Pinball fanatics

Was discussing old games recently when pinball came up. I'm not a modern gamer by any means and never acclimated to it. But damn, I miss me some good pinball. After play at home games became popular arcades dried up. You could always count on bars for pinball but eventually they all went to the latest electronic mumbo jumbo which ain't my bag.

There was nothing better than drinkin' a few beers and droppin' some coin in a good pinball machine after work... call it electro-mechanical stress relief. Call me old fashioned (also read dinosaur) but I'd consider buying a pinball machine for home use.

I'm casually acquainted w/ a local family owned vending company which I heard has a stash of old machines and I may approach them for buying one. I realize these have become collectible but have no idea of value what so ever... or what it would cost to refurb an older machine. I kinda doubt I'd DIY any complex electrical work but I dunno.

So GRM, any ideas on machine value or refurbing?

TIA

Values depend on machines and condition. Some of the most desirable machines go for 10k or so. Figure most of the desirable machines for between 1 and 4 thousand, like Star Trek tng. medieval madness is probably one of the most sought after.

Most just need routine resoldering from time to time. They are becoming more popular,but deals can still be found. Most aren't too complex, except for machines like the aforementioned Star Trek TNG and new machines.

No idea on valuation of these things, but I would also like to know.

There was a certain pinball machine at a club that I used to play guitar at, and later used to run sound for. That machine was there for years, and I loved it.

Then one weekend there was a college rugby tournament in town, and the machine was destroyed in the inevitable bar-fight.

Would really like to find another machine like it to put in my shop.

I was gonna say from around $500-$600 all the way up to crazy expensive, depending on the machine.

My uncle has three. I'll ask him what he paid for them, where/how he found them, etc.

jhaas to the courtesy phone please...jhaas to the phone.

I believe he has a couple old ones in his bar, he may have some knowledge.

I want one of these! 70's vintage goodness!

I dumped a lot of time and money into High Speed... Would like one for the basement! Yes, machines vary wildly in price and value, but parts / repairs aren't too bad to come by. Most of the guts are common bits from one machine to the next, just shuffled around.

Datsun1500 wrote: In reply to grafmiata: Which one? My brother used to own arcades and has a bunch in a warehouse.

I think it was just called Taxi... We're talking late 80's-early 90's.

I honestly don't remember a lot of details about it, it was just the machine we all gathered around on the weekends.

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I spent way too many quarters on Taxi when I was in college. That machine was in the lobby of my dorm.

Taxi's a good one. As far as pins go, expect to pay 1500+ for any DMD machine that runs (dot matrix display). EM's and earlier solid states can go anywhere from a couple hundred for a runner to a couple grand for say... a minty Pinbot. Entry fee for anything on the top 10 of IPDB.org is 5k and up. Expect to pay 10k+ for a Medieval Madness, Attack From Mars and a few others.

For the pinheads of the group- Check out a machine called Big Bang Bar. 13 prototypes made, 1 burned..... and some repros. I've played one of the original prototypes...extensively.

Also, if you're looking for a machine that's slept on but REALLY fun- check out Johnny Mnemonic. Serious.

Been searching images of machines, can't seem to remember the names of my favs, been prolly twenty yrs or so now, I'll prolly know 'em when I see 'em or run across something similar. I wouldn't wanna pay a premium collectors price for say a Knievel machine tho.

When in Vegas, make sure to visit the Pinball Hall of Fame.

My wife has been wanting one for years. Someday I'll get her one.

My parents had one when I was a teenager in the late-80's, and it seemed like I constantly had the schematic in my hand looking for stuck relays.

We have one. Whirlwind by Williams. Our friend was moving from Chicago to Texas and had one, he called us up and asked if we wanted it. Dad said sure, how much? Well, it is probably worth about $500-$700, but I'll let you have it for free.

We were about to leave to go pick it up, and he called and said "I decided to put a price tag on that." We were thinking he was going to ask for money and we were going to back out. "Bottle of Johnny Walker".

So we have an awesome pinball machine that we traded for a bottle of booze. I've spent too much time on it, a lot of fun for sure.

My favorite of all time is an odd choice. World Cup 94 soccer pinball machine. It is so much fun that I would love to have one of my own. I really don't like soccer very much, but that damn pinball machine is so addictive!!

Mazdax605 wrote: My favorite of all time is an odd choice. World Cup 94 soccer pinball machine. It is so much fun that I would love to have one of my own. I really don't like soccer very much, but that damn pinball machine is so addictive!!

That machine is a LOT of fun. It plays super fast, and the shooting the goal thing is awesome.

(I'm an avowed pinball nerd, and spent time working in an arcade. I know these things)

I was never a pinball aficionado, but back in my twitchy arcade days I could play fairly well on reflex alone. Off all the machines mentioned in this thread, I actually recognize Whirlwind, and it's an instant shot of nostalgia.

In reply to fasted58:

My grandfather has owned an amusement company since 1955 and still has a large selection of pinballs for sale. He refurbishes them in-house and can find what you need if you're after a specific machine. PM for details.

I want a couple. I love love love pinball. I really hated when they started putting an excessive amount of gimmicky crap in them to compete with Arcade machines.

Javelin wrote: In reply to fasted58: My grandfather has owned an amusement company since 1955 and still has a large selection of pinballs for sale. He refurbishes them in-house and can find what you need if you're after a specific machine. PM for details.

Thanks much Javelin.

I'll keep that in mind, need to research and look around locally. Kinda like car shoppin'... but kickin' the flippers and bumpers.

i have an old bally blackjack machine. got it for $300 "working fine" from a customer. $300 later for a new MPU board it works fine if you don't mind not keeping score, because the display fuse blows as soon as you turn the machine on. one or more of the score displays probably has a short because all the wiring looks good. so i'm into it $600 and it's probably worth the $300 i paid for it. moral of the story - don't believe anyone, plug it in and try it.

it plays well and i like it though.

i really want the south park machine, that one is fun with ramps and multiball.

mtn wrote: We have one. Whirlwind by Williams. Our friend was moving from Chicago to Texas and had one, he called us up and asked if we wanted it. Dad said sure, how much? Well, it is probably worth about $500-$700, but I'll let you have it for free. We were about to leave to go pick it up, and he called and said "I decided to put a price tag on that." We were thinking he was going to ask for money and we were going to back out. "Bottle of Johnny Walker". So we have an awesome pinball machine that we traded for a bottle of booze. I've spent too much time on it, a lot of fun for sure.

I totally forgot about that game! Another favorite for sure. Always thought the fan was clever.

In College we would gamble (sometimes big money to us) on a Playboy pinball machine. The girls were pretty good to us. We played at as teams; my best friend on the left flipper, and I worked the right. We would take on Frat teams or other team whoever's. You could play to the point that it seemed like you would be playing as one mind and body....hard to describe but kinda uncanny. Even shaking the machine was a delicate team effort.

No telling how many hours I have played one. I would like to have one of these machines, but I think it would be a big let down, as compared to the best memories I have.