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Medieval Madness - Additional GI, Joust Knight Mod and more

mwong168

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Staff member
Nov 14, 2012
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So I picked up this really nice and clean HUO MM off mrxsiv last week and haven't had a chance to spend time tweaking and modding it like I do most of my games. The first thing I had to do was protect my "investment". I installed this Cliffy shooter lane protector to prevent and hide some wear that was already starting.

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Swapped the stock black rubber post sleeves at each ramp with red ones from Cliffy as well.

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Now onto a full flipper rebuild since the right flipper felt a bit weak making it up the left ramp and both were not symmetrical when held up.

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I was debating swapping to these extra purple flipper bats but ended up sticking with the stock white bats with purple super bands. I grabbed some toothpicks to help align both flipper bats and made sure there was a proper gap before I tightened everything underneath.

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Next up was adding a Joust Knight above the left ramp entrance. Thanks to Drano who had an extra one and he even found the CAD template he used before to create a proper mount too! I stopped by Lowes today during my lunch and went to the ducting section and picked up this cover for $2.99 and some wood screws.

I traced the template onto the metal and used some tin snips to cut it out, bent it by hand using the edge of my desk and drill holes for the mounts.

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I did a quick test fit in the game to see which way to orient the horse and knight so it clear the ball going up/down the ramp and the playfield glass when slide back in.

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Now I drilled some pilot holes under the horse and used some wood screws and old black rubber post sleeves to mount onto the bracket.

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I added in some extra GI lighting underneath the catapult. I took apart a warm white flex #555 LED and extended the wires to tap into an existing GI socket.

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The last plastic I wanted to light up was the Merlin wizard one. I remove this existing plastic to mount a #555 socket.

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It looks more complete now that these two areas are lit in my opinion.

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That is it for now and in the future I plan on adding LEDs for each trolls' eyes and use a dremel and cut out the window openings on the castle and light it up with LEDs from the inside. I also plan to send the wire forms in for re-plating at the local place I used last month which turned out great for my other games. If anyone wants to get some stuff replated and tag along my order let me know. You can see the results here

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2732

For now I am just going to enjoy playing my MM for a few months. Enjoy!
 

DRANO

Super Member
Nov 15, 2012
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Re: Medieval Madness - Additional GI, Joust Knight Mod and m

Nice work Mike.

One pro-tip.
The flipper alignment should be done with the rubber off. Williams always recommended that the flipper bat rest on the post (toothpick in this case).
It's only a difference of maybe 1/4"... but it'll make that tough catapult shot easier to hit.
 

mwong168

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Nov 14, 2012
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Re: Medieval Madness - Additional GI, Joust Knight Mod and m

DRANO said:
Nice work Mike.

One pro-tip.
The flipper alignment should be done with the rubber off. Williams always recommended that the flipper bat rest on the post (toothpick in this case).
It's only a difference of maybe 1/4"... but it'll make that tough catapult shot easier to hit.

Thanks, will re-adjust it tonight. I also removed the one way gate at the catapult because Chris Bucci mentioned multiple balls can get stuck in there? You've owned MM for quite some time, has this been a problem? I assume the Merlin kick out is as annoying as the one on IJ with bounce outs or sometimes it goes in and straight out the side without registering with the switch. I also tried to install some chrome mirror blades but what a disaster it would have been. Good thing I got a scratched up test set of blades which I tried first to check for clearance on both sides.
 

DRANO

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Nov 15, 2012
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Re: Medieval Madness - Additional GI, Joust Knight Mod and m

mwong168 said:
I also removed the one way gate at the catapult because Chris Bucci mentioned multiple balls can get stuck in there? You've owned MM for quite some time, has this been a problem? I assume the Merlin kick out is as annoying as the one on IJ with bounce outs or sometimes it goes in and straight out the side without registering with the switch.

Yes. If more than one ball gets in there your catapult won't be able to clear easily. I haven't gone as far as removing my gate yet... but I will probably do so during my next major shop or when I do the Kruzman playfield swap.

Merlin is a pain and almost always requires a perfect shot to stick. I've added some padding to the metal scoop behind and even to the side guides. It helps a bit (same with my IJ) but is still a PITA to hit consistently. There is also a small piece of spring steel behind the wire gate at the entrance. This is meant to put pressure on the gate and prevent pop-outs. sometimes that spring steel will get out of alignment and no longer press on the wire gate. Make sure to check it regularly. It happens on mine 1-2 times a year.

Also, when my merlin hole kicks the ball out to the right, it often hits the underside of the ramp and bounces back in a couple of times. Only seems to happen during a multiball start though. It's always puzzled me, but not enough to do anything about it.
 

tkaye

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Mar 17, 2013
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Re: Medieval Madness - Additional GI, Joust Knight Mod and m

Awesome job Mike! Always nice to see your bargain home-mods!
 

REVOLUTION

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Nov 13, 2012
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Re: Medieval Madness - Additional GI, Joust Knight Mod and m

Wong was the KING of bargain mods at one point.. I guess his time these days is more spent on enabling pin deals :D
 

DRANO

Super Member
Nov 15, 2012
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Mississauga
Re: Medieval Madness - Additional GI, Joust Knight Mod and m

REVOLUTION said:
Wong was the KING of bargain mods at one point.. I guess his time these days is more spent on enabling pin deals :D

Not to mention his awesome toppers!
Here's a good one for MM :D
 

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brad808

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Feb 28, 2013
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Re: Medieval Madness - Additional GI, Joust Knight Mod and m

If you leave the rubber on you can put the tooth pick in between the rubber and the flipper then the rubber will hold the toothpick in place while you lift the playfield to tighten the paddle and all will stay aligned :)
 

REVOLUTION

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Re: Medieval Madness - Additional GI, Joust Knight Mod and m

brad808 said:
If you leave the rubber on you can put the tooth pick in between the rubber and the flipper then the rubber will hold the toothpick in place while you lift the playfield to tighten the paddle and all will stay aligned :)

That's a great idea!
 

DRANO

Super Member
Nov 15, 2012
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Mississauga
Re: Medieval Madness - Additional GI, Joust Knight Mod and m

brad808 said:
If you leave the rubber on you can put the tooth pick in between the rubber and the flipper then the rubber will hold the toothpick in place while you lift the playfield to tighten the paddle and all will stay aligned :)

Neat trick.
My preference is usually to pre-tighten the bat shaft to the point where I can still force the flipper up and down easily. Then, push it to the upper limit and then slowly move it down until it is aligned. There should still be enough pressure to hold it in place as you lift the playfield and tighten it all the way. Or, in games where the playfield slides forward for easy access... no need to lift the playfield at all.
 
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Bigbossfan

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Aug 22, 2013
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Re: Medieval Madness - Additional GI, Joust Knight Mod and m

Can't wait to visit again Mike! Great work, and excellent tips guys. Thanks!