New Life Games LLC
Other Hobbies and Interests that our NLG members enjoy => Other Hobbies and Interests => Topic started by: nibre on February 02, 2023, 05:20:30 PM
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I used to have 26 pinball machines but now I only have 12. It was a painful process of selling games.
My favorite eras in pinball are:
1. 1979-1981 with great games like Fathom, Centaur, Paragon, Xenon, Elektra, Embryon and others.
2. The 90s: Theatre of Magic, The Addams Family, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Doctor Who, Medieval Madness, Twilight Zone and many more.
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I have a Xenon, Black Knight and Twister. I would find it very difficult to part with just one. It must have been very difficult to pare down a big collection. I would love to add Addams Family but they are prohibitively expensive now.
Chris
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I currently own 4 machines, with a fifth on the way. Twilight Zone, Batman '66, The Beatles Platinum, and Godzilla Premium are in the house; The Big Lebowski is due any day now.
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If you had to pick one manufacturer who would it be .... Stearns, Williams, Gotlib, Others ?
I own a Williams Diner and find it very enduring. I played a Pirates of the Carribean at a bar a few months ago and though that one was a lot of fun. I did observe that there was a lot of moving parts which makes me a bit nervous for home ownership.
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Had a variety of pinball machines over the years, before I got divorced and we had to let the house go. Still a major fan and go play them when I can find them. My favorite was a Williams Whirlwind I had for many years, put a lot of time and effort into it, restoring it to the best version of itself possible.
Today's pinball (Stern anyway) for home use I wouldn't recommend, unless you're relatively well off. Besides the initial cost, the warranty period is only 2 months (9 months for the displays). The guts are really no longer user fixable like the old ones. Now it's all surface mounted components, so unless you're a wiz with steady hands, you'll need to purchase new boards if something goes bad. And everything is on separate boards now with a node architecture. So if a node reports as bad, you'll need a new one at a cost anywhere from $80-$500.
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I went with a virtual pinball setup. I really wanted a real one, but the cost and never having owned one scared me away because of potential maintenance issues.
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I have all (many) EM pinball machines. Don't care for all the toys and ramps of the newer stuff.
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The one most important thing to do is get the battery pack off of the backplane mother board.
When it leaks - recovering from something like that is very touch and go.
They are not making those backplane boards any more so a replacement is very expensive.
Moving the battery elsewhere is an easy thing to do and will save you a mint in the future.
Other than the above maint is not that big of a deal on a real one.
Most common issues are light bulb failures.
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Rumor has it that within a year, all glass light bulbs will be banned.
We have converted our games to LED bulbs, finding side glow instead of top glow is always a problem.
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High heat oven bulbs I have heard are hard to create a LED version of.
I am sure new stoves would have some form of heat sheild to accomodate LED but not sure about legacy.
I a,so worry about the Lava Lamps that use the heat from a 100w incodesent to make them work.
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26 pinball machines must take up a LOT of floorspace! :rotfl:
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2800 Sq Ft house here, 46 pinballs crammed in. Also 29 slots, 6 Jukeboxes, and many smaller vending machines.