TOMMY Prototype pinball machine signed by Roger Daltrey.

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Wow! That's different. I have had Tommy longer than any game in my collection, since about 2006. It will never leave!

The other games you see in these pics are long gone....

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Check out my avatar! I love this game. I'm also probably one of the rare ones who really enjoyed the musical & never had a problem with the soundtrack. I really enjoy walking away from a good game shouting I'm a Pinball Wizard.......even though I'm definitely not!

Same here... I bought my Tommy in 96-97' for $1300. It's been with me ever since. Same with my CFTBL I actually bought it a year sooner. Both in my collection.

Proud member here too, Love the game just wish it didn't kick my butt so much.

GAP, that prototype is pretty cool I knew they had 6 pops but didn't realize the art and all the other different stuff they had, great find.

Ooh! Another chance to post the pics of my NOS PF by Kruzman!

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You need to quit posting those PF pics, everytime I see them I feel a little inadequate. That thing is beautiful!

Hopefully next year I can actually get it swapped into the game!
I was lucky enough to find one with a pristine cabinet. The red is faded a little but physically it is unblemished. Can't wait to get it up to CQ.

Tommy was my first machine - in 2003. Still have it .... when it goes I am done with pinball

Check out my dedicated Tommy fanpage on Facebook Extra , extra read all about it !!

https://www.facebook.com/The-Whos-Tommy-Pinball-Wizard-Pinball-Machine-Data-East-1994-147739828633855/

Couple pics of my machine

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Tommy is one of my favourites.

I hope you will weave your magic over Tommy like you have done with TFTC Chad

Lovin' mine. Had one for about two years and sold it to make room for something else (who knows what)...anywhooooo....loved the game, loved the music, missed the game...picked up another one in better shape...it's not leaving. I had a NOS proto Translite that I sold after the first game left. Wish I still had it. I love the art on both, but like the proto more.

Ooooooh this could be exciting . Yes please !

A few things spring to mind, probably think of more later when I go play some more Tommy.

2x Scoring (mystery award) - this is a biggie and has always really bugged me. As it stands you can't start any Union Jack modes , or Captain Walker ramp/spinner mode, whilst its running !?! So in effect scoring opportunities are extremely limited and make it pretty pointless. This could be a huge improvement.

Option to switch off the usual 'gimme' multiball by 3rd ball. Currently Tommy letters are spotted at start of each ball guaranteeing Multiball is always ready by Ball 3.

Loop/orbit shots - I have definitely on occasion had the Extra Ball lit as a reward for hitting 5 loop shots but I'm really not sure the qualifying criteria for this. Maybe needs looking at. Possibly the Loops could do with a rule tweak. I need to check this out again on my game and think more about it.

Holiday Camp mode - horrible mode. Hitting the dangerous captive ball for not many points.Thats it. Maybe hitting the ball could light another shot(s) ...maybe timed ? Something to make it more interesting.

Captain Walker Video Mode - haha, not sure what could be done with this bar replacing it with a better video mode . At the very least look at the scoring, pitiful at present and unclear as to what hitting buildings/planes actually scores, anything to make the mode worth playing.

There's A Doctor mode - too difficult to complete,I have rarely done it even when *really* concentrating on it, reduce number of pop hits needed.

Spinners - increase value, would make the Double Value from inlanes more worthwhile

Blinders - don't want to overuse them, but possibly have them in another mode ( currently only in Tommy Scoring mode, the advanced stage of multiball, and Wizard mode )....Smash The Mirror mode ??

The BIG points when playing Tommy are to be had from multiball, particularly achieving the Super Jackpots. So maybe some balancing is needed. Possibly some of the modes need a points boost to make them more attractive to play ...thinking Sally Simpson, There's A Doctor, Christmas.

A very young Bowen on Tommy in 1994

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See if you could steal the shaker code from the japanese release? The game has a few unbalanced modes that Ive did an excellent job of pointing out.

Hi Ive,
where do these nice propellers come from?
Herbert

I got them from Robert Hoffman ... I believe he may be on Pinside ??

He used to list them on ebay from time to time. Or try contacting him through his website http://www.pinwizman.com/GamesForSale.html

ChadH, thank you for making a Tommy club! After 21 years of obsessing over the original album, Broadway show, and pinball machine, I'm FINALLY bringing one home in 2 weeks! It's my first pin and a rare gem too, I think - purchased NIB in '94 for a vacation house and rarely used by its original owner (everything works and it still has all original parts, topper, and bulbs). The seller has been fantastic and gave me a pretty nice price considering the condition of the machine (he's just glad it's going to "the right person who'll really appreciate it"). Maybe I'll type up the whole story for my Pinsider profile some time. Posting some pictures that I've taken on my visits and will post more once I bring it home!

The machine:
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The playfield:
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A peek inside:
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Hoping to join someday! One of my favorite DE games, and it has one of the best toys ever put into a pinball.

I have always wondered about this extra hole. It feeds into the subway but there are no switches to register a ball entering. Its tucked away so you cant aim for it , and its position makes it extremely unlikely for a ball to ever fall in it ...I think I have had it happen once maybe. A leftover from the proto ? An idea that was abandoned ? Who knows.

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Don't forget there is an excellent original "the Who" re orchestration on the pinsound card. Beats the "Broadway Cast" version of the songs hands down.

Hmmm. I think I'll stick with the DE sounds. I actually find in the context of the game that the Who's originals , with the exception of Pinball Wizard, just sound dirgy and dreary in comparison. I guess also I'm so used to how Tommy sounds now that anything else just doesnt seem right. Of course the sound quality thru Pinsound is much improved.

May just be me (I've only had my Tommy about a week), but I'd really like it if at start the game didn't always start with the same mode (Christmas) lit. If that was random, I think I'd like it a lot better.

Anyone else have problems with the spinners? Both of mine barely spin at all. I'd read somewhere this was a DE problem of sorts?

Pops change the lit modes. Just drop the ball into the pops from the start. Job done

May game doesn't start with Christmas all the time.

Interesting. Mine does, and AFAIK that is how it is set. What ROM revision are you running ?

I wouldn't say they're as juiced as classic Bally spinners, but the same tweaks will help (lightly sand and apply a small bit of teflon gel lube).

I have and extra limited edition Tommy print, numbered, matted and framed in really nice black wood frame. price is $690 shipped

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Has anyone upgraded the speakers in their Tommy? I was considering looking into a Pinball Pro or Flipper Fidelity speakers/sub set and I'm curious how dramatic the difference is with the stock sounds and music.

I put a set of Flipper Fidelity in mine. Honestly, nothing dramatic like I've seen in other games (Twilight Zone/Tron). Not a waste of money, not a must have either. I'd give it a solid 'Eh'.

But I want to hit the skill shot! LOL

Put the money towards a pinsound board. The stock speakers spring to life when they are driven properly.

I've had at least four 1993/1994 DE games and everyone I replaced the cabinet sub with a Pinball Pro or Flipper Fidelity. It made a big difference to my ears. The backbox speakers are fine (unless they are ripped or beat up). You definitely have to adjust the crossovers when you install the new sub, but its a great addition for not much money.

I never tried an external sub on my Tommy, but I've used them on other games. If you want really punchy bass pick up one of those polk external subs that are on sale at amazon now for about the same cost as replacing your internal cab speaker.

I second adding shaker motor implementation. I installed a shaker in mine after playing one that had it at CAX. Only to discover that it worked in test but was not used in the production code. Very disappointing.

I have a pinballpro sub in mine and it makes a big difference in my opinion. Speakers are original.

I concur re shaker motor implementation, would be a great feature to add, especially when say bombs are dropped.

Some of the current modes like Holiday Camp are not worth playing - too risky. Starting with an extra ball like you have done with TFTC for this mode would help.

Tommy was my first machine. Bought it from a guy named Tommy in Toledo, OH. Didn't know anything about moving games, and we carried it out of his bulkhead with the head unsecured. Wasn't going to be denied that game! I didn't realize there was a Tommy machine until just before I bought the game. Being a huge Who fan, when I found out, I quickly located one and jumped on it.

How about something with Smash the Mirror where the blinders are on until you in fact smash the mirror?

The very best D.E. pin. I will get it back one day.

One of the longest games I have owned! 18 years, I think.

For about 10 years it was stored, and I only opened and shopped earlier in the year.

Gosh this game is so damn good! I wish I could use original Who music, but I am OK.
When finished, the ramps flowed like a NIB!

It hasnt lost its luster of play, and is always a joy....every game ends in a smile!

Id stick my neck out to say, if you are looking for a killer game that seems to be in the 2-3K range...
this ones a must!

Redid the lights, of course, and Ill be adding new 6.3V lighting affects to the plane in the near future....
I have some cool ideas with our new products, like Post lights shining down from the bottom of the plane
to light or flash with inserts.....

Anyway, a Few pics too...one day Ill be a better photographer! Still, id like to Play TimeBandits! Get er Done!

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I have to ask about the sling plastics. The background colour on mine is orange. It exactly matches the orange background on the inlane ball guides. The Marco repros are red, and so whenever I see red sling plastics I think repro. I think Arts are original but they look red in the photos. And the story above about the lightly played NIB has red looking background on the sling plastics as well. Was there colour variation on the originals?

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Great page ChadH, I've thoroughly enjoyed reading all the comments. Its my all time favorite game probably for the music and general game play... excellent flow and speed. Agree with Ive about the music, I think in the context of the game the original songs don't fit in as well.
I have another suggested mod although not to game play... Separate high scores displayed for games played in "TOMMY Mode".
Some physical changes i'm working on is placing a real captive ball to replace the plastic one that keeps wearing out... but want to avoid slicing a ball in half, anyone got any ideas? also finding something to replace the Mirror sticker that instantly gets worn out... thinking maybe a sheet of acrylic mirror but not sure of its durability. Will have to run tests.
Very jealous of that playfield TimeBandit.... here's some pics of my Thomas

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Interesting. Looking around images on the web I see way more RED than ORANGE. They cant all be repros surely ?

Interesting indeed. My original Data East flyer for the game shows red slingshots. I also checked eBay and the web and only see red ones. My seller wouldn't have a clue as to how to buy or change them (he didn't even know there were batteries in the thing, leaving me with some minor board corrosion that I'll get fixed...at least he dropped the price due to that ). The only things he needed to have serviced (at least from his knowledge) were the flippers. There must be variations in the original plastics. It's odd that the Marco pictures have different numbers at the bottom too.

Yeah they've messed those repros up pretty badly. Don't know how they would get the numbers wrong, lol. Unless it was deliberate to avoid some sort of licensing issue. Who knows??

Stupid question on the topper: does it give a clear reflection of you while playing? I found a giant Christmas ornament that I am using, it shows the text reflected very clearly but I'm a tad blurry...just curious. It looks quite nice and was cheap.

Text should be clear, everything else was a little blury. My topper had a few dings though.