This is a very interesting game I had a chance to pick up and couldn’t resist. A 1980s System 80 game – one of two very rare, low production hybrid pinball/video game machines Gottlieb made. Let’s take a “first look” at what I have… more videos to come of the restoration!
The Mystic Krewe recently had their second concert at the PinChurch, their unique arcade/concert venue, and I also had some time to do more editing on the previous show. I’m proud to announce two more videos in the series for you all to enjoy. Hope you like them!
I take a bit of a break from working on pinball machines in this video and do some work on a Tempest video game I pieced together from various parts. The monitor started smoking and fizzing on me and then went completely out — which signaled a good time to completely rebuild it.
For additional information on working on these monitors, here is a good resource:
http://www.pinrepair.com/video/wg6100.htm
I get my parts from http://www.therealbobroberts.net/
Today I finally got a chance to set up a game I purchased last year and brought back from Houston. A 1976 Williams “Space Mission” EM game, the theme centers around the Apollo-Soyuz link-up in 1975. This game exhibited a somewhat common problem, of the ball not advancing and being stuck on “ball one” over and over, so the game would never end. In this series of videos, I illustrate what causes this and how to fix it.
Lately, I’ve been developing a big appreciation for the 80s-era Bally games. As a kid I remember them kicking my ass and having unique and interesting rulesets that set them far apart from the Gottliebs and Sterns of the day, so when the chance to pick up a “Mystic” came up, I jumped at it, and drove about three hours to get this game.
Little did I know how special the game would end up being…
I’m just getting to the point where I can take some time to write up a description of my trip to Houston for, (I think what is it, the 11-th annual) Houston Arcade Expo.
This was my third year attending the event and as usual, it was a blast.
The array of video games and pinball machines was impressive. The event is seeded by a few world-class collectors in the Texas area who bring both popular as well as extremely rare games. The show features a large array of vendors, IFPA pinball tournaments, classic arcade and console tournaments, seminars, and a crazy music and light show as well as the occasional Darth Vader impersonator. It’s held at the Crowne Plaza in North Houston who does a great job of hosting and providing accommodations for those traveling from outside the area.
Here’s a short video walk-thru of the event:
The swap meet was Saturday morning. Actually, it began with me on Friday as my friend came across a game in a guy’s trailer that was going to be at the swap meet that he sold to me the day before. This was another one of those “no brainer deals” – an almost complete pinball machine for $100. The perfect kind of project we like. A Gottlieb System 80 called “Super Orbit”. This is the forth Sys80 game I’ve picked up and I’m looking forward to doing some specific videos on repairs and restorations on that platform in the near future. I also had good luck last year picking up a swap meet game real cheap that turned out to be really fun to play (Stern “Memory Lane”).
It’s hard to tell if the swap meet was bigger this year than last. It definitely went on longer though and there was a little bit of everything. HAAG seems to have a lot more vintage console gamers coming out and trading this year.
All in all, a great event put on by great people. If you’re in the area, make a point of checking it out.
A common issue is what to do when you can’t get into a pinball game’s coin door? The door is locked and you don’t have a key. It’s easier than you think if you have the right tools..