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Aussie Pinball Forums => General Discussion => General Pinball Discussion => Topic started by: Goingpinsane on April 08, 2016, 10:37:52 PM

Title: Bally playboy price check.
Post by: Goingpinsane on April 08, 2016, 10:37:52 PM
Hey guys. Tomorrow I'm going to check out a playboy project pin. Seen some pics and play field has a little wear. Back glass looks decent. Cab is trashed. Not sure what sort of money these are fetching unrestored. Here's a couple of pics I have. Apparently it has some board issues and doesn't start.
Title: Re: Bally playboy price check.
Post by: Goingpinsane on April 08, 2016, 10:40:04 PM
Some more pics
Title: Re: Bally playboy price check.
Post by: Strangeways on April 09, 2016, 11:42:39 AM
Backglass and playfield look fantastic for the age of the game. Would suggest contact applied to the playfield. Cabinet is poor and out of the three major points of a good quality game (Playfield, cabinet and backglass), you have the easiest component to replace / repaint.

Board issues - will need an Altek and repining of most connectors to ensure reliability.

Price - Ask how much they want, and if they reply with the usual "Ebay has them for $5000", then I'd go there with $1500 in my wallet, and a spare $500 in the back pocket. Slap $1500 on the machine.

I'd pay $1500. Lowball won't work on Playboy, KISS etc etc..
Title: Re: Bally playboy price check.
Post by: Goingpinsane on April 09, 2016, 08:15:08 PM
Went and had a look. Playfield above the pop bumper where there's a building and two playmates had a large amount of wear. Was about 2mm deep. All inserts were concave. The main board (top left corner-mother board?) was totally r/s. The worst corrosion I'd seen on a board with no batteries.  Don't know how that would happen to it. Back glass was really nice. Cabinet was just about a write off. Had nice steel angles all over it keeping it together. Made an offer but I think they had an unrealistic idea on its value as they had seen one restored on another site for 10 000 with nice LEDs   !@#
Title: Re: Bally playboy price check.
Post by: Brettski on April 09, 2016, 09:30:04 PM
The Kiss and Playboy cash grab is terrible out there, I personally love Kiss but hate the machine, way too busy playfield artwork and does not appeal to me but I love Playboy as a game and would love one but never seen one for a decent price, everyone wants top dollar and as far as I am concerned they are all over priced. There was 18,250 units made so there are plenty out there so not exactly rare but the theme seems to command the higher price. Same with Kiss, 17,000 units made and they are always around just so ridiculously expensive.
Keep in touch with the seller as once reality kicks in on how much he will actually get due to the work required as only someone prepared to put the effort in will buy it, you might get it closer to a realistic price but it depends how much you want a Playboy.

Good luck

Brettski... :)
Title: Re: Bally playboy price check.
Post by: Strangeways on April 09, 2016, 09:51:14 PM
Went and had a look. Playfield above the pop bumper where there's a building and two playmates had a large amount of wear. Was about 2mm deep. All inserts were concave. The main board (top left corner-mother board?) was totally r/s. The worst corrosion I'd seen on a board with no batteries.  Don't know how that would happen to it. Back glass was really nice. Cabinet was just about a write off. Had nice steel angles all over it keeping it together. Made an offer but I think they had an unrealistic idea on its value as they had seen one restored on another site for 10 000 with nice LEDs   !@#

That would be right. The $10,000 games I call the "spottem" or "Space Invaders" auctions. That classification is special as it only involves games that have been on eBay, unsold, for 5 years or more..

The Kiss and Playboy cash grab is terrible out there, I personally love Kiss but hate the machine, way too busy playfield artwork and does not appeal to me but I love Playboy as a game and would love one but never seen one for a decent price, everyone wants top dollar and as far as I am concerned they are all over priced. There was 18,250 units made so there are plenty out there so not exactly rare but the theme seems to command the higher price. Same with Kiss, 17,000 units made and they are always around just so ridiculously expensive.
Keep in touch with the seller as once reality kicks in on how much he will actually get due to the work required as only someone prepared to put the effort in will buy it, you might get it closer to a realistic price but it depends how much you want a Playboy.

Good luck

Brettski... :)

It has been a problem for many years. KISS fans (like me) will pay a lot of money for the holy grail of any KISS collection. you are competing with 40 year olds with lots of cash that want the game. Dealers inflate their prices, with exorbitant claims of them being "restored" or "fully done up", or the latest "we spent 40 hours on this High End Restoration". The KISS fans buy them without doing their homework. Demand is the same, so the price stays high.

I have SIX High end KISS restorations in the pipeline. One of these was priced at $11,000 in 2012. Not for a KISS fan though - just a High End collector. That will be $11,000 in VALUE.

Blame the prices on KISS fans more than anything !

Title: Re: Bally playboy price check.
Post by: Goingpinsane on October 16, 2016, 10:33:41 PM
Well I picked up this machine yesterday. Was contacted by the owner a few weeks back to see if I was still interested.
Looks like I'll need a new mpu. The battery has been removed but obviously too late. Bad corrosion on the bottom of the board. Led stays on when turning the game on.
What is the best product for cleaning the back of the backglass and playfield? The backglass is perfect and I don't want to ruin it by using the wrong thing. Only had machines with translite before. The play field is pretty dirty and I'm worried I'll ruin the artwork. There is one section that needs to be touched up and I don't want to make more. I'll probably need some photos from someone In a little while of the wear area for reference. It's just above the lower pop bumper.
I've seen a few sets of stencils. Can anyone advise me on some good ones or maybe which ones aren't so good to use.
Thanks for any help.
Here's a pic of the mpu
Title: Re: Bally playboy price check.
Post by: Strangeways on October 17, 2016, 10:26:41 AM
From a Hobbyist's point of view - it is repairable if you have a lot of time, patience and the right tools. Otherwise, buy an Altek and repin at least J# and J4.

Backglass - try with water first. Use a wet rag and keep away from any flaking areas. If the dirt is not coming up, spray windex on the rag. NEVER EVER direct on the backglass. Try a little bit first, and then more.

Playfield - Nifti and rag. Spray on rag. Then use Novus 2.
Title: Re: Bally playboy price check.
Post by: Boots on October 17, 2016, 11:20:17 AM
From a Hobbyist's point of view - it is repairable if you have a lot of time, patience and the right tools. Otherwise, buy an Altek and repin at least J# and J4.

Backglass - try with water first. Use a wet rag and keep away from any flaking areas. If the dirt is not coming up, spray windex on the rag. NEVER EVER direct on the backglass. Try a little bit first, and then more.

Playfield - Nifti and rag. Spray on rag. Then use Novus 2.

That MPU is totally repairable.
A bit of patience and some googling will get it done, I am always amazed how repairable these boards are, very simple diagnostics anyone can follow.
It will need the corrosion neutralised with vinegar & water then scrubbed clean and the tracks sanded clean, then maybe another wash and scrub.
Getting all the corroded solder and gunk out of the through holes is the hardest thing.

Playfield may need magic eraser & metho to get the hard ground in dirt out, not too much though as you can lose artwork.
Title: Re: Bally playboy price check.
Post by: Goingpinsane on October 17, 2016, 01:07:08 PM
Cheers guys.
The back glass was my main concern. There is no flaking at all so didn't want to cause any. Is there anything I can do to keep it that way? So the flaking doesn't start?
Title: Re: Bally playboy price check.
Post by: goodolddays on October 17, 2016, 11:29:45 PM
I have had good success using tea tree oil to remove ground  in dirt on playfields.

Congrats on the pickup . I play mine a lot
Title: Re: Bally playboy price check.
Post by: Goingpinsane on October 23, 2016, 09:26:27 PM
Thanks for the advice guys. The playfield is going to come up a treat I think, except for the wear above the middle pop. Does anyone have an unpopulated playfield that they can take some pics for me? My son who is an amazing artist is going to do the touch up for me. Pics of the area, playfield and some of the stuff my young bloke does when he's bored. Imagine what he could do if he actually got off his arse applied himself?  ^&^
Title: Re: Bally playboy price check.
Post by: Goingpinsane on March 03, 2017, 11:21:11 PM
Well I've had a go at the playfield touch ups . I'm pretty happy how it's ended up. One more clear coat and it's all finished. It was my first go at touching up a playfield. I think it's a pass?
The cabinet is all ready to go also. Getting close now.
Title: Re: Bally playboy price check.
Post by: pinball god on March 04, 2017, 01:24:19 PM
As the guy on revenge from mars says, 'Most impressive'. It looks like a great result from where I'm sitting, well done
Title: Re: Bally playboy price check.
Post by: Strangeways on March 05, 2017, 08:22:08 PM
A vast improvement - Well done !

Which stencils did you use for the cabinet ?
Title: Re: Bally playboy price check.
Post by: Goingpinsane on March 05, 2017, 09:14:15 PM
I got my hands on some pinball pal stencils. I've since found out they're not available anymore.
Title: Re: Bally playboy price check.
Post by: onetaste on March 27, 2017, 12:02:15 AM
Do u mind sharing how much the seller accepted in the end?
Title: Re: Bally playboy price check.
Post by: Retropin on March 27, 2017, 12:07:43 AM
I got my hands on some pinball pal stencils. I've since found out they're not available anymore.

Any reason given?
Title: Re: Bally playboy price check.
Post by: Goingpinsane on March 27, 2017, 12:59:46 AM
The guy who owned or ran the company fell ill. Maybe a stroke or something from what I can gather.


I ended up doing a deal which involved some cash but it was more about it getting restored for the previous owners than the money in the end as it was their deceased fathers machine. So probably not a good price guide to go off.  There was a catch though. When I am finished I have to show them how it turned out and I've been sending updates as progress happens.
I think they are pretty happy so far. I'm going to love seeing them when the final reveal happens.
I'm so close now. Just the finishing touches to go.
Title: Re: Bally playboy price check.
Post by: Goingpinsane on March 27, 2017, 01:03:59 AM
Missed one
Title: Re: Bally playboy price check.
Post by: goodolddays on March 27, 2017, 11:04:43 AM
Your resto looks great !.

It inspires me to finally redo the cab on mine .

Did you use a spray gun or cans on the cab ?
Title: Re: Bally playboy price check.
Post by: Goingpinsane on March 27, 2017, 12:56:15 PM
I used dura max cans.  Their pink was a great match and they have a great clear too! Cost me a fortune though but once I started I was committed to finishing in it.
Title: Re: Bally playboy price check.
Post by: Crashramp on March 30, 2017, 10:25:25 PM
Looks fantastic, great work.  ^^^