Williams / Bally ST TNG Restore

[Strangeways]

Next in the DMD Restoration / Reconditioning Queue is a Bally / Williams "Star Trek - The New Enterprise" (ST TNG). I've never liked this game - mainly because I've seldom played a perfectly working example. The only game that worked perfectly was Marco's (pinfan), so I face this restoration knowing that I have time to have the game working 100%.

Objective

Rather than a recondition, I want to have this game as good as I can get it. I plan on full LEDS, new PinballInc Ramps (RTBB), new plastics set and anything else I can get my hands on to have a really nice game. I'm not a huge fan of mods, so I'm leaving is factory except the LEDs. This game will be sold on completion.

Condition

The game plays, but as per most ST TNGs, it has switch issues causing the game to eject two balls on the first ball and also the drop target is not working. So the game is kinda playable, but the rules won't be working.

Playfield - 10/10 - Dirty. That's about it ! More fine dust than dirt.

Cabinet - 9/10 - Really nice. No major dints or scuff marks. Some scratches on the head artwork, but easily one of the best cabinets I've seen.

Electronics - 9/10 - J120 and J121 have been replaced - badly !

Let's Begin - The "Before" pictures











Here's a 5 second "wipe down" with Nifti. That's the best playfield I've seen on an ST TNG. Most of my games are hand picked, so I can afford to pick the better conditioned machines  





Under the hood - Everything seems ok. The Subway ramp is ALWAYS broken on this title. But not this one. The cannon cable assembly is not worn, suggesting that this game has not had as much play as most ST TNG's I've seen.





Then we look at the only bad part of the game - The Neutral Zone - ALWAYS worn. I will repair this section and place a cliffy. I've seen some games where the expense of a cliffy protector is wasted as the section is not repaired FIRST. I don't do shortcuts, so this will be addressed.





Disassembly


The subway assembly is a good indicator of how much play the game has had. The plastic has no breaks - this is a good sign, but upon further investigation, one of the metal parts holding one of the diverters has a break in the weld. This was only found AFTER I started to disassemble this section. No use in cleaning the playfield if this assembly is left filthy.





Off to MartyJ to have the section TIG welded - and as always, a perfect job. Now the diverter works 100%.





I HAD to take a picture of the cleaned plastic subway ramp. These have been broken or butchered on EVERY game I've seen. This does have a couple of cracks, but is not broken. Amazing !





A clean and rebuild (with new sleeves) and the unit works 100%





Alpha Ramp has taken a beating, and has a simple, yet effective repair. This will be replaced.





Cabinet


As per all games, the cabinet is completely stripped and everything is cleaned, polished or replaced. In this picture, I've repainted the translite surround and the inside of the cabinet.





Sorry about the focus - but it looks and smells a lot better  





Playfield


Here's some candy shots of the playfield after polishing. These pictures were taken at night. I'm REALLY pleased with the outcome !








Time to order those ramps !

 

[Mr Pinbologist]

Looking nice so far Nino  I've never played one of these before

[63wizz]

Ive recently picked up one of these and need to give it the treatment so i will watch this restore closely.
I have a new plastic set ready to go on it.

[pinnies4me]

Sweet looking game - 10/10, 9/10 etc to start with - not much room for improvement but seems you can find that 1/10  space, nice work!

[Strangeways]

Sweet looking game - 10/10, 9/10 etc to start with - not much room for improvement but seems you can find that 1/10  space, nice work!

I've been fortunate with my imports. Most games have been at a high standard to start with, and I just place the icing on the cake. I've just placed the order for ramps, LEDs etc.. Should look and play very nice 

[Pinfan]

Nice looking Pin Nino. 

Looks like a great starting platform.

Good luck with the resto, Im sure it will come up nice !

[Strangeways]

Tons of work done in the last few days. Had to wait for some Ramps from RTBB, so I've caught up and it is coming together nicely. Since the game was in such good condition to start with, I decided to really make a nice example - complete with ALL new ramps and LEDs. Should look and play great.

The trigger assembly was slightly worn, so I cleaned it up, resprayed it and then added a gloss clear. Looks much better !





Drying after the final clear ;





Finished assembly on the left, and another assembly (from one of my other ST TNGs) on the right. Big difference.





Fitted to cabinet ;





Outhole repair. I've seen a common mistake with the installation of cliffy protectors. The worn area should be repaired BEFORE installing the cliffy. It is not hard ! Hyper Thin protectors will eventually follow the shape of the worn area. So don't be lazy and cover up the wear !


I use Quickwood. Amazing product - http://www.rtbb.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=127_153&products_id=1799


Repaired area





Cliffy installed !





The Large Neutral zone target always gets a laugh. I always thought the Kardassian's were from a different planet, and here's PROOF !





New plastics look great. Couple clears not included, but they are not seen, so it does not matter.





Old VS New - Colors much better and deeper. New Shuttle Decals ready to install.





I'm installing the plastic protector kit for this title. Who reasons - New plastics set, and this game has the prototype / Sample coils which are stronger than the production coils. The game will run faster, so the plastics AND ramp protectors will be a great idea.





RAMPS !!

Alpha Ramp was broken and needed to be replaced. I decided to replace all three. Delta was chipped, and Beta was fine. Greg at RTBB had all in stock, so I ordered BARE Alpha and Beta, and full Delta. New ramps make a HUGE difference, and I've been installing the PinballInc Ramps on all my restores (if needed) - but I look for excuses to install them even when not needed !





Bare ramp swapout

I use my rivet press found at pinrestore.com. I built it out of a kit form and I use it for all bare ramp replacements. Here's the original Alpha Ramp.





I remove the rivets using a dremel - wearing eye protection. I shear the rivet with no damage to the old ramp or fittings. From there, disassemble the rest of the hardware.





Bare Ramp - ready to install the ramp flap, ramp fitting, switch and decal.





Hardware installed





Here's a tricky bit if you want to install ramp protectors. Due to the fact the ramp protectors were made for original ramps which are thinner, you need to slightly modify the ramp. Two holes need to be drilled (mandatory). At this point, you soon discover that the thickness of the PinballInc ramp is more than the old ramp, and the protectors don't fit ! Easy fix - you need to use the dremel and cut a groove for the left hand side of the ramp, and trim away a small section on the right side of the ramp. The small piece of clear plastic that sits above the leftmost lane guide needs to be trimmed as well. I used a thick washer inbetween the left side of the ramp entrance protector and the post to elevate the protector, otherwise it digs into the ramp. Picture explains it better !





Ramp installed, and ready to move on to the others. Flipper kits have been installed and the first testing with LEDs was successful.




 

[goodolddays]

This game is going to look great  .
What about a set of mirror blades ?

[ktm450]

Looking great already Nino.  I had a friends STTNG in my shed for a month or so over Christmas, really enjoyed playing it 

[Strangeways]

This game is going to look great  .
What about a set of mirror blades ?

I considered the mirror blades, but I thought I'd leave the mods up to the buyer. Sometimes mods can make the game unaffordable. I wanted to restore the game as original as possible, but add the features of LEDs, as this game is a Bally / Williams that will look great with that mod.

[Strangeways]

BETA Ramp replaced, and finally Delta Is replaced.





Door was straight and in very good condition. I stripped it, cleaned it and then repainted it. Looks heaps better.








Now the playfield is fully populated, I can test of LED placement. Easier done in the dark so it can highlight areas. Similar to T3, I used predominantly Blue for GI. I included Alblaze-9 #89 flashers and they look great. All are the 108 degree standard LEDs from RTBB. I used #906 flashers in the BORG Ship and they look AWESOME. All lamps are LEDs except the cannons - they looked much better with standard lamps. The game can be played. New flipper kits installed, and a few minor adjustments need to be made.








Sorry about the focus..

Translite LEDs look amazing. I NEVER use 906 Flasher LEDs in back boxes. Might need tweaking..





Off to do the boards tonight.

 

[GORGAR 1]

That looks amazing love the BG well down Nino

Peter

[goodolddays]

Looking great 

[MartyJ]

Top work Nino.  Hopefully the local 'Trekky' we know can pop over and give it his blessing....!

[Pinfan]

Nice work Niño! Looks awesome!