For my wedding anniversary, father’s day, and my next three birthdays, I got an Iron Man Pinball Machine from Stern! It’s a great pin. The Iron Man Vault Edition of this classic pinball machine is gorgeous with art set in the Iron Man 2 timeline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The game offers a few different multi-balls, it rewards good shots, and it punishes bad ones. It’s fast and challenging and a lot of fun.
Once you get into pinball, you start exploring the world of mods. Mods are modifications that you make to your pinball machine, small customizations that were not included in the original machine. There is a whole community dedicated to doing these mods and they range from simple to complex. I wanted to get into slowly, learn my machine, and experiment. My first mod is quick and it’s cheap. I found an Iron Man themed car start button cover. I wondered if the cover would fit on top of the start button on my pinball machine. Combing through Amazon to find the right cover was the most challenging part of the mod. For such a simple thing, I couldn’t believe the variability in quality and reviews. I finally found one that is metal and has the right sized opening. At the time of writing, the Iron Man Engine Start Button Cover on Amazon was $5.
The Iron Man Start Button Cover comes with the cover and two adhesive strips. Spend the time here and really get the adhesive lined up on the back side of the cover and avoid touching the adhesive. This will wear out the stickiness. Press the ring around your pinball start machine and hold it there for about a minute. It’s a simple mod and pretty effective. It covers over the start button of the pinball machine which is illuminated or flashing when it needs to be pressed. This creates a cool effect when covered.
I am not sure if this is an original mod or not, but it got me started with modding pinball machines. I am sure to have others and I will report my findings here. Do you mod pinball machines? What are your modifications? Do you like them? There are other start button covers for different super heroes and themes on Amazon, so maybe this one can find a home on your machine.