Best Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pinball Mods

There are few themes that give you as much freedom to play with artwork as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Stern's TMNT, designed by John Borg, already has an enormous amount of colour and character packed into the machine. The Turtles, Shredder, Krang, the Pizza Van and the whole comic-book aesthetic give the game a visual identity that is perfect for customisation.

The trick isn't to replace that artwork.

It's to extend it.

Start With the WizBlades

If we had to choose one upgrade for TMNT, it would be the WizBlades.

The inside of the cabinet is normally one of the biggest areas of empty black space on a pinball machine. Adding artwork there immediately changes the way the playfield feels.

With TMNT, that effect is particularly strong.

The colourful factory artwork suddenly feels like it continues beyond the physical edges of the playfield, creating much more depth around the ball.

It's also one of the easiest mods to install, which makes it an obvious first step for anyone starting to customise their machine.

WizPanels Make the Front Feel Complete

The speaker area is another place where the factory artwork can feel interrupted.

That's where Pro WizPanels work particularly well.

Instead of having the speaker panel look like a separate black section between the backbox and cabinet, custom artwork can continue through the area and make the entire front of the machine feel more cohesive.

On a theme as colourful as TMNT, those transitions make a surprisingly big difference.

Don't Ignore the Apron

The apron sits right underneath the action, but it's surprisingly easy to forget when customising a machine.

Once the larger areas have been upgraded, however, a plain apron can suddenly become the thing that stands out.

A Premium/LE WizAprons lets the artwork continue down into that lower section and gives the machine another opportunity to show off its theme.

It's a relatively small change, but it helps create the feeling that the artwork was designed as one continuous composition.

WizBats Are Small, But You See Them Constantly

Flipper bats are one of those mods that look insignificant until you install them.

Then you realise you're looking at them during almost every shot.

WizBats give the flippers their own TMNT identity and add another little piece of the theme directly into the gameplay area.

They're also inexpensive and extremely easy to change, making them one of those upgrades that makes sense even if you don't want to heavily modify the machine.

The Coin Door Deserves Some Attention

There's a big black rectangle sitting right in the middle of the cabinet.

The coin door.

On a heavily themed machine, it can feel like a visual interruption, particularly when everything around it is covered in artwork.

A LE WizDoors turns that area into another opportunity for custom artwork.

It's one of those details that you might not think about when the machine is completely stock, but once the rest of the cabinet has been customised, you'll definitely notice the difference.

Add Something to the Lockdown Bar

The centre of the lockdown bar is another perfect place for a small TMNT detail.

The WizEmblems gives you a little piece of artwork right where your hands are constantly interacting with the machine.

It doesn't need to be huge.

That's actually the point.

Small details can make a machine feel much more finished without overwhelming the original design.

The Shooter Lane Is Part of the Experience Too

The shooter lane is one of the first areas you see every time you start a game, yet it's often forgotten when people customise their machines.

A WizShooter brings the theme into that area and gives the start of every ball a little more personality.

It's especially effective when combined with the larger cabinet artwork because it means the customisation doesn't suddenly stop at the playfield entrance.

Finish the Backbox With WizWings

Once you've covered the obvious areas, there are always those final details.

The hinges are a good example.

Premium WizWings add artwork around the backbox hinge area, helping connect the cabinet and backbox visually.

It's a small finishing touch, but these are exactly the sorts of details that become noticeable once the major modifications are already installed.

The Best Mods Don't Fight the Original TMNT Artwork

That's especially important with this machine.

TMNT already has a very strong visual language.

There's no reason to cover it up or make the machine look completely different.

The best approach is to take what Stern created and push it a little further.

More artwork around the playfield.

More colour around the cabinet.

More character in the smaller areas.

The machine remains unmistakably TMNT, but it feels more complete.

We've talked about this philosophy in our guide to Pinball Mods: Everything You Need to Know About Customising a Pinball Machine.

Build It One Mod at a Time

You don't have to transform the whole machine in one afternoon.

That's part of the fun.

Start with the WizBlades.

Then perhaps add WizPanels.

Later you notice the apron.

Then the coin door starts looking a little too plain.

Then you discover that the flippers could use some artwork.

Before long, you're looking at the machine completely differently.

That's one of the reasons pinball modifications become such an addictive part of collecting. We've explored that side of the hobby in Why Pinball Mods Become So Addictive.

The TMNT Mod Setup We'd Choose

If we were putting together a TMNT machine from scratch, we'd probably start with:

WizBlades — the biggest visual change.

WizPanels — to connect the cabinet artwork.

WizAprons — to continue the playfield theme.

WizBats — small, cheap and constantly visible.

WizDoors — because that coin door shouldn't be a black hole.

WizEmblems — a small detail with plenty of personality.

WizShooters — to bring the theme into the start of each ball.

WizWings — the finishing touch around the backbox.

You don't necessarily need all of them.

But when you start putting several together, that's when the transformation really happens.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Was Made for Customisation

John Borg's TMNT is already a machine with a huge personality.

That's exactly why it works so well with custom artwork.

The goal isn't to make it louder.

It's to make the artwork feel like it continues everywhere your eyes naturally travel.

From the inside of the cabinet to the speaker panel, from the apron to the flippers, from the coin door to the lockdown bar and all the way up to the backbox hinges.

The factory machine gives you the Turtles.

The mods let you make your Turtles machine.