I bought Paradise in the DFW area 3-4 years ago. After I got it home, I discovered it had a sample play field, like the one on IPDB. Serial number 1066 is stamped on the head, but serial number 06674 is on the cabinet. Game showed 9,581 plays on the counter when purchased. It is in nice original condition. The photo is a couple years old and not that great, but the only one I have handy.

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I took down most of my em's recently and have only 10 or so remaining on legs. These are some old photos of what were once in my Williams room. I still have the pins, just on end instead of on legs.

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Photo quality sucks - sorry about that.

Couple more.

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Some from the Bally wall.

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Thanks - that room is only 8 feet wide so staggering them allowed me to take off the playfield glass if needed. That room - the house is 100+ years old and that was the old screened in porch converted to a sun room. The floor level drops 2 inches in those 8 feet. Staggering required me to adjust every leg on each machine at different levels.

Some head shots from the wedgehead room.

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and the Flippers

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I don't repaint/repair cabinets. I kind of like the graffiti and scars. I do intend to repair some of the missing veneer. Mañana.

Bring tools when you come.

I think you even get to pass a couple of Buccees on the way. And if you take 290, you can swang by the Lone Star Pinball Museum in beautiful downtown Hockley and say hey.

I have been hankering after this particular 1966 Bally Capersville for a couple of years, and finally got to bring it home with me today. Zipper flippers and 3 ball multiball.

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It doesn't show on Boston Pinball Biz so I don't know average price. I paid more than I normally would for an EM, but less than I paid for Fireball or 4MBC. I have been negotiating for this game a couple of years and am glad that Dan finally let me take it home. I think most that I have seen for sale have been German reimports. This one is pure American.

Quote from IPDB - "Capersville was the first machine to feature 3-ball multiball play." I have Star-Jet from 1963. It has 3-ball multiball play, that works very similarly to the multiball in Capersville.

I am working on rounding up as many of the 1- and 4-player Bally zipper flipper games as I can. Currently have Rocket III and Op-Pop-Pop (coming soon) representing 1-player. Capersville, Cosmos, Fireball, and 4MBC are my 4-player. I have a lead on Rockmakers (look at that one), and could pick up Gator from the same place I got Capersville. Just gotta go out and pick up some more aluminum cans, and make a few more trips to the plasma center.

Once you hit SA, pack a lunch and head East on I-10 about 240 miles. And, bring your tools.

This exact pin was at the HAAG Pinball Expo in 2012. I had never played it before then, but once I realized it was Bally+multiball+zipper flippers I wanted it. I haven't really figured out what is the theme - espionage and scuba diving? I also need to do some research on the rules and all of those extra reels.

I picked up a Gottlieb 300 for $80 last weekend. All of the fuses had been pulled, but it looked okay otherwise. The cabinet was clean enough, and it didn't look like there had been too many questionable repairs done. The owner's father bought it for the family over 30 years ago. She said it quit working many years ago.

You know how the ads always say probably just a fuse? Turns out, that was true in this case. I put in new fuses and got lights in the backbox. After seeking advice from a local EM legend, I got it up and running and somewhat playing a game. The coil that kicks the ball into play seems to be dead, and steppers need to be cleaned - not advancing players.

I started cleaning it up today, and thought I should share photos before I go much further. It smells like cigarette smoke, but overall was not much of a mess. All of the plastics are present and in excellent shape - I removed them today to begin cleaning. I have all of the missing inserts too. Every time I raised the playfield, another fell out.

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In my OCD quest to gather as many of the Bally zipper-flipper games as I can, I recently picked up 1969 Op-Pop-Pop. Legend has it that it was stored for 20 or so years. It has a couple of fried coils to replace, a broken plastic to repair, and it needs a good cleaning. The backglass has some bubbling and flaking but nothing that bothers me too much. Although I might talk to BGResto once I get it up and running.

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I have never played it. A few anemic lights come on and coils buzz when powered up so there is life. I just need to get in and start checking it out. It has one of the more interesting layouts on this series of machines, imho. When you look at all of the zipper flipper games, I see a progression of technology, and also what could be evidence of heavy hemp usage during the design phase.

I envision some day having a chronological row (or room) of the Bally EM zipper flipper and/or multiball games. Starting with Balls-A-Popping through Nip It. Did I mention I have OCD?

STI delivered 1967 Bally RockMakers today. It is a zipper-flipper game, with a third flipper in the upper left. The guy I got it from bought it in 1978. The backglass is German, but the playfield is English.

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_{Post edited by PMcGee: changed year of purchase}

I will work on getting a video for you. It played fairly well off the truck. Dirty bands and playfield, strong pop bumpers and slingshots. Left flippers are so-so. It was in better mechanical shape than most I pick up. The owner took care of it for 30 years.

My son and I started to film, and the left zipper flipper would zip, but not flip. Let me wiggle a few things and see if I can get it working. Short ball times with a dead flipper.

I had never seen a Rockmakers in person before buying this one. Searching IPDB for Bally zipper flipper games made me aware it existed. Some folks think it is too ugly to bring home, but I find it humorous. Hot women engineering with dinosaurs while knuckle dragging men eat bananas.

Williams had "closing flippers" (think that was their terminology) on Hayburners II and a few others. I think Bally zipper flippers were more advanced. I don't have as much experience with Williams, though, only Hayburners II.

1,000 mile round-trip this weekend to pick up a Gottlieb Buccaneer, and we never left Texas. Story was it was in Grandma's house and everyone played it until it quit working. Wonder what Grandma did with those two missing plastics. And wonder what caused it to quit working? Just got home with it last night, put it together and plugged it in. Everything fires up - reels reset perfectly and it looks like all lights are working. The ball kicks into play, but pop-bumpers, slings, flippers don't work. I need to get in there and poke around a bit. Probably just a fuse.

It is one of the cleanest machines I have ever bought. Still has the "this block for shipment only" block in the head. Backglass would be nearly perfect, but for bubbling/flaking seemingly caused by foam tape.

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_{Post edited by PMcGee: more info}

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I edited and added a couple of extra photos to the first post.

original broken spinner was inside original coinbox with about $1.50 in quarters. I see that PBR has the complete plastic set, but if anyone has A16233R and L available, holler.

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I am in the midst of remodeling to turn my work/junk/hoarding shop into a boy cave for my 12 year old, so it will be a couple more weeks before I can jump in on this one. Remodeling caught me in the middle of tearing down and cleaning a "300" I picked up a month or so ago. Hope I will be able to find everything to put that one back together once all is done.

I used these radiant barrier foil panels - http://www.enerflexfoil.com/products.aspx - a couple of weeks ago when closing in our workshop. You just pop the panels between the roof rafters. Quick install with no tools or fasteners, so long as rafters are spaced 16 or 24 on center. When finished, I swear the temperature had dropped 20 degrees. I will put them in the house next.

I purchased mine through Home Depot for the workshop. Just looked up the website I linked above tonight, and prices are 50% higher at the Depot. Think I will be ordering direct when I do the house.

_{Post edited by PMcGee: not a spokesman, just a client}

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