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PINBALL 'HIRE' NORTHAMPTON £££

Rob

Rob

Registered
5Years
Joined
Sep 7, 2014
Messages
34
Location
Northampton UK
Hi,
Since joining the group I am still deciding if I have enough room for a pinball machine full time! I live in a small open plan terraced house (with loved one!) in Northampton. I was thinking of hiring one from a local 'pinball hire' company for a couple of weeks over Xmas, this will cost about £600. Before I go ahead I wondered if any group member would be willing to hire me a machine? It will not get much use and will be well looked after. I would be willing to leave a reasonable deposit or could buy providing the lender buys back a couple of weeks later after deducting their hire fee. Help would be required with delivery and collection.
Any thoughts welcome, regards, Rob
 
JT. said:
£600, Jesus Christ! You'd be better off putting in £200-300 more and buying something off group. If you decide you don't want it just sell it after 2 weeks.
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This is good advice Rob - providing you don't get a bad deal (people on here can steer you in the right direction) you can usually buy a machine, have fun with it, and sell it alater to get most, or maybe all, of your money back! Much better than paying to hire something.

Cheers,

Mark
 
Update

Firstly thank you to all the group members who gave me advice and for the offer of a loan. I have however identified a problem in that due to the design of the house I can only open my front door 27 inches, there is also an awkward lobby straight after and just before the stairs, It would now seem that any pinball would have to have the backbox completely removed to get through. (the twisting option just wouldn't work!) I think it unfair that any loan machine would have to go through all this so............I will be looking to buy!

I understand that the earlier Solid State machines are somewhat easier to dismantle in this way, is this correct?

Regards, Rob
 
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Congrats Rob, you have now started on a slippery slope towards getting a new door way fitted :-) hehe. More seriously, some others will no doubt comment about removing the heads from newer pins, but don't discount just detaching the head but leaving the wires all connected - certainly in the newer (Stern) pins there's a lot of extra wire and you could probably do a twisting job - you'd just need plenty of hands to do it safely. I'm not sure on the 90's DMD era ones, but I'll bet several others share your doorway issue and will have worked out how to get around it :)
 
Had to take the door off my flat as well as the backbox! Not fun, definitely wouldn't do it to a loaner unless you're confident of wiring it back up neatly and not banging the cab on the way in.
 
Rob said:
I understand that the earlier Solid State machines are somewhat easier to dismantle in this way, is this correct?
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Yes: My first pin was a 1979 Tri Zone and it was designed to be moved with the back box removed. They're wired with big chunky connectors in the neck that just pull apart.

Not sure when they changed to a fold-down mechanism but it's easy to check for any pinball, got to www.ipdb.org and download the manual. That will have a section on setting the pin up which will either be "bolt back box on and connect wires" or "raise back box and lock into place".

Warning to a newbie: My albeit limited experience with pinballs is that the early solid state machines are prone to electronic failure because the circuit boards are getting way past their shelf life. I had a lot of issues with my Tri Zone and in the end just gave up on it.

Ever thought about getting an EM? The back boxes come off those easy-peasy. OK so maybe EMs aren't popular with some members here but I love mine. Some of my visitors actually prefer it over my more modern pins. Pity we aren't near or I'd lend it to you for a couple of weeks.
 
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My house was a bit annoying to get a pin in until someone pointed out that most uPVC doors nowadays just lift straight off their hinges...

Several members have pins in storage or stacked up due to lack of space (which is one reason why a loan might be a positive thing for both sides). Might be worth checking if any of your potential loaners already require assembly anyway :)
 
How about the Flash that's in the FOR SALE forum for £400 - see thread VARIOUS PINS FOR SALE from PinballMania

It's an old solid state and - yes - I think it may show reliability issues at some point but:

Pretty sure that will transport with the head removed.

A rock solid, trust worthy seller.

What have you got to lose? You can always sell it on again and at least you'll find out whether you've got room for a pinball.
 
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Hi JWG,

Thank you for those suggestions. Unfortunately Flash is not one of my favourites! If I am to be 'one machine' owner I would probably go for series II Williams which are more my kind of thing. Agree about the seller though, I will keep a lookout to see what he is selling. In the New Year I am planning to sort out the doorway/lobby problem so that hopefully all pins will be able to pass through without removing the backbox. I do actually have an E/M in an upstairs bedroom (Target Pool) and have owned others in the past. I do like the E/M's but am looking to own something with a little more depth of play.

Thanks again for your thoughts, regards,
Rob
 
JT. said:
Congrats Rob, you have now started on a slippery slope towards getting a new door way fitted :) hehe. More seriously, some others will no doubt comment about removing the heads from newer pins, but don't discount just detaching the head but leaving the wires all connected - certainly in the newer (Stern) pins there's a lot of extra wire and you could probably do a twisting job - you'd just need plenty of hands to do it safely. I'm not sure on the 90's DMD era ones, but I'll bet several others share your doorway issue and will have worked out how to get around it :)
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Hi JT,

I laughed when I read your post about the doorway.....one week later I am actually planning it!!!
I think it was Paul who said 'welcome to the madness'

Rob
 
Since when has something as trivial as a door been an issue for a pinball getting to its spot! Doors can be removed and re-fitted easily.

Have only been in the pinball game for a few months and already had 3 tables up a flight of steps and 1 back down, all with the heads (and sometimes playfields) removed. So long as everything is labelled properly and there's enough bods helping its nothing to really worry about.
 
I feel your pain, just bought my first pin and having to take out the back door frame , remove all doors and door stop to get the machine! Will all be worth while in the end though..I hope lol
 
George_wicks said:
I feel your pain, just bought my first pin and having to take out the back door frame , remove all doors and door stop to get the machine! Will all be worth while in the end though..I hope lol
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Hi George
Congratulations on your new arrival! Yes, it will be worth it, think how easy it will be to get the next few through! Which pin did you choose?
Rob
 
Doors are a real pain in the ****. I need to carry my machines through the kitchen door. literally 2.5mm gap either side of the backbox. Thank God sterns are lighter and slightly less wide

Used to be worse as it also had to be lifted over the kitchen worktop at the same time but redesigned to kitchen to avoid this.

Found some cool hinges though that allows the door to be lifted off. Previously I had to take the ******* off the hinges everytime a machine came or went.
 
I haven't got it yet , martins picking it up Monday so hopefully will be before Christmas , I got a jokerz in the end. Not played it before but looks like fun. Which machine you after?
 
George_wicks said:
I haven't got it yet , martins picking it up Monday so hopefully will be before Christmas , I got a jokerz in the end. Not played it before but looks like fun. Which machine you after?
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Good choice Jokerz, an interesting game. Will probably be looking for a Taxi, Earthshaker or Bad Cats when I'm ready.
Rob
 
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