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Welcome @Rpearsonx ! Tbh not that many EMs come up on here, at least not in relation to more modern machines, but they will come up from time to time. Avoid ebay as it really is pot luck what you're going to get. Don't hold out for a particular machine as you'll be waiting forever, just do so research and get a feel for what you're looking for. Short flippers, regular, artwork style than sort of thing.

Good luck!
 
Rpearsonx said:
Heyyy everyone,
I’m Ryan, based in Yorkshire, I’m 24. I got into pinball when I was 15 and bought my first pinball machine, Williams Triple Strike, but had to sell it. Now in a my own house and have a little spending money so looking a EM project big or small to fill the space :D Any advice where to start would be hugely appreciated.
Thanks for having me :D
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Hi Ryan, welcome. I'm in Leeds. Are you looking for a fully working machine or one to fix up? try posting a wanted ad on here. It's a great place to acquire machines.
There is a dealer in Yorkshire, often has lots of EM's for sale on ebay:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bally-CO...138669?hash=item3dac06e76d:g:lqEAAOSwNcpfcLCi
I have not dealt with them, heard mixed reports about them, but of course best to go and see any machine you are thinking of buying.
 
Heyy guys, thanks for the warm welcome :D
Yeahhh eBay seems to have some okay looking machines but never know how they’ve been kept inside.
I’m hoping for something that will be working okay with a bit of newbie work to it, mainly something not too expensive to help me learn and refresh that love for pinball after years
. I did have a look at the Cosmos a few days ago, very nice looking machine, love the art on the backglass.
Ill have to get an ad placed here ASAP
 
Rpearsonx said:
Ohhh wow Thank you @replicas , Huddersfield is close!! Would be amazing if you had anything for sale or any advice for a EM lover novice @DAD thanks In advance :)
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don’t thank him. once you’ve been to see[mention]DAD [/mention] your life won’t be complete without a houseful of EM pinballs. [emoji106][emoji106][emoji23][emoji23] on a serious note. you are living next door to one of the countries best authorities on Both EM pinball and pinball full stop!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Yes, you're welcome to come and see /play my games. I've got 11 working EM's set up of various ages (maybe a couple more after this weekend!) including a couple for sale, as well as several in process of fixing up and more in storage.

I've got enough space for social distancing.

Drop me a PM if you want to arrange something
 
DAD said:
Yes, you're welcome to come and see /play my games. I've got 11 working EM's set up of various ages (maybe a couple more after this weekend!) including a couple for sale, as well as several in process of fixing up and more in storage.

I've got enough space for social distancing.

Drop me a PM if you want to arrange something
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Thanks so much for the invitation!! I’ll definitely have to sort something out with you, can’t imagine how incredible they must all look together!! It would be amazing to be able to get a machine from yourself. Thanks again :D
 
AlanJ said:
don’t thank him. once you’ve been to see[mention]DAD [/mention] your life won’t be complete without a houseful of EM pinballs. [emoji106][emoji106][emoji23][emoji23] on a serious note. you are living next door to one of the countries best authorities on Both EM pinball and pinball full stop!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Haha I can already feel myself building a wish list In my head haha, this is definitely the start of a life long hobby. This feels like a really great start, almost meant to be haha
 
Hi everyone, thanks for allowing me to join. Have to say that I haven't played pinball in some years but was a true addict in my younger days (I'm 57) and have the arthritic middle fingers to prove it! I grew up playing EMs then progressed to the SS pins and can remember the novelty of the new fangled multiball machines. Continued to play heavily through the 90s, taking a week every year to holiday with a mate when we just played pinball and drank. Played some fantastic tables then before family intervened.

We're currently building a house where I'll have a man cave so I'm trying to get back up to date with the pinball world with the aim of purchasing something in around 5 - 6 months. Tempted to get a virtual to start with to familiarise myself with what's new. It seems that a lot of the classics in the late 90s are still classics though.

I have no experience of maintaining a table so if anyone in the Bristol/Bath/Gloucester area is looking for an apprentice let me know!

EB
 
Excitable Boy said:
Hi everyone, thanks for allowing me to join. Have to say that I haven't played pinball in some years but was a true addict in my younger days (I'm 57) and have the arthritic middle fingers to prove it! I grew up playing EMs then progressed to the SS pins and can remember the novelty of the new fangled multiball machines. Continued to play heavily through the 90s, taking a week every year to holiday with a mate when we just played pinball and drank. Played some fantastic tables then before family intervened.

We're currently building a house where I'll have a man cave so I'm trying to get back up to date with the pinball world with the aim of purchasing something in around 5 - 6 months. Tempted to get a virtual to start with to familiarise myself with what's new. It seems that a lot of the classics in the late 90s are still classics though.

I have no experience of maintaining a table so if anyone in the Bristol/Bath/Gloucester area is looking for an apprentice let me know!

EB
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Welcome mate
 
Hello All,
Old Timer clocking in.
I have been interested in pinball for a number of years.
Small collection of pins which include...
Magic Circle EM
Haunted House
CFTBL
Space Invaders
Hurricane

Thanks Rob.
 
Retromanic2 said:
Hello All,
Old Timer clocking in.
I have been interested in pinball for a number of years.
Small collection of pins which include...
Magic Circle EM
Haunted House
CFTBL
Space Invaders
Hurricane

Thanks Rob.
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Welcome Rob, you're in good company in Kent. Some really good people on this forum are from your area.
 
Hi All iam Martin from Plymouth and have been playing pinball for about 3 yrs after buying a STTNG. This had been goal in life from the 90s whilst i was working in London and playing it every night in the pub. Since then i got hooked and got a TZ and a RS and a FT but have recently scaled down to get a couple of newer titles and fancy a LOR or Stranger things but could be tempted by anything with good playability, also hoping with a newer game i might spend more time playing than fixing (is my thinking right?) although i do enjoy the buzz of a finally finding the fault and all being good again but its been a steep learning curve for me .
 
mplayfield said:
Hi All iam Martin from Plymouth and have been playing pinball for about 3 yrs after buying a STTNG. This had been goal in life from the 90s whilst i was working in London and playing it every night in the pub. Since then i got hooked and got a TZ and a RS and a FT but have recently scaled down to get a couple of newer titles and fancy a LOR or Stranger things but could be tempted by anything with good playability, also hoping with a newer game i might spend more time playing than fixing (is my thinking right?) although i do enjoy the buzz of a finally finding the fault and all being good again but its been a steep learning curve for me .
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Welcome Martin.

I've found the newer games to be more reliable however Stranger Things does appear to require a few tweaks out of the box but I certainly don't think you'd be disappointed if you purchased one.
 
Hi Thanks for the welcome ,currently looking at a walking dead going on e bay tonight ,seems to originate from a member on here so may have a punt . Do fancy a Stranger things more but a new one would be a push at the moment.Out of interest what are parts like to come by on the newer Sterns their website seems poor in that respect .cheers Martin
 
mplayfield said:
Hi Thanks for the welcome ,currently looking at a walking dead going on e bay tonight ,seems to originate from a member on here so may have a punt . Do fancy a Stranger things more but a new one would be a push at the moment.Out of interest what are parts like to come by on the newer Sterns their website seems poor in that respect .cheers Martin
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That TWD on Ebay is a lovely example. Get it then kit it out a bit, I'm going to town on mine. Shaker motor, colour LCD DMD, Speaker lights, lighted speaker panel (though may leave that out) pinwoofer speaker sub and amp kit and when they come in some pinstadium lights.
 
Hello everyone, Just signed up and looks like I should have joined years ago ! So much content on here to help me make some decision around purchasing a pinball machine. Need to understand all the jargon before jumping in feet first. Biggest issue I'm going to have is persuading the wife to let me purchase one! Will have a look around at all the threads to see if it is possible to loan / rent one first I think. It looks as though I will also have to learn how to become a mechanic as well to help keep the costs down. Looking forward to getting a better understanding of the community and forum .
 
Pidgelar said:
Hello everyone, Just signed up and looks like I should have joined years ago ! So much content on here to help me make some decision around purchasing a pinball machine. Need to understand all the jargon before jumping in feet first. Biggest issue I'm going to have is persuading the wife to let me purchase one! Will have a look around at all the threads to see if it is possible to loan / rent one first I think. It looks as though I will also have to learn how to become a mechanic as well to help keep the costs down. Looking forward to getting a better understanding of the community and forum .
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welcome [mention]Pidgelar [/mention] you are in the right place. i had already bought two expensive pins before i found the forum


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Pidgelar said:
Hello everyone, Just signed up and looks like I should have joined years ago ! So much content on here to help me make some decision around purchasing a pinball machine. Need to understand all the jargon before jumping in feet first. Biggest issue I'm going to have is persuading the wife to let me purchase one! Will have a look around at all the threads to see if it is possible to loan / rent one first I think. It looks as though I will also have to learn how to become a mechanic as well to help keep the costs down. Looking forward to getting a better understanding of the community and forum .
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Welcome to the forums!
 
Hello all,


Hello all,

I did attempt this post a couple of hours ago but didn’t realise that I should have done so under this thread rather than create a new one, so apologies to the Mods for that, and hopefully this post contains nothing that infringes the rules!

Please be gentle with me but from the slumber of arcadia some 45 years ago, I have a yearning to relive pinball, and to do so with the Beatles skin. I know some rightly balk at the price, and I also understand that compared to some fancy games it might be a bit stripped back, but the theme and EM, stripped-back style do it for me.

What I’d really appreciate ahead of possibly breaking the wallet open is some thoughts about reliability, and cost of ownership. I know there has been a lot of talk and some disquiet about sterns spike boards vs sams (not that I would be able to tell you the first thing about the difference), but it would seem that, in the round, new pins are reasonably reliable (unless you get unlucky). But thereafter, under the player conditions of a johhny-no-mates use in a home environment, what are the sort of potential costs that I could be looking at over 10 years; and are there reliable repair services in the west mids/birmingham/coventry area?

The other immediate question I have, who’s best to purchase from? From some of the posts I have seen here, PH? Is it possible to buy cheaper driect from EC? Downfalls if so?

Thank you reading, and I look forward to possibly being a member of the community going forward.

PS I love the Beatles theme, but in line with a recent thread, my wallet would simply fall over for a Ramones theme!

Dubi
 
Welcome to the forum @Pidgelar and @Dubi :thumbs: @Pidgelar the usual advice of trying to find someone local who'll let you have a bash on their games or come along to a league meet doesn't really work at the moment so maybe hanging fire until Special When Lit in Salisbury and Tilt in Birmingham have reopened after lockdown (actually maybe Tilt are staying open @Tilt_Birmingham ?) would be a good idea and then going along to play some games.

@Dubi if it's Beatles you're specifically after and based on your questions about reliability I'd advise buying from Phil and Pinball Heaven so you get the warranty (assuming he's got some available) and then further on from that Phil @Pick Holder covers your area for repairs/service I think :thumbs:
 
Dubi said:
Hello all,


Hello all,

I did attempt this post a couple of hours ago but didn’t realise that I should have done so under this thread rather than create a new one, so apologies to the Mods for that, and hopefully this post contains nothing that infringes the rules!

Please be gentle with me but from the slumber of arcadia some 45 years ago, I have a yearning to relive pinball, and to do so with the Beatles skin. I know some rightly balk at the price, and I also understand that compared to some fancy games it might be a bit stripped back, but the theme and EM, stripped-back style do it for me.

What I’d really appreciate ahead of possibly breaking the wallet open is some thoughts about reliability, and cost of ownership. I know there has been a lot of talk and some disquiet about sterns spike boards vs sams (not that I would be able to tell you the first thing about the difference), but it would seem that, in the round, new pins are reasonably reliable (unless you get unlucky). But thereafter, under the player conditions of a johhny-no-mates use in a home environment, what are the sort of potential costs that I could be looking at over 10 years; and are there reliable repair services in the west mids/birmingham/coventry area?

The other immediate question I have, who’s best to purchase from? From some of the posts I have seen here, PH? Is it possible to buy cheaper driect from EC? Downfalls if so?

Thank you reading, and I look forward to possibly being a member of the community going forward.

PS I love the Beatles theme, but in line with a recent thread, my wallet would simply fall over for a Ramones theme!

Dubi
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Hello and welcome.

I do cover repairs in your area, I myself are Birmingham based (live near Cadburys). My workshop is in Birmingham Jewellrey quarter for longer term repairs/refurbs. I am a fully legit (tax paying) business and take card payments.

Normally I have a steady stream of games for sale, depending on what you want - and depends on your budget.

Plenty of good stuff comes up on this forum as well. The bad eggs do not last long here.

If you are buying new from Pinball Heaven you get a great warranty and looked after (I actually do some warranty and other repairs for Phil - as well as looking after the Tilt games). Is good service worth it over a slight discount (that will more than likely disappear come 1st Jan 2021).

Tilt are indeed closed during the UK lockdown.

You will get a much better deal buying from here than ebay or facebook marketplace etc.....

To get the machine to you, a lot use Martin to deliver (who roughly charges £95 if its in his area).

ANY pinball can breakdown. I would say stick to Bally/Williams, modern sterns, Chicago gaming and some JJP. You will have to do the odd bit of work yourself. Modern games use totally different electronics, which are probably easier to repair (by replacing node boards).
 
Replicas, ronsplotter and Pick Holder, thank you warmly for the welcome. I did a bit of lurking before posting, and it seems that you have a friendly and helpful forum. Thank you for the clear steer regards buying from PH and for the info re Martin's services.

Pick Holder, you have piqued my interest in perhaps thinking around other options before I dive in. Perhaps do some more reading and viewing. Do you list your games on here or elsewhere?
 
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