It all started when…

Hi, I'm Nik, and I'm a pinball addict.

2005 was a good year! I was about to turn 10, and the cottage my family had just purchased had a pin in the back corner covered in a layer of dust. What kid wouldn't be fascinated?!

Until this point, I had seen and played the odd machine around Toronto and vacation destinations, but never knew where'd I'd be years later!

Anyway, back at the cottage in 2005. I spent the next few years looking at it and studying everything I could find, failing miserably to make any kind of progress. I hit the side with a hammer one day and it came to life, still not sure how that worked but hey, i got to play! 

When the cottage was sold, I brought the machine with me, where it sat until my early 20s, when I decided it was time to set the game up and get playing again. Problem was, I didn't know how to fix it or where to start. I had to get it fixed by a pinball repair company in Ottawa, which was fine for a couple months. After being assured by the company it won't need to be serviced again, it broke down a few months later (I now know it was because they didn't rebuild the steppers and coin unit, they were gummed up to all h*ll, but I digress). 

I wasn't about to pay someone to do a less than par job, So... that's where the addiction started. 
 

With the help of you guys here on pinside, and a VERY kind and patient pinhead, I was able to learn how to go through pinball machines, what to look for, how to isolate problems, and how to read and use schematics to solve problems. 

In 2019, my addiction spiked and I picked up my second machine, The Simpsons by Data East. A few buddies accompanied me on the trip to New Hampshire against their will (not actually but that's debatable lol) to get the machine and bring it back. It was great, and I was having a blast...

Then the addict in me reared it's ugly head again. The machine needed some reconstructive surgery, and I didn't have the self control to say no. So I performed the surgery and resealed the cabinet, rebuilt the corners, redecalled the cabinet, and repainted. All patients get the royal treatment at this facility lol.

And here we are, 2 machines, 2 surgeries, and 2 happy pins...

The problem with addictions is they don't just go away, and the 1979 KISS machine is starting to look real fine...