Quote from: illawarra_steelers on January 29, 2009, 10:48:15 PM

Thanks for taking the time to post Rod,

Really cool looking pins.....want to share the story here how you got you KISS? I'm sure the guys here will love the story!

Ah OK.

Well my best mate who i've known since we were 5 years old is a pretty avid Kiss fan. I am too. Really love the first 3 studio albums and ALIVE!. But i've never been quite as obsessed as him :)

Anyway, back in 1994/95 he was working down in Bega and spotted a bunch of pins at a go kart track. He got talking to the guy there and got hold of the operators details. Got in contact with him and asked if he had a KISS machine by any chance.

Keep in mind my mate didn't really have a passion for pinball. Sure we grew up playing them together etc. But i was the one obsessed with pinball like he was obsessed with Kiss :)

Turns out the guy DID have a Kiss machine out in the shed which was in non working condition. So the guys like, yeah mate it's all yours for $750 (this was crazy money back in the day, especially being non working) But to my mate it was a KISS pinny!. Even if it sat in the corner and never flipped a flipper for the next 10 years, ya reckon he'd care?

So he tells me about it and i go check it out down his place a week later. Sweet backglass, pretty sweet playfield with the only real blemish being a tiny bit of flipper drag which you have to look for because the art is so busy. The cab, as mentioned when i posted the pics is faded to buggery.

So we take a look inside and figure out there's a couple of blown fuses, molex connectors look pretty burnt up etc. So we put some new fuses in and it actually booted. However, the bridge that controls the feature lamps was shot, feeding them all of 1 volt if they were lucky. So we got it somewhat playable even with perished rubbers etc. He was happy. He just loved watching the KISS lights chase in attract mode even though they were so dim 

OK, so there it sat for another 3 years or so, and all of a sudden he is married and about to move into a new house with his missus.

Problem.......

She doesn't care for the pinball and would rather not have it in the new house.

Solution.....

Knowing that i was obsessed with all things pinball, he figured the right thing to do was to give it to me. That way he can still get to see it, and he knew all to well that i'd look after it and make it work right.

So there ya go. This game is a keeper for a few reasons. Obviously because it was an awesome gesture, but also for the fact that if it was sold, i would never be willing to cough up the dough required to get another one.

Sorry for the longish post. Just got in the typing groove