(Topic ID: 145464)
Linked Games
Skill Roll
Bally, 1956
Topic Gallery
You're currently viewing posts by Pinsider BlackCatBone.
Click here to go back to viewing the entire thread.
Okoboji, IA
Quoted from RustyLizard:I think that is a strip of black stuff that is on the lamp panel and parts of it became detached and are hanging down.
Makes sense. Thanks.
Quoted from vdojaq:Does anyone know, is the red glass prototype, early runs or late run?
tullster has a Skill-Roll with the red backglass and asked basically the same question several months back. It is post #314, but I don't know how to link to it. The seller of the $5,250 Skill-Roll sent me several photos of his game before the auction ended. It looks to me like the serial number is A1908 or A1902. Maybe comparing @tullster's serial number and those of other owners would answer your question. I'm awfully curious, too.
$5,250 eBay Skill-Roll (resized).jpg
Screen Shot 2020-04-29 at 7.09.41 PM (resized).pngQuoted from BlackCatBone:tullster has a Skill-Roll with the red backglass and asked basically the same question several months back. It is post #314, but I don't know how to link to it. The seller of the $5,250 Skill-Roll sent me several photos of his game before the auction ended. It looks to me like the serial number is A1908 or A1902. Maybe comparing tullster's serial number and those of other owners would answer your question. I'm awfully curious, too.
[quoted image][quoted image]
I now think the serial number is BA1902 or BA1908. Consulting the ipdb serial number database, it looks like the game falls in the later half of production, but there were several hundred Skill-Rolls produced after this game, assuming consecutive serial numbers. Maybe the red glass is an early (and weak) reproduction, considering @tullsters knowledge that his red glass is at least 25 years old.
Quoted from PBEarwood:Yeah, I picked that one up. All cleaned up and working.
Sweet. Looks like a great condition game. Will you be posting some photos?
Quoted from northvibe:If it is the fuse holder(s)/block that is near the transformer and what I'm thinking. it is just 4 of these.
I don't think I understood what you were telling me. It looks like the holder for the game's 4 fuses needs to be replaced. (My Skill-Roll works, but one of the 4 fuses in my game is missing because an operator used a jumper wire to connect the 50 and 90-1 fuse holders on the circuit that feeds the fluorescent tube.) I was wondering if someone who has replaced the fuse block (the holder for the 4 fuses) in their Skill-Roll could tell me which product they used. I've never had to replace a fuse holder before. Thanks.
Quoted from gutz:Spiral nails, like what hold on side rails on ss and alphanumeric pinball machines.[quoted image]
Hey @gutz, what technique did you use to remove the spiral nails in post #205 from 8 months back? You had a photo of the nails and plates. Those nails are murder to get out on Bally's bingo games, and I've only ever been able to salvage a plate or its nails, but never both. I'd like to remove all the hardware on the wood rails of my Skill-Roll and could use some tips. Thanks.
That's very helpful. Thank you.
Quoted from gutz:I tore that machine completely apart and refinished the wood, so your approach might differ if you are not going to that level of effort.
Remove the handles/shafts out the front of the machine and remove the playfield out the back of the machine. Take a socket with an outer diameter the same size as the handle through holes, from the inside of the machine tap the socket with a hammer to loosen the washers. With just enough of the spiral head exposed, I used a staple puller hand tool to pry up the spiral nails. Do the bottom one first then the top, so the washer doesn't spin down and scratch the wood. I also had a thin scrap of plexi to pry against so the wood or metal wasn't damaged.
The 5 cent plate is much trickier and might damage the wood (I wasn't too concerned since I was already refinishing the wood). I used a thin putty knife and worked the edges of the plate up from the wood, using the plate to pull up the spiral nails. With just enough of the spiral head exposed, use the staple puller to pry up the nails. I used the plexi scrap again to not cause further damage to wood or metal.
My Skill-Roll serial number is BA 1914. I've also entered it in the serial number database:
http://www.ipsnd.net/view.aspx?id=3232
Bally Skill-Roll serial number. I took this photo to add an entry to the ipdb.com serial number database. (resized).jpg 2 weeks later
Quoted from per3per3:For the issue of the nickel not being held upon beating the game, could anyone provide some guidance on what to look for to fix my issue of the nickel not being held once you beat the game?
I finally made it through the 8th row and watched my nickel promptly disappear from the playfield - the coin catcher wasn't working at all. I took apart the assembly that pulls the coin catcher shaft in at the beginning of each game (to release the captured nickel, if any) and cleaned the shaft and coil sleeve with alcohol. That was enough to make the catcher work. The problem, engineering-wise, is the weak spring that is seated inside the partially hollow coin catcher shaft. The spring reminds me of those you'd find on old ball-point pens that you'd click to release the writing tip back inside the pen. Even though my coin catcher assembly seemed fairly clean to start with, getting it spotless made everything work properly. The coin catcher shaft should be "out" at all times other than at the start of a new game, when it pulls in briefly to release a captured nickel. The spring provides the force to cause the shaft jump out into the capture position again.
Can someone tell me the size of the locking nuts that hold the 8 coin kicker striker "arms" on the back side of the playfield? I think I'm going to need a replacement.
There is a pair of Skill-Roll games shown in the background of this eBay Texas listing for a Williams mannequin bowler:
1 week later
Quoted from edward472:Quick question, is the kick plate at the bottom originally black or the same color as the cabinet? I've seen both. I'm stripping off the custom paint job someone did to my cabinet to get to the original paint and I don't want to strip off the black paint if it's original.
The "kick plate" (or foot, as you might call it) was originally the same gray color as the cabinet. Kick plates that are black have been colored that way to cover paint loss, but, originally, they would have been the cabinet color. That's what I think.
Quoted from BlackCatBone:The "kick plate" (or foot, as you might call it) was originally the same gray color as the cabinet. Kick plates that are black have been colored that way to cover paint loss, but, originally, they would have been the cabinet color. That's what I think.
I should have mentioned that my Skill-Roll with original cabinet paint has a gray kick plate.
Does anyone who owns a Skill-Roll with original cabinet paint see anything like the wood stain I have on my cabinet? I assumed when I got the game that an operator had done a touch-up job on the wood trim and had slopped some of the stain on the cabinet paint. That was before I removed the 3 metal rails that hold the playfield glass in place. I found what appears to be the same dark stain under the metal rails, so now I wonder if the stain was applied at the Bally factory. Can you shed any light on this? And is your wood trim this mahogany color or a lighter color?
DSC04516 (resized).jpg 1 week later
Quoted from Dayhuff:yeah me too, wish I had a trailer load of these.........LOL.
John
You might try contacting this eBay seller. It looks like he runs a commercial operation, and he has a photo of two Skill-Rolls in the background of another game (now sold) he had listed.
ebay.com link: Ten Pins Mannequin Bowling Game by Williams 1957 Beautiful Condition
2 weeks later
Quoted from tstone:Mine looks a little like yours, but it is because the grey paint has chipped away, exposing the brown wood underneath.
Look at yours closely, is it the wood showing through because the paint has chipped away, or stain on top of the grey paint?
Mine is definitely stain on top of the gray cabinet paint. I now believe an operator applied the stain. What made me wonder if it came from the factory that way was how well done the work was - lucky for me. But looking at numerous Skill-Roll photos on the web, I'm guessing that the original finish was clear lacquer over fir wood.
Has anyone ever seen a penny Skill-Roll? Here's an ad from the March 31, 1958 Billboard stating that the game can be set up for either nickel or penny play. I bet the game would be even tougher with the lighter coin. There is a huge digitized archive (1942 - 2011) of Billboard available here:
https://books.google.com/books?id=eyEEAAAAMBAJ&source=gbs_all_issues_r&cad=1
Quoted from DennisDodel:The last one I sold was set up for pennies.
Interesting. Did it use the same 5 cent coin drop on the top of the cabinet as the nickel game? My coin drop has "5 cents" engraved in the casting, although you'd have to stand on your toes to read it.
Quoted from 6t8fbirds:Hi, I am new to pinside and am needing some help with my Skill Roll machine. It was missing the top header board above front glass and coin box. Could someone give them the length, width, and thickness of the header board? What type of wood should the header board be? Could someone give me the length, width, and height of the coin box as well as some pictures so I can try and duplicate it the best I can. Thank, Rustin
I think the wood rails are made of fir or pine, soft woods with a closed grain.
1 week later
Quoted from tstone:Mine looks a little like yours, but it is because the grey paint has chipped away, exposing the brown wood underneath.
Look at yours closely, is it the wood showing through because the paint has chipped away, or stain on top of the grey paint?
You were right, I was wrong. Taking a second look using a jeweler's loupe, the mahogany color is beneath the cabinet's gray base color. I don't believe it is raw wood; I believe it is the same stain Bally applied to the wood rails. If I've got this right, Bally built the cabinet with wood rails, applied mahogany stain to the wood rails, then sprayed the cabinet exterior with the gray base color, splatter paint, and yellow and red designs. The gray paint on my Skill-Roll cabinet never was applied with a clean edge that ended at the wood rails. From other Skill-Roll images I've seen, this wasn't uncommon.
688cd08da8216fbc43e9ba5136e0c314d8e701e7 (resized).jpg 1 month later
Quoted from Foo:Skill Roll spotted in the wild! I saw this at the Blue Ox in Door Co. WI. Crazy...
[quoted image]
It looks really nice as well (skipping lightly over the cabinet repaint). I looked at the Blue Ox web site. The Skill-Roll is on their main page if you wait long enough for the images to rotate.
Anyone interested in comparing the counts on your (working) Skill-Roll meters? My Skill-Roll is showing 380 on the "High Score" meter and 847 on "8th Row." I believe the high score meter read 337 when I got the game earlier this year, and a lot of the 43 increase since then occurred while I was testing the game and manually incrementing the score stepper. Starting at 350, my game adds one to the high score meter for every 10 points scored, so a perfect 460 score would add 12 to the meter. I'm surprised that the counts on both meters aren't higher. I'm curious to know what other owners see on their meters.
1 week later
It looks like Skill-Roll wasn't held in today's high regard when it was released in March 1958. I found a pair of ads in the September 21, 1959 issue of Billboard from distributors selling Skill-Rolls. One ad lists new game(s) for $65; the other has used games for $60. What was Bally's factory pricing on a new Skill-Roll? I couldn't find a price sheet for Skill-Roll, but Bally sold 1960's Skill-Score for $555, so I'll guess that a new Skill-Roll was around $500. $500 to $60 seems like a lot of depreciation in eighteen months.
Skill-Roll ad in September 21, 1959 Billboard - used games for $60 (resized).pngSkill-Roll ad in September 21, 1959 Billboard - new games for $65 (resized).pngBally Price List 1960-06-01 Laguna Beach (resized).jpg 1 month later
Anyone have any guesses about the pink section at the bottom right of the playfield? And the objects inside the glass at the bottom? The best I can come up with is that it was being operated as a homemade redemption game.
If you haven't already viewed it, you'll want to watch the gutz multi-part Skill-Roll walk through. It is excellent.
Quoted from shlockdoc:Finally found my skill roll.
[quoted image][quoted image]
I'm grabbing a six-pack of Old Style and I'll be at your house in an hour. It's been years since I've even thought about Ringer. I'd love to spend an evening getting reacquainted . . .
Are there any options for reproducing the 4 missing coin-flipper handles? Any guesses how much it would cost?
4 weeks later
The range of prices I've seen on eBay in 2020 are $900 to just over $5,000 for a nice example. The back glass is available as a reproduction for under $300, so that's no reason to bypass a Skill-Roll. The $900 Skill-Roll auction had 70+ watchers and about 10 biders, so it was a very desirable game. As others have pointed out, essentially there are no Skill-Roll parts games left. Every surviving game is a restoration candidate due to scarcity and value. If your friend is also in The Netherlands, I'd think that Skill-Roll is almost impossible to find there, so all the more reason to jump on it.
$900 Skill-Roll from eBay (click image to watch seller's YouTube video): https://www.pinterest.com/pin/485825878560323035/
CPR Skill-Roll reproduction back glass: https://classicplayfields.com/shop/pinball-backglasses/skill-roll/
Congratulations on the acquisition. It looks like a real fun project.
I'd check the two steppers before plugging it in. You can manually step up each unit and then release the stepper so that it returns to its index position. If either stepper is sluggish on the return (a likelihood), clean them both with alcohol. As long as the plug looks like it's safe to touch, I'd plug it in. The game should light but nothing else will happen until you drop a coin. The sequence motor should make a revolution and reset the steppers when your coin drops.
If you haven't found it already, check out the must-see gutz Skill-Roll tutorial (8 or so videos) on YouTube:
Trizel is doing a Skill-Roll restore and documenting it exceptionally well: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/bally-skill-roll-restore-#post-5965691
The glass isn't original and it isn't CPR. I think it's an early reproduction done to get a game with a broken glass back in service. The customer would have been an operator, not a collector. You are missing the shroud over the lower part of the playfield on the reverse side. That's not a big deal, but the shroud does ensure that coins coming through the out-holes are diverted to the coin box via the two sloped ramps beneath the 8th row. I bought a 15-foot grounded cord from Marco and installed it on my Skill-Roll. I like that cord a lot because it is round and no-kink: https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/PC15
Good luck, and keep posting your progress.
Quoted from Blitzburgh99:What size fuse goes in there?[quoted image]
Your game is OK as is. The top two fuse positions are mutually exclusive. You either have the fuse in the top slot for normal line voltage, or in the second slot for low line voltage. Don't insert a fuse into the empty position.
1 week later
I love the way Bally always goes in for the gambling angle (with the 3-digit reel); it's just the DNA of the company. The round disk on the top rail of Skill Parade looks like it reads 6d. If so, I think it was operated in England and then brought back to the USA.
1 month later
Quoted from jeffc:Tim Arnold has this skill roll, the only one known he claims. Seen at 2:05 of this video:
https://fb.watch/3vFerZO2v2/[quoted image]
LarryB reported four years ago in this thread that he owned a Lite-A-Diamond "a few years back," and provided a spot-on description of the game. It sure would be interesting to trace the ownership of Larrry's game following its sale. Presumably, Tim has Larry's old game, but could there be a second Lite-A-Diamond . ? .
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/bally-skill-roll#post-3943716
3 weeks later
1 week later
Quoted from gliebig:Curious what everyone's 8th row counter number is. Mine was at 692 when I got it. It's now up to 694.
My working meters showed 716 on the 8th Row meter and 282 on the Hi-Score meter when I got the game. My game adds 1 to the Hi-Score meter for each 10-points scored, starting at 350, so a perfect 460 would add 12 to the Hi-Score meter.
1 month later
Quoted from Trizel:My game plays great but every once in a while the first row scores and then every row after doesn't. Naturally the row counter has to progress. When I check it's on the second row as it should be. Always happens on the second row only. Anyone else experience this? I can drop another coin and it works again also. The sporadic bugs are the worst!
I had a similar problem, perhaps the same problem. In my case it was the 50-slot on the 5th row. I noticed that my Skill-Roll intermittently “overscored” on the 50 and then went dead on the 6th row. I was able to recreate the problem by playing the game from the rear door. I hit the coin relay to start a new game, then hit the 20-relay 4 times. That made Skill-Roll think I was on the 5th row. I then held down (without releasing) the 50-switch and watched the score motor make a second revolution and award 100 points before going dead on the 6th row. I theorized that the switch gap on my 5th row 50-switch was so tight that my nickel occasionally closed the switch while the coin was still dancing around the slot but hadn’t fallen through it yet. I increased the switch gap as much as I could to make sure the switch doesn’t close until the nickel is well through the slot. The 5th row 50 is a tough shot for me, so I don’t know if the increase in switch gap fixed the problem, but if the switch on the slot that is troubling you closes and does not open before the score cam completes its revolution, you’re going to have the problem I had. Another thing to check would be the switch itself – is it gummed up or sluggish and not opening properly?
1 week later
For those who have never seen HanaHo's 1998 remake of Bally's Skill-Roll, here's a link to it on Pinterest. HanaHo was a California company that made a few games. The company was founded by guys named Hana and Ho, thus the name. Anyone ever seen and played this game?
Quoted from Trizel:I had some parts reproduced. I wanted to stick with something that had similar weight so I went with 304 steel. The picture are exactly how I pick up the parts.
I'll offer these for sale private message me if interested or have questions.
The handles work with the original arms. 40$ per
Coin taker 400$ per
*I am not sitting on inventory orders placed as requested. Shipping not included.
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
Those are nice, and a great resource for folks buying some of the incomplete Skill-Rolls that have hit the market recently. How about giving us some details on what your process was for making the parts. I'd love to know more.
2 weeks later
Quoted from Trizel:Lol how the heck did you find that spelled wrong an funky name.
You can save canned searches if you have a LiveAuctioneers account. The Skill-Roll popped up on a search for "Arcade Game."
9 months later
Another Skill-Roll being auctioned:
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/125899014_vintage-coin-op-arcade-bally-skill-roll-game
5 months later
Quoted from Nhpolarbear:Did anyone happen to see pricing on the one that sold at Captains Auction recently. +5k plus additional fees.
Do you have a link to the Skill-Roll you referenced? I couldn't find it.
2 months later
The Japanese seem to love the Skill-Roll format. These links are to two Japanese games that owe a tip of the hat to Bally.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/485825878566665139/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/485825878566665137/
My favorite Skill-Roll variant by Ad-Lee predates Bally’s Skill-Roll. It’s a mashup of a gumball vendor and a Skill-Roll. Looking at it, I believe that the player’s coin starts on the bottom ramp, with the goal of kicking it to higher ramps until, if successful, the coin is kicked out the top right of the playfield and returned to the player. I’d love to have this one or at least play it.
2 weeks later
Quoted from CaptainNeo:I have a sister game called skill parade. Only 250 made. I'm thinking on selling. Out of space and something has to go. Works 100% all flickers have great and even tension. Also has this nickle payout dispenser that appears as a factory add on. Maybe for regions where gambling was legal? Because the paint spot on matches the factory cabinet. Payout drawer is spring loaded to retract. Lots of wood details and metal payout plate. Right now its wired to use the credit counter. But can easily switch to nickle payout with 2 wires. Motor. Payout tube is all there. Located in se wi. Pm me
[quoted image][quoted image]
Your Skill Parade has a 3-digit credit reel, so Bally clearly intended the option for the game to be operated for gambling on the redemption model (ala their bingo games). Put another way, if the coin payout mechanism were factory-original, the 3-digit credit reels would not be present. I'd say an enterprising operator added the coin-payout mechanism, and I love that. If you score a winner, is the payout automatically made to the coin cup or is there a knockoff switch you have to trigger to get the coin payoff? I've got a 1950 Turf King that was altered back in the day to do coin payouts, but it has a knockoff switch to trigger the coin mechanism. For anyone still reading, the coin payout mechanism was taken from an earlier Bally Entry game.
2 weeks later
Quoted from northvibe:Is there a handle on the coin box?
No handle on my coin box.
Quoted from tstone:I'm pretty sure it's original as it has hand written totals collected from it dating back to the 1960s. I love that! See pic! Seems to have had nickels collected once per year in Oct.
[quoted image][quoted image]
Whoa! Still being routed more than 50 years after leaving the factory. That is cool.
1 week later
2 months later
Oregon Skill-Roll, appears original and complete (only exterior shots). $3,500 opening bid with a $5,000 BIN.
3 months later
Quoted from BeachPickle:I have a buddy in Colorado looking for a Skill Roll, so let me know if anyone has one they'd let go. I've warned him about the current prices and he is prepared. We grew up tagging along with our Dad's while they drank at our rural neighborhood "Inn", which had a Skill Roll tucked away at the bar. So, we have many childhood memories of flicking nickels. He'd totally forgotten about it until he saw mine, and now he "has to have one".
Nice memory. How many years ago was it when the inn had the Skill-Roll? (I don't have a Skill-Roll for sale, but just curious about when the Skill-Roll was being routed.) Good luck to your buddy.
4 months later
Quoted from Mopar:Okay, I'm trying to get some others produced.
I'm just doing it for the hobby. My cost is your cost.
These decals were digitized.
A few others have used them, and they can verify
their exact to the original at 20% the cost..
Another thing to consider is that the original Skill-Roll glass is substantially thicker than the glass that CPR sells. I've got a CPR glass and am very happy with it, but the original glass fits better in the glass channels. You might consider scraping the art and using the decal on the original glass. I haven't seen Mopar's decal and am not speaking to its quality (which seems well regarded by others), but CPR uses a decal themselves.
3 weeks later
Several years back I bought two ink-on-glass backglass reproductions from Coos Hakvoort in Amsterdam. He also sells what he calls "foils," which are self-adhesive artwork reproductions to be applied to a clear glass panel. I'd call them decals. He has a YouTube video documenting the foil application. He sprays the bare glass with water (with a drop or two of Dawn) before applying the foil. The advantage to his approach is that it allows the foil to be slid around after it is laid out on the glass. You can also squeegee out any air bubbles, according to the video. I never bought one of his foils, but the technique looks promising.
Promoted items from Pinside Marketplace and Pinside Shops!
You're currently viewing posts by Pinsider BlackCatBone.
Click here to go back to viewing the entire thread.
Reply
Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.
Hey there! Welcome to Pinside!
Donate to PinsideGreat to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!
