Author Topic: Twilight Zone! (Read 31555 times)

Stingray · « **Reply #160 on:** September 07, 2005, 12:11:37 pm »

Lets see some pics after you put it back together. This thing should be glittering by now.

-S

ChadTower · « **Reply #161 on:** September 07, 2005, 12:25:41 pm »

I haven't touched the cabinet other than that structural repair, but yeah, the playfield is coming together very nicely.

ChadTower · « **Reply #162 on:** September 07, 2005, 04:04:48 pm »

Cool:

ChadTower · « **Reply #163 on:** September 10, 2005, 03:34:48 pm »

Top half of the playfield given the Novus 2 treatment. All remaining ramps cleaned, the lanes under them as far as I could reach without dismantling the ramps. One coat of wax so far on all cleaned playfield areas. Many flasher domes and misc plastic parts taken off, cleaned under the faucet, given Novus 3.

ChadTower · « **Reply #164 on:** September 12, 2005, 10:00:39 am »

Finished all the lanes, ramps, etc that I could reach.

Tried to put the miniplayfield back on, had enough trouble that I was near tossing it through the backglass, so I put it down and haven't touched it since saturday.

Stingray · « **Reply #165 on:** September 12, 2005, 03:37:58 pm »

Always a good idea to put the expensive & fragile part down before you get POed enough to throw it.

-S

ChadTower · « **Reply #166 on:** September 14, 2005, 11:34:07 am »

Okay, this suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks.

The check I originally wrote out for these two machines JUST CLEARED. I would swear it cleared in May, and I'll look back through my statements, but if I'm wrong... then my family is really hurting over the next couple of months. Leading into Christmas. We simply can't absorb a $1500 hit right now, especially since I just got a letter from the IRS stating that there was a mistake on my 2003 taxes and I owe $700. I have to verify that one too.

Gigantic bills are just falling out of the goddam sky. I may have to sell this and possibly the Shadow too, and soon.

Stingray · « **Reply #167 on:** September 14, 2005, 11:49:58 am »

That sucks. Wonder what happened with the check. That's an awfully long time for it to have just been floating around out there.

-S

ChadTower · « **Reply #168 on:** September 14, 2005, 11:58:20 am »

I contacted the facilities woman at my old company. She is the one who gave me all the inside info (including the keys) on those machines before they went up for auction. She had actually tried to get the company to let her GIVE me the Shadow in exchange for fixing the TZ, but the IT group bitched about it. Apparently they would have rather had two broken machines than one working one.

She told me that it was HR's deal, that they managed the auction, but that also pretty much everyone involved with it no longer works there.

Buddabing · « **Reply #169 on:** September 14, 2005, 12:19:20 pm »

D--n.

I guess you could sell the TZ on Ebay, Mr. Pinball, or rec.games.pinball. Recent sales on Ebay went from 2000-2500.

If you can net $500 from the sale, you'll have gotten $500 and a free Shadow pinball for all your work on the TZ. That's not too bad.

ChadTower · « **Reply #170 on:** September 14, 2005, 12:26:33 pm »

Yeah, it is an option. I'm betting I could find a local buyer in that range rather than Ebay or Mr Pinball, too.

Stingray · « **Reply #171 on:** September 14, 2005, 02:05:05 pm »

I would expect the TZ to be a quick seller. It certainly makes plenty of collectors top ten pins list.

-S

AmericanDemon · « **Reply #172 on:** September 14, 2005, 07:15:27 pm »

Especially in the condition you have it in now. Cleaned and primed for a sale. I hate to hear about this man, but you'll make it through. Sucks you are gonna get rid of it.

ChadTower · « **Reply #173 on:** September 17, 2005, 05:14:29 pm »

Miniplayfield back on, not electrically reconnected yet. I can't find the screw/nut that hold the feeder rails in place, though... I'll have to try and replace them.

ChadTower · « **Reply #174 on:** September 17, 2005, 05:45:27 pm »

Gumball light and cross playfield rail cleaned and reinstalled.

ChadTower · « **Reply #175 on:** September 17, 2005, 07:08:39 pm »

Rocket kicker reinstalled, playfield out trough cleaned and reinstalled.

It's in a good place to take some nice pics, but my wife misplaced the digital camera.

ChadTower · « **Reply #176 on:** September 17, 2005, 07:44:47 pm »

Took the flipper bats out for soaking to remove dirt and residue from black rubbers. I didn't realise you could just loosen a nut and yank them out, I thought I'd have to disassemble the whole thing. Cool.

ChadTower · « **Reply #177 on:** September 17, 2005, 10:15:44 pm »

Soaked the flipper bats in water and dishwasher detergent... no effect. Soaked them in pure isopropyl alcohol, rubber parts came off, but general dirt above where the rubber was mostly remains. That's good enough for me, I can replace the bats later if I haven't sold the pin by then to try and keep my house.

ChadTower · « **Reply #178 on:** September 17, 2005, 11:28:53 pm »

Flipper bats are as clean as they're going to get... will reinstall them, and put new red rubbers on them, tomorrow.

ChadTower · « **Reply #179 on:** September 18, 2005, 12:50:33 pm »

Put the flipper bats back in. Fired this puppy up... oh man, you should see this thing. The lights are so much brighter and clearer and you can practically see your reflection in the playfield. The best part, no errors, which means I didn't break anything while I had everything all apart. Need to find the camera.

Left to do: Remove and clean translite, clean off the white lamp board behind the translite. Put the trough hood back on. Print out some spiffy instruction and price cards. Clean the glass, put the glass back on.

ChadTower · « **Reply #180 on:** September 18, 2005, 04:25:04 pm »

I guess I spoke too soon. Tried to fire it up to play, immediately the DMD said "check fuses F114 and F115".

ChadTower · « **Reply #181 on:** September 18, 2005, 09:14:22 pm »

Helpness

ChadTower · « **Reply #182 on:** September 18, 2005, 09:45:25 pm »

Sonofabitch. F114 shattered while I was trying to take it out. DAMMIT.

ChadTower · « **Reply #183 on:** September 19, 2005, 07:45:27 am »

Very depressing. I have to hunt around town today to try and find the right fuses and a fuse puller, knowing the chances that the problem is actually blown fuses are very small.

ChadTower · « **Reply #184 on:** September 19, 2005, 06:52:04 pm »

Unexpectedly... I popped in a new F114, and it came right up! Don't know if it will burn out F114 again shortly, but for now, it's up and running once more. Just have those same last items, and then to get it moved into position and leveled.

ChadTower · « **Reply #185 on:** September 20, 2005, 01:17:00 pm »

Just got another big, unexpected bill.

This machine has got to go. Just posted on a local pinball list, mr pinball is next.

Wade · « **Reply #186 on:** September 20, 2005, 01:32:22 pm »

Mr. Clean Magic eraser and some Novus 2 will make white flipper bats look like new, and get all that black rubber junk off.

Where do you live again? I'm thinking it's too far from me, but I just can't remember.

Where's the ad? Any pictures of it other than the ones when you first got it?

Thanks,
Wade

ChadTower · « **Reply #187 on:** September 20, 2005, 01:36:57 pm »

I haven't taken recent pictures yet, but likely will have to now. I was able to get it all off with the alcohol. Now all that is left is a minor bit of really sunken in discoloration that isn't going to come off. Just makes it a bit off yellow rather than new looking.

I'm in Massachusetts.

SirPeale · « **Reply #188 on:** September 20, 2005, 06:31:04 pm »

Quote from: ChadTower on September 20, 2005, 01:17:00 pm

Just got another big, unexpected bill.

crap, now what?

ChadTower · « **Reply #189 on:** September 21, 2005, 07:32:39 am »

Don't even want to think about it enough to post it up here. Maybe later.

ChadTower · « **Reply #190 on:** September 26, 2005, 10:21:06 am »

Wow, this turned into a giant mess in a hurry. I posted it for sale on Mr Pinball, RGP, and the Boston Pinball Association. Several members of BPA (most of whom have been trying to acquire this machine from me, BTW) turned on me in a major way. I've been wading through email after email questioning my character, integrity, everything down to my shoe size. All because I wanted to sell this machine during a personal financial downturn.

I hate everything.

ChadTower · « **Reply #191 on:** September 26, 2005, 07:31:09 pm »

It won't be around long, but here are pics....

AmericanDemon · « **Reply #192 on:** September 26, 2005, 08:44:33 pm »

Damn man. Thats a fine looking Twilight Zone.

SirPeale · « **Reply #193 on:** September 26, 2005, 08:57:07 pm »

How exactly did they turn on you? You wouldn't sell it, you shopped it out, and now you're selling it. What on earth could they possibly say?

ChadTower · « **Reply #194 on:** September 26, 2005, 09:02:29 pm »

Well, it started out as "you took advantage of our help" then it was "you didn't sell it to us at a discount", and then multiple people who had tried to lowball me, tried to sabotage my sale by openly questioning my character and saying I was a scammer. It got really ugly.

SirPeale · « **Reply #195 on:** September 26, 2005, 09:15:41 pm »

Took advantage of their help? It's not freaking rocket science. Oh, no, poor babies don't get to buy a fully shopped pin for $1.26!

Like the baby stabber, F them.

ChadTower · « **Reply #196 on:** September 26, 2005, 09:19:05 pm »

F the individuals that sent me all the flames and personal attacks, anyway. BPA as a whole is good. It does, like any other net group, have some individuals who are jerkwads.

ChadTower · « **Reply #197 on:** September 28, 2005, 08:59:35 am »

The pin is under agreement.

DarkKobold · « **Reply #198 on:** September 28, 2005, 09:58:18 am »

So wait, you bought a pin for cheap, using legit inside info. You shopped said pin from a 1.5K machine to a 2K machine. You asked for help on a message board, where the help has no strings attached, ala BYOAC...

And people are pissed?

Got any links? I'd love to see people bitching and moaning over stupid ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---.

ChadTower · « **Reply #199 on:** September 28, 2005, 10:05:36 am »

I paid $1550 or so for the TZ and a Shadow.


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