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How to tell if original decals or not?

Rob zombie

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Ok so I've only had one re-decalled machine before for certain...and that was pretty obvious since I had to trim some of it back myself. My question is: is it possible to do such a high quality job of re-decalling that it's impossible to tell? Or is there always going to be a giveaway tell-tale sign? I have a new machine and I can't tell if it's been re-decalled or not. It doesn't make sense that there are no marks on a 25yr old machine but even rubbing my fingers along the bottom edge of the cabinet it's perfectly smooth.

I need to know....
 
Has it got a date printed on the edge of the playfield?


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Ah thought you meant playfield insert decals.


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My opinion it has been re decal , looks to clean , plus the coin door and that bolt way to clean ,no dirt to shiny and no marks where the legs go .There is no sticker bottom right but I have seen them recreated before .
 
Original decals should have the serial numbers on somewhere. These could have been removed but why ?
I'd go along with Carl and say it's been redecaled at some stage. I would have to see it in person to say 100% but it does look to clean and you would expect to see some wear around the legs and in other wear areas.
 
My opinion it has been re decal , looks to clean , plus the coin door and that bolt way to clean ,no dirt to shiny and no marks where the legs go .There is no sticker bottom right but I have seen them recreated before .

Coin door has been repainted, I know that for a fact. The decals though. I mean, I'm not bothered either way, I'm just curious. If it has been re-decalled then it's a really top job. But I would expect to be able to feel that slight ridge where it meets wood. So I'm quite confused.
 
Can you get textured decals though? When I rub my hand along it it feels exactly like my old RFM which had original cabinet artwork.
 
High probability its re-decalled then. Very good job if it is. I had always been put off re-decalled machines after my TAF but this has totally changed my mind...if it is.
 
I would still buy a machine that had the cabinet re-decalled , weather it was a good or bad job on it .Now a overlay on a playfield will that's a different story for me !!!
 
I've changed my mind again. Although it doesn't have the rectangular stickers mentioned earlier.....if I rub my hand along the lower front of the machine I can feel a sticky bit where the sticker used to be
It's also very slightly darker. So I think it might actually be original after all. DSC_1280.JPG
 
Every machine I have had with this sticker on I have always taken them off ,just don't like them , for me it spoils the front of the cab :p
 
I thought ToM was screen printed and not a decal?
I still think it’s a decal. My old ToM had damage to the side and it was definitely screen printed. Also I believe decals only appeared on B/W games from MB, CC era and not before. Then again I could be wrong but I’ve not come across any unless you want to count Star Wars Ep1 and RFM
 
Decals can be silkscreen printed or printed digitally. Originals were obviously silkscreen printed. To me this looks like digital print from a scan (at a quick glance). However, it would be easier to tell if you took photos at narrow angles so that the surface and its imperfections are visible.
 
@Rob zombie - looks like a redecal to me, But can not be 100%

Just my 2 cents.

Yeah that's really why I made the thread in the first place. I just don't know. Logic dictates that it must surely be a re-decal. But then there's the perfection of it, the totally smooth edges and the sticky bits where the original stickers would have been. All the other work was documented, but no mention of cabinet artwork. I just view it as a mystery to be solved. The outcome doesn't matter, it's perfect either way.
 
Yeah that's really why I made the thread in the first place. I just don't know. Logic dictates that it must surely be a re-decal. But then there's the perfection of it, the totally smooth edges and the sticky bits where the original stickers would have been. All the other work was documented, but no mention of cabinet artwork. I just view it as a mystery to be solved. The outcome doesn't matter, it's perfect either way.
There's no mistery. The machine underwent high end restoration. Obviously the decals were replaced. The serial number sticker doesn't mean anything. The only question is what decals you have: silkscreen printed or digital. Are those PPS decals or from some other source. PPS' NextGen decals are very good, but you should be able to feel the paint.
 
There's no mistery. The machine underwent high end restoration. Obviously the decals were replaced. The serial number sticker doesn't mean anything. The only question is what decals you have: silkscreen printed or digital. Are those PPS decals or from some other source. PPS' NextGen decals are very good, but you should be able to feel the paint.

Tell me what to check for :) If I rub my hand along the cabinet there is a very obvious texture. Identical to an original RFM I owned, which I believe was screen printed(?)
 
Although I haven't looked at mine recently, I remember it looking very similar to how yours is finished so I think it's a factory finish that you have, no re-decal.
 
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