Karl's ego trip

[Captain B. Zarre]

Try stacking up Secret Laugh with Multiball. Apparently, during one PAPA session, someone stacked them up and the whole room was in hysterics.
Also, here's a little anecdote: Whose nose lurks in the shadows of men? The Shadow's nose.

 

[Jeff Strong]

This is my new Lord Of The Rings Topper. Just needs some leds and this baby will scare the living shire out of you

I love it!

 

[karl]

Thanks,Jeff. Really apreciated it, man

 

[Clawhammer]

The wait for The Shadow and Twilight Zone is getting tough, but the seller sent me a few nice pictures of The Shadow. Almost ready and looking pretty decent and only one week until Metallica Premium finally gets here

I would say that TS looks a bit more than "pretty decent."

 

[karl]

Thanks Clawhammer. I was trying to be modest On the inside I am all fired up and happy I spent a little more than the usual price tag The Shadow goes for. I do not want to think about how much money I've spent getting TNG and Indiana Jones in working order :-(

 

[Sumez]

What were your biggest expenses on TNG and Indy? I was a bit taken back by how much I had to spend to fix up my WH2O, but looking at how it plays now, it was a really sound investment considering how cheap I got it.

 

[karl]

Indiana Jones: Everything about the mini playfield gave me a bigger than life headache along with a ton of other smaller problems that I could not fix on my own like getting the ball to stick in the mode hole + a lot of cosmetic stuff like getting Rusty ramps to look golden again (harder than it sounds and really expensive).

Star Trek TNG: This machine had so many ball-trough problems. Just changing the card was not enough. The machine kept on giving me to many or to few balls at the strangest times and ending games after two drains, etc, etc. Along with a strange problem that half the time the ball would not go all the way up the steep shooter ramp and a lot of smaller things that I have chosen to forget ;-) Strangely enough, I have not had any Canon problems yet

My main problem is of course that I am pretty lousy when it comes to fixing games and I soon gave up when the problem got too big and contacted a good flipper mechanic (who also had a few head scratches before fixing it) He also told me that Indiana Jones, and TNG especially is notorious when it comes to strange problems. Must be that new ball search thing Steve Ritchie invented for it

My other and more important problem is that those machines were far from cheap. (A little over 3000$ each)

In my humble opinion (at least here in Norway) the difference between getting something really nice and something that is reported "in good working condition" is around 1000$. Repairs and touch-ups can soon go far beyond 1000$, so for me, (at least until I get in the swing of getting my hands dirty) I feel it's worth it to pay a little extra from the start. I payed a little to much for LOTR, but no big issues on it yet, except for the usual things, like switches acting up and normal wear damage and that at least I can handle, to some degree ;-)

I remember that you got your Wh20 at a real bargain price, and if that were the case with me I would not feel so cheated I guess but we live and learn.

PS! Nice to hear your WH20 is feeling better. What a great machine that is (when it is working properly of course ;-) ) and sorry for the long rant

 

[Sumez]

a lot of cosmetic stuff like getting Rusty ramps to look golden again (harder than it sounds and really expensive).

What did you use? I gave all of my rusty wireforms on White Water the old trick with coke (cheap knockoff brand, not real coca-cola ) and tinfoil, rubbing the soaked tinfoil on the steel, and it worked perfectly. They are completely rust free and shiny now, however the metal flaps that go between playfields and ramps still have spots from where the rust was, that I don't think can be removed. But those are really cheap to replace anyway.

My main problem is of course that I am pretty lousy when it comes to fixing games and I soon gave up when the problem got too big and contacted a good flipper mechanic (who also had a few head scratches before fixing it) He also told me that Indiana Jones, and TNG especially is notorious when it comes to strange problems. Must be that new ball search thing Steve Ritchie invented for it

I can imagine hiring a mechanic ought to be expensive, they have to make it worth their time, obviously, and then there's transport, either transporting the guy or the entire table.
Personally I've had so much "fun" fixing up my table that it's become as big a part of the hobby as playing it. I go by the idea that no problem is so big that it can't be fixed, and in a worst case scenario, the people at Pinside.com are very helpful and don't mind newbie questions. The last problem I fixed was the outhole kicker that had problems kicking the third ball into the trough - I thought it was just kicking too hard, but in reality I was missing a small wireform that works as a one-way gate inside the trough. I never knew that this even existed >_>

In my humble opinion (at least here in Norway) the difference between getting something really nice and something that is reported "in good working condition" is around 1000$. Repairs and touch-ups can soon go far beyond 1000$

Seriously? $1000 is a LOT! That would include replacing several game specific parts entirely. Even replacing every single transparent ramp on White Water would only set you back a few hundreds.

I feel it's worth it to pay a little extra from the start. I payed a little to much for LOTR, but no big issues on it yet, except for the usual things, like switches acting up and normal wear damage and that at least I can handle, to some degree ;-)

I started finally getting into the rule set of LOTR, and I absolutely love it! That table is incredibly high on my wish list right now, I'm so envious!

 

[karl]

Some great advice there Sumez. I think I have the same problem with my White Water. Started acting up recently but only on some balls. Do you have a link to that wireform? Is it easy to see if it is missing?
Great advice also about getting a shine to old ramps but if they are gold colored you have to use some kind of brass or gold plating in addition to get that golden shine and for that I have found no easy solution. I ended up using real gold. Looks great but costs a fortune ;-) (not something I would do again)

LOTR is my favorite game when it comes to rules. Only drawback is that it is so damn hard to get to the last wizard goal. I have been close a few times but this could take a lot of time. The hardest part for me is finishing Return of the king multiball. Making all the shots 7 times is far from easy.

About the 1000$: It includes cabinet touch-ups,(new decals if necessary) playfield shine (clear coating, etc) and other things that take a lot of time and money to do yourself

 

[karl]

I got a few pictures yesterday of the machine soon to be mine. Looking forward to this one also

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This picture is a little fuzzy but it still looks pretty good:

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[sotie]

Looks really nice.

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

Aargh! Out with that blasphemous barrier in the pops, you heretic! Looks pretty nice otherwise, though!

How's that LOTR been treating you? I'll be on the hunt for one soon.

 

[Kolchak357]

Karl you are building a nice little personal arcade there.

 

[karl]

Thanks Sotie and Sean

Sean: Have you tried it with the post? Is it center drain all the time? Just wondering if this is something that will drive me crazy and must be dealt with right away

LOTR is easy to play and I can actually have some nice long ball times occasionally ;-) If I have a ok game I'll end up between 30-50 mill and on a good day 100-150 mill. I love it to death but because of the long game play, I usually only play it 2-3 games in a row. (it's quite a workout actually but fun as hell)

How's AC/DC treating you? I still would really really want that machine

 

[karl]

Thanks Kolchak357 I'm thinking about putting ST TNG into storage because of space issues. Not something I would like to do but I probably have to pick one and that is the one I play the least at the moment

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

Thanks Sotie and Sean

Sean: Have you tried it with the post? Is it center drain all the time? Just wondering if this is something that will drive me crazy and must be dealt with right away

LOTR is easy to play and I can actually have some nice long ball times occasionally ;-) If I have a ok game I'll end up between 30-50 mill and on a good day 100-150 mill. I love it to death but because of the long game play, I usually only play it 2-3 games in a row. (it's quite a workout actually but fun as hell)

How's AC/DC treating you? I still would really really want that machine

I've not had a chance to play a real TZ with the barrier in it. From what I understand, the center drain problem happens most with machines that have relatively insensitive bumpers. The ball hits the barrier and then kind of dribbles out the right side and into the center drain.

Good to hear about LOTR. And yeah, it's a long-ball game. Kind of one of the reasons I want one, because my TZ definitely isn't and my AC/DC usually is not unless I'm having a very good game.

As far as the AC/DC goes, I think my TZ broke one of its clock optos out of jealousy. AC/DC probably gets 5 games out of every 6. Part of that is that my TZ is set up ballbreakingly hard (extra hard settings, outlane posts completely removed [!], no ball save, slightly higher playfield pitch, extra-bouncy flipper rubber), so it's not my I-just-want-a-game-of-pinball-after-work machine. But so far, I couldn't be more pleased with AC/DC.

 

[karl]

If you find one with a affordable price tag, go for it Sean. It is a killer machine

Here is a poor picture of my LOTR with gold side mirrors installed (and in the cardboard box next to it is my new Metallica speakers )

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And here is one with my new plunger. I also installed new LED backglass lights. A recommended mod to any Stern owners (out with the kitchen tube light)

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[Sumez]

Some great advice there Sumez. I think I have the same problem with my White Water. Started acting up recently but only on some balls. Do you have a link to that wireform? Is it easy to see if it is missing?

It's identical to this one:

Very simple, there's a metal flap that keeps it from swinging the opposite direction.

The part number is 12-6542, but it's pretty easy to shape yourself for a similar effect.

 

[karl]

Great, Thanks Sumez

 

[Sumez]

It's ridicolous how much of a different this made to me. I found myself frustrated every single time I drained with two balls already in the trough, and whenever I ended a game with one or more balls in the lock I would always quickly press start to begin the next game with extra room in the trough, so I wouldn't have to wait for it to manage to succesfully kick the ball up there without it rolling back.

Now it just plays like it should. Like every other pinball table, I guess >_>

I think I'm gonna go on tuning this table forever.