The Addams Family Pinball Restoration - Update 1

Cary Hardy·video·10m 20s·analyzed·Apr 21, 2019

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.018

TL;DR

Addams Family barn find restoration featuring major playfield replacement and cabinet rebuild.

Summary

Cary Hardy documents the restoration progress of an Addams Family pinball machine that was previously a barn find and routed in a laundromat. The machine requires extensive work including new ramps, flipper rebuilds, rewiring, and a new playfield due to significant wear. Jason, the owner, has undertaken a comprehensive cabinet rebuild including new legs, faceplate, and backbox, while the playfield shows gold glitter detailing from Marco Specialties.

Key Claims

The plastic ramps for this machine will cost hundreds of dollars and are difficult to source
high confidence · Opening assessment of parts needed; speaker discussing ramp replacement costs
The playfield condition is rated around 6-7 out of 10 due to wear damage and screw issues
high confidence · Direct assessment: 'I'd say six due to the fact that a fucking screw hole'
The machine spent time in a laundromat before restoration began
high confidence · 'It's been, like I said, in the laundromat. Yeah.'
The original faceplate was damaged by a hasp latch that was drilled into it during route operation
high confidence · Physical inspection showing 'Big old hasp latch drilled into it. It was on route.'
Marco Specialties added extra glitter to the playfield to make the gold version pop
medium confidence · 'Marco just added the extra glitter on that. Adam's family made it pop.'

Notable Quotes

“these ramps themselves are gonna be in the hundreds just the plastic ramps”
Cary Hardy@ 0:23 — Establishes cost burden of critical replacement parts
“I was expecting to see this thing swelled up like Arnold Schwarzenegger with the moisture and everything, but it actually looks decent”
Cary Hardy@ 1:16 — Positive assessment of cabinet condition despite moisture exposure in laundromat
“he's essentially rebuilt this entire damn cabinet”
Cary Hardy@ 3:46 — Highlights scope of Jason's restoration work beyond cosmetic repair
“It looks a lot nicer than that one right there huh Yeah. What a dog turd.”
Cary Hardy / Jason@ 7:41 — Dramatic contrast between restored playfield and worn original
“You got yourself an A-list game. It's not perfect. It needs a lot of work.”
Cary Hardy@ 1:45 — Acknowledges theme value while being realistic about restoration requirements

Entities

Cary Hardyperson Jasonperson Addams Familygame Marco SpecialtiescompanyKevinperson

Signals

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community_signal: Cary Hardy creating content documenting barn find restoration process, encouraging community engagement and acknowledging Jason's restoration work
high · Multiple calls for viewer engagement: 'please let jason know down below how well of a job he is doing if you like what you saw please give me that thumbs up'
$
market_signal: Premium playfield restoration costs hundreds per component (ramps alone); glitter enhancements and ceramic clear coats represent value-added services
high · 'these ramps themselves are gonna be in the hundreds just the plastic ramps'; commentary on Marco's glitter work and ceramic clear coat process
?
product_concern: Route-damaged machines exhibit multiple failure points including drilled faceplate damage, leg veneer issues, water damage to backbox, and playfield wear that cosmetic repair cannot address
high · 'the old waterlogging look like crap swelled up wonderful MDF'; 'Big old hasp latch drilled into it. It was on route'; extensive playfield damage requiring full replacement
?
restoration_signal: Comprehensive cabinet rebuild chosen over cosmetic repair (Bondo/fiberglass); Jason elected full reconstruction rather than patching despite Hardy's suggestion otherwise
high · 'he's essentially rebuilt this entire damn cabinet...he didn't have to...but he did'; comparison of new vs. old components (faceplate, backbox, legs)

Topics

Playfield restoration and replacementprimaryCabinet rebuild and cosmetic restorationprimaryParts sourcing and costsprimaryRoute machine damage assessmentsecondaryLED installation and upgradessecondaryMoisture damage from laundromat storagesecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.75)— Hardy is enthusiastic about the restoration progress and appreciative of Jason's work. Despite acknowledging significant damage and costs, the tone is optimistic about transforming a barn find into a 'work of art.' Minor frustration expressed about playfield damage and screw installation quality.

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.031

you're gonna need some work on it that's for damn sure yeah I mean that's like that's just like cosmetic stuff I mean like we're talking like actual functionality these ramps are pretty much unobtainium right here these ramps themselves are gonna be in the hundreds just the plastic ramps uh flipper mech's probably going to need to be all rebuilt one two you got four of them depending on if this even works so the motor isn't locked up and all rusted up well i mean there's a lot of wear on the playfield there's parts of the playfield that look really good but like you know your pop out there's a lot of wear around that i mean that's major damage it's not enough that even a clicky's gonna cover that so if i was going to buy it i would immediately be looking at putting in a brand new playfield for it. I think to go from where you're at to rewiring to get it going, like, yeah, your board's looking for a decent shape, then we're going to have to rewire and rerun a lot of stuff. Bust out the schematics on that. Cabinets in decent shape. I mean, it's better than what I was expecting. I was expecting to see this thing swelled up like Arnold Schwarzenegger with the moisture and everything, but it actually looks decent. It hasn't been that long. It's been, like I said, in the laundromat. Yeah. So, luckily, you got that going for you that the cap is in pretty decent shape. That's what's really helping out. Yeah. Even the interest in it. Yeah. I mean, good luck with it, man. I'd like to see it run again. What a freaking nightmare. Yeah. Well, dude, you got yourself an A-list game. It's not perfect. It needs a lot of work. That playfield is rated about a seven. No, not even that much. I'd say six due to the fact that a screw hole screw going through the fucking top. At what point do you tighten your screw enough to where you're like, is it in? Okay, I think I've had y'all wait long enough. Let's see what this Adams Family looks like right now. What up guys, welcome back. My name is Kerry Hardy and I talk and do everything pinball. So if that sounds interesting to you then hit that subscribe button down below. It has been at least I don't even know when I made that video. I honestly do not. I want to say it's been at least two, maybe even three months since we first snagged this Adams Family machine and I feel like it's been long enough and I should have been posting pictures at least for those on Facebook to give you an idea of how the machine is coming back together. Sadly, I am actually a little short on the amount of footage that I have recorded over the course of these last three months. So I'm not able to show you the progression from when we first obtained it to where it's at right now. So essentially what I'm going to be showing you is where it's at right now. This is his machine. This is his cabinet. He bought it. He is the one that's been working on this. Usually we would be doing this project together, but due to change of events in my life, I have a new job. I now work the opposite shift that he does. So therefore he's been doing all the work to this machine. So all credit and all glory can go to Jason for the work he has put into this cabinet. He has essentially rebuilt this cabinet, guys. Not just like, you know, the front panel and the back panel or put some bondo or fiberglass resin on this hole. No, he's essentially rebuilt this entire damn cabinet. And I gave him crap for that. I'm like, you didn't have to. I mean the bondo does amazing work. Fiberglass resin does amazing work. You didn't have to rebuild the entire damn cabinet, but he did. So granted, I'm not there to help out as much as I would like to, but I did do something that I need to take full credit for. There is one thing that I did to help him out, and that is... There's your LEDs. Cool. And you can't put a price on that, guys. That is completely invaluable help right there. Oh, man. All right, go over and check it out, dude. Thank you for picking that up. You're welcome. Is the other thousands of dollars worth of parts over here? Is the wife getting an idea yet for how much money you're throwing at this? Nah. She understands the worth of it in the end. Yes. Yes. New blower, new faceplate. Here's the old faceplate. This is why it was replaced. Big old hasp latch drilled into it. It was on route. Of course the legs. Build up veneer. Yeah, my leg impressions. I mean, this game got shipped pretty good on the route. So, sad to replace the whole thing with a brand new one. Cut it out, fit it. Bag box. Here's the old one. The old waterlogged look like crap, swelled up, wonderful MDF. I digress. Yeah. I don't see this playfield. I see it, man. Oh man. Yeah, there's some work on all of that. This is the one that Kevin wishes he had now because it has the glitter on it, right? Yeah, that's the gold glitter. It's got the lighter green on it, the brighter green. That's the gold version that Adams Family has. Marco just added the extra glitter on that. Adams Family made it pop. I mean that dude is slick. I can't see any orange buildup in there. on this thing at all. It's like a sheet of glass. I want to know their process on this. Somewhere along the way I read that they do a ceramic clear coat. I'm not even familiar with a ceramic clear coat. I've never heard of it. Pretty amazing looking place. That looks damn good, man. Looks a lot nicer than that one right there, huh? Yeah. What a dog turd. Old and busted. Well, I'm telling you, man. That game's had a lot of plays on it. New hotness. Had a lot of plays on it. So how are the boards looking? Oh, you got the mini one. Yeah, okay. You want to go ahead and do a remote? Yeah. It's trying to see if we had any resistors that were already changed down and stuff like that, but they all look like they're original on here. Cut wires here for oh man. Money, money, money. Hubba, hubba, hubba. For your magnets. I meant to tell you that they sold that, but you already figured that out. And there is your update on the Adams Family. I'm hoping that this is something that you are finding interesting—watching something that has been taken from a barn find and turning it into something that's considered to be a work of art. He's not done yet. He's putting in hours every week on little things here and there. I've gotten messages today showing me photographs of the coin door, so it is coming along. In the future, I will obviously be posting more footage on how well this machine is coming together. So everyone, please let Jason know down below how well of a job he is doing. If you like what you saw, please give me that thumbs up. And if you haven't already, do not forget to hit that subscribe button down below that way you can be notified of whenever I post something for your viewing pleasure. Until next time, guys, peace out.