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Twilight Zone Restoration


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Looks great. I am just about to pull mine down and start work on it. How is your playfield? Mine has a bow in it maybe 10mm.

 

Cheers mate. Good luck with the resto, it isn't a hard machine to do. My playfield wasn't bowed fortunately, it's no Safecracker (which is always bowed under weight), but TZ is still a heavy machine.

 

I did strip the playfield as soon as I put it in the rotisserie, to reduce the amount it might have bowed, and I rebuilt it after the cabinet was finished so that I could drop it straight back in. I remember talking to a member here who had a MM whitewood playfield bow in his rotisserie with the weight of the trolls - something I wanted to avoid!!!

 

This project has been just about finished for a few weeks, I just need to re-plug some boards. Work has been too busy. I'll post some finished photos soon.

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Why would a pf bow using a rotisserie any more so than in a game cabinet? Do the side supports avoid this or wouldn't the middle sag due to weight

 

It's not a guarantee of happening, but there is a chance with a heavy playfield.

 

In the cabinet, the playfield is supported just above the middle, but in a rotisserie it is generally supported only at the ends. It can happen if left populated in a rotisserie for a few weeks, especially without the side rails on the playfield

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It's not a guarantee of happening, but there is a chance with a heavy playfield.

 

In the cabinet, the playfield is supported just above the middle, but in a rotisserie it is generally supported only at the ends. It can happen if left populated in a rotisserie for a few weeks, especially without the side rails on the playfield

 

I see, I generally start depopulating while still in the machine to make it a little lighter to remove and then I go full bore once out. So leaving it for weeks is not my style, but can see your point. Thanks

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  • 2 months later...

Ok, so I forgot to finish this resto thread, so to give it some closure, here is the finished machine:

 

http://i.imgur.com/KpaVWpil.jpg

 

When I stripped the mini playfield I got rid of the blue cardboard base and made a nice clear one out of 1mm PETG. This worked out great as it allows the lights to show up under the mini playfield which is a cool effect. A really cheap, yet effective mod!

 

http://i.imgur.com/pVhVyoJl.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/0SBrfxRl.jpg

 

I also mirror polished all the metal and replaced almost all the hardware on top and underneath the playfields. It's hard to get a good photo of this, but here is some shiny bits.

 

http://i.imgur.com/l1LbIuwl.jpg

 

And a finished playfield shot:

 

http://i.imgur.com/41u7Gdal.jpg

 

Surprisingly the only issue I had to fix on booting was an under playfield switch that I installed backwards, a nice 30 second job.

 

Here is a couple of extras I installed along the way:

 

Mirror blades

Homepin leg protectors

Full leds

Bling balls

New flipper assemblies/bats etc

New coil wrappers

New plastic ramp and decals

Stainless flaps

Plastic protectors

Diy led flipper buttons

Led scoop and trough lights

7 cliffy protectors

Thunderbird mod

UFO mod

Aeroplane mod

Gumball mod

Camera mod

Piano mod

Street lamp mod

9.4 Home roms

 

... And I reinstalled the original crappy glass with 22 years worth of scratches

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  • 1 year later...
  • 4 months later...
Ok, so I forgot to finish this resto thread, so to give it some closure, here is the finished machine:

 

http://i.imgur.com/KpaVWpil.jpg

 

When I stripped the mini playfield I got rid of the blue cardboard base and made a nice clear one out of 1mm PETG. This worked out great as it allows the lights to show up under the mini playfield which is a cool effect. A really cheap, yet effective mod!

 

http://i.imgur.com/pVhVyoJl.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/0SBrfxRl.jpg

 

I also mirror polished all the metal and replaced almost all the hardware on top and underneath the playfields. It's hard to get a good photo of this, but here is some shiny bits.

 

http://i.imgur.com/l1LbIuwl.jpg

 

And a finished playfield shot:

 

http://i.imgur.com/41u7Gdal.jpg

 

Surprisingly the only issue I had to fix on booting was an under playfield switch that I installed backwards, a nice 30 second job.

 

Here is a couple of extras I installed along the way:

 

Mirror blades

Homepin leg protectors

Full leds

Bling balls

New flipper assemblies/bats etc

New coil wrappers

New plastic ramp and decals

Stainless flaps

Plastic protectors

Diy led flipper buttons

Led scoop and trough lights

7 cliffy protectors

Thunderbird mod

UFO mod

Aeroplane mod

Gumball mod

Camera mod

Piano mod

Street lamp mod

9.4 Home roms

 

... And I reinstalled the original crappy glass with 22 years worth of scratches

 

The mini playfield looks like a good idea.

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  • 3 weeks later...
It's been a very busy week of cabinet prep and parts polishing, and here is where I am up to now:

 

Before:

http://i.imgur.com/U98xN9Zl.jpg

 

After:

http://i.imgur.com/1c27jFfl.jpg

 

I still have to do the coindoor decal, but I needed a break.

 

For the cabinet prep, I used Septone Car Filler and I mixed about 40grams at a time as it is only workable for under 5 minutes. Then I sanded with 100 grit, then 180, 240 and 400. I then primed the cabinet (Septone Primer in a can), and sanded again with 400 grit to show up any high/low points. After fixing this, I repeated it another 1 or 2 times, and then when it was perfect, I sanded lightly with 800 grit and sprayed the edges with gloss black acrylic where the decals are trimmed up.

 

Then I left the cabinet for 7 days to cure before sticking on the artwork. My decals were several years old, I bought them off a member here, who also bought them off another member here. So they have eventually found a cabinet to stick with. Even though they were old, the adhesive was still great and they are super glossy and rich in colour. To be honest, they seem to feel better than the new generation style decals that I have used.

 

I stuck the decals down dry, it works fine for me, but I've never tried wet, so I have nothing to compare it to.

 

I have also finished the powdercoating (I think some is visible in the second picture), and I have been polishing up the ball guides, switch brackets, ramp guards and metal ramps. I start by sanding 400, then 800, 1200, 1500 and finally 2000 grit. After this it is pretty easy to get a nice mirror-ish finish with a good stainless polish. If I find some before photos I'll post a before/after comparison.

 

Anyway, more to come soon!

 

Did you do blue inside the bottom of the cab.

I can see a small bit of blue.

Do you have a photo inside the bottom.

Great job.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Aussie Arcade

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Did you do blue inside the bottom of the cab.

I can see a small bit of blue.

Do you have a photo inside the bottom.

Great job.

 

Think you will find he has blue highlights throughout the restore, inside the backbox on the first page and the top of his coin box on another page.

 

Looking at those photos looks like he has done the same with the mesh vents on the back and the power supply box.

 

Looks awesome! Great attention to detail.

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Here is a photo:

 

http://i.imgur.com/VGd3D1B.jpg

 

I stripped the cabinet, sanded it well, then primed it all. Inside the cabinet I paint the base with a hard wearing grey gloss or semi gloss. It is a color that easily washes up in future and looks good. Then I mask off the base and paint the sides black. Re-run new braid and put back all of the hardware and mirror blades etc. The blue parts are powder coated. It is a Dulux powder coat colour (I can't remember the colour name sorry).

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  • 1 month later...
Ok, so I forgot to finish this resto thread, so to give it some closure, here is the finished machine:

 

http://i.imgur.com/KpaVWpil.jpg

 

When I stripped the mini playfield I got rid of the blue cardboard base and made a nice clear one out of 1mm PETG. This worked out great as it allows the lights to show up under the mini playfield which is a cool effect. A really cheap, yet effective mod!

 

http://i.imgur.com/pVhVyoJl.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/0SBrfxRl.jpg

 

I also mirror polished all the metal and replaced almost all the hardware on top and underneath the playfields. It's hard to get a good photo of this, but here is some shiny bits.

 

http://i.imgur.com/l1LbIuwl.jpg

 

And a finished playfield shot:

 

http://i.imgur.com/41u7Gdal.jpg

 

Surprisingly the only issue I had to fix on booting was an under playfield switch that I installed backwards, a nice 30 second job.

 

Here is a couple of extras I installed along the way:

 

Mirror blades

Homepin leg protectors

Full leds

Bling balls

New flipper assemblies/bats etc

New coil wrappers

New plastic ramp and decals

Stainless flaps

Plastic protectors

Diy led flipper buttons

Led scoop and trough lights

7 cliffy protectors

Thunderbird mod

UFO mod

Aeroplane mod

Gumball mod

Camera mod

Piano mod

Street lamp mod

9.4 Home roms

 

... And I reinstalled the original crappy glass with 22 years worth of scratches

 

I've just acquired a TZ which needs a full strip and clean of the PF. Whereabouts did you source all these mods and replacement parts from? Yours looks ace. Did you clear coat the PFs?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Aussie Arcade

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