Credit dot in one of the pictures worth asking about. He seems like a genuine nice seller IMO
Pinball info
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EBay auctions 2016
- Thread starter mufcmufc
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Thanks for the reply's guys much appreciated, If i'm honest tho J.C i dont know what you mean by credit dot lol .. care to throw a noobie a bone 
Agreed he does sound like a decent sort of bloke
Agreed he does sound like a decent sort of bloke
Look for a dot after the word freeplay on the dot matrix. (Or after credits if it isn't on freeplay!). It indicates that there is at least one fault on startup. Apparently it was used by operators to quickly see if the machine was running ok.
Ahh ok... thanks Domlouis you learn something new everyday huh !!
Then you need to turn the machine off and then back on. It will go through a self test. Because there is at least one fault it will make a warning sound like 5 or 6 consecutive horn sounds. Then the display will show something like "press enter for report". At which point you ll need to look for buttons inside the cabinet door usually on the left hand side. There will be 3 or 4 of them and one will be labelled "enter". Press it. And read the first fault. At this point open the manual and search for the fault section which will explain what's wrong. If there are more faults press the other buttons, one will be up, the other one down. To cycle through the faults. Simpler than it sounds.
Hmmmm.Gotcha, you're a mad personI guess if it was a popular re-brand theme such as the Sailor Jerry Rum EM it would reflect in price ie £900+ for the last one of those on eBay.
On the subject of Sailor Jerry they have a blog post on their website of
THE TEN GREATEST PLACES TO PLAY PINBALL IN THE WORLD
In the UK we have The Brudenell Social Club -- Leeds, UK ????
https://sailorjerry.com/en-gb/blog/post/pinball/
The Brudenell Social Club is a great place to go see live bands but having just one tired Attack From Mars hardly qualifies it as a pinball Mecca.
thanks for the info!... i know the buttons ive actually got a couple of pins bought in the last few weeks with very little knowledge of what the hell i'm doing got a TAF a SS and also a CV on the way been having a mess in the menus on these so the info helps alot cheers. maybe i can fool him into thinking i know something about it hmm very unlikely lol
got a TAF a SS and also a CV on the way been having a mess in the menus on these so the info helps alot cheers. maybe i can fool him into thinking i know something about it hmm very unlikely lol
Yup! Everything he said is about right! First time I met Andy the legend was to do some fixes I can do myself now ( fuses and bulbs!) But that was before I discovered this forum and the helpful lads and lasses on it. I've seen JDs go from 1k to £1500, this one would be around the 1200 mark if I had to guess, but try and see it before you commit @justinhcb but also remember through this forum you can get advice to fix problems and there are people who will buy it/trade it if it's not your cup of tea so there really isn't too much to worry about.... unless it's been in a river..like Kev's demo man
Really enjoying the pins re-living my youth maybe gonna end up with a bucket full at this rate 1 a week lol but how about this TOM http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Theatre-Of-Magic-/111887662592?hash=item1a0d063e00:g:RVYAAOSwFMZWqPyZ
and Thanks guys honestly a big help !!
and Thanks guys honestly a big help !!
Pinball machine collecting can get addictive, TOM is a great machine, my sister has recently bought one as well.
Shame the one on the bay has such crap photos, I love how they state "ready to go as pictures show" when all I can see are photos of a machine that possibly doesn't work since they couldn't even be bothered to turn it on for the photos.
Quite a lot of wear on the trunk magnet which is not unusual. I would also personally ask for closer photos on the playfield, preferably without the glass on to have a closer look at the playfield and plastics.
Can't see anything obviously wrong with the playfield, but the photos are so blurred and show so little it's like he's trying for an entry in a book about how to take sellers photos of ****ed-up pinball machines. I've seen clearer photos of bigfoot... Its possible its a guy who doesn't know much about whats important in a pinball (or photography for that matter), but the photos aren't much use at all.
As @Tony says one of the first questions is "when did you last replace the batteries on the backbox boards?". An unsurprising response would be "What batteries?" at which point you've got to wonder if there's going to be acid damage to the boards.
Ask him what the errors are when he stars the machine up and checks the test report. Its got a credit dot on the DMD so there will be at least one.
Could be minor, but if he says there's no errors alarms should now start going off about everything else he claims about the machine. If he says its "Just saying the Date/ Times not set", that's another indicator that the batteries are gone.
He says hes got better photos - Ask for a link to them or a copy of them via email. One of the underside of the playfield and a couple of the playfield upper and lower half shots would be nice with the glass off rather than a distant shot of the entire thing with the glass reflecting the overhead lighting.
+1 to everything Chris says. That pinball looks about as ready to go as Del-Boys motor from those pics. Is it me or does something look really f**ked-up with the front leg bolts too?
No photos inside backbox or under playfield, even though he's got keys hanging from the backbox lock. Hugely bad sign.
My opinion - I like TOM, and £2500 is around what I'd expect to pay for a nice one in good nick (maybe a little more if prices have gone up in the last year or so). However I'd think he'd be lucky to get that at the end of the auction with that listing (I'd be surprised at anything over £2k). Its definitely not what I'd consider a starting bid for this particular example.
Seems to be a run of crappy photos on eBay listings. Did eBay start making it compulsory to use fun cameras for auction photos or something?
Always wise to go and see the machine in person first @justinhcb - and if in doubt.....don't buy.....there will always be another one available (as long as you are patient!).
Other than that - looks like you are getting quite an instant collection already. I'm in Birmingham too, so just let me know if you need anything - i'm no expert but can offer some advice. Welcome to the site!
One thing I don't think was mentioned about the credit dot, it may not actually be a fault, if a switch hasn't been hit in ( I think! ) 10 games it will be reported as an error. For example in The Shadow, if you haven't had a ball on the upper playfield in a while the report will tell you to check all the switches up there.
Further info on credit dot and repairing Alkaline corrosion (battery acid damage) here:
http://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Williams_WPC#Credit_Dot
http://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Williams_WPC#Credit_Dot
I'm can't remember 100% on this but Im pretty sure that JD can report a switch fault for a non existent switch depending on the ROM version installed. I'm sure the proto ROM does this as the missing switch was part of the original deadworld setup. It's been so long since I owned a JD that I can't remember the exact details though 
You also get a credit dot when you change the batteries, until you set the time and date, or the same error if the batteries are flat.
I'm can't remember 100% on this but Im pretty sure that JD can report a switch fault for a non existent switch depending on the ROM version installed. I'm sure the proto ROM does this as the missing switch was part of the original deadworld setup. It's been so long since I owned a JD that I can't remember the exact details though
My JDs dot-free (well it is when I've not broken anything anyway
). I think you're right and it's something you get when you use the original ROM version to allow the Deadworld mod to hard lock balls (I think you need to go back to the v1.0 ROM for the DW mod)? Mines a standard non-DW-mod using the last ROM version - v1.7?The one in the pics has an original "non-DW mod" planet ring on so I'd assume its not down to that in this case.
As has been said, BW credit dots can be (and often are) due to minor things, but you really want to know what its reporting if you see one on a game for sale, just on the off chance it's something a bit more worrying.
I'm can't remember 100% on this but Im pretty sure that JD can report a switch fault for a non existent switch depending on the ROM version installed. I'm sure the proto ROM does this as the missing switch was part of the original deadworld setup. It's been so long since I owned a JD that I can't remember the exact details though
Judge Dredd is one of the games which can give a 'false alarm' dot. Early software had two different switches called 'Left Ramp Enter', though only one was actually wired in. And it can report ball trough opto switches if the trough never goes empty, i.e. no 6-ball multiball achieved during 'Super Game'.
Btw, earlier editions could be made to repeat 'You Want To, You Want To, You Want To' by repeatedly pressing the two start buttons at the right rate (not on Free Play, obviously).
Thanks all !! ive managed to get his phone number so going to call him and ask a few of these questions hopefully its a good one as i like the theme / style of the cab don't remember ever playing one tho tbh
Cheers again everyone will let you know the outcome of call
Cheers again everyone will let you know the outcome of call
@justinhcb right hand shooter lane pastic is missing !
@RGV i think ,i still have the old rom for that machine some where,if you want it ,i will drop it of for you !
@RGV i think ,i still have the old rom for that machine some where,if you want it ,i will drop it of for you !
Great eye Carl I never spotted that. I spoke with him on the phone seems like a nice bloke to be fair. Now the bad news he has never and I really do mean never been in the back box I had to explain how top open it up and get in there 
He later sent me a couple of images and luckly the batteries have not leaked but have been in the machine over 10 years .Wtf.
I've decided to have a punt on it.. what's the worst that could happen lol
Thanks again all amazingly helpful !
He later sent me a couple of images and luckly the batteries have not leaked but have been in the machine over 10 years .Wtf.
I've decided to have a punt on it.. what's the worst that could happen lol
Thanks again all amazingly helpful !
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@justinhcb
Last year I bought 2 working games from "never been in the backbox" guys. My vector and funhouse. Both were riddled with problems. I also bought games from knowledgeable guys on here paragon, shadow, bk2k - these were all in far better shape
Just be aware that they can be a tonne of work. These old pinballs often need constant minor maintenance, but they are resilient. To casual eyes they may "work" yet can be riddled with problems that just accumulate if they go unattended
In my opinion, you are far better buying from an enthusiast who has properly maintained the game
I am not saying never buy games from dumb sellers, but just be aware that you can be lining yourself up for a lot of work.
Last year I bought 2 working games from "never been in the backbox" guys. My vector and funhouse. Both were riddled with problems. I also bought games from knowledgeable guys on here paragon, shadow, bk2k - these were all in far better shape
Just be aware that they can be a tonne of work. These old pinballs often need constant minor maintenance, but they are resilient. To casual eyes they may "work" yet can be riddled with problems that just accumulate if they go unattended
In my opinion, you are far better buying from an enthusiast who has properly maintained the game
I am not saying never buy games from dumb sellers, but just be aware that you can be lining yourself up for a lot of work.
If I could have 3 those would be it..... 4th would be CFTBL.
Its going bid crazy on ebay with the dredd up to £1500 and climbing hmm.. is it really that sort of money? was excepting it to finish at £1250 to £1300 tops going by the last couple ive seen.
DRD you are right.. i think the back box comment isnt a good sign "works like a Swiss watch" and all that
Bandit Boy funny you should say about the creature. because that for sure is on my short list at the minute ..great theme !
Tony i'm still keeping em peel'd for you mate
DRD you are right.. i think the back box comment isnt a good sign "works like a Swiss watch" and all that
Bandit Boy funny you should say about the creature. because that for sure is on my short list at the minute ..great theme !
Tony i'm still keeping em peel'd for you mate
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