opinions- bally fireball, home edition

cadillacman

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 25, 2007
Messages
15,504
Reaction score
542
Location
Roscoe, Illinois
my old man is eyeballing a bally fireball...


what scares me is that it appears to be a "cheap" version.. i guess i would call it a " home version".. only one display, NO COIN DOOR


has anybody had these versions of pins?? how was gameplay??? are these super uber cheap or were there at least some real pinball parts inside?

like i said the old man wants it and i just want to make sure im not stepping into a minefield of irreplaceble parts and headaghes galore


thanks guys!
 
Well the playfield is made of standard commercial Bally pinball parts/assemblies. The coils may not be standard Bally numbers, but I think you can cross to normal Bally coils.

If the machine is working the first thing I would do is rebuild the power supply board with new connectors. Not only do the board connectors, but their mates in the wiring harness. They are the usual Molex KK .156 flat white connectors. Check soldering closely for bad joints, especially at the +5 volt regulator. These have been known to overvoltage and take out the _custom_ CPU chip on the gameboard. It's hard to find a replacement chip for it.

Rebuild the CPU board connectors too.

The playfield is the standard size and so is the glass. The backbox is much smaller than a normal pinball.

Attached is a picture of the typical Bally home pinball power supply board.

Marco Specialties sells the Bally Home Pinball service manual. it covers all Bally home pinball models.
 

Attachments

  • Bally home pinball ps.JPG
    Bally home pinball ps.JPG
    22.1 KB · Views: 31
supposedly this one works/worked when last used (and looks in great shape) but they had to keep helping the ball back to the plunger after play. That was 10+ years ago and now the ball is missing.... so who knows..



well if its got some std parts on the pf, i think ill have him go for it for like $50 or something... i have a few ballys myself so spare parts are always nice to have around worst case scenario


that ps looks like poo lol. nice one sided cheapo board there heh..

I did not know there was a home version of capt fantastic( i have the real version)

thanks ken!!!!!
 
The playfield parts are mostly "Wizard" vintage EM parts especially the flippers and slingshots. Standard size pinball for the playfield.

If they had outhole problems with weak kickout, either the assembly is binding (from lack of lubrication at pivot points, or the power supply connector pins are burning/tarnished.

I've seen good condition fully working ones of these games go for $150. So if they are not 100% sure about working properly then I would not go over $100 for it. The playfield is laid out like "Hocus Pocus" EM, but done up in Fireball graphics. Very simple game play.
 
I've played one... I was less than impressed. For $50? If you have the room, maybe. If you have to make the room... don't bother.
 
my old man is eyeballing a bally fireball...

what scares me is that it appears to be a "cheap" version.. i guess i would call it a " home version".. only one display, NO COIN DOOR

has anybody had these versions of pins?? how was gameplay??? are these super uber cheap or were there at least some real pinball parts inside?

like i said the old man wants it and i just want to make sure im not stepping into a minefield of irreplaceble parts and headaghes galore

If it works and he likes it fine. But if there's any idea of investment, forget it. I don't know what your buying price is, but I can assure you when you go to try to sell it, you will have a very difficult time getting $100 for it, even if all fully working in good condition. You'll probably have a hard time getting $50 for it.
 
he just wants a cheap pin to put in the basement to play with and something else for the kids to play( he already has a wall of pachinkos)


yeah i did not expect that this would be worth a fortune... so my gut instinct of around $50-75 was right( for once heh)

thanks for the chime in fellas. Keep em coming!
 
Home version Pinball machine are the worst. I wouldn't waste my money on it.
Glennon
 
Home version Pinball machine are the worst. I wouldn't waste my money on it.
Glennon

Curious as to why you would say they are the worst, because parts are hard to get or what? I figure if the guys dad wants it in the basement for his and the kids amusement just for fun why not get it, you know. Nothing wrong with a variety in the gameroom. I have a "Zizzle" small scale pinball machine and the kids enjoy playing it as do I sometimes, it's obviously slower, but still fun. I paid a 100 bucks for it a year ago off craiglist, I would not sell it today, but if I did probably $50 bucks. I knew ahead that it wasn't an investment but for enjoyment.
 
my old man is eyeballing a bally fireball...


what scares me is that it appears to be a "cheap" version.. i guess i would call it a " home version".. only one display, NO COIN DOOR


has anybody had these versions of pins?? how was gameplay??? are these super uber cheap or were there at least some real pinball parts inside?

like i said the old man wants it and i just want to make sure im not stepping into a minefield of irreplaceble parts and headaghes galore


thanks guys!
So did you win the auction?
Glennon
 
its on craigs... hes gonna pass thanks to yous guys' input...


he found a really clean stratoflite that i think hes going to go after.. clean non working for $100.. im sure ill be able to resurrect it for him.. cab field and glass looks excellent.
 
He just wants a cheap pin to put in the basement to play with and something else for the kids to play (he already has a wall of pa*****os).


Yeah I did not expect that this would be worth a fortune... so my gut instinct of around $50-75 was right (for once heh).

Thanks for the chime in fellas. Keep em coming!

Well now that a replacement CPU board for these machines is in development, The machine will be able to do many more things than the original CPU could. New sounds, speech, and music for the audio section and light shows, new game play rules, much greater diagnostics.

http://www.nightmarepark.com/Pinball Mind.html
 
Back
Top Bottom