my new huo Gottlieb Strange World

hi all, although I don't really have the room ... I just had to 'save' this machine locally and keep it with my other wedge heads

thanks to my buddy Jason here, I got the heads up on it, went down and took a look and just couldn't resist

playfield was filthy - with day one rubbers and clearly never having seen any extra wax or wipe downs

a neat story in that it was sold to me by a 92 year old gentleman who was a distributor back in the day ... he was in some financial trouble and when his accountant bailed him out, and mentioned he would like a pin for his home, he gave him this one straight out of the box !!

a few years ago the accountant called him back and said it was taking up room, please come pick it up, so he did

cabinet is not faded or yellowed, back glass has one tiny pin mark but is otherwise perfect

Virtually all bulbs were black and burnt out (it really was comical because the old chap would plug it in and 'have a game' with tattered rubbers dangling off the slings etc) .. nice to see him reminiscing too

counter shows around 65,000 plays

it is running very well except for a few items - game over light doesn't always come on, and the series of lights don't light correctly (sequence bank switches all need a go over??)

at any rate I will post some before and after pics here and likely ask for some more assistance as I fiddle with it

the center area had some pretty heavy dirt ground into the wood grain, and lots of swirl marks in whites at center inserts ... I have cleaned up somewhat but may leave 'well enough' alone this time as I learnt my lesson the hard way on my c37 (that if for another thread in the near future!!)

only wear on playfield is at kick out hole, but I have a possible fix for that and the center area ...

the one large plastic on the left side has the typ chip out at post area ... anyone out there have a lead on one of those for me ??? unlikely I know but if you do please get in touch ... otherwise I will try and make a repro

I had another laugh when I noticed that someone had doodled in blue ballpoint on the outside of backglass, some nice nipples for the ladies and circled the 'privates' of the people as well

sorry for the ramble, just excited to have found this one in reasonably nice shape to add to my others

cheers, Ron

after1.JPG

after2.JPG

#2 10 years ago

GTB

DirtFlipper

Inactive member

Twin Cities, MN

12y 43,900 6,190 38

Congrats on the neat pick-up! I really enjoy playing mine; without the ball return lanes, it's very reminiscent of playing an older Gottlieb, with lots of good nudge shots. I especially like the nudge off the lower right sling right into the kickout hole when lit for special. I think this game would be more highly rated if it had more exposure. Since they didn't make very many, and it was late in the EM period, my guess is not many folks have really spent time playing one.

Now, go back and ask the gentleman if he has any other remnants of the day! Flyers, schematics, manuals, paperwork, parts, etc.

#3 10 years ago

8=D

Barron

Frozen

11y 29k 1,219

Stunning.

#4 10 years ago

JIM

Captive_Ball

Pinside+ Frequent

Cypress, TX

11y 128K 7,186 17 86

Very nice, congrats

#5 10 years ago

Darcy

Pinside member

Looking really nice there Ron. With 675 made, and late in the EM assembly era. They are cool. Good purchase.
I saw this post, then checked my Strange World. Mine has 67673 plays (as of this afternoon). They appear to be in very similar condition.

Have Fun playing it, watch for scores over 150,000. Once the 5000 points are lit the scores will climb. It is also possible to score replays roughly, 1 or 2 every 3rd game or so.

Keeping Pinball Alive!...... Way to Go.

#6 10 years ago

DAD

jasonsmith

Inactive member

11y 36,150 500

Just love the crazy artwork on that thing, congrats bud, can't wait to play it!

#7 10 years ago

RON

manitouguy

Inactive member

dirt - I agree totally on play ... this one plays really fast and trying to do a 'catch' on the fly on the flippers without the lanes is great fun ... nudging is also critical low down on the playfield (especially since I move all my posts to the harder 'conservative' locations - makes the side drains HUGE!!

barron - yes it really is a wild looking machine - and after I cleaned it up it really is in wonderful condition - absolutely no wear for most of the playfield except at the center inserts and the wood grain just below those were the dirt was really ground it, but I have gotten most of it out

darcy - 5 ball keeps it a bit less of a score fast, but am sure it will add up fast too ... bumpers are only 100 on 5 ball as opposed to 1000 on 3 ball, on 3 ball a rollover or hit on a 2 or 3 lights both 2 and 3, in 5 ball it only lights the one hit ... I also always set my high scores to the highest ... this one came with the full paperwork so I put in the 5 ball tilt card with the special that ends the game rather than just the ball, and use the score card for replays at 130,000, 160,000 and 180,000 too

as for specials ... I like how the special is only supposed to light 'occasionally' once criteria are met ... not sure yet what keeps it lighting at intervals rather than staying lit ... perhaps cycling on the score motor? (mine had a flasher bulb in it under special hole ... but I doubt it was supposed to?) at any rate that makes the shot pressure all the more when it does light

Jason - you know you are welcome to drop in and play my pins any time !!

ok off to see what to fiddle with first and will post more ... after a few games

#8 10 years ago

Darcy

Pinside member

Hello Ron.

The Special When Lit lamp should just be a regular bulb. When the Special is lit it will alternate off and on through the remaining of the game. On earning the White 1234, sometimes the Special will not light. For the Green and yellow 1234 the Special Light will come on. With 5000 points earned after all of the 1's, or 2's,or 3's, & 4's, makes for high scores. Also with all the lights on it looks really cool. The 3-D looking art work on the playfield is also different.

#9 10 years ago

RON

manitouguy

Inactive member

Thanks Darcy, I am now starting to chase some 'bugs' on mine

I just cleaned the score reels which were really grimy (Jason is always bugging me to clean them on my machines as I never have ... WOW what a difference it makes !!!! now that I see how simple it is I will have to go get to my other machines and do them too)

On the tens reel, I just noticed the very first wire going to the 'c' position has come unsoldered ... have no idea what that effects, but will post a pic on a new strange world tech thread so others can offer opinions on that and a few other items ... next in line ... although the game recognizes 5 balls and ends game properly, with match unit (fs relay) working fine ... the game over light doesn't come on .. it did a few times .. but no more

even with the bugs I am really enjoying playing this one, but yes all my lights aren't coming on .. sequence bar for sure, and the special ... once I get it sorted it should look really great while playing

#10 10 years ago

DAD

jasonsmith

Inactive member

11y 36,150 500

It's funny looking at the playfield while thinking about it's fast play. Almost every shot is designed to shoot the ball right back at you LOL. Even the bumpers have nothing blocking them from firing the ball right back at you like so many games do. I've really learned how to see now thanks to this playfield. When I first saw it, without thinking it looked boring and way to simple with nothing going on but when you look at it with the right eyes it all seems quite apparent that Gottlieb did some planning with this one. I can see me coming away from this one slightly jacked up, thankfully the flippers aren't open on the back otherwise you'd need some sort of a sport enhancing drug to keep up.

#11 10 years ago

RON

manitouguy

Inactive member

Jason, when this one gets going it can 'play itself' for a bit ... the ball does get fired in odd directions and some of the switch targets do get hit in the madness - lots of fun and lots of nudge and flipper control needed here

the plunger skill shots to get the roll over green '4' and the soft plunge white '4' are also fun

as Darcy noted to me - a right flipper shot can thread the needle back up to top of field between the bumpers ... and getting the ball in the kick out hole takes some mustard too ... especially with the two side posts there placed in the conservative position (more up front and guarding it)

yes having fun with it ... and proud I cleaned the score reels too!!!

I've started a tech thread to work through some of its other minor 'bugs' ... that sequence bar and its 24 switches has got me a bit worried ....!

#12 10 years ago

Darcy

Pinside member

There are many tricky shots on this pin. The Yellow #1 from the left flipper will drain. The ball rolling down along the upper right shield will drain. Shooting for the bottom most targets, the Green #1, and Yellow #4 can cause a drain, by just dropping straight down, or bouncing over to the opposite outlane. Trying some catches can cause the ball to roll up the lower shield and drain. This pin needs nudging for sure.

#13 10 years ago

RON

manitouguy

Inactive member

you can also 'thread the needle' and get a straight shot from the left flipper up through the white '3' too, rewarding when you get it

#14 10 years ago

GTB

DirtFlipper

Inactive member

Twin Cities, MN

12y 43,900 6,190 38

Glad to hear other folks are finding the game enjoyable - maybe it will get an improved rep over time. It won me over, so now it's a keeper.

The kickout hole lights for Special in 'thirds', based on the score motor and which color sequence has been completed. So if the white 1-2-3-4 is completed, then the kickout hole will light for Special 1/3 of the time (while the score motor is on that 1/3 turn). If two of the 1-2-3-4 sequences are completed, then the hole will light for 2/3 the time, and if all three are completed, then the hole will stay lit the whole time, regardless of the score motor running.

The 'C' position on the 10's card being open will prevent getting a Match. (C=common, and the other spots are the digits 0-9).

Kickout hole should have a regular bulb.

#15 10 years ago

RON

manitouguy

Inactive member

thanks dirt, neat info on the special and somewhat as I suspected

will resolder the common so I can get my matches!!

#16 10 years ago

DJP

Chitownpinball

Pinside member

Aurora, IL

11y 102K 7,314 5

aw man, so jealous!

#17 10 years ago

DAN

Rat_Tomago

Pinside member

Plano, TX

11y 107K 3,491 22

Very nice machine there.

#18 10 years ago

CJM

EM-PINMAN

Pinside member

11y 111K 5,311

Very cool. It's a "Strange World" after all.

Ken

#19 10 years ago

RON

manitouguy

Inactive member

thanks Rat, hope you are doing ok

I hadn't planned on picking up another wedge just now but just couldn't pass up the opportunity on this lesser seen one, mostly because i was so curious about it, and saw the potential in how nice it was, so took the gamble that I could clean out the dirt all over playfield - so far I am pretty pleased

I would LOVE to find someone with a replacement plastic for my chipped one, but think that is pretty unlikely, so may have to try and remake on

last night was very proud of soldering 1 new wire and reconnecting two disconnected to get my ball in play lamps and game over and match now tickety boo

now about to try and open up the large sequence bank or switch bank to clean some contacts there and hope the center playfield lights can get working properly again

sequence bank 1.JPG

sequence bank 2.JPG

then my try a bit more clean up and then will decide if I try another recently successful 'restore technique' on the center inserts area where there is a wee bit of wear

the art package is growing on me and I find the gameplay really fun (will be way more fun when lights activate properly!) and I like the challenge with the posts set to conservative locations ... the side drains are HUGE

happy to have come across and 'saved' this special machine which is in such great condition ... takes the sting out a bit on an atlantis I missed picking up - a decision that I have been regretting - I hope to find a nice one of those to complete my wedgehead line up

#20 10 years ago

Darcy

Pinside member

When I bought my Strange World. I bought it because I thought it was older than the Solar City I already had.

That large sequence bank, will pivot, loosen the wing nuts on each end. You can probably remove it out off the bracket and support it with something inside the cabinet. Like wood, non conductive. It does look daunting.

#21 10 years ago

RON

manitouguy

Inactive member