Part 5: 1997 Sega Jurassic Park The Lost World. More playfield work!

Pinball Shenanigans·video·11m 27s·analyzed·Dec 20, 2025

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.015

TL;DR

Detailed playfield restoration of 1997 Sega Jurassic Park Lost World with LED upgrades and cleaning.

Summary

Mike Dust continues restoration of a 1997 Sega Jurassic Park: The Lost World pinball machine, focusing on detailed playfield cleaning, LED installation, and rubber replacement. He systematically works through the playfield perimeter, discovering exceptionally long plastics (up to 30 inches) and addressing burnt-out flasher bulbs. The machine is in notably good condition given its age and minimal play history.

Key Claims

The 1997 Sega Jurassic Park Lost World was made in June of '97 and only 600 units were produced
medium confidence · Speaker notes sticker on machine back showing June '97 manufacture date and speculates production numbers based on early sample status
The machine's longest plastic is 30 inches, the longest the speaker has encountered in pinball
medium confidence · Speaker measured two plastics with tape measure; one at 26 inches, another at approximately 30 inches, calls it 'the longest plastic in pinball history'
The machine has been owned by the same person since 1997 but hasn't been played extensively
high confidence · Speaker states the previous owner 'had it since '97' and observes the playfield isn't dirty from thousands of plays, suggesting light use
Multiple flasher bulbs in the machine were burnt out
high confidence · Speaker found and replaced at least three burnt-out flasher bulbs during playfield restoration work
The machine is a first-time shop job in its life
high confidence · Speaker explicitly states 'first shop job in its life' when describing the machine's condition

Notable Quotes

“This magnet is a little bit mushed, so I don't know if I can remove it without damaging the playfield... but it's not really being a problem. So I may just leave it as is.”
Mike Dust @ ~2:30 — Restoration decision-making: prioritizes preservation over perfection when risk of further damage exists
“Holy. That's going to be six LEDs, seven LEDs in a very small zone. That's going to be like staring at the sun. But I'm sure it'll be fine.”
Mike Dust @ ~4:00 — Humorous observation about LED density in tight playfield areas; reflects common restoration challenge of modern LED brightness
“I don't think I've ever actually heard any of them from start to finish. But anyway...”
Mike Dust @ ~8:00 — Casual reference to listening to George Gomez interview podcast by Clay Harrell while working; indicates industry podcast consumption patterns
“Is this not the longest plastic in the history of pinball here?”
Mike Dust @ ~3:30 — Setup for later discovery of even longer 30-inch plastic; recurring playfield observation theme
“There's no separation here. Like if anyone were to ship that plastic, you're going to need a big box.”
Mike Dust @ ~19:30 — Practical shipping/logistics challenge with Jurassic Park Lost World's unusually long plastics

Entities

Mike DustpersonChewypersonJurassic Park: The Lost World (1997 Sega)gameGeorge GomezpersonClay HarrellpersonPinball Shenanigansorganization

Signals

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community_signal: Pinball restoration content creation serving community knowledge-sharing; host documenting detailed procedures for future viewers and other owners
medium · Host asks other Lost World owners about plastic durability: 'Other Lost World owners, is your plastic here intact?'; systematic documentation of restoration steps
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product_strategy: Systematic rubber kit replacement and LED lighting upgrades to 1997 Sega Jurassic Park Lost World as part of restoration methodology
high · Host documents replacing worn rubber, installing transparent rubber variants, and adding LEDs to multiple playfield zones throughout the video
?
technology_signal: LED upgrade installation in vintage 1997 Sega machine; host opts for incandescent flashers over LED due to brightness concerns, indicating selective modernization approach
high · Multiple LED installations throughout playfield perimeter; host states 'I'm going to probably stick to incandescent because LED flashers are just too bright for my likings'

Topics

Playfield Restoration and CleaningprimaryLED Installation and UpgradeprimaryRubber Kit Replacement and Material Sourcingprimary1997 Sega Jurassic Park: The Lost World Machine SpecificsprimaryFlasher Bulb Maintenance and ReplacementsecondaryPlayfield Plastic Design and DurabilitysecondarySwitch Testing and Electrical VerificationsecondaryPinball Restoration Content and Communitymentioned

Sentiment

positive(0.82)— Host expresses satisfaction with restoration progress ('cleaning up nicely'), enthusiasm for discovering intact original components, and optimism about final results. Tone is casual and encouraging throughout. No negative sentiment toward the machine or process.

Transcript

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I'm Mike Dus [music] and this is Pinball Shenanigans. [music] All right, back for some more Jurassic Park Lost World. I plan on um finishing the rest of the playfield tonight. In the last episode, I did this area. Let's turn it on so you can see all the pretty LEDs that I installed. And oh, this is going to get all going to get all excited cuz I don't have balls installed. We got the snagger going crazy. We got Chewy going crazy. Okay, I'm going to open the coin door now. Yes. So the auto launcher can shut up. Anyway, in the last episode, I did this area and, you know, cleaned up the playfield. I leded it to I cleaned the plastics and uh yeah, that was disassembled the two ramps. They are monstrosities. So, in this episode, I'm just going to carry on, do the rest of the playfield. just work sort of um one little section at a time. Remove stuff, clean it, rubber it, LED it, move on. And I'm just going to keep kind of working my way around the playfield. We can have a look at the before. That's the line of dirt where the ball can't touch. And we can see this line of dirt here. ball trails. All in all though, this playfield is pretty minty. This magnet is a little bit mushed, so I don't know if I can remove it without damaging the playfield and, you know, kind of file it down, but it's not really being a problem. So, I may just leave it as is. Looks like I'm missing rubber there. And then, yeah, get all this cleaned up. It's first shop job in its life. So, you know, it's filthy. But I don't think it's been played thousands and thousands and thousands of times cuz the guy who had it had it since 97. And I saw on the back there's a sticker that said this was made in June of 97 and they started production of these games in June. So this is a very early sample of this game. I mean if they only made 600 then how long would that have taken them? Um maybe what do they can maybe do like a 100 games a month or something? So less than a year they were probably manufacturing this game. So anyway, this will clean up nicely. So uh let's get started. All right. Is this not the longest plastic in the history of pinball here? Surprised that's uh still intact. So going to remove these posts. Clean up these targets. LED all these guys. Holy. That's going to be six LEDs. Seven LEDs in a very small zone. That's going to be like staring at the sun. But I'm sure it'll be fine. This was a little rubber there. And then this guy here, this rubber is uh toast. I'm already getting filthy. Test this flasher. I'm going to probably stick to incandescent cuz LED flashers are just too bright for my likings. And it ain't that bad. But uh she is definitely dirty. Let there be light. Listening to some more top casts. This is um George Gomez and uh if you Google that you should be able to find it. But so many of the industry folk are interviewed by Joshua Clay Harrell and they're awesome. So this is the George Gomez one. Holy crap. Two and a half hours. Now I probably listen to almost every single one of them, but like I said in the last episode, I usually put them on in bed and I pass out to them. So I don't know that I've ever actually heard any of them from start to finish. But anyway, have a look here. I did manage to find transparent rubber in my stash for there and for there. And these targets cleaned up nicely. And I like these targets. They're they're satisfying to just press in with your fingers. Plastic's all cleaned up. Clear plastic. I haven't touched the playfield yet, but I kind of like this strategy. I normally just tear everything apart, but you have to rely a lot less on your memory and your photos if you do it this way. Okay, other Lost World owners, is your plastic here intact? Because this is like the thinnest, longest plastic I've ever seen. And I can't imagine that many of these survived intact, but uh luckily this one has. So, I'm going to see if I have another transparent rubber for this. If not, the top 50% is probably going to end up all black rubber cuz I just don't think I have enough rubbers in stock to do them all. And um like I said before, they're hardly [snorts] hardly visible. There's one post here that I can change to like green or something. And I can't even change that one. So, unfortunately, I can't Oh, wait. There's one post here. I could probably do maybe one u back there, but again, not going to be seeing those really. That is the main visible one. But yeah, and look at this plastic, too. I imagine uh not all of those survived. But uh now I got to bust out the elbow grease and get cleaning. Okay, this section is done. As you can see, cleaned up very nicely. And I stopped at the magnet so you will see clearly the before and after. And I'm going to do that corner next. I'm going to just use my little stubby screwdriver to get at the Phillips screws and a wrench to turn that. No problem. Quarter inch wrench for that. and um check on that flasher bulb in there that I see. This one that was here was burnt out and managed to find transparent rubber for there and for here. So, pretty happy about that. Uh and then I um connected this wire that I had previously disconnected and wanted to make sure that it was working properly. this gate here. Threw it in switch test and it was definitely not. But now it is. I'm assuming you can hear the switch test, but good to do that before you reassemble everything when you have nice access. And I think yeah, that's about it for that section. Moving on to the corner. All right, the corner is all cleaned up, the plastic, the uh LEDs are installed, and that flasher bulb was in fact burnt out. Switches are tested and good. Moving on to the other corner. Okay, this corner is done. Yet another flasher bulb burned out. And I'm going to move along the side here. And you thought that this plastic was the longest plastic in the history of pinball. You know what? I'm busting out my measuring tape. I'm just trying to reach for it here. Let's see. Let's I'm going to show you that what you thought was the longest plastic in pinball history is actually not cuz I just found one longer. This is like 26 in. Okay. Let's see the other side here. It goes just a little bit longer from about yay there to there. 30 in. There's no separation here. Like if anyone were to ship that plastic, you're going to need a big box. That is If you know of any other longer plastics, let me know. But I think I just hit the jackpot. All right. This side is done. I've completed the perimeter like a puzzle. We even had a rubber for here and here to match the other transparent guys. This flasher bulb was actually working. Changed it anyways though. And it's like another five LEDs in that section. So that is where I'm going to finish off here. But it is really cleaning up nicely. And I pretty much just have the top half of the playfield to clean. And then this area here and then uh yeah, be uh starting to install some ramps. So maybe this half of the playfield and the ramps. That would be a good uh mission for the next episode. So, uh, stay tuned and, uh, we'll see you and Chewy on the next episode.