What's new
Pinball info

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Complete The other Christmas Creature

Ped

Ped

Site Supporter
Joined
Oct 25, 2014
Messages
173
Location
Cheltenham
Alias
Pete
So as you may know, I made a previously unplanned purchase of a Creature from the Black Lagoon from the Liverpool auction before Christmas. I'd had half an eye out for one for a while but wasn't really looking to fill a hole in my lineup (of one machine) just yet due to a lack of space, and had a vague notion that If I did get one at some point it would be stored until I had the space to have them both set up. I'd only seen the auction catalogue a couple of days before so couldn't make it up there to check things out before the day so it was a bit of a risk, though I did ask the auctioneer to turn it on and let me know if the boards were all still there. I registered to bid "just in case"...

The rest as they say is history..
These are the pics from the auction - it is at least in one piece, though the MM jigsaw that @Asiapinball bought at the same auction looks like a cracking find. This came from the same collection and had clearly been in storage for a long time but first impressions were pretty good. Cabinet has some scuffs, as you'd expect and the whole thing looks like it had spent years in a tobacco smoke filled bar - nasty yellow brown deposits on everything.
Initial plan was to get it home, set up and tested so I could make a parts list.

Not planning to redecal the cabinet at this stage - no space inside so it will need to be a summer job and I didn't fancy sanding in the garden in -8 so that's on the medium term to-do list. I don't necessarily want a pristine machine anyway - I like them to work well, play well but show some signs of the life they have lived, little bit of patina so to speak.

There are few must- haves though - , LEDs, colour display, Swinks snackbar mod and pinsound. This is a 50's drive in movie theme so I want to add 50's music to the soundtrack: Dion and the Belmonts, Bil Haley, Elvis, Danny and the Juniors, Everly brothers etc etc. Pinsound is a must for this (and upgraded speakers) and Swinks Snackbar is perfect for the theme. Also considering ColorDMD - I have one on Drac and really like it, or maybe Pin2DMD, though would probably need to see one in person to decide, and I'm a bit put off by the whole additional power supply thing if I'm honest - opinions welcome !
I'll also be changing some of the plastic posts / pops colours to teal (currently orange and red) - I saw @Gonzo 's interview with @stumblor on YouTube and really like the look of that machine, though I probably won't be wrapping the loom or anodising the nuts !
 

Attachments

  • 414614_0.jpg
    414614_0.jpg
    115.1 KB · Views: 51
  • 414613_0.jpg
    414613_0.jpg
    128.5 KB · Views: 48
  • 414612_0.jpg
    414612_0.jpg
    127 KB · Views: 52
  • 414611_0.jpg
    414611_0.jpg
    111.5 KB · Views: 53
  • 413393_0.jpg
    413393_0.jpg
    70.3 KB · Views: 56
Calimori said:
I have a Pin2dmd on my CFTBL and the colouring is fantastic. @slippifishi did them and was a pleasure to talk with too.
TBH,I have tapped in on the 12v for now but will be adding in a power source for the other mods soon.
Click to expand...
I would second that. Pin2dmd with the @stumblor speaker surround to accommodate larger screen. Colour graphics are very well done and add a huge amount to the game.
 
I'm sure @Lecari would love a pin2dmd in her 'drive thru'.
We've got a few pin2dmds and they're great.

Ped said:
. I don't necessarily want a pristine machine anyway - I like them to work well, play well but show some signs of the life they have lived, little bit of patina so to speak.
Click to expand...
That's how I roll too, I don't mind a bit of cab wear but I like the games to play properly 😁 on same page with the mods too.

Good luck with the creech! your playfield looks nicer than Claire's 😄. Probably just as dirty though!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ped
Initial condition
The first challenge was getting it through the door into the Cinema / Pin room. The previous owner of the house had converted the internal garage into a room, but didn't add any windows, just four walls and a door. When we moved in it was perfect for a home cinema so that's what it's become, with 1 pin in the corner. I decided to make the only door into a secret bookcase door, so it looks like a bookcase from the hallway. At the time I didn't anticipate getting any more pins so it wasn't a problem, but now that Creech had arrived it certainly was. The opening is wide enough to get the pin body through, but not with the head attached so the first job was to remove it.
20221210_111640.jpg20221210_111653.jpg

Having got it into the room, I put it back together and fired it up to see what was what. Checked all the fuses first (out of the game) and all was OK - the boards didn't look bad at all on first inspection, the machine booted but wouldn't start a game, claiming that there was a ball missing (there wasn't. Hmmm. )
I checked all the connections, all seemed OK but on closer inspection the CPU board had some alkali damage. Looks like it had leaked in the past and had been repaired but showed evidence of further corrosion. A clue perhaps? Decided to check the easy things first. Switch edge test, solenoid test, flasher test

20221211_180001.jpg

Definitely something amiss. Flashers worked OK, Solenoids all fine, Creature lamp flashed but didn't stay on, Creature mirror motor and ripple motor both dead.
On the switch test, one whole column was out, column 5 which has all the trough switches.

Decided the tackle that first, Creature could wait.
Tested continuity on the playfield switches on that column and all checked out OK - could ping the all from the (removed) connector to J206 so no wire breaks, no shorts. Diodes tested OK on the multimeter so it was back to the prime suspect, the CPU board.
With the game on and in switch test mode I disconnected all the CPU playfield connectors and using a test lead with one end connected to J209 pin1 and the other end holding the non-banded side of the diode, I touched each pin of J207 with the banded end. This should trigger switch closures in the test menu and it was clear from that that column 5 was dead, no response, so definitely the CPU board

I had a spare 2803 for U20 and it was socketed anyway so it was a simple job to replace it (also replaced u14 and u16 which were also socketed) No joy. Same issue. Although the board looked reasonably OK I tested all the manky looking resistors (all OK) and continuity from J207/206 through to U20 and found that there was a break in the trace somewhere. Added a couple of jumper wires to the back of the board and put it back in the game and tried again - Still no good.

Moral of the story here is to finish testing everything before assuming things are fixed. Tested again and a row was out as well as the column I found previously. Given the other issue I took the board out again and tested continuity for that row and there was a break there also.

I jumpered that one and whilst I had the thing out I decided to socket and replace the dodgy looking U19 and replace the on board battery holder with a remote one.

20221230_135919.jpg

Back in the game and..... it worked !


Now for the cleanup !

20221212_140128.jpg
20221213_203505.jpg20221223_145405.jpg20221223_145411.jpg20221212_140100.jpg
20221222_153324.jpg

Apart from being dirty, the playfield is in pretty good condition. rubbers perished in places but no inserts lifted, no chips or even much wear, even around the snackbar hole. Flipper rubbers are relatively good so must have been replaced not too long ago. Underside of the playfield seems fairly unmolested - subway plastic is almost opaque from the dirt though !
 

Attachments

  • 20221213_203531.jpg
    20221213_203531.jpg
    135.3 KB · Views: 10
Didn't have anyone to help on the day and would have needed someone inside the room and outside (there's also a step into the room) . Could have,,
A) waited until Deb (Mrs Ped) came home several hours later or
B) let my impatience get the better of me

Impatience won :)
 
Finally got onto stripping the playfield and cleaning. Parts arrived (Backbox and playfield LEDs , teal plastic posts, lane guides and pop bumper caps, Creature backbox hinges , backboard decal, new left lane plastic (existing one was half a broken original plus a piece of black tin), target decals and a translucent rubber set from Pinball Centre arrived just in time for Christmas, leg bolts (it only had 4 on the machine when I got it) and backbox wingbolt from PH and a Pinsound board, speakers and headphone/ volume controller from Pinsound
The new decals aren't brilliant quality , similarly the left lane plastic but they're OK for now. The Snack Bar plastic is also broken but that's being replaced by the new mod. All other plastics on the game are OK.

20221223_145431.jpg
Previously I used freezer bags to keep bits from various mechs together when stripping a playfield - still did some of that but I had plenty of floor space this time so as I removed bits I laid them out on the floor in the position they came off the machine, just bagging small bits. Took loads of photos, but it didn't stop the "where did that post go" question from time to time. You can't always trust that previous owners have things in the correct place anyhow so it's best to do some research (and RTFM)

Some photos of the teardown:
20221223_152524.jpg20221223_151505.jpg20221223_152612.jpg

20221223_153100.jpg20221223_152625.jpg

Stripped the top of the playfield and cleaned everything by hand - cleaned and polished all the metal posts, ball guides, gates and the ramp with Autosol, took forever but I'm really happy with the way it turned out. The playfield was very mucky and there was a mylar patch around the pop bumper area. It was starting to peel so I removed it (carefully!) - managed not to damage the clear and it took an age to get rid of the glue residue but the result is amazing. All in all the playfield is in very good condition and once the muck was removed it polished up really well



20221224_121542.jpg
20221224_143247.jpg20221224_180146.jpg
20221224_183112.jpg

Downloaded some apron cards to replace the old German ones and fired it up again
20221226_221200.jpg
Everything worked that had worked before, now for the Creature lamp and motor, and a good look at the Hologram
 
Interesting colours on the pop bumpers.
I made mine light up when the solenoids fired but left them red.
Looks lovely.
 
Calimori said:
Interesting colours on the pop bumpers.
I made mine light up when the solenoids fired but left them red.
Looks lovely.
Click to expand...
Yes, they look a bit dark on the photos but they are much closer to the playfield colour under the pops IRL. Still considering @stumblor lollypops for these so more to do 😁
 
Playfield looks really good snack bar kickout is very nice
Do yourself a favour and throw that rotten cpu in the bin and buy a new one
 
CHRIS B PINBALLS said:
Playfield looks really good snack bar kickout is very nice
Do yourself a favour and throw that rotten cpu in the bin and buy a new one
Click to expand...

That's the reason i thought i'd have a go at fixing it tbh. Assumed i'd need a new one so wasnt afraid of messing this one up. pleased its actually working but under no illusions as to its longevity !
 
Ped said:
That's the reason i thought i'd have a go at fixing it tbh. Assumed i'd need a new one so wasnt afraid of messing this one up. pleased its actually working but under no illusions as to its longevity !
Click to expand...
It’s always very satisfying fixing anything that’s broken without the worry that if you don’t or make it worse then it was scrap anyway
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ped
And so to the non working creature hologram motor / Mirror motor / Creature lamp

The thing that threw me on this was that the lamp had flashed in test (flasher test) but didn't light up in the additional hologram test or in gameplay (yes it was playable now!). I spent an age testing continuity to the lamp fitting, checking connectors before finally doing the obvious and changing the bulb - I didn't have a direct replacement but did have a 12v LED flasher in my spares box - put that in and hey presto, the light came on :rolleyes:

The motors are driven via a Triac driver board under the playfield. This turned out to be the culprit and an easy fix - having checked the connectors to the Triac board I took the fuse out to check it and noticed that the fuse holder was loose - reflowed the solder joints and both motors now work.

20221222_1629191.jpg
 
Hologram mirror motor was a bit graunchy and stuck occasionally so took it off to take a look. The grub screw holding the motor to the shaft had come loose, re aligned everything and refixed and it seems to be fine now. Tried to get a photo of the holo, it's actually in good condition after I cleaned it which I'm delighted about. Took this with a torch pointed at the mirror to provide a bit more light

20230105_171900.jpg
 
Ped said:
Yep, I'm on the list :)
Click to expand...
looks great
bally-cftbl-snackbar-mod-and-open-sign-jpg.190465
 
Decided to go with a ColorDMD for this one - I really like the look of the larger screen Pin2DMD but Mrs PED likes the artwork around the screen and wants the lit taillights and starlight sign mod at some point, so there we go. She's not particularly into Pinball - we've had BSD for 10 years and she rarely plays it but I did catch her mid-afternoon having a sneaky game on Creech so happy to indulge !

20230103_202028.jpg
 
Where did you get your colordmd? Never bought one just inherited or bought pin2dmd.
 
you game is looking really nice and love the shot with the snackbar in

if you ever need plastics but can't find them I have the playfield plastics art to make your own
 
swinks said:
you game is looking really nice and love the shot with the snackbar in

if you ever need plastics but can't find them I have the playfield plastics art to make your own
Click to expand...
Thank you Jady. Feel free to use the photo if you want to
Pete
 
Last few bits arrived this morning, some teal posts for the slings and new shiny pinballs
The pinsound is installed and have started tinkering with the sound scheme.

I installed pinsound studio on my pc and have swapped out some of the music tracks and added some new ones, so nothing too adventurous at this stage. There's a really good thread on Pinside if you want to learn more about creating your own sound orchestrations, or like me, just tinkering with one someone else has created.

I haven't got it quite the way I want it yet but it's great fun trying things out. I also have a pinsound on Drac but the orchestration that Hazzard created for it is unbeatable in my opinion. Didn't see the point in changing it so this is my first real go at an orchestration. I've used Wool_v1 as the basis at the moment. It has re-recorded callouts but there's a v2 which has the original ones. You can always revert to the original orchestration - you can have as many as will fit on the usb

20230107_161618.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom