Hello, I recently got into pinball - then got into pinball bad.. only wish there were more hours for pinball! I had a empty room that needed something.. then I got the crazy idea to fill it with my child hood dream of an arcade.. a super MAME cab and two broken down pinballs later.. and I have now spent more then my wife should ever know ...on big old pin cab's
I dont know what part of this hobby I like more, the fixing or the playing. picked up a EM and a goofy title lasercue (which I actually like aside from the men in tights) on the super cheap local CL deals. they were non functioning and I have since brought them back to glorious life.
I consider myself a "joe plumber" collector, I dont mind the former route machines with the lock hole, not having grown up playing pin all the time .. I do look at MM and MB and TAF and remember plunking in a quarter just to drain and then think.. f'this no more money from me... now that they are in my house with a freeplay... damn this is awesome.. where do I sell my car for more machines? I am not a super pin player but in the last 3 months of collecting I am getting progressively better, and every time I unlock a new 'skill' on my (most advanced to date) Police Force.. I feel like a champion who needs RUSH blasting somewhere.
I put gameroom picks up of my beta arcade, it was before the BK and PF and the MAME was finished, also added a nice arcade dart, a foose ball table, and some of them silly japan slot machines (CL deal again) I saw some people doggin on plachinko machines that is what got me into this wanting a pinball years and years ago.. always loved it, sure its not a pinball in anyway.. but something about the plink plink that it just had to stay in the arcade. .. those silly pachiso machines are wacky.. but only way you can have a "coin slot machine" in my state with out (ahem violating some laws) (at 50 bucks a machine cant loose, I make that back in visitors to my arcade who never seem to put a quarter in the MAME or PIN! drats!)
Later picked up a BlackKnight with horrible black glass but awesome otherwise, and a PoliceForce. (again super CL deals I just couldnt pass as they were rock bottom cheap), got the PF functioning again, and the BK cleaned up as much as I can.. aside from a check to east coast for a NOS glass, (I did chat with the fella who bought out Williams rights and he mentioned he might consider a repro print on lexan of BK which would be super rad for the "route" pin collector like me)
Later this week I have plans to pick up a Twilight Zone for my first "big boy pin" and debating others beyond that.. looking forward to the two local pinball shows.
If your local and have some junker machines I would love to fix them up! (check out my wanted list, or basically any System11 I am interested in) - also I would love to just meet local pin-heads, have a mac'njack and play some pin- talk some pin, when I can I get out to the seattle pin-museum to yack it up with the nice couple that owns it.
here to learn and enjoy this new hobby..