What's new
Pinball info

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

In Progress Gottlieb Pyramid

ronsplooter

ronsplooter

Site Supporter
Joined
Jul 21, 2011
Messages
6,497
Location
Nottingham
Alias
Chris
Got my recent eBay purchase setup so I can see what I'm going to be dealing with on this one. The seller had owned the game for the last 8 years apparently and it'd spent all that time in the basement of his cottage which was nice and dry and didn't get a lot of sunlight so it has protected the artwork. He and his family also played it reasonably regularly so it's not been sat for long periods which explains why it's basically all working. He told me that it came from an arcade in Weston-super-Mare but I'm not sure if that's where he got it from or that's from earlier in it's life as I'd be amazed at this being in an arcade anytime in the last 30 years. If anyone remembers playing a Gottlieb Pyramid in Weston then shout up in this thread :thumbs:

I gave the cabinet a good clean before setting the game up and it's in pretty decent shape and structurally all good. The front has got a lot of yellowing which I thought at first was nicotine staining but it didn't really clean off and on closer inspection it looks like some sort of old varnish or clear which I'll probably leave alone.

PXL_20240427_154103930.jpg

PXL_20240427_154834088.jpg

PXL_20240427_154124471.jpg

The backglass is also not as bad as I feared. I won't know for sure until I take it out but there's crazing on the Cleopatra figure and around the score reel windows plus some paint loss of the lion's body. The colours are all nice and vibrant though so it'll get sealed and then I'll figure out the best way to refurb it. I'm thinking of trying transparent paints this time instead of the coloured gels I used on Pinball Pool.

original_b62c346b-2b84-4865-868e-3b2caae71835_PXL_20240427_161919372.jpg

The playfield is very dirty and has wear in the usual places around the bonus inserts and the scoop kick outs but I should be able to touch all that up. My biggest area of concern is around the top lanes where the planking makes me think I might lose some paint during the cleaning process.

original_45cafe1b-796e-4727-82a4-591b5f964548_PXL_20240427_163402685.jpg

original_ce8d2019-de19-4bca-9a55-16776918bc13_PXL_20240427_163412497.jpg

original_8e0f2bc8-c7f4-462a-8fbd-bde86f7aeb66_PXL_20240427_163416187.jpg

original_d2a2bc33-4850-497f-858c-a146ce42c77b_PXL_20240427_163420617.jpg

Inside and under the playfield is surprisingly clean which is a bonus! The head hadn't been opened in 8 years which has kept it protected and I don't think the playfield has been lifted too often either.

PXL_20240427_190704938.jpg

PXL_20240428_193149175.jpg

PXL_20240428_193158946.jpg

Looking forward to this one as I had a couple of quick games to test things and it's a really fun and simple game and the artwork is fantastic.

PXL_20240427_192200011.jpg

PXL_20240427_192214957.NIGHT.jpg
 
What a great find!

I swear I played one of these at the UK Open but don't remember it being an EM. Did Gottlieb do a solid state version?
I remember myself and @MajesticPinball getting all giddy trying to tap pass when packing down
 
David_Vi said:
What a great find!

I swear I played one of these at the UK Open but don't remember it being an EM. Did Gottlieb do a solid state version?
I remember myself and @MajesticPinball getting all giddy trying to tap pass when packing down
Click to expand...
Yeah the SS version is called Cleopatra, love both these games. Can't wait to see this log progress :D
 
Spent a little bit of time this evening starting to strip the topside of the playfield. No major issues found but I have noticed the plastics (which look original) are really thin! They're not brittle thankfully but there are a couple with small chips and cracks so I need to decide whether to replace them or not. I'm definitely going to need new pop bumper caps and the odd lane guide but all of the posts look fine so should just need a clean up. The flipper bats look like they may have been replaced at some point as they're not yellowed at all which is unusual of they were the original ones.

PXL_20240428_192919548.jpg

As seems to be tradition when I get a new EM game, I like to have a look at the play counter and see if the game was a success for the operator.

original_3194c822-074d-4786-b249-4232e8f91544_PXL_20240428_193340859.jpg

50482 plays is a lot!!!!! The insert on the coin slot says 2 games for £1 but there's no way it was set to 50p a game when it likely made most of it's money in the late 70's/early 80's. When I did this for Spin Out we went with 10p a game and I know the previous owner was using old coins to credit the game up so as some of those plays aren't real money I think using 10p a game this time makes sense as well.

50482 games at 10p a go means the game made £5048.20 and assuming a 50/50 split between Op and location gives the operator £2524.10. Gottlieb EM's in the late 70's were approx $900 NIB so lets assume £900 but Pyramid would have been cheaper as it's the two player so maybe £800. This game made some serious cash for its operator, 3 times what they paid for it!!!!!!!
 
Yay! Glad this went to a good home. It was on my watch list but I was working at the auction end time, so at least we weren't bidding against each other.

It's very clean inside and out, especially inside though! Blimey. Very well stored.

Looking forward to seeing your progress.
 
mufcmufc said:
11th pic down, just sayin’
Click to expand...
Nice one mate, the front is looking a lot less yellow back in 2011 than it does now :thumbs:

Does anyone know the Richard Cadell mentioned in Martin's article? I can see the leisure park has a website so assume it's still open, I wonder if the pins are still there?
 
Last edited:
ronsplooter said:
Nice one mate, the front is looking a lot less yellow back in 2011 than it does now :thumbs:

Does anyone know the Richard Cadell mentioned in Martin's article? I can see the leisure park has a website so assume it's still open, I wonder if the pins are still there?
Click to expand...
He has a Wikipedia page as he is apparently the current hand inside Sooty. Also says he sold the Leisure Park in 2014…

Richard Cadell - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
mufcmufc said:
I went about 10 years ago when they were all still there, it was good. I ended up with the Wizard (which now lives with @mission65), I think @andy bought a few of them from the site
Click to expand...
Yes I had the Fireball and Wizard, 10 years ago sounds about right. I dont know where any of the other games went though.

They were delivered in a Luton with a big picture of Sooty on the side! :D
 
Top side of the playfield is stripped and I've begun dismantling the bottom. So far, every insert I've touched is loose and has popped out so they'll all need re-glueing. Not a big issue and tbh it'll help with the levelling but interesting that the glue has failed on all/most of them. Other then the usual gunk from the game being played I'm surprised at how clean it is underneath, should clean up really nicely :thumbs:

PXL_20240502_192851064.jpg

PXL_20240502_192202638.jpg
 
Almost done breaking down the playfield, just the pops to remove. The big relay bank will be staying put and I'll clean in place, not dismantling that bad boy seeing as the game was working :D

PXL_20240506_180740126.jpg

Spent time today on the lower cab, stripping everything out for cleaning and also removing the bottom board so it's easier to work on. Taking the door off shows just how badly the cab has yellowed in the white and the purple has basically gone. I wasn't planning on doing anything with the cab but this has got me contemplating a quick and dirty (sort of) repaint. I don't want to have to remove the rails tbh and no one makes stencils for Pyramid/Cleopatra so I'd be making my own.....it's a fair bit more work but it would be cool to get the purple colour back. I need to have a think :hmm:

PXL_20240506_163300821.jpg

PXL_20240506_175039011.jpg

PXL_20240506_160118359.jpg
 
Had a think and I'm not going to repaint the cab at this time :D If I've got to go to the effort of creating stencils then I should do it properly and I just don't have the time for that with two pin projects currently on the go and another coming very soon.

Definitely invoking the spirit of "you don't play the cabinet" on this one :thumbs:
 
I've cleaned the playfield as much as I dare and below is the starting point for paint touch ups. It actually held up to the cleaning process better than I had feared what with the planking and existing paint loss :thumbs:

PXL_20240512_170249248.jpg

PXL_20240512_170254308.jpg

original_9093f84f-0c17-43c3-9077-673a5506e720_PXL_20240512_170257207.jpg

original_f88197c5-66ce-4074-b0b4-87e31acbb81b_PXL_20240512_170301636.jpg

Didn't get too much time this weekend but I have started the white primer on the worst of the bare wood areas. With this game being a lot of yellow touch ups I need a good base to paint onto so that the colour looks decent

PXL_20240512_174531021.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom