# The ToyShock has been modded!

**Source:** RetroRalph  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2019-12-19  
**Duration:** 11m 8s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9joMdkM7rc

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## Analysis

RetroRalph documents his modifications to a Luxor Toy Story Shark virtual pinball cabinet after accidentally damaging components during initial modding attempts. He replaces the monitor with a Harry Potter arcade monitor, installs a custom backglass, configures Visual Pinball tables, and sets up Pinball X frontend, while learning virtual pinball software on the fly.

### Key Claims

- [MEDIUM] Luxor Toy Story Shark is one of the first three-quarter scale virtual pinball devices to hit the market — _Jon describes it as 'one of the first three-quarter scale virtual pinball devices to hit the market' with 12 Gottlieb titles pre-installed_
- [HIGH] LVDS connections on Luxor Toy Story Shark monitors require converter boards when modding with HDMI sources like Raspberry Pi or PC — _Jon explains that consumer electronics output HDMI, not LVDS, so a converter board is necessary for compatibility_
- [HIGH] The stock Luxor Toy Story Shark monitor has power carried through LVDS connections with no triangle marking pin one on PCB — _Jon describes how reversing LVDS polarity fried multiple monitors due to lack of clear pin identification_
- [HIGH] A Harry Potter arcade monitor fits perfectly as a replacement in the Luxor Toy Story Shark bezel — _Jon successfully installed a Harry Potter monitor and confirmed it maintains the original glass front without need for converter boards_
- [MEDIUM] Virtual Pinball modding using existing components (PC, recycled monitors, reused amplifiers) can reduce overall cost compared to purchasing converter boards and amplifiers separately — _Jon notes saving money by using monitor with integrated HDMI/VGA and reusing the monitor's amplifier_

### Notable Quotes

> "this is the Luxor Toy Story the Shark it is one of the first three-quarter scale virtual pinball devices to hit the market"
> — **Jon**, early in video
> _Establishes the Luxor Toy Story Shark as a notable recent market entry in virtual pinball hardware_

> "so if you're modding it you're gonna plug in a Pi or PC you need that first so what I did was I took a video board that I had which is this one and I tried to hook it up to the Luxor Toy Story the Shark well problem was is that I had the this is the power inverter I had this wrong so when I hooked it up I fried the actual monitor"
> — **Jon**, technical section
> _Documents technical pitfall in LVDS converter board installation that destroyed equipment_

> "I basically just took the monitor flipped it upside down traced it with um Sharpie mark marker and then I just jigsaw dit out"
> — **Jon**, backglass section
> _Describes DIY method for custom backglass cutout_

> "I'm literally learning and if I can do it you can do it"
> — **Jon**, final thoughts
> _Positions virtual pinball modding as accessible to hobbyists despite technical complexity_

> "can I tell you with definitively a hundred percent that this is worth doing right now I don't really know because I'm trying to look at overall cost invested it doesn't look like it is"
> — **Jon**, conclusion
> _Expresses uncertainty about cost-benefit of modding the Toy Story Shark specifically_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Jon | person | Host of RetroRalph channel, documenting virtual pinball cabinet modifications |
| Luxor Toy Story Shark | product | Three-quarter scale virtual pinball cabinet with 12 Gottlieb titles, subject of modifications |
| Arcade One Up | company | Manufacturer of arcade cabinets; monitor sourced from Arcade One Up unit for parts compatibility |
| Visual Pinball | product | Virtual pinball emulation software (versions 8, 9, 10) configured on modded cabinet |
| Pinball X | product | Front-end navigation software for pinball emulators, used to organize and launch games |
| Harry Potter | game | Source of arcade monitor repurposed for Toy Story Shark backglass installation |
| Attack from Mars | game | Gottlieb pinball table shown running on modded cabinet; demonstrates playfield and DMD functionality |
| Terminator 2 | game | Pinball table demonstrated on modded cabinet; used to showcase audio quality from reused monitor amplifier |
| Gottlieb | company | Manufacturer of classic pinball titles included in Toy Story Shark library |
| RetroRalph | person | YouTube channel host (Jon); focuses on arcade and pinball cabinet reviews and modifications |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Virtual pinball cabinet modification, Monitor replacement and LVDS compatibility, Visual Pinball emulation software configuration
- **Secondary:** Front-end navigation systems (Pinball X), DIY arcade/pinball hardware modification techniques, Cost-benefit analysis of cabinet modding
- **Mentioned:** Luxor Toy Story Shark hardware capabilities

### Sentiment

**Mixed** (0.55) — Jon is enthusiastic about the technical achievement and learning process, but expresses uncertainty about whether the mod was worth the cost and effort. Frustration evident when discussing equipment damage, but overall tone is educational and encouraging to viewers.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Virtual pinball community providing resources (monitor compatibility links, software frontends) to support DIY cabinet modding (confidence: medium) — Jon mentions availability of Dave Links for compatible monitors and established Pinball X frontend software for cabinet operation
- **[community_signal]** Content creator learning virtual pinball software in real-time while producing modification tutorials for audience (confidence: high) — Jon explicitly states 'I literally just learned the software side of virtual pinball last week' and commits to tutorial-format follow-up videos
- **[product_concern]** Luxor Toy Story Shark monitor design lacks clear pin identification on LVDS connector, creating risk of reversed polarity damage when modding (confidence: high) — Jon destroyed two monitors by reversing LVDS polarity due to no triangle marking on Toy Story Shark PCB, while Arcade One Up had proper marking
- **[technology_signal]** Monitor replacement using consumer arcade monitor (Harry Potter) eliminates need for LVDS converter board in virtual pinball mods (confidence: high) — Jon notes Harry Potter monitor already has HDMI/VGA and doesn't require expensive converter board, saving cost in modification

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## Transcript

hey guys welcome back I don't think I will mod this I don't think I will mod this I don't think I will mod this mod this mod this mod this mod this I don't think I bought this [Music] [Applause] all right for those of you that are new to this I'm gonna give you a two-second catch-up this is the toy shark it is one of the first three-quarter scale virtual pinball devices to hit the market it's got 12 gottlieb titles pre-installed and it sells for a fairly reasonable price in comparison to the rest of the virtual pinball that are out there today but in my review video which if you haven't seen it go check it out I said I had no intentions of modding it and I meant it but there were some things that went down over the course of a week of owning it where I was fiddling with some stuff and sometimes when you mod you break stuff and I broke some stuff so I'm gonna show you what I broke real quick and plan on this being a two-part video I'm gonna show you some of the mods that I've done so far and then my intentions for the future and I'll share with you whether I think this is a good idea or not okay so we're over at the desk camera and you're probably wondering what the heck am I looking at so this is an LCD video board the purpose of this is to add additional functionality to the stock monitor of your toy shark or of your arcade one up now the reason why we have to do this is because coming out of the toy shark monitor you're gonna have this LVDS connection well consumer electronics don't natively talk LVDS right it's not like you buy a DVD player and the output of it is LVDS right it output of it is HDMI so you need something to be able to plug in HDMI so if you're modding it you're gonna plug in a PI or PC you need that first so what I did was I took a video board that I had which is this one and I tried to hook it up to the toy shark well problem was is that I had the this is the power inverter I had this wrong so when I hooked it up I fried the actual monitor so be careful when you do do this I actually don't have a link in the description of the actual board that works with the toy shark yet I didn't get a chance to test it so I don't feel comfortable recommending it but there is one out there that supposedly works so just so you know that's how I got to this spot but it got worse so not only did I destroy the toy shark monitor I then was like oh well if the toy sharks a paperweight I might as well take the you know cpu out and go hook this up to something else so I went and hooked this up to an arcade 1 up monitor and the LVDS does carry power so if you notice there's these two there's there's two or three red wires there will those carry power so and there's a key there's actually like a little triangle to tell you where pin one is well there's no triangle on the toy shark PCB so I happen to flip it and reverse it backwards so I had a 50-50 shot of getting it either right or wrong and I got it wrong and I actually fried this too so it's like okay cool so I just fried the whole situation so that's when I was like alright well I guess someone wants me to mod it because this course of events is not a good one so that's leading us into the mod so let's check out what I've done so far okay guys so what you're looking at right now is probably very familiar this is the toy shark bezel so this is where the monitor where the original monitor was now you can see this looks fairly uh it looks stock right it doesn't look like it did anything well I did I replaced the monitor but I maintain the glass it's in the front of this so I was lucky enough to find a monitor by HP and I'll have a link in the description that fits perfectly on the back of this monitor now you'll notice in the stock form you actually had two brackets here I wasn't able to put the other bracket here comfortably so I have two brackets on the side and I put these two like felt furniture strips right here just to make sure this is nice and snug there's a little bit of extra room not much but I want to make sure it's something that filled the gap now the other thing John Youssi here and I haven't really explored this yet is I've got these speaker wires that are coming out of here so obviously this monitor had speakers in it so it has a little amplifier so I'm gonna try to reuse that amplifier so it's one other thing I don't have to buy so I'm gonna run this to a set of speakers I don't know where I'm gonna put those yet but this monitor fits perfectly if it's great and the cool thing about it is you don't have to buy one of those converter boards because obviously it's a monitor so it already has your HDMI VGA and all that right there so you do save money in the sense that you don't need to buy the converter board now and potentially you don't have to buy an amp if we can get this to sound okay with the TV you know audio amplifier output one step that you're gonna have to make sure you do before this monitor will fit in here is take off the plastic backing so this simply just kind of prized off so there is sometimes a little has a little lock looking thing on the back of the monitor it had one but for some reason this just popped right off I popped all the pieces off and took it off and then I was able to remove the stock monitor and put this one right in its place now as far as the back glass of the toy shark this is actually a arcade 1up monitor so I tried to reuse parts that I already had so if you look it is a 17 inch 1up monitor so you will have to put a controller board on the back of this because I'm gonna need to be able to plug in HDMI to this so if you're doing active that glass you need a PC that has two video outs right so one HDMI goes to the new monitor there on the floor and the other one goes to this so that board is not on here yet but I will show you that you know when we hook it all up in the front I haven't had a chance to actually create a bezel yet so I just have it duct taped in to just stay in place I could have screwed it down registrated why bother right now because I'm gonna go to Lowe's and have them custom cut a piece of plexiglass right here so that's how I did this I did take a jigsaw to a toy shark it's about to go down [Music] I basically just took the monitor flipped it upside down traced it with um Sharpie mark marker and then I just jigsaw dit out that's it okay so the first title I'm going to show you is attack from Mars so immediately you're gonna notice one issue my back last is fine but my DMD is not centered the way it should be within the window so if someone knows how to do that that'd be great I literally just learned the software side of virtual pinball last week so I'm learning it everyday as I go so if anybody knows how to fix that that'd be great but as you can see the playfield looks really nice I have the buttons mapped already so I can put in my coins I have my start button mapped and I also have a plunger button instead of the plunger because I can't get that plunger to be recognized by a USB encoder for whatever reason so if I launch the ball you'll see the ball mechanics look pretty good my flippers work pretty good here and I'll just play this for a minute here so you can see what's going on I do have a front end on this unit so I have you know front ends for pinball emulators a pretty good idea because it'll make it look pretty and then it'll launch you know visual pinball 8 9 and 10 so if you have tables that run on different versions you don't have to worry about it and it gives you a nice little interface to play to play with so I'll show you that in a second but I'm pretty happy with how it's running even you know for being a pretty low powered PC I just picked what I had in my you know my collection of stuff in my storage closet just because like I said I had no intentions of modding it in the first place alright so I'm gonna show you really quickly we're gonna jump over to another pinball table and then I'm gonna jump over to the front end so you can check out pinball axe ok the next table I'm going to show you is Terminator 2 this is one of my all-time favorite tables now one thing you'll notice is I don't feel a bit pick it up on the video but the audio sounds awesome and this is actually coming off of that you know the monitors amplifier so I was surprised because this means if you chose to choose to go this route you don't need to buy an amplifier I don't think it sounds pretty good and these speakers aren't even in the cabinet so if you put them in the cabinet it probably sound awesome so I'm pretty stoked about how this turned all right so next I'm gonna go over to pinball X show you what that's all about and then I'll give you my final thoughts okay I really wanted to make sure I showed you pinball X really quick so if you're gonna build a pinball cab you'd have all your emulators in the backend but you'd want something pretty so you can navigate through the games that you have so I don't have it all set up yet but games do launch from here like for instance I don't have t2 aren't work so it shows me the video and just some generic stuff but this is a nice way to navigate through the game so just to show you that this works you can go to Mars Attacks and then it gives you this like little menu here it can show you game instructions things like that you can return to the games list or you can go play a game and it's gonna launch that particular game so it's pretty cool but anyways I just wanted to I know this isn't complete and I know there's a lot of stuff I still have to do but I wanted to show you guys this first so you can see like what's possible with the front end and things like that so I'm gonna go over to my desk and we'll give you some final thoughts all right guys it is final thought it's time so there was a bunch of stuff I didn't get to show you but unfortunately with it being this close to holiday I just don't have the time so we're gonna make this a part 2 series but there's a bunch of things I need to go over like how to hook up the buttons how to get the USB encoders working how to configure the software and also I just want to talk about you know is this feasible because I'm using mostly parts I had which was really cool and I learned a bunch about visual pinball 8 9 and 10 I'm also learning that it's not that complex to do this so I do want to provide you guys with more of a tutorial format after this video just to show that hey you can do it if you really just put some time and effort into it so again I had just bought virtual pinball units before I never explored it like I do with arcade games so this is all new to me I'm literally learning and if I can do it you can do it so hopefully in the next video we'll go over more of that so can I tell you with definitively a hundred percent that this is worth doing right now I don't really know because I'm trying to look at overall cost invested it doesn't look like it is it looks like maybe it might be you might want to just enjoy the product for what it is or you know potentially wait for something that does that more of what you want or dive right in and mod it and be crazy like me anyways I hope you guys enjoyed this video if you did please like it these consider subscribing to the channel please put your comments below I want to hear what you think of this and don't forget to turn on notifications to be informed of future videos that's it guys I hope everyone has a happy holiday and I will see you on the next one [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

_(Acquisition: youtube_auto_sub, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 0f135ff7-b7f3-49cf-b60b-df3c216758c0*