My Last Action Hero Restoration FINALE!

Cary Hardy·video·15m 19s·analyzed·Jun 23, 2020

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.018

TL;DR

Cary Hardy details his extensively customized Last Action Hero restoration with UV rails, synced LED scoops, and rare plastic replacements.

Summary

Cary Hardy provides a detailed walkthrough of his fully restored Last Action Hero pinball machine, showcasing extensive customizations including UV-reactive yellow powder-coated rails, custom LED lighting with synchronized scoops, Retro Refurb decals, color DMD, and PIN Stadium lighting. The restoration was originally purchased for his wife years ago and underwent incremental upgrades including a complete playfield clear coat and replacement of the rare tar pit plastic, which required purchasing an entire second machine to obtain a mint condition piece.

Key Claims

The tar pit plastic is 'uobtainium' and extremely difficult to source; Cary purchased an entire second Last Action Hero machine just to obtain a mint condition tar pit plastic
high confidence · Direct statement about purchasing a complete machine specifically for one replacement part
Cary uses UV-reactive yellow powder coating (typically used on firefighter oxygen equipment) on rails and crane, which differs from standard yellow and creates a more prominent appearance
high confidence · Detailed explanation of powder coating choice and material specifications
Cary integrated flex bulbs wired to scoop lighting so scoops illuminate when their corresponding modes light up, providing visual indication for gameplay targets
high confidence · Explicit description of electrical integration and gameplay purpose
The playfield was clear-coated by Cary himself in a rush for Texas Pinball Festival a year or two ago, and he would prefer to redo it for better quality
high confidence · Direct personal account of timing constraints and desired improvements
People have begun replicating Cary's custom modifications including UV-reactive yellow rails and flex bulb scoop lighting after seeing his machine
medium confidence · Cary states 'people have started to replicate because they liked the look' and notes others are replicating the flex bulb approach

Notable Quotes

“I honestly bought another Last Action Hero just to get the mint condition tar pit off of it. That was the only thing that I was concerned about whenever I was looking to buy it, was what condition the tar pit plastic was in”
Cary Hardy@ 4:00 — Illustrates the extreme difficulty in sourcing original parts and the significant financial investment required for authentic restoration
“This is the kind of yellow that they typically put on the firefighters, their oxygen that they use, their air supply. So that's really prominent whenever they're inside smoky areas and stuff like that.”
Cary Hardy@ 5:39 — Technical detail explaining the choice of UV-reactive powder coating and its real-world application context
“I wish I would have had more time to do an even better job at this, but I was in a rush a year or two ago whenever I did it for Texas Pinball Festival.”
Cary Hardy@ 9:57 — Reveals time constraints on finishing work and connects restoration to Texas Pinball Festival event participation
“So whenever it's time for the extra ball it'll be lit or whatever and this scoop will also light up. I think it's actually I've got it wired into this one so yeah every time this one lights up the scoop will light up”
Cary Hardy@ 7:17 — Demonstrates innovative integration of electrical modifications to enhance gameplay feedback and visual clarity
“I didn't want it. I bought it at auction for my wife because she liked it, but I didn't want it. This is years ago.”
Cary Hardy@ 4:58 — Origin story of the machine and unexpected investment of time and money into a machine he initially didn't desire

Entities

Cary Hardyperson Last Action HerogameRetro Refurb DecalsproductTitan PinballcompanyPIN StadiumproductTexas Pinball Festivaleventpinballcards.comcompanyPinSidecompany

Signals

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community_signal: Cary's custom modifications (UV-reactive yellow rails and synchronized flex bulb scoops) are being replicated by other collectors/restorers after seeing his work, indicating influential design approach within restoration community
medium · Statement: 'people have started to replicate because they liked the look of mine with the yellow rails' and 'something that I've also done that people are starting to replicate is I've got flex bulbs'
?
design_philosophy: Cary intentionally matches LED colors to specific playfield elements (red LED for red eye, white for white eye, yellow for yellow eye) based on personal aesthetic preference, demonstrating deliberate design consistency approach
high · Direct statement: 'I liked the red matching the red eye white matching the white eye yellow matching the yellow eye that is just my method that's what I like'
?
product_strategy: Color DMD upgrade installed on Last Action Hero as post-release aesthetic enhancement, with Cary recommending it highly to other collectors
high · Statement: 'And, of course, the color DMD. Very nice touch to this machine. I highly recommend that as well.'
?
product_concern: Tar pit plastic component is extremely rare and fragile ('unobtainium'), prone to chipping when contacting side rails, creating significant sourcing challenges for restoration
high · Extended discussion of tar pit plastic rarity, cost ($400+ on secondary market), fragility, and Cary's decision to purchase entire second machine for replacement part
?
technology_signal: Integration of aftermarket flex bulbs wired to match scoop lighting represents innovation in electrical modification for improved gameplay feedback on classic machines

Topics

Playfield restoration and clear coating techniquesprimaryCustom LED lighting integration and synchronizationprimaryPowder coating and rail customizationprimarySourcing and replacing rare/unobtainium pinball partsprimaryAftermarket decals and aesthetic modificationsprimaryCommunity replication of custom modificationssecondaryData East pinball machine preservationsecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.85)— Cary expresses satisfaction with restoration outcomes and pride in his work, though notes some regrets about not having more time for perfect execution. Enthusiasm for custom modifications is evident throughout. No negativity directed at machines or community.

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.046

Thank you. All right, guys, let's go over my last action hero. We're going to have it with the power off for right now, and then we'll turn it on later. But so let's just go take a little tour all the way around it. What we have here is the retro refurb decals. so what I will say about retro refurb decals is that the colors are very vibrant and the blacks are black so that's something to note back is nice and clean and this is a complete repro of this trans light I actually did this myself there was someone selling one on like eBay probably someone's redone this I essentially did it myself and had a buddy of mine printed it off for me and I think it turned out really great. Contrast is very great. So typical fashion I have the Lockdown Bar Decal Receiver from Titan Pinball. Put that on all of my machines and this one was obviously going to get it as well. These are laminated versions of the ones that I think you can get these on pinballcards.com, but these have been eliminated, so they have a nice gloss sheen to them. Titan pinball rubbers, as per usual, put those on all of my games. I went with a red and yellow theme throughout the game. So we've got yellows, and then on all these posts right here, I have got yellow on top, followed by the red bumper. and then these are red as you can see you can obviously see what color it is I don't have to tell you what color on each one of them this plastic is unobtainium this whole tar pit area cannot be found there's there's one that I know of is someone selling on pin side and they want like 400 bucks for it but I would like to see someone be able to recreate this plastic even in different colors it be nice to have the option for a transparent one because to be able to show off the artwork that underneath here a little better but just a repro of this one would be great if someone could ever do that but I honestly bought another Last Action Hero just to get the mint condition tar pit off of it. That was the only thing that I was concerned about whenever I was looking to buy it, was what condition the tar pit plastic was in because the one I originally had was broken. Because this is a typical thing with this machine is that if you're not careful and not paying attention, you can actually lift and it can touch the side rail and chip it, damage it. It happens. So I bought a whole machine just to get that plastic, and then I put that machine with my plastic on my location. So, yeah, that was my biggest expense for such a small, unobtainian piece. What I have done, let me start off by saying this is a machine that I did not foresee me putting a lot of time and effort into doing. I really honestly didn't even want this machine. I bought it at auction for my wife because she liked it, but I didn't want it. This is years ago. and I've had it since then and I've just started putting money into it you know whether it started with LEDs and eventually I went with the powder coating with the rails right here now the powder coating that I decided to use was not just your traditional just yellow this is actually a highly UV reactive yellow now people have started to replicate because they liked the look of mine with the yellow rails because it changes the look of the game. But more than likely, they have gone with just a plain yellow and not a UV reactive yellow. This is the kind of yellow that they typically put on the firefighters, their oxygen that they use, their air supply. So that's really prominent whenever they're inside smoky areas and stuff like that. So I've even got the crane completely re-powder coated to match the side rails because the yellow doesn't typically match. Now every so X amount of years or whatever, I will have to redo some parts of the crane, usually on the tip right here and back here because this is where a ball is slamming down and hitting many, many times. So that's something that needs to be done over the years. Going back here I've got the fire LEDs. I like the way those look because around here is like explosions and stuff like that. So I figured I'd go with the motif by doing the fire LEDs. and let's see here for the pop bumper LEDs I have the the full ring sets that go around those with yellow skirts common LEDs are almost throughout this machine but not all of them something that I've also done that people are starting to replicate is I've got flex bulbs that are basically wired in to match what this bulb and the chicken scoop does so every time the chicken scoop lights up that scoop will light up every time multiball scoop lights the whole scoop will light up and the same ordeal with this scoop right here so whenever it's time for the extra ball it'll be lit or whatever and this scoop will also light up I think it's actually I've got it wired into this one so yeah every time this one lights up the scoop will light up and And what that does throughout the game is that not only will the bulb light up the whole scoop itself will light up to give you an indication that you need to shoot for these scoops so there a particular mode called uh find benedict and what that does is light up all three scoops telling you that those are the scoops that you need to shoot for so it's a really nice indicator and let's see here i think this is a new spinner decal that I've got set on this one I bought this off pin side that usually gets beat up pretty bad but I think mr. tantrum he makes a reprint of that and it's a nice gloss one it's nice recommend it then you have I got the bulb was matching some people don't do this but I did I liked the red matching the red eye white matching the white eye yellow matching the yellow eye that is just my method that's what I like so I did that I've got mirror blades it goes really well with the game I've seen people do art for it to each their own I just like the mirror blades better on this particular machine and topping it off with the fusion pin stadiums that's the mac daddy really expensive one and got that tied in and that's tied in really well even with the topper so whenever the topper flashes the red and blue then the machine will also be flashing the red and blue let's see if there's anything else that I'm missing hmm powder coating I used to have the glowing glowing flipper buttons but I'm I'm starting to really grow on the black, depending on the motif of the machine. But that's what I've gone with. I used to have the light-up speakers for this, but I think I turned them off or they're not going right now. One of the two. But I used to have the speaker light kits on these, but they're just not on. And, of course, the color DMD. Very nice touch to this machine. I highly recommend that as well. This is a play field, and I'm sorry that I didn't get the footage to show you, but this play field is clear-coated. Clear-coated it myself. I wish I would have had more time to do an even better job at this, but I was in a rush a year or two ago whenever I did it for Texas Pinball Festival. So it's one of those things where, man, a part of me wants to take it all apart, and sand it and do it again just to make it look even better but it's well protected and it still looks great but I would have definitely liked a little more time to really make it look even better something in the process whenever I needed a clear coat was to remove the mylar and doing so pulled off the chicken scoop area right here so I actually had to retouch up and paint around the chicken scoop and water slide decal the actual word chicken and match the font the best way I could also rebuilt the perimeter around these scoops because these things get beat up pretty damn bad and even over time these areas right here the cliffies they take it they take a hell of a lot of beating because this is just a really hard hitting zone all new drop targets with of course decals on them and I don't think I've got these clear coated I usually do but I don't think I had the time whenever I first got everything hooked up and I want to say that is all that needs to be mentioned in this machine besides everything being all nice and polished and cleaned up I think that is it That is my last action hero. There, I went ahead and put the lockdown bar on there so you get the full effect of what this machine looks like. I don't think about you, about you, about you, about you I don't think about you I don't think about you I don't think about you I don't think about you All right, guys, that's going to wrap up my series for my last action hero restoration. If you've liked what you've seen here, then give me that thumbs up. And if you haven't already, be sure to hit that subscribe button down below. That way you can be notified whenever I upload something for your viewing pleasure. until next time guys peace out you