Welcome Back to Digital Pinball Fans - please read this first
For latest updates, follow Digital Pinball Fans on Facebook and Twitter

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="IHaveTheMagic" data-source="post: 96668" data-attributes="member: 107">I just bought an F14. It is my third pin. I paid $1250 without any LEDs. That was probably high but there were some trade offs. It's also California pricing. Here are the things to look for on this machine.First off this game is 25 years old. There is no such thing as 'minor wear' on these. I will almost guarantee that the inserts on the playfield are popping up. Mine plays like a gravel road. It's  very common on this machine. Second check the Mylar and the paint. The majority of these came out of the factory with the Mylar kit. Depending on the condition you will want to remove it.  That is a pain staking process that WILL pull up paint and artwork. I got lucky as mine did not have the factory Mylar and the two owners who had it were meticulous about slathering wax all over it. The paint was almost completely intact save for some cracking and trail marks. Others are not so lucky. Under the playfield look for any burned out resistors on the flasher boards. They typically get hot, burn up, and fall of the boards. I had to replace about 10 of them. Check the beacon motor and assembly works. Generally the belts are gone as they have dried up and cracked away. Check if the pullys are free spinning or not. Also the motors are notorious for shorting. The lead wires break inside the casing and it becomes unreliable. There is no test mode for the beacon motor. The only way to get it run continuously to check it out is to setup multiball. Ask to take the glass off and manually set it up so you make sure it works. Also, on mine I didn't notice till I got it home that the player three display was outgassed. When I start my machine up it almost always finds at least two switches that are malfunctioning in the boot up test. The diagnostic tests show no errors though. I was told by the seller that this is a common problem of false positives on start up with the sys11 games. I haven't been able to confirm that but it seems to be the case. Make sure you go through all the diagnostics menus and test everything. Also look for the obvious cracked plastics and broken welds on the ramps while the glass is off. Like I said you won't find a perfect machine. They ALL have problems. I'm $200 in parts into mine that was advertised as excellent condition. For me I can do all the mechanical work. I rebuilt the beacon motor and assembly, the flippers, had a buddy retack the ramps, replaced broken bulbs, fuses, resistors and bad solder joints. Last thing to do is level the inserts. That takes much time and patience to heat and remove them, sand and polish, apply new decals and reseat them. For me, the clean cabinet and the solid playfield paint were worth the tradeoff. I stay away from anything involving paint and spray cans. Just not my thing. As far as the LEDs go, it is some times a case of lipstick on a pig. The cost in the LEDs isn't worth all the other issues but does make it a quick sell to uninformed buyers. Personally, I love LEDs but not in this game. I added a few for the bumper, the locks, and the arrow inserts. Everything else just looks wrong in this machine.  Just my opinion. Your requirements may be different. I've bought a number of pins now and learned something new about the buying process each time. At the very least use this info to negotiate a better price. And keep in mind F14 is a pretty common machine. I waded through about four of them in a month on Craigslist before I settled on this one.  Good luck and post back with what happens.</blockquote>

Verification

Members online

No members online now.

Total: 79 (members: 0, guests: 79)

Latest posts

D
Anyone still playing?
- Latest: Dan
- Mar 3, 2025
The Pinball Arcade / Farsight Studios