Bought my first pin (was: Pinball opportunity... should I buy?)

[Chris]

I've always wanted a pin... a local guy who's shipping out to Iraq is selling two vids and two pins for $350 each obo.  The blurry pic is a Fan-Tas-Tic which looks like a fun game but with the pic being blurry I don't know its condition.  I'm thinking of offering $300 for it and passing on the others. Any opinions?

[ChadTower]

You left out most of the important information.

Do they work?

[Chris]

The seller left out that important information too.  Obviously the first question I'll ask when I call.  I wish there was a better pic of the Fan-Tas-Tic... I could barely identify the machine, let alone see the condition of the playfield or backglass.

I saw a post that had the Mr. Pinball value of the Triple Action at $375, and the most recent eBay sale of a non-working Fan-Tas-Tic was about $275.

[ChadTower]

That sounds about right.  They're both really slow players.

[Chris]

Have you played Fan-Tas-Tic?  I've never heard of it before today... I haven't decided if that pop bumper between the flippers is really cool or really annoying.

[ChadTower]

I haven't played it.  If you can get the price to something you think is worth finding out, and if the game works, I'd say snag it and play it until you're tired of it.  Then sell it for the same price.

[Chris]

I haven't played it.  If you can get the price to something you think is worth finding out, and if the game works, I'd say snag it and play it until you're tired of it.  Then sell it for the same price.

Y'know, that's really good advice.  *smacks self on head*  Thanks, Chad!

The guy's about to go to Iraq to get shot at; I don't think I'm going to haggle with him too much on the price.

[ChadTower]

The guy's about to go to Iraq to get shot at; I don't think I'm going to haggle with him too much on the price.

That's my thought too.  I've had a couple friends ship out, though, and sell off a lot of their stuff.  I was shocked at how people would lowball the piss out of them with the "well, you're not going to use it and you need cash" rationale... one woman actually said "what do you care, you may not even come back".   

[Chris]

one woman actually said "what do you care, you may not even come back".   

OK, I can't even reply to that without crashing the board's autocensor.   

[ChadTower]

Yeah, she wasn't there long before he tossed her out.  She decided, for some reason, to vent her antiBush sentiment on a soldier about to be deployed.

What a dumbass.

[Chris]

Well I pulled the trigger on it.  The guy says everything works perfectly except the player 2 score reel sometimes sticks at 8000 points.  My solution to that is to make sure I'm always player 1 in a two player game.   

Picking it up at 7, so hopefully I'll have pics up tonight.

Thanks again, Chad!

[ChadTower]

Nice!  Just that one pin? 

EMs are very very heavy.  Keep that in mind when you plan moving it.

[Chris]

Yeah, I just took the one.  I was looking at the driving game, but from the KLOV pics it just doesn't look that fun.  But it did make me realize that the solution to a lot of my CP issues is to build another MAME cab just for driving games.  I have two Pole Position 360^o wheels and a Pole Position shifter, plus two Happ-style add-on pedals (microswitch, not pots, sadly... but maybe I can hack pots onto them).  I've got extra computer parts and even an extra 19" open frame monitor lying around, so it's really just a matter of building the box.  It'll be a good spring project.

[ChadTower]

I'm stoked to see some good pics of what shape this thing is in.  You'll definitely want to do at least a basic shop job on it (flipper rebuilds, new rubbers, waxed playfield).

[Chris]

Yeah, I figure I'll be on the Marco Spec site tonight.  Wonder if I can get Novus in town so I can start cleaning it at least....

[ChadTower]

I've seen it at some hardware stores and at antique stores.  A couple calls might turn some up.

[Chris]

I've seen it at some hardware stores and at antique stores.  A couple calls might turn some up.

Hmm... good idea.

Y'know, I think I'm looking forward to doing the shop job more than actually playing it! 

[Chris]

Looking for info on the game, I found the profile of the person who owns it on VAPS... so I'm guessing it's pretty well taken care of.

[WareWolF]

http://www.ipdb.org/search.pl?any=fan+tas+tic&searchtype=quick#820

[Chris]

OK, it's home now... that sucker is HEAVY!

Mechanically, it seems to be in great condition. Structurally and cosmetically it needs a lot of restoration work.  Which is fine; I'd have a lot more trouble fixing the mechanics of a pristine cabinet.

I'm about to go down now and take a thousand pictures.  The plywood is delaminating in places, the back of the cabinet looks like it's gotten wet at some point, backglass is flaking, two legs are black and two are silver, and the whole thing is desperately in need of cleaning.  But overall I'm happy with it.  A nice starter project pin.

[Chris]

OK, pictures are being uploaded to my Flickr account; they can be seen at my Flickr account.  They're being uploaded at their full 7 megapixel size so it'll take some time for them to all arrive.  Here are some highlights:

[ChadTower]

Those pics are pretty average, if not better than average, for a pin of that age.  Nice one.

[Chris]

I'm going with "better than average" based on the state of the mechanics and the playfield.  I think that playfield had to have been replaced at least once in its history.

So I have a bunch of supplies headed to me from Marco Specialties... wow they ship fast!  I placed the order at 3AM and got the shipping notification before noon.

[Chris]

Argh... I started to take apart things and documented them, and Windows' Camera Wizard ate the pics!

Anway, so I have supplies coming from Marco Specialties tomorrow so I can start really cleaning.  Unfortunately, today I realized the plumb bob is missing from the tilt mechanism!  I hate it when that happens.  If I order it now it's another $9 shipping charge.  Well, Ill just start adding non-critical parts to a list and I'll buy them when the list stops growing.

I noticed part of the cabinet has an apparent factory finish on it, a very light coating of some sort that the rest of the cabinet doesn't have.  Should I be trying to re-coat the rest of the cabinet with a protective coat to protect it, or will that just wreck it?

I was scrubbing at dots all over the head when I realized it wasn't dirt or water spots, it was silver splatter paint.  Oops.  I looked at some pics on the Net and sure enough it's supposed to be there.

Anyone know what to do about the chrome?  I have several parts that really need re-chroming but it seems to be expensive.  Is there a spray-on alternative that won't look awful or wear off easily?

[shardian]

Required reading for you:
http://www.pinrepair.com/restore/

I have a color laser printer copy sitting in my bathroom.

[Chris]

Yes, I saw that... wondering if I'll get walnut shell media just by grinding up my own walnut shells...

[shardian]

Yes, I saw that... wondering if I'll get walnut shell media just by grinding up my own walnut shells...

Don't waste your money on a tumbler unless you plan on redoing ALOT of pinballs. Your dremel and a polishing kit will suffice for one good shape pinball.

[Chris]

Yes, I saw that... wondering if I'll get walnut shell media just by grinding up my own walnut shells...

Don't waste your money on a tumbler unless you plan on redoing ALOT of pinballs. Your dremel and a polishing kit will suffice for one good shape pinball.

I have a hobby store tumbler that I've actually never used.  I got it for my daughter years ago but she lost interest the moment she realized it took weeks to get polished rocks out of it.

Maybe I will just do the Dremel though.  I was talking to my wife yesterday and she really wasn't pleased with the idea of another project where a machine was taken apart for two months as I took my meticulous time, so I probably won't be removing all of the components, just doing whatever I can do by the end of this weekend.

Right now I'm trying to think of what to do about the cabinet.  The left side is far worse than the right, but fortunately that side will be facing the wall.  I still want to protect it though.  My initial thought was to protect all the stencil work and just repaint the off-white, but then I'll have to redo the silver splatter as well.  Hmm.

I also am not sure what to do about the back panel.  At a minimum it needs to be repainted, but I'm wondering if I should replace the water-damaged panel with plywood or maybe just attach luan to it to re-face it before repainting it.

When I get home tonight I'm going to triple-thivk the backglass.  There's only one part of the lass I think I should attempt to restore; if I tinker with anything else I'm liable to just screw it up.



This guy's collar is almost completely gone, so I don't have to worry as much about color matching.  This is the worst of the backglass flaking.

[ChadTower]

Seal the glass, shop the game, and leave the rest alone.  Restore things after you've had it 6 months and are sure it's a keeper.  You could easily end up not wanting it anymore after 3 months and then you'll have done a lot of work that won't necessarily be returned in sale price.

[shardian]

You can touch up after sealing the glass - it is actually recommended.

[Chris]

Seal the glass, shop the game, and leave the rest alone.  Restore things after you've had it 6 months and are sure it's a keeper.  You could easily end up not wanting it anymore after 3 months and then you'll have done a lot of work that won't necessarily be returned in sale price.

Yeah, but my plan is to work my way up to better pins (I can only fit one at a time), so I'm thinking of this sort of as a "practice" pin as far as doing work on it.  But I am trying to avoid sinking a lot of money into chrome plating and such just for that reason.

The pin won't be a final "keeper" until it's a Funhouse, Twilight Zone, or Road Show.

[ChadTower]

Had a really nice TZ... sold it fast, didn't like it much.

The practice concept is a decent one, I guess, but for the most part there isn't going to be tons of difference in results between the first time you do something and the fifth.  The fifth time will just be a whole lot faster.

[shardian]

Yeah, but my plan is to work my way up to better pins (I can only fit one at a time), so I'm thinking of this sort of as a "practice" pin as far as doing work on it.  But I am trying to avoid sinking a lot of money into chrome plating and such just for that reason.

The pin won't be a final "keeper" until it's a Funhouse, Twilight Zone, or Road Show.

I'm in the same boat here. If the cabinet frame is in bad condition, you really don't need to be worrying about polishing metal. If the game works, fix the little issues, clean the EM contacts and make sure all of the score reels are working, replace dead lights, and clean up the playfield. That is really all you should do unless you plan on going whole hog on the machine. As long as it works 100% and won't fall apart by moving it, you are good.

[ChadTower]

I haven't gone whole hog yet... I will on my Black Knight when the repro playfields come out.  That sucker is going top to bottom restoration.  New clearcoated playfield, new plastics, repro backglass, repainted cabinet, full shop, replaced connectors and headers, cap kits, etc.


EDIT:  Hey... check out this guy's vids.  Pin shop process on youtube.  The amount of pinball stuff on youtube is awesome.

[shardian]

Had a really nice TZ... sold it fast, didn't like it much.

I don't like it or Addams Family.
To tell the truth, I don't think I really like any Pat Lawlor DMD pin. They are good don't get me wrong, they just are too busy I suppose.
NASCAR bores the ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- out of me.
Ripley's I never knew whether the ball was coming or going due to the ridiculous under playfield shuffling.
Rollercoaster is okay, but to be fair I haven't played on a 100% working table (Which I am sure most people have never played on a 100% working Lawlor DMD pin )

[ChadTower]

When you go to a certain amount of parties at houses with high end collections you get to have a good perspective on quality of design vs how much of the game is actually working.  It really helps in that regard.

I do love Funhouse.  I will end up with one sooner or later, probably start hunting one down once my gameroom is up and running.  When it comes to DMD games I prefer the ones that don't incorporate the display for minigames and such... if I want to play a monotone LCD game I have an old Gameboy for that, not a $2000 pinball machine.

[shardian]

When you go to a certain amount of parties at houses with high end collections you get to have a good perspective on quality of design vs how much of the game is actually working.  It really helps in that regard.

I do love Funhouse.  I will end up with one sooner or later, probably start hunting one down once my gameroom is up and running.  When it comes to DMD games I prefer the ones that don't incorporate the display for minigames and such... if I want to play a monotone LCD game I have an old Gameboy for that, not a $2000 pinball machine.

There is a big time collector here in town, and I've been to his house once. He had an Elvis in brand spanking new condition. The thing about blinded me it was so damn shiny.

[Chris]

Had a really nice TZ... sold it fast, didn't like it much.

I don't like it or Addams Family.

To be honest, TZ isn't really all that fun to me either, but the table itself, especially the backglass, is a work of art!  In fact, if I got my hands on one I'd probably take the whole room to a Twilight Zone theme; I think "Twilight Zone" makes an excellent game room name!  Not the right reason to own a pin, I know... Funhouse is probably the one I enjoy playing the most.  I've never played a real RoadShow but I'm really fond of the Visual Pinball version.  I could probably be happy with an Indiana Jones, Star Wars or Star Trek pin, again more on theme than play value.

[Chris]

As far as playfield restoration, there's only one spot of really serious wear, and that's around the lower jet bumper. I'll probably try to touch this area up, probably with enamels instead of acrylics to try to resist the wear better.  I don't really want to mylar it; on this playfield mylar is probably irreversable.

There's a little wear around the bonus inserts that's probably an easy touch-up.

And that is probably all I'll mess with on the playfield other than cleaning and waxing it.

[Chris]

Here is the worst part of the cabinet wood-wise... the corner of the backbox delaminating with chunks of the top layer of plywood missing.  This has an appointment with some wood glue and clamps tonight.

High resolution version at Flickr