Recommendations for my first pinball machine.

[Daniel Osborne]

Hi guys.
I'm really after, at some point, a well maintained pinball machine, preferably one with a dmd. I've seen a few around a thousand pounds, and that's my top line really. Recently on ebay, a tales from the crypt went for around 850, as did a stargate. I quite like the look of the shadow, but the bally/williams dmd tables seem a lot more expensive.
Any tips, prices and any suggestions will be gratefully received and thought about.
I'm based in the UK, East Yorkshire Coast.

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

If a thousand pounds is your limit, then you're going to be looking at mostly third-tier tables. If you have in mind a Data East or Sega table that you know you enjoy, it might be worth looking into. Be aware that parts for DE/Sega tables can sometimes be difficult to find.

Kevlar on the forums here just bought a Shadow, so he would know more about what they cost and so forth. Otherwise, any of the top-flight or even second-flight Williams/Bally tables are going to run you multiple thousands if they're in anything close to "well maintained" condition.

 

[Kevlar]

Hi Daniel, as Sean said I bought a shadow a few weeks ago and it's an awesome pin. Mine is probably a 7/10 condition wise, I've had to fix up a few things but it was fully playable when I bought it for £1200. Someone else I know through another forum bought one at the same time for just under £1000 but it wasn't fully playable. Another member of this forum Dan who has a few pins has a shadow in mint condition and has said its value is around £1900. So basically what I'm saying is you aren't going to get a shadow in great condition in your price range.

I recommend joining 2 other forums as a uk user like myself, Pinballinfo.com and the yahoo uk pinball group. Here you will get lots of help and advice as well as seeing lots of pins go on sale at good prices from reputable known pinheads.

Good luck.

 

[Daniel Osborne]

Hi guys. Cheers, I'll try to wait til next year, I can get a fully restored and sorted shadow for 1500. The guy said prices had risen by about 40 percent in the last year or so.

 

[Daniel Osborne]

But I think I'll have to wait and push to 1500

 

[Carl Spiby]

Daniel, hop on to yahoo groups ukpinball, say how much you have and ask if anyone has anything to offer.

There's a Jackbot for 895 if that's any use.

 

[DanBradford]

welcome aboard matey, as Carl said, you need to join a UK forum about real pinball for a fuller discussion, as this fine place is essentially about the digital simulation, and while we all love TPA, it's not the same thing at all.

i just bought a Surf n Safari yesterday for £625, and i also in the last month sold a Rollergames for 500, and traded a Rocky & Bullwinkle for 650, so there are plenty of cheaper games out there.

i currently have two games for sale, but they're both minty exceptional examples of the title, so they're pricey: while you could pick up a shabby Shadow for a grand, mine is lovely and is on the market at 1850; and while you could grab a drab Dracula for maybe 900, mine is all original and has the fancy plastics on and zipper flippers and a playfield you could eat off, so it's on the market at 1500. both games are being sold for exactly what i paid for them as i don't believe in hyping the price inflation. in both cases i've tweaked and fixed here and there (i generally replace balls, rubbers, sleeves and end stops on any game i get).

come join us at www.pinballinfo.com and introduce yourself, there's always a few games for sale or trade, and we can advise you if you're about to make a big mistake with your first purchase by paying over the odds (as i did). i know of a Jackbot and a Fire for sale atm, plus i think several others too all under £1000

 

[Carl Spiby]

Listen to Dan he knows his shiz.

There's always the risk of your first machine being a lemon so its best to buy from within a group otherwise it might ruin your whole experience.

 

[Daniel Osborne]

Cheers boys, I'll join up.

 

[pinbot-76]

Good luck finding your first pin! I've had a blast maintaining and upgrading mine. If you have a title in mind that you're questing for you'll probably overpay a bit... but in the end you'll be happy because you got the pin you wanted.