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I purchased this machine as a container pin from Chip W.
in Grand Rapids. The machine had all sorts of problems and
some very interesting modifications. Like most IJ machines
the sides were bleached to a very light yellow. The playfield
was in decent shape though and I knew everything else could
be fixed. I shopped the machine and it was extremely dirty.
I installed a NOS set of plastics and new temple ruins. I
had to fix a number of electronic issues and I replaced the
completely hacked ball through. The machine played well.
A few months later Marc B. advertised a NOS playfield that
had been clear coated by Bill Davis. I bought the playfield
and a few other parts from him and started the restoration.
I stripped everything from the playfield. I cleaned all of
the parts and assemblies. I replaced a lot of parts that were
too far gone. I sanded the cabinet completely down then painted
it with a semi-gloss black lacquer. I sprayed the sides of
the cabinet white and installed IPD decals that look great.
I sprayed all of the bolts gold which really looks nice on
this machine. I wanted to install gold hardware but couldn't
find a good source to plate the parts. A friend suggested
that I have them powder coated. I took them to a local power
coating shop and they thought it was a cool project. The parts
were coated gold and then with a clear. The gold didn't turn
out as nice as I had expected. It looks more like a mustard
gold. It is very durable but I will eventually have everything
gold plated.
People either seem to love or hate this machine. I think it
really depends on how the particular machine is setup. This
machine requires that a number of components work flawlessly
to enjoy the game. The first is the mode dish. If the mode dish
is not setup properly balls will kick out and you can't start
new modes. Modes are the main key to the fun of this machine.
The second is the Path of Adventure. This little beast can be
difficult to get tweaked just right. You have to be able to
instantly drop the ball to the right or left. If you can't there
is no way to complete it for the extra ball or one of the modes.
I have had a number of people who didn't like the machine play
mine and they were surprised at how much they enjoyed it.
I love the modes, video modes, and who wouldn't love a billion
point shot. The machine is a pain in the butt to get setup right,
but once you are done it's a machine you can really enjoy.
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