Hey gang, after 4 long years of obsessive searching, I have finally joined the club! I traded my mint CQ Demolition Man straight-up for the turd pictured below...
It basically works 100%, including the topper! I'ts got a good PF with no real wear, and the cab is just as ugly, but its straight, solid and all the corners are sharp! Obviously i'm about to take on a full restoration, and since there's several bits missing on the PF, I may need to ask for a little advice.

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lol, thanks bro, maybe my turd isnt so bad afterall!

Nice work!! Mine is basically in the same condition as yours was, minus the rust and corrosion... I've got parts and materials flowing in pretty constantly now through next week! One thing about my turd that i'm excited about, is that the topper is a tad faded, but it works, and there's no bubbles or wrinkles in it.

I'm having trouble finding just the long "Lost Mine" boulder (in case anyone has one for sale?), and the large back piece is in perfect shape, but the mounting holes are slightly damaged and repairable. I have NOS replacements for the other 4,

Thanks very much sir! I have a feeling that eventually i'll have to take you up on that offer!

Does anyone have a nice, undamaged one of these that they're mad at? I need an original-ish one to match the other originals in my game.
I dont need the decal, domes, or the sign, so its fine if they're missing. Please PM me!

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[FOUND ONE]

ok, hopefully the last thing I need, to finish my restore... A DMD. Anyone who converted to color or LED have a nice, bright, and 100% working original DMD they wanna sell? I'd be interested in an LED also, as long its a direct replacement for the high voltage original.

Yes, both/either would be! Please PM me with an asking price.

Cool! I replaced all 7 ramps a couple weeks ago... My ass still hurts.

Yeah, that's the only thing left that I havn't decided how to handle yet, I would prefer to find a complete original head WITH hair to replace, but the game plays fine with bald bigfoot. The rest of the work is done... Thanks of course to a few new friends from this thread that helped me out with some crucial parts!
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Bigfoot is always grinning! He's a happy and reasonably harmless creep!

I agree that ColorDMD is really nifty and pretty and all... There's just one thing I cant get past when I think about this very expensive upgrade...
When you guys play pinball... Do you watch the DMD, or the silver ball(s)??

I am very pro-LED display upgrades, they offer reliability and are certainly more energy efficient and less intensive on PS heat and 25+ year-old electronics, and also not far off in price from a replacement plasma. I have blue LED displays in my WW & ES, orange ones in my BK2K & Cyclone, and a red one in my Getaway. Color-matching of the LED display to the color-scheme of the game is all the "fancy" I need!
I'm not a very good player, so my eyes are always on the ball!

I know your pain, I had to replace this switch during my recent restore and had the exact aggravating problem. I was bending it over and over trying to find that sweet spot, which aint easy because its almost impossible to reach with your hands. Ultimately, I pulled the falls ramp out, removed the switch and got the actuator back to its original shape, then added 3/8" spacers between the bracket and ramp, and boom. I ran the ball manually back and forth a few hundred times in switch test mode, and with the pf in its normal position and trying to lodge the ball manually, no could do. It aint right, but it works perfectly now.

Looks like a VERY light project to me! Looks pretty clean for a re-import! I was trying to source those brackets about 2 months ago, nobody had them...
You'll need the pigtails also, Marco is out of those too. The switches, screws, nuts, & fishpapers are readily available everywhere.
You have your work cut out on that detail. I did snag one bracket that Marco has, it looks like the right one in the pic, but its not, so dont buy em. You're welcome!

No, mine were there, but I did a full top-side restore, so I wanted shiny now ones, didn't happen. The old ones cleaned up pretty enough though.
You may want to research an alternative, like MRS switches. Usually they have the same green/white 2-pin pigtails integrated as well.

https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/20-10293 Marco doesnt have them in stock, but theres a guy here on pinside who makes them, a simple forum search should help you find him quickly.
I have noticed over the years that Germans do a lot of weird and stupid shit to their pins, you'll never know the reason those switches were pulled and then apparently moronically discarded.

Unfortunately you will likely discover that those are not wide enough to span the ramp entrances... But my fingers are crossed for ya!
But now you know who to talk to for MRS's!!

They are tiny, you can put them on the bottom or the side with super thin 2-sided tape. They are magnetic so the ball just needs to pass by it. They dont have to be mounted in the same spot as the gate, just close where there's room to attach it. If you attach them to the side, just dont put them where a metal ramp guard is in front of it. If I was in your situation, this is the only remedy I would be looking at... But i'd wanna know about the activation range of the MRS, because the ramp openings are pretty wide.

Seems like the person who has the ability to make these, is missing out on a ton of revenue! This seems to be increasingly common in this hobby!
Pinheads don't seem to like money... They either don't want to earn money by making products (that they're able to make) that people want... Or they're giving all their money away for ridiculously overpriced games and parts!

I'd assume that the wires and/or diode orientation is wrong on that switch. Compare its lug connections to a similar type switch and make sure the diode is not backward.

It happens all the time, that mistake will make the switch matrix act nutty, I wont bore you with why... When I first got my game, everytime I triggered the insanity falls switch, one of the pop bumpers would fire... The really bizarre thing is, the switch was wired wrong at the factory!!

Hey gang, if anyone has a bigfoot head with all his original hair still intact, and willing to part with it, please PM me. I will pay cash and/or trade if there's any bits you need that I may have.

Old school cool!!!

I am still searching for this, please help a brother out! The bald bigfoot in my otherwise 99% restored game is making me OCD crazy!!

Well that sucks! I dont know which is worse! The cute thing is that Marco and everyone else sells a bald replacement head, but nobody sells any of the fur! Unless you want to attempt tearing apart a teddy bear and redo the whole bigfoot, you're just SOL on matching the head to the body or vice versa.

It sure is! PM sent!!

That switch/bracket is supposed to span across the bigfoot ramp where I added to your pic, its laying where it is because it has broken both mounts off the ramp and fallen down there. You need to replace that ramp and replace the switch, and remount it. Its a crucial switch for proper game functionality and scoring.

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Are you looking for just new parts, or good used?

Geez, and I thought mine was a turd when I got it! I dont know how you'd even play that thing, it would be like bowling on a dirt road!
Anyway, I dont know if you've priced parts yet, but a set of ramps and boulders alone is a grand! This is a VERY expensive game to restore!!
I have some nice used ramps and other misc bits laying around, hit me up if you ever wanna discuss.

Yes, that. I had the same issue with mine, it took forever screwing with it, but you have to get the coil/plunger/cup lower. I was unsuccessful so eventually I took the rubber bumper off the coil stop, and replaced it with a 2mm thin piece of sticky backed rubber I had laying around... Problem gone. You can get away with just removing the stop, but you will hear the plunger clunk when it drops back down.

A dead match for the good ol fashioned decals, original and new GenII. Apparently not so much the Radcals.
Home Depot, Amazon, etc all stock it.

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Before & After...

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The overspray in the back around the boards is from the factory, and it matches this paint exactly!

A thread search can be helpful...
All this will do is light up more of your ceiling... 99 out 100 games dont have this tape anymore. The original glue dried up from heat and the tape fell off within a few months of the game being unboxed.

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https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TYKFS8K/

The simple answer is yes... Aside from the modifications for the topper.

I replaced all my ramps about a year ago, bought direct from SF. they are great quality, but I had to grind and/or heat reshape all but one I think...

Very slowly and carefully... Lots of practice and a heat gun. One of the trickiest i've ever done was this past weekend with a Fish Tales ramp... You have to do it with the ramp IN the game! Actually broke a sweat on that one! lol

If you have some trash ramps, like maybe the ones you're replacing... practice!

Yup, definitely that! Helps to not totally melt the thing...

Well, at least this ramp would be the easiest to heat on the game, removing just a few bits makes it completely accessible. You should post detailed pics of your fitment issue, it may be easier for us to give advice.

Ok, this is not a reshaping issue, you need to grind material off under the flap, at the edge where the plastic contacts the upper pf. the issue is that the plastic is too thick for the flap to lay as it should. whatever you do, DONT try to bend the flap, grind away the plastic to make it thinner ONLY where it makes contact with the wood, like on a 45 degree angle. Just do a bit at a time and test fit till its right. I recall doing this with mine, and it fits perfect.

This may help, im not much of a graphic artist... imagine this is your ramp from the side... grind off the yellow area across the width of the ramp, problem solved. This will not compromise the integrity or strength of your ramp.

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Then you'll have to heat and reshape it, I doubt it will take much.

My upper-lower ramp fit fine, but I had to trim away the inside of the sling protector. to attach the Bigfoot ramp, I chamfered the holes to sink the screws flush... 6-32 x 5/8" w/nylock nuts.

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I had the same issue with this, played many games before it became apparent... But when it does, you're taking the glass out to retrieve the ball!
I heated that area and pressed at the exit edge right in the middle a tad at a time, solved. I dont suggest doing it on the game, you'll melt the mountain.

2nd that! I hope you're not feeling beat up on Larry... Your ramps and stuff may not always fit perfect for every game, and pretty expensive, but the material quality and durability is fantastic!! Thanks to you, the world can keep their games beautiful and playing! I appreciate everything you do for this hobby, even when you empty my bank account, and i'm melting, grinding and modifying everything!

Thanks for the link! I think i'll order one before PPS sees that post and has a shitfit and sues Amazon!

My Larry mountains are great, they all fit good and look great when lit. I had to trim the big wide one in the back where it sits behind the VUK wireform, but no biggie. They were a very close match to the tattered original ones I trashed... thicker and way more durable too! I have also finally recovered financially from the "G" I dropped for the ramp and mountain sets!

I believe that is intentional... I believe most people, like myself have no interest in altering or changing the dynamics or gameplay.
But the beauty is, you can do whatever you want with your game, and you shouldn't get butt-hurt if others are not onboard with it.

Sounds like you finally got all those ramps fitted pretty good!

Nice! May I ask WHERE the missing mountain showed up from??

Thanks for the tip!

They dont look broken, but filthy and worn out! You can barely see through them. Nothing beats crystal clear ramps!

Hey, watch that "everyone here" stuff! White armor, rainbow puke, excessive toy add-ons, etc... Definitely not my thing, but to each his own, I dont judge!

I think I have a couple of those, let me know if you strike out with Eric... That guy can be totally FoS!

Check your PM's later this evening, I know I have one.

Way too much blue for my taste.

I have it, works great! However, you need to mind how it sits before you lock everything down... It can create an uneven transition gap from the plastic ramp to the upper pf, especially if you have a new repro "thicker" ramp... a slow roller will get stuck in the gap. You will tilt your game to get it loose.

I added a couple small bits of mylar on the low side, staggered on top of each other to build it up gradually to the gap, then a longer single piece running over the whole stretch of the gap and buildup mylar. it solved the problem.
Part of this issue is just a pretty dumb design... If that ramp had a flap on it, this wouldn't be an issue in any scenario. I thought about just adding a flap, but I really didnt feel like tearing my freshly restored game back down again...
If I have to tear it down in the future, i'll have to remove the mylar anyway, then I will add a flap to that ramp to bridge that gap.

I get airballs too, but not to the extreme that you describe. Stationary targets, especially the bigass 3D ones create airballs in most games.
The newer the back foam, the more extreme to deflection. I see a lot of people ripping out the foam strip to reduce the bounce-back, which in many games cause the ball to rocket 80mph right down the middle!

I feel you... I traded a mint HUO Demo Man for a heap-o-shit White Water, then blew another $4k in parts and countless hours restoring it.
Blowing a grand for 20 bucks worth of plastic (all new ramps & boulders) is the hardest pill to swallow... No disrespect to Larry.

Torching your ramps is usually referred too as "flame polishing". I've done it on a hundreds of ramps from every game imaginable, including WH2O, so YES.

Iv'e been watching this convo for a couple days... I have no clue what you guys are talking about with this 20v-24v backbox panel flasher bulb nonsense.... But I think you guys are trippin!! I've been a pinball tech for over 30 years, and I don't know of any 20v wedge flasher bulbs in ANY insert panel! I have had good-ol standard 12v 906 LED flashers in my WH20 for over a year and they work just fine... Coincidentally, same thing in my other 11 pins for about 7 years, I don't think i've ever even had one fail!

There are 24v 1251 flasher bulbs in early system 11 games, but they are bayonet type bulbs and only used under playfields and in beacons (High Speed, F14, etc).

I have a good used "Spine Chiller" ramp, which is actually called the "Lower to Upper" ramp. No damage, just needs to be cleaned up and perhaps flame polished.

A very light coat of good ol rubber cement.

Pinbits received thousands in "donations" since covid started. They left the website functional, took payments, shipped nothing, ignored emails and disappeared. If you didn't hammer Paypal for a refund in time, you were SOL!
Pam was such a wonderful lady, and made quite an income from this community for many years! Hard to believe she would ever shit on everyone the way she did...

As far as I know, they did... A few people local to them reported showing up at their house when they never received their orders... They were told that Pinbits would be back and make good on orders, but they never did. Being a home-based operation, there's no obvious reason for what they did, they had the perfect business to THRIVE during covid! But for some unknown reason, they went the other way! Hell, they should have sold all their business equipment and assets, i'll bet there's a dozen or so people here who may have bought it, myself included! I'm still kicking myself for not buying Comet and/or Titan when I had the chance!

Yes, I have them in all 12 of my pins, I only use the correct colors for the bulb position, except I am not using them in the WH20 whirlpool because I think they look better white when not lit, and blue when they are. But between all my games, I have every color they make. They look and work fantastic!

I'm at work now, but there are some pics of my WH2O in my profile game room pics. You can get an idea of how they look in pics of my other games too, especially Funhouse.

That's really cool and cute, but i'm confused... How is this a topper? I'm pretty sure that most Whitewater's have a massive dome topper already! Does this guy sit on the dome and block the waterfall effect?