F14 inserts needed

[TUF-427]

Hi Guys now stripped the F14 playfield on my project machine and have quite a few damaged inserts,

going to clearcoat the playfield and dont want to leave damaged inserts in place

any help or leads appreciated

Peter...

[swinks]

Check this site out:

http://www.planetarypinball.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=PP&CatListingOffset=20&SortBy=best-desc&Category_Code=INS

[MartyJ]

Peter,

Not sure how you will go finding original inserts.  I would first try wet sanding and see how they clean up.  Unless the insert is physically fractured you should be fine.

[Olivia_jason]

one idea would be casting new ones. it isnt as hard as it sounds, you can buy kits for this sort of thing. prety much you get a clay of sorts push the items into the clay and remove the item from the clay cast an epoxy style resin into them. that is the basic way, you can buy the kits on the net for $30-$50. you can also buy another kit, if the items are broken where you make a silicone rubber molds, here is a link to a how to. ive done plastics and composites as a job for years, this sort of thing isnt out of the limits of an average person on small scale like this, i was before finding a new wcs ball going to make a mold and cast a new one. however i found one, so didnt bother, if you have no luck this could be a very usfull thing for making new inserts cheaply http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-make-simple-one-piece-silicone-rubber-molds-165756/

ps if wondering about different colors, you can buy tinters for the casting material

[TUF-427]

hey guys thanks for the ideas,

Swinks had found planetrys stuff bit of a pain I can get a few i need here and there would be great to get them all in one place!

Marty yeah have sanded all the ones that arent cracked and are ok,

the ones I need to replace are cracked and in poor condition unfortunatly

Oj had been thinking about moulds for the very specific V shaped ones thanks for the insight..will prob be a last resort though will scour the world first!

Peter..

[Caveoftreasures]

Just wanted to throw an idea or two at you, just incase it helps out.

I wanted to buy some very rare and not available inserts for Star Trek Next Gen (large 3 x green kidney inserts) and no-one anywhere in the world had them advertised anywhere for the last 3 years. I contacted Wayne Gillard in melbourne and he had a box of them, and was happy to sell me some (and Beaky) so we got the inserts we wanted.

At that time, Wayne had alot of different inserts for various machines that not all were advertised.

So check with Wayne in Australia, or check with Planetary Pinball in the USA just incase they have some inserts that may suit that they just havent got advertised.

Also, when I was cross referencing the inserts that are on my Gilligands Playfield, I found that the same inserts are used on other machines etc, so its a good idea to look up many pinball titles and see what parts they have listed, because sometimes you accidentally come accross the same inserts u are looking for, but they are showing in stock under a different titles stock listings. (check many Williams listings for example just in case u see them). The advice I have thrown in is a long shot, but sometimes long shots pay great dividends/results.  

[Olivia_jason]

hey guys thanks for the ideas,

Swinks had found planetrys stuff bit of a pain I can get a few i need here and there would be great to get them all in one place!

Marty yeah have sanded all the ones that arent cracked and are ok,

the ones I need to replace are cracked and in poor condition unfortunatly

Oj had been thinking about moulds for the very specific V shaped ones thanks for the insight..will prob be a last resort though will scour the world first!

Peter..

i fully understand i would also look for ones if possible first. but i wanted to make clear these days there are some very high tech products out there that make this small scale production possible, and surprisingly not that hard to do and achievable by the average guy at home with no past experience.especially now with the aid of these vids so it is worth looking at those vids, in link above it will also give you an idea of different products to use and there are also high tech urethane for casting that are amazing. there are many suppliers on the net can sell those products in aus, and because of hobbyist you can buy them in small amounts, when i used to do this as a job it was really limited to big quantities and was really more available for industry use. best of luck with the hunt if you do decide to make new one feel free to ask questions i can give you hints.

[markc]

glad the machine got there in the end

have some of what you emailed me about and will get back to you shortly 

i look forward to seeing this beauty come back to life

markc

[TUF-427]

Just wanted to throw an idea or two at you, just incase it helps out.

I wanted to buy some very rare and not available inserts for Star Trek Next Gen (large 3 x green kidney inserts) and no-one anywhere in the world had them advertised anywhere for the last 3 years. I contacted Wayne Gillard in melbourne and he had a box of them, and was happy to sell me some (and Beaky) so we got the inserts we wanted.

At that time, Wayne had alot of different inserts for various machines that not all were advertised.

So check with Wayne in Australia, or check with Planetary Pinball in the USA just incase they have some inserts that may suit that they just havent got advertised.

Also, when I was cross referencing the inserts that are on my Gilligands Playfield, I found that the same inserts are used on other machines etc, so its a good idea to look up many pinball titles and see what parts they have listed, because sometimes you accidentally come accross the same inserts u are looking for, but they are showing in stock under a different titles stock listings. (check many Williams listings for example just in case u see them). The advice I have thrown in is a long shot, but sometimes long shots pay great dividends/results.  

Hi Brett yeah all good advice thanks,

I have emailed WG and currently waiting for a reply,he lists quite a few Im chasing on his website ..

and have Emailed most of the usual suspects in the states to see who has what...

glad the machine got there in the end

have some of what you emailed me about and will get back to you shortly  

i look forward to seeing this beauty come back to life

markc

As you can see Markc is also checking his stock and secondhand boxes for me ,Cheers Mark !



OJ if they are indeed unobtanium I will def be looking to make some,what sort of plastic would you think is up to the task?

[Olivia_jason]

depends how much effort you are putting into it, but even the basic casting resin should do the trick fine. but if you are making a upc rubber mold which is the more professional might be worth looking for a urethane type casting material, there are so many that could do the job. just don't buy one that recommended heat or vacuum chambers to set, most of these new products dont now.  again if you look at those vids on that link above, it does talk about various casting resins and mold techniques, there will be allot of satisfaction having reproduction inserts in your playfield you made your self, that would be awesome.

[swinks]

If you need decals for your inserts, I came across these.
http://www.pinballcenter.eu/catalog/spielfeld-teile-insert-decals-overlays-c-9_79.html?language=en