Author Topic: Star Trek resto PART III. STTNG.  (Read 2434 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Pinfan

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • ******
  • Forum Posts:
  • Melbourne
Star Trek resto PART III. STTNG.
« on: April 14, 2010, 09:22:14 PM »
This is the reason why i combated through the 25th resto at a severe pace.  :D So i apologize for that, but......

I have been wanting to restore STTNG for a long time and it has taken me almost 2 years to gather up parts for this restore.

A little history of the game before we start....

It was purchased 2 years ago as is with the intention to fully restore it to the best of my capabilities.

It was filthy and the cab had a few dings here and there. The side rails were dented on both sides.  !!!

The HB decals had the typical marks of any Bally/Williams from this era.

The PF was in excellent condition in regards to wear and the kidneys inserts but was F I L T H Y !

The 2 support arms that slide and lock the PF on the pivot nuts on the inside of the cab were rooted and the PF had been constantly chewing up the timber supports until the 2 new ones were installed.

Part of the deal was to have a new coin door, side rails, PF slide rails, lock down bar and back box lock supplied. The coin door was fitted as too the new PF slide rails.

The hole had minor wear, nothing a Cliffy couldn't cover and all the ramps had the typical STTNG damage to their entrances.

All the plastics which are usually broken on a STTNG were and the flipper bats were misaligned and the left flipper bat was cracked. All clear plastics, which there are a heap on STTNG, were yellowed beyond repair.

Translite was slightly marked.

Legs and gun handle were shot. The gun handle has a little spring inside to retract the trigger but it never did.

There was slight rust forming on metal parts on top of the PF. I am guessing it was from being in storage for so many years.

It was playable and 100 % working when brought home and it was my intention to gather as many new, repro and NOS parts i could for this pin and slowly restore it. No time frame or allocated hours.

I have kept a log very similar to John Warts, as i always have but this log i will follow with my updates on this thread. I will not be listing hours spent or so but rather what was done on that day.

The STTNG was going the full overhaul as i wanted it to be way up there in terms of standards. People who know me know i like my pins to be presentable, however i wanted the STTNG to stand out above the rest.

I have no sequential patterns to my restores. I am not methodical in where i do the PF then the cab or the HB etc... I do what i like, when i like and how i like. I don't set my self a task and say 'i will do this tonight'.

If i am doing a task and i don't feel like going on, or feel i have lost interest and will not not finish it off to my maximum ability then i put it aside and leave it for another day.

It was my intention to really take my time with this and do it right !

This is how i received the pin. Notice the original date on the pics.
Some people have big HEADS !

Offline Pinfan

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • ******
  • Forum Posts:
  • Melbourne
Re: Star Trek resto PART III. STTNG.
« Reply #1 on: April 14, 2010, 09:31:40 PM »
In the 3rd pic above, and first pic below, take note of the lane return plastics, long thin plastics in line with the flippers. The one on the left is way out of wack ! From factory like this.  !@#

The colours were uniform and no new holes drilled which leads me to believe they were released like this !  !@#

Where was quality control ! ^&^

More pics...
Some people have big HEADS !

Offline Pinfan

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • ******
  • Forum Posts:
  • Melbourne
Re: Star Trek resto PART III. STTNG.
« Reply #2 on: April 14, 2010, 09:34:32 PM »
And just a couple more of the sides of the cab...
Some people have big HEADS !

Offline Strangeways

  • Pinball Restoration is my passion
  • Administrator
  • Trade Count: (+9)
  • *****
  • High Score Initials:
  • Forum Posts:
  • Melbourne
  • ABN 68 283 634 461
    • Ride The Boney Beast
Re: Star Trek resto PART III. STTNG.
« Reply #3 on: April 14, 2010, 09:44:19 PM »

IMHO the hardest and most time consuming machine to restore. Glad to see this one is getting the full treatment  ^^^
Aussie Pinball - Proud to be Australia's Premier Pinball Forum

http://www.australianpinballrestorations.com.au/

http://www.rtbb.com.au/catalog/

We carry the largest range of NEW Ramps in Australia

Offline Caveoftreasures

  • Trade Count: (+16)
  • ******
  • Forum Posts:
Re: Star Trek resto PART III. STTNG.
« Reply #4 on: April 15, 2010, 12:19:55 AM »
I just had Andrew (Beaky) do a full clean up and shop-job on one of my STNG's. (one more to go Beaky.lol) The machine was pretty good to start off with, except for the under body trough ramp being filthy. Andrew did a mighty fine job on my machine for me and it came up a treat.

STNG is a machine that plays like a big comfy Mercedes Benz. When they are cleaned up, they are beautiful to look at as well as play.

I am sure Marco (Pinfan) that yours will come up no less than the amazing job you did on the Star Trek 25th.

Great read so far Marco. Love ya work mate.  ^^^ ^^^ ^^^
Behind every garage door could be a pinball collectors
"Cave of Treasures" 55 in my collection

Into  Stern -JJP - Cars , Road Bikes- Jet Skis - Star Trek n Sci-Fi & Electronics    
Beware of Stalkers & Walkers when playing The Walking Dead

My 7yr old son Hunter is my best mate in the world !

Offline Pinfan

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • ******
  • Forum Posts:
  • Melbourne
Re: Star Trek resto PART III. STTNG.
« Reply #5 on: April 15, 2010, 10:23:35 PM »
A very big day stripping the top and bottom of the PF.

The top of the PF was stripped completely and so was the bottom, bar the wiring loom and the 2 cannon motor/assemblies.

Usual crap here so a few pics of the strip down will suffice.

 
Some people have big HEADS !

Offline beaky

  • Trade Count: (+7)
  • ******
  • Forum Posts:
  • Melbourne, Vic
Re: Star Trek resto PART III. STTNG.
« Reply #6 on: April 16, 2010, 05:31:16 PM »
keep up the hard work.
it will all be worth it in the end
On site pinball repairs in MELBOURNE NTH SUBURBS  : Circuit board repairs and refurbishing Australia wide (via Aust post)

Offline Maxprofits

  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • ***
  • Forum Posts:
  • Ballarat, Victoria
Re: Star Trek resto PART III. STTNG.
« Reply #7 on: April 16, 2010, 09:48:01 PM »
This game is a bitch to strip, restore and repair in so far as it's very time consuming and has many points of failure. Keep going, the end result is worth it.

Thanks for the photos and update.
The thicken plots.

Offline Caveoftreasures

  • Trade Count: (+16)
  • ******
  • Forum Posts:
Re: Star Trek resto PART III. STTNG.
« Reply #8 on: April 16, 2010, 10:02:51 PM »
its funny how everyone says that STNG has lots of points of failure etc and is a bitch to work on, cause my 2 next gens have never had an issue ever, and a few mates who have them have had years of playing without any hickups.  !@#

i think maybe operators back in the day did hack repairs to a few here n there and its probably led to the machines getting a bad rap with so many opto's.

beaky (andrew) stripped mine down for a great polish/detail quicker than a hooker grabbing a hundred buck note on a slow day.  %.%

i guess i have been lucky with mine. Live long and prosper.lol   ^^^
Behind every garage door could be a pinball collectors
"Cave of Treasures" 55 in my collection

Into  Stern -JJP - Cars , Road Bikes- Jet Skis - Star Trek n Sci-Fi & Electronics    
Beware of Stalkers & Walkers when playing The Walking Dead

My 7yr old son Hunter is my best mate in the world !

Offline Pinfan

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • ******
  • Forum Posts:
  • Melbourne
Re: Star Trek resto PART III. STTNG.
« Reply #9 on: April 16, 2010, 10:51:03 PM »
You're partly right there caveman. I have had my STTNG for 2 years and i never had a problem with it.

The first issue i had was just before i stripped it to restore and it was a problem with that pathetic extra 8 solenoid board. It was previously repaired and had some tracks blown off it...Transistor blew and the lower subway coil locked on and burnt itself.

Before i started to strip down the pin i repaired this problem and run an extra tieback wire of a thicker gauge to prevent this happening again. (as suggested on Marvin)

Prior to that it had been working flawlessly. And thats the way i like them.  *%*

I think what Max was trying to say is that when something does go wrong it can all go pear shape as it is more involved and more technical than the average pin.

If you ask me it is a brilliant piece of engineering. It is a marvel to strip and put back together.

I am enjoying every second so far.. #@#
« Last Edit: April 16, 2010, 11:28:05 PM by Pinfan »
Some people have big HEADS !

Offline ddstoys

  • Trade Count: (+23)
  • ******
  • High Score Initials:
  • Forum Posts:
  • Geelong
Re: Star Trek resto PART III. STTNG.
« Reply #10 on: April 16, 2010, 11:10:55 PM »
I love it Marco i do what i want when i want with no order involved....  Your results are always excellent so keep doing it that way.    I have the same attitude thats why i have 3 stripped machines at once but its amazing how i can jump from one machine to the other and still know what each part is for

Offline Strangeways

  • Pinball Restoration is my passion
  • Administrator
  • Trade Count: (+9)
  • *****
  • High Score Initials:
  • Forum Posts:
  • Melbourne
  • ABN 68 283 634 461
    • Ride The Boney Beast
Re: Star Trek resto PART III. STTNG.
« Reply #11 on: April 16, 2010, 11:56:17 PM »

There is no doubt that this title is an absolute bitch of a machine to work on. The Aux Driver board is poorly designed and the diverter coils / drop target can cause all sorts of headaches. EVERY single machine I've ever worked on has required the cannon wiring looms to be replaced. Theres a lot of work involved in getting this machine up to our standards.

Having said that, I've played ONE "perfectly working" ST TNG, and I was very impressed with the machine up to the point where I have almost changed my mind on its gameplay.

Stay tuned  %$%
Aussie Pinball - Proud to be Australia's Premier Pinball Forum

http://www.australianpinballrestorations.com.au/

http://www.rtbb.com.au/catalog/

We carry the largest range of NEW Ramps in Australia

Offline Pinfan

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • ******
  • Forum Posts:
  • Melbourne
Re: Star Trek resto PART III. STTNG.
« Reply #12 on: April 18, 2010, 11:27:29 AM »
The last couple of days i have done bits and pieces, nothing too drastic but the tumbler got a thrashing.

Metal parts from everywhere is being tumbled daily in order to be ahead when it comes time to re assemble.

Flipper bases and associated metal parts were stripped and cleaned. A full flipper rebuild was on the cards but i still cleaned the old parts.  !@)

Whilst waiting for the shift to change over for the tumbler (tumbler has been running 24/7  :D) i decided to tackle the back board that sits on the very back of the PF. It was going to be sanded,painted and then a decal was going to be installed on the front side of it. The face that faces the PF is normally just black so i wanted to spruce it up a little. The decal was purchased from my friend at RTBB.  ^^^

The metal from this board was placed into the tumbler. There is only 2 small support brackets that hold the delta and beta ramps.

The back of the board was then sanded and masked and the front and sides were given a light coat of paint to freshen up its appearance. Once the paint had cured i gave the front of the board a sand with 1200 grit so that the board had a nice smooth and clean surface for the decal to be stuck onto. I then wiped it down with Shellite and an aftermarket decal was installed.

Pix 1 is of the board all ready for the decal.

Pix 2 is of the decal installed.

Pix 3 is of the decal installed and cut out. Finished.

I was very happy with the results as it turned out awesome and not one bubble appeared. I always do my decal applying the wet method way. Doesn't matter how big or small the decal is!
Some people have big HEADS !

Offline Maxprofits

  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • ***
  • Forum Posts:
  • Ballarat, Victoria
Re: Star Trek resto PART III. STTNG.
« Reply #13 on: April 18, 2010, 01:42:28 PM »
Man that came up a treat! Nice Work. Its gunna look great once you have the game back together. Keep up the good work.
The thicken plots.

Offline GORGAR 1

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • ******
  • High Score Initials:
  • Forum Posts:
  • BROOKFIELD-MELBOURNE
Re: Star Trek resto PART III. STTNG.
« Reply #14 on: April 19, 2010, 10:02:20 AM »
Great work Marco as per usual-just love reading your resto threads.

Peter/Mr Gorgar