Heck yeah, looks like some fun stuff in there. Nip It, Quick Draw, Space Mission... Trying to figure out what the Bally game is near the car tire.

Nice find! 100% absolutely worth restoring, no question about it.

Those playfields look great from what I can see. It looks like Nip it, Fast Draw, Space Mission, Freedom, Jack in the box, Odds & Evens, Outer Space, Scuba, Playtime, some others.

If these were mine I'd start working on them right away! Remember, in 100 years with periodic maintenance these games will still be around and running as they're a part of history, and all super fun to play.

Congrats on picking up some amazing games!

This is what we like to refer to as STRIKING GOLD. Nice grab!

Don't let those machines go into the dumpster. They aren't that difficult to repair once you get the hang of it.

Center pop Bally Freedom, you lucky bastard

Oh weird, I didn't notice that. One with and one without. Where's NicoVolta? He loves the prototype version. It would be fun to have them set up side by side for awhile.

You got a good score. Restore them.

Nope, all junk. Put them on a barge and let them float across the ocean into my port.

I wonder how much shipping would be. Would love to get my hands on that Scuba or Outer Space (probably Scuba) for my next project.

Wow - great find. My two cents, but would totally lean towards resoration.

Seconded

The Freedom center pop is junk. I'll take it off your hands.

Looks like you got a shipment heading out to Pennsylvania, DEN. I hear it's cheaper to ship in bulk... so uh... just send them all and we'll be sure to split it up evenly.

The're worth thousands on EBay!

HOLY COW!

I didn't notice...there are two Freedoms!

Would love to have it (not an incredibly rare game, just have never seen one pop up around me) but can't begin to think what shipping costs would be. I think it has to be in a crate also, not entirely sure. I'm only 18 so my budget is pretty much nothing but when I start working full time in the fall maybe I can make more dreams realities.

Anyways, if some overseas buyers want those Freedoms maybe some sort of package deal can be done. Expecting it to be way more than it's worth though.

-

Freedom with the pop bumper between the flippers is the early-production game which apparently makes it a much better game and is hard to find too. I think it also has "1776" and "1976" on the backglass as well, which they removed later on to not make the machine seem dated in the coming years (e.g. playing and seeing that in 1978 would make it clear the machine was already 2 years old and made in/for 1976)

You know, if you can restore a SS, you can restore an EM. Me personally, I prefer SS, I would not pass on a good EM deal. In the end, restoring play fields, plastics, and Cabinets are pretty close to the same.

We're sending the boat with the whole crew!

SR5_(resized).jpg

Looks like dumpster material to me.

Ah, totally new on EM. Take a deep breath It's a bit of a different animal than solid state. Won't coin up is the first problem - it's not going to do anything if you can't put a credit on it or set it up for freeplay...so that's really the first thing I'd look for. You are going to need schematics if you don't have them, and the tools to do contact cleaning and adjustment. From the pics I'd say dirty contacts is a likely problem. This read is a good primer as well http://www.pinrepair.com/em/

That's a real nice haul, congrats.

http://www.dougspinball.com/?p=1236

This is for a Williams EM but it really helps

No.

http://www.dougspinball.com/?p=1236

If you want to move all (or some) of them, give Christian a call/email at Pinballseye in Sweden. He would probably buy the lot, and restore them and put them out for everyone to enjoy.

www.pinballseye.se

Christian opens the location all the time to the public, and has many large tournaments there (including Swedish Open and IFPA World Champs last year)

rd

Whoa... I was at a pinball party this evening and Xerico just informed me about this thread... "You didn't hear about it?"

NOPE! *gasp*

Hi DEN. What you've got there is, in my *opinion*, the most desirable EM of them all. Both in terms of play and collectability (collectibility?). The main reason why....?

Norm Clark.

The guy was a WIZARD of innovation from the start of his career and never quit. His first game was Williams King Pin in 1962... a novel game with four flippers in an unusual layout w/center kicker. King Pin is (rightly) considered one of the very best of the "reverse wedgeheads" from that era along with River Boat, which he also designed. Other innovations followed:

1964 - Stop N' Go with reverse flippers and unique stop/go scoring
1966 - 8-Ball - 2-player middle-pop game
1966 - A-Go-Go - first game with roulette captive ball spinner (which he invented)
1967 - Magic City - 1-player middle-pop game
1968 - Cue-T/Miss-O - 1-player middle-pop games w/AAB variant
1970 - Jive Time w/huge backbox spinner
1971 - Doodle Bug w/innovative captive ball scoring and nonstop action
1972 - Spanish Eyes - First middle-pop game w/3" flippers
1972 - Fan-Tas-Tic - First 4-player middle-pop game
1973 - Travel Time - unique time-based play
1974 - Norm Clark modifies some Bow and Arrow machines with a new little thing called "solid state technology"

...as well as having designed many beloved games in-between such as Apollo, Pit Stop, Klondike, Gulfstream, etc.

If you look at pinball history, you will see that every middle-pop game since the woodrail era (with the exception of Safari) was designed by Norm Clark. Essentially, he is responsible for bringing back middle-pop games and taking them to the next level.

Knowing this... we continue...

In 1975, Norm Clark joined Bally as head of the design department. The next game in production was for the American bicentennial celebration in 1976... hence "Freedom".

As we know, only 100 Freedom prototypes were ever built. Primarily because European distributors didn't "get" the middle-pop thing. They demanded a redesign... and Bally caved in order to sell more units. Which essentially destroyed its fundamental figure-8 geometry and wide shot stance (not to mention the unpredictable fun of the middle-pop).

Isn't it ironic that a game named "Freedom" of all things, with an over-the-top American theme, gets shut down by fussy Europeans from which Americans came in the first place? I imagine a snooty Frenchman in a beret... "zis meedle-pop bumper... tut tut... no no no... zees will not do at all. Not at all. Just make eet like all ze others. Do eet now... or you... and your MEEDLE-POP BUMPER... can sweem back to America."

LOL and thus here we are today.

A lot of rare games and prototypes were made in low quantities because they weren't very good, but this one is definitely an exception. The Freedom prototype is Norm Clark's last, and best, middle-pop game... deployed on the last, and best, Bally EM platform... in its original unmolested form... having escaped with its "Freedom" intact... with a touch of Kmiec's "house energy" in full swing... and is the single best-playing EM I have ever found. The layout is wide, fast, and fun and will teach you new flipper skills in the process. Enough that I think every serious player or collector should have at least one middle-pop in their stable (Fan-Tas-Tic or Spanish Eyes would be the obvious alternatives since they offer a similar layout and relatively high production count... can still be had affordably).

So, DEN... if you are not an EM-guy... if you don't enjoy disassembling steppers and relays and rebuilding things by hand... if you don't plan to give this special game a head-to-toe restoration... I suggest passing it on to someone who will do so and put it in front of people who will play it and be entertained by its history. Who knows, since yours is in Europe, maybe that very game was the one which set everyone off? :p

And yes, I'd also very much like to own it and restore it.

Over here going "WOO!" like the minority at an away football game.

Well then... check your PM's and lemme know!

french-taunter_(resized).jpg

Seriously...great post Nico

Ok...we know of at least two center-pop Freedoms.

How many of the others are accounted for?

E

I think Brian Saunders in Illinois has at least one as well.

John Weeks (Arcade Expo in Banning) has one.

Playfield is rough, but fixable. It should be airbrushed and professionally clear coated.

This one is mine (photo from TPF 2016): https://arianaby.smugmug.com/Professional/Texas-Pinball-Festival-VECTOR/i-9TKMNGg/A

(can't seem to upload pics today... odd)

My playfield was in WORSE condition... so fear not, it can be saved!

Note: I had the large white ring area on my playfield resprayed with a lighter shade of white (matched with white pop bumper bodies/flippers). I think this looks ideal... better than dingy faded white.

Pinsider Mcklit up in Odense was just asking about where to find project pins in Denmark.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/where-to-buy-project-pin

I posted a link on his thread, but maybe reach out to him and see if he's interested?

Let's not get carried away here - that Freedom is a cool find but I think a couple vocal lunatics in this thread are really overrating both it's awesomeness and it's desireability. I don't think it's worth significantly more than the regular production version, which is a better game anyway. I hate center flipper pop bumper games. Someone offered you 1200 Kroner for it? Is that a lot? If it's 1200 US you should take it in a heartbeat.

Still that's a very cool haul in Denmark. Those games all look worth saving to me.

Outspoken? Yes. Lunatic? No.

C'mon... history is fun. We can peacefully agree to disagree, aye?

If you hate middle-pop games that pretty much sums it up. I love 'em and this one in particular is my all-time favorite EM (thus far).

All good... different strokes as they say.

BTW if you find a prototype I'll be happy to trade you a revised version for it.

They're different from the normal. I think there's room for all. I know Spanish Eyes is a lot of fun. It's mesmerizing and almost magical when the ball goes down into the center pop bounces around awhile and then comes back onto the playfield. It's like a lazarus but it happens more often.

Who should say what something this rare is worth? I'm not saying it should be worth more but if there's a buyer as passionate as Nico it would probably be a good deal to take the offer.