FIRST IMPRESSIONS - PINBALL

[Caveoftreasures]

I wanted to ask about peoples reactions when they first see your pinball collection. 

Have u ever had any one say "ohh big deal, i dont like pinball" . 

Like most, I have had visitors/friends/family walk in and go "WOW - PINBALL MACHINES- unreal-excellent etc.

I had one courier come to the front door, see the pinballs and ask could he stay for half an hour and play some. It was an unusual situation seeing someone i only met one minute before playing different machines and loving it. He had a ball and said he was looking forward to the next delivery.lol 

Anyone got an unusual or interesting stories about people and when they first see your pinball machines. 

[Mr Pinbologist]

I can honestly say NO ONE has ever seen in my garage and said anything like 'oh big deal' or anything negative for that matter.
The response i mostly get is along the lines of "WOW.. pinnies!!" or "BLOODY HELL" and "i've never seen so many pinballs in one place!" followed by questions of what do i do with them, ie do i restore them to sell, or do i operate them on location, and where do i find them.

I had painters here about 12 months ago repainting my unit, (my place is rented) one of them started with the "do i ever sell any' spiel, and says he told his wife and she wanted one, so everytime i see him now he asks if i have any i want to sell... fat chance!!  My landlord has seen them many times and usually stops in if im out in the garage working when he's here doing the lawns etc.. seems i have now got HIM interested in them coz he mentioned he would like to purchase for himself, and asked me where he would find one (he knows i wont sell any of mine) 

[Strangeways]

Great topic, Brett  

To the uninitiated - I usually get the "WOW, they still make pinballs ?" / "Holy shit, do these work ?"

No one has ever said that they don't like them (except my wife who tolerates them !)

when my garage door is open, and the machines are visible, I sometimes get people walk in off the street and talk to me for AGES (because I don't know how to shut up), and then they end up buying a game or someone they know buys one. Couriers are a specialty - Gavin sends his QLD based transport company to my place, and the driver asks "Is this the address for Nino's Magnificent Pinballs" ! Last time it was "Zambello's Arcade Amusements" - just to annoy me !

Everyone HAS a story. "Oh you do pinballs ? I remember when.."

My absolute favorite comments are for the select few that have visited my storage building and seen wall to wall pinballs - "What the fuu.. .. .. .."


My absolute FAVORITE story was a dude who bought a set of cocktail table legs off eBay from me. He rocked up to my place, saw the 5 - 6 machines all lined up and started to tell me some utter bulltish that his Uncle "was the first person in australia to own pinball machines and put them in shops and make money from them". So this guy was telling me, "He started the entire industry".. "The first machines he had were in the city in the late 1970's and by the mid 1980's he was a huge millionaire". I asked this tosser what his Uncle's name was - and I'd never heard of him.

As this dude was walking out to his car, he aksed me "So how did you get into pinball ?"
So I said, "my Dad used to be an operator".
He said " oh yea, how long ago was this ?"

I paused for a second, and replied ;

"My old man brought his first containers from the USA in the 1950's, While your uncle was still in primary school"  

He never bothered to give me any feedback on the cocktail legs  

[Retropin]

My ex wife rang the police and told them i dealt drugs from my house... Needless to say, one morning i had about 10 of them at the door trying to get in. I had been up all night on an after hours installation and had been in bed exhausted for about an hour.

The rookie cop was still diving through drawers etc, when one of the older ones told him to stop. Then he turned to me and asked "any chance of a cup of tea and a go on some of your pinballs?"

Had all of them downstairs playing the machines with cups of tea in hand for a good 1/2 hour.

By the end of it we were backslapping and wishing each other well at the front door.

Was a very bizarre experience!

[Mr Pinbologist]

My absolute FAVORITE story was a dude who bought a set of cocktail table legs off eBay from me. He rocked up to my place, saw the 5 - 6 machines all lined up and started to tell me some utter bulltish that his Uncle "was the first person in australia to own pinball machines and put them in shops and make money from them". So this guy was telling me, "He started the entire industry".. "The first machines he had were in the city in the late 1970's and by the mid 1980's he was a huge millionaire". I asked this tosser what his Uncle's name was - and I'd never heard of him.

As this dude was walking out to his car, he aksed me "So how did you get into pinball ?"
So I said, "my Dad used to be an operator".
He said " oh yea, how long ago was this ?"

I paused for a second, and replied ;

"My old man brought his first containers from the USA in the 1950's, While your uncle was still in primary school"  

He never bothered to give me any feedback on the cocktail legs  

Thats a CRACKER of a story Nino  i just KNEW you would have some good stories to tell 

[beaky]

My ex wife rang the police and told them i dealt drugs from my house... Needless to say, one morning i had about 10 of them at the door trying to get in. I had been up all night on an after hours installation and had been in bed exhausted for about an hour.

The rookie cop was still diving through drawers etc, when one of the older ones told him to stop. Then he turned to me and asked "any chance of a cup of tea and a go on some of your pinballs?"

Had all of them downstairs playing the machines with cups of tea in hand for a good 1/2 hour.

By the end of it we were backslapping and wishing each other well at the front door.

Was a very bizarre experience!

I hope they didn't continue the search between playing the pinnies and the pat on the back at the front door? now that would have been rude.

When I have visitors & my garage is clean and in order (it's been a while since my garage was clean) I often get the "wow pinnies" and "what do you do with them". When ever I get an old friend that catches up with me on face book and they have seen my pictures i always get the "i'm coming to your place next time we are in the area" .On the odd occasion I get told I'm just a big kid, of course this is from the female friends, they always follow it with I can't wait to come over & play them.

[Caveoftreasures]

I just remembered, my brothers girlfriend (who is a cross between a warewolf and a and a retarded dwarf) once said that pinballs were boring and that x-box was so much better.

I asked her how much a x-box game goes up in price over a couple year period, who walks into a room and says WOW when they see a x-box, and who gets to enjoy the thrill of the hunt looking for one, or restoring one etc. ?

Her answer was ofcourse "I dont know" to which i replied "go give yaself a upper cut ya silly bitch".lol 

She hasnt been invited back for a BBQ or a game of pinball ) or farkin X-Box for that matter ! ).lol 

[GORGAR 1]

I only have 5 pinballs and 1 arcade but most of the comments are from my wifes girl friends who love walking through my room and saying " i remember playing these years ago" and "my husband would love one" it just makes all the headaches worth it, they also like my KISS collection but thats another thread

Peter

[ktm450]

Great topic, Brett  

To the uninitiated - I usually get the "WOW, they still make pinballs ?" / "Holy shit, do these work ?"

No one has ever said that they don't like them (except my wife who tolerates them !)

when my garage door is open, and the machines are visible, I sometimes get people walk in off the street and talk to me for AGES (because I don't know how to shut up), and then they end up buying a game or someone they know buys one. Couriers are a specialty - Gavin sends his QLD based transport company to my place, and the driver asks "Is this the address for Nino's Magnificent Pinballs" ! Last time it was "Zambello's Arcade Amusements" - just to annoy me !

Everyone HAS a story. "Oh you do pinballs ? I remember when.."

My absolute favorite comments are for the select few that have visited my storage building and seen wall to wall pinballs - "What the fuu.. .. .. .."


My absolute FAVORITE story was a dude who bought a set of cocktail table legs off eBay from me. He rocked up to my place, saw the 5 - 6 machines all lined up and started to tell me some utter bulltish that his Uncle "was the first person in australia to own pinball machines and put them in shops and make money from them". So this guy was telling me, "He started the entire industry".. "The first machines he had were in the city in the late 1970's and by the mid 1980's he was a huge millionaire". I asked this tosser what his Uncle's name was - and I'd never heard of him.

As this dude was walking out to his car, he aksed me "So how did you get into pinball ?"
So I said, "my Dad used to be an operator".
He said " oh yea, how long ago was this ?"

I paused for a second, and replied ;

"My old man brought his first containers from the USA in the 1950's, While your uncle was still in primary school"  

He never bothered to give me any feedback on the cocktail legs  

GOLD! 

[ajlaird]

Most people are quite keen to see them and then have a bash.

It is interesting that among all the people I know as friends (outside of the people I have met directly through pinball) I am the only one that owns machines. So it is a talking point.

[Caveoftreasures]

Most people are quite keen to see them and then have a bash.

It is interesting that among all the people I know as friends (outside of the people I have met directly through pinball) I am the only one that owns machines. So it is a talking point.

A very good point indeed AJ.
We are a rare breed. Pinball collectors are few n far between when u look at the numbers involved pro-rata compared to most other hobbys.
Pinballs are like wine a little bit, they just keep getting better with age. The longer u have them, the more you appreciate them.

In all the years of putting Alarm systems in peoples houses (15 years worth and many many thousands of homes visited) I have NEVER seen a pinball machine in anyones house ever. PINBALL = RARE !

[beaky]

they are out there. just not that often

[Retropin]

Hey Brett,
Ever thought that people who have burglar devices fitted often have the idea in their head that "this bloke could bypass all this easily.. take the lot and id never know cos the damn thing wont go off!"

Maybe youve never seen a pinball cos it got moved out before the burglar guy came round.

If youve ever wondered why people dont own much in their homes then this might be the answer.

I rest my case your honour..

[Caveoftreasures]

Gav (Retropin) In response to your post, Its funny actually.

People see a Security Licence hanging around your neck, and they start telling you where they hide all their cash and all the jewellery etc.  

I instantly tell them to buy a decent Safe, so not even the husband or wife can get to the goodies without a blow torch.

GOOD STORY FOR YOU

In the 15 years I have been doing Security, I have only known of one Installer/Security Consultant who went bad and robbed a "Good Guys" Store. He had been working on the alarm, he knew the codes (which we all get to know) , he had a mate who was his partner in crime who worked in the monitoring station, between them, they pulled off the 20 grand $ heist, and his big mouth a few weeks later got him arrested.

He was 26 yrs of age, never been in trouble with the law, first offence ever, was a trusted member of society up until this event, and he and his mate got 8 yrs jail each straight off the bat with no parole, meaning, he had to do the full 8 years.
Turns out the judge didnt see the funny side of it, and because he was in a position of trust, and he abused his position, he got the book thrown at him.

I am sure there are others, but I havent met them, thankfully.

OK, BACK TO PINBALL.