I thought that the Bally Playboy folks might get a kick out of this one. Ebay just finished up the auction for a machine near Santa Cruz, CA. Playfield wear, not working, and much fade on cabinet. Hammer price: $2013.88 and local pickup.

It does have a Gottlieb envelope included (not sure what's in it) and the seller said that it was $5000 if restored.

ebay.com link: itm

Honestly - It seems like it went for fair market price to me.

Ok. Maybe I'm out of touch. 2 years or so ago this would have been a $600 machine. Maybe as much as $1000, but depending on what was inside

Have to agree with Mad_Dog_Coin_Op !!

Rhe machine that I bought to restore I paid $1500 if I am not mistaken! No angst toward the seller here as I knew what I was buying but it was a mess. Playfield was way worse. Machine was just enough to be restore-able!

Given that this was in CA where everything costs way more than just about anywhere else, yeah, that price does indeed sound about right!!

Thank you for posting this jbovenzi

Um, 20 years ago. You left off a zero...

Wondering if anyone out there would be interested in making an eprom for the game that would add voices and call outs!!??

I recall seeing where someone did this I think for Star Trek. Was really cool! Be neat to have a G rated version as well as an X rated version that was easily changed.

Just an idea….

I would contact the pinside geeteoh to ask him if it’s on his list.

Contact made. Thank you

I talked to geeteoh and he advised that he planned to implement what he did for the Star Trek game to the other -32/-50 Sound board games. However, due to content and other reasons that Playboy as well as Dolly would be last if at all. Oh well. Wait and see I guess

Glad to have mine all back together. This is the ONE pinball that got me into this crazy hobby turned business.
Got a Bally Playboy for Christmas when I was 15 (1988) I picked it out and my parents bought it for $250.

Fast forward to April 2020 at the start of the Pandemic and picked up this project.

I can’t praise “The Master” Keith Holbrook enough for his masterful restoration on my original playfield.

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Looks very nice!! Mine looked about like yours did and then the work began. Don’t play it or any of my games a lot but nice to have to play a game now and then. Like bringing them back from the edge. It really is a beautiful game!!

Can anyone tell me the story of this playfield?
The logo on the bottom left, the number 2016 looks like a year but the numbers are odd sizes and misaligned.
The rollover is clear instead of orange.
The artwork looks like an original. It is clearcoated like an original. I don't see any touchups on it.
There must be a story...

Fantastic!

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More photos of the mysterious playfield. I am suspecting this playfield was touched up by someone very good at touch ups. I think the 2016 may be a water slide decal. Additional photos to show what I have here.FB754F34-6CBC-45AB-9BF1-5FFF022D014A (resized).jpeg

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Definitely looks like it was touched up and then clear coated. Whomever did the work was very good. looks like maybe many of the inserts may have been leveled. Will be interesting to find out the history if possible. Great game!!

It was obviously heavily touched up by the pics, probably in 2016 as noted. Someone noted the year with the date. Nice PF for an OE PB, install and enjoy.

"It is clearcoated like an original."

They were not clearcoated when new.

I wonder why someone decided to forego the black circles around the inserts in the bonus area and the grotto?? It seems clear that this was a conscious decision, since the paint was color matched to cover it. Very odd....

I disagree. The Bally Tuffcoat is still considered a clearcoat process. However, you are correct that this playfield was not clearcoated like an original.

According to a 2006 post on rec.games.pinball by Clay Harrell, "Tuff-coat was just Bally's name for acrylic lacquer."

https://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.pinball/c/UXeR_4bQ8w4/m/eXlfCBTjCw4J

That is a clear product that is on top of the art. Sounds like clearcoat to me. At least it was clear until it yellowed. Clearcoat is a generic term but most now recognize it as being automotive 2 part clear. With all the new products today you need to be more specific than "clearcoat".

I.E. yellowcoat...

You never forget your first...pin!

Just bought this today, so be the 3rd owner, never been in a route. Pretty good shape...I was born in 62 and this 78 is in better shape than me!

Looking forward to getting it cleaned up, replace with LED (if possible) so all the lights have same color/brightness... And enjoy it every day

Hoping to get insights from the group, pardon my lurking and asking questions.

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Take a look on the market place for ad from myloxgee in Washington.... Uses the pics from the eBay site. Including the gottlieb manual lol..for $1400 forth including free shipping with FedEx or UPS

Can we say Scam?

That is a nice looking original. Put some fresh capacitors on the driver board and power supply and you’ll be good to go. Congratulations on the purchase.

What a beautiful machine!!! Playfield and coin door look amazing. You can tell that you’re the third owner for sure.

In addition to the fresh caps I might suggest the following;

If your into it I would suggest replacing the lamp sockets. They were never that great to begin with. Replacing these will go a long way to eliminating issues in this sept. A fair amount of work for sure but worth every minute!

Would also suggest replacing the yellowed nomenclature in the back box for sure. You can get these from Peter Inkochnito he has all these already done up and you can print them off. It will just shine things up a bit if you will.

Other than that she is a Beut for sure!! Congratulations on a great find.

George

Forgot, if you’re wanting to go the led route, you’ll either need to add a resistor interface to the driver board I believe or replace the board with a new Alltek that has this ability built in. This will keep the leds from flickering which is kind of a nuisance during game play. If you want just the resistor interface I have a spare since I bought that and then decided to replace the entire board eliminating the need for the interface. Again, beautiful machine!!

Thanks and definitely looking to"modernize"without charging the game itself. Def need LED so all lights have same brightness and color. Than you for the advice.. Time to go shopping I guess

Now I have to learn what read off this parts are, and how to change them and if I have that skill set .... Off need to hire someone.

Time to read the manual and watch some you tube before I break this beauty.

Playboy was my first machine a couple years ago, and I too went the LED route. A good rule of thumb: Cool white LED's behind white, warm whites behind fleshtones, and "sunlight" LED's (Comet is the only supplier of these, to my knowledge) everywhere else, including GI. I color match all the inserts.

It's all subjective for sure, but I think it really brought my game back to life.

Keep us posted!

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Thank you - machine got delivered this morning - wife and I have been playing, need to get a new ball, repair some things. That bottom drop target just does not want to go down when hit on edge, and Key 2 rollover is not registering. Credit display has some lights out (turned it off/not needed), and definitely need to replace lights. Like your suggestion on the light tones, not into pinking it out at this time - call me a tradionalist/old fashioned

Which pics were your before and after?

Do you remember how many of each light you ordered?

Thanks however neither my skill... What do those capacitors do, and why replace them

I'm a little surprised you had to ask, but mmkay. Before is on the left, after on the right.

I have no clue how many I ordered, as I have several games that use them. It's not difficult to just look at the playfield, the light board behind the backglass, and count.

Good luck. It's an easy game on which to learn.

That is the same one being sold in pinside by myloxgee for $1400 firm up in Washington? He would not let my friend see the machine, no phone number, vent like a scam, price too low on here

Thanks...I didn't want to assume which was which.... Especially as I have a bad eye.

Dakine747 thanks for the advice and help - bad bulbs replaced, awaiting LED to make it shine.

Couple issues - unsure where to look to resolve - went through manual, searched online

Extra Ball - when lit/activated they are not registering. For example, roll over the extra ball when lit, registers with tone/chime but does not award extra ball (Extra ball awarded does not light up, player does not shoot again).

Special - have tried with both the rollover from the targets, as well as when lit and hitting the 5 keys - no knocker. Knocker does not go off when beating high score to date. Knocker does work (went through system test, and works when there is a match)

Front Door Game Adjustment issues - cannot reset the High Score to Date to "00" - pressing the credit button increases current score by 10K at a time. Have switched switch 6 and 7 to "off" while machine is off, turned on, turned off - no change. Looking to adjust to something lower/round number with 000 on the end. Same issue when trying to reset the replay to 400k and 660k defaults on the card - cannot do it.

I have ordered new Alltek MPU and solenoid boards, but unsure if this is a switch setting I missed, or something else? I have attached pic of my dip switches settings, searched on here but did not find answers.

Thanks again for your help.

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UPDATE:
special now works, extra ball still not working
found teh S33 reset button and now have the high score to date and the two scores (400 and 660K) set for replays

But...
i screwed something up and reset the credits (was showing 775515, reset to 0) and now cannot play game. S 17/18/19 turned ON - still shows 0 credits, no matter what i change 17/18/19 to.

Any thoughts on what to do/make this work...how to clear the memory? Someone said someone named Hibler may have worked on the MPU. I can always wait till Alltek board comes in.

Sigh

Go thru the manual and re-adjust all your settings one by one, or use a preset.

The settings section of the manual can be very informative.

If Chris Hibler worked on the board, it should be perfect. No worries there unless someone un-did his excellent work.

checked with chris - was not his work on the board. Dip switches 17/18/19 easy to find...they are all on. still shows 0 credits, even after machine turned on and off.

I have checked/double checked - extra ball lights up, touch the rollover for it, but SAME PLAYER SHOOT AGAIN does not light up, and next player shoots when ball drains. Figuring i am the dipstick who did not set it right, but can't figure out which one to switch.

Check the manual?
The switch settings are there for reference for the original board set.

Add credits?

Thank you...Please see above...I have set switches 17/18/19 as ON to add 40 credits. Still shows 0 . Same happens when I change 17 to off for 35 credits stop shows 0.

I have the original manuals that came with the machine, have read them, and verified the dip switches.

At this point thinking whoever modified the MPU poor in a custom ROM, and with our a ROM chip reader/writer I will have to wait till my Alltek boards get here.

Setting Max credits of 40 on an original board doesnt add 40 credits. It just sets the max you can put in.
Unless im confused about what you are doing.

Trip the coin chute switch wire to add credits

These old games dont have free play unless modified.

I installed the Alltek boards over the weekend, replaced the mpu, light, and solenoid boards....all is good

Endless to the original mpu had been "modified" by someone with a 5101 chip and ROM.

By replacing the mpu, have the free play by seeing dip switch 1 to on on the game selector I have free play. My credit light lights, and extra ball also works

Wondering if this occurs with others, and if I should make some adjustments or replacements.

Notice when the bank goes down Key 1 cute it does not hit the bumper cap often...missing scoring opportunities/ball action.

Drop target 1 (bottom 1 closest to flippers) doesn't drop if hit from side/edge either - only straight on works

Any adjustments any of you have made to your games for better play?

Thanks

This is the beauty of Bally drop targets. You need precise aiming to knock them down. They will make you a better player.

yep forgot the key to playboy is Ball #1 - getting 20k bonus and 2x multiplier which racks up the score later on.

This is by design. You have to hit the target from the front to drop it.

A ball going down the #1 key lane should always energize the upper-left pop bumper. You may have to adjust the switch where the spoon comes into contact with the bumper skirt peg to increase its sensitivity when ball touches it. It's always cool when the ball goes down the left lane, and the pop bumper kicks it into the grotto, the kicker shoots it back out, and down the #1 key lane again and again. Especially with that 25,000 bonus light lit up! Nudging skills help here. LOL

thanks - now I just need to learn how to adjust that switch and spoon

Will see if there are any videos or guides that show hot do to that

More context - looks like when it goes down Key 1 and is to the left, it does not hit the bumper at all, about 25% of the time. i can move the posts between key 1 and 2 to the left a bit, that doesn't really help -

question: would replacing the skirt with a new one help? Is there a way to move the post on the left side of Key 1 to the right a smidge to force ball to hit the bumper?Perhaps replacing that Key 1 post rails ? Wondering if rail and skirt are just a smidge worn out and causing the issues? Anyone else have this issue? Thanks.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/vids-guide-to-rebuilding-pop-bumpers