Why were the CC gun games decent & the pins crap?

Otaku, you are pretty much spot on as far as CC goes. However, quality build didn't matter to much in the early 70's. There were tons of quarters being dropped into games like Hollywood and Blue Max. And I am guessing, just like early Stern's, they probably sold for a bit less than the other big Three. But they certainly produced some real turds. Dolphins comes to mind immediately.

I have a handful of EMs including an Abra but I think I like this goofy CC Olympics most of all. I'm not sure what's wrong with me....

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I would play an El Toro in a heartbeat in 1976. I would buy a whole Project machine for a good price.Then it would receive high tap and severe attention to speed it up.
The speed makes a Player.

That's its saving grace. The guys at ReplayFX had their Toro dialed in snappy and fast. Still necessary to wait for the ball to descend through those lanes... but the action was zingy fast everywhere else.

Reiny, I'd have to play Ro-Go back-to-back with Toro to be sure which was better... but if it was close I'd go with Toro for the artwork. At least one person over here described it as "beautiful" after seeing the listing. I dig the red Spanish motif and 'lil cab. It definitely has some charm to it.

I think it could be a good machine to teach a newbie the restoration process. Or serve as a static illuminated piece of art in the right room. I dunno... I just don't see it anywhere near "worst of all time". Gottlieb's Road Race is worse. Many others come to mind.

Check out Ro-Go from 5:00 onward. Big vertical column of drain. Ball keeps going down the toilet even when the center horseshoe shot is made. Just seems like a constant uphill grind.

El Toro has more mesmerizing action. The stop-and-go quality is annoying, but otherwise the ball zings around well. I think this may be the same machine which was at ReplayFX.

Nic,
That center shot is worth the risk and as I recall, it doesn't drain every time. It takes some flipper control, properly dispatched ball trajectory, and lots of alternate flip ball saves.

That tiny white button give a huge reward: 5000 points and 5 bonus advances. Which actually translates to 14,000 when you add the two rollovers. And, from what I recall, the Special works off the match unit and taunts you once out of every ten 10 points scored.

I do wish Christiansen's artwork had been done in a different color scheme on the backglass but the playfield never bothered me with the bright reds yellows and greens. And the sky blue prototype isn't any better.

BLY El Toro has never really attracted me.
It is too dark
The plastics are the typical Dick White plain graphics.
The whole game reminds me of a Elvis portrait painted on velvet.
And most every encounter in the wild has been a disappointment,
as the games that i have played were always sluggish and weak;
that might not be the games fault but the operators,
but first impressions tend to linger.

That's exactly what it was dasvis, it was an arcade and gun game great trying to cash in on the pinball market.

Oh wow that's practically next door for you. Did you buy it from eBay? Or did the seller go lower via another method?

Either way, since this is the official El Toro thread, we wanna see pics. Hope it turns out well!

Good for you! You're gonna have a good time playing it.

Looks nice with the repainted cab. BTW some of the comments bemoan "waiting" for the ball to come down through the rollovers, I think the idea is to nudge it into where it needs to go. Should sharpen your nudging skilz.

Has great cabinet paint at least. Bright white, but are you sure it's repainted? ^

When I played El Toro I remember it had that one more game appeal. All you need to do is hit all the upper rollovers to light special, but it seemed more times than not, there was always at least one more letter to light. But still once you do that, you need to get the special as well.

For 1970, it was a good looking, fun playing game.

No I'm mistaken, for some reason I thought it had a dark red cab to match the glass, maybe the one I've played at a show had a red cab repaint. Anyway looks in nice shape.

So leakyfaucet when we meet up some time you owe me a beer or two for my finder's fee. Glad it turned out for you

I was around 10 years old, but it was the machine that took all my pocket change that day. It also seemed to be the most popular game among the other 5 that were at that particular pizza place with other players. I can't remember the other game titles, but I think this might have been the only Bally there.

Haters gonna hate!

Corona or Modelo would be great I may just have to ride over some day and get some EM action in your not that far from me

As boring as it may be to some, I have an attachment to this game that takes me back to the early 70s and a great camp where I got to play it at a nickel a pop. Aside from that the art appeals very much to me and I would gladly pay a reasonable amount to have it in my personal collection. If I had the room. And the money. Any one have an old play field they'll part with?

Man, just looking at the pictures of it is putting me to sleep....

East of Burkville / Jasper

(checks Euchrid's collection... only sees one EM... reserves judgment...)

I can fully understand having a fond connection to any game in a nostalgic "back in the day" context. But in a wider context so many years later, among classic pinball collectors, we judge games in a whole new light. There are those games that are ordinary and generally not desirable as collectible games. While Bally "El Toro" or any other game for that matter, may hold a cherished position in someone's memory, it is widely recognized today as a very ordinary "common" game; certainly not a "classic", and certainly not collectible. "Ro Go" and many other titles fall into this category as well. To each his own, and I generally love all things pinball, but there are many titles I wouldn't want; even for free.

Sure, now I only collect 2 inch flipper EMs and mostly Williams because I find them to be the most challenging and best players.

And it has nothing to do with a cherished memory as my Sting Ray got jacked that day and I never got it back.

Point I was making, in that arcade, at that time, El Toro was the game to play, and offered what looked like a good chance to win a replay, but wasn't as easy as that.

Currently, owning it would interest me about as much as any other long flipper 70s game and would probably provide as much fun. But for somebody not as deep in the hobby as you or I am now, it might be a perfect fit.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Different strokes... Happy pinball!

May El Toro be to you what Klondike was to me. Stepping stone to older and better games!

I totally agree. I would want all vintage games to find a happy home and someone who will enjoy them. I guess somewhere out there is a guy who collects Ford Pintos or Chevy Chevettes and loves them.

From what I've seen in the pinball world, some collect them in rows.

and maybe Datsun B-210's. Just kidding.

My wife bought a new Datsun B-210 (well before she was my wife) with a stick shift. She didn't know how to drive it, but learned real quick driving it home from the dealership! I wouldn't mind having my little Toyota Starlet back again!

My 2c

Fire Wood

Don't buy it

El Fuego

I own star pool and prospector, thank you. But I've played many an EM and love most. I've also play EL Toro and, come on, it's bad. Yeah, yeah, there's no such thing as bad pizza, sex or pinball, but man some pizzas are a lot better than others....

Wasn't this the same machine. Looks like it just sold today.
ebay.com link: Classic Bally El Toro Pinball Machine

Maybe it didn't pass the test?

I hear ya... just ribbing you a bit since a lot of SS-heavy owners make the "too boring" comment.

I was in Memphis about 25 years ago, and pulled into a place that had a sign outside stating "world's best pizza".
Obviously I was skeptical, but man, this was no doubt the world's WORST pizza!!! If you took a roofing shingle and slathered it with ketchup, it would be comparable!

Domino's, Hungry Howies, Papa Johns, are those considered good pizza joints? Pizza so bad, they offer free delivery. Left out Pizza Hut, cheap but edible.

Not sure what this has to do with El Toro

Bad pizza, bad pinball!

I'd stick with the tacos myself.

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