Complete The Centaur that time forgot

[DRD]

Also, @David_Vi , when you go deep into an old game like this, take care not to over-sensitise the plethora of leaf switches. You might over or under tighten relative to the previous owners. So when she has been on for a couple of hours and generated some heat - you may find that switch gaps can narrow enough to cause chaos

The newer games tend to use more microswitches that don't suffer from these problems. The various rollover switches in particular can prove a right PITA on Bally SS titles

 

[David_Vi]

Also, @David_Vi , when you go deep into an old game like this, take care not to over-sensitise the plethora of leaf switches. You might over or under tighten relative to the previous owners. So when she has been on for a couple of hours and generated some heat - you may find that switch gaps can narrow enough to cause chaos

The newer games tend to use more microswitches that don't suffer from these problems. The various rollover switches in particular can prove a right PITA on Bally SS titles

That's along the same lines of what I was saying. The issue is the game has sat for decades, rusting. Some leafs were bent so I doubt they ever worked properly. Plus I had replaced a few standups so they needed adjusting.

Not to mention I probably knocked some while installing drop mechs.

I didn't realise the heat had an impact on the switches, that explains lot!
I hate rollovers! Especially star or button ones (on zacs).

 

[Dex-Jay]

As bids increased there was talk in the FB/ebay thread saying bidders must be off their rockers bidding on it (it reached £2600 I think?
I was after a Centaur for a while and with advice I knew my rough budget of 1400 considering the work required. I went for it and was outbid with it going up by over 1k more.
(I ask did I pay too much, when infact @Lecari and intended to go halves on the entire project. But Claire ended up paying for the purchase then said my half will be getting it up and running )

If you paid £1,400 it was fair, I also wouldn't have gone the crazy £2.6K. If it hasn't cost you too much on top of the initial cost then awesome! Now it's all done, yeah you did the right thing! It turned out great!
I remember seeing Centaur BITD but I've never played it, a young me thought it was cool but an intimidating machine. Would I want one at point, yeah but I've no where for one anyway!

 

[David_Vi]

If you paid £1,400 it was fair, I also wouldn't have gone the crazy £2.6K. If it hasn't cost you too much on top of the initial cost then awesome! Now it's all done, yeah you did the right thing! It turned out great!
I remember seeing Centaur BITD but I've never played it, a young me thought it was cool but an intimidating machine. Would I want one at point, yeah but I've no where for one anyway!

I think we paid £1500, (well Claire did). We went halves on it but I never paid my half to Claire, so my half ended up being the parts.
I think it's cost in total around 3k which I suppose isn't too bad considering how much Centaurs go for. I did end up overbuying general parts and often we forget how much it all adds up.

I could have saved a bit by repairing the S&T rather than buying a repro but I wanted to treat myself to a working game quicker

Most of the value remaining is cosmetic, the cab and backbox condition for example. Plus rust on the hidden parts of the cabinet. That's more labour and skill than cost I think.

Personally I like the character of the worn cabinet. The game tells a story, as long as the pf hardware looks good and it plays well I'm chuffed!

A new playfield would be nice though. I'm toying with the idea of a playfield protector because I'm worried I'm going to lose more of the art as the paint seems to flake off really easily.

 

[DRD]

I have a playfield protector on my Paragon. I also had one on the Genie that I sold.

The dirty secret about them that noone talks about is that the ball can get trapped between star rollovers and the protector.

I had to fettle the one on my Genie a bit to stop this happening as it tends to be a glass off job when it happens. Essentially cutting an inverted pyramid below the star rollover so the ball is less inclined to get stuck

 

[David_Vi]

I have a playfield protector on my Paragon. I also had one on the Genie that I sold.

The dirty secret about them that noone talks about is that the ball can get trapped between star rollovers and the protector.

I had to fettle the one on my Genie a bit to stop this happening as it tends to be a glass off job when it happens. Essentially cutting an inverted pyramid below the star rollover so the ball is less inclined to get stuck

That's my concern too.
We have one on Diner and I'm not a huge fan, I like how the game plays but you lose some of the kinetic feedback from the ball which makes Pinball great. I notice it more on centaur as the ball is rolling on wood.

Plus the protector traps dirt and hard to make look good.

I wonder if I can use some clear or varnish to seal parts of the art that's likely to flake?
I don't think the wear is that bad but definitely don't want it to get worse.

 

[Phil Lee]

That's the route I'm taking.
I have a few bare spots - but IMHO recoverable with a bit of touching up and clear to protect. I like to see a bit of history, so not striving for perfection.
Had noticed occasional pop bumpers while flipping and so found this thread fascinating to understand the issues - I'm finishing a Williams Apollo at the moment and put off pondering the few remaining issues with the
Centaur - plenty food for thought here, thanks!

 

[David_Vi]

That's the route I'm taking.
I have a few bare spots - but IMHO recoverable with a bit of touching up and clear to protect. I like to see a bit of history, so not striving for perfection.
Had noticed occasional pop bumpers while flipping and so found this thread fascinating to understand the issues - I'm finishing a Williams Apollo at the moment and put off pondering the few remaining issues with the
Centaur - plenty food for thought here, thanks!

Glad to be of some help!
I've got some uni posca paint pens to attempt touch up some of the black but for real results really I need to paint the white parts, I have no experience of mixing and matching paint or even painting so I'm not sure I'll risk it.

I'd love to see your results, especially when it comes to protecting it.

There's is a Centaur paint touch up video on YouTube by Joe's video Arcade and I added the paint he used to my eBay basket but then got nervous and left them there

 

[myPinballs]

And those voices with reverb and delay.

The joy of new Sound boards with all new parts, better layout and design and a NOS speech generator IC from the depths of 'indy jones esque' warehouse storage !!!

 

[David_Vi]

Ok so here it is, a video of it fully working!
I keep tweaking the reverb and delay, can't make my mind up

I don't claim to be a good player so take this game with a grain of salt. It was the second I recorded and the best... Except you'll see at some point I have ORBS in order except S... I hit S and it bricks SDTM. The most painful Bally Brick possible on Centaur surely? But the best ball 3 ever?

Lemme know if it looks like it plays like a Centaur... I never know what pitch or settings to use on classics.
Currently 3 ball, all bonus doesn't carry over and rest default I believe.

 

[s000m]

Ok so here it is, a video of it fully working!
I keep tweaking the reverb and delay, can't make my mind up

I don't claim to be a good player so take this game with a grain of salt. It was the second I recorded and the best... Except you'll see at some point I have ORBS in order except S... I hit S and it bricks SDTM. The most painful Bally Brick possible on Centaur surely? But the best ball 3 ever?

Lemme know if it looks like it plays like a Centaur... I never know what pitch or settings to use on classics.
Currently 3 ball, all bonus doesn't carry over and rest default I believe.

Looks good, right drop target (second from the top is dragging when hit, it looks like its rubbing against the post rubber. Likely needs adjustment.

 

[David_Vi]

Looks good, right drop target (second from the top is dragging when hit, it looks like its rubbing against the post rubber. Likely needs adjustment.

Is it the first one that drops? The first drops go slower as they're pushing down the reset bar which has spring tension on it.

The Bally drop mechs are known for bricking on direct hits too. There's various solutions I might look into

None of the drops are that close to rubber posts

 

[s000m]

Is it the first one that drops? The first drops go slower as they're pushing down the reset bar which has spring tension on it.

The Bally drop mechs are known for bricking on direct hits too. There's various solutions I might look into

None of the drops are that close to rubber posts
View attachment 198034
View attachment 198035

It was number 2 on your video that was going down sluggish.

Had the same issue with Alien, Stranger Things too if I remember right. As well as Judge Dredd, sometimes it's the spring, sometimes it's the position, others it's been alignment. They are always a pig.

 

[Judderman]

Ok so here it is, a video of it fully working!
I keep tweaking the reverb and delay, can't make my mind up

I don't claim to be a good player so take this game with a grain of salt. It was the second I recorded and the best... Except you'll see at some point I have ORBS in order except S... I hit S and it bricks SDTM. The most painful Bally Brick possible on Centaur surely? But the best ball 3 ever?

Lemme know if it looks like it plays like a Centaur... I never know what pitch or settings to use on classics.
Currently 3 ball, all bonus doesn't carry over and rest default I believe.

Oof! - exactly the noise I made when the ball didn't quite get to that first S target