Who loves pinball? (moved)

GregN

aka The Grinch
20 Year Member
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Dec 16, 2000
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17,570
Meh. Not real stoked about Wrestlemania.

At least Blainebrook got Walking Dead, Circus Voltaire, and Monster Bash.
 

brettybluevein

New Challenger
Joined
Sep 12, 2013
Posts
61
Meh. Not real stoked about Wrestlemania.

At least Blainebrook got Walking Dead, Circus Voltaire, and Monster Bash.

Wrestlemanie is a real stinker in my opinion. Played probably 20 games on it and the ring toy just feels so forced. It doesn't provide much fun and you really have to grind on it up there to get points. The bottom playfield layout isn't anything special either. Also not particularly attracted to the theme.
 

brettybluevein

New Challenger
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Sep 12, 2013
Posts
61
Also, I just bought a Capcom Breakshot. Pretty fun pin for what it is. It's a DMD pin made to look and play like a classic EM. Plays much faster though and the scoring is better by far. Play one if you ever see it!
 

GregN

aka The Grinch
20 Year Member
Joined
Dec 16, 2000
Posts
17,570
Also, I just bought a Capcom Breakshot. Pretty fun pin for what it is. It's a DMD pin made to look and play like a classic EM. Plays much faster though and the scoring is better by far. Play one if you ever see it!

SS Billiards has it and it does remind me of an old EM. Fun.
 

Moon Jump

Alfred Garcia's Butler
Joined
Jun 1, 2003
Posts
5,904
Think Stern shot themselves in the foot with this one..

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...g-juicy-melons-pinball-machine-300051323.html

Considering Woah! Nelly is a return to classic EM style I thought the price point would be a bit cheaper then most of Stern's other games, but 6,500 for an EM style game with no DMD? Hell I doubt there isn't any real sounds other then electronic chimes. I thought 4-5K at max for this one. I think only the hardened collectors will go after this one. Real shame because I really wanted to check it out.
 

ReplicaX

Unholy Custom Rank.,
15 Year Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2008
Posts
2,420
Think Stern shot themselves in the foot with this one..

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...g-juicy-melons-pinball-machine-300051323.html

Considering Woah! Nelly is a return to classic EM style I thought the price point would be a bit cheaper then most of Stern's other games, but 6,500 for an EM style game with no DMD? Hell I doubt there isn't any real sounds other then electronic chimes. I thought 4-5K at max for this one. I think only the hardened collectors will go after this one. Real shame because I really wanted to check it out.

That's a shame. I would have expected a lower price as well considering EM...
 

brettybluevein

New Challenger
Joined
Sep 12, 2013
Posts
61
Yeah I was absolutely shocked to see 6k+ on that title. I mean yeah it has a super cool cabinet, but that should be offset by lack of toys on the playfield etc. Home collectors will eat this up of course, just to say they have one, but at some point I see these losing a lot of value on the secondary market because it won't be amazing to play and more about the gimmick than anything.
 

skate323k137

Professional College Dropout
10 Year Member
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Jan 7, 2013
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4,186
Picked up my first pin this weekend. It's been sitting untouched in a basement for the last 20+ years, and was basically donated to me for the price of "get it out of my basement because I don't want to move it, and you can have it." It's a 2 player Bally Speak Easy from 1982. It's going to be a project (They all are, right?).

Unfortunately the battery damage/corrosion on the MPU is really bad. The corrosion seems to have followed traces around the board all the way to resistors and other components. I'll probably suck it up and just buy one of the universal replacement MPUs so that I'm not wasting time trying to repair and troubleshoot a badly damaged board. If there's anything I need to check for shorts, voltages, etc. before installing a replacement MPU, someone yell at me please.

Aside from the MPU though, I should have a decent machine to work with. The other PCBs look quite clean. It still had the manual and full schematic inside too. I humored myself and plugged it in; it lights up, the scoreboard flashes some numbers, and it fires a bunch of the solenoids similar to the stuck ball sequence I'm familiar with on other machines.

pin1.jpg

pin2.jpg
 

mmsadda

Just buy my shit. Seriously. You can call me Susan
10 Year Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2009
Posts
3,067
Picked up my first pin this weekend. It's been sitting untouched in a basement for the last 20+ years, and was basically donated to me for the price of "get it out of my basement because I don't want to move it, and you can have it." It's a 2 player Bally Speak Easy from 1982. It's going to be a project (They all are, right?).

Unfortunately the battery damage/corrosion on the MPU is really bad. The corrosion seems to have followed traces around the board all the way to resistors and other components. I'll probably suck it up and just buy one of the universal replacement MPUs so that I'm not wasting time trying to repair and troubleshoot a badly damaged board. If there's anything I need to check for shorts, voltages, etc. before installing a replacement MPU, someone yell at me please.

Aside from the MPU though, I should have a decent machine to work with. The other PCBs look quite clean. It still had the manual and full schematic inside too. I humored myself and plugged it in; it lights up, the scoreboard flashes some numbers, and it fires a bunch of the solenoids similar to the stuck ball sequence I'm familiar with on other machines.
Very nice! Congrats on your first pin. I haven't played SpeakEasy, but early 80s Bally games are some of my absolute favorites!

FYI, you'll probably have $200 in an Alltek MPU; although the original boards are really prone to corrosion, they're pretty resilient and not that hard to rebuild. I'm a total novice when it comes to board repair, and I think I'm 4 for 5 on Bally MPU rebuilds. If you've got a good desoldering gun, temp-controller soldering iron, and like 5 bucks to throw at new reset section components, you can probably take care of it yourself. Do you have pics of the MPU?

Hell, I know a guy (Barakandl / Andrew) who's one of the better Bally guys out there; he charges around $60 for an MPU repair, I believe, and he's got at least a few hundred under his belt. If you want his contact info, PM me.
 

mmsadda

Just buy my shit. Seriously. You can call me Susan
10 Year Member
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Jan 20, 2009
Posts
3,067
Hey Skate#, there's a good troubleshooting guide here: http://pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Bally/Stern - there's a section specifically on MPU issues and the reset section.

In your situation, unless you're comfortable with board work, I'd get your MPU repaired, and then go through the disciplined boot-up approach in that guide - http://pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Bally/Stern#Powering_up_the_first_time

If you've got any questions on the basics, feel free to shoot me a PM. I'm not on here that frequently, but am happy to help.
 
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skate323k137

Professional College Dropout
10 Year Member
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Jan 7, 2013
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4,186
Thanks man, that wiki is exactly the type of info I was looking for. I'll snap some pictures of the damage on the MPU and if you think it's something that's repairable, I wouldn't mind sending it off to someone. I'm OK doing minor repairs or modifications on working boards, but as it sits, I wouldn't be comfortable repairing this MPU myself.
 

Spike Spiegel

Onigami Isle Castaway
20 Year Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2001
Posts
13,681
So I'm gonna resurrect this thread from its grave. A thread that was started to insult the hobby, only to become the most adored thread in admiration of it.

And I'm gonna do it by bragging that I'm back in the hobby! Got a NIB Stern Start Trek coming this Tuesday! I've never owned a NIB one before, only used or, at best, "huo" pins. Anyone still play pinball around here at all? I can't wait to have a few in the basement again!!
 

Westcb

Give an Azn, A Break Here!,
Joined
May 17, 2012
Posts
1,190
So I'm gonna resurrect this thread from its grave. A thread that was started to insult the hobby, only to become the most adored thread in admiration of it.

And I'm gonna do it by bragging that I'm back in the hobby! Got a NIB Stern Start Trek coming this Tuesday! I've never owned a NIB one before, only used or, at best, "huo" pins. Anyone still play pinball around here at all? I can't wait to have a few in the basement again!!

Yeah I have quit playing a lot of my arcade games and been busy with the Nintendo switch with the kids but I always circle back to my pins. This is a pic of my current lineup. I will dump either Simpsons or AC/DC by November 12th as that's when I pickup my star was premium from a pin show.
0df68c1fc71419568372d292fd941971.jpg
 

Spike Spiegel

Onigami Isle Castaway
20 Year Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2001
Posts
13,681
It's beautiful! What do you think of Ghost Busters... really? The theme and art are amazing, but the game doesn't seem like it plays well?
 

drmadd220

n00b
Joined
Feb 8, 2006
Posts
43
So I'm gonna resurrect this thread from its grave. A thread that was started to insult the hobby, only to become the most adored thread in admiration of it.

And I'm gonna do it by bragging that I'm back in the hobby! Got a NIB Stern Start Trek coming this Tuesday! I've never owned a NIB one before, only used or, at best, "huo" pins. Anyone still play pinball around here at all? I can't wait to have a few in the basement again!!

I play in a league every fall and spring. Not that I'm any good but it's just a lot of fun to play all the different pins and hang out. A lot of guys and gals in the league are willing to help you learn the pins too.
 

Westcb

Give an Azn, A Break Here!,
Joined
May 17, 2012
Posts
1,190
It's beautiful! What do you think of Ghost Busters... really? The theme and art are amazing, but the game doesn't seem like it plays well?

It's definitely my current favorite. If you tried a pro but didn't love it I would give a premium a try. This pin has lots of fun modes, magnetic slings, as well as the ecto goggles. It also Has a couple fun video modes, Music is great and Ernie Hudson doing the call outs is really well done. Game is lightning fast and can be incredibly high scoring. My best right now is 4.3 billion on it. I added quite a few mods and it's really great looking at this point, but now I'm in it so deep on the extras that I would probably lose a good chunk of change on it so I will probably keep this one for a long time. My wife doesn't play much, but I have had several pins come in and out of the house and this one has been her favorite so far too so all the more reason to hang onto it. What is your current favorite? If anyone asks I would always say adams family as that was the pin I was best at growing up behind T2 and STNG, but after playing those a good bit recently I realize those games are nowhere near as deep on rulesets like these modern sterns and don't seem to really have as much replay value. I enjoy medieval madness and attack from mars as much as anyone but even those seem stale after several games. If I had room/funds for several pins I would definitely include some great pins from the 90s for a solid mix but If I could only keep a few I would go all modern. I did get to play Houdini and dialed in recently and found both to be pretty amazing as well.
 

yzrider926

Edo Express Delivery Guy
Joined
Mar 19, 2007
Posts
332
Yup I still have mine. Haven't been playing much lately, but every now and then I go in the basement and play. Haven't got a new pin since XMLE but I do have a deposit in for the AFM remake. Getting an LE. Going to try and also get a MM Remake sometime next year.

I could see myself getting a Star Wars as well, but figuring that Stern will be pumping those out for awhile so I'll take the wait and see approach with that one.
 

Tanooki

War Room Troll
Joined
May 24, 2016
Posts
1,745
I've owned two over just the last couple of years. I started out buying after a local arcade expo a Bally Gold Ball, a very basic SS table that plays/looks like a EM setup. Shortly after I got my second and my last for the foreseeable future which is a home used only (I'm the 3rd owner) Pin-Bot. Gold Ball went into mostly disuse so I ended up swinging that one on a quick sale to a guy on pinsider forums to break even on it (plus he paid some company to pack/ship it) and that money got me my MVS and 10 carts last year.

Pin-Bot was one of a few I really loved in the 80s the most before the DMD setups took over and all the mechanical parts. The other two were Black Knight and Space Shuttle. Pin-Bot is cheap as hell a real sadist kick in the teeth the way it is designed but when you get a good ball going for a bit it's so much fun. I have to admit if I ever came across a well maintained lower priced Theater of Magic I'd grab that, but ideally and it'll never be cheap, I want that William's Indiana Jones table as it's my favorite.

For variety I have Pinball Arcade on android/ios/steam with a mix of tables on them all. It's not the same but as good as it's going to get all things considered. Yearly since I can't find them around here much I go to the Louisville Arcade Expo for the day and play a lot of the tables and some of the arcade cabinets too to get a variety fix.

 

GregN

aka The Grinch
20 Year Member
Joined
Dec 16, 2000
Posts
17,570
Anybody play Stern pinball arcade on PS4/Xbone? Pretty fun. The challenge mode is tough, but rewarding.
 

Westcb

Give an Azn, A Break Here!,
Joined
May 17, 2012
Posts
1,190
Yup I still have mine. Haven't been playing much lately, but every now and then I go in the basement and play. Haven't got a new pin since XMLE but I do have a deposit in for the AFM remake. Getting an LE. Going to try and also get a MM Remake sometime next year.

I could see myself getting a Star Wars as well, but figuring that Stern will be pumping those out for awhile so I'll take the wait and see approach with that one.

AFM and MM remakes are both great, but they are almost identical as tables go. If you have room/funds for both then no worries but if you wanted some variety might be best to grab another. Obviously the themes are different but if you stripped it down you would notice a lot of the shots and ramps are the same.
I'm not sure how I feel about the jumbo display either that are offered. They just look so different it's hard to get used too them but I'm sure I would prefer them after I did.
073ba939ced8634107a92cb225bdae5f.jpg
 

yzrider926

Edo Express Delivery Guy
Joined
Mar 19, 2007
Posts
332
AFM and MM remakes are both great, but they are almost identical as tables go. If you have room/funds for both then no worries but if you wanted some variety might be best to grab another. Obviously the themes are different but if you stripped it down you would notice a lot of the shots and ramps are the same.
I'm not sure how I feel about the jumbo display either that are offered. They just look so different it's hard to get used too them but I'm sure I would prefer them after I did.
073ba939ced8634107a92cb225bdae5f.jpg

Yeah I'm aware that they are similar in shot layout. I haven't seen AFMR in person but I liked the look of the larger display, especially with the upgraded graphics. I already have 6 pins so I have a decent variety. Worse comes to worse I sell one if I find that they are too similar once I have both. Will be awhile either way. These things aren't the cheapest, not that pinball is to begin with.
 

Gamefan

OldSkool4Life,
20 Year Member
Joined
Jun 27, 2001
Posts
3,728
Yeah I have quit playing a lot of my arcade games and been busy with the Nintendo switch with the kids but I always circle back to my pins. This is a pic of my current lineup. I will dump either Simpsons or AC/DC by November 12th as that's when I pickup my star was premium from a pin show.
0df68c1fc71419568372d292fd941971.jpg

Those are ace!
 
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