The Aussie Pinball Arcade

Aussie Pinball Forums => Restorations => Topic started by: DSB on July 17, 2017, 03:13:20 PM

Title: STTNG fix up
Post by: DSB on July 17, 2017, 03:13:20 PM
I have started a fix up of a Star Trek the Next Generation so I thought I would share some of the stages as I go.

The machine was looking very tired and well used.
Have fixed a coupe issues with the trough and some switches before starting and am happy the machine is in full working order.

I will fix, paint and re-decal the cabinet and also install a shiny new repo playfield which I am super excited about.
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: DSB on July 17, 2017, 03:16:50 PM
Almost finished stripping the playfield and now have loads of stuff to clean, polish and plate. Looking forward to this!  ^&^
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: pinnies4me on July 18, 2017, 01:45:34 PM
Thanks for sharing, I have a STTNG coming (very excited!!) and enjoying the info.
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: DSB on July 18, 2017, 05:48:42 PM
Has anyone had experience restoring the spinner in this machine? Not to sure what to do with it.  !@# I can't find one to purchase so figure there is no exact replacement so don't really want to trash it.
I am keen to keep the same original decal. I have thought about trying the Williams generic spinner that you bend to your own shape and somehow transfer the decal but not sure how successful that would be. I have also thought about just touching up the black paint and live with the slightly out of shape metal. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: Strangeways on July 18, 2017, 09:04:49 PM
A game I use to hate for the wrong reason. Seldom is this title reconditioned "shopped" or "fully done up" correctly. Once I restored one myself and it was working 100%, I could appreciate how deep and enjoyable this game is. There is so much engineering packed into this game. A widebody with the under playfield packed with mechanisms, switches, boards and the diverter subway ramp.

Tips - Replace ALL the optos. Every single one of them. Do the jumper from the AUX Driver PCB to the DT "drop" coil to solve the diverter coils cooking that PCB. Replace the cannon loom. The entire assembly. No joke, almost every game with silly problems leads backs to these not working.

Cliffy protector for the Nuetral Zone.

Shameless Plug - We have the full set of ramps and the plastic set on it's way - so if you want to go the full hog  #@#

Restoring the spinner - I think you can still buy the silver decal from Marcos. You will need to powdercaot the spinner or replace with a black blank.

Keep the updates coming  ^^^
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: DSB on July 18, 2017, 09:40:24 PM

Quote
A game I use to hate for the wrong reason. Seldom is this title reconditioned "shopped" or "fully done up" correctly. Once I restored one myself and it was working 100%, I could appreciate how deep and enjoyable this game is. There is so much engineering packed into this game. A widebody with the under playfield packed with mechanisms, switches, boards and the diverter subway ramp.


This why I liked the game back in the 90's during my apprenticeship. After playing and loving it I bought a game off a local operator just to see how the thing worked. Regret selling that machine so this one is a keeper.


New ramps and plastics will go in it for sure. I will get a order list together as I go. I will keep my eye out on your site. Do you have the subway as well?


I checked Marco. They seem to have similar spinner decals but not the same. They do have the black spinner though which you must have to bend yourself. Plenty of time to ponder which way I want to go.
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: Strangeways on July 19, 2017, 08:59:02 PM

Quote
A game I use to hate for the wrong reason. Seldom is this title reconditioned "shopped" or "fully done up" correctly. Once I restored one myself and it was working 100%, I could appreciate how deep and enjoyable this game is. There is so much engineering packed into this game. A widebody with the under playfield packed with mechanisms, switches, boards and the diverter subway ramp.


This why I liked the game back in the 90's during my apprenticeship. After playing and loving it I bought a game off a local operator just to see how the thing worked. Regret selling that machine so this one is a keeper.


New ramps and plastics will go in it for sure. I will get a order list together as I go. I will keep my eye out on your site. Do you have the subway as well?


I checked Marco. They seem to have similar spinner decals but not the same. They do have the black spinner though which you must have to bend yourself. Plenty of time to ponder which way I want to go.

Subway is not in the current order (40 Ramps) - But I will append it and it should be here in 4-6 weeks.
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: DSB on October 15, 2017, 07:35:56 PM
Sttng in a thousand pieces!!!! I have been chipping away at it slowly. Most of the playfield parts have been cleaned and bagged ready for the rebuilt. I am going to work on the cabinet next. I also need to order a big list of parts.  ^&^
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: pinnies4me on October 15, 2017, 08:31:19 PM
Good to see moving along. Have mine up and running and I love it!!
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: Strangeways on November 09, 2017, 10:03:51 PM
Currently chipping away at a High End resto as well. A really tough machine to restore, but I've said it before - the peak of Williams' Engineering. If the game is setup 100%, it has the rules to make it in the top 5 DMDs. 
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: 63wizz on November 10, 2017, 04:28:58 PM
Ive had mine for 4 - 5 years and still havnt striped it down for a good clean/ restore. There is so much on it, and the canons scare me a bit, ive had a new plastics set for a few years for it. Ive had a spinal fusion 3 years ago so not able to bend much or heavy lifting, and that playfield looks heavy.

Im following with interest, you are inspiring me to start mine.
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: DSB on November 11, 2017, 02:14:27 PM
More damage on the cabinet than I expected but nothing that can't be fixed.
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: DSB on July 22, 2018, 07:24:53 PM

Well a long time between posts as I've been distracted by other things but my restoration is finally edging forward. After a lot of cleaning, gluing, sanding and painting I am finally at the re-decal stage.  $#$ Things should happen much quicker from this point I hope!! Here's some pics of the head box and cabinet. I still have two side of the cabinet to decal but that will have to wait till next weekend.

Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: pinnies4me on July 22, 2018, 08:15:51 PM
Very nice!
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: ddstoys on July 22, 2018, 09:59:32 PM
Looking good


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Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: Strangeways on July 23, 2018, 09:43:14 AM
Awesome ! Did you screen print the warning text on the back of the headbox ?
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: DSB on July 23, 2018, 08:43:24 PM
Awesome ! Did you screen print the warning text on the back of the headbox ?

Thanks guys, I didn't do the screen print. I have the software files for the back box warning and patent text so I had a local screen printer do them for me. Not cheap and a pain in the neck to get the cabinet to him but worth it for the end result I think.
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: pinball god on July 24, 2018, 09:17:55 PM
Very nice.  Always wanted one but I suppose only played  poorly maintained ones that made game play ho hum
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: DSB on July 24, 2018, 09:30:10 PM
Very nice.  Always wanted one but I suppose only played  poorly maintained ones that made game play ho hum

I am hoping this one plays good once I'm done!!!!!  I agree that they need to be fully operational to play well.
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: DSB on September 10, 2018, 07:12:56 AM
Just a small update, This project is coming together slowly. Just waiting on a parts delivery to finish the cabinet and kick the playfield rebuild.
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: Crashramp on September 10, 2018, 01:47:06 PM
Very nice, the cabinet looks heaps better with the sides painted out. The base looks really good too, did it clean up like that or did you need to give it a light sand?
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: DSB on September 10, 2018, 07:01:28 PM
Very nice, the cabinet looks heaps better with the sides painted out. The base looks really good too, did it clean up like that or did you need to give it a light sand?

Cheers, I taped up the angled pieces on the sides then I sanded the bottom with a fine grade grit on a small orbital sander that has a point to get into the corners. After that I hand sanded the angled pieces and any places the orbital couldn't reach. Awkward back bending work but it came up pretty good. The wood was in good condition with no water damage so it was a good starting point.
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: Crashramp on September 10, 2018, 07:52:30 PM
Very nice, the cabinet looks heaps better with the sides painted out. The base looks really good too, did it clean up like that or did you need to give it a light sand?

Cheers, I taped up the angled pieces on the sides then I sanded the bottom with a fine grade grit on a small orbital sander that has a point to get into the corners. After that I hand sanded the angled pieces and any places the orbital couldn't reach. Awkward back bending work but it came up pretty good. The wood was in good condition with no water damage so it was a good starting point.

Good stuff. It’s those little things that make all the difference in the end.
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: DSB on October 03, 2018, 05:36:07 PM
Finally!!! a complete cabinet. Here's some bling shots just because I can. With the cabinet done I can now start rebuilding the playfield. More updates to come soon I hope.
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: Strangeways on October 03, 2018, 09:51:08 PM
Absolutely AWESOME ! Well done.
 @@*
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: DSB on October 10, 2018, 11:56:28 AM
I have made a start on the playfield now. The new side rails installed. The pops have also been installed. This reproduction playfield seems to be very well made, every hole has lined up perfectly to this point. I hope that continues.
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: Strangeways on October 10, 2018, 09:48:40 PM
Nice. A Tough game to restore - so take your time. I'm pleased that you are going the whole hog as this game needs a lot of attention to dial in. Incredible engineering.
 @@*
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: DSB on October 11, 2018, 05:16:49 PM
Thanks Nino, I can't help myself. I fix one bit which makes the next bit look bad and the next and so on it goes.
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: DSB on November 03, 2018, 03:41:35 PM
Most of the underside playfield parts are on now. Ready for the main wiring loom to go back which is the most tedious job I think.
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: DSB on December 23, 2018, 06:41:44 PM
I tried the peroxide trick on the shuttle. Peroxide hair cream applied with a paint brush, put in in a zip lock bag and put it in the sun. Turned it every so often. the result was shockingly good.
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: DSB on December 26, 2018, 05:04:17 PM

I am finally finished this project. Just a couple of very minor things to do. I had a few teething problems on this one. A sticking right cannon solenoid(machinal issue), the right return lane eddy sensor took forever to adjust to get it to work consistantly. A couple of opto issues which are fun to chase down on this game. That combined with an intermittent loose wire on the trough opto board connector was doing my head in for a while. The machine goes nuts when an opto in the trough is not working, spitting out random balls during play. Adjusting the subway diverters was  another fun job. Everything seems sorted now though so time to play pinball!!!!
  $#$
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: ktm450 on December 27, 2018, 04:50:28 PM
Very nice, I helped a friend from work buy one years ago, and did a quick shop of it before he received it. Such a great game! I have no interest in Star Trek but really missed the game when it left. Enjoy  ^^^
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: Strangeways on December 28, 2018, 10:04:50 PM
A tough game to restore, but rewarding once all the gremlins are sorted out. I used to dislike this title for a long time, but after restoring a few of them over the years, they are an incredibly deep and enjoyable game to master.
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: wesleyrpg on October 04, 2020, 07:01:32 PM
what a sweet looking restore!!!
Title: Re: STTNG fix up
Post by: wesleyrpg on January 22, 2021, 01:15:17 PM
ST:TNG looks like its going to be a real challenge to work on!