The Pinball Diaries (what did you do today?)

[mwong168]

Nice-I'm planning on doing the same once I get the parts. I ordered both through Starburst Toronto, so hopefully they get in before Christmas. I think I'm also going to take apart/clean the gearbox at the same time, since I've read that can be a real improvement as well. How worn did the nuts look on your game?

I'm not sure if the X-nut on my game had been replaced before but there was a bunch of metal shavings on both sides once I removed the big e-clips. I am glad the X-nut did the trick as the X-rod is out of stock at Marco right now. I'm going to order it once it becomes back in stock along with the Y-rod just in case it these ever become unobtainium.

Here is a pretty detailed thread on how to remove the whole glove assembly from your game and take everything apart on pinside for future reference when you do yours.

JM Johnny Mnemonic hand motor noisy

Are you still having that weird issue with your JM glove Chris?

 

[Chris Bardon]

Yes, that's why I'm planning on doing the rebuild. It's definitely not happening as often as before, but it's still happening, so I'll probably replace the nuts, clean the gearbox, and reflow the solder joints. If THAT doesn't work, who knows. Just waiting on the parts to come into starburst, and a free day to take the game apart. I'll probably aim to do that over Christmas when I have a couple of days off.

 

[mwong168]

I went by Drano's last night:

1) Picked up some pinball goodies he had for me from Mike Chestnut and Aurich
2) Played a few games on his beautiful Centigrade 37 which plays as smooth as silk
3) Got my Addams Family fix because I don't have any of that to eat at home yet :cry:

I have been patiently following Aurich's alternate Shadow translite and speaker panel thread for the past 1.5 months. Him, Grauwolf and I pooled our order together to save a bit on shipping and we also lucked out by avoided paying any taxes for such a big package too.

I think Aurich did an amazing job on the artwork as the flashers line up perfecting with the blimps, moon and light posts. I have all frosted white LEDs installed and think it looks nice the way it is but some have removed some bulbs to make certain areas darker. I think overall it looks very "stock" thanks to the speaker panel to tie everything in which I always find to be the disconnect on any alternate translite. The quality of the print and material is very nice too!

 

[luch]

Wong came out with this thread about glare guards and thought it was a great idea to organize a group buy. Wow never knew it would be an order for 100 plus units! Thanks Mike W from Mike Luch.

 

[WARLOCK]

What scares me is I had to go count how many DMD's I have to do the glare guard count.
(Most are folded) I can't believe I am at 11 DMD's (including SWE1) just like you now Luch!

They came from all over everywhere but in the end, I blame Wong, for every single one.
Thanks buddy.

 

[luch]

"Damn you Wong Damn You "!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mwong168]

I blame Wong, for every single one.

"Damn you Wong Damn You "!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Always a pleasure gentlemen I'm actually surprised there was this much demand for glare guards actually and can't wait to finalize the group buy.

 

[Grauwulf]

Worked on a Police Force today, that needs a bunch of work, including new displays and nearly finished repairs on a Haunted House.
PBL, Marco and BAA are just loving me lately.

 

[Luckydogg420]

Yesterday I went to the playdium arcade for a couple hours to play pinball.

Star Trek was better then expected, I'm not a fan of the theme but this was a lot of fun. I really like the colour change lights, it makes it easy to see your shots and know where you are in each mode. I was having trouble hitting the warp ramp with the upper flipper, I kept hitting the alpha ramp instead. I'm not a strong player, I play for fun, but I was able to complete most modes (not all in one game). Well worth the money for an average player.

WOZ was awesome. I'm a fan of the movie, so I was really anticipating this game. It wasn't a let down (until we broke it), the LCD screen was useful, although I didn't look at it often. I'm not sure if this is a completed game, idk if the game code has been finished or if this is still the proto game, but I really enjoyed it. There were some really great features, even the "toto" and "there's no place like home" outlanes were cool, giving you a chance to save your ball after it's drained.

When we arrived the right sling/kicked was on the wrong side of the rubber causing the switch the hit randomly, but this was ok, the game was playable. The game was left unplayable while my buddy was playing it. He was on the top left playfield going for the castle doors. The right door was open/miss aligned. One ball hit managed to squeeze behind the castle doors while they were "closed". The ball didn't fall into the rescue saucer, it just rested behind the closed door, the game didn't know where it was and we couldn't shake it free. (If I only had a key. Would have been a quick fix) of course there's no employees that care about getting it working, so it sat quiet to the world.

I was very impressed with these two games. Woz would get my money. It has made it to my wish list.

They also had a Rolling Stones, avatar, ironman, avengers, and transformers. These were all working well too.
X men is a redemption game so I didn't play it.

 

[spiroagnew]

Took my son out to Hamilton late last week to check out the EATPM on route at Gage Pizza and Wings. Ordered up a slice (horrible, btw) and asked for some quarters (they were annoyed). Since this is one of my grail pins, I asked about the status of the machine…if they owned it or an operator owned it. Again, annoyed, the owner of the joint mumbled that an operator takes care of it. Interesting that this particular operator is sticking with Sys11 games here…the previous pin was a Rollergames. Hoisted my son on a stool and played a few games. Pin wasn’t in the best of shape, but I have seen worse. Boogie Men didn’t boogie, two jumper bumpers didn’t jump, and one slingshot didn’t sling. Playfield didn’t have too much fade…though the cab was completely washed out of reds. All plastics and ramps looked great. Got a couple of replays thanks to hitting the multiball jackpots. Finished my pizza and moved along just as the place filled up with the high school lunchtime crowd. I noticed a sticker for Phoenix Amusements on the front of the game (Google shows they operate out of Burlington?) and I contacted them only to get a “number out of service” message. It is great to see pinball on location…not so great to see a game you covet running at less than its potential. I’ll bide my time ‘til an EATPM comes to market rather than try to track down this mystery operator to see if they would sell (probably not, anyway).

 

[brewmanager]

What scares me is I had to go count how many DMD's I have to do the glare guard count.
(Most are folded) I can't believe I am at 11 DMD's (including SWE1) just like you now Luch!

They came from all over everywhere but in the end, I blame Wong, for every single one.
Thanks buddy.

Did you remember the one in my basement? . It came from Wong too.....

 

[mwong168]

Did you remember the one in my basement? . It came from Wong too.....

:twisted:

 

[WARLOCK]

Did you remember the one in my basement? . It came from Wong too.....

:twisted:

I remembered that one!

Don't you have an announcement to make?

 

[brewmanager]

After many more tries than I care to admit, I finally Destroyed the Ring tonight.

Woohoo!

 

[mwong168]

Congrats for finally destroying the ring Walt! I know you have been trying for quite some time now and always coming up short. I know the first time Elliot DTR on my LOTR, the machine went nuts and thought something happened.

Don't you have an announcement to make?

I wish but nothing to report at the moment.

 

[WARLOCK]

LOL.

Mike, that line should have said "Don't you have an announcement to make Walt?

Walt text me he "destroyed the ring" before he posted it. I think he has done it twice now.

 

[Menace]

After many more tries than I care to admit, I finally Destroyed the Ring tonight.

Woohoo!

I sure hope you're talking about pinball! Otherwise this could get awkward... :lol:

D

 

[DRANO]

After many more burritos than I care to admit, I finally Destroyed the Ring tonight.

Woohoo!

There,I fixed it for you

 

[brewmanager]

After many more burritos than I care to admit, I finally Destroyed the Ring tonight.

Woohoo!

There,I fixed it for you

I wish I knew what I ate....but at 3:30 am last night....

 

[WARLOCK]

Lots to tell....

I bought Volley # 2.
I sold Earthshaker.
I bought Bally Star Trek.

I sold No Fear #2.
I sold Comet project.

I sold my original "pukman" cocktail cab.

I sent a Zac project to Sparky in QC to have a gear repaired or fabricated.
I helped ship G-man's Space Shuttle to Quebec.
I traded my Solar Fire #2 to North Eastern Ontario.

I picked up my folded WH2O finally from Brewmanager's basement.
I also picked up all my shelves and all my tools and removed them from his garage.
Only 2 empty pinball cabinets left there and then he is finally free of all my stuff from his place.
Thanks Walt.

I sold my Time Crisis II - Double Unit. (sniff!)

I bought No Fear #3, which was also my No Fear #1.
I sold Toledo.

I finally set up my Xmen and played a couple games at lunch today.

I stare in awe everyday at Websherpa's QC inbound 1931 Baffleball countertop coinop device that started it all.

Been too busy working the last 2 weeks to do much else.