Sunday Pinball Questionnaire - part 63 - andtan

[Strangeways]

Lets see if we can relaunch this great tradition !

1. Earliest pinball memory?
2. All time favorite pin? Why?
3. Favorite pinball manufacture?
4. Favorite game in your collection? Why?
5. How long have you been collecting?
6. First game and how did you find it?
7. Do you still have it?
8. What are you currently working on?
9. Most wanted game to add to your collection?
10. Best all time bargain game added to your collection?
11. Worst ever miss – tell us about the one that got away!
12. Worst ever purchase – tell us about the game you wished you never bought
13. Describe your collection
14. Describe your gamesroom
15. Do you have other games other than pinball?
16. Where can you see the hobby in 10 years?

[ajlaird]

I hope so, but it is now Monday...

[Retropin]

Hello???.....Hello???   Helloooo.........ooooo??

[andtan]

D'oh!!
 
I must have read every other post, but somehow missed this one. I'll get on to it straight away

[andtan]

Here we go then - apologies for not having it done by Sunday

1. Earliest pinball memory?

I can't really remember the names of the first pinballs that I played (shame) but I do remember being around 10yrs old, and being captivated by them. I'm not sure if it was the sounds, the lights, or just the desire to get a higher and higher score. I do remember that the playfields by today’s standards were almost barren - didn't make it any easier though.

2. All time favorite pin? Why?

My all time favourite pin would have to be 'Tommy - Pinball Wizard' by Data East, which is unfortunate as I used to own a 'Tommy' up until a few years ago. I had to sell it due to moving and no longer having the room in a now smaller house. As luck would have it I now have a much bigger house with a three car garage (man-shed), and a rumpus room (man-cave) - so I will now be looking to 'fill' up some of that space. Hopefully the 'Pin-gods' will forgive my straying, and a 'Tommy' will once again be mine.

3. Favorite pinball manufacture?

Whilst I'm fond of Tommy (Data East), I do have a bit of a soft spot for some of the Bally/Williams games - particularly the DMD games like - Getaway HS2, TAF, TZ and Fishtales. I can remember frequenting many a nightspot sporting the black-studded belt, jeans, fawn coloured work boots, and the mullet whilst knocking back a number of bourbons. Strangely I never really seemed to do too well on them on those occasions

4. Favorite game in your collection? Why?

Well at the moment I'm Pin-less, so I'm pretty much living off the memories - I suppose I could just harp on about 'Tommy' - I particularly like the music - which from memory had about 21 different tunes jammed into it.

[andtan]

Cont.....

5. How long have you been collecting?

If I count the first game that I ever owned - I suppose I can saw I have been 'dabbling' in collecting since about 1992/3. I think to be fair I'd say that I had only really decided to have more than one at a time this year.

6. First game and how did you find it?

The first game I owned made such an impression on me I can't even remember what it was called. All I can remember was that it was Solid State, and that a friend of the family had it for a number of years for his kids games room. Always wanting a pin I managed to buy it off him for around $100.

7. Do you still have it?

No, I sold it in 1994 because I moved from Canberra to Darwin for a job, and whatever fit into my HZ Kingswood sedan was going with me. I had to offload it with a lot of other stuff at the time as my old man wasn't too keen to have his house used as a storage shed.

8. What are you currently working on?

I'm currently saving up for a 'player' pin, and then I hope to buy a second that needs a little TLC. I'm the sort of person who needs to have a hobby - particularly one that is challenging and time consuming - and I believe that once I learn enough that pin restoration might be a really rewarding pass time.

[andtan]

Cont.....

9. Most wanted game to add to your collection?

I'd really love to own a ST TNG, as I remember filling them with gold coins and having a ball (pardon the pun). I must admit I am a bit of a 'Trekky' and yes 'Picard' is the best Captain, and anyway what is with that 'Enterprise' version, now that really isn't..... Oops, sorry - I digress. I would also like to get a Getaway HS2 as well, just love the theme music.

10. Best all time bargain game added to your collection?

The Tommy pin I picked up for $1500 after my wife pointed it out in the local newspaper - eBay was something in America, and most people in town had dial-up then. Should've kept that one (kicking self!!)

11. Worst ever miss – tell us about the one that got away!

Haven't really got a 'one that got away' story. Just hate looking at all those pins come and go whilst I'm saving up. My luck says as soon as I have enough cash to buy one, there will be a worldwide shortage of them!

12. Worst ever purchase – tell us about the game you wished you never bought

Now that first pin I bought from the family friend, that's when I learned just how much a pin can really cost to own. I didn't have a great deal of money to throw around in those days - especially after putting aside money for rent, petrol, Friday and Saturday night drinks, and oh yeah food. Anyhoo, I fancied myself as a bit of a fixer-upper in those days and after a while the old pin wasn't playing too well so I had a crack at 'tuning' her up. Glass out, playfield up, pin unplugged and screwdriver in hand I set about to do some 'fixin'. Well it didn't take long for the inevitable to happen and I believe that said screwdriver and a large capacitor became friends - the resulting 'jolt' made me squeal like a little girl and drop the screw driver, as I saw a puff of smoke escape from behind the back glass.

After regaining my composure, and explaining to my now giggling flatmates why my hair was standing on its end, I summonsed up the courage to peek behind back glass. It didn't take long to discover that the escaping smoke had left behind that unmistakable smell of 'money' - money that I was now going to have to spend to get one of the boards fixed. I took the board to a local repairer (I believe that still operates here in Canberra) and recounted the whole sorry story. A week later we did a trade - a couple of hundred dollars for my board back.

I eagerly took the board back home and plugged the board back in - as I wasn't silly, I had marked all the connectors! Then, without a care in the world, I flicked the underneath power switch and ...... watched all the smoke escape from the board again
Seems I didn't know as much as I thought I did. Not wanting to take the board back and have to explain how I managed to blow the board up within 45 minutes, I left the machine in its sad and sorry state until I sold it.

[andtan]

Cont....

13. Describe your collection

Pitiful!

14. Describe your gamesroom

My gamesroom will be my triple garage - which has blue marine carpet on the floor and lots of space. I have a cunning plan to try and move a pin or two into the house - but suspect I'll get a bit of resistance.

15. Do you have other games other than pinball?

I've got an Xbox, Wii, PS2, and some first person shooters on the PC, but I do get bored with them quite quickly, and they pretty much get flogged by the kids now.

16. Where can you see the hobby in 10 years?

I'm hoping that in ten years that there will still be forums like this full of people interested in playing, restoring and collecting. With people like 'Homepin' making replacement boards, and others making decals and plastics, there should be no reason why this hobby can't thrive.


Hope you like my tales, and I hope to be in a position one day to be able to offer noobs advice and assistance as the many long timers do.

Thanks for reading,
 
Andy

[Caveoftreasures]

Excellent read. Thanks for sharing. 

A good "Tommy" Pinball can be purchased for anything between $1400 and $2200 so u are in luck. Quite a few have been imported into Australia. There are apx 3 or 4 playfield versions. (search Tommy on the forum here and u will see various playfield photos)

Star Trek Next Gen is also a great game. Getting a little pricey now. U can find a real good one between $3000 and $4500 depending on condition. A lot of collectors are hanging on to them. One comes up for sale every now n then.

Good luck with finding your next pin. We all look forward to seeing your collection grow. Welcome to the forum. 

[andtan]

Hmmm, $1400 - $2200 you say?

Thanks for the info - I might have to seriously look into that as I would have thought one would be a whole lot more that that.

[ktm450]

Great stuff 

[Strangeways]

Great post Andrew 

[goodolddays]

Thanks heaps for sharing your story Andrew  and good luck with your next purchase (or purchases  )

[ajlaird]

Thanks for the story!

Good luck with finding a Tommy - they seem reasonably common so shouldn't be too hard to track one down.

High Speed 2 - should be able to pick one up for around $2500 - $3000, sometimes cheaper.

[Mr Pinbologist]

Great read, thanks for sharing  good to see the Sunday Pinball Questionaire happening again 

Now who's gonna have a go next???