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Found it! Centaur

Ruk

Ruk

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Joined
Sep 19, 2016
Messages
87
Location
Manchester UK
How often do Centaur machines appear for sale? I've been on a general lookout for a few months now and only seen one pop up in the States for sale. It will be my first machine and wouldn't mind starting a small limited collection with one of these. Cheers Guys.
 
I sold mine on here about a year ago and that has since moved on again. They don't come up very often though.
 
This is not a rare title. But it was extremely popular in arcades. Most examples have been played to death and have very worn playfields. Very difficult game to stencil if the cab is heavily worn. Generally missing the say it again board which produces the iconic echo.

Good spares availability. Literally everything.

I would guess 4 might come up a year for sale in the UK. Probably 3 of which are hammered with big areas of plywood visible through the pf

A good one would probably sell very quickly as along with Fathom it is the most sought after early 80s Bally.
 
Cheers guys... I'm not after a minter as a first machine but that info will certainly help me with what to look out for... I'll just keep my peepers open :)
 
I have a mypinballs board in mine. It works very well.

To anyone who went in arcades in the early 80s , Çentaur, with that echo effect, had one of the most prominent and ever present sound effects.

An essential feature imho
 
DRD said:
I would guess 4 might come up a year for sale in the UK.
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good luck on that one! I had to buy a scrap one and restore it (the one that changed hands on here). If you want the history I bought it for £50 from THAT auction. Cabinet & playfield, everything else I had to source.
 
Sven Normansson said:
good luck on that one! I had to buy a scrap one and restore it (the one that changed hands on here). If you want the history I bought it for £50 from THAT auction. Cabinet & playfield, everything else I had to source.
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It sounds like I could be setting my sights a bit high if they are quite rare and I might be better off looking at the Centaur being a longer term project... I will stay hopeful though :)
 
It sounds like I could be setting my sights a bit high
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If you're after an early Bally SS game to tinker with then I'll likely be posting my Eight Ball Deluxe up for sale soon. Too many projects to keep them all :D
 
Hi, Ruk,

In case you weren't aware, Bally (actually by then Bally Midway) produced a 'Centaur II' later on. This, and Eight Ball Deluxe LE were a handy way to use up special cabinets originally made for Rapid Fire, their clone of Williams' Hyperball. It's exactly the same playfield, boardset and software, but with red-filtered displays and a smaller backglass. The E/B/D LE seemed to be in every arcade around here (I never saw an original), but the first Centaur II I ever saw I bought unseen, around 1990.
 
Jay Walker said:
Hi, Ruk,

In case you weren't aware, Bally (actually by then Bally Midway) produced a 'Centaur II' later on. This, and Eight Ball Deluxe LE were a handy way to use up special cabinets originally made for Rapid Fire, their clone of Williams' Hyperball. It's exactly the same playfield, boardset and software, but with red-filtered displays and a smaller backglass. The E/B/D LE seemed to be in every arcade around here (I never saw an original), but the first Centaur II I ever saw I bought unseen, around 1990.
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Yeah thanks for the info Jay, I've never been too keen on the split type cabinet of Centaur II and Mr & Mrs Pacman etc... I just can't seem to take to the style... maybe just me I suppose cos I was brought up on 60's machines as a kid :) saying that, if it was to be the only Centaur I could ever lay my hands on... I might need to reconsider that thought ;-)
 
I'd like a Flash Gordon one day, but it's based on the theme more than the game as I've never seen one to play.
 
I'd like a Flash Gordon one day, but it's based on the theme more than the game as I've never seen one to play.
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I might have to drag mine to a show this year, you just don't see them that often :thumbs:
 
ronsplooter said:
I might have to drag mine to a show this year, you just don't see them that often :thumbs:
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17th - 18th June Play Expo Glasgow would be a very good weekend to show it off! :clap::thumbs:

After all this is the best annual pinball show in Scotland! ;)

And you'll have a good weekend in Scotland!
 
2 weeks before NERG, could work out as a good warm up show for it, if you could make both shows.

If not I'm going to plan a wee trip South of the Border!
 
I just think I might need to get down to the Arcade Club near to me to get my frustration out New Year's Eve as it's open til 1am.... I'm now looking for ideas (for a Centaur substitute) to go into my biker's cafe themed room in the house... one that will sit good next to my 1971 Triumph Bonneville :hmm:
 
Ruk said:
I'm now looking for ideas (for a Centaur substitute) to go into my biker's cafe themed room in the house... one that will sit good next to my 1971 Triumph Bonneville :hmm:
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I suppose the obvious choices with a motorcycle theme would be either Harley-Davidson game (if that isn't a dirty word in your house) or Road Kings, if an early alpha-numeric isn't too modern for you. Other less well-known/regarded games are Devil Rider(s), Evel Knievel, Comet (with its motorcycle jump), or as a last resort MotorDome.
 
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I just gotta wait for something within budget to come up now... project or otherwise. Thanks guys :thumbs:

(and as for Harley Davidson, not a chance... I won't even try that on Pinball Arcade in fear of it breaking down and leaving me stranded :rofl:)
 
Picked up a Centaur today from a forum member who saw my plea and dropped me a line... I won't mention any names unless he wants to make himself known but I am now a happy bunny :thumbs:

Work to be done first is to try and get some sound working... I've read up every day for the past 3 weeks on possible causes and repairs to carry out on the S&T board etc which I am looking forward to starting tomorrow.

I also picked up a decent replacement playfield from a friend of his so a full pf change is on the cards soon... lots more reading to do first :hmm:

So I'm a pinball owner now... woohoo :clap:
 
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