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Playboy


Josh Cohen

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Hi Folks, I've spent the better part of 6-9 months searching for a decent Playboy, both in Australia and abroad. They arent that rare, but when they do come up the asking price tends to be (IMO) a little too high for a 70's SS. Suppose the fact that Hugh Hefner has passed away hasnt helped at all. Anyway, I recently located one in the US and asking price is around $2,500USD. By the time it lands in Australia, I'll be $5,500 out of pocket. Backglass is nice but I'll need to replace the playfield (I have a new one from CPR) and paint/restore the cabinet. By the time I'm finished with it, I'll have spent $6.500-7,000, all up. What do you think? Importing is not an issue. I'm in the process of importing a Future Spa at the moment, although that wont land here for another 3 months. 

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You are obviously under no illusion of what your PLAYBOY will cost you. That is a good thing... 

If you are buying pinballs out of nostalgia, there is nothing else that will satisfy you other than what you were after. So a PLABOY it is and you might cringe at what it will cost you but you will have your favorite game and you will be traveling back in time in your mind to hopefully a happier place when you play it. A lot of people wont understand that...

If its not a nostalgia thing then look for games around the same era that will cost you less obviously...the FUTURE SPA is a good example.

I bought my CENTAUR about 10 years ago. Paid heaps for a beat up game but it had to be a CENTAUR and nothing else would satisfy.

Hope my explanation helps...

Edit - a Bally SKATEBALL would be nice...

 

Edited by Sartana66
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2 hours ago, Josh Cohen said:

such as?

I just happen to like the old Bally games. 

mata hari, 6m$m, lost world, even powerplay,    all better players than playboy.. it sells on the "i have a playboy" badge collector value alone... its a mediocre game

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heres a basic list of what i do to bally container pins to help you know what you're in for.   you'll need to repair the rectifier pcb ( new pins at least,  probably a track repair or two and some eyelets), rewire the transformer for 230v,  replace the varistor, replace the power cord,  repin at least half the the loom, fix any score displays that arent right,    strip, clean and wax the top, replace any broken plastics (eg theres one on futurespa thats always busted), clean up the manky drop targets, leg plates, shooter rods, door issues etc,  recap the solenoid board, probably replace the MPU due to leakage), replace all the pin headers on the lamp driver and the solenoid board and the sound board,  probably replace at least one kicker head, fix the outholes so they actually work, replace all the wacky random hacks like random coils and wood screws that the previous owner did and then find any kinky faults with it...   thats the basic list just to get it up and running.. 

18 minutes ago, Pop Bumper Pete said:

Just make sure the Backglass is really super perfect
the CPR reproductions are not quite right

you're being very kind today ..     
when i showed him medusa beside an original my screen printer said "that shouldnt even have been shipped"

Edited by wiredoug
forgot bits
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36 minutes ago, wiredoug said:

mata hari, 6m$m, lost world, even powerplay,    all better players than playboy.. it sells on the "i have a playboy" badge collector value alone... its a mediocre game

6m$man bang for buck wins hands down IMHO. Powerplay, Mata Hari maybe but I'm not a fan of chime sound games. Totally agree with the "I have a playboy" bit. Some of the later 6803 bally games are worthy of looking at and are surprising cheap to buy.

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I have to agree with the comments around "nostalgia". I'll admit, I recently viewed and played a Playboy at a Lloyds QLD and asked myself "do I really want to drop $5-10k on this? It's not a very exciting game. So, yes, I am second guessing myself here. In terms of the future spa, I have confidence that the person I purchased this from on Pinside has taken care of it. I've seen the machine and he has shown me that everything is working during a Facetime call. The only thing I expect to pay for once it lands in Australia is a power conversion to 240v and that will cost in the neighbourhood of $190.00. I may restore the cabinet at some stage and will allow $500-1000 for that (including Pinball Pimp Stencils at $350AUD) but that's it. I wont overcapitalise on this one. It will stay in my collection. I have no intentions of "flipping it" to make a quick buck. I'll be selling a Williams Big Deal soon. I've put in the neighbourhood of $5K into that and have no expectations of turning a profit. It was my first restoration and I wanted to make sure everything was perfect. 

@wiredoug, Jason @ Pinball Classics in BNE has also mentioned issues with CPR backglasses. Apparently they are getting damaged in transit. I purchased a Playboy playfield off them recently and as far as I can tell, there are no issues. That said, I've heard people say that the holes arent always where they are supposed to be. If that's the case with mine, I'll be letting them know post haste.  

I've seen people asking $10,000-15,000 for UNRESTORED Playboys. They are still sitting there. Is it any surprise?

Edited by Josh Cohen
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Josh, CPR playfields, the holes on top are usually right, but the pilot holes underneath could be way off, take your time and never presume they are right

Playboy backglasses, original compared to reproduction, the screen-printed version, the girls have a green tinge to their skin, the fonts are not correct

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@Pop Bumper Pete is there any way of determining this without having an existing playfield to compare it to? I may not find out for some time.. or at least until I find a reasonably priced machine.. which is probably never haha 

2 hours ago, Sartana66 said:

You are obviously under no illusion of what your PLAYBOY will cost you. That is a good thing... 

If you are buying pinballs out of nostalgia, there is nothing else that will satisfy you other than what you were after. So a PLABOY it is and you might cringe at what it will cost you but you will have your favorite game and you will be traveling back in time in your mind to hopefully a happier place when you play it. A lot of people wont understand that...

If its not a nostalgia thing then look for games around the same era that will cost you less obviously...the FUTURE SPA is a good example.

I bought my CENTAUR about 10 years ago. Paid heaps for a beat up game but it had to be a CENTAUR and nothing else would satisfy.

Hope my explanation helps...

Edit - a Bally SKATEBALL would be nice...

 

I would LOVE a Skateball. There is one on pinside now for $4,000USD. Way outside my budget.

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13 minutes ago, Josh Cohen said:

@Pop Bumper Pete is there any way of determining this without having an existing playfield to compare it to? I may not find out for some time.. or at least until I find a reasonably priced machine.. which is probably never haha 

 

Not really, it is more about having the old playfield next to the new playfield
the mech you really need to take care of is the drop targets, flippers take care of themselves, sling-shots need some care, lights are not fussy, switches can be fine-tuned

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  • 2 months later...
On 28/02/2022 at 3:11 PM, Josh Cohen said:

I have to agree with the comments around "nostalgia". I'll admit, I recently viewed and played a Playboy at a Lloyds QLD and asked myself "do I really want to drop $5-10k on this? It's not a very exciting game. So, yes, I am second guessing myself here. In terms of the future spa, I have confidence that the person I purchased this from on Pinside has taken care of it. I've seen the machine and he has shown me that everything is working during a Facetime call. The only thing I expect to pay for once it lands in Australia is a power conversion to 240v and that will cost in the neighbourhood of $190.00. I may restore the cabinet at some stage and will allow $500-1000 for that (including Pinball Pimp Stencils at $350AUD) but that's it. I wont overcapitalise on this one. It will stay in my collection. I have no intentions of "flipping it" to make a quick buck. I'll be selling a Williams Big Deal soon. I've put in the neighbourhood of $5K into that and have no expectations of turning a profit. It was my first restoration and I wanted to make sure everything was perfect. 

@wiredoug, Jason @ Pinball Classics in BNE has also mentioned issues with CPR backglasses. Apparently they are getting damaged in transit. I purchased a Playboy playfield off them recently and as far as I can tell, there are no issues. That said, I've heard people say that the holes arent always where they are supposed to be. If that's the case with mine, I'll be letting them know post haste.  

I've seen people asking $10,000-15,000 for UNRESTORED Playboys. They are still sitting there. Is it any surprise?

Good luck trying to find Playboy stencils as I’ve been trying for years, no one will make them due to the copyright on playboy items 

that includes Pinball Pimp I’ve already had the discussion with him about it and he said it’s just not worth the trouble 

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you can make them, you just cant sell them.    

Just pay your preferred signwriter/painter/spraycanattendant to paint it for you and they will be able to make them for the job. Its selling the stencils themselves as a product that causes the issue not making them. 

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Simple really to me. Is it worth putting a price on what takes you back and what it means to you? Within reason of course dollars wise but I think no. Even if you spend a little more than your budget I reckon you'll have a spring n your step every time you walk past her in her done up state

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Finished "tidying up" a Playboy last year and it got the CPR bundle. I.e Playfield gold class which is pretty good, The BG colour tonings are out a fair bit so we'll sell that soon. Luckily the original is a solid 9/10 and only required some markseal sealant and a small brush touch from rubbing in one corner. The CPR plastics were two purple and not pink so they'll go up for sale soon as well along with the Playboy topper.

A big thanks to @Dedrok who did the GI wiring string with new sockets for us and @Skybeaux who did all the boards after we put in a new rectifier board.

If you need pics or some info Josh we'll help where we can if you like.

Heres a couple. Note on the PF pic it has the CPR plastics temporarily fitted and you can see what I mean about to purple and not pink. The great condition originals went back on.

 

P1150698.JPG

headbox rear  .JPG

Headbox side (1).JPG

Edited by Railways
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44 minutes ago, Railways said:

Finished "tidying up" a Playboy last year and it got the CPR bundle. I.e Playfield gold class which is pretty good, The BG colour tonings are out a fair bit so we'll sell that soon. Luckily the original is a solid 9/10 and only required some markseal sealant and a small brush touch from rubbing in one corner. The CPR plastics were two purple and not pink so they'll go up for sale soon as well along with the Playboy topper.

A big thanks to @Dedrok who did the GI wiring string with new sockets for us and @Skybeaux who did all the boards after we put in a new rectifier board.

If you need pics or some info Josh we'll help where we can if you like.

Heres a couple. Note on the PF pic it has the CPR plastics temporarily fitted and you can see what I mean about to purple and not pink. The great condition originals went back on.

 

P1150698.JPG

headbox rear  .JPG

Headbox side (1).JPG

Where did you get your stencils from no one seems to sell them?

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46 minutes ago, Railways said:

Finished "tidying up" a Playboy last year and it got the CPR bundle. I.e Playfield gold class which is pretty good, The BG colour tonings are out a fair bit so we'll sell that soon. Luckily the original is a solid 9/10 and only required some markseal sealant and a small brush touch from rubbing in one corner. The CPR plastics were two purple and not pink so they'll go up for sale soon as well along with the Playboy topper.

A big thanks to @Dedrok who did the GI wiring string with new sockets for us and @Skybeaux who did all the boards after we put in a new rectifier board.

If you need pics or some info Josh we'll help where we can if you like.

Heres a couple. Note on the PF pic it has the CPR plastics temporarily fitted and you can see what I mean about to purple and not pink. The great condition originals went back on.

 

P1150698.JPG

headbox rear  .JPG

Headbox side (1).JPG

Thanks Jeff. Appreciate it. I’ve seen at least 4-5 for sale in the US since my post. Anywhere from $2000 USD to $3,200 UAD unrestored. Unfortunately most want to sell to someone locally. I love what you did to the rear side of the back box. Just love it 

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13 hours ago, wiredoug said:

you can make them, you just cant sell them.    

Just pay your preferred signwriter/painter/spraycanattendant to paint it for you and they will be able to make them for the job. Its selling the stencils themselves as a product that causes the issue not making them. 

Ok never really thought about going down the sign writing path

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2 hours ago, ricindahunting said:

Simple really to me. Is it worth putting a price on what takes you back and what it means to you? Within reason of course dollars wise but I think no. Even if you spend a little more than your budget I reckon you'll have a spring n your step every time you walk past her in her done up state

Interesting question: for me personally, yes it is worth putting a price on it. I take the same approach to buying a car, a house etc. yes life is short and you need to enjoy it, but if you let your heart rule your head, you can get into all sorts of trouble. I saw my parents live life that way: my mother HAD to have a holiday to Hawaii every year. She had no idea my father was in financial trouble and my father didn’t want to admit it. In the end, they lost everything they had and my father declared bankruptcy in his late 60’s and never fully recovered (he ended up working in a call centre up until he was 80). So, yes, I think it is worth putting a price or a limit on “stuff” even if it makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside 🙂

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1 hour ago, Rob1966 said:

Where did you get your stencils from no one seems to sell them?

I'd had them under the bed for quite some time but they turned out still quite usable.

1 hour ago, Josh Cohen said:

Thanks Jeff. Appreciate it. I’ve seen at least 4-5 for sale in the US since my post. Anywhere from $2000 USD to $3,200 UAD unrestored. Unfortunately most want to sell to someone locally. I love what you did to the rear side of the back box. Just love it 

Thanks. I made the stencil for the Bunny by tracing the image off the CPR topper that came with the plastic set. The square framing was just using masking tape.

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1 hour ago, wiredoug said:

nothing mystical about stencils .. anyone with a vinyl cutter can make them

Yeah, I came across these vids the other day regarding home made stencils. Furthermore you can do things like apron stencils with a Cameo vinyl cutter as well - lots of possibilities.

 

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