Starting to look for an 80's pinball, suggestions please...

[OldTymeToys]

Here's some Grand Lizard vids from CAX 2010.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84u46hTs4f4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvKw9IQse2I

Very dark theme. A good player. It doesn't strike me as medieval, though. It reminds me of Conan.

Awesome man- thanks! No, not medieval but my kids and I love dinosaurs, large lizards, reptiles, etc. They'd get a kick out of it.

EDIT: Just watched those two vids- wow, those guys are good. The game looks really decent too.

 

[OldTymeToys]

Well, I'm still looking and have come across only 3 pins so far since I began this thread and they've all fallen through or I've backed out:

Bally X's & O's - $425: - I kept pushing off driving up to see the guy and once I had a free weekend, it was sold.

Hot Shots - $500: I offered lower, he accepted. Then he emailed me telling me he got what he was looking for and apologized, but he had to sell it.

Lady Luck - $750: Emailed the guy yesterday, he told me he's emailing pics tonight. Checking it out on ipdb- looks kinda boring, I'll probably pass on it.

Still looking...

 

[Frax]

I've got an empty X's and O's cabinet out in the back of my Rav4 right now...lol.

Trying to find a way to get rid of it without trashing it. It's gotta be gone before Texas Pinball Festival. I need to post it on CL but been very busy and lazy and I have no days off before my vacation starts the end of next week!

 

[hsapinball]

Don't limit yourself to the 80's. The early 90's stuff was pretty damn good!

Some good 1990's titles but will be hard to find for $600-$800 unless it's ready a project machine.

Some of the 'A' title 1980's games are getting hard to find for that price range. You many want to up your price range by $200+.

Popular 1980's titles that you should be able to find for $600-$1000 (depending on condition): Xenon, 8-Ball Deluxe, Centaur, Firepower, Blackout, Black Knight, Pharaoh, Solar Fire, Barracora, Comet, High Speed, Pinbot, F14.

Games like : BK2000, Taxi, Earthshaker, Whirlwind, Diner, Banazi Run, Cyclone are getting very hard to find for under $1000 or even $1200 these days.

Condition is everything: A game with a backglass that is extremely nice may up the price $100-$200. Games with better than average playfields, clean electronics, nice cabinets, etc will all add value to a game.

Just don't buy a cheap pin because of the price. Play it. Games like Gensis, Raven, Spring Break, Hardbody, etc are usually cheap for a reason. While some people may like these games they are usually found to have a poor replay value.

 

[OldTymeToys]

Some good 1990's titles but will be hard to find for $600-$800 unless it's ready a project machine.

Some of the 'A' title 1980's games are getting hard to find for that price range. You many want to up your price range by $200+.

Popular 1980's titles that you should be able to find for $600-$1000 (depending on condition): Xenon, 8-Ball Deluxe, Centaur, Firepower, Blackout, Black Knight, Pharaoh, Solar Fire, Barracora, Comet, High Speed, Pinbot, F14.

Games like : BK2000, Taxi, Earthshaker, Whirlwind, Diner, Banazi Run, Cyclone are getting very hard to find for under $1000 or even $1200 these days.

Condition is everything: A game with a backglass that is extremely nice may up the price $100-$200. Games with better than average playfields, clean electronics, nice cabinets, etc will all add value to a game.

Just don't buy a cheap pin because of the price. Play it. Games like Gensis, Raven, Spring Break, Hardbody, etc are usually cheap for a reason. While some people may like these games they are usually found to have a poor replay value.

Thanks man! I'd be willing to go to $1000, but I haven't seen anything worth it around here. In case you missed my post above, here's my current want list:

- Sorcerer
- Grand Lizard
- Black Knight
- Escape from the Lost World
- Fireball II
- Big Guns
- Medusa
- Vector
- Time Machine

 

[TonyH]

I have a vector that's complete and supposed to be working. I honestly haven't sat it up since I bought it. Nice play field and super nice backglass. Just set it up and work out any bugs. I would sell it as it sets for 500.00 let me know I could email some pics
Thanks Tony

 

[OldTymeToys]

I have a vector that's complete and supposed to be working. I honestly haven't sat it up since I bought it. Nice play field and super nice backglass. Just set it up and work out any bugs. I would sell it as it sets for 500.00 let me know I could email some pics
Thanks Tony

Sounds interesting. PM sent!

 

[stevenp61]

Thanks man! I'd be willing to go to $1000, but I haven't seen anything worth it around here. In case you missed my post above, here's my current want list:

- Sorcerer
- Grand Lizard
- Black Knight
- Escape from the Lost World
- Fireball II
- Big Guns
- Medusa
- Vector
- Time Machine

I know you've looked for a while, but deals will come up. I would suggest considering almost any classic Stern game as well; most would be in this price range for a decent, working game. Stern games tend to have interesting pf layouts and well-placed drop target banks. (And disproves the notion that a game needs ramps to be interesting!) Pittsburgh is not a bad area for pin activity (or at least the driving environs).

My best suggestion to you would be to attend Pinburgh at the end of this month, even just to hang out for a day if you don't want to do the full 3-day tourney. You can play a TON of well-maintained older games there to find what you really like; much better than assembling a hypothetical want list. And you can talk to people there, many of whom are local. You might just be able to strike up a good deal for a pin you really like!

 

[OldTymeToys]

I got to talking with a local pinhead yesterday and he just so happens to have a Sorcerer for sale (actually, he has 2 of them). I'm headed out to his place early next week to check it out. My search might be over- fingers crossed!

 

[Silverunicorn]

I got to talking with a local pinhead yesterday and he just so happens to have a Sorcerer for sale (actually, he has 2 of them). I'm headed out to his place early next week to check it out. My search might be over- fingers crossed!

Sorcerer would be a GREAT first game. Fun to play. Good luck!!!

Chris

 

[ArcRevival]

Mechanicals & electronics can (usually) be fixed fairly cheaply & easily, but a heavily worn playfield is tough to fix & expensive to replace.

I have to take issue with that statement. Battery acid damage on a Williams system 11 main board is not fixed easily and if it can't be fixed then you have to find a good main board
( good luck) or drop almost $400 on a Rotten Dog aftermarket board ( unless there is another alternative I don't know about).

My Cyclone board has a lot of acid damage. I am still working on it. I was VERY lucky and got a good main board for $100 but that is not normally the case.

Make sure you look at the batteries and make sure they did not leak on main boards.

 

[OldTymeToys]

Make sure you look at the batteries and make sure they did not leak on main boards.

Will do- thanks for the tip!

 

[OldTymeToys]

Picked up a Sorcerer last night! Here's the back glass in the garage- the rest of the pin is still in my SUV. I didn't get home until after midnight and I was too tired to unload it. Wifey works late tonight, so the kids and I will be having some fun with this when we get home!

 

[Silverunicorn]

Picked up a Sorcerer last night! Here's the back glass in the garage- the rest of the pin is still in my SUV. I didn't get home until after midnight and I was too tired to unload it. Wifey works late tonight, so the kids and I will be having some fun with this when we get home!

Great, great, great, GREAT game!!!

Nice pickup!!

Can't wait to see the rest of the pictures!

Congrats!!! You going to the Allentown show in May?

Chris

 

[OldTymeToys]

Great, great, great, GREAT game!!!

Nice pickup!!

Can't wait to see the rest of the pictures!

Congrats!!! You going to the Allentown show in May?

Chris

Thanks man. I went to pick it up around 9 PM and hung out and played it, among a ton of other pins, until 11:30 PM. It was a good time. I suck at pins, but this one is really a lot of fun for me.

No Allentown show for me. It's the same weekend as my son's first communion