Getting into pinball the hard way, (with my hard earned money)

Jackie Paper

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Getting into pinball the hard way, (with my hard earned money)

Well, the time has come where I am seriously wanting to start down the pinball road. Over the years I've had a chance to play several games though mostly only once or twice. I've only owned one pin and don't have that one any more.

There have never been that many pinball machines in the wild where I live. There always used to be one or two at the local arcade up until about 2k. A few other places that are no longer with us would have one from time to time. Most of the local ones belonged to the amusment and vending company here in town. However, that company has, and to this day is at best a lousy compnay, and worst criminal. Their machines are unmaintained and unless you found a pin when it was new, that would be the only time you would find it fully working.

Okay so now I'm looking to buy a machine. There are no places local that you can buy from, or rather that one would buy from, as the only one here is the criminal vending company. I must say I am a bit shocked at the prices I see on ebay and some of the on line game places. So can anyone name off a good place to buy a pin from? Also out of the ones I've played I thought I would like to ask some questions.

I've only seen 3 or 4 Adams Family machines in the wild. Each one of them did not work very well so Are those prone to breakdowns pretty easy, or is that just typical ill cared for games and not something unique to that game?

Is it best to stick with newer games? Is the technology better and more easy to care for? or does it not matter to much. I'm not looking to get into anything em but some of the 80's games look pretty cool. Game play, do the older ones hold up against the newer stuff.
I read the reviews on the ipmd but they are kind of not that helpful to me.

Buying games without ever seeing them? I've done it quite a few times with video games. It seems to me like that would be a much bigger risk with a pinball?

Any suggestions or info would be helpful if anyone wishes to input. Or reccomend a good starter machine.
Thanks,
 
I would suggest looking in your local classified adds in the newspapers, local Craigslist and other online classified adds. There are a couple of national classified ads for pinballs, 'Mr Pinball Classifieds" comes to mind there, and you can narrow the search to your state. Also look for the pinball shows or auctions that may be in your area, google is your friend here.

If you can use a screwdriver and soldering iron without hurting yourself, you can probably fix your own pins as well. There is a great online guide here: http://marvin3m.com/fix.htm.

As long as you maintain your game, in home use, it gets very little wear compared to on location in the wild. Once I got my Star Wars fixed up, it hasn't needed any repairs for three years. Most pins will have issues that you need to fix, but once they are tuned up they run pretty well.

As for newer V/S older pins, I would suggest picking something that you like. The newer pins may have less wear, but they have more machinery that can break, where the older pins have less to break, but the parts are older. I have found that once you go completely through a machine, tear apart and clean and rebuild all of the mechanisms, they are very solid and will play for a long time.

Here is a page with links to shows and other pinball related items
http://webpages.charter.net/chibler/Pinball/Links.htm

Good Luck, hopefully there are others in your area that will chime in.
 
I would suggest you come to Dallas next weekend for the 2010 Texas Pinball Festival, pretty much any pinball you will ever want to play are in one big room set on free play for just $15 entry fee!! Lots of info there and people to talk to about the hobby and many of the games are up for sale too!

There is nothing worse then buying a new pin and then playing a different one and liking it better. Happens all the time, thats why I have 2, used to be 3! So come play them all and start looking for your top 3...

If you can't come down, look for something similar in your area. But I bet you can get a southwest flight KY to TX for cheap!

check it out here:
http://www.texaspinball.com/overview.htm

Here is a great resource for pinballs for sale and for information on pinballs:
http://www.xmission.com/~daina/pinball.html
 
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Well, so far I've gotten a lot fo questions answered, even ones I did not ask. So I am thankful for the info. My work tends to keep me close to home unless I'm on vacations or such. I do have a truck I can borrow for not to far off trips and I'm not but about two hours or so from lousiville. I've been there a few times but don't really know my way around it yet.
 
I've only bought games I could play in person. If you have to buy online, get lots of good pictures and video of game play. The more you learn about the game the more you know what to look for: Key areas that wear, pieces that break, the right color flippers and rubbers.

As far as 80's or newer, its really up to you. When it comes to pinball I only like games with kick ass graphics that are fun to play. Considering they take up so much room and are pretty expensive, I stick with what I like, not what everyone else likes (ie adams family)

I bought my guns n' roses pinball 7 years ago. It was a pinball I played at my college union all the time. I like Guns N Roses and the graphics are right up my alley! I thought it would be a good investment, hoping it would be my generations KISS pinball.

I payed $1,250 at the time, now it goes for over $3,500. The plastic header on the top of the machine I paid $50 when I got the machine, and it just sold on ebay for $450.

I bought A Cirqus Voltaire because the guy that sold me the Guns n Roses had one and i played it the day I bought the GNR and fell in love. It is one of the best pinballs to play, the graphics are sic, it has a neon tube in the playfield and the led display is under the glass at playfield level.

I had to have one, a year later the same guy found one and I bought it for $2,500. It's MINT and plays great! Its now worth $4,000 - $5,000 easy.

I had a South Park and sold it 6 years ago, I will some day own another. Every time I go to an Arcade Auction I get close to buying one.

Check them out (these are not mine just for reference)

http://www.pinballrebel.com/pinball/guns_n_roses/guns_n_roses_pinball.htm

http://www.pinballrebel.com/game/pins/cv/cirqus_voltaire_pinball.htm
 
There are two routes to take at this point:

1) Be ready to shell out a lot of cash for a working, maintained pin. Older games in good condition start around $1500 depending on the age, area, and rarity. You can probably see less desirable games in the $800s (or working machines with some cosmetic issues)

2) Get a good deal on a dead machine. This is what I'm doing... sometimes you get score easy job (The pin my father bought just needed some contacts cleaned and one or two new ICs), or one like mine that needs a lot of love. There is a lot of great info out there on fixing pins (especially the older ones), so repairs are often pretty cheap if you don't mind doing a bit of soldering. 80s games are (to me) the sweet spot for a fun game that's easy to repair and maintain. There's tons of info out there on fixing the boards, and in the severe cases, almost every major board has a replacement in production.

The #2 route tends to be more rewarding (imo) and usually results in a cheaper purchase, but buying a recently shopped well maintained one will give you instant gratification... and well maintained units will likely have a better resale value.
 
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As a newbie to pins as well I would HIGHLY suggest you do your homework on the pin you choose BEFORE you go to see it. When you get there you'll know what to start looking for such as how to put it in OP mode and run tests. Pull the translite off and take a look at the battery holder to ensure no acid damage. Also most games have common failure points ... google the machine and learn those as well. That good deal may very well end up costing you a fat chunk of change when it's said done and over with especially if you buy a non working machine.
From personal experience I've dumped ~$200 into my newly purchased (used) pin just to fix minor annoyances.
 
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