I know after reading this forum and many others, Black Rose is a mixed bag as far as opinions, but I really enjoyed this game the few times I played it in person and the many times I played it in various PC forms. Just a good fun pinball. And maybe I am easy to please, I am horrible at pinball, but I do enjoy it. All of my true favorites are way, WAY out of my price range - TOM, TOTAN, MM... to name a few - but I started seeing some fair priced Black Rose machines, one in particular, which I ended up getting for what I hope was a fair price. The cabinet is in decent shape, graphics faded (red in particular), and there is wear in front of the cannon, but the machine is sound and everything was in good working order. Got her home, which was fun. It is amazing how heavy these guys are and how unwieldy they can be getting down Bilco door stairs, but with some help from my friends and my wife, we did it without anybody getting hurt. Got her all set up and plugged in and boy it has done nothing but put a smile on my face. I have a lot of work to do in getting better at playing, but that is the fun part!

Next is to experiment with some LEDs. A kit would be easy, but I cannot justify spending that much money to maybe not be happy, from what I have been reading. If there are any BR owners who went the LED route and care to share your opinion of what you put and where as far as LEDs go, I am all ears! Other than that, I would like to clean up the cabinet some and then just play this guy as much as possible.

Just wanted to introduce myself and share my first pinball purchase.

Thanks, Rich

Thanks everyone! I still can't believe I am a pinball owner! I remember hanging at my uncle's place and playing Solar City for hours as a child, thinking it was the greatest game ever. Now, I have my very own, albeit newer and cooler... because it's mine! I can see how it is an addictive hobby and while I would love to grow the collection, this one should keep me busy for a while. The wife thinks we have no more room but I can always throw stuff out! Besides, enjoying this one will allow me the time necessary to grow the "2nd pin fund". Disposable income has gone out the window with this purchase and my virtual pinball build, which I can thank for me wanting the real deal, and BR specifically since I play it a lot!

Game is leveled.. I think. There is some good info on the internets that I followed. It seems to play straight for me, so I think I did a good job.

I love the idea of an LED kit but I am reading a lot of unhappy postings. Plus, they seem pricey and I love to tinker so I will probably just end up grabbing a few like mentioned by you guys and trying out what I like. it seems to be a lot of personal opinion. It is just that the information I am finding is very general as far as what to get and use, but if some BR owners could step forward and share with me what they chose and why, that would be amazing!

Anyway, good to be here and thanks for the congrats! I will post up some pictures in a bit.

Thanks, Rich

Here are 2 pictures from the day it arrived. The first one is of it in the back of my make-shift Santa's sleigh when it got home (who said Santa drives a Mercedes or Lexus anyway! LOL) and the other with it enjoying time next to my virtual cab, with BR playing on it as well!

Don't mind the mess around it, my basement needs some cleaning!

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Thanks! No, I built that cabinet, based off of measurements of a Lucky Fruit. It is done pretty well, as good as my work working skills allow. I was able to repurpose a lot of stuff I already had (PC, backglass screen, LCD for DMD, power, speakers, subwoofer, keyboard encoder, some buttons...) I really only had to purchase a playfield TV and then all of the pinball trim from pinballlife.com. Came together real nice and it is a blast to play.

This BR is pretty clean. All boards looked great, fresh batteries when I got it but I put in new ones anyway. Wires and connectors are in good shape too. I just hope it stays this way! I ordered some cleaning supplies last night as well as a cliffy protector for in front of the cannon, which is pretty worn.

I ended up playing a good amount of games last night (late for work now) and love and hate this table! I can do so well one game and completely tank the next! That is mostly on me though. Towards the end of my playing time I was getting a little more consistent. Can't wait to play some more! I will say the ball does gravitate to the left and right drain more so than not, but nothing a little nudge can't fix most of the time!

Thanks again everyone!

Thanks for that link. I Will check it out when I get home. I did notice some darker bulbs but all of the fuses I did go through and they are good. I will step though what that page says as well.

I have yet to sink a ship but have gotten close! So far I am getting thrills from hitting some combos. I might give those adjustments a try on the outside. I have problem working on the skills... It means I get to play lots of pinball!

It is funny. I did play a good amount of games but I also took some time to clean and check things. It is similar to the virtual in that way. Great to play but just as much fun to tinker! Good thing too, found out I need the bubble level... Mine is missing it! Blinded by the bliby of my first pin. Mental notes being taken!

Definitely going to get some leds to see what I like and don't like. I can say I love the look on some of the YouTube videos I am seeing. Can't wait!

Btw.... I see that arm on the right side to prop the playfield up. Where does it go? Just doesn't seem stromg enough to hold it though. What do you do to keep the playfield up?

it is amazing how nervous I get when my next shot can sink the ship. of course, I never can do it... Yet! Got home early today and got a few games in before logging back into work to finish my day and got up to the final shot to sink a ship and folded each time. Soon though... real soon!

About the LEDs... I do enjoy the game exactly as it is and I will for awhile. It will not get the LED conversion until after the New Year. I do like the look though and it is something I look forward too doing.

I heard they were going to make it, read on IPDB... did they actually make it? I did some searching (not a lot) but came up empty. Might be cool to have though!

By "easy" position you mean adjusted closest to the front, right? Yeah, did that. It still drains. I swear it sometimes goes straight down the drain, no bumping or anything, like it has a channel groove to make it easier to drain. I checked just in case, it does not, but it still does it! HAHAH Otherwise, I love the damn game, so much fun.

Timtim, the next one is going on the other side of the virtual. I just need to throw some stuff int he attic and clean up... and oh yeah, same some money for it!