Twilight Zone Pinball Machine
(Page 2)
Mini-Playfield Lamp
There are several vendors of after-market mini-playfield lamps that dress up that area of the playfield. One of them sent me one of these lamps in return for photographing his line of lamps.
The tricked out mini-playfield lamp courtesy of Skooter.
Note the ghosty reflection of "Zone" in the plastic.
The lamp is very beautifully made,
and its reflective chrome really shines. This makes it tricky to
photograph as it simply reflects the area around it. I shot the
series of photos with some LED lighting to provide highlights to show
off the lamp's finish. One nice touch is his use of heavy-gauge
ribbon cable for the wiring, as this keeps the wire routing clean.
Skooter has several varieties of lamps, some say "Lost in the Zone", or are blue, or do not have the end panel pyramid cut out. The lamp is easily installed with an inline connector, but you do have to remove the mini-playfield to install it. His web site is here.
Picture of Robby on the playfield.
In the past, this mod has fetched $100 to $200 in Ebay auctions.
It is based on the one from Masudaya. Click
here for a comparison. I figured it was beyond my reach
until Hallmark
decided to market one for the 2009 Holiday season. It was
only $18.50, so I went by the local store and purchased the four that
they had in stock. After examination, I decided to put three LEDs
into the unit. The first two were to replace the ones already
provided (the yellow buttons and the blue 'mouth'). The third
would be a way to light up the clear domed helmet.
Skooter has several varieties of lamps, some say "Lost in the Zone", or are blue, or do not have the end panel pyramid cut out. The lamp is easily installed with an inline connector, but you do have to remove the mini-playfield to install it. His web site is here.
Robby the Robot
Picture of Robby on the playfield.
Opening the robot case.
Hook removed and head opened.
The next step was to figure out a way
into the head. I first removed the ornament hook at the top by
simply pulling it out. I had tried unscrewing it, but it simply
spun. However, I am sure that the initial spinning did loosen it
up, and prevented any damage.
I then used a miniature screwdriver in the back to pry the head open. The result is shown above. As can be seen, the center post holds the two parts together, and was glued into place. Trim the center stud and widen the hole so that they two halves fit back together.
From this vantage point, you can finally see that the clear domed helmet is held down by glue tabs deep inside the head. Use a miniature screwdriver to clean these out, and the helmet should come out.
I then used a miniature screwdriver in the back to pry the head open. The result is shown above. As can be seen, the center post holds the two parts together, and was glued into place. Trim the center stud and widen the hole so that they two halves fit back together.
From this vantage point, you can finally see that the clear domed helmet is held down by glue tabs deep inside the head. Use a miniature screwdriver to clean these out, and the helmet should come out.
The 'face' of Robby without his clear helmet. This latter part is
glued into the two holes at the top.
While Robby had his face shield off,
I decided to repaint him slightly to match the playfield image (see
above). This meant adding some red accents with my favorite
detail paint brush: a sewing pin.
Robby with his makeup on. Compare to the playfield image above.
Much of my painting on playfields is done with this blunt sewing pin.
Robby with his makeup on. Compare to the playfield image above.
Much of my painting on playfields is done with this blunt sewing pin.
Once this was done, I decided to
light up the helmet by drilling a hole near the top back of the face,
and putting an LED inside the head. I used a white LED that was
filed flat on front and back side.
LED inserted into the head to light up the helmet.
Finished head disk assembly. A screw is used to hold the LED
down, and to join the two halves of the head.
The completed robot, mounted on a bracket courtesy of Cliffy.
The disconnect is made using IC socket pins.
Note the other color accents on the robot's body.
Robby installed into the playfield.
Youtube video of the installed robot.
Animated GIF showing the effect of the LEDs.
TZ TV Mod
Another ornament released for the 2009 Christmas season is a 60s style television with a Twilight Zone theme for $16.50. I decided to use that for a mod.
The original Hallmark Twilight Zone ornament. I removed the ornament
hook at the top by first twisting and then pulling it out.
View of the top of the playfield. Note that the bracket is
hidden. The new mod
lights up the back right corner quite well. The back of the TV is lit by the
sequencing LEDs in a glittering fashion.
YouTube video of this mod.
LED inserted into the head to light up the helmet.
Next, I drilled a small hole into the
post of the head so that I could put in a screw to hold the two halves
together. A washer is needed due to the size of the hole in the
head disk. I then selected a white (not blue) wide angle LED to
face towards the player to produce the brightest spot of blue in the
mouth plastic. One leg of this LED was held down by the washer,
and then the body of the LED was glued into place.
Finished head disk assembly. A screw is used to hold the LED
down, and to join the two halves of the head.
After this, I prepared the body (now
mainly empty) by glueing a bright yellow LED (a gift from Martin) that
faced forward into the chest openings.
The two halves of Robby ready to come back together.
I received a bracket for this robot courtesy of Cliffy. He made these for the original Masudaya robot mod.
The two halves of Robby ready to come back together.
I received a bracket for this robot courtesy of Cliffy. He made these for the original Masudaya robot mod.
The completed robot, mounted on a bracket courtesy of Cliffy.
The disconnect is made using IC socket pins.
Note the other color accents on the robot's body.
I decided to wire the three new LEDs
to
the three lamps that are next to the image of Robby on the
playfield.
They happen to be on the same column of the lamp matrix, which makes it
convenient for wiring. I only needed four wires for the three
LEDs. I prepared a harness made from ribbon cable with a
connector as I usually do to allow disconnection of the mod.
The lamp column wire is the anode connection, and I put diodes in series (inside the body) to protect the LEDs from reverse voltage. I also put a 51 ohm resistor in series to control the current, but that was placed under the playfield for easy access to change the brightness.
When I went to wire the robot into the playfield, I found out that these three lamps are on a small board. This made it even easier to wire the robot into the playfield as I could remove the board to attach the wires.
The lamp column wire is the anode connection, and I put diodes in series (inside the body) to protect the LEDs from reverse voltage. I also put a 51 ohm resistor in series to control the current, but that was placed under the playfield for easy access to change the brightness.
When I went to wire the robot into the playfield, I found out that these three lamps are on a small board. This made it even easier to wire the robot into the playfield as I could remove the board to attach the wires.
Robby installed into the playfield.
Youtube video of the installed robot.
Animated GIF showing the effect of the LEDs.
TZ TV Mod
Another ornament released for the 2009 Christmas season is a 60s style television with a Twilight Zone theme for $16.50. I decided to use that for a mod.
The original Hallmark Twilight Zone ornament. I removed the ornament
hook at the top by first twisting and then pulling it out.
The plan is to integrate into this
ornament a digital
photo keychain and load it with photos from the Twilight Zone episodes
that
are featured on this machine. The combined assembly would then be
able to play a slide show of the particular scenes that inspired the
machine's elements.
30 of the images that I
selected for use on the key chain.
Each of these has a tie-in to the pinball machine, and
they are displayed in the above order.
The assembled TV. It looks really amazing, just like a miniature TV. The first two
images show "Twilight Zone" in two zoom levels as shown in the thumb nails.
The image is extremely crisp and this image does not do it justice.
The TV mod mounted into the machine. Note the white paper in the back
to reflect the LED sequencer's light.
Each of these has a tie-in to the pinball machine, and
they are displayed in the above order.
One side benefit of this project is
all the episodes I watched on YouTube to fish these snapshots
out. It gave me a new appreciation of the series, and I really
liked seeing the look of the 60s (hair, car, and home styles, etc).
TV with the back removed.
TV with the back removed.
The first thing to do is to pry the
back off. Then the protruding posts that held the back need to be
cut down to size so that the little keychain can be mounted onto a
plastic panel. The result is shown above.
Once you are done, build the small circuit board that allows the keychain to be powered from the pinball machine. It is shown below.
The circuit board with the diode and test jumper.
The electronics module inside the Insignia
keychain remote.
Once you are done, build the small circuit board that allows the keychain to be powered from the pinball machine. It is shown below.
The circuit board with the diode and test jumper.
The power leads from the pinball
machine exit the above photo on the left. Connect a red alligator
clip to the top wire, and a black one to the bottom. You then
connect a diode in series with the power lead (banded side on the
right) and solder it in. The result is that the diode drops the
voltage from the pinball machine from 5.0 volts to 4.2 volts.
Note that there are three solder pads in the bottom edge of the board
above. Call them 'left' (ground), 'middle' (keychain supply), and
'right' (battery).
The electronics module inside the Insignia
keychain remote.
The above photo shows the electronics
module inside the keychain. Prepare it by desoldering the red
lead from the circuit board of the module. Solder the red lead of
the battery to the 'right' lead of the diode board. Then take a
lead and solder the 'middle' terminal of the diode board to the
location on the electronics module where the red lead _used_ to
go. This will power the keychain when the machine is
powered. Finally splice into the black battery lead (do not
interrupt it), and solder that to the 'left' terminal of the diode
board.
The small jumper on the diode board allows the reconnection of the battery, and is useful for testing the mod, or restoring it for loading of images.
The finished back of the TV mod. Note the three wires
exiting from the module, and their attachment to the diode
board.
The small jumper on the diode board allows the reconnection of the battery, and is useful for testing the mod, or restoring it for loading of images.
The finished back of the TV mod. Note the three wires
exiting from the module, and their attachment to the diode
board.
The assembled TV. It looks really amazing, just like a miniature TV. The first two
images show "Twilight Zone" in two zoom levels as shown in the thumb nails.
The image is extremely crisp and this image does not do it justice.
The TV mod mounted into the machine. Note the white paper in the back
to reflect the LED sequencer's light.
I have always wanted to dress up the
back right corner of the playfield. The back left is lit nicely
by the gumball machine, and there always seemed to be something missing
in the other corner. This location seemed perfect for the
TV. The mod needs to be mounted beyond the right edge of the DMD
so that its reflection on the playfield glass would not interfere with
the TV's screen. I made a bracket by using a small
piece of Lexan that was glued to the top of the TV. The bracket
is not visible to the player due to the overhang of the
backbox. This is then screwed onto the top of the backboard so
that the TV is placed at an angle facing the player. The mod is
very easily removable and leaves just a small mark in a hidden area.
Once installed connect the red and black alligator to the gumball machine control board under the playfield. There is a ceramic bypass capacitor near the voltage regulator that is a good location for the connection.
Once installed connect the red and black alligator to the gumball machine control board under the playfield. There is a ceramic bypass capacitor near the voltage regulator that is a good location for the connection.
lights up the back right corner quite well. The back of the TV is lit by the
sequencing LEDs in a glittering fashion.
YouTube video of this mod.
After I finished this mod, I did a
Google search for "TZ TV mod", and found this TV
mod at bumper.com. Although it shows videos of the series
(without sound), it costs more than 15x the one described here, and has
a 1.3" screen.
If you enjoyed this write-up, you may
be interested in the
following mods of similar complexity:
I got such a big response when I wrote about my mod that
I decided to build them. Here is the first four.
They are installed without soldering.
Another batch of TVs. I ran out of the white connect wires, and these are grey.
This Ebay sale closed above $290 (item 280446813207).
It was just a matter of time! In January 2010, I had
an imitator trying to sell their version. No bidders.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery 8-).
This was from Rob Ventura, who now sells under the
Ebay name "pinballmodspinball". His design looks like a
straight copy of mine. Even the images displayed is the same
(although he did mention he would not use my files).
I subsequently developed an alternate version of this mod using a different
ornament. This one shows images from "Nightmare on Elm Street".
This version is also available for sale.
Video of the mod in action.
following mods of similar complexity:
I got such a big response when I wrote about my mod that
I decided to build them. Here is the first four.
They are installed without soldering.
Another batch of TVs. I ran out of the white connect wires, and these are grey.
This Ebay sale closed above $290 (item 280446813207).
It was just a matter of time! In January 2010, I had
an imitator trying to sell their version. No bidders.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery 8-).
This was from Rob Ventura, who now sells under the
Ebay name "pinballmodspinball". His design looks like a
straight copy of mine. Even the images displayed is the same
(although he did mention he would not use my files).
I subsequently developed an alternate version of this mod using a different
ornament. This one shows images from "Nightmare on Elm Street".
This version is also available for sale.
Video of the mod in action.
Links
- Tom's mods page.
- More mods here (TZModFAQ)
- Reinforcing
the target next to the slot machine scoop
- Comparison of the protype vs. production TZ.
- TZ parts on pinbits.com.
- Cliffy's site
for TZ.
- Bay Area page for TZ.
- Marcos' page for TZ
- Disassembly sequence for the top of the playfield (printable file).
- Marcel's clock opto repair tips.
Project Log
- 4/12/08 - Purchased machine for $2500. DMD board had a bad transistor, but machine was complete otherwise.
- 4/21/08 - Playfield top and most of bottom have been stripped of parts.
- 4/22/08 - Pop bumper light mod.
- 4/23/08 - Received at no charge three plastics including a town square and a power field sign from John Estill. Thank you!
- 4/26/08 - Finished shop job and TZ is available for play.
- 4/29/08 - Printed the apron cards by Vinito.
- 5/1/08 - Installed Lost Spiral plastic from John Estill.
- 5/1/08 - Replaced light sockets in backbox.
- 5/12/08 - Repainted the cab.
- 5/25/08 - Gumball machine mod. It was part of a gift bag of pinball part from Martin.
- 5/26/08 - Added opto sensors to third magnet mod.
- 5/29/08 - Bought an authentic gumball machine from a local thrift store.
- 5/31/08 - Finished third magnet installation.
- 6/11/08 - A Lost
Spiral plastic sold on Ebay for an amazing $203 (item 180250428336).
- 6/25/08 - Found method to register clock hour and minute hands.
- 6/27/08 - Found a solution to auto-kicker problem.
- 9/23/09 - Added mini-pf lamp.
- 10/8/09 - Robby the Robot. Discussion
of this mod.
- 10/13/09 - Pictures of the TV mod.
- 10/23/09 - TV mod completed. Discussion.
- 12/09 - I start putting the TZ TV mod onto Ebay.
- 2/21/10 - Updated Robby wiring diagram.
(c) 2010 Edward Cheung, all rights
reserved.