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TZ - a noob wants to fit backboard decal but doesn’t know where to start

Kelauce

Kelauce

Registered
5Years
Joined
Oct 10, 2016
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Location
Wakefield
Hi guys,

I’m going to try fitting a backboard decal to my TZ (thanks to Dreads for the ace decal set). I was hoping I could just squeeze it in between the backboard and the bits of pf but it looks like I need to remove a few things to get access.

Now, I’m keen but useless, so would anyone be kind enough to point out which parts of the TZ pf I need to remove in order to get a clear shot at applying the backbox decal?

As for the inner side decals I’m pesuming i could squeeze these in without removing the pf, is this the case? :)

Thanks for looking.
 
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. No. Leave it.

TZ is considered by many to be the high watermark of pinball. The greatest game ever made. It is not my greatest game ever, but it has a big following.

It was created by the very best designer of all time. When pinball was at the height of its 90s Renaissance. With a huge budget thanks to his success with previous game Addams Family, the best selling Pinball of all time. When pinball machines sold 15,000 units plus.

This is akin to adding def Leppard style peroxide highlights to the mona Lisa.

First rule of pinball should be to do no harm.
 
As great as that response is, I want those inner decals on my TZ.

Wasn't the original TZ project running over budget anyway? What if Pat was about to pull the trigger on commissioning some sweet inner decals the moment before he got bollocked for spending too much? He might be down with these mods :cool:
 
Games back then had painted plywood to the rear and sides of the playfield.

I know that folk mod the **** out of games these days. If that floats your boat, then peace brother.

But back in the 1980s folk put stone cladding on terraced housing and semis. Buyers today rip it all off
 
DRD said:
Games back then had painted plywood to the rear and sides of the playfield.

I know that folk mod the **** out of games these days. If that floats your boat, then peace brother.

But back in the 1980s folk put stone cladding on terraced housing and semis. Buyers today rip it all off
Click to expand...

Are you going to help me fit this decal or not? :)

Edited to add: some people enjoy adding mods, some don’t. If we all had the same taste then it’d be a boring world!
 
I have not removed the rear panel ftom my tz.

But based on my other games, I would guess that you lift and drag the pf forward until it clicks, remove the stuff from the rear corners. That should reveal the two right angle brackets mounted on the upper surface of the pf that hold the back panel in place
 
DRD said:
I have not removed the rear panel ftom my tz.

But based on my other games, I would guess that you lift and drag the pf forward until it clicks, remove the stuff from the rear corners. That should reveal the two right angle brackets mounted on the upper surface of the pf that hold the back panel in place
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help, its appreciated!

It was the "remove the stuff" bit where I'd got to as it was clear I needed to take things off in order to clear some space back there - I just didn't want to do it in the wrong order or break anything.
 
Take lots of digiral photos. Be patient and methodical. Stick stuff in plastic bags that are carefully labelled

TZ was given a massive development budget, and 25 years on is possibly the most complex pinball machine ever made. I have a love hate relationship with mine.

Few maintenance tasks are easy on a TZ. It weighs a tonne. It has boatloads of game specific parts. It takes man days to get it working properly. The clock is just a nightmare

Welcome to the twilight zone.

I would say to anyone that wants a TZ, buy an Addams. But that is just me based on 20 years experience of owning an Addams
 
Understood and appreciated.

I'll go for this approach and work my way slowly across it, documenting it as I go. I think that is where I was going wrong and that was expecting it to just be a quick 5 mins job.

Thanks again!
 
There is no such thing as a 5 min job in the twilight zone.

It is a tour de force. It is special. But you pay a price

Addams is so similar. But so much simpler. And so much more reliable. I have both. I love both. But I never hate my Addams.
 
I have put a decal on the backboard of a TZ. As long as it is tasteful it’s a good thing.
The job can be done easily. Pull playfield forward and up. Unscrew backboard (yes, it requires bendy arms and short screwdriver) apply decal and replace.
I’ve stripped a TZ etc... seriously, the backboard requires nothing less than a shortie screwdriver.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
DRD said:
Take lots of digiral photos. Be patient and methodical. Stick stuff in plastic bags that are carefully labelled

TZ was given a massive development budget, and 25 years on is possibly the most complex pinball machine ever made. I have a love hate relationship with mine.

Few maintenance tasks are easy on a TZ. It weighs a tonne. It has boatloads of game specific parts. It takes man days to get it working properly. The clock is just a nightmare

Welcome to the twilight zone.

I would say to anyone that wants a TZ, buy an Addams. But that is just me based on 20 years experience of owning an Addams
Click to expand...
This perfectly encapsulates my feelings.

I like my TZ, but I struggle to love it. There's so much on there that I feel is just waiting to go wrong at any moment.

The Gumball machine - in particular, is a brilliant piece of work - but it scares me. There's numerous switches and components that make it work, and I honestly would not know where to start if it went wrong.

So yeah - it was the "do whatever you want Pat" pin, after the success of Addams, but that can be a be a scary experience if you've a novice tinkerer.
 
Jonwolf said:
I have put a decal on the backboard of a TZ. As long as it is tasteful it’s a good thing.
The job can be done easily. Pull playfield forward and up. Unscrew backboard (yes, it requires bendy arms and short screwdriver) apply decal and replace.
I’ve stripped a TZ etc... seriously, the backboard requires nothing less than a shortie screwdriver.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Ahh thank you. I was going about it all wrong and was looking at removing all the pf pieces in front of the backboard.
 
TZ can certainly have its moments .... looking at you 'clock' ..... but its not *that* scary to maintain or fix. Come on soldiers ...man up !

In a world of mechanical marvels its all pretty simple stuff, at the end of the day a few switches and simple mechs ...like any other pinball machine. Just break it down into little parts - sometimes literally ...yes :D

The good thing is ALL the issues have been seen by owners before and are comprehensively covered on many websites - a quick google and you'll be good to go. And as always - fix it properly once and you shouldn't have much more trouble down the road :thumbs:
 
Sgt GrizZ said:
TZ can certainly have its moments .... looking at you 'clock' ..... but its not *that* scary to maintain or fix. Come on soldiers ...man up !

In a world of mechanical marvels its all pretty simple stuff, at the end of the day a few switches and simple mechs ...like any other pinball machine. Just break it down into little parts - sometimes literally ...yes :D

The good thing is ALL the issues have been seen by owners before and are comprehensively covered on many websites - a quick google and you'll be good to go. And as always - fix it properly once and you shouldn't have much more trouble down the road :thumbs:
Click to expand...

I agree, TZ is not as complicated as it looks, the original clock design was flawed but the replacement board with leds instead of red hot incandescents has worked well for me. Had 400+ plays at NLP last year with no problems as far as I know. There are certainly more complicated and less reliable WMS machines (STTNG for example).

As for modding, why not, Pat would have added this stuff back then if he'd had the chance, putting leds in my TZ was the best thing I did for it no more melted plastics and brightens up a pretty dark game. Also recommend the gumballs (I think they were missed out of the original due to cost cutting) and the led kit that lights them up.
 
But seriously, i don't think this particular mod cheapens the game. There are some mods that really do.
I'm contemplating adding the yellow/blackstriped decal to Roadshow's backboard too.
 
Monkeyboypaul said:
But seriously, i don't think this particular mod cheapens the game. There are some mods that really do.
I'm contemplating adding the yellow/blackstriped decal to Roadshow's backboard too.
Click to expand...

Agree. Years ago I added the starfield backboard decal to mine. Looks great. Otherwise it's just a piece of black wood. Lots of games at the time had artwork / plastics back there so it's not like it's unusual. If you didn't know different you would think it was factory ...always the sign of a good mod :thumbs:
 
As mods go backboard decals are very inoffensive imo. I quite like mods on TZ, but I like bright LEDs too so I'm not what you'd call a purist.

Whereabouts are these screws on the backboard? I installed a mini TV in mine and ran the power cable down behind the plastic by pushing it below the edge, along to the right and over the top of the backboard at the right edge, where there is a bit "cut out". Thought I was being quite clever doing this, but when I pull the playfield out it seems to snag and I've already nearly skinned the wire. Taking the backboard off would allow me to run it through the hole by the upper right lamp (I couldn't be bothered to take off all the plastic to install the TV).

IMG_2020.jpg

EDIT: Should probably read the thread in full before replying.. where did all these replies come from :) If the screws that fit the backboard are on the bottom of the playfield, how in Gods name do you remove it and put it back on again on your own?
 
Durzel, did you fit the Robby yourself too? There's a hole just near him and that big white lamp cover in between him and your TV. Would it work to run the TV cable through there? Whereabouts does your TV mod plugin by the way? Looks like we have the same gum ball and Robby mods (plus we added a LED strip to brighten up the back area) so we're already using J116, 117 and 118.
 
No, Robby came with it, along with a host of other mods. The only out-and-out mod I've fitted myself is that TV.

From memory the TV mod is plugged into J116, J118 is (again from memory) powering the ColorDMD. I will have another look to see if I can run a cable down where the lamp is. I don't really want to have to try and take off all of the plastics at the back, it was fiddly enough just removing one part of it to replace the flasher bulb on the red lamp. :(
 
Thanks for everyone's help with the tips for removing the back box, combined with a video we found online of how to slide in side art blades without removing the playfield - we've now got all decals in!

IMG_20180125_215020.jpg
 
Yeah thanks to Judge Dreads for the back and side decal set - they look incredible!

Thanks to Chris B too for pointing out how obvious and easy it was to remove the backboard!

Over the moon with how our TZ is looking now!
 
How do you add blades without removing the playfield then? Is it easy?

My right mirror blade has some hairline scratches where it catches on the right when pulling the PF out. Lifting the playfield and putting it back down again is a bit stiff as a result. Is it possible to adjust it so it doesn't catch?

So many questions..
 
This video shows them being installed on a Kiss, The Addams Family and South Park without removal:
.

With the decals we got from Judge Dreads he included strips of felt to put alongside the play field itself to help stop it catching. Maybe that could help to stop the scratches?
 
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The felt is a nightmare in my experience I had it in my theatre of Magic so I didn’t damage the mirror blades - the thickness it adds caused more issues - ripped it off used sticky gooey remover on the side of the playfield.

When lifting the playfield (which is very rare and should be very rare for HUO) I have a sticker under the lock bar that says mirrorblades lift with caution to remind me - and I am just very careful at lifting the playfield. Nearly all of my machines have blades of some type now so I’ve gotten use to it.

Cheers
Neil
 
well I wimped out and got martin @ gopinball to do my install on blades :) Mirror blades are doable with the play field in place but the transfers I don't think I'd try without taking the play field out - get a couple of stools to support it.

With the transfers/decal types (especially the stern ones) get some spray mount and spray the corners at the top and bottom of the cabinet to help with the adhesion. I'd probably do this on the backboard decal also given how hard it is to install. I've had one for my Next Gen that thanks to this thread I'll have a go at installing when the shed is finished.
 
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