Fireball is almost worth buying just for the great backglass art. The multiball and zipper flipper features (plus the spinning disk that made controlling the ball more difficult) were quite a novelty for me because that was the first time I saw these features when I played it at Phoenix airport every chance I got.

I've considered buying one off and on over the years but I'd like to put games together as a theme and Fireball seems better off being by itself unless you can think of another EM that would look good next to it?

I was just thinking about games that would go well next to Fireball and I think other Bally games from similiar era would look good next to it, Wizard and Captain Fantastic would be two of them.

How do you measure the 3.5%? I have a small level for leveling the playfield but it doesn't have degrees on it if I remember right. (will have to look at it after work today)

Nice tip, will use it with my Android too, thanks!

The boxer in the Palooka backglass has black hair and Joe Palooka had blonde hair.

I wish there was a "Frankenstein" EM pinball machine named after the 1931 horror classic. I'd buy it in a heartbeat!

Cool theme but it looks like the artist was on acid!

I wondered what "conversion" meant too. Thanks for the explanation.

That's more than I paid for the game which has one!

Fastenal locations? Btw, it was close enough for me to pick up.

Never mind. I see Fastenal in the listing description.

I will have to try it. Good for selectively protecting parts of a backglass rather than TTing it?

I saw that. I'm still learning because I thought the school of thought was to TT the whole glass.

I've seen one suggestion for applying a clear cling wrap plastic after TT the glass to pressed the loose ink down.

Bruce

I see it's water based. It won't hurt the PF?

Thanks. I'm learning here and wondering if it's ok to use water based wax when the PF still has the lacquer coating on it where it's not good to use when the lacquer's worn off.

wayner, thanks for the clarification! I googled "Minwax" and found they have quite a few different wax and poly products which can be confusing. I bought a can of Johnson paste wax and plan to try it.

It's in Florida...

I wish I had seen it lol.

Bruce

Great idea.

Bruce

How about 2" flipper games?

Bruce

North Star has great artwork.

Bruce

I've played a nice Cross Town at one of the pinball shows in the past and it was fun but I think the title is over rated.

Bruce

You're welcome, Craig. I've never played Capt Card so I can't compare them but I like 2 inch flippers and drop targets if that helps.

Bruce

For myself, I would definitely consider a Subway or Hearts and Spades because they're both AAB games and I've played the replay versions so I know they're fun games.

Bruce

That clown is creepy. I'm not sure why so many of them look creepy or ugly. Must be the artists.

Bruce

I'm the opposite way. The 2" flippers feel right to me game wise but the 3" flippers feel ok on certain games like Quick Draw.

Bruce

Seems like the word should be "Clownophobia". I'm not afraid of them but the clown theme doesn't appeal to me and most of the clowns on pinball backglasses really look ugly. They could be more cartoony and friendly looking.

Bruce

I've noticed with the "Palooka" that I like the individual drop targets as opposed to a bank of drop targets. The bank seems easier to hit than individual drop targets.

Are there other good AABs with individual drop targets?

Bruce

I'm enjoying it a lot! I've found the lower drops are more difficult because of the angles. You have to keep bouncing the ball around until you get it in the right place on the 2" flipper for a good shot.

I've almost rolled it over a couple of times so your high score of 10, 253 is in danger of being eclipsed by yours truly.

Bruce

Palooka High Score.jpg

O-din's Teacher's Pet was a beautiful game. I just wish it was an AAB.

Bruce

This is why I married a Filipina. Most of them have retained the values that we had in the 1950s.

Bruce

I liked TCM too but no longer get it after we cut the cable and started watching Netflix and local HD programming with an antenna.

Bruce

I know what you mean. There are some Filipinas like that but I'm lucky that my wife is frugal with our budget.

Bruce

I notice the Palooka is a lot taller than the Paul Bunyan next to it (about 4"-5") I'm not complaining because I'm tall so it's a perfect height for me.

I do wonder if all Williams games are taller than Gottliebs?

Btw, I rolled over the Palooka today so now there's a new high score of 10,958 for the game by yours truly.

Bruce

PalookaHS.jpg

The legs they came with are 31" and 28 1/2". Is there a standard length for 60's Williams and Gottlieb legs?

Bruce

Thanks, will check it out.

Bruce

This is very interesting. Is there a resource maybe online to find out which length legs the games got?

It's actually perfect height for me being 6' 2" tall and my wife likes to play the Paul Bunyan because it's her height. We play both games at the same time next to each other and I realized it's more fun this way where with a 2/4 player game you have to wait your turn.

Thanks Pinballprowess. This information may not be new to some here but it's new for me and I'd like to know more about this subject.

Bruce

I see from the chart that Williams legs from 1956-1966 were 31" and the Gottlieb single player legs were also 31" from 1956-1975 but it states the leg lengths for Multi Player games vary.

Bruce

I didn't expect an innocent question about pinball leg lengths to turn into this heated debate!

Called Steve and he says both should be 31" but I agree with Pinballprowess and DirtFlipper that it's probably not accurate because...

The Palooka is a towering 40" where the Paul Bunyan is 36"

That does sound right when I look at the height of the Palooka from the floor to the top of the lock bar.

I feel like this should be a question on Who wants to be a Millionaire...

image.png

Thanks guys as always. You all rock.

Bruce

How tall are you if I may ask? Being tall, the Palooka looks like a good height to me but I'll look into trading for or getting 28 1/2" legs.

That's why I listened to you and DirtFlipper.

Bruce

Thanks! My wife is now hooked on the Paul Bunyan. She's been writing down her high scores on a piece of paper.

Bruce

Steve,
It does look good but the price is way too rich for my blood to even think about it.

I'll keep that in mind. We're playing both games daily and having a good time with them though.

I will be moving the United "Utah" pinball machine. My limit is 4 pinball machines due to space constraints and I have 5 right now.

Bruce

o-din,

I was looking at your new Pinside avatar because it seemed familiar then it hit me that it's Mort from your favorite comic strip.

You might enjoy this satirical piece by The Onion on the strip.

http://www.theonion.com/article/burned-lower-half-of-morts-face-revealed-in-bazook-2590

Bruce

That looks like the sultan of swat himself on the playfield.

Bruce

I had a mint one with 12k plays that I sold in the 70's. It wasn't that much fun imo.

Bruce

Are you sure it's a knock-off? IPDB.org indicates this is a prototype backglass unless that's what you mean by "knock-off".

http://ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=11&picno=63863

Bruce

I wonder how rare it is even if it doesn't look as good as the current backglass.

Bruce

I loved trying for the 1000 just to see that "1" light up! It wasn't easy with the Sweet Hearts I had.

Bruce

Lol. There's a Pinball Fever cartoon somewhere in there.

Free shipping? Did the seller make a mistake?

I didn't look at the description but I bet seeing that "free shipping" gave the seller a heart attack for a moment before quickly adding no free shipping in the description. (it looks like a fun game from the description)

I played it as a kid at the Illinois State Fair.
It was fun trying to get all 5 balls on one side for the Special with the center 5-ball captive ball looping feature.
I'd buy it if it was local but would need to move a game first to make space.

Correction: It's a Jack In The Box. (not a JJ) It went for $250.

Same seller has an "Atlantis" coin box.

ebay.com link: Original Gottlieb EM Pinball Machine Metal Coin Box NICE REPLACEMENT

Wiiliams Grand Champion up for auction right now at a pretty good price. Local pick up Forest Lake, Minnesota.
Screenshot 2023-07-05 at 10.32.04 PM (resized).png