in error.

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Congrats on your WH2o! These are fun to restore (but expensive) with so many new parts available. Don’t forget the green lite/lock targets! 2 for $22 with free shipping isn’t bad. Marco has full sets of mountains, ramps, plastics, decals. Pricy, but fun to see it come together! Good luck!

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Nope, I didn’t know that! Yikes, not cool. Be careful who you order from, I guess.

Thanks for the heads up. I bought my supplies for my WH2O from Marco, Pinball Life and Ministry. My go-to suppliers.

I’ve been dealing with a mushy upper playfield flipper for months. Flipper worked, it just seemed a split second slow to respond and barely made either ramp shot. I cleaned the sleeve, then replaced the sleeve, then replaced the coil, still mushy. I checked the flipper opto and it looked like the metal opto interrupter for the upper flipper was barely clearing the opto, allowing the flipper to fire. I adjusted it, and it was more responsive, but not 100%. So today I replaced the flipper opto board and it plays like a different game! Very strong, crisp upper flipper reacts immediately and makes both ramps easily. I missed playing this game, and it’s back in my top 5 pins. What a game.

Live and learn. I had yet to run into that. I’ve adjusted plenty of flipper switches that weren’t firing right, or needed to be gapped, etc. I wasn’t expecting the opto board to make that much difference, since my flipper was working, it just felt lazy. It was a cheap fix, so I tried it. It hadn’t played well since last year.

I think it was a matter of timing, more than weak/soft flipper strength. The metal interrupter on the opto board was just barely moving out of the opto, and only with the flipper button fully depressed. Do you ever tap your flipper button to pass the ball from one side to the other? It seems you definitely can barely engage the coil enough to cause a little “flick” of the flipper, rather than a full flip through to the end of the stroke. That’s the best way I can explain it. The flipper was barely engaging, and when it did, it was a split second too late to hit the shots. I removed the suspect opto board, if someone wants to test it. The new opto board definitely fixed the problem. You can just barely touch the button and both right side flippers snap. I’m hitting both upper ramps consistently and it’s a breath of fresh air for sure.

What would cause an opto switch to flicker in switch test? My opto at the top of the Spine Chiller ramp (located near the VUK behind Big Foot) stopped responding. In switch test it flickers. I can interrupt the opto and it closes, but when it’s open it flickers and doesn’t trigger in gameplay. I went ahead and replaced both opto receiver and transmitter. Same result. Flickering. Is it on the board?

Not quite a boulder, but this rainbow silver shooter rod from Pinball Shark is really nice!

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I have a set, just haven’t gone Arctic yet!

Mine had the white sparkle powder coat when I bought it. I do like it. I’m sure some don’t. That’s why our games don’t all look alike! Lots of color choices for these tables. I’m going to try the white mountains soon.

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Mine had the white sparkle powder coat when I bought it. I do like it. I’m sure some don’t. That’s why our games don’t all look alike! Lots of color choices for these tables. I’m going to try the white mountains soon.

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Thanks! I actually bought this set last year, along with the white skull mountain mod too. I’m thinking about installing them tomorrow. Saturday project.

Victory Bonus is such an awesome award. I’ve only achieved it once. I’ve completed Wet Willy’s and scored the 100m a few times, but putting everything together and being awarded level 6 by the canyon award was awesome!

Thanks! Not perfect, but I’ve been really lucky with several. I usually look for a nice example with a new or re-clear coated pf. Then if the cab is dinged up I’ll put decals or Radcals on. I enjoy working on them and improving them nearly as much as playing!

The blizzard finally hit today! It’s a fun change of look, especially with the white armor. Took me about 3 hours with the skull mountain. Cool alternate option!

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Exactly! It’s a Bigfoot for Pete’s sake. Let’s keep it real.

I think I got the little penguins for my Ripley’s off Etsy, and the little hat was Etsy too, I’m pretty sure. I’m going to switch to a stocking cap.

I’ve white water rafted twice, once in West Virginia and once out west. By far the New River in West Virginia was the more crazy and memorable experience. That’s one pushy river! That was 2008. Man, I’d love to do that again. We did a high ropes course in Jackson Hole in 2017 that was so awesome too!

Thanks very much for your detailed answer. I bet you are right. It’s intermittent too, so lately it’s been registering again, after I did some work on the playfield. So something is so sensitive, like a poor connection, it sometimes works and others it flickers. I’ll check all the connections.

I had this issue also. On my WH2O, the solution was the correct tension shooter spring. My kiddo would fire it SDTM on a full plunge. Either try a slightly softer spring that makes it easier to avoid going down the ramp, or you can even use a spring capable only of dropping the ball at the top. Makes it easier for kids. You could try a slight adjustment on your ramp trajectory, if you want the full plunge to go down the ramp, but not SDTM.

It does appear a slightly purple blue, but still looks very good imho. Are you going to fill, sand and paint the cab blue? White Water, Funhouse, etc., can look awesome when painted well and with new decals!

Lloyd is right (as usual!)
It’s common on White Water for people to dial down the coils and have different strengths. I have the 3 different coils noted above by LTG, and they all feel natural and get the job done with clean shots. White Water is that kind of pin too, you wanna be very specific about your shots to keep your flow, progress and control. Get that 200m bonus!!!

Mine is also cleared original, although no doubt each playfield finish is slightly different. I’ve been lucky, no unusual airballs on my table. I bet you’ll get the right coils in there and be sipping cocoa at Wet Willies in no time!

Mine is very similar. I can pull my playfield forward easily enough and rest it on the service rails, but if I want to raise it all the way up and back, I have to physically lift the playfield up with it vertical for it to click into position and stay up. None of my other Bally/WMS pins do this. It works, so I never bothered to sort it out.

One day I’ll be too old or lack the strength to lift the vertical playfield into position. That’s the day I set the game on fire.

Not sure if these 161s are different, but this kit is available for the topper. Worth a look.

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Where did you find that one? Nice shooter!

There are a few good vids on YouTube of pinball cabinet decals being applied. One is a Williams Indy Jones, a vid from Australia, I think. Another is a vid of an Addams Family cab being restored. Both are good videos.

Wet method is far more forgiving than dry. Plenty of skilled restorers apply decals dry, but you need to have the cab sanded and prepped smooth, free of any dust or debris. I’m a novice restorer, having replaced decals on just three games so far. I did use a solvent designed for applying things like decals, but it evaporated very quickly, so basically I had to be right the first time. If you can line up the decal on the cabinet perfectly with the paper backing still on, then place something heavy on one end of the decal to hold it (like dumbbell weights, with something soft like a cloth under the weights to protect the decal), you can then lift up the other end and peel about half the paper backing off, then cut it off with scissors or utility blade. Then you can pull the decal tight at the corners and carefully apply it, smoothing out any bubbles after. Then you can remove the weights and peel back the rest of the paper, apply the other half. Then use a very sharp razor and while holding one corner of the excess decal, carefully run the razor along the edge, trimming the decal. You’ll still want to sand or trim 1/16 inch or so of decal at the edges, so the decal won’t catch and peel.

That’s just the way I learned how to do it. Lots of more experienced people here I’m sure can help. Good luck!

For you electronics/circuit repair pros, what would a diode installed backward on a sling switch do when powered on? If other switches are wired in a chain with that backward diode switch, could it damage the other switches in that series?

(I’m just curious, surely this didn’t happen to me!)

Thanks! It was corrected almost immediately, just wanted to be sure it didn’t damage anything else.

Congrats on your game! A good topside tear down (take lots of pictures!), cleaning and waxing is a great start. WH2O is a pin you can easily spend $2-3k quickly on rehab, but it’s also SO tempting to restore this pin. All the boulders can be replaced with new (so they match), ramps, plastics, etc. I would suggest replacing all your rubber rings with either a kit, or buy a couple boxes of assorted clear rings from Pinball Life (easier for people here in the states). Install new pop bumper caps (I like the transparent blue), and order new correct standup targets as depicted in the photos above by Zartan. You can get the 2 green ones for the lite/lock targets, 5 blue for RIVER, 2 white for hot foot, 3 red for lite kickback, and one amber for extra ball. It’s expensive, but even the cleaning, wax and rubber rings will really help. Good luck and have fun! Post before-after pics.

Those yellow translucent look great, very consistent with the blue and green. The white look fine, but I prefer your yellow.

That’s not uncommon. My brown skull mountain was chipped at the bottom too. Your skull looks correctly positioned. You could fashion an airball protector over those 2 stand ups, or these metal ones might reduce the risk. I think Mantis offers them.

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Judge Dreads mods on EBay. $77 or so for 3 rafts. I think you can also order 2 for around $55 or so. Or, you can get these mini raft keychains for far less. I simply removed the key rings and stuck a few on mine. They looked good! Later I did spring for the expensive ones. I like how they look too!

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Reminds me of copper bones from The Goonies!

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The vacation planner is basically your map to completing everything to finish the game and get the 200m (I believe) award. I’ve done it twice. It’s awesome, if you haven’t done it yet. Wet Willy’s just requires that you advance through all the rafts and then complete all the shots for 100m bonus. Awesome game. One of the very best.

River class 6 was always the tricky part for me before the latest ROM, which now holds your progress. It used to give you a bonus for your River class progress after a lost ball, and then start over. I only finished the game the first time when the spirit of the River advanced me to class 6, and then I started multiball. The rules in White Water are some of the best in the WPC era, imho.