Anyone have classic pinball machine at home?

[ElscottHavoc]

Last night, my friends and I found ourselves in a little hole in the wall Barcade. I was born in '88, so a lot of the retro arcade games were before my time, but it was still a pretty cool blast from the past and brought back quite a bit of nostalgia even for my childhood - like a projection screen where you could play 4 player N64.

I've always been fascinated by and enjoyed playing pinball machines - of which the Barcade has about dozen to choose from last night, along with a variety of other old school cabinet shooters and arcade classic. Obviously, somebody must be in charge/capable of maintaining those machines and I know that I've seen such machines used for personal use. Last night brought back vivid memories of spending hours at the local Godfather's Pizza playing pinball, and now that we're finishing up our basement, I think it'd be neat to search out a retro pinball machine. I know right out of the gate, it could likely be $2-3,000+ investment, but I'm more concerned about the ease of maintenance and cost of maintenance. Seems to me like pinball machines might be a niche market for maintenance, tough to get parts, etc. I see you can buy new pinball machines, but I'd really like to find one I played as a kid.

Could probably just join a pinball wizard forum or something, but just thought it'd be an interesting topic here. Feel free to share or discuss your pinball machines too.

 

[TK Doom]

I love playing pinball. I use the app Pinball Arcade on my iPad.

That said, I've owned 3 different CoinOps at one point, but no Pinball.

I had a 4 player Tournament Cyberball, a Xenophobe machine and Gyruss.


I was going to buy a Star Trek TNG Pinball (turnkey), but got married and had a baby instead.

Other than nudging being awkward, the Pinball Arcade does a pretty good job, and I got my Star Trek TNG for only $8 instead of $6k. =)

 

[dom418]

Unfortunately with everything being digital those classic machines have been replaced by video games. These young kids are missing out on a lot of that cool stuff.

 

[R.D.P.]

I used to love playing pinball - still do when I can find one. I would love to have a T2 or star trek TNG. I was just the right age for the mall arcade era. I loved it, but damn the quarters spent!

 

[wallie40]

I dont have a pinball but i do have a full size street fighter Champion edition. I dont play it that often but it does come in handy when we want to a have a tournament.. Its nerdy but fun.

-Paul

 

[R.D.P.]

I dont have a pinball but i do have a full size street fighter Champion edition. I dont play it that often but it does come in handy when we want to a have a tournament.. Its nerdy but fun.

-Paul

I'm jealous. I used to be pretty damn good at Street Fighter wayyyy back when.

 

[scott9050]

No pins, but I have 5 arcade games.

1. Galaga
2. Ms. Pac Man
3. four slot Neo Geo
4. 60-1 Multicade
5. Black Tiger cocktail

 

[03cobra#694]

Love me some pinball and still have 3D Pinball on my laptop.

 

[jcthorne]

We have owned pinball machines for years. Back before I was married I bought old ones and reworked them. Mostly the older electro-mechanical ones built up until the mid 70s. I have since owned a string of newer electronic control machines. Owned 3 when we were married and now down to one. Usually keep one for a few years, sell it an buy another. They are not that hard to maintain in a home use setting, they a built for much more rugged treatment in bars and night clubs. There are coin op dealers in most major cities that have service techs if you need one. Be careful what you buy as only Stern is still in business and has parts readily available. For the Bally and Williams machines, there is a pretty good aftermarket for parts on the more desireable models. We currently own a Stern NASCAR machine. Its a lot of fun and a hit at parties and holiday events.

Let me know if you have any specific questions, be glad to help.

 

[SID297]

I've been wanting one of these:

[video=youtube;KBmEu3hvOak]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBmEu3hvOak[/video]

 

[CompOrange04GT]

No pins, but I have 5 arcade games.

1. Galaga
2. Ms. Pac Man
3. four slot Neo Geo
4. 60-1 Multicade
5. Black Tiger cocktail

pics....

 

[C0bra99]

I have 14 Pinball machines and a MAME arcade.

 

[snakedoctor]

I've got a japanese pinball game that my grandad brought back from WWII. I use to play it when i was younger but most of the steel ball bearings are missing and whatever the background was made of has started peeling off.

 

[99cobradave]

I have a damn near mint 1986 Williams Pinbot, my favorite all time pinball machine. Love it. I have a few coin OP videos games as well. I miss the days of the coin OP arcade.

 

[99cobradave]

I've got a japanese pinball game that my grandad brought back from WWII. I use to play it when i was younger but most of the steel ball bearings are missing and whatever the background was made of has started peeling off.

Those pachinko machines are cool. It's very hard to find one in good shape.

 

[99cobradave]

I have 14 Pinball machines and a MAME arcade.

Awesome. What pinball machines do you have?

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

we have a williams taxi pinball machine at my grandparents place.

We've had a few issues that required things on the main board to be repaired/replaced. Im not sure if its because it really should be on a power conditioner and not just a surge protector (we're out in the boonies and power is known to cut in and out). It also sits in the basement and nobody is there most of the year so maybe its exposed to a little more humidity than normal?

I still love that thing though

 

[COBRA97SVT]

My uncle is in the arcade/ video game business. He has the classics Pac-man, Frogger, and Frankenstein Pin Ball in his basement. As a kid I would run his routes with him, he would go around collecting quarters and give me credits to each machine. Mortal Combat was always a favorite. It was great, I remember other kids giving me the death stare lol.

 

[C0bra99]

Tron LE
Twilight Zone
Lord of the Rings
Terminator 2
Revenge from Mars
Iron Man
Family Guy
Simpsons Pinball Party
Transformers Autobots LE
Stern Spiderman
Terminator 3
Hyperball
Pinball 2000 Star Wars
Theater of Magic

 

[03 DSG Snake]

Pinball arcade is a pretty good app for classic machines, but nothing beat the feeling of the real deal.

I'd love to get my hands on this one:

[video=youtube;xvSLTNrLyK0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvSLTNrLyK0[/video]