Sunday Pinball Questionnaire - part 68 - greenechidna

[Strangeways]

Fantastic to see new members putting their hand up for the questionnaire 

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?

[greenechidna]

Apologies for that dogs breakfast I put up Sunday. 

[greenechidna]

Earliest Memories.  
Around 1971. I was 10 and starting to move out of my immediate neighbourhood. Saturday mornings meant swimming at the promenade that ran between Manly Wharf and Marineland.  Piling into Andre’s mums tiny Isuzu Bellet, getting stuck to the scorching vinyl seats and driving to Manly from Dee Why. This always smelled like rubber due to our snorkelling gear which is the first thing I ever saved up to buy. Mid mornings we went up to Marineland where there was a vending machine that cooked chips similar to Maccas fries. Very different smell from the local chippie and the whole concept was irresistible. This was probably my earliest coin in a slot experience and it didn’t take me long to notice other, even more interesting stuff further down the boardwalk.  At this stage we were barred from venturing down to the arcade at the end of the boardwalk because of “the wrong type”. Same with the Fun Pier adjacent to Manly Wharf…..Too late though, I was already compromised by that copter. We would walk up to the entrance and check out the “wrong types” and the glowing, dinging, clicking things they were playing.

First time I dropped a coin in a proper pinny was a few months later at The Forum at Collaroy, which was a squash/spa/sauna/indoor pool done in a Roman theme….so it was a day of firsts for me….It was a Gulfstream and I’d been given a whole dollar for lunch/lollies
 So 15 games later I had learned a thing or two about  pinnys and my addictive personality. I matched a free game at some stage and thought I’d broken something but someone passing said “Lucky Number eh? I must have looked worried or confused because he pointed out the credit window and explained the knocker…… The hook was sinking deeper and deeper . That day is a golden memory for me and just seeing those cool, bluey green Wiliams bumper caps brings it all back…..

Northern beaches in the 70's, especially Manly was a hot spot of pinball. You had the Fun Pier, west pavillion over at Marineland. Totem Bowl at Balgowlah. Most of the beachside suburbs had a poolroom/cafe setup somewhere near the beach and every second fish shop/ milk bar had at least 1 machine.

I moved to the Blue Mountains in '75 and again, machines everywhere....Senic Skyway, Echo Point, In my home town The Hydro Majestic hotel had 3 great machines (Flying Carpet, High Hand and 4square)


here's a Youtube of the gattling gun...I just found this and its the 1st time in 40 odd years Ive looked inside this....magic!

And here's the helicopter....

[greenechidna]

2. All time favorite?

Gtb Outer Space (1972) for a bunch of reasons. It was THE game at Dee Why beach  and always in play....whenever I went to put my 2 bob down I was told to "go play Travel Time" by the older, tougher guys. I probably only played half a dozen games total! Outer space has lots of nice features for the time...spinner, vari-target, plunger re-entry gate: it's asymetrical and has a nice b/g. Ive seen a 4 player (Orbit) this week on Gumtree, but its pricey ($1700 unshopped/unrestored) and in Tasmania. As much as I love the look of Travel Time (One of Williams /Marches best in my opinion) I don't think I could bring myself to play against that bloody clock again!

3. Favorite Manufacturer?

Being the early 70s, only Gottlieb and Williams games made any impression on me....honestly cant think of any E/M Ballys around this time.....Love that "extra touch of quality and originality" of Gottlieb but also love the brutality of Williams D.C. bumpers and slings, not to mention the over the top artwork of Christian Marche. Wedgeheads have nicer chimes but Williams' violent bumper rattles (think the 5(!) bumper cluster on Klondike) always make me smile. It's like a crazy drum solo.

For this era I'm calling it a draw.

4. Favorite machine in collection?

Right now Klondike.  Mitch did a stellar job on the restore. It feels tight and new, looks beautiful and has a great layout. The reels throw in a nice mix of luck and skill and lighting up the 1k red bumper is always a treat. Superstar needs a fettle and a clean to be it's best. I've always loved the simplicity and pace of this title. it may have one of the ugliest b/gs Ive seen but the p/f  is a beautiful combo of circles and stars in strong primary colours.

Once the wedgeheads and all those drop targets turn up I'm going to have a lot of trouble choosing a favorite.

 Historically, High Hand is the machine I've enjoyed the most and  am most familiar with. I'm stoked to be getting an APR restoration for this title.

At the moment I'm limited to 4 machines. 2 early 70s Williams( Klondike, Superstar) , Two wedgeheads ( Abra-ca-dabra, High Hand).
All titles I played heaps as a kid.

Abra Ca Dabra:

High Hand:

Klondike:

 

Superstar:

5/6/7.

How long have you been collecting?/1st machine?

A few months ago I put the idea of buying a machine off Ebay to my wife. She was cool and said i deserved a treat. I got an idea of prices and started making a few bids. Superstar was the 1st game i seriously bid for and the owner reassured me it was properly shopped and reliable. I started researching E/Ms and was reassured about it being a practical, sustainable proposition from these forums. I read the Clay Harrell repair guides  http://www.pinrepair.com/em/index.htm and felt like I could cope with the basics as long as I had some experienced backup for the complex stuff. When I realised that Mitch lived just down the track and did house calls, that sold us on the idea of  actually putting a collection together.

And yes, Superstar is a keeper.

8.
What are you currently working on?

No restoration as yet though the superstar is a good prospect. Right now I'm learning basic e/m maintainence and fault finding, I've managed to get a few hitches sorted out by carefully fiddleassing about ....manually advancing a stuck  stepper and score reels, finding a bad solder joint, minor things for you guys but a real buzz for a guy who didn't even know how to solder last week!
Just the fact that these forums exist is the single greatest asset a newb could have.

9.
Most wanted game?

Outer Space (Gtb 1972)...See above.

10/11.
Best all time bargain/One that got away?

Daves (Goodolddays) Gulfstream. Seriously. I want the game but I'm limited to 4 machines and had to make the decision to get the 2 williams and the 2 wedgeheads for the sake of balance. Carolyn and I are just about to go into stage 2 of house renovations which means 6 months of haemorraging money and something had to give....I really want that title and Daves is really beautiful. I know when I eventually get the green light to expand the collection It will cost substantially more and I probably won't get such a nice example.

12.
Worst ever purchase?

No bad experiences so far...

13.

Describe your collection.

See above. Eventually i'd like to be a bit more open ended about the size and a bit more diverse. I have virtually no experience of modern machines, so maybe going to a few expo's will educate me a bit. Right now I'm just enjoying the nostalgia.

14.
gamesroom

one of these days..... right now machines are in the bedroom, which, ironically is the old games/billiard room. Convenient but eventually we are doing up the double garage under the house. When we bought the house they threw in an antique Ainsworth billiard table and cabinet. Sometime in the next 2 years we'll get everything set up and replace the rollerdoors with windows/doors and stick in a wet bar. Stay tuned...

15
other games?

Just the billiard table and a few consoles. And that's another wonderful thing about pinball. it bareley wastes time. unlike computer games, you can get a game going in 10 seconds and be on your way a couple of minutes later. Brilliant.

16
Ten years time?

For me personally, a bunch of machines in working order, maybe something in bits being cleaned up, maybe a successful restoration or two under my belt. I'd like to pick up a few reasonably complete games now while they are still comparatively cheap because i reckon they will pick up in value in the next few years as older blokes like myself who finally have the cash, time and space do the memory lane thing and discover a long lost love.

I used to spend all my money on bikes and cars, but ive outgrown that!

[The pinballist formally known as Dean Morgan]

Klondike is my all time favorite EM machine.  I loved this game as a kid. Used to play it all the time at the Milk Bar at Hume Weir, they had a separate room with four pins and this was one.

Thanks for the memories

[Strangeways]

The Helicopter brings back memories. Used to have a "Whirly Bird" in storage that ended up at the tip 

[goodolddays]

Thanks for the freat writeup Andy . 

I still haven't advertised my Gulftream yet 

[Mr Pinbologist]

Good on ya Andy for having a go at the Pinball Questionnaire 
looking forward to reading the rest of it when you get a chance to do some more 

And Abracadabra should be finished and ready for you by the weekend!!

[ktm450]

Great stuff  that helicopter game would have been pretty cool back in the day

[greenechidna]

Yeah, when you're ten the object of the game is not so much landing where the machine tells you as much as flying it around in erratic up and down circles as fast as you can

[Mr Pinbologist]

That was a great read Andy   well worth the wait  

Thanks for sharing.

[ajlaird]

Great write-up!

All the best with the renovations and the pinball collection!!

[Mr Pinbologist]

Great write-up!

All the best with the renovations and the pinball collection!!

He's just about to get his 3rd machine    its loaded in the car and i'm about to leave.. another one gone from my collection 

[Caveoftreasures]

A great read. Thanks for sharing your early memories. More people shld join up for the Sunday questionaire !  Well done, great read for sure.

[ddstoys]

Thanks for the great read I really wish I'd seen the good old days lOve the old em arcade gear.

    And as for Niño and the werly bird gOing to the tip    But I'm sure you have thrown out worse things