Reproducing it sounds like a neat idea.

Nvram.weebly.com has aftermarket MPUs that can take ROMs, plus an inexpensive lamp board and rectifier board. Sound boards may be on the way too (he did two of the classic bally sound boards already). A driver board from altek may be needed.

Boards wouldn't necessarily have to be the limiting factor if you actually do go ahead with something like this.

I wanted this to be a most **genuine** facsimile as possible.

I've got a ton of old Stern legs, coin doors, rails, drop target mechs.....

That way there will be enough for the VFW, Mike Pike, Jon Hauptman and anyone else who wants a close to perfect recreation as possible - but all restored and guaranteed to work for 1 year.

It will be interesting to see where this ride ends up. Regardless of how things turn out I just hope Ted gets a "fair" price for his machine and as many people as possible are happy with the outcome.

I think the crazy thing here is the "value" of this machine can not be measured in dollars. It's value is more about the little piece of pinball history this represents not the "money value" of this specific machine. Sadly I don't think Ted is understanding that. $1000 - $3000 - $5000 doesn't really matter to anyone but Ted. The excitement here is a Lazer Lord with an entire different playfield layout than anyone has ever seen appears to be the machine Stern/Seeburg intended to release at some point and that is some real pinball history!

Vid - best of luck to you if you take this project on. PLEASE - if you do end up trying the shotgun approach at Teds place - try to protect what still remains of the "ink" on that backglass. I have made the mistake of moving a backglass and having a little breeze make something that could have been saved into garbage in seconds. I know you have been around this stuff for a long time but one silly mistake could have very bad results quickly. On most pins it wouldn't be the end of the world but on this it would really suck.

Thank you sir!

I promise, no further damage will happen to the backglass.

Like Frank Yablans once wrote, "This ain't my first rodeo".

Hopefully, Joe will smile down upon us seeing his vision finally being enjoyed by a great number of people.

Although I still hate the idea of the "shotgun" approach of getting this up and running at Ted's place to determine "true value" I do understand why some of you think this is necessary. Code will likely be a bigger factor in value than condition on this machine more than any other in history. But I still world feel better seeing this worked on in the safest environment possible.

Vid - although a few greedy people will not like your approach (with them wanting to have the one and only sample of this design) your approach seems like the least selfish approach to saving this to be enjoyed by as many people as possible. Best of luck to you and if Ted is following this post I hope he truly understands this one isn't about money - it is about history of a very short live pinball/jukebox company.

All the differences of opinion here are just a group of people wanting to do the best to save this machine and share it with the pinball community. For at least 95% of us it is ZERO percent about money and all about seeing this interesting piece of history live on.

There will still be only one real sample, and it will reside at the PHOF.

The rest will be LLrLEs. A limited edition, lovingly re-manufactured in JJJs memory.

Slam it, put your beer on it, show off your bangback on it, hump your girlfriend/boyfriend on it, but just be sure to PLAY the goshdamthing as the creator would have wanted.

Centaur would like to have a word with you. And balls a poppin?

Bravo, Vid!

I let it slide because my Centaur has 5

"hump your girlfriend/boyfriend on it"

GOD do I miss the late 1960's & early 1970's back then more machines were used for that then most people realize. "Free Love" before women wanted to be "equal" to men and were happy if we held a door open for them or grabbed their ass once in a while. Now if you say something like "you look great in that outfit" you get sued for sexual harassment instead of the young lady liking the fact someone noticed her.

That's why I went to Asia my friend

Didn't even help. My wife is older than me. A prude. A bit$h . I didn't win at all. I thought I did, in the beginning though.

Live stream?

Boys & Girls time to clean it up a little!

Think 1970's with the bra-less women in their mini skirt not the other BS we are talking above and all will be good!

What do you mean 60's and 70's? You should get out more.

Been happily married since the 70's or at least that is what my wife keeps telling me!

Same with my parents. Except when my mother was going through menopause for a year she almost divorced my dad, but, she came to her senses

Where's your incentive in this deal to be quick about it? LOL. Where do you lose? Levi is the only one who has some skin in the game, as it were.

True, true, but Stern?? they only had three balls multiball maximum back then.
The ball trough switch setup is what it reminded me of what Williams did.
It is cost cutting design. Bally made the five balls multiball system under the
playfield; a trough setup system that used more parts. Also with Bally, there
were no ball lock eject holes on the playfields. But Lazer Lord, like F-14 Tomcat,
has all mechanisms on the top playfield.

It's my pride on the line.

"How fast can that stupid SOB get that game to boot?", Pinsiders will yell at the screen, as the the timer in the corner of the video counts down to zero.

Big Chula says he's got some kind of live streaming account, so there will be no editing or retakes.

Maybe not.

With a name like Levi, obviously there is a good chance he's Jewish.

Usually when I play The Shadow.

Does the boot timer start after you have everything plugged back in?

This is not really a fair comparison since Centaur has the auto launch mechanism. A better example would be Strange Science's trough setup.

Subscribed for the historical significance and comic relief.

I'm in for a LLrLE!

I really really really hope that anyone approaching this game with ideas of applying power to it... first carefully pops out those EPROMs and reads them in with a programmer. The first time they get read after all these decades could be their last! (If I hadn't done that with my SS Bow & Arrow, I would not have gotten it running eventually.)

Vid, I hope you built that time into your 30 minute bet. Timer starts the moment you open the door to your car.

Geeze, you guys really want to see Levi get done.

You know you can just rent "Blow the Man Down" at any video store, right?

If I bought it, for sure I would do that. Pull them and see if they are good.

My point exactly when Vid talked about getting it up and running in a half hour. The "shotgun" approach is great when if something gets messed up it can be replaced but with something that can't be replaced why rush and take chances you might regret if anything does go wrong?

Regardless - as I have said since this machine was posted a couple weeks ago - not my thing so I have zero interest in owning it but I would love to see it saved and not destroyed by doing something quick just to prove you can.

If you look at the pictures posted on IPDB some of the flaking paint was down over the lift channel in the picture of the back of the backglass. Guaranteed that flaking paint is long gone now - so why not take our time & preserve as much as possible of this piece of history?

I just wish Ted and a handful of people here on Pinside would realize something like this machine isn't about the "cash value" it is about saving pinball history. So why not do it right?

I think you may have quoted the wrong post from vid. Your response is absolutely hysterical though given the post you did quote!

Yea, That's jacked. I can't believe I did that.

I can do what the hell I want if I buy it. Of course I would preserve it. I have done that for 1000's of games and the current whitewoods I own.

The zingers just keep coming...

Freudian perhaps...

The point is Vid & a few other here have suggested going to the guys house and fixing the machine at his place trying to find out if code is semi finished or what ever before buying the machine. They are not talking about buying the machine first and that is what I kind of have an issue with.

Say you really want the machine and are willing to pay a "fair" price for it do you really want someone going to the guys house and messing with it before you pick it up?

My thoughts are machine should be sold as it sits - person with deepest pockets or most willing to take the risk wins. Or the guy should pay someone qualified to come fix the machine (or see if it can be fixed) before selling it. I see no good that can come from a bunch of hands into a machine that isn't owned by them.

As I had stated earlier - if you look at pictures posted on IPDB of this machine you see art getting lost off the backglass just in the process of harvesting the pictures. Very sad for the guy who might have been able to save that piece of art if he was careful and messed with removing the backglass once he got machine home.

I have never seen the logic in going to someones house and trying to fix a machine before buying it and that seems even less logical with something this rare.

So if you were thinking of buying that machine, you would not want it serviced by a Bally Certified repair tech with 40+ years of experience?

You would rather take the game home, and then find out that bitrot has killed the EPROMs, leaving you with a permanently dead machine?

Think about it ----- before you start typing.

No one ever fixes a normal game before buying it.

You look it over, if it looks like you can economically fix it, you fold it up and buy it.

BUT- if the ROMs are dead in this game, you just bought a 300lb garage corpse you can never bring back.

>>>> YOU CAN'T COMPARE BUYING A ONE-OFF PROTOTYPE WITH BUYING A PRODUCTION GAME <<<<

Vid,

I am not in any way doubting your ability to fix this machine. I am just saying if I was one of the guys interested I would prefer being the one that messes it up if something goes wrong.

Bottom line is moderators just sent me a warning about posting my opinion too much and yet everyone else is allowed to post theirs. I have ZERO interest in this machine and have nothing to gain by advising the seller not to risk letting anyone work on it until it is paid for if his intent is to sell it.

After I send this response I am going to just drain this post because I really don't need to watch the train wreck if something goes wrong.

The moderators are probably just tired of seeing you post the same nonsensical thoughts, again and again.

You have said you have Zero interest in the game, yet you have posted 40 times about "something going wrong" like there is a bomb under the bus you are driving.

If "something goes wrong" then it is Allah's will, and there is nothing you or I can do about it.

Pretty simple IMO. The guy who has this should put it on EBay and start an auction at $1. It will then go for what someone is willing to pay, probably a lot. He will then have fair $ for the game and skip all drama.

Could be....

OK. This is some of the funniest stuff I have read in a long time. Too much!!

Any more progress on securing this game?

OMG, I am laughing my ass of at this. Not sure everyone gets this.

So, what happened with the game?

First i would like to thank you fine folks for all of your input on the Lazer lord...........good and bad! I have put it up on ebay. Thanks again Ted

Direct link:

ebay.com link: Stern Lazer Lord Joe Joss whitewood antique prototype pinball

You should really put a photo up of the rear end of the cabinet as a matter of full disclosure. A buyer would be very unhappy to see that damage since none of the other photos reveal it.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/lazer-lord-prototype/page/3#post-3961152

5K starting?? Man, enjoy your pinball machine. You're gonna have it for awhile.

I will take some pics of cab and get them up there.