The Aussie Pinball Arcade
Aussie Pinball Forums => Restorations => Topic started by: Pinfan on April 14, 2010, 09:22:14 PM
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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.
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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...
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And just a couple more of the sides of the cab...
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IMHO the hardest and most time consuming machine to restore. Glad to see this one is getting the full treatment ^^^
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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. ^^^ ^^^ ^^^
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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.
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keep up the hard work.
it will all be worth it in the end
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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.
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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 ^^^
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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.. #@#
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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
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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 %$%
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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!
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Man that came up a treat! Nice Work. Its gunna look great once you have the game back together. Keep up the good work.
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Great work Marco as per usual-just love reading your resto threads.
Peter/Mr Gorgar
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Thanks for the kind words guys...
Some more work on the STTNG... @@*
The flipper mechs were rebuilt, new flipper kits plus new coils were installed. These have been put aside ready to install back onto the pf.
Stripped and rebuilt pop bumper assemblies. All new parts have been added including the metal rings..
Seeing as 2 out of 3 of the metal yokes were broken I chose to go with the heavier duty Gottlieb metal yokes. They are a lot more robust. I did not want to get back in there to do it again! ::)
All the under side of the inserts were cleaned with Windex and a cotton bud. To me this makes a huge difference and is done on all my machines. For the 2 minutes extra work it sure is worth it.
I used the TC polishing kit on the pf. I was quite content with the outcome but nothing a hand job couldn't do! %.%
I also re globed all inserts and GI through out the pf not including the light boards.
There was three switches that were shot, middle rollover and the left and right outlanes. I replaced all 3 with new ones.
It is only just now starting to show its potential! &&
last pic shows the cleaned inserts....
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WOW! thats one good looking playfield.
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Another few hours with very little progress.. *.*
I am really enjoying restoring this pin! It is a lot of work but real satisfying.
Another quality aspect of the restore is that i have the STTNG series running on DVD in the background as i am working on the pin.. %.% %.% %.%
OK- to business-
All the spot targets and all switches through out the game had their points (switch) cleaned and gaped accordingly.
This took me quite a while as there is a heap of targets and switches on STTNG. Time consuming but well worth it for the reliability. ^^^
Once the switches were all cleaned the target faces were cleaned with Shellite then with Novus 2 and re installed back onto the PF.
All spot targets also had new foam installed behind the face of the target.
The larger neutral zone target had the original decal removed. The target was also cleaned with Shellite and a NOS target decal was placed onto the target face. There was no need to mylar over the decal as this was a NOS decal which was already coated with mylar.
As most STTNG the neutral zone hole is chewed, as was mine...A Cliffy protector was installed to cover and further protect the hole.
Easy work with not much progress but most satisfying knowing that these switches are all going to be 100 % operational and reliable as the hard work has now been done.
Happy days.. #*#
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^^^
You've lifted the standard even higher on this one Marco. Awesome looking machine.
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That playfield looks like Glass Marco well done again
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Strip, clean, rebuild! ::)
Strip, clean, rebuild! ::)
Strip, clean, rebuild! ::)
That's what i have been doing the last couple of days...
Catapult, ball trough, slings, poppers, upper divertor, kicker, up kicker, pop bumpers and ball shooter assemblies were all stripped, cleaned and rebuilt.
I have also installed the flipper mechs onto the playfield and installed and fixed the new bats...
I had a problem where 2 out of the 3 poppers had their connectors chopped off and the wires soldered and joined together, and then covered with heat shrink. My subway ramp was also like this.
Before cutting them away from the PF i numbered both sides of the wires as in some cases coloured wires did not match on the opposite end. This was done as a precautionary measure.
I asked around for some help and thanks to Beaky for supplying me with the pin out diagram which helped me out a great deal.
You can see in the pic white tape on each individual wire on 2 of the poppers, ( explained above) i left them on for when the time comes to re assemble the poppers, as an insurance just in case i muffed up the wiring order that Beaky sent me.
Take note of the new connectors. #@#
Not much to see but a couple of pics wouldn't hurt... #@#
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That last photo is brilliant i use the toothpick but hold the bare flipper with my hand while trying to tighten them ill be using your method from now on Marco ^^^
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orange flipper rubbers, interesting choice. actually looks pretty good on STNG . ^^^ ^^^ ^^^
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Thats EXACTLY how I adjust the flippers, and it works a charm. I've tried using other methods on my ToM, and I found that the ball kept hitting the slings on wide shots !
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That's what the roll pins are for.. %$%
The only way to get them 100 % accurate . ^^^
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This is coming up a treat.
Have you kept a rough log of the time spent on this? No doubt it has been many hours of work.
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This is coming up a treat.
Have you kept a rough log of the time spent on this? No doubt it has been many hours of work.
Sure have Andrew.
I won't reveal how many hours just yet but let me just tell you that it is like restoring 2 pins at once! Huge effort !
I ponder what someone could/would charge for an effort like this or any restore to this depth ???
It always leave me thinking !
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This is coming up a treat.
Have you kept a rough log of the time spent on this? No doubt it has been many hours of work.
Sure have Andrew.
I won't reveal how many hours just yet but let me just tell you that it is like restoring 2 pins at once! Huge effort !
I ponder what someone could/would charge for an effort like this or any restore to this depth ???
It always leave me thinking !
Unfortunately it is very difficult to charge a decent per hour rate for this sort of work because the time just adds up to way too much to be worth it to the buyer. Say you have spent 50 or 100 hours doing up a machine, then you would be looking at $2000 - $4000 for a $40 per hour rate. In my opinion this sort of rate would be fair and probably on the low side given the skill involved and the intensity of the work. However, spending $2000 to $4000 even on a machine worth $4000 will be money that almost certainly cannot be recuperated on the sale of said machine. And that's without even looking at any rubbers or other parts needed.
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There’s not much else I can do on the pf as in re assemble. I have left the pf as bare as possible in able to carry it myself back into the cab for when its time, just in case i have no one around to help me. That bastard is heavy!
So I started working on the cabinet.
The entire cabinet and HB were stripped completely. All parts were left aside in their designated sections for me to attend too..
The HB was unscrewed from its supports and pulled off away from the cab.
Light board was unscrewed away from the HB and left aside in order to be dealt with individually.
All boards were pulled as well.
Now the tumbler starts working full time again. ^^^
~ TIMBER SUPPORTS IN THE CAB ~
Both had previously been chewed up by the damage PF slide/lock in rails. These timber rails both needed to be replaced. I will address this at a later date. @@^
As i have mentioned previously the PF slide/lock rails were damaged and for quite a while the PF was chewing on these timber rails. To add more scars to the wound it started chewing up the side of the cabinet. &^&
You will see the extent of the damage in one of the pics. ^&^
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A little more progress.... :D
The HB was masked in order to be ready for removal of the decals, sanding and painting.
The decals have been removed and the HB has been patched up and primed ready for the decals.
The HB support arms ( attach the HB to the cabinet) and the speaker panel bottom metal trim/guide were cleaned, sanded and wiped with Shellite ready to be painted.
3 coats of gloss black and 3 coats of clear were applied on both items. Quite happy with the way they turned out.
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Going hard now ! ^^^
The cabinet was stripped of its decals... It's back to bare wood.
The 555 twist sockets were soaked in Nifti and hot water and then pulled and left to dry.
All light boards were de-globed, cleaned with alcohol, all light sockets and connectors were re flowed with fresh solder. They were then re globed with leds matching pf insert colours.. All leds had their connection wires expanded in order to make better contact with the twist socket.
I also closed the connectors on the 555 twist sockets closer together to give a better connection to the leds. This procedure has worked for me in the past so i continue to do this. It is very time consuming but well worth it i reckon.
Now i will have to wait for when i reassemble the PF and power up the machine to see if the 555’s are seated the right way. ( the only downfall for me RE leds! )
The subway ramp was totally stripped and rebuilt. Every single solder joint, especially on the optos, had fresh solder re flowed and of course a new connector was fitted to the end of the sub ramp. Both coils were cleaned and re sleeved and all diverter metal was tumbled and then re assembled.
A long time ago i stumbled across a cut pop bumper cap to fit under the Beta ramp and decided to do it for my STTNG..Seeing as from factory there is nothing on top of the 3rd pb i decided to dress it up a little. I had marked out a test cap before i stripped the machine, i just needed to cut it out.
Well it was cut out and put aside to test fit when i put the PF back together.
Lastly all the metal PF guides were hand polished using a green scotch brite pad and Metal Magic and left aside for the PF re assemble.
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Marco - incredibly meticulous work. I feel tired just reading it .... all the hard work!!! Keep going - the result speaks for itself.
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Great work so far mate *%*
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I finally caught up with this awesome resto well done mate great work-I still follow your tip everytime I put LED's in by making the contact abit tighter.
Well done
Mr Gorgar
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$.$
$#$
well done marco...
coming up a treat!
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Looks good!
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Thanks for the kind words guys... It is truly appreciated when you guys appreciate it ! :D
I've had a couple of big days on this restore....
Cab has been sanded, primed, painted and the decals have been installed.
Metal pf supports and leg brackets have all so been wire brushed and polished.
New black legs with all new trimming plus leg protectors have been installed to get the cab sitting on its own 4 feet.... Cabinet and hb have been reunited.
A new coin door, new flipper buttons and a new start and to be continued button have also been installed.
The gun assemble has also been stripped, cleaned, painted and rebuilt and then re installed back onto the cab...
The Borg assembly has also been stripped, cleaned, rebuilt and put aside waiting for its installation back onto the pf. I converted all lighting to leds as traditionally in the show the Borg ship is green so it has all been converted to green globes and flashers.. && I will detail what i have done to the Borg ship housing at a later date. <.>
Its all starting to take shape now and it should move on quickly from here. I still have a bit of cleaning here there but most has been done and left aside so i can breeze through putting it back together.
Most of the PF parts are being replaced with new parts so the cleaning of the ramps, plastics, posts etc is thrown out the door ! #*# $#$
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And few more pics... :D
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Super Update ! I really think you have lifted the bar with this restoration, Marco. I used to deplore this title, but looking at your attention to detail and patience, I'm looking forward to tackling mine. Looks simply stunning !
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Looking good Marco that cabinet looks great show how faded out most of the cabinets are. All your hard work is paying of as everything looks GREAT ^^^
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Looks amazing.
Have u worked out what the total cost will work out to be to convert the whole machine over to LED's. Probably between $140 to $180 i would imagine. ? !@#
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Looks amazing.
Have u worked out what the total cost will work out to be to convert the whole machine over to LED's. Probably between $140 to $180 i would imagine. ? !@#
No mate...
I purchased from Cointaker..
They now have kits and prices so you can work out what is needed and what it will cost...When i ordered no kits were available so I had to work it out myself and i have misplaced the sheet !
If i do find it i will send you the info...
Mate if you can hang on for the outcome pics of leds with this restore you will definitely want to change the standard kit.. #@#
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Simply fantastic work Marco. Looks a million bucks!
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looking good ^^^
cant wait to see the finished product
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I was going to order some stuff today (LED'S) but always out of stock. Gets frustrating when everything is always showing out of stock. ^&^
I dont like sending my money to marco or bay area, but if ya cant get stock, ya cant get stock.
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I was going to order some stuff today (LED'S) but always out of stock. Gets frustrating when everything is always showing out of stock. ^&^
I dont like sending my money to marco or bay area, but if ya cant get stock, ya cant get stock.
So i just ordered from over there.
Who's site is always showing out of stock ?
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I will have to plead the 5th amendment on this one.
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I will have to plead the 5th amendment on this one.
LOL!
Hmm, I wonder if is a certain Melbourne spare parts and machine seller located in a suburb about 28km east of the CBD??
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Can't wait to see what the LED's look like all lit up. You are doing a great job on the restore.
Would you care to share exactly what LED's you have in the green banana shaped inserts? I cleaned mine up at the end of last year and one of the last things I would like to do is reduce the heat under those inserts but I need to know what damn LED's! There are so many of them available now.
A couple more questions about the gun handle, what paint did you use and did you then clear over it or will the paint be able to handle the wear?
Thanks in advance for any answers you could provide.
(Turned mine on a while ago after a couple of weeks and the damn mulitple balls firing out has popped up, it was running flawlessly before so now it's time to chase down which opto is flakey)
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Can't wait to see what the LED's look like all lit up. You are doing a great job on the restore.
Would you care to share exactly what LED's you have in the green banana shaped inserts? I cleaned mine up at the end of last year and one of the last things I would like to do is reduce the heat under those inserts but I need to know what damn LED's! There are so many of them available now.
A couple more questions about the gun handle, what paint did you use and did you then clear over it or will the paint be able to handle the wear?
Thanks in advance for any answers you could provide.
LEDS ... i use all wide angle leds from cointaker..... In the kidney shaped inserts i have bright/cool white #555's and white flashers...
I opted to go white because they do not make an led this colour... It actually lights up nicely..
RE gun handle i used this stuff... http://www.vhtpaint.com/barrelpaint.html... awesome paint... I pinched a can from my bro in law so i don't know what its worth...
I then cleared it with Krylon triple thick. 3 coats...
LOL!
Hmm, I wonder if is a certain Melbourne spare parts and machine seller located in a suburb about 28km east of the CBD??
Well i did go to that particular site and everything ( well most led globes in a higher quantity of 5) was out of stock... i then see a bundle pack of 21 leds boasting different colours and styles for $17.50... !@#
Well each individual led globe sells for 70 cents..... you work it out ! !@#
I will have to plead the 5th amendment on this one.
Sometimes you have to do what you have to do Brett ! This is why i say 'never say never' !
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Can't wait to see what the LED's look like all lit up. You are doing a great job on the restore.
Would you care to share exactly what LED's you have in the green banana shaped inserts? I cleaned mine up at the end of last year and one of the last things I would like to do is reduce the heat under those inserts but I need to know what damn LED's! There are so many of them available now.
A couple more questions about the gun handle, what paint did you use and did you then clear over it or will the paint be able to handle the wear?
Thanks in advance for any answers you could provide.
LEDS ... i use all wide angle leds from cointaker..... In the kidney shaped inserts i have bright/cool white #555's and white flashers...
I opted to go white because they do not make an led this colour... It actually lights up nicely..
RE gun handle i used this stuff... http://www.vhtpaint.com/barrelpaint.html... awesome paint... I pinched a can from my bro in law so i don't know what its worth...
I then cleared it with Krylon triple thick. 3 coats...
Thanks mate, the angle the globes are set at in the kidney inserts was what was causing me grief I'll get hold of some and put them in. Thanks for the paint link too, If you cleared it also I may just get a hold of some gloss black and make sure I clear it well.
(I found the dodgy opto by leaving it in switch test, walking away and waiting for the sound of the switch closing, was only a dry joint - Great way for anyone that is trying to find an opto that isn't quite dead yet)
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Can't wait to see what the LED's look like all lit up. You are doing a great job on the restore.
Would you care to share exactly what LED's you have in the green banana shaped inserts? I cleaned mine up at the end of last year and one of the last things I would like to do is reduce the heat under those inserts but I need to know what damn LED's! There are so many of them available now.
A couple more questions about the gun handle, what paint did you use and did you then clear over it or will the paint be able to handle the wear?
Thanks in advance for any answers you could provide.
LEDS ... i use all wide angle leds from cointaker..... In the kidney shaped inserts i have bright/cool white #555's and white flashers...
I opted to go white because they do not make an led this colour... It actually lights up nicely..
RE gun handle i used this stuff... http://www.vhtpaint.com/barrelpaint.html... awesome paint... I pinched a can from my bro in law so i don't know what its worth...
I then cleared it with Krylon triple thick. 3 coats...
Thanks mate, the angle the globes are set at in the kidney inserts was what was causing me grief I'll get hold of some and put them in. Thanks for the paint link too, If you cleared it also I may just get a hold of some gloss black and make sure I clear it well.
(I found the dodgy opto by leaving it in switch test, walking away and waiting for the sound of the switch closing, was only a dry joint - Great way for anyone that is trying to find an opto that isn't quite dead yet)
A good way to test your optos if you can physically see them is with a digital camera you can see the optos glowing through your camera or even mobile phone ^^^
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A good way to test your optos if you can physically see them is with a digital camera you can see the optos glowing through your camera or even mobile phone ^^^
This is a great way, except I lent my camera to Mum the other day! Also it is better for optos that are completely out, mine was just intermittent so would have shown up as good initially, took about 20 minutes before it started to play up
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I had a trough problem when i re assembled the pin but i was 100 % sure it was not an opto...
I resoldered every joint and tested the optos before i stripped the game so i eliminated 95% of the problems...
My problem lay in the connector... Wasn't connected properly... @.@
I have yet to test an opto with the camera method but i will keep that in the back of my mind ! ^^^
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You can also test the receiver by blocking the transmitter with anything then shining one of them Led torched into the receiver ^^^
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The last couple of days i have been concentrating on getting the PF back into the cabinet so i can re populate the PF..
In order to do this my goal was to completely re assemble the entire inside and outside of the cabinet and get the HB in order as well...
Cabinet components have all gone through the usual vigorous cleaning and polishing methods and have been re installed into the cabinet. The HB was reunited with its boards and wiring looms..
There is a lot more detail than just re populate the cab and HB etc... A lot of work was involved but i decided to let the pics do the talking.
With the re assembly of the cab a few more new parts were installed...
New strike BB latch
New lockdown bar locking mech
New speaker grill
New flipper buttons
New start and TBC buttons
New coin door
Freshly printed decals
I prefer the inside of my cabs to look kind of 'not perfect or used' or shall i say factory like. Well when i say 'not perfect' i mean looking clean and respectable but 'not perfect. No new floor etc as i believe it kind of puts it out of character and after all its the inside of the cab !
So i gave it a light sand and left it at that..
Another dilemma i found myself in was painting the inside of the cab all the way down to bottom... I don't like the look of it and as mentioned above i preferred the 'not perfect' factory look.
In this situation i was forced to as my inside had been chewed up by the PF support/slide brackets. But it was not all the way but 3/4 of the way.. :D
This area was also repaired. I used marine ply, which is very durable, and painted it to blend into the side walls of the cab... It was glued with wood glue and then nailed in as it was done in the factory.
In the previous post i forgot to mention a thought that ran through my mind in which i proceeded to do...
Where the PF sits in its home position ( ready for play) I wanted to spruce up the cabinet sides which are viewable whilst playing... I did come across these decals you could purchase to spruce it up how ever i thought it looked tacky as some of the colours were off ( in pics i've seen ) so i decided to take another route...
I decided to create a 'star field or space' as we know it, scattered across the galaxy ( which is the pf, with its purple and pink nebulas or gas in space. )
So what i did was simply splatter white paint, same way a Gottlieb machine has its speckle effect, to create 'space.' To me this takes the edge off from being a dark place...
Take note on the pic below with the timber support rail of the 'star' effect... Can also be seen in the first pic. ( killed to birds with one stone #@# )
The PF now sits inside of the cab bare, just with the pops, targets and the back board in place...
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And some more pix... #@#
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looks absolutely terriffic.
the machine looks like new. ^^^
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That playfield backboard sticker is awesome, really does complement the playfield, good work. ^^^
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A little more progress on the Next Gen.. #*#
All ramps were being replaced with new ramps and ramp protectors.
So all hardware from the ramps were cleaned, tumbled and mostly re assembled..Plastic parts were cleaned in the usual manner...
Most of the metal parts have been re fitted to the new ramps however some will be re fitted closer to the re pop of the pf as parts are still being tumbled.. but the pics will give you an indication...
The 2 cannons have also been rebuilt using all new parts bar the coils.. New brackets were purchased at an insane rate from RTTB so instead of wasting time cleaning, and being a part readily and always seen i lashed out...The wiring harness on the cannons have yet to be neaten as i still have the lasers to install..
Made the world of difference.
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I also wanted to trick up the pf ships/toys a little so i played around with a few ideas... &&
Klingon ship was replaced with a more detailed version with its existing leds ( has leds tied into the ship ) ... I ripped the existing wiring loom off the original ship and refit it to the new more detailed ship. ( two light globe sockets underneath the wings )
Romulan ship has a flasher through the middle of it and It is meant to be in a dark and hidden corner. The ship in gameplay is supposed to appear out from a cloaking shield ( which makes it invisible ) and pops up unexpectedly and that's when the flasher illuminates and lights the ship and the corner it sits in. So i kept the original ship and all i did was add a little paint detail.
The shuttle craft usually has its ass facing the player but i found this to be useless and wasted so i wanted to highlight it with a beacon on top of it and light the under carriage in order to really illuminate the ramp in which it mounts too....
I totally stripped the original, resprayed it in gloss white, added NOS decals to it and then added a little paint detail as well. I also created a led lighting harness for it which was hot glued inside of the craft. It simply ties into the GI...
The original Borg ship has blue thin lenses covering the ships windows and highlights blue when it goes off. Well i wanted to be true to the series and highlight the ship green ! It is supposed to light up green so i ripped off the blue lenses, decked it out with green leds and green flashes, fitted the inside of the ship with reflective tape to further enhance the effects of the leds.
I believe these simple mods will hopefully have a great impact.
We'll have to wait for the re pop of the playfield to see some of the lighted mods and see if they were worth the effort. *)*
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By the way, if anyone has ever wondered why the large spaceship on the next gen playfield looks like it does, and why the ship is shaped like that, and if u are wondering what star trek episode that ship came from, the ship is actually a "Tarkalean Freighter) (pronounced Tar-key-ly anne) from a star trek episode where the borg assimilate the crew of that freighter, and then escape off into the nebula/space in it whilst running from the good guys. (yes, i am a bit of a star trek nut).lol The freighter was used well back in the next gen days on TV, but used the latest recently on Star Trek Enterprise when the Borg are defrosted by humans at the arctic circle. (thats the cool episode anyway.lol)
when i first saw the ship, i thought it was made that way only because it served a purpose to lock balls and shoot them out etc, but the ship is an exact replica of a freighter as i stated above. Ya learn something everyday !
if ya do a search on a star trek website, you will see where that exact shape freighter is used in various episodes of star trek next gen, voyager, as well as star trek enterprise.
live long and prosper. lol ^^^ ^^^ ^^^
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IIRC Brett that episode you mention is the last episode of season 6 and continues on as the first episode of season 7... %.%
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Only a Trekkie Fan would go to these lengths - Simply amazing attention to detail !
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I started to re assemble the PF... $#$
Another thing to mention is that the light board was re fitted to the head.
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More pix...
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I noticed you have chosen to pick your own different colours for your post sleeves/cliffys, instead of just using the standard black factory ones.
It does brighten things up a bit. Good idea. I will be interested to see what it looks like when the machine is finished.
Mate, you have done a fantastic job with the Next Gen. Looks amazing.
Dying to see a video when she is done. ^^^
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I will make a video just for you Caveman, but i can almost guarantee that it will be shit ! %.%
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WOW! Beautiful work mate! *%*
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it will be one of the best next gens around once its finished $#$
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OK guys i am smashing through this now.... $#$
I installed a new pair of side rails.
I have also re assembled the majority of the pf but have left it to what i call the 'testing stage'. This applies to the light board too.
This is referring to testing the #555 leds/flashers making sure that they are placed in the right direction and working properly.
To those who are unfamiliar with leds sometimes they need a little tweaking to get them sitting right in their sockets...
I have found that once you have tweaked the leds they seldom give you trouble...
Ramps, metal ramps and toys are sitting in their location but have not been fastened down, these have been left loose for the 'testing phase.'
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Looking good Marco. Have you had to use any #44 Leds on this machine i tested a few the other night on CFTBL and the Leds didnt light the polarity is wrong did you have this issue? I really hope i dont have to re wire each 44 socket to run leds
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Thanks Daniel..
No issues with 44's..... half the globes in STTNG are 44's.....They always work which ever way they go in...These are the coin taker leds i am referring too..
Unless you used the Mark C/pinball life leds which are only good for GI and not inserts....
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Thanks Marco ill try them in GI and see how i go
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Your next gen is looking sweet marco. Keep up the good work!! ^^^
Hey have you seen the lazer beam mod for the cannons??
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Your next gen is looking sweet marco. Keep up the good work!! ^^^
Hey have you seen the lazer beam mod for the cannons??
I have them already installed ! &&
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Seeing as this place has been real quiet of late i pushed forward my restore hopefully to liven up the place.
Last few steps to finish off the complete restore...
Fix everything to the PF after the testing phase.
New translite and new plastic trim installed..
Neaten wiring harness'.
Speaker panel and plastic has been pulled apart, cleaned, re glued and installed.
I installed the laser cannon mod which was purchased from RTBB.
And lastly Beaky helped me out with the inside cab literature which i had printed out and laminated and i fixed it to the inside of the cabinet...
Play tested the game to filter out the niggling issues and finally the game is completed.. $#$ $#$ $#$ $#$
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Now for some glamor shots... #@#
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Oh forgot to mention that the apron was cleaned and then polished and also installed to totally finish the game...
Did i hear you say more ! *%*
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And finally after 165 hours of my time put into this restore i close the restore with a few pix of the trilogy all finished and together....
As a special bonus here are two videos i made especially for Caveman ! ^^^
Be warned that the lack of technology and video skills on my behalf shows the poor quality of the videos. *.*
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Great Job Man!
So how did you like the green flashers etc that you used for the borg ship, were you happy with the result when it lit up for the first time?
It's a bit hard to tell for the video but how clearly can you see the print on the Time Warp, Battle Simulation etc inserts with them lit up? They look very bright in the video, how do they look to you standing there?
You mentioned that you changed out your Translite, don't have a source for any more do you? Mine has a couple of scratches and it's driving me nuts.
You did a great job and it's a sweet line up, good for you.
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Yeah, for some reason LED's freak out cameras.. It is bright but it is clearly legible...
Re the Borg ship... I am ecstatic about the change... It is awesome when its lit up... Its hard to see in the video but when the Borg ship initially lights up during gameplay it constantly stays on and doesn't flash... ^^^
I have a heap of left over STTNG parts so if anyone is looking for anything let me know and maybe we can work something out...
I also have the translite.... mine was respectable but not perfect..
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FANTASTIC Marco you really are an inspiration. All those hours work to turn out a machine like that were well worth the effort in my book. How good does it look with all 3 star treks side by side specially when they all look as sweet as they do .
Again well done ^^^
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Wow what a fantastic resto ^^^
I'm no treakie fan however after reading this post over the few last weeks, this is a very cool pin. Good work marco you must be very pleased with the end result! ^^^
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great job Marco.
I have finaly ordered the remaining parts for the LAH i am restoring. Then I will start on my BK2000.
This restore has been one that has set some high standards.
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Beautifully restored, great job there!
Nice set of Star Trek pins, too.
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Has to been seen "in person" to fully appreciate the hours of work and dedication. Speaking to Marco, you can sense the passion he has for his ST TNG (and the other Star Treks). An incredible restoration.
$%$ $%$
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Great work Marco they look great/I'm impressed with the video to &&
Peter
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Its pretty inspiring to see this level of restoration.
I don't really know what else to say but....
Awesome!
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That is absolutely stunning - such a thorough and great job and the colours have come out so well. I'm not a Star Trek fan, but the series of machines lined up looks brilliant. I reckon you'll have years of enjoyment out of them. Thanks also for the effort that has gone into posting and showing us what you've been doing. Inspirational #*#
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Looks gorgeous! Enjoy it, and its cousins :)
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Thanks for the kind words guys...
It was all fun bar stripping of the cab decals and the prep work.. I know it has to be done so i do it ! !@)
Without the help of some of the guys on this forum i would not have been able to finish it off in detail...
I like many others need help from time to time and that's what makes this forum so great...
I did a special restore for a customer and he asked me ' what happens when you get stuck' and i answered with ' there's plenty of help out there, if i can't figure it out then i have 600 odd guys to turn too ! #@#
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Awesome job mate, looks fantastic! ^^^
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Marco,
its brett-caveman here using beaky's computer at his house)
at the start of the thread on page 1, u mentioned and took photos of a decal u used for the backboard of the STNG and u mentioned RTBB had it, but i have looked and i cant see it anywhere on the site, do u or anyone else know where i can buy that "lost STNG backboard decal) I need 3 x of them.
regards Brett for Andy's STNG resto we have started today !
thanks in advance !
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back on my own log in now. what i said above. ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^
brett
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brett
Treasure Cove have these but the artwork looks different>> !@#
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These Ones? http://pinballdecals.com/PartsByGamePages/STTNG_Page.html (http://pinballdecals.com/PartsByGamePages/STTNG_Page.html)
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cool site
How good do those crome doors look
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Yes brett, i believe that gregs were the sames as the site above...
I have had that decal for at least 2 years...
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cool site
How good do those crome doors look
I am going to take a few new coin doors down to my mate on the gold coast who has the largest chrome and plating factory in QLD and see how good the aussie versions come up ! stay tuned ! ! ! ^^^ ^^^ ^^^