Bimbo boxes in the US ?

Level42

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I just read some history about Bimbo boxes and noticed they were (only?) produced in Germany. So I wondered if you guys remember seeing them back in the day ?

I remember them like most kids here, they used to be (mainly) in a big chainstore (somewhat like Sears). They'd be in a "lost" corner...as a kid, I loved to see the monkeys move and "make" music.

The things are very much sought after here now and fetch high prices (at least 3000 Euro's for a good one).
 
Local IGA store had one of those...they closed in the mid 1980's...wonder what ever happened to it...crazy price for those, but they are pretty cool.
 
More so than most here, I deal with old antique machines all the time. I see bimbo boxes for sale in the U.S. at least once or twice a year, though usually not that quite expensive. They show up at some of the auction houses that deal a lot with old coin-op items, like Victorian Casino Antiques.

I've seen them in a few collections I've visited.

I've thought they are neat, but it doesn't fit my areas of collecting so I don't want one.
 
I see them for sale pretty regularly here. I don't _really_ understand why they are so valuable. I mean, it's a nice memory for us, but once you got the machine, it's always the same song (unless you change it), and the monkeys movement is very limited and totally out of rhythm with the music (I remember I found that annoying when I was a bit older.)

So, they have very limited "play" value IMHO.

Still we have to think about that these were made in the 70s or so...we were not used to much then.
 
Do you see different "size" machines ?
My understanding is there is a smaller one that is more common, but there is also a "large" version. Can you confirm if there were two sizes?
 
Well Google says I'm right, pretty large one's, and the more regular, smaller one's:

http://www.google.nl/search?client=...source=og&sa=N&hl=nl&tab=wi&biw=1748&bih=1180

This is a great picture by the way:
Bimbobox.jpg



Ah, more info:
http://www.jukebox-world.de/Forum/Archiv/Europa/Boeck-Bimbo-Box.htm

But there were also huge one's:
1024211860_6_W8my.jpeg
 
OMG really. You mechanical guys like some creepy stuff. That thing is a red fucking nightmare, anyone willing to pay anywhere NEAR $12k for something like that is overdue for an intervention. Ughh :D
 
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