I once got a beautiful, unfaded and hardly routed FG out of a small warehouse find at an old operators garage. I own it together with a friend now. It's in his garage, waiting for some small repairs. Planning to clearcoat it too... the playfield is beautiful, and I'd like to keep it that way. I'll post some pictures when I get it out. It's probably the best preserved original Bally SS I've ever seen. And I've seen some.

Talking about beautiful FG playfields... I was in Rome last month. The guesthouse I stayed in had a dining table made of five pinball playfields. Two of these playfields were FG's, but not made by Bally: they were copies from the Italian company Bell Games. What struck me especially is the beautiful shape these playfields were in. Almost looked NOS. The reason? Italian companies like Bell Games and Zaccaria had clearcoated playfields. Also, the Bell Games playfield is different from the Bally one in a couple of places. Can you spot them?
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Cool to hear that at least one Bell Games FG is actually in one piece and working! Is it in good shape? Looking forward to see your pictures.

Hi fellow FG owners,

I've just received the new drop targets that I ordered on Ebay from Classic Arcades.

I was under the impression that these were supposed to be hot stamped, but the ones I received have decals on them. The ones I ordered for my Fireball II were actually hot stamped.

Does anybody know the story behind this?

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Um, ok...

But: I didn't. And now I'm asking a question here on the forum about people's experiences with this other salesman. That's ok, right?

Thanks for the tip. I might do that. Thing is, the ad doesn't specifically say they are hot stamped. I assumed they would be, because the ad does say this:

CLICK HERE TO SEE A VIDEO OF OUR STATE OF THE ART HOT STAMPER IN ACTION

...and because the bumper caps I once bought for my Bally Playboy from this seller were actually hot stamped.

I asked the seller through Ebay if I've made a wrong assumption. Will let you know the reply.

Good to know. Next time, PBR it shall be. Have they updated their payment options already? I remember it being kind of a hassle to order from them from overseas.

Update: I got a reply from the seller. He states that his hot stamp is broken and offers a refund. I've sent him a reply, saying that I'd like a full refund. But also asking if the refund covers the (high) international shipping costs. Curious how he will reply.

For those interested: Classic Arcades stopped communicating. I issued a dispute on Paypal, to which they didn't reply either. Paypal now gave me a full refund for receiving an inferior product. Sad that things have to go this way, but at least justice is served. Or something.