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Monday Pinball Questionnaire


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Stuba is the first cab off the rank

 

1. Earliest pinball memory?

2. All time favourite pin? Why?

3. Favourite pinball manufacture?

4. Favourite game in your collection? Why?

5. How long have you been collecting?

6. First game and how did you find it?

7. Do you still have it?

8. What are you currently working on?

9. Most wanted game to add to your collection?

10. Best all time bargain game added to your collection?

11. Worst ever miss – tell us about the one that got away!

12. Worst ever purchase – tell us about the game you wished you never bought

13. Describe your collection

14. Describe your gamesroom

15. Do you have other games other than pinball?

16. Where can you see the hobby in 10 years?

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  • 1 year later...
  • 7 months later...
I love talking about pinballs, and especially listening or reading about

other peoples experiences and memories.

 

Every time i play pinball takes me back to my youth.

 

Can't wait for my first MM to talk pinball. :)

 

You sound like the perfect candidate to get to bring this thread back to life.

 

1. Earliest pinball memory?

2. All time favourite pin? Why?

3. Favourite pinball manufacture?

4. Favourite game in your collection? Why?

5. How long have you been collecting?

6. First game and how did you find it?

7. Do you still have it?

8. What are you currently working on?

9. Most wanted game to add to your collection?

10. Best all time bargain game added to your collection?

11. Worst ever miss – tell us about the one that got away!

12. Worst ever purchase – tell us about the game you wished you never bought

13. Describe your collection

14. Describe your gamesroom

15. Do you have other games other than pinball?

16. Where can you see the hobby in 10 years?

Edited by Darksoul
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  • 2 years later...

Monday Pinball Questionnaire Blktgr74 20/4/13

 

Earliest pinball memory?

It think the first pin I ever played was a Hankin FJ at the BP in Mannun in about 87. I must admit I thought it was a bit crappy.

 

All time favourite pin?

I'd have to say Funhouse (got to love Rudy)

 

Favourite manufacturer?

Gottlieb

 

Favourite game in your collection?

That's a tough question kind of like asking " which is favourite kid" but if I could only have one it would be Funhouse.

 

How long have you been collecting?

Coming up 12 months and managed to pick up 7 pins in that time.

 

First game and how did you find it?

Cactus Jacks. I found it on gumtree. I was very close to buying a Hankin Shark and a Playmatic Black Flag from interstate as a pair glad it didn't although I probably would have a go at them now.

 

Do you still have it?

Yes. Haven't flipped any pins so far.

 

What are you currently working on?

Selen Cup and Jungle Lord.

 

Most wanted game to add to your collection?

Not sure really as I'll add any pin to my collection. I would like an MM but then I think I could have 10 or 15 ems for that sort of money.

 

Best bargain?

With out doubt Selen Cup. The term rare gets thrown around a bit but this pin is possibly the only one in Australia and one of only a handful left( so I've been told) cost me $500.

 

Worst miss?

The Shadow. Saw it on eBay for $1400 and still kick myself for not grabbing it.

 

Worst purchase?

Wipe Out. It's in great condition, looks great and plays really fast but it just doesn't do it for me.

 

Describe your collection.

I've got 3 ems 3 ss's and a DMD. Don't have any rules or themes just like pins.

 

Describe your games room.

It's 7x3 and really just a place to keep them at the moment till we move and buy our next house. Then I'd like to line a 9x6 shed.

 

Other games ( not pins)

LAI 26in soon to have Mk 2 in it and a home made cab with 352 in 1. Oh and an old juke box( thanks Tony)

 

Where do you see the hobby in 10 years?

I think that with the amount of 80s & 90s pins being imported that prices may bottom right out like ems are at the moment. I think that the home market will keep growing. Although I do worry as the great techs that we have now get older who or where are the next generation of techs to keep our pins alive. Over all I can see our hobby growing as people rekindle their love of the silver ball or realise that they can actually own one of these great machines.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I'll have a go:

1. Earliest pinball memory? 60's at the Fish and chip near my Nan's in Cooks Hill...Newcastle She always gave me an extra 5cents to play

2. All time favourite pin? Why? I just love the look and play of Fathom.

3. Favourite pinball manufacture? Don't laugh or mock; Gottlieb because the name always sounded so cool to me as a kid.

4. Favourite game in your collection? Why? It varies. I am enjoying my mates WWF which I have been looking after for a while. Of mine I love my Sure Shot cause I'm old.

5. How long have you been collecting? About 4 years.

6. First game and how did you find it? Mario Andretti (motor sport fan) bought from Tony at the Pinball Shed.

7. Do you still have it? No sold it to a mate then I arranged for him to on sell i to another mate. They still both kinda talk to me:D

8. What are you currently working on? Italian Electric Road and A Bally Sky Kings.

9. Most wanted game to add to your collection? Probably Fathom or a Tommy.

10. Best all time bargain game added to your collection? Had a couple did buy a cheap Twister that was missing the main board.

11. Worst ever miss – tell us about the one that got away! None

12. Worst ever purchase – tell us about the game you wished you never bought Probably Harlem Globetrotters with the possibly worst playfield ever. Anybody got one?

13. Describe your collection I'd describe them as shed bashers but I love them.

14. Describe your gamesroom Disgusting I need a large tip truck to get rid of all the crap.

15. Do you have other games other than pinball? Gottlieb Lowboy with 2000+ games.

16. Where can you see the hobby in 10 years? [b]With the new pins coming out and the interest you get when you mention it the hobby should be still as strong as it is now.

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OK GUYS, THREADS MERGED TO GIVE A BIT MORE CONTINUITY.

 

1. Earliest pinball memory? At Downtown in Hindley Street Adelaide. Very early 80's. I was a video game kid, taking little notice of the pins. I think the titles I remembered were Gorgar, Flash Gordon and Space Invaders. May have even dropped the odd coin in them. But 20 cents was a kings ransom to an 11 or 12 year old. I was addicted to the video games. Love the girl at 16 seconds....I will have your baby because you are so cool at video games! LMAO

 

 

 

And for all you budding pyromaniacs and mad scientists, you must have remembered this show from Adelaide:

 

 

 

2. All time favourite pin? Why? White Water. I keep coming back to this machine. I just like the flow, the look and the theme. Ask me again in 18 months and it may have changed.

 

3. Favourite pinball manufacture? Bally/Williams. Though Stern have certainly come on in the last few years.

 

4. Favourite game in your collection? Why? WH2O. As above.

 

5. How long have you been collecting? Since about 2004.

 

6. First game and how did you find it? Totem (Gottlieb Sys1). Bought from @<b><u><a href="http://www.aussiearcade.com/member.php?u=386" target="_blank">xygt</a></u></b>. (Brendan, where are you my brother?) From eBay. After my wife demanded I buy a pinball. I remind her all the time my addiction is her fault.

 

7. Do you still have it? No. Sold to @<b><u><a href="http://www.aussiearcade.com/member.php?u=2824" target="_blank">Genie</a></u></b> in 2009 I think. Was also @<b><u><a href="http://www.aussiearcade.com/member.php?u=386" target="_blank">xygt</a></u></b> s first machine.

 

 

8. What are you currently working on? World Domination!!!!................ah hem. Lost World (Bally 1978). Trying to push on through and offload soon.

 

 

9. Most wanted game to add to your collection? As hard as Ron Jeremy. Maybe Monster Bash???

 

10. Best all time bargain game added to your collection? Superman. $200. Soldered about 3 wires together, replaced a resistor and bingo! fully functional. Did a full restore on it.

 

11. Worst ever miss – tell us about the one that got away! Haunted House. Think it was about $1600 in 2006. Regretted ever since.

 

12. Worst ever purchase – tell us about the game you wished you never bought. Double purchase of Superman (not the $200 one) and a Lost World. Cabinets eaten out by termites. Owner forgot to mention that and also broke the backglass. Was an eBay seller long since gone. If I ever find them I'll suck the jelly from their dead eyeballs.

 

13. Describe your collection Mid 90's DMDs up to AC/DC. Also a Bally Lost World and EBD.

 

14. Describe your gamesroom Converted shed. About 7.5m x 5m. Carpeted, A/C, alarmed, lined and insulated. 92" widescreen with projector and wireless PC connection to the house. Fridge with 2 beers on tap. Block mount pinball theme posters and neons on the walls. All round mancave. :)

 

15. Do you have other games other than pinball? Not currently.

 

16. Where can you see the hobby in 10 years? Probably 2 main players being JJP and Stern. maybe several smaller, small run games from other makers. Maybe a new player based in China? I think there are enough "younger" people coming through who have been exposed to pinball to keep the dream alive.

Edited by Darksoul
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  • 9 months later...

I'll have a go.. This is an updated version of the one i did on AP forum years ago (copy/pasted and updated for AA)!!

 

Here goes...

 

1. Earliest pinball memory?

I was a late starter getting into pinball, growing up in the 70s I was always into motorbikes and music. I lived outside of Port Macquarie (Hastings River Drive) so I wasn’t really exposed to them at all.

One vivid memory from when I was 6 years old was my brother making a small pinball game with a piece of plywood with nails and rubber bands and clothes pegs for flippers..lol. This was pretty impressive to a 6 year old!

I can remember coming home from school in the school bus every afternoon when I was in primary school in Port Macquarie, going past an amusement centre (Its been closed down for years now) and seeing pins inside the doorway, and being mildly fascinated with the look of them!

Also I remember being in a takeaway shop (in Taree I think) with my mum and dad and seeing a couple of pins there, I have no idea what titles they were but i can remember them having orange score displays so they were most likely Bally or Sterns, and being fascinated with the displays on them. I wasn’t game to ask my parents for money to play them..lol.

Anyway fast forward thru to, and after my high school years, music and guitar playing had well and truly taken over my life, I thought of nothing else! After leaving school and playing in bands, in about ’87 I was in Macksville (NSW midnorth coast) doing a band gig at a pub there, and they had a KISS machine!! One of my band mates talked me into having a game with him… a couple of games later… I was totally hooked! I was 19 at the time. I used to love that gig coz in the breaks id put all my spare change into that KISS. After that I regularly started visiting the Pinball Parlor in Port Macquarie to play the pins there, and anywhere else I found them to play.

Being an avid tinkerer by nature, it wasn’t long before I was trying to build my own machines. I’d made no less than four half size machines, building all my own bumper assemblies, flippers, electronics etc myself before finally buying the real thing. All but one of the small home made pins was eventually scrapped at this time. I still have the last one.. its in my shed in Port Macquarie in storage no longer working due to raided ic’s etc. maybe I’ll dig it out one day and fix it.

Naturally I thought one machine was enough!! Yeah right!!! Initially one was all I wanted but I kept coming across others for sale, and cheap too most of them so you know the rest..

 

2. All time favourite pin? Why?

That’s a tough question to answer, there are quite a few faves, but if I had to pick one I’d say KISS, as it was the one that started the obsession! That and I’ve always been a KISS fan! Gtb Haunted House would be a very close second, that one totally blew me away when I played one for the first time!

 

3. Favourite pinball manufacture?

Another toughie… I’ll say Gottlieb for their mechanicals… (I’m talking 70s pins by the way) their mechanical assemblies are just so solidly built and the games just have a smooth, quality feel to them when you’re playing them.. they seemed to be built to last forever! No wonder Gottlieb were called the Cadillac of pinball! I also loved the blue fluorescent displays on the System Ones, and still do! And for electronics, features and game play, Bally and early Williams SS.

As for the backglass art, I can appreciate all games artwork for what it is, regardless of the title/theme etc. Though any with scantily clad, shapely women are always favourites with me! Gottlieb definitely had the upper hand in THAT department!!

 

4. Favourite game in your collection? Why?

It’s hard to pick a favourite because I like them all for different reasons. Anyway once again I’ll have to say KISS for sentimental reasons.. as mentioned in question 2.

 

5. How long have you been collecting?

26 years. I never really considered myself a collector in the true sense of the word, as I’m not really actively looking for more games.. more of an enthusiast id say. Almost every game I own is the result of either someone else telling me about it, or basically just stumbling upon it in my travels, lol. A couple of them I acquired when I was asked to repair them, and the people didn’t want to pay when told their game would be expensive to repair, so I bought them for myself (for example, my 6million dollar man.. got it for $100 (in 1992).

 

6. First game and how did you find it?

Stern Stingray. Bought it from the Pinball Parlor in Port Macquarie in about ’87 or '88 for $300. They were starting to sell off their older games at the time and it was the first one they put up for sale.

 

7. Do you still have it?

Hell yes!! It’s a keeper for sure!!

 

8. What are you currently working on?

Gtb Pinball Pool. This project has been put on hold several times due to other pin repairs/restores for other people.. as an example I did the orange base coat about a year ago now and I’m only just NOW finished the stencilling!! This game was a total BASKET CASE, that most people would’ve parted out, with a badly water damaged cab that was literally falling apart! This will be the most long winded resto in history I reckon.. (my history at least..lol, I have NEVER ever taken this long to restore a game). At this time it’s been about TWO YEARS since I started on it!!

 

9. Most wanted game to add to your collection?

There are several that I’d love to have, but Gorgar and Haunted House are the two at the top of my wish list.

 

10. Best all time bargain game added to your collection?

That would be my Gtb MIBS that I bought for $20! Though it was in a mess cosmetically, but in working order when I got it… and that was only because I fixed it for the guy who had it at the time.. next thing I knew he was offering it to me for the $20.. who was I to refuse!!

 

11. Worst ever miss – tell us about the one that got away!

That would have to be the KISS that was in the amusement centre in Laurieton that I only got to play twice. One day I went in there it was gone, I asked the guy in charge about it and he said he sold it for about $350.. I never even knew he’d planned on selling any of his games.

Now that was about 20 years ago, and just couple of years ago a KISS turned up on ebay for sale in Laurieton (NSW midnorth coast, about a half hour drive from where I grew up). “could this be the one that got away?” I thought to myself.. well long story short, after it being listed twice with no bids I got in touch with the owner and did a deal and he took it off ebay. It turns out that he had bought this from the Laurieton Amusement Centre. So it turned out my hunch was right! I was reunited with the ‘one that got away’ .. my holy grail pin and now I finally own it!!

I lived in Armidale @ the time and I drove from there to Laurieton to pick it up and back home the same day.. that’s about a 6 ? hour round trip! The pin was a bit of a mess.. faded, worn pf, art cracked and peeling from the bg and not running properly, and I had to pay $3k to get it, but I didn’t care! I finally owned my holy grail pin and that was all that mattered. It has since been fully restored.

 

12. Worst ever purchase – tell us about the game you wished you never bought

At the time that I bought it, I would’ve said my Stern Dracula! But not now as it ended up turning out really nice after spending about 4 or 5 months restoring it!! A few days after I got that home I went thru a “wot the hell’ve I done” stage!! Just looking at the playfield that someone had redrawn in the worn out artwork between the slings and thinking how the hell am I gonna fix that?? Anyway after a few headaches and a LOT of patience it all turned out well.

 

 

13. Describe your collection

Mostly late 70s.. SS Gottliebs, Sterns and Ballys. A couple of Wms SS games and one Zaccaria EM, Universe. The oldest game I own is Gtb Mibs (1969) and the latest being Bally Black Pyramid (1984).

I was up to 20 machines just prior to relocating from Armidale back to the mid north coast where I grew up. In the last six months or so I have sold 4 machines (Abracadabra, Klondike, Lectronamo), parted out a home made game I had built about 15 years ago, then bought a Stern Galaxy from a client/mate of mine, plus the HGT I bought at Pinfest 2013 so i’m at 17 games at this time.

 

14. Describe your gamesroom

6m x 6m steel garage/shed, which also is my workshop, so it’s a little cramped for space.. lol . Wauchope gets BLOODY HOT in the summer so I have lined and insulated the shed so it’s a bit more comfortable now to be in. As I now have the whole house to myself after my housemate moving out, I have been slowly moving pins up into the house.. as of writing this, there are nine machines in the house in three separate rooms.. five in the loungeroom, two in the dining room and one so far in one of the spare bedrooms.

 

 

15. Do you have other games other than pinball?

Only an old 10c one armed bandit from the about the 60s (I think) A jackpot on it is a whole $2.30.. whoo hoo!!! LOL. I found this at the Wauchope tip about 20 years ago, brought it home and got it going, its still a bit untidy looking so its on my ‘to do’ list for being restored one day. One day I’d like to get an old arcade video game just for something different.. I just added a cocktail video MAME cab to the collection, that I did a deal with a client for the repairs to their Dr Who pin.. they just wanted the video gone as it wasn’t working.. I have since repaired it and moved it into the house!

 

16. Where can you see the hobby in 10 years??

When I originally posted this on AP forum, I answered this as hoping there would be more aussie parts suppliers catering to the pre 90s SS (and EM) games. It has since gotten a bit better but I still find myself looking overseas for a lot of my parts, both for my own games and customer’s pins as well. Plus with events like Pinfest happening here now, it can only help to make pinball even bigger and better.. which is a good thing!!

 

Hope I haven’t bored anyone silly… lol

 

Cheers… Mitch

Edited by Mr Pinbologist
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  • 2 years later...

I'll have a go......

 

1. Earliest pinball memory?

 

My Dad took to to a Fish and Chips shop in Chester Hill. I was very small and think I only played one ball. I didn't know too much about pinball back then.

Move forward 5 years or so and my mate and I used to play the World Fair (one of us on each flipper) at the Fairfield snooker room. 5 cents per game a and the Bally (gambling) machines either side.

A smoky rough sort of place.

About the same time I remember the pinball parlors at The Entrance, rows of pinballs (but no money to play).

 

2. All time favourite pin? Why?

 

I still love the World Fair, I love it so much I bought one and restored it about 10 years back. I love the feel of the game, simple rules but challenging playfield.

Also the nostalgia it brings along with the innocent times as a kid.

I also love my Creature from the Black Lagoon. The challenge and speed are great fun.

 

 

3. Favourite pinball manufacture?

 

Gottlieb.

 

4. Favourite game in your collection? Why?

 

See above, World Fair.

 

5. How long have you been collecting?

 

About 20 years. Over that time I have had many pinball machines and jukeboxes. I used to have a rule that once my wife could beat my score, I'd sell the machine.

 

6. First game and how did you find it?

 

Pinball Pool in the Trading Post. Loved that game. Had a few problem develop over the years but worked them out myself.

Sold it to buy a "Big Guns".

 

7. Do you still have it?

 

No, unfortunately.

 

8. What are you currently working on?

 

I am restoring a 1948 Wurlitzer jukebox. No pinnies at present.

 

9. Most wanted game to add to your collection?

 

Addams Family or Twilight Zone. I guess I loved the old TV shows and the nostalgia. Good games to play also.

 

I would like a electro mechanical shooting game.

 

10. Best all time bargain game added to your collection?

 

Sweet Hearts. Got it on eBay years ago. The owner said it have a minor crack in the backglass. It ended up looking like someone threw a baseball through it.

Got a new repo glass from Ron Webb and it looks magic. A guy on this forum sent me stenciled copies of is cabinet artwork and I repainted the cabinet.

 

11. Worst ever miss – tell us about the one that got away!

 

My first pinball I nearly bought was a mint Joker Poker. I haggled for a better price and the guy sold it elsewhere.

I was learning what was good and what was not. I now have a Joker Poker playfield made into a 'light-up' coffee table.

 

12. Worst ever purchase – tell us about the game you wished you never bought

 

A Buck Rogers pinball. Nothing but trouble. My Brother loved it so I gave it to him.

10 years later he wants it sold. It took weeks of work to get it working to go on the market (and my Brother keeps the $'s).

The very next week the new owner rings complaining the pinball won't work.

I go and to have a look and he has tampered with things "ْnder-the-bonnet'.

Then he starts crying about his dog dying.

It worked out that he closed a few points together, so I fixed the machine and left real quick.

Thankfully I have never seen that machine again.

 

 

13. Describe your collection

 

I have 4 pinball 'keepers' with World Fair, Creature From The Black Lagoon, King of Diamonds and Sweet Hearts.

All restored and play like new.

I also have 5 jukeboxes (all fully restored from 1940's - 50's), 1940's pepsi machine that gets cold and serves beer for 5 cents (I'll never get rich that way)

and a couple of 60's Coke machines (sliders).

Also a couple of pedal cars and petrol pumps.

 

14. Describe your gamesroom

 

A room that was included when we built the house. It opens out to my BBQ area.

It has the machines mentioned about with NRL, Soccer and Basket ball jersey's framed on the wall. Also some Beatles memorabilia.

 

15. Do you have other games other than pinball?

 

No other games. I had a couple of 5 cent poker machines but sold them due to lack of use.

 

 

16. Where can you see the hobby in 10 years?

 

I expect it to be similar to now. The next generation of collectors will be fixing games that they played when they were young.

After that it gets a bit hazy as the Gen X and Y's appear all computer based games.

Costs are getting a bit high and games are getting hard to find. I think people like me are getting the games they want to keep forever.

 

Regards

 

Gordo.....

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