The solid blue plastic base of the Bookcase seems a little cheap with all the other detailed art on the playfield. There are several decal options available to cover the blue mass and the forums very own Judge Dreads sells an option. I bought mine via a group buy Andy "The Legend" was doing from the States so is a slightly different design from JD's.
This was the before shot:
Five screws hold it on and all are easily accessible so removal of the complete unit is very easy but before you start know that the hardest part is making sure the bookcase is level when you re-attach it.
NOTE: It has been pointed out on the next page that you don't have to remove the whole mechanism. Jump to the motor removal process if you want to leave the metal base in the machine.
I have to undo the top right flipper to gain access to the top bracket screw.
The lower arm that moves the turntable is broken on mine but two cable ties ensures it still works, if anyone has one I might be interested though.
The breakage was caused because someone didn't know how to safely take apart the table. First remove the motor held on by the two flat head screws.
Then you can gentle move the gears and linkage to line up the screw under the linkage.
Once undone, the larger linkage arm is now free to move from the smaller arm and you just undo the retainer plastic nut from and unscrew the top part.
Now we have the main blue plastic part separated from the metal and ready to be torn apart. The large nuts (11/32") hold on the metal posts and can be quickly removed. So can the longer linkage but the centre large metal screw can't be undone yet.
Top side, undo the two nuts that hold on the top of the bookcase and hopefully hold on a blue bug. This will review the top half of the optics.
The last shot above is trying to show you that inside the bookcase are two screws, that need to be held whilst you undo the other end as demonstrated badly in the next picture.
The opto card will not slide through the body on my bookcase, not just because the wires are soldered on the outer side but also due to the other soldering points. So the opto card has to be unsoldered to take the upper part of the bookcase off the table part.
Now we have the base table free and ready for the new decal. I gave it a quick clean with IPA cleaner to remove any greasy residue.
I am not great at this sort of thing so lined the decal up on with the right side post holes as a reference. Whilst the decal is lined up in some places, by the top it was slightly off as are the lower optic holes. I am not sure if this is a defect in the decal or my method.
Now reverse the process and put it all back together.
The colour match is not perfect, the yellow is a bit different but it is now really noticeable, neither is any mistakes from where the decal was stuck. It certainly does soften the blue. This decal is more patio than castle floor but there is enough choice for people to choose what they prefer.
The hard part is now balancing the top of the bookcase table. The table itself is held onto the metal plate from that large centre cylinder screw (and the long bolt that goes through it) which means the only adjustment is the five screws on the metal plate which are in three locations. Left, top, bottom.
I use bits of card, under these three mount points to pull that corner of the bookcase table lower. This has worked before but this time I got to a point where the top mount was so far out that the flipper plate could not be reattached. I have got it to a stage where I am happy with it but will be taking it apart and rethinking the solution next time I do some maintainance.