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Welcome Loz. Do you know what SS machine you are looking for? It is recommended you play as many as possible before you decide but often people will just buy the first one they think is a bargain only to find out it wasn't. ;)
Then it won't stop at one, there are very few of us that manage to own one for very long. Once you have two, you realise that three is only a little bit more pinball in the house. By this point you should be building some sort of pinball shack in the garden to ensure relationships with other people in the house are not destroyed. Your shack probably won't be big enough (6-8 machines) so at some point you will start putting them into the house again, but this time it will only be the really mint ones.

Or you might be one of the lucky ones, buying and selling machines every few months, sometimes rebuying ones you have already owned....

Did I say Welcome? Might be better to say run, run now. :bolt:
 
Calimori said:
Welcome Loz. Do you know what SS machine you are looking for? It is recommended you play as many as possible before you decide but often people will just buy the first one they think is a bargain only to find out it wasn't. ;)
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i need to work my way up to the machines i would really like!! currently i am looking for a SS project pin to get me back on the 1st rung of pinball ownership!! hopefully i can fix up non-working machines, sell them and get a better ones :) once i have rebuilt my garage there will be space for a nice games room then i can get collecting too many machines:D meanwhile my fiance will have to deal with it in the dining room:biggrin1:
 
does anyone know how long my account will stay in probation for?? i wanted to post in the trade section:)
 
Welcome Loz, most place's have a 10 post rule so that people try to contribute a bit before launching into the sales section. Nott 100% if it's the same here.
 
Cheers for that i will be good!! dont want to upset people in my new hobby (or is it a lifestyle:biggrin1: )
 
New member alert, I joined yesterday, hello all.

I'm recently picked up my first Pinball machine (Fish Tales) prior to Christmas last year and I'm loving it.

I'm a friend and colleague of Wizcat off this forum.

I will be going to the Wizard of Oz meet this Sunday so I will hopefully see you there. :)
 
Onze said:
New member alert, I joined yesterday, hello all.

I'm recently picked up my first Pinball machine (Fish Tales) prior to Christmas last year and I'm loving it.

I'm a friend and colleague of Wizcat off this forum.

I will be going to the Wizard of Oz meet this Sunday so I will hopefully see you there. :)
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Welcome to the madness.
 
FT is a great machine which is getting a lot of love and support from forum members at the moment. They are popping up everywhere but because they are fun to play.
Welcome to the forum.
 
Newbie here. Currently researching my first pinball machine. I don't have a specific one in mind but would like a nostalgic film based one. I am 31 so Jurassic Park/T2/Indiana Jones etc are what im looking at. I have been qouted £3500 for a fully workshopped, LED'd, redecalled, new legs/side rails Williams IJ but i dont think I will be allowed by the other half to stretch to that lol. I have no mechanical knowledge etc. I only want one as a keeper, so must be mint as its going at the back of the living room lol
 
My only other research outside the forum is ebay, liberty games and pinball uk.
 
Hello and welcome

Williams IJ is a great machine, good theme, game play and looks. Their price is high compared to some other machines but £3.5k sound very high to me. Even though it is going in pride of place in the living room, does it really have to be like new?
Always check what was actually done in a workshopped machine and ask for pictures if it was done by the seller. The term workshopped can mean different things to people. I strip them down, clean parts and replace rubbers. Anything broken will get fixed but I personally don't try to restore metal work to new. Other might replace all the metal posts and guides, some might only replace the easy to reach rubbers and check the bulbs all work.
Pinball machines do require a bit of maintenance and most of us learn how to do the simple bits. Then there are people to help and Andy "The Legend" to do onsite service work when required. Personally, I enjoy the fixing and tinkering almost as much as the playing.

As for LED's, this is about taste and which ones are fitted. Some machines are suited by a cooler glow, some look more clinical. Some people hate them, others fit them to everything they touch. Consider that they should not add much to the price if anything.

My advice is to find a local meet or league game and pop along, play some other machines and see what clicks. Then when you are sure, let the forum know and something will pop up.

Finally, it is very hard to own one game. A second comes along and once you have two a third is not much more is it? Good luck. :eyebrows:
 
yep, welcome dude. you don't need to spend that much for a minty pin, you could get a different but still modern and still minty title for half that.

i have a minty Shadow i'm gonna be moving on soon for 1800 (same as i paid for it 9 months ago). Minty Star Treks go for less than that, as do minty White Waters, Jurassic Park, Terminator 2......

sounds like you did what i did, your first encounter was with a dealer and you nearly got taken (as i did).
we're here to rescue you.

goatse robot HAL.jpg
 
Thanks for the advice. I thought it was on the high side! I can imagine it does get addictive and would like to learn the easier jobs of maintenance. I think I am in the right place here and need to keep my ear to the ground. I am in mid wales so doubt there is anywhere close to play unfortunately :(
 
PT82 said:
Thanks for the advice. I thought it was on the high side! I can imagine it does get addictive and would like to learn the easier jobs of maintenance. I think I am in the right place here and need to keep my ear to the ground. I am in mid wales so doubt there is anywhere close to play unfortunately :(
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You may be pleasantly surprised by the number of fellow enthusiasts nearby! I know of at least 5 in Wales, although my detailed knowledge of foreign countires is not great! :p
 
It would be great to try some at an enthusiasts. I am near the border to Shropshire also.
 
Start with the basics. The "I'm only going to have one" line is very wishful thinking. The reality is that you're only allowed one in the house, your garage will then be converted and the wife will be tripping over machines that "are just there until I sell it for far more than I bought it for...". Basically embrace the dark side....it's easier to give in than to fight it.

£3.5k will get you a very good modern machine eg Spiderman, LOTR or a good condition TAF, TZ etc (probably all with a chunk of change as well). IJ is a pricey machine and adding the word "mint" means you might as well add the cheque book to your wallet;)

The games you've listed all play very differently. If you only have one machine it will eventually get boring (or lonely, so you'll need to buy it a friend). I like JP but £1500 should probably get one in fantastic condition.

In an ideal world try playing the machines first.

Initially I wouldn't get caught on the "mint condition" thing. No matter what you do your wife won't view it as a normal piece of furniture in the living room. New legs might help, but the reality is that you've just dumped a 15 stone metal and wood box into a living space. (and forget trying to play it if she's watching TV)

It WILL also break down. Hopefully mainly small things but you will need to do some upkeep on it.

ebay is an OK place to start but be a little wary. This forum also has a good for sale section and the pinball yahoo group is also a good source of more reasonable priced machines.

Good luck with the hunt!
 
John makes a great point about playing them in the living room, no-one will be able to hear the TV or have a conversation with you playing the machine. It is not just the volume of the sound track which can be turned down, it is the solenoids firing and a large ball bearing smacking into things that makes a large amount of beautiful sounds but woman just hear it as a painful racket.

My TAF was in the living room whilst I decorated the kitchen and made a pinball den in the extension. Luckily I was working on the decorating most days that I didn't have time to play but every time I did turn it on I got 'the look'.
 
I see your points lol A dedicated room also has scope for more machines in the future ;-)
 
So many abbreviations on this site lol I need to learn them. Whats TAF and TZ?
 
abbreviations..... always assumed a lot of them had been created so that we can talk without the other halves working out what was going on. Talking on the phone about picking up a MM sounds far more acceptable than having a conversation around "Yes dear, I really need to spend another five thousand pounds on a machine called Medieval Madness". Mind you my wife just think it makes us sound even more nerdy (if that's actually possible).

Most of them are to do with different games (TAF - The Addams Family, TZ Twilight zone etc) and of course POS - Popeye (Sorry Ive)

Pretty much any acronym you would need can be found on Martin's Pinball News site at

http://www.pinballnews.com/learn/acronyms.html
 
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