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LED bulbs, colour schemes and psychedelic vomit

Bod

Registered
Joined
Jan 23, 2019
Messages
305
Location
Halifax, England
Alias
Dave Boddis
Hi,
If updating a machine to LED's - would this be a like-for-like swap with the incandescent bulb, or is there further "behind the scenes" upgrades that also need to be done?
(talking about Williams c.1990 tables - in particular Gilligans Island and FunHouse.
Also, is there any guide as to colour scheme i.e. what (is known) to look or go well, and what is a no-no, in other words, if red plastic is used, would you use a red bulb et al., as I don't want to end up with psychedelic vomit scheme (or scene) ??
 
I’ve done a few now and much prefer them over standard bulbs, however it is a bit marmite and lots of pinheads prefer the original look to the sometimes sterile looks of LEDs.
Once you get into LEDing a Pin it’s really down to personal taste and for me it was a lot of trial and error. My TZ was done with colour coordinated PF superbrights and cold white GI to compliment my pinstadiums.
However older pins like my funhouse worked better with warm white frosted domes throughout and was also a really cheap option so maybe try this 1st before you go overboard with colour as it can sometimes overwhelm the look inducing the aforementioned psychedelic vomit look.
That said a few subtle colours in the translite can really bring it to life like my whirly that has a few simple frosted blues that make it look more stunning than it already was.
 
Thanks Collywobbles, I can see how, if used wisely, the LED'S can enhance a look.
What are PF superbrights? and re the warm white frosted domes, led?
So I imagine there are no needed system upgrades when changing to LED bulbs?
Any chance of seeing a picture of your GI and FH please?
 
I use a range of bulbs and range of colours, the latter especially for general illumination. You can lower cost without losing effect by using basic warm white dome LEDs in the volume areas like behind backglass and play field inserts. I use super bright LEDs for GI areas. If you need any #555 wedge warm white domes I sell them at lowest price in the Uk so please PM if you’re interested... Steve
 
TBH pics don’t give justice as you camera seems to over contrast certain colours (my TZ doesn’t look that blue in the flesh and in my defence I have a few settings on my pinstadiums one for daytime use (blue as seen on pic) and another which is white for night time play.

TZ has superbrights in the PF and cool white GI, the TL has warm white throughout with a few accents of blue, yellow and superbrights on the clock bottom right
STTNG has been done completely with cheaper LEDs using cool white frosted dome and concave for inserts, the TL is warm white throughout with 2 cheap frosted blue accents
Whirly is a mixture of Warm White and cool white again accented on the TL with a few colours

Like I said at the start they do look better in the flesh and don’t look overpowered as they do in the pics. I suggest you buy a handful of warm white and cool white frosted domes and a few concave for the inserts then experiment alongside your incandescents.

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Will do. Will read the links above, then start experimenting! The pics all look great.
 
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