Data East Tales From The Crypt Reconditioning

[Strangeways]

Next in the DMD Restoration / Reconditioning Queue is a Data East "Tales From The Crypt". This is another of my games that I imported and it is being reconditioned for a Collector.

Objective

To recondition the game, but this might be more of a restoration as I dig deeper. The game has been is storage for many years. Ironically, the game works and plays albeit sloppy and SLOW !

Condition

Playfield - 9/10 - Filthy. The layer of dirt has protected the playfield. The Crypt hole is worn, but nowhere near as bad as most I've seen. Plastics initially looked ok, but they have been glued and they are not acceptable. Currently sourcing a new set.

Cabinet - 9/10 - Really nice. No major dints or scuff marks. Translite is fine. Front door is straight and clean. Ball launch is complete and intact.

Electronics - 9/10 - Boards and connector are fine. This is the first Data East that I've ever seen with no burnt connectors on the power supply. The game was a Domestic USA converted to European. Some evidence of poor workmanship in the conversion is evident.

Before Pictures








Crypt Hole wear - not too bad. I will be installing an RTBB Protector.





Again - This is how I keep a record of where parts go for re assembly.





Broken Plastics - These will be replaced.





Cabinet is absolutely filthy !





Strip down


Everything is removed and cleaned. The 20 years of stench is gone.





Here's the electrical problem - and I wonder how many machines have this issue and have not been addressed ?





The game was originally a Domestic model - 110V. It was then converted to 220V (Euro). As soon as the game was plugged in - BOOM - goes the varistor as it is rated as 115V. This will be replaced.

[pinnies4me]

Be watching this one with keen interest Strangeone, I consider this up there in the top five DE's, they really had a golden era in 1993 to early 1994.

[Strangeways]

Ball Launch is a cool feature on this title, and collector's are keen to have it present and working on their machine ! This one was gummed up badly and the button was constantly becoming stuck on the "on" position. I stripped the mechanism and removed the years of lubrication that had gummed up the assembly.




cleaned and ready to re assemble





Playfield is stripped completely and cleaned with Nifti and a rag ! I removed the mylar in front of the slings as the left side was peeling. I usually remove the metal guides, but these were stubborn to remove (when I attempted to remove a couple), and I didn't want to damage the playfield.





Same playfield after a few hours of polishing and buffing.





Playfield detail - I love the artwork on this game.





Each individual mechanism has been removed and will be rebuilt. The ramps and metal habit trails have been sent to MartyJ to repair.

The replacement plastic set has been organized, and hopefully Brett will send it ASAP - Thanks again mate 

[Caveoftreasures]

plastics packed n ready to go out tomorrow via post to u Nino. 

I love my Tales from the Crypt. Definately a keeper. For anyone who hasnt played this machine, the light show and audio is just excellent. The humour via the dot matrix both with pictures and sound bytes is just the best. If anyone on AP wants a really great pinball at a reasonable price, Tales from the Crypt is a real winner. Like Nick said, it is definately one of Data Easts best for the period. I also had my game completely stripped down like Nino is doing and what a difference it made. Great game 4 sure. 

[Strangeways]

plastics packed n ready to go out tomorrow via post to u Nino. 

I love my Tales from the Crypt. Definately a keeper. For anyone who hasnt played this machine, the light show and audio is just excellent. The humour via the dot matrix both with pictures and sound bytes is just the best. If anyone on AP wants a really great pinball at a reasonable price, Tales from the Crypt is a real winner. Like Nick said, it is definately one of Data Easts best for the period. I also had my game completely stripped down like Nino is doing and what a difference it made. Great game 4 sure. 

Thanks Brett, perfect timing !

[Strangeways]

Big Update

The metal ramps and rails have been picked up from MartyJ - I'll post pics on that tomorrow, but as usual, he did a great job. In the meantime, I've been busy under the hood and there was a lot that needed to be done.

all the mechs are removed and rebuilt, leaving the inserts etc to be cleaned as well as the wiring hardness. Each switch is removed, cleaned and checked. I replaced two of the slingshot switches as they were the wrong type.





Pop bumpers rebuilt ;





Pop Bumpers installed and some of the regrained metal guides are also installed.





Often, mechs are overlooked on DMDs, and this game has a particularly nasty one right at the back of the playfield. It is HIGHLY used in the game, as there are three ways the ball can enter the assembly to be kicked up. There's NO WAY you can access this without removing the playfield.

Here it is ;





.. and this is why I had to have the metal habit trail repaired by Marty ;





The plastic is broken - the tabs are missing. This throws the ball up on all sorts of angles.


Greg at RTBB sells the kit, which are a GREAT IDEA and replace the commonly worn parts.


http://www.rtbb.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2631





Sorry about the focus - But here is the finished result ;





Back to the top of the playfield. Even though I am installing a cliffy, the area around the cliffy needs to be built up, otherwise it defeats the purpose of installing it. The cliffy will dint and then form around the area. Easily addressed !


Again - RTBB - Quickwood - http://www.rtbb.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1799





Let it dry and then block out the area ;





Install the Cliffy !





A couple of colored cliffy posts really look great !





Don't forget to ensure the ball trough is COMPLETELY REBUILT, as these guys take a hammering, and the game goes NUTS if it is not functioning correctly.





Next update - a BOX arrives 

[Strangeways]

Plastics Set arrived (thanks again to Brett and Leon).




I positioned them accordingly as I will be fitting this machine with LEDs from RTBB. It will be an interesting setup, lots of color under the playfield but not much on top. The translite has huge potential.





More tomorrow !

[Strangeways]

Here are the metal ramps and habittrails repaired by MartyJ. The TIG welder had a few repairs to do on this game ! I've lost count of how many machines I've looked at that needed this kind of work.




I found only one issue with the new plastics set. The red plastic that sits above the target bank is incorrect. I ended up making my own out of perspex. It is not perfect, but it does the job.







A coat of red paint





Placed into position ;





Another repair was for the Crypt headstone assembly. The plastic washer was missing. I simply found plastic washers the same size and glued them together. works fine !





The ramps and most hardware are installed. Cliffy post rubbers from RTBB make a huge difference on these games. Of course, I use white rubbers as they look much better than the plain black (lifeless) rubbers..





The new plastics set and LEDS REALLY set this game up beautifully. Just for testing purposes, I fired the game up and tested it with the LED placement and game functionality. From here I will rebuild the flippers and attend to the boards.












Playing around with LEDs in the backbox, trying to highlight areas. Not a bad start.





Next update will be the flipper rebuilds and board rebuilds.

[GORGAR 1]

Awesome work Nino she looks great

Peter

[Caveoftreasures]

Looks nice. TFTC is a cracker of a game. Best audio, lightshow n dot matrix display (humour) of any Data East.

Who-ever buys it from u Nino will be getting a really good game. 

[ajlaird]

Great work, it just shows if you spend the time you do get the results! You are a very patient man!!

[Pinprick]

Great work, it just shows if you spend the time you do get the results! You are a very patient man!!

Second that.
Absolutely top job & attention to detail.
I've always liked the artwork on this game, Im rather partial to the "creepy" themed machines.
TFTC has always been floating around on my mental wishlist.

[ktm450]

Nice work mate

[ddstoys]

Looks Awsome as usual Nino will be a happy customer for sure.   Have to love those colored cliffs rubbers can really improve a games looks

[Strangeways]

Thanks for the kind words, Guys. The new owner has bought machines from me in the past and will be commissioning me to do more DE games for him.

I'm completing the boards as we speak and Brett has sent me the last of the plastics so it is nearly done.