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Found it! Alien Poker/Laser Cue/Nine Ball

VeeMonroe

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Aug 4, 2021
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Okay.

It has been impossible to find a 70s/80s pin we've played and enjoyed that also fits in our door!

So, I'm making a last-ditch attempt to shake someone down for a pinball machine.

James @ CoinOpKing is suggesting a Laser Cue/Alien Poker in mediocre condition, potentially with faults, is probably £2.5-3.5k from his Aladdin's Cave. Nine Ball is more than that due to rarity.

So, if you have a (fully working) Alien Poker or Laser Cue that you are willing to let go for £4k in pristine condition, £3.5k in good condition, or £2k needing playfield replacement, please can you get in touch.

I am willing to pay up to £5k for a pristine-condition Nine Ball, but would prefer a Laser Cue/Alien Poker.
 
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Damn, that will shake 'em loose.... I might have to remove those nails it's nailed to the floor with....
 
Unless you take Jamie's, think you'll need to be more patient, took me 6 years to find a good Laser Cue.

Keep checking Ebay Germany or PM owners on Pinball Owners site. I did that for a Bounty Hunter, again took me several years though. Patience will pay off.
 
Unless you take Jamie's, think you'll need to be more patient, took me 6 years to find a good Laser Cue.

Keep checking Ebay Germany or PM owners on Pinball Owners site. I did that for a Bounty Hunter, again took me several years though. Patience will pay off.
Laser Cue is my second choice. I'm actually looking for an Alien Poker as a first choice - there should be a lot of those around.

In fact, I posted a huge list, including Flash Gordon, Meteor, TX Sector, a US Black Hole and several other things, and I was kindly offered a Genie (which won't fit in our narrow hall, as it turns out), a Space Hawks and a Speakeasy. Space Hawks didn't take my fancy, unfortunately, and Speakeasy seemed a little too luck-based for my highly-competitive five year old.

I've tried Pinball Owners, as well. Everything is in the US or 'for sale - never', and they tell you not to harass people who don't have stuff listed for sale.

By the time I'd investigated a Beatles (again, way above the price I was expecting by the time I found one available to buy), had a couple of non-selling sellers for other pins and seen reasonably-priced stuff disappearing almost instantly, I started wondering if things weren't moving due to pin inflation.

So, here went the nuclear option... 💣
 
Laser Cue is my second choice. I'm actually looking for an Alien Poker as a first choice - there should be a lot of those around.

In fact, I posted a huge list, including Flash Gordon, Meteor, TX Sector, a US Black Hole and several other things, and I was kindly offered a Genie (which won't fit in our narrow hall, as it turns out), a Space Hawks and a Speakeasy. Space Hawks didn't take my fancy, unfortunately, and Speakeasy seemed a little too luck-based for my highly-competitive five year old.

I've tried Pinball Owners, as well. Everything is in the US or 'for sale - never', and they tell you not to harass people who don't have stuff listed for sale.

By the time I'd investigated a Beatles (again, way above the price I was expecting by the time I found one available to buy), had a couple of non-selling sellers for other pins and seen reasonably-priced stuff disappearing almost instantly, I started wondering if things weren't moving due to pin inflation.

So, here went the nuclear option... 💣

I meant the ones that have said 'maybe' on Pinball Owners, I've just counted 12 Alien Pokers stated as such on there (not in the US/Canada). Alien Poker is easier to source in UK though, good luck.

Alan J had his Meteor up on here for a while, did you miss it?
 
Alan J had his Meteor up on here for a while, did you miss it?
We saw it :)

It was a minor project and there was a bit of damage to the playfield over the rockets. This isn’t a biggie at all, but I know - through owning my Fish Tales - that I would have been chomping at the bit to do an (unnecessary) playfield swap once CPR did another run of Meteor playfields.

Unfortunately, we don’t have the garage/shed/workshop/floor space to do the swap and I’ve been struggling to keep up with the minor modding/restoration tasks on our existing pins with having young kids. So, no more projects, even small ones, until I’ve finished my existing ones :D
 
We saw it :)

It was a minor project and there was a bit of damage to the playfield over the rockets. This isn’t a biggie at all, but I know - through owning my Fish Tales - that I would have been chomping at the bit to do an (unnecessary) playfield swap once CPR did another run of Meteor playfields.

Unfortunately, we don’t have the garage/shed/workshop/floor space to do the swap and I’ve been struggling to keep up with the minor modding/restoration tasks on our existing pins with having young kids. So, no more projects, even small ones, until I’ve finished my existing ones :D

Sorry to damper your spirits, but think your desire for 'nice' versions of the pins you want are going to be your hurdle... but hopefully your £ offer will motivate someone. 👍

BTW, that Meteor is here now, not mine... but here all the same, at the bottom of a list of jobs !
 
Sorry to damper your spirits, but think your desire for 'nice' versions of the pins you want are going to be your hurdle... but hopefully your £ offer will motivate someone. 👍

BTW, that Meteor is here now, not mine... but here all the same, at the bottom of a list of jobs !
Indeed, my AP looks like most with dished inserts, playfield wear and a typically used cabinet. Those I've seen on the web all look much the same.
Most Bally/Williams games from that period look like they've had a busy life, a good one (at a glance) will more than likely be the standard players condition one that's had a quick tidy-up.
 
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pics of it please. i’m intrigued.
B361FDDB-E671-45B2-BDE5-8934E5462620.jpeg

0708C93B-2B2B-4571-8686-DEF69F893E10.jpeg


Not my pictures.

It’s not perfect. The side of the backbox is not repainted/stencilled, so it’s pinkish, and the cab wasn’t properly prepped before repainting. It’s currently running on incandescents and the strobe is missing. Also, there’s currently a fault where the ball flies out the saucer and hits the glass just above the left outlane (if anyone can advise on that, that would be great).

However, it is beautifully presented overall with a hardtop, new targets and plastics, and so on. The original backglass is in great shape. The underside of the playfield, and components, are in really good condition given the age of the pin, and we didn’t find any bodge jobs on casual observation of the wiring!

I personally enjoyed the playstyle of the hardtop.
 
View attachment 166645
View attachment 166646

Not my pictures.

It’s not perfect. The side of the backbox is not repainted/stencilled, so it’s pinkish, and the cab wasn’t properly prepped before repainting. It’s currently running on incandescents and the strobe is missing. Also, there’s currently a fault where the ball flies out the saucer and hits the glass just above the left outlane (if anyone can advise on that, that would be great).

However, it is beautifully presented overall with a hardtop, new targets and plastics, and so on. The original backglass is in great shape. The underside of the playfield, and components, are in really good condition given the age of the pin, and we didn’t find any bodge jobs on casual observation of the wiring!

I personally enjoyed the playstyle of the hardtop.
Nice purchase, Tobin is a legend and I would definitely recommend collecting it instead of using a courier so you get to meet him and see his amazing cabin of pinball oddities. Glad you finally found something.
 
Nice purchase, Tobin is a legend and I would definitely recommend collecting it instead of using a courier so you get to meet him and see his amazing cabin of pinball oddities. Glad you finally found something.
We went down to meet him (and his two lovely dogs) and inspect the pin yesterday - followed by a trip to the seaside at Brighton as we were accompanied by our ‘Flipper Beast’.

The only truly unusual thing in the cabin was a 1978 head-to-head War, but there were quirkier pins folded up in the garage!

The Flipper Beast enjoyed playing Golden Eye and the Black Knight that is for sale. He also enjoyed operating the automatic garage doors!
 
Love it, Flash Gordon is on my pre-approved short list of pins with Mrs Crewey. That looks a stunner 🥰
 

Not cheap but open to offers and to quote the sellers description.... 'top condition' :D. Get chatting and see if can do a deal.
 
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