The Aussie Pinball Arcade
Aussie Pinball Forums => Restorations => Topic started by: Pinfan on April 03, 2010, 02:02:36 PM
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To those who are interested...
This is going to be a short and quick resto thread about ST 25th to carry on with the original Bally ST resto.. hence the PART II.
This was restored in the months leading to Christmas of last year and was finished just before and I never got a chance to post...Well better late than never... ^^^
OK this was a hell of a lot easier than the Bally as i didn't need to do any cabinet restoration as the cabinet was in excellent condition.
The PF was immaculate in the sense of no wear but was filthy, as were all the mechs, pops etc... When i first received the machines the pops would not fire because of the accumulated dirt on the switches and the misalignment of them.. It simply was sluggish and there was so much play in the left flipper link that is was almost impossible to aim. Was replaced with a Williams link with no bushing so it was sloppy !
The translite was dirty,what a surprise, and upon closer inspection some one had tried cleaning it previously in the past and the back was pretty much blotchy and missing some ink here and there.
The PF ramp on this game is HUGE and i had an issue with it, so i had to repair it. I will detail this when we arrive to it in the thread. Not to mention that
1; It was near impossible to locate a NOS ramp for this game
and
2; when i did the bloke wanted a GAZILLION dollars for it plus the lack of communication didn't @@^... So what do you guys think...... SCAM ! ^.^
Truly after almost a year of searching i only had 1 offer of a second which was damaged like mine but not as severe and the other was the BS above.
Believe it or not i also had a problem with the subway ramp. At a later date.
So i pulled the PF from the game, mounted it on my rotisserie and started stripping the PF...
pics show the condition of the game in that state i bought it.
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A couple more....
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OK- PF has been fully stripped at this stage and everything was orgainsed, bundled together and put aside.
There was a lot of cleaning to do and the tumbler got a thrashing !
PF of its first pass over with Orange power.
I LOVE the artwork and colours of this game it is simply stunning. IMO one of the best artwork packages going around.
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WOW! Agreed, very nice artwork on that PF. Looks like its come up an absolute treat after the Orange Power too.
el_timbo
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Always interested in your work Marco!
Great job, outstanding results!
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Very nice work, Marco. Looks like the layers of dirt protected the playfield from any wear !
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Great work Marco, very bright and colourful playfield.
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Like i said a lot of cleaning, polishing and waxing... :D
Every mech, including the swinging target and two drop target banks, was pulled apart and rebuilt. All metal was polished and every single coil sleeve was changed.
All 3 pop bumper assemblies were replaced with brand new complete assemblies...Everything was attached to the bracket, easiest rebuild ever.... Unsolder the light sockets, undo four screws and reverse the procedure and they were done...20 minutes max... Best ever !
I also gaped and cleaned every switch.
Flippers were rebuilt and the left coil was replaced. I also had a couple of brackets that had fatigued over the years of abuse so i located new replacements from my friend Gregory...RTBB... and replaced them. The wiring loom got a tidy up and clean. Plastics were in great shape as to were the posts so they got a good cleaning too.
A few pics is of the PF with 3 coats of wax. The rest are of rebuilt mechs etc.
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Next couple of pics are of the pop assemblies and rebuilt mechs...
The pop bumper closest to the opening did not have the light socket connected. It looks like it was like this from the factory as the Dilithium Crystal pad hides it. My idea was to get a wide angle led in that hidden socket to create a bright hue around the pad.
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More pics.
Metal guides were pulled from the pf and tumbled and then re installed.
Drop assemblies stripped cleaned and being rebuilt.
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Targets installed.
Ramp assembly was re installed.
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Like i said, this is going to be short and sweet and FAST :lol so i am hoping that i am still giving some details...
Popper mech used to play up. Once i stripped it i found out why ! It had no teeth !
Popper was rebuilt in the usual fashion...
The 3rd pic is the metal guide for the Dilithium Crystal swinging target hole.
Last pic is a pre fit of a Cliffy on one side. Note the little metal guide behind the hole...
I apologise for the blurry pics... !@)
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Swinging target mech was stripped cleaned, polished and re installed.
So i guess you guys can gauge how all the mechs were rebuilt.. Same was done to the slings, ball shooter, kicker, knocker and gate assemblies.
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Love ya work. It was filthy thats for sure.
I purchased 2 x star trek 25ths from Ken Priest in QLD last xmas and both were in minty condition before he even pulled them off his racks.
I was extremely lucky. I had to buy the both of them because i knew finding one ever again as good as these were would be impossible.
The only drawback was that both the translites had been stolen by someone.
I then purchased 2 x brand new ones for the game from the fellow in the USA that you Marco helped me with.
Luckily for me, my ramps are all like brand new so i didnt end up with that hassle.
Love the pictures, love the wax n polish job u did.
A very fun and collectable game.
LIVE LONG AND PROSPER. ^^^
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You're very lucky Brett finding your games with nice ramps as most of the 25th's I've seen had the entrances of the right side of the ramp smashed to pieces... As was mine... !!!
Its all repaired now and i am quite happy with the outcome.. #@#
RE the translites......I was lucky to find a NOS translite for mine way before Classic Arcades repro'd them.
My original had the scars of a previous clean. !!!
They are very lightly printed and anything, and i mean anything, on the reverse side/printed side damaged the ink.. Very delicate !
I ending up giving my NOS a quick squirt of air just to clear the dust off as i was petrified to put any liquid, including water, on the reverse side of the translite to clean it.
Every translite and bg i have come across and cleaned I have used Novus 2 with astonishing results. This was the first i could not use Novus 2 as the translite was way too delicate !
You live and learn i suppose.
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I paid $3400 x 2 for my 2 x star trek 25th's.
MINTY came at a price i can tell u.
I purchased the second one the day the new star trek movie came out. Ken did say he had quite a few enquiries in the weeks after the movie came out but "sorry, just sold the last real good one" was the standard reply he gave. I am happy. They both are beaut machines.
I love all things star trek so i am happy to keep both forever with my 2 x next gens and the voyager arcade. Addicted is addicted. @.@ @.@
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I paid $3400 x 2 for my 2 x star trek 25th's.
Damn you must have really wanted them....
IMO its actually a great playing game.
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Nice to see your attention to detail, Marco - Great work.
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Metal Playfield posts get tumbled and re installed.
Plastic posts are cleaned individually with a toothbrush using Nifti and hot water.
I also started installing Leds and metal guides...
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I am looking forward to seeing this machine with the LEDs installed. I need to know what the fuss is all about !
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mate, she looks sweet. ^^^
please take a video and lots of photos of the game after the LEDs are working.
I have to replace almost every bulb on my two machines because the quality is iether really crap, or ken chose the lowest/dimmest versions known to man. the bulbs are a chineese brand and they are crap.
pulling that large main ramp off with all the stuff aint an easy task to redo all the bulbs with LED's but if it looks great, i will bite the bullet and just do it.
I purchased cliffys from mark c to add to the machines anyway, so off with the ramp.
cant wait to see a vide of yours marco. ^^^ ^^^ ^^^
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Fantastic work Marco! Looks great ^^^
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A lot of fun to follow the restoration. I have never seen the game, but like the Sci-themes generally. Very clean work.
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Marco,
A very enjoyable read - again, a fantastic effort and result! Well done.
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if u havent played a star trek 25th anniversary, its a great game. the lights and audio are very well designed. ^^^
the machine has a hologram/picture in the backglass/headbox that dissapears and re-appears just before multiball that simulates the crew dissapearing on/into the transporter like the show. the only machine made with this effect i am led to believe.
a great game and all the great audio from the original series.the game is alot of fun. marco's will play real fast because of the playfield polish.
I cant wait to see the LED's installed and lit up ! if u havent played one, give it a go. real collectable as well being star trek. ^^^
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Great restoration Marco. Fantastic work and the leds look great from the pics.
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never liked star trek 25th until i played this one fully restored,fast and fun.Excellent work.
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Puts mine to shame, makes mine look like crap...wanna swap Marco *)*
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Just hold that thought Dean until you see my ramp ! !*! !*!
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Re assembly of playfield plastics,rubbers,posts etc...
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More pics of re assembly...
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I stripped the side rails from the cab as it had the usual thumb print rust on the top of the rail and it was ugly...
I had the rails and the lock down bar powder coated and was tossing up whether to do the legs as well. !@#
Cab inside was cleaned and outside was Novus'd 2...
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Well i didn't end up powder coating the legs, instead i did it the traditional 'Pinfan' way...metallic ! #@#
The legs were installed with new levelers, bolts and leg protectors, and the cab was standing on its own 4 feet....
A new shooter button housing was installed with leds in the switches...
What a pain in the ass it was to change that shooter housing ! ^.^
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$%$
Simply outstanding. Those colors are vibrant to the point that it seems I'm looking at a NIB machine. Attention to detail is excellent - you should be proud !
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Amazing job. Well done! Surely the best one in Australia.
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OK now we get to both ramps....
The top ramp right side entrance was rooted and so was the subway ! What was i to do...
Well after searching for a year i had no choice but to repair both ramps...Whilst i am in the process of repairing the top ramp guess what pops on RGP!.... a NOS complete subway ramp, complete with harness and switches, plug and play for what worked out to be ONLY $75 AU to my door...
I had no choice but to buy it.. I was so ecstatic as i had no idea how i was going to tackle the subway ramp
repairs and also that it saved me a whole heap of work... $#$
Before pics and fully stripped....
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Equipment and tools used to repair the ramp.
2 pieces of 4mm lexen, same dimensions as the original metal protectors.
2 new metal protectors cut by my friend John who is a member here and also has a 25th.. ( Thanks John ^^^ )
2 new ramp flaps also cut by John...
and a brush on gel type clear drying super glue made by Selleys...Apparently it is like epoxy and bonds any material and dries clear!
What i did was glue the two 4 mm pieces of lexen on the outer walls of the ramp on both sides. This was to reinforce the thin crap plastic DE used from the factory and also to add a bit of meat to the newly repaired ramp....
Once cured i glued the metal protectors on the inside walls of the ramp in their factory position.
This was to reinforce the inside walls and stiffen up the entrance to allow it to handle more abuse. These metal ramp protectors are of the exact dimensions of the original ones, its just that mine never had any as you can see in the first pics..
Once it was all cured and reinforced my friend at RTBB pop riveted the flaps on. (Thanks Greg! ^^^)
Pics of the repaired ramp and some random re assembly pics.. ( lost the folder of the completed ramp pics! @# )
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This is what i was confronted with -with the subway ramp! ^&^ :tumble: !@# @.@ ^.^ !!! !*! *!@ ^&( &^&
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And now you can see the NOS ramp beside the old dog chewed piece of shit of an original !! $#$
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The work you have done looks stunning. Great score on the subway ramp, good karma came your way with that.
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The transporter assembly and its surroundings were stripped and cleaned and re installed.
Leds installed into the light board along with new 89's.
A NOS translite was sourced along with new plastic trim.
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That NOS translite will finish off the machine very nicely.
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I had the pleasure of playing this machine today and it quite simply felt like I was playing a new machine. The LEDS look amazing, and Marco has "written the book" on LED placement - well as far as games I've seen and played !
Looks much better "in the flesh" - You have come a LONG way in 3 years mate ^^^
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Thanks for the kind words guys..
Nino, it was a pleasure having you over. ^^^
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Looking good marco ^^^
don't you love putting it back together when everything looks so shinny and new? $#$
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Cabinet is all finished, as is the HB. The PF gets re assembled and the pin gets turned on and play tested to ensure perfect operation...
Game is now complete ! $#$
I also posted this thread around Christmas time giving a little more detail on the LeDS and a mod i hooked up for this game.
http://aussiepinball.com/index.php?topic=3652.0
I hope you enjoyed the restore ! ^^^
Soon to post a thread on the third in the trilogy ! *)* && ....soon... <..>
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Glamour pics ! #@#
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Top job Marco, very nice looking game
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Beautiful job, Marco. Lots of pics, lots of hard work - evidentally an excellent result. The more I am reading about restorations, the more I want to start on one of these one day. Thanks for sharing.
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Great work mate, looks fantastic ^^^
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Thanks for the kind words guys..
2 out of the 3 restored !
Now onto the next.. &&
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Fantastic work Marco. Looks amazing.
Cannot wait to see your next resto!