Pinball's dark underbelly aka Pinchamp enters the pin hobby

I have always loved pinball. I loved the Williams 90s games and played constantly including setting high scores everywhere I played. In fact my old elementary school journal from when I was 8 years old said: What do I want to be when I grow up? Answer: A pinball arcade operator.

My favourite all time game back was Indiana Jones the pinball adventure. I dreamt of one day owning that machine. Many decades later I found myself in the position to actually buy the machines of my dreams. I was referred online to see what I could learn/find. Enter the dark underbelly of pinball where unsuspecting noobs risk it all for a shot at a glorious machine. kinda like The Running Man but without the killing :)

I was told an IJ was coming in a large shipment and many wanted it. I put my name on the list and when it came I received a description and some low res pics of what was described as a beautiful, 100% working IJ dream machine. $5000 was a lot especially this was back in the early 2000s but for a great machine I had to do it. I had been looking locally for many months and was afraid I might never get the chance again.

The machine arrived by cargo truck. The play field was actually very nice but that was it. The boards were all hacked... Almost all of them. There was rust and the inside smelled like musty, moldy dead fish. Legs were spray painted (they looked nice gold in the pics) and plastics broken. What a mess. The worst was that I could barely get through a game without the machine resetting on me.

I should have sold it for $3500 and taken my losses... So much I have learned since then. I thought perhaps a few dollars and I could fix it up. The seller (called jvegas back then on the forum) plead ignorance. He didn't know. Not his fault. The person who sold to him misled him. I would find out later this machine came over from Argentina on a boat with a heap of other smelly pins.

Three advanced, experienced pinball collectors and even one pinball repair service professional went thought the machine over the next 2 years. Idol rebuild, boards changed, complete tear down, rebuild, Lights, pro speakers, mods, new decals, translate, gold plating, Etc, etc. Finally after $10,000 investment I had the machine of my dreams. it looked amazing... Shiny and new with no more fish smell. The last time I got it back I swear I had sweaty palms as I pushed the start button and the machine boomed to life... Then.... Then.... Then..... RESET! Are you F N kidding me??!! The pain, the suffering, the money, the time... Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I sold it for just under $5000 I believe. Followed up years later and turned out the reset was a $50 repair needed to the sound board (I replaced the power driver board and others but not the sound).

I learned a lot about the darkside of pinball. Like any hobby or industry there are those few that look to take advantage of the many... And I have now found there are so so many great pinballers in this hobby. There are so many honest and genuine people. I don't look back much anymore. All that remains of my old IJ are a few spare parts I found in a box. One of the parts is the original power driver board. The heart of my old machine ripped out like Mola Ram when he ripped the heart out of the chest of the peasant worker in Temple Of Doom... My sacrifice ...