How to survey, appriase and evaluate a pinball machine in the wild?

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I made a video for a friend who was going to check out a game for me at an estate sale, and I thought, in the process, let me outline a few basic ideas on how to evaluate, appraise or give a “look-see” to a pinball machine in the wild and determine what kind of condition it’s in? There is no fool-proof guide, but here are some ideas and suggestions for when you come across a game, what to look for and what to do in order to asses its value.

If you have friends that know you’re a pinball enthusiast who occasionally forward you leads on games, this video also is worth them seeing so they know what kind of info you are looking for, and what to look at with these machines to determine if they’re worth pursuing. In this video I go over all the basics, including identifying the different “eras” of machine and what makes them more/less valuable, as well as how to disassemble and transport a machine.

By the way, I am available to help appraise pinball machines if anyone needs any guidance. 🙂

2013 Houston Arcade Expo walk-thru

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I just got back from the Houston Arcade Expo and have posted a video-walk-thru of the event. It’s always a fun time and this year was no exception. Although I actually did not pick up a game this year… I’m determined to finish my existing projects before adding any more. Any way, check it out:

First Look: Gottlieb Target Pool and adjusting stepper units

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I’ve been on the lookout for more 60s-era Gottliebs with the small flippers. We don’t have hardly any in the collection and after hearing Bowen Kerins say “Target Pool” was his favorite game from the 60s, I knew I’d made the right choice in picking this machine up. Unfortunately, I never turned it on or checked it out electrically/operationally before I bought it. But I could see the game was complete and the seller said it did work. This was one of those times where I knew I was going to get it any way. So here’s the first look so far, a playlist of 3 video clips covering the initial examination of the game, and finding out what’s wrong and fixing some issues. This is a good example of how to fix certain problems with stepper units.

If you watched the previous story on the Target Pool you may see the same first-two videos. I am keeping them all together in case someone sees this story by itself. If you’ve watched some of the videos in the series before, just hit next on the player to skip to the next video.

First Look: 1978 Bally Supersonic – damage done by batteries takes its toll

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Today’s I’m looking at a 1978 Bally “Supersonic” pinball machine. A friend had this in storage for a long time. While the game was in pretty good shape for its age, the original MPU board still had the battery on it, and the electrolyte from it leaked all over and damaged many components. Here’s a first look at the game.

Fixing broken flipper buttons and dispelling a myth about how to hit the flipper buttons

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In this episode I go about repairing broken flipper switches on a Gottlieb electro-mechanical pinball machine, and take the opportunity to discuss how flippers work and why hitting the flipper buttons harder actually does the opposite of what you might think.

Comparing Online Pinball Suppliers

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Sometimes getting parts can be frustrating and time consuming. Is there a source for the best parts and service with the best prices? Or does it depend upon what type of parts you need? I decided to do a short study on parts and prices. These prices cover a span of several months or longer as I put together this article, but the pricing and availability for any specific part were all checked on the exact same day.

NOTE: These results have been tabulated over a long period of time. I first started comparing prices more than a year ago, and realized how tedious it was, and I created a draft and didn’t finish. But every once in awhile when I’m looking for a part, I research it and post the details here. So these prices may not reflect current prices but they do reflect prices offered at the same time from various suppliers over a period of a year or more. (On newer comparisons I will list the date I looked things up)

The results are quite interesting. In some cases we found price differences on the same part by more than 250%! It pays to shop around.

 Comparing online pinball suppliers:

5647-12133-12 Microswitch - A common switch used in outholes/troughs
(8/7/2013) - This was the result of looking for a trough switch assembly 
A-10417 which was not found anywhere - this switch would be part of it 
I believe.

Pinball Life            3.25
Mad Amusements          3.25
Marco Specialties       5.95
Competitive products    N/A
Planetary Pinball       nothing - their microswitch page was completely empty
Bay Area Amusements     N/A (had some other switches but not this one and no 
info on comparables)


 1" White rubber ring:

 PinballLife:           0.27  (10+ .243)
 Mad Amusements         0.29  (5+ .27)
 Bay Area Amusements    0.29  (no qty discount)
 Competitive products   0.41  (100+ .38)
 Marcos:                0.49  (10+ .45)
 
555 incandescent bulbs (clear 1 box of 10) (6/29/13)

Marcos:                 3.00 (qty 1), (10+ $1.50)
eBay:                   (10+ $1.25 - $1.50 some with free shipping)
Bay Area Amusements     3.00 (no qty discount)
PinballLife             N/A (closed)
Competitive Products    1.50 (sold individually @ 0.15 ea)


Game-specific Parts:

Bally Black Rose back ball trough (Part #A-14825) 6/26/13

Marco                 79.95
Bay Area Amusements   69.00 (out of stock)
Pinball Life            N/A (entire store closed until 7/6/13 for vacation)
Mad Amusements          N/A


Bally Black Rose Cannon Body (Part #03-8566) (date not noted)
  
Bay Area Amusements     69.00  (door for $12, no decal, actually upon 
contacting them, they had the decal out of stock $25 but not listed under
 parts for the game)
Marcos:                $89.00  (door for $19, no decal)
Mad Amusements            N/A
PinballLife               N/A
Planetary Pinball         N/A  (door for $19, decal for $25 out of stock)

Simpsons Pinball Party Couch Weld Fix (Part #535-9307-00 on 3/28/12)

PinballLife            $14.95
Bay Area Amusements     46.00
Marcos:                 46.40
Mad Amusements            N/A
Planetary Pinball         N/A (doesn't appear to sell Stern parts)

Red & Ted's Road Show plunger link assembly, used for slingshots 
- common on many B/W games (#A-15847  9/9/12)

Competitive Products    $2.25
Planetary Pinball        2.75
Bay Area Amusements      3.00
Marcos:                  3.99
Planetary Pinball         N/A
Mad Amusements            N/A

Attack from Mars - slingshot/kicker leaf switch - the assembly was unavailable
but the individual switch could be found.  (#SW-1a-420 9/4/13)
Pinball Life has the entire assembly with the bracket for $6.95. Marcos
did not.

Marcos                    4.50
Pinball Life              2.75
Bay Area Amusements       2.75

First Look: Gottlieb “Lawman” EM 1971

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A friend of mine who is a lawyer has been looking for his first game and asking me to scout one for him. When a Gottlieb “Lawman” showed up locally, he liked the idea of the theme and we picked it up. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be getting the game in good playing condition. In the meantime, while I have a few parts on order, I shot a short video giving you a “first look” at the game before it’s been cleaned, as I picked it up.