Any other pinball collectors out there?

[Adric]

Just curious....I have a small collection, about 10 games, mostly from the 60s and 70s....I'm a big fan of the artwork on the Gottlieb artwork.

Adric

[Ottmeister X]

I wish. If I had to choose between video games and pinball machines, it would be pinball. We have a cool pinball arcade out in Lyons, Colorado but I don't frequent it enough like I should.

Lyons Pinball (http://www.lyonspinball.com/)

[StoneGold]

Just curious....I have a small collection, about 10 games, mostly from the 60s and 70s....I'm a big fan of the artwork on the Gottlieb artwork.

Adric
That takes serious money to do that properly. And believe me, I used to write about it professionally.

[Adric]

Hey Ott and stone---

Pinball collecting is a fun thing...and you don’t need to be rich!

You can still get a fix-it-up game for $300 or so, put maybe $100 into it, maybe $200, add about 50 hours of your own time, some moments of grumbling and profanity, other moments of 'Ahha...I figured it out" and its amazing what you can do. Most of our games are electro-mechanical, so no solid state circuits to worry about. We have a few 'digital' games, but we pull the boards out and send them to be fixed if something comes up.

Its a little bit of an expensive hobby, but you can get a nice working game for $500-$1,000, and if you like to putz around with mechanical things, its fun. But they are a lot like old cars....you need to keep adjusting this and that...to me, it's half the fun!

I love golden age comics, too, but sometimes I feel like I get more out of another pinball for $500 as opposed to a tiny stack of Planet Comics….or other assorted 50s horror….the problem is, pinballs are big…you run out of space. I gave one to my parents, and a friend has one on loan…they get a game to play, I get free storage!

Well, if anyone is ever interested in getting into the hobby, let me know….I’d be happy to talk about my experiences, how to find ‘cheap’ games, fix-it-tips, ‘what game is that’ questions, and whatever else…

Adric

[Mr. Palmer]

Loves me some pinball!

I've bought quite a few machines in the past, but currently only own two: Creature From The Black Lagoon and The Addams Family (of which I'm not too keen, though my wife---whose name is Tish---loves when Gomez drools her name :rolleyes: ).

[Adric]

Hey Mr. Palmer---

Those are both great games....I think Creature is an under-rated game....used to love to play this. I also miss Bally/Williams in terms of newer games...I'm not a big fan of the pinballs Stern is putting out these days...UG!So far, I haven't been able to buy a newer game due to the expense...I think Creatues and Adams' Families are going for around 1.5k to 3.5 k, depending....someday!!!! So far the most I spent was 1k for a very clean Joker Poker.....but mainly I try to buy cheap games in good cosmetic condition, and get them working, maybe replace/upgrade some coils to get them moving faster.

Ever been out to Tim Arnold's place in Vegas? He has a collection of about 500 games he used to open up for 'Fun Night' a few times a year; he just opened a pinball museum w/ a few hundred games out on Tropicana Ave.....can't wait to go!

Take Care,

Adric

[Mr. Palmer]

I haven't been to Vegas in many moons, but those sound like a few interesting things to see next time I'm out that way. Thanks for the tip! :)