My Pinball Machine Blog

[jcalder8]

I've got a blog going over at RF Generation and I thought I would share it here since it is about me getting my first pinball machine and getting it fixed up again.

http://www.rfgeneration.com/blogs/jcalder8/

[Peale]

Nice score, man. A good place to get tips is Marvin3m.com.

[jcalder8]

Nice score, man. A good place to get tips is Marvin3m.com.
Thanks for the Tip, I actually printed off all 4 parts of the repair guide.

[Goblin]

Work through those repair guides before you send off your boards. You can probably work through it, as there are very well written. Spend a few bucks on a multimeter and try to learn. Unless you get comfortable with board repair pinball will become an expensive hobby for you.

Since you are just starting out, I recommend that you get the electronics up before you start work waxing the playfield and doing the other items on your list. I know it is tempting, but this way if you do end up over your head you haven't put more time and money into then it would be worth on the open the market. Nonworking project pinball are readily available in the $250-600 range.

I know you want this for your game room and not to resell, but by sending off your boards, you are looking to spend somewhere close to $100 minimum, which coupled with a few other things you need (like a new backglass ~$200-300), you will quickly approach the price you can get a good condition working machine for. Just my 2 cents, projects are a good way to learn and can make financial sense, as long as you do the work yourself.

Also I disagree with the comments on the blog about not touching up the paint. Yours looks rather beat, so touching it up will only make it look better. With pins that really become a piece of furniture due to their size, you want this to look as clean and new as you can. A little paint can go a long way, I'm not sure about this particular machine but there are stencils out there to make the cabinet look almost new.

[jcalder8]

Work through those repair guides before you send off your boards. You can probably work through it, as there are very well written. Spend a few bucks on a multimeter and try to learn. Unless you get comfortable with board repair pinball will become an expensive hobby for you.

Since you are just starting out, I recommend that you get the electronics up before you start work waxing the playfield and doing the other items on your list. I know it is tempting, but this way if you do end up over your head you haven't put more time and money into then it would be worth on the open the market. Nonworking project pinball are readily available in the $250-600 range.

I know you want this for your game room and not to resell, but by sending off your boards, you are looking to spend somewhere close to $100 minimum, which coupled with a few other things you need (like a new backglass ~$200-300), you will quickly approach the price you can get a good condition working machine for. Just my 2 cents, projects are a good way to learn and can make financial sense, as long as you do the work yourself.

Also I disagree with the comments on the blog about not touching up the paint. Yours looks rather beat, so touching it up will only make it look better. With pins that really become a piece of furniture due to their size, you want this to look as clean and new as you can. A little paint can go a long way, I'm not sure about this particular machine but there are stencils out there to make the cabinet look almost new.
Thanks for the ideas.

I did already ship out the boards, but from now on I plan on doing the work myself. I wanted to get them in good working order before I started. It would be a real pain to think I was solving one problem when in fact I was making something else not work.

I'm still undecided about how much painting I'll be doing on it. I do like the thought of a nice looking machine but at the same time it will look fake to me because that's not what a 30 year old pinball machine should look like. I want it to look like it's been used over the years.

[Videogamerdaryll]

Wow!! nice looking Machine..Nice Score..I love Pins