Author Topic: The Addams Family High End Restoration  (Read 3506 times)

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Offline Strangeways

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The Addams Family High End Restoration
« on: August 10, 2023, 04:49:19 PM »


I've lost count of how many Addams Family machines I've either restored or reconditioned over the years. This is another High End Restoration that was started years ago and I've slowly made enough progress to start a Restore thread. BTW - There are a few Restore threads I need to start over the next week or so. In addition, there a few games that have been finished a while ago that I need to update.


This game is one of our machines that will be restored to the Highest Standard possible with some serious "bling" added to the cabinet and also to the playfield. It will boast a Pinsound system and Color DMD and some other mods. The playfield will be a CPR Gold with an additional clear and polish from Tim at HRP.


I'm going to bring this thread right up to date now, but I'm not adding the typical "teardown photos" as there are 3-4 other threads with the same posts.


Condition Report


It is a reasonable but typical "routed to death" machine that needs a LOT of new replacement parts along the process.


Playfield - 7/10 - typical wear around the Mansion and Chair Scoop - A tired playfield.
Cabinet - 7/10 - Not as bad as I've seen. Will have new decals.
Electronics - 8/10 - Some of the boards are in really good shape. Missing the "Additional Flipper" board..


Before Pictures


























The Playfield pictures are not really necessary because it will be replaced with a CPR Gold !



















.. and Here is the Classic Playfield Reproductions Playfield with an extra Clearcoat and buff from Tim at Hot Rodded Pins..



























 $#$
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Offline Strangeways

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Re: The Addams Family High End Restoration
« Reply #1 on: August 10, 2023, 05:42:37 PM »
I've had some issues with my hands over the last few years, so I had my son have a go at stripping several machines for me. All I did was take photos !




















As part of every restoration, photos are the most important part of the documentation process - even after disassembling many Addams Family machines, it is still good practice and the first thing to teach someone starting out. Every mechanism and assembly must also be documented.












"The Thing" scoop has had a hard life and even after rewelding, it is going to be a problem. I don't bother TIG Welding these back together. A Mantis Scoop is a far better option.







After disassembly, all parts are placed in the Ultrasonic Cleaner for 30 minutes at 50C Degrees. They will now be replated (in house).







All the componentry is put aside, as the cabinet is the first item to re assemble. Tim at "Hot Rodded Pins" re-decaled the cabinet some time ago, and the customer sent me the "bling" items - and when I say "bling", it is ultra BLING..








It was really hard to take photos of the legs. They look incredible in person, but very difficult to capture in a photo.


Next we have the Mirror blades, Playfield Glass Slide, Siderails and lock down bar test fitted. The Lockdown Bar reciever will be a new part - you cannot simply polish the old one. This game screams for everything to be perfect !





All black cabinet bolts were painted a gloss black - it looks HEAPS better than just the standard. The Steel ones are buffed.








The Shooter Rod is incredible. Just amazing finish ! Even the Black bolts create a contrast on the bling of that knob  #@#






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Offline Strangeways

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Re: The Addams Family High End Restoration
« Reply #2 on: August 10, 2023, 05:58:37 PM »
All the internals are Zinc Plated and then polished. New Ground Braid is added, and I don't usually follow the original design, I try to make it a bit neater if possible.








The boards are all cleaned in the Ultrasonic Cleaner with a special solution for PCBs. I usually do 4-5 machines worth of boards in one hit as the solution is only good for Boards and is EXPENSIVE. But old boards clean up incredibly well.







The Pinsound Board is installed with the rest of the boards so I can correctly run the wiring looms. All the looms have gone through the Ultrasonic. The burnt connectors etc will be replaced at a later date.







Speaker in installed in the lower cabinet. The Speaker Panel has a scratch and a tiny hole that is unacceptable. Thankfully, they have been reproduced overseas, and are available after being unavailable for a LONG time. So they are on their way. When they arrive, I will complete the headbox / Pinsound installation. Transformer has been cleaned and other internal parts added ;







Lockdown bar is just so bright ! Added Beer Seal and test fitted so I can adjust the reciever.







The Door is simply stunning. Came with mounting bolts to match.







More parts installed and I'm almost done with the cabinet. Topper will not be installed until the end as the game won't fit through dooways while moving it around.







The Legbolts are shop bolts for now as I don't want to mess with them until the restoration is almost done. But they are also highly chromed and polished. This front door, lockdown bar and Shooter assembly are just on another level !







The machine is put aside while I wait for more parts to arrive for the playfield - Then I move on the playfield which will look amazing ! Yes - This project is "up to date" and I will be updating it regularly instead of once a decade..


 ^&^
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Offline Strangeways

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Re: The Addams Family High End Restoration
« Reply #3 on: July 02, 2024, 04:21:53 PM »
Better late than never.

A ton of Addams Updates. First the Bookcase Assembly Rebuild.




The Switches on the Bookcase Assembly MUST be replaced. It is too much of a hassle just leaving the old ones as they will fail if they are in this bad of shape.



Cleaned, polished and looks like new ;




Fully assembled and ready to test ;



Decal installed as per customer request ;



This Bookcase Assembly will adjusted once in the game.

Moving on the the Speaker Panel Assembly. The speakers will be replaced win the Pinsound Speakers, and a ColorDMD installed. The Speanel Pabel plastic itself had a scratch, so it is going to be replaced. Not worth polishing it out, lets just go with the new.



Sorry about the lower res pictures - not sure what happened there...
Sanded Down ready to be repainted ;



Repainted ;



.. and this is what I hate - The mounting screws are similar to pop bumper twist nails, but longer. Lucky for me, the Original setup is not going to be used, so I can get away with using the standard pop bumper screws ;



The Speaker Grill is repainted and the mounting holes countersunk so that tightening them does not scratch the backside of the new speaker panel.
Two sided tape is used to hold the new speaker panel plastic in place ;



Test fit with the speakers and ColorDMD installed. New chrome trim also installed - "H" Channel and "U" channel.




 <.>

« Last Edit: July 03, 2024, 11:07:04 AM by Strangeways »
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Offline Strangeways

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Re: The Addams Family High End Restoration
« Reply #4 on: July 02, 2024, 04:28:05 PM »
All assemblies are rebuilt with mostly new parts. Incorrect or faulty coils are replaced. I almost always replace Flipper coils in games ;







"Thing" looks slightly different from what I'm used to !




New Starship-Fantasy Ramp assembled ahead of time ;






Ready to install into the machine what the playfield has caught up !

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Offline punkin

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Re: The Addams Family High End Restoration
« Reply #5 on: July 03, 2024, 04:51:24 AM »
Pictures aren't showing mate, it seems from your structure they should be there?
Looking for Bally Space Invaders, Stern Orbitor 1

Offline Strangeways

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Re: The Addams Family High End Restoration
« Reply #6 on: July 03, 2024, 10:57:51 AM »
Pictures aren't showing mate, it seems from your structure they should be there?

They work fine for me. I'm using Firefox. Seems to not work with Internet Explorer due to being "not secure" ? I'll have a look into it.
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