Austin, TX
are you coming by austin? i got one you could work on.
(Topic ID: 179489)
I'm building the travel map from the responses I get here and from the Facebook group. As we get closer to March, I'll round up everyone and gather more information about their specific needs.
I'm not sure where Texas will fit into the mix on this particular journey because I'm local and have already committed a great deal of energy to the Texas Pinball Festival, Houston Arcade Expo, and building up the VECTOR committee as a resource for the north Texas pinball & arcade community. We'll have to play it by ear until the trip plan comes together over the next few weeks.
Quoted from RCA1:If you end up near me, you're more than welcome to the spare room for a night or two.
And you could work out a couple of operational kinks that my one lonely EM has.
If you want to take a stab at some SS work, there's always plenty of that.
(Not sure of your schedule, but maybe think about coming for Pinball at the Zoo. Easy one hour drive from me.)
If you get up to see RCA1, i unfortunately have no room at the inn, but have an EM or 2 that could use some attention. I am 10 mins from RCA1. even if not, sound like a fun time.
Winnipeg, MB
Quoted from NicoVolta:Canada is looking likely indeed!
Nic... While on you're way to Canada, I'd be a perfect stopover. I'm in central MN and am acquiring a 1958 Gottlieb Picnic tomorrow in decent shape but currently not working. Will be my first EM and I'm as nervous as I've ever been about pin repair. Sign me up for a day if you make it this way. I'm self employed, so a full weekday and accommodations for the night wouldn't be a problem with a little notice. Not sure if you're PM'ing people after you get your route setup, but feel free to reach out anytime.
I love this idea and the timing of this thread with my upcoming EM acquisition.
Open question: Are you connected to a local Makerspace? Or a pinball/arcade club?
If so, let me know and I'll include your club/space in the tour plan so I can share what I've learned (so far) building the VECTOR Committee at the Dallas Makerspace.
Pinball + collaborative workspaces = greatly expands the hobby to new people!
I'm part of a group of about 6 guys locally here. Some may be interested in learning some stuff. I'll have to ask.
I have a couch you can crash on in Wilkes-Barre, PA if you're able to work it into the route. I just got into pinball over the summer and I have 2 EM's, El Dorado and Jungle Princess. Jungle princess is stuck on game over and will probably be working by the time you'd be here but it could probably use some tuning up and I'm very interested in learning repair and maintenance stuff.
Hey Nic, We only have one Em .. Gottlieb Domino.... All working now. LOL But if you have other pinball fixing desires. We have a few to work on.. Or at least some ideas and teaching experience for us... Let us know.. We have a nice bedroom to sleep in. If you need a stopover on your journey.. FYI..Have cats. In case of allergies...
50213 Area Code. iNT.35. Iowa.
Thanks everyone & keep the requests coming. I will be individually contacting each of you to get further information about your needs as the trip plan progresses. Odds are, I'll need to arrive with more than a screwdriver... so I'll be doing my best to evaluate and bring parts ahead of time so that we can hit the ground running when I get there.
If your headed up to Utah and the salt lake city area let me know. Would be fun to talk shop for a day and play a few while working. I always have at least one game in pieces and it would be fun to dedicate a day to it.
PM and we can arrange- we have room for you to stay and I will happily support your endeavor.
Quoted from Insane:If you get up to see RCA1, i unfortunately have no room at the inn, but have an EM or 2 that could use some attention. I am 10 mins from RCA1. even if not, sound like a fun time.
I also have the ability to take a day off during the week.
While I don't have any EMs yet, I'd like to be there for one of these fixing/education days. It would depend on if the host is good with opening it up to others. I would gladly donate to your trip for the opportunity to attend. If your stopping in the Chicago area, perhaps you can check with the host and I can meet you there. Sounds fun. I'll spring for pizza lunch or something.
Quoted from NicoVolta:I figure most Pinsiders will have a leg up compared to casual pinball owners when it comes to EM pinball maintenance and repair... but even so, it'll be fun to stop by and visit just the same.
Keep in mind that I'm good with working on your games even if you'd simply like to "buy time". A good number of "working" EM's I've encountered have needed some love in terms of score reel accuracy, coil tuning, intermittent issues, weak flippers, or just polishing contacts & replacing lamp sockets. Feel free to farm out some of this stuff if you like.
Sounds like Calif. is already on the itinerary, so what about San Diego ? There are officially over 500 members in the S.D. Pinball Club, although that includes some membership spillover from adjoining counties and states. And this includes a hefty # of owners, locally. I don't know what portion of them are into EMs (could be low ?), but I can ask around. Could even be some possibility for a Club event in there -- who knows ? A lot may hinge on the timing. At the very least, I'd certainly like to increase my meager knowledge on maintenance issues.
San Diego would be awesome. In fact, the more time I can spend there, the happier I'll be! Would love to connect with the SD pinball community.
Thus far, I've been busy organizing the routes, responders, and timeline. If I can get on the road by early April as anticipated, the route will take me through a five-region tour: Southeast, East Coast/Northeast, Upper Midwest/Canada, Pacific Northwest/West Coast, and Southwest. San Diego would be in the fourth region... thinking it might be June or early July by the time I get there.
I'll be individually reaching out to responders sometime this week... stay tuned & if you are a member of any local FB or online pinball groups in San Diego feel free to spread the word to interested parties. Thx!
If you are in upstate SC you are welcome to come by for a meal and a place to stay and talk pins...my two EMs are working pretty well right now.
Quoted from NicoVolta:San Diego would be awesome. In fact, the more time I can spend there, the happier I'll be! Would love to connect with the SD pinball community.
Thus far, I've been busy organizing the routes, responders, and timeline. If I can get on the road by early April as anticipated, the route will take me through a five-region tour: Southeast, East Coast/Northeast, Upper Midwest/Canada, Pacific Northwest/West Coast, and Southwest. San Diego would be in the fourth region... thinking it might be June or early July by the time I get there.
I'll be individually reaching out to responders sometime this week... stay tuned & if you are a member of any local FB or online pinball groups in San Diego feel free to spread the word to interested parties. Thx!
I'll do whatever I can to help with this. Don't want to let my personal enthusiasm oversell the general interest level, however: I think I should amend the EM owners "could be low" part of what I said to "probably is low." I'd really like to be wrong about this, but whenever I go on about EMs in conversation, I'm more likely to be met with blank stares. Our priority destination when visiting Pinside may be the EM section, but, realistically speaking, I think we have to acknowledge being a niche within a niche. There must be some of us here, though !
Quoted from Heretic_9:I'll do whatever I can to help with this. Don't want to let my personal enthusiasm oversell the general interest level, however: I think I should amend the EM owners "could be low" part of what I said to "probably is low." I'd really like to be wrong about this, but whenever I go on about EMs in conversation, I'm more likely to be met with blank stares. Our priority destination when visiting Pinside may be the EM section, but, realistically speaking, I think we have to acknowledge being a niche within a niche. There must be some of us here, though !
EM central for CA IMO is NorCal. Pin-a-GoGo has an entire room of them, and the Pacific Pinball Museum is half, if not more EM, or was when I was last there. I wish I was more into EM's when I lived in CA. I drove past a $300 Farafalla in great condition on the move out, and bought my working (but well worn) Lucky Ace for just a bit over $100.00.
Wish I could make PAGG but it is doubtful I'll make it through the northward region by then.
I did visit the PPM late last year. They had about a 50/50 mix of EM and SS. On the floor, the SS pins played superbly but the EM's weren't quite as dialed-in. Which is the reverse of the PHOF in Vegas... EM's are solid & snappy but the SS games are more hit-n-miss.
I'm most excited to see the PPM Expo which appears to be the single largest collection of EM's in the USA. Hope the timing works out for that!
Quoted from GRUMPY:If you just need a place to sleep for the night as I am a SS pinball guy (so sorry) let me know.
Ditto for Salt Lake City. We chatted in the lobby for a bit at the Houston Expo.
Quoted from NicoVolta:Wish I could make PAGG but it is doubtful I'll make it through the northward region by then.
I did visit the PPM late last year. They had about a 50/50 mix of EM and SS. On the floor, the SS pins played superbly but the EM's weren't quite as dialed-in. Which is the reverse of the PHOF in Vegas... EM's are solid & snappy but the SS games are more hit-n-miss.
I'm most excited to see the PPM Expo which appears to be the single largest collection of EM's in the USA. Hope the timing works out for that!
Perhaps you should email them to tune up their coils.
Quoted from jahbarron:Perhaps you should email them to tune up their coils.
Nah... I'm sure Michael & crew don't need my 2c from the peanut gallery. They were super busy preparing for the debut "Shoot The Moon" PPM Expo when I was there. Did you see the photos? SO MANY EM'S! Really impressive debut. They've likely been cranking away on those games for months, so who am I to complain if the museum wasn't 100%?
It's probably a good thing I don't run a pinball museum. I enjoy taking EM's to near-impractical levels, like Nick Raschilla. So it really isn't possible to do what I do on a large scale... would make me crazy if I tried.
Come to think of it, I have no idea how many EM's could actually be maintained by one person at peak level. 20? 40?
Hi folks... this is for those who cannot get involved directly but would like to support the tour. No "goal" set... i'll just use whatever I get to extend the tour as far as possible. Thx!
Quoted from GRUMPY:If you just need a place to sleep for the night as I am a SS pinball guy (so sorry) let me know.
Just to be clear, this includes food and drink and pinball of course.
Quoted from VacFink:EM central for CA IMO is NorCal. Pin-a-GoGo has an entire room of them, and the Pacific Pinball Museum is half, if not more EM, or was when I was last there. I wish I was more into EM's when I lived in CA. I drove past a $300 Farafalla in great condition on the move out, and bought my working (but well worn) Lucky Ace for just a bit over $100.00.
They have a very nice looking Farfalla at the Banning museum. (But was not working, 2 of the 3 times I've been there.) Seems like this would be one of the ones that by now are extremely difficult to find parts for -- anything involving the pf or artwork, especially ? Did pins like this use more standard parts, inside ?
Quoted from GRUMPY:Just to be clear, this includes food and drink and pinball of course.
Appreciate the offer, Senor Grumpy! Just zoomed into MN (which I have never visited) and wow it is lakey! Lots of waterfront properties around there, eh?
I don't know if the route will take me that far north. I have a lot of responders in lower Kansas and the central midwest but aside from Whysnow and a couple of others not many takers where you are. Absolutely none in the Dakotas, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming which is a biiiiig 'ol stretch. Thus, Chicago is a major point of divergence right now... but time will tell. I'll keep the news rolling...
Quoted from NicoVolta:Lots of waterfront properties around there, eh?
Yes sir, my avatar is me standing on my dock in my back yard. I could take you fishing too.
Quoted from NicoVolta:Absolutely none in the Dakotas
I would have thought someone in Fargo, ND would chimed in by now.
1977 - Schell pinball family (resized).jpg
This is where it all started. Little Nic & family in 1977 from a Dallas Morning News article about pinball. The photo was taken between the theatrical release of Star Wars and the debut of the Atari 2600 console... what a year!
Could this photo possibly be any more 70's? Epic mustache, neck scarf, mustard-factory yellow clothing and kitchen wallpaper, vintage pinball, astroturf, extensive oak walls, mushroom haircuts, and hanging fern. IT'S. ALL. THERE.
The pinball machines languished in storage for decades until late 2013 when I used them to teach myself how to fix and restore "EM tech"... giving it every spare minute of my time. I worked quickly enough to feature all three at the 2014 Texas Pinball Festival the following March. All of them played perfectly without a hitch! *whew*
IMG_5430 (resized).JPG
DSC03383 (resized).JPG
DSC03386 (resized).JPG
I've since sold two of the machines to other collectors. The first, Playball, was sold to a local family at Christmas 2013. Initially I was hesitant to part with one of my childhood heirlooms (and the first pinball machine I'd ever brought back to life), but their son had just returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan and loved baseball and pinball. It was an easy decision to let them have it... and a fitting farewell.
After selling Playball, I found myself eager to take on new challenges and thus Doozie was the next to go. It is currently owned by Shawn Christian, a fellow pinball collector and member of the Dallas Makerspace VECTOR Committee. (dallaspinball here on Pinside... look! you can see it in his GINORMOUS collection! https://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/dallaspinball)
Flipper Fair is the one I kept. I've since replaced the backglass and plan to give it my "no compromises" restoration treatment when time permits. Of the three, it is the oldest and my personal favorite... though some are creeped out by the clown motif (hey, c'mon, he's got two girls on his shoulders... wouldn't you be smiling too?). 
Quoted from NicoVolta:Appreciate the offer, Senor Grumpy! Just zoomed into MN (which I have never visited) and wow it is lakey! Lots of waterfront properties around there, eh?
I don't know if the route will take me that far north. I have a lot of responders in lower Kansas and the central midwest but aside from Whysnow and a couple of others not many takers where you are. Absolutely none in the Dakotas, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming which is a biiiiig 'ol stretch. Thus, Chicago is a major point of divergence right now... but time will tell. I'll keep the news rolling...
Sad to hear that. Posted early on and PM'ed you (central MN)... but I completely understand if it's a bit out of the way. As for the lakes... if you're dead set on working on pins the entire trip, the lakes won't make a difference, but if you want to get out sailing or any other water activity, I'd be happy to host that as well.
Quoted from NicoVolta:This is where it all started. Little Nic & family in 1977 from a Dallas Morning News article about pinball. The photo was taken between the theatrical release of Star Wars and the debut of the Atari 2600 console... what a year!
Could this photo possibly be any more 70's? Epic mustache, neck scarf, mustard-factory yellow clothing and kitchen wallpaper, vintage pinball, astroturf, extensive oak walls, mushroom haircuts, and hanging fern. IT'S. ALL. THERE.
The pinball machines languished in storage for decades until late 2013 when I used them to teach myself how to fix and restore "EM tech"... giving it every spare minute of my time. I worked quickly enough to feature all three at the 2014 Texas Pinball Festival the following March. All of them played perfectly without a hitch! *whew*I've since sold two of the machines to other collectors. The first, Playball, was sold to a local family at Christmas 2013. Initially I was hesitant to part with one of my childhood heirlooms (and the first pinball machine I'd ever brought back to life), but their son had just returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan and loved baseball and pinball. It was an easy decision to let them have it... and a fitting farewell.
After selling Playball, I found myself eager to take on new challenges and thus Doozie was the next to go. It is currently owned by Shawn Christian, a fellow pinball collector and member of the Dallas Makerspace VECTOR Committee. (dallaspinball here on Pinside... look! you can see it in his GINORMOUS collection! https://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/dallaspinball)
Flipper Fair is the one I kept. I've since replaced the backglass and plan to give it my "no compromises" restoration treatment when time permits. Of the three, it is the oldest and my personal favorite... though some are creeped out by the clown motif (hey, c'mon, he's got two girls on his shoulders... wouldn't you be smiling too?).
This picture is epic! As well as the story of restoration
Quoted from Pinzap:Sad to hear that. Posted early on and PM'ed you (central MN)... but I completely understand if it's a bit out of the way. As for the lakes... if you're dead set on working on pins the entire trip, the lakes won't make a difference, but if you want to get out sailing or any other water activity, I'd be happy to host that as well.
Appreciate it & stay tuned. We're still early in the trip roundup and I haven't reached out to any northward pinball FB groups yet.
Quoted from ryansherwood:This picture is epic! As well as the story of restoration
"How the hell did you accomplish all of this since late 2013?"
I've done nothing *but* this! :p
OCD, properly applied, can be a good thing.
Awesome photos! My one buddy has a Doozie which despite some wonkiness, still happens to be his only working pin thanks to his Atari obsession, ha ha. He keeps threatening to drop it at my house to get me to fix it for him. If you DO decide to swing this way I might have to take him up on that "offer"... 
Quoted from RCA1:Love the retro pic.
Were the appliances Harvest Gold or Coppertone Brown? Ours were Brown.
Don't forget the dark green ones. we had a couple of those.
Quoted from Insane:Don't forget the dark green ones. we had a couple of those.
I think "Avocado Green" is the appropriate description. 
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