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Found it! Looking to buy my first pinball machine - budget up to £3k possibly a little more

cmrl9

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Joined
Apr 16, 2020
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Belfast
Alias
cmrl
Hi,
A family member recently passed (fortunatley not from the virus) and I was looking to buy a pinball machine, to have something physical to remember them. After some helpful feedback its possible I might be able to stretch to 3.5k/3.6k. Depending on how long the virus goes on for!

Idealy I am looking for one of the following in order of preference:

Stern - Lord of the rings (with or without UK All skill posts, I actually like them, good for the kids!)
Stern - Simpsons pinball party - (with or without UK All skill posts, I actually like them, good for the kids!)
Stern - Elivs (with or without UK All skill posts, I actually like them, good for the kids!)
Williams - Star Trek the next generation
Stern - Pirates of the caribbean
Williams - Adams Family
Data East - Jurasic Park
Stern - Tron Legacy Pro

I appreciate some of these machines may or may not be outside my budget, but am happy with condition being a bit tatty, broken plastics, minor playfield wear, however they need to be fully working

Flexible with Location as from London and am over in the UK visiting family fairly often.

A couple of requirements to prevent wasting everyones time:
1) Pictures of the machine, playfield, sides, backbox
2) Payment will only be made upon collection after seeing it working. (don't worry I won't re-negotiate the pre-agreed price, as long as your description/photos are honest)
3) Payment and collection could only take place after the virus lock down, as its currently impossible to travel from Northern Ireland. (so guessing around end of May/June)

If you have a machine for sale within my budget and post 1990's not on the list, drop me a message with price, I might be interested if it stirs the databanks!

Thanks in advance
 
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thats a cracking budget for your 1st pin I’m sure you will get something easily but doubt it will be TAF or LOTR unless you up it somewhat.
Good luck with your search you’re in the right place
 
POC might be good one.
Tron is my grail pin. Its a pin that takes unlimited mods off you.

My PayPal has been hit hard with Tron! I'll be very pi**ed if the do a vault edition if Tron 3 makes to the silver screen.
Mine will go when I go!
 
thats a cracking budget for your 1st pin I’m sure you will get something easily but doubt it will be TAF or LOTR unless you up it somewhat.
Good luck with your search you’re in the right place
Thanks, the list are ones I had played quite a lot when younger, and remember enjoying them, except for Tron, which I had only ever seen once and played once but do love the film.
 
POC might be good one.
Tron is my grail pin. Its a pin that takes unlimited mods off you.

My PayPal has been hit hard with Tron! I'll be very pi**ed if the do a vault edition if Tron 3 makes to the silver screen.
Mine will go when I go!
I Remember POC being quite good with the funny little ship in the middle. Does Tron play well? I've only played it once in a riley's snooker hall in Hammersmih, but the sound was switched off!
 
You will get a Jurassic park data east for under 3k but I think you’ll be extremely lucky to get most of the others for that budget.

Also on here we do not really post that many games for sale with videos. We have a lot of good folk on here and people are truthful mainly unlike some on eBay.

You will also get better value for money on here.

Most the games you listed usually start at about 3.5k.

You won’t get an Addams for under 4.5k I’d say. That would be an unrefurbed one.

Good luck with your search. You never know you may get a pm of someone desperate to sell a game due to being currently short of funds.
 
I Remember POC being quite good with the funny little ship in the middle. Does Tron play well? I've only played it once in a riley's snooker hall in Hammersmih, but the sound was switched off!
Tron can be a hard journey with the rule set.

I've recently changed out the spinning disc as over time it degrades the rubber.

The disc now spins out the ball at a frighting speed. Hopefully it will bed in.

I've got TWD LE on loan from Tilt/Pinball Heaven and it takes no prisoners, but is a fun play. Just hit 50m after 3 weeks of play.
 
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You will get a Jurassic park data east for under 3k but I think you’ll be extremely lucky to get most of the others for that budget.

Also on here we do not really post that many games for sale with videos. We have a lot of good folk on here and people are truthful mainly unlike some on eBay.

You will also get better value for money on here.

Most the games you listed usually start at about 3.5k.

You won’t get an Addams for under 4.5k I’d say. That would be an unrefurbed one.

Good luck with your search. You never know you may get a pm of someone desperate to sell a game due to being currently short of funds.
Thanks, thats very helpful, I could possibly go up to 3.5/3.6k, by the time the virus and travel has been lifted. I'l adjust my list of requirements, regarding the video
 
Thanks, thats very helpful, I could possibly go up to 3.5/3.6k, by the time the virus and travel has been lifted. I'l adjust my list of requirements, regarding the video
Last Tron on here was around £3.6k I think a month or two ago.
 
Tron can be a hard journey with the rule set.

I've recently changed out the spinning disc as over time it degrades the rubber.

The disc now spins out the ball at a frighting speed. Hopefully it will bed in.

I've got TWD LE on loan from Tilt/Pinball Heaven and it takes no prisoners, but is a fun play. Just hit £50m after 3 weeks of play.
I have heard TWD is pretty good, never seen one, probably the last new one I played was stern star trek and
Last Tron on here was around £3.6k I think a month or two ago.
Thanks,
 
You will get a Jurassic park data east for under 3k but I think you’ll be extremely lucky to get most of the others for that budget.

A nice POTC sold on here back in January for £3k iirc, also surely STTNG isn’t a £3k + game now??? :eek:

I’d say keep an eye out for what comes up for sale, there’s plenty of other great games that would be well within your budget even if some of those on your initial list would be beyond it.
 
I reckon BSD is the best bargain out there. So much crammed into that game. Brutally hard so you'll never get bored of it. Maybe not ideal as a first pin due to complexity and maintenance issues. Personally I could survive with this as my only pin for life. Can be had under £3k.
 
I wouldn't overthink it, as long as it's a sensible buy from here, have some fun with it, move it on at similar price, rinse and repeat. Says the man who's never sold a machine :rofl:
 
If you have a fairly 'decent powered' computer then it is actually worth installing visual pinball and downloading some tables to try out. You can get most pins made prior to 2010 ish. That way you can get a hang on the rule set, the lighting, the shots and the gadgets. It is all free. I have played a few games myself on my old visual pinballs and ended up wanting to own the real tables of games I would of normally not gone near (World cup soccer 94 and WhiteWater).

Flintstones is another great game that is now growing in popularity. I sold a friends (too cheap!) on here recently.

But I know you said £3K and now possibly £3.5/£3.6K - why do you not save up a bit more and put £4K into a decnt used modern Spike II stern pro??! I know its easy to say that but buying an older game you will have to get your hands dirty repairing it. New sterns are really reliable these days.

The older tables do need a lot more time spent underneath them, and yes you have to rerubber - rebuild flippers - change coils on all games. Things do naturnally wear out - like brakes and tyres on your car. So do expect to spend money on maintance. People on here always give adivce if you have problems.
 
I would agree with that to an extent (although there are some awesome older games). I've never had to touch my TWD, it's been ultra reliable and a joy to own. Plus a fair bit easier to move around due to less weight. The older games always seem to need something doing, even if they're immaculate. It would be interesting to log and compare how many times the glass comes out on each machine. Of course the only problem is that the newer games are generally decreasing in value while the older games are increasing. So it's a double edged sword.
 
If you have a fairly 'decent powered' computer then it is actually worth installing visual pinball and downloading some tables to try out. You can get most pins made prior to 2010 ish. That way you can get a hang on the rule set, the lighting, the shots and the gadgets. It is all free. I have played a few games myself on my old visual pinballs and ended up wanting to own the real tables of games I would of normally not gone near (World cup soccer 94 and WhiteWater).

I fell in love with both Robowar and Vector based on the VPX versions (and whitewater - great vpx version!), which prompted me to find and buy the real ones. Although playing the virtual tables is obviously no substitute for the real thing, there's no doubt it's a great way to discover games you may have no way of playing otherwise.
 
There’ll always be some maintenance involved eventually but that’s part of the fun. Today for example I decided to sort this gap out as it had always bothered me...
b3dca2cdd7d3767d4c7c533ebb846b23.jpg


...turns out the wrong length posts had been used (literally a tiny difference), ordered new posts (75p each) then got impatient so cut the existing ones down - looks perfect now, my OCD is happy.
Thought I’d look under the playfield whilst glass was off, found that one of the bumper brackets had snapped...
93c340d9a02d0a718a46c1ad8c49ac1a.jpg


...new one ordered (£6.75)

Don’t be scared of a bit of maintenance, sometimes it’s cheap and it’s always fun!

Oh - and get 2 pins, just in case ones out of action for a few days [emoji6]
 
A nice POTC sold on here back in January for £3k iirc, also surely STTNG isn’t a £3k + game now??? :eek:

I’d say keep an eye out for what comes up for sale, there’s plenty of other great games that would be well within your budget even if some of those on your initial list would be beyond it.
Thanks its great to get realistic feedback on price etc, Ive looked at liberty games etc and thought the prices high (understand its a business with overheads), but hoenstly wasnt sure.
 
I reckon BSD is the best bargain out there. So much crammed into that game. Brutally hard so you'll never get bored of it. Maybe not ideal as a first pin due to complexity and maintenance issues. Personally I could survive with this as my only pin for life. Can be had under £3k.
Thanks, Remember playing BSD in some bar in convent garden many years ago, had a quick go on the emulator, not sure it my type of pinball, but havent really given it any proper play
 
Thanks, Remember playing BSD in some bar in convent garden many years ago, had a quick go on the emulator, not sure it my type of pinball, but havent really given it any proper play
I can't get enough of it. It's very punishing but incredibly addictive. If someone put a gun to my head and said I could only keep one of BSD, TWD and TOM I'd probably choose BSD.
 
I can't get enough of it. It's very punishing but incredibly addictive. If someone put a gun to my head and said I could only keep one of BSD, TWD and TOM I'd probably choose BSD.
Oh - and get 2 pins, just in case ones out of action for a few days
emoji6.png

Iron Man is my BSD - same principle.
Personally not a fan of horror genre, so BSD, TWD and in some ways Stranger Things all bore me to tears (in terms of their theme). Many would say the same about Marvel, as Sci-Fi and comic stuff. Whatever floats your boat.


Andy speaks wise words!
 
Ive looked at liberty games etc and thought the prices high
Oh dear me yes..... :p

Scrolling back through the last 6 months posts on here will give you a good idea on prices. There will still be a range from bargain to a bit over the top, as it’s all dependent on individual’s valuations of their own games, but you should get a good feel for the market.
 
A nice POTC sold on here back in January for £3k iirc, also surely STTNG isn’t a £3k + game now??? :eek:

I’d say keep an eye out for what comes up for sale, there’s plenty of other great games that would be well within your budget even if some of those on your initial list would be beyond it.
Thanks, I will take the advice and not rush, unless its someting Ive played in the past and really like.
 
Roadshow. Best bang for buck on the market.£1900-2300. widebody game. Crammed with shots and toys and lots of fun. Lawlor classic. Miss mine.
Ive only played the emulator of this one on the xbox, I remember perhaps playing it once when it came out, havnet been a fan of the theme, however to be honest havent given it a chance and emulation isnt the same!
 
If you have a fairly 'decent powered' computer then it is actually worth installing visual pinball and downloading some tables to try out. You can get most pins made prior to 2010 ish. That way you can get a hang on the rule set, the lighting, the shots and the gadgets. It is all free. I have played a few games myself on my old visual pinballs and ended up wanting to own the real tables of games I would of normally not gone near (World cup soccer 94 and WhiteWater).

Flintstones is another great game that is now growing in popularity. I sold a friends (too cheap!) on here recently.

But I know you said £3K and now possibly £3.5/£3.6K - why do you not save up a bit more and put £4K into a decnt used modern Spike II stern pro??! I know its easy to say that but buying an older game you will have to get your hands dirty repairing it. New sterns are really reliable these days.

The older tables do need a lot more time spent underneath them, and yes you have to rerubber - rebuild flippers - change coils on all games. Things do naturnally wear out - like brakes and tyres on your car. So do expect to spend money on maintance. People on here always give adivce if you have problems.
Thanks, very helpful, I have been playing the emulator on the xbox one, there a a fair few tables, its hard to tell which are actually great in reality, but does give me some idea. the machine Ive probably spent the most time on has been lord of the rings, elvis and simpsons, they came out around the same time and I used to play them at lunch time in the the west end.

Flinstones, is it good? the film was terrible! probably why I never played it.

Thanks, when did stern start making spike II?

Yes, im a total newbee and the maintenance does concern me a little. That sgreat to find an area where I can get some assitance with future problems!
 
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