POP BUMPER LAMPS



There was a lot of buzz on the pinball newsgroup surrounding the "no pop bumper lamp" issue. Many who had purchased the game were inquiring as to why there were no lamp sockets installed in the pop bumpers. Some felt that their games were perhaps defective as a result.

 

 

The general consensus on the newsgroup was that the idea for bumper lamps was scrapped in the Creature production models. The designers felt operators would have a tough time replacing them when they burned out. If you look at the picture to the right, you'll notice that the pop bumpers are hidden beneath a ton of playfield items (plastic ramp, wireform ramp, etc). These would all need to be removed in order to change a bulb.

Therefore, no lamp sockets were inserted into the pop bumper area. Instead, they routed bulbs to three lightening bolts stationed in between the bumpers (that also blink and pulse at various points in the game). The good news: these bulbs could be replaced by lifting the playfield and changing the bulb from underneath. The bad news: you could barely see them crammed at the top of the playfield. As a result, Creature always seemed very dark in the upper right corner.





Creative collectors to the rescue!!!!





The dedicated pinball collectors / enthusiasts have found a couple of ways to light the top corner of their Creature playfield. It includes the installation of pop bumper sockets and customized wiring to give them juice. This method lights up the top of the playfield immensely (and since many of them will only be for home use, the necessity to replace these bulbs should be few and far between).

I was planning to take on this project when I picked up a Creature for my collection. However, the previous owner already did the job and did it well. Here are some pictures from underneath the playfield and the finished product. If you compare it to the photo above (both using no "flash" so you can actually see the restults), I think you'll agree it makes a big difference.



If you are interested in performing this modification, there are a couple of places to look (depending on which method you want to use). The previous owner, and the one I was going to perform, chose the first method which is to connect the pop bumpers into the GI strain. This way they lite "continuously" (like most bumper bulb sockets). Al Warner of Al's Arcade has an excellent description on how to perform this method. You can see info on this here.

The Korn (who provided me with the first photo above) has come up with a method to allow the pop bumpers to flash. Check out his website here for more information.

I have also read reports that many don't like the "red" bumper caps. They have swapped caps with a "blue" set. It is said that the "blue" blends in better with the playfield colors and artwork. I may have to try it someday.

Overall, the pop bumper light modifications are an excellent project. It adds a nice touch to an already nice playfield layout. Thanks to the enthusiasts who developed such a project making Creature look as originally intended.

And now.....I'm off to the snackbar.