Fireball
Bally, 1972I picked this up for a buddy and I am wondering if he is going to be hurt by the want to have that nostalgic pinball or if he did alright with the buy. It is in pretty solid, playing shape with a playfield that is nice and plastics all there and in tact. The spinner works, flippers move in and out like designed, all around nice pin! What say you, the Pinside experts on a value range for the machine?
And yes, in the middle picture the left flipper was being operated by a broken pencil as it needs a new button 
Drove 8 hrs one way and forked over $1000 for mine. Good cosmetic condition, still haven't got it to fully work.
You did good just by not letting somebody else get it! If you paid under 2k, it was a score.
Nice lockdown bars can be hard to come by, do you have it? And your flippers are upside down.
Really o-din? It was $500. Thought these were not horribly desirable! An em at prices like $2000? Interesting...
Thanks for the input!
Quoted from dapperdan24:Thought these were not horribly desirable!
Humor me some more! 
Quoted from o-din:Humor me some more!
Now I am confused...I really don't know much about these. Are you playing around with a number like $2000? Or do you think I am playing dumb about not knowing the value? For what it's worth, I don't have to play dumb, I am really good at it all on my own 
The lockdown bar was not there, he'll have to track that down. The flippers are upsidedown?
Lastly o-din, you seem to have a good idea about these machines, what would an old criss cross pop up be worth? He is a minute from my house and I passed up on that, but maybe I should have taken a closer look...
Quoted from spfxted:I can't see ANYTHING on those photos
They aren't horribly detailed pictures, just form loading it into the truck. It is wrapped in blankets waiting to get moved into my buddy's truck later today right now.
Quoted from dapperdan24:what would an old criss cross pop up be worth?
I'm not sure about this one, but Fireball and me have history! They are popular because they were different. Fast game play, multiball, skillshot, zipper flippers, cool artwork, and last but not least-the odin!
Quoted from dapperdan24:I picked this up for a buddy and I am wondering if he is going to be hurt by the want to have that nostalgic pinball or if he did alright with the buy. It is in pretty solid, playing shape with a playfield that is nice and plastics all there and in tact. The spinner works, flippers move in and out like designed, all around nice pin! What say you, the Pinside experts on a value range for the machine?
Hard to determine with those photos. I would pay $1500 for a nice one. I bet some people would pay more.
It is a desirable EM machine.
Tough to find a decent one under $2K. I'm discussing one for A-town, but it is a German re-import and not sure if I want that or not.
Quoted from spfxted:Maybe it's my computer...but I can't see ANYTHING on those photos....
Thats because your so far away. The closer you are, the better it looks.
The 'lockdown bar' is probably gonna be hard to track down, for sure. Glass, side rails, & lockdown are all one piece on that era of Bally EM. Really nice price still, especially if there's no wear around the spinning disk, pop bumpers, and flippers. It's hard to find a really nice Fireball playfield.
Trace saw it in the back of my buddy's truck as it left our mountain. Kind of wish it had been my deal. Oh well. I upped my real life karma helping a friend who will enjoy it
Good job, dapperdan! If for some reason it can't find a permanent home, throw some wheels on it and roll it on down the mountain. I'll be waiting!
I just watched a video of the gameplay of this machine. Wow. That is some amazing stuff going on in an EM!! Now I suddenly want one of these...
It already made its way down Odin. I think he's sending it if for a good shop tomorrow. But I let him know you are interested.
Quoted from dapperdan24:It already made its way down Odin. I think he's sending it if for a good shop tomorrow. But I let him know you are interested.
Thanks!
Quoted from woodworker:I just watched a video of the gameplay of this machine. Wow. That is some amazing stuff going on in an EM!! Now I suddenly want one of these...
Uh oh! 20k by x-mas. Sigh. 
The machine you have is 2k unrestored. The better the playfield the more it is worth. This machine is difficult to acquire. 500 dollars is a STEAL! Please restore this one! It is the MM of EMs. This is the prized machine of any EM collection. I payed 4200 for one in the year 2000 in prestine restored condition(no planking, no ball wear, perfect backglass and plastics and prefect cabinet repaint. I wish I had kept it (financial problems) but I sold it for exactly what I paid for it 2 years later. I mean the thing looked like it came out of the box in 1972.
First, as an EM collector, let me first say that $500 for your Fireball was an excellent purchase! Congratulations on snagging a great game! Once you get it cleaned up and working, that game immediately becomes worth $1,500-$2,000. Very nice!
Second, while Fireball is an iconic 1970's pinball machine, it is in no way close to being the MM of the EM World.
In the today's EM Market, Gottlieb Mermaid & Gottlieb T.K.O. are closer to being the MM of the EM world than Fireball in terms of value. Both of these games are valued in the 5 digits. The last Mermaid sold for over $25,000 I believe. The last T.K.O went for $10,000 I believe.
And many Gottlieb Wedgehead Machines can easily surpass the $2,000+ level. Just reference the Gottlieb Atlantis that sold recently on eBay for $3,000.
EM games can be found for a very cheap price. But the desired games that are restored consistently crack the $2,000 level.
Marcus
Quoted from Xerico:First, as an EM collector, let me first say that $500 for your Fireball was an excellent purchase! Congratulations on snagging a great game! Once you get it cleaned up and working, that game immediately becomes worth $1,500-$2,000. Very nice!
Second, while Fireball is an iconic 1970's pinball machine, it is in no way close to being the MM of the EM World.
In the today's EM Market, Gottlieb Mermaid & Gottlieb T.K.O. are closer to being the MM of the EM world than Fireball in terms of value. Both of these games are valued in the 5 digits. The last Mermaid sold for over $25,000 I believe. The last T.K.O went for $10,000 I believe.
And many Gottlieb Wedgehead Machines can easily surpass the $2,000+ level. Just reference the Gottlieb Atlantis that sold recently on eBay for $3,000.
EM games can be found for a very cheap price. But the desired games that are restored consistently crack the $2,000 level.
Marcus
Hey, never said it was the most expensive em just like MM isn't the most expensive or rare dmd. Surprised your not familiar that Fireball is nicknamed the MM of em's though.
Quoted from Barron:Drove 8 hrs one way and forked over $1000 for mine. Good cosmetic condition, still haven't got it to fully work.
It took me 3 years to find a broken one that was less than $1500.
Quoted from Xerico:Second, while Fireball is an iconic 1970's pinball machine, it is in no way close to being the MM of the EM World.
Quoted from jamespin:Surprised your not familiar that Fireball is nicknamed the MM of em's though.
I believe this has nothing to do with the price or value of the machine. It goes back to the desire to keep dropping quarters (or dimes) in the machine when it was on route, and the desire to own the machine now so that one can enjoy playing it. Not to do with rareness or the desire to have a collectors item.
Quoted from jamespin:Hey, never said it was the most expensive em just like MM isn't the most expensive or rare dmd. Surprised your not familiar that Fireball is nicknamed the MM of em's though.
I've heard that nickname.
I just disagree with it.
Marcus
Quoted from o-din:For me, Fireball is the Judge Dredd of EMs, and vice versa.
So the answer to the price check is $1400?
Here is my EM MM
Quoted from Rat_Tomago:9/10 original condition sold for a buy it now price of 4k on March 22nd,2013.
Ebay link
Another example of more money then sense. I've played it, it's cool but it isn't $4k cool.
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Saddle River, NJ
