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Underrated pins that don’t require a mortgage and have pleasantly surprised you with your reasons why?

Colywobbles

Colywobbles

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5Years
Joined
Nov 9, 2016
Messages
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Sunderland
So my pinball fund was just about enough to cover the next NIB premium but rather than taking a chance and the fact im still on the longest honeymoon ever with my GZ I decided to source a few older classic pins that I have never owned or played in a home environment.
I made a point of trying to pay less than 3k although a couple of these were slightly over due to market dictating the price. Some were pins I was actively looking for and others just came up at the right time but either way I eventually ended up with the following pins.

JM - in lineup No2
PZ - in lineup
TFTC - in lineup No1
DM - here but tombstoned
FT - not here yet
LIS - not here yet

Out of these I will be keeping at least two of them and ATM No1 is definitely TFTC which has blown me away and took Johnny of the top spot. What an absolutely loaded pin with beautiful flowing ramps reminiscent of some of the newer stern pins, 6 stand ups (not those horrible new stern combined ones) 3 drop targets, 2 VUKs, Captive Ball, Outlane Ball saver, Scoop, Large descending Tombstone, awesome shaker intergration as standard and probably a few other features I’ve forgot about.
I have always been a Williams/Bally snob and crazily even sold a few DE/SEGA pins that came and went over the years without even playing them! I have now came to the conclusion there are no bad pins and in fact a lot of hidden gems.

So here is my Underrated hidden Gem that has surpassed my expectations. TFTC

8B39C117-7AEC-4ED6-B5EC-8092FB428EB6.jpeg1977F790-C9C2-4696-945C-30FAA24BB1D5.jpeg0F691119-389E-45A6-970E-420BE99E478D.jpeg38AF107A-DAE4-4657-9724-C6E6579FE7FA.jpegFB489072-CE05-41AB-BDE4-711ADB3BD44D.jpeg
 
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I think my hidden gem at the lower end of the market is Big Buck Hunter. For me, it’s just a really fun game, that never fails to put a smile on my face. I think the ramp is one of the best and other shots flow too.

I stupidly sold it once before and I was luckily enough (thanks to @Big Phil ) to get it back! It would easily be the last one I would sell, along side Star Wars.
 
stumblor said:
Super sexy with those green protectors! Lovely looking machine it is. I've heard the sounds can get on your t1ts a bit?
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TBH Davey that was one of the things that put me off the pin for so long but in all honesty you don’t even notice any repetitiveness when you play it unlike watching YT videos where it grates on you. Its an easy game to understand yet has a ton of modes with some super gore’y animations and funny one liners and the timed shots get you super excited.
This was an alternative to EATPM as I could not find a nice example whereas this is an absolute beauty and virtually unfadead with no obvious wear and some nice extras to boot. Defo worth a colourDMD and my speaker panel upgrade which is the next step as I love the theme, love the layout and find it as much fun as SS which I owned around 10yr.
However like my title suggests it doesn’t need a mortgage with SS is now commanding about twice the price of TFTC which stands me 3k plus £250 in upgrades so far.
 
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Alpha1 said:
Roadshow and Ripley's Believe it or not.

Both super cheap until recently but packed with an exciting layout and good fun gameplay.
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RS was the 2nd pin I owned and I totally agree however finding a nice one around 3k now is super hard!
 
Love my Tftc too, so much going on in that machine and yours looks superb with the green.. Pin2dmd looks really great in it too definitely worth an upgrade and the latest roms tame the cryptkeepers cackling and allow you to turn off the guillotine sounds by holding down the right flipper.
 
Mozie said:
Love my Tftc too, so much going on in that machine and yours looks superb with the green.. Pin2dmd looks really great in it too definitely worth an upgrade and the latest roms tame the cryptkeepers cackling and allow you to turn off the guillotine sounds by holding down the right flipper.
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Where did you get the ROMs although I quite like the Cackling and didn’t notice the guillotine as I don’t leave the ball in shooter lane long enough. Do they add anything else or fix any bugs I may not know of.
 
Paul done me up a set a few months back, changes a few sounds, adds a few more phrases from the crypt keeper, speeds up skill shot each ball, changes scoring on some shots/modes and a few fixes. Definitely the best way to play imho
 
I also love my TFTC, which is the only Data East pin I own. The playfield is loaded.

I always enjoyed the TV series in the 90s and think the Crypt Keepers call outs are great. But I did recently get the updated roms and agree that it definitely improves the game.
 
JM - in lineup No2
PZ - in lineup
TFTC - in lineup No1
DM - here but tombstoned
FT - not here yet
LIS - not here yet
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Not even sure what most of these are :o

I was super suprised when I got quite hooked on cosmic gunfight. (Though im a sucker for Williams SFX). Knew nothing about it when I bought it and now I dunno if I wanna part with it should the need arise :)
 
Well, I personally rate Fish Tales better than Godzilla - so, there’s that ;)

Most 1980s pins are <£3k and a recent favourite from Pinfest is Sorcerer.

Old Gottliebs are great fun and allegedly quite affordable (if you see one around). Robowar is apparently around £2-2.5k and is good fun on Pinball Arcade (so, hopefully, in person). Likewise Genesis and TX Sector - if you can find one. I like the retro artwork, the music, and the focus on simple, clear rules building towards a multiball.

Gottlieb Stargate is a bit of a gem. I played Tony’s at the Medway Pinball opening. You probably need to be a fan of the (frankly bonkers) film, but it does have a very satisfying pyramid shot with a moving glider multiball.
 
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I gotta go Baywatch. It's bright, about as 90's as a pin could possibly get, loaded with shots, huge DMD with cool dots, the chad code is a game changer and the greatest theme tune in television history is belting out. As you play the Hoff blue steels at you from the backglass it's just a winner all round. Col that TFTC looks fantastic with the green powder coating. I've never played one but I dig the theme.
 
huggers said:
I gotta go Baywatch. It's bright, about as 90's as a pin could possibly get, loaded with shots, huge DMD with cool dots, the chad code is a game changer and the greatest theme tune in television history is belting out. As you play the Hoff blue steels at you from the backglass it's just a winner all round. Col that TFTC looks fantastic with the green powder coating. I've never played one but I dig the theme.
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Agreed. It's a tough game too and some interesting shots.

6 days and counting, Andy 😀
 
Colywobbles said:
So my pinball fund was just about enough to cover the next NIB premium but rather than taking a chance and the fact im still on the longest honeymoon ever with my GZ I decided to source a few older classic pins that I have never owned or played in a home environment.
I made a point of trying to pay less than 3k although a couple of these were slightly over due to market dictating the price. Some were pins I was actively looking for and others just came up at the right time but either way I eventually ended up with the following pins.

JM - in lineup No2
PZ - in lineup
TFTC - in lineup No1
DM - here but tombstoned
FT - not here yet
LIS - not here yet

Out of these I will be keeping at least two of them and ATM No1 is definitely TFTC which has blown me away and took Johnny of the top spot. What an absolutely loaded pin with beautiful flowing ramps reminiscent of some of the newer stern pins, 6 stand ups (not those horrible new stern combined ones) 3 drop targets, 2 VUKs, Captive Ball, Outlane Ball saver, Scoop, Large descending Tombstone, awesome shaker intergration as standard and probably a few other features I’ve forgot about.
I have always been a Williams/Bally snob and crazily even sold a few DE/SEGA pins that came and went over the years without even playing them! I have now came to the conclusion there are no bad pins and in fact a lot of hidden gems.

So here is my Underrated hidden Gem that has surpassed my expectations. TFTC

View attachment 181676View attachment 181677View attachment 181678View attachment 181679View attachment 181680
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That green powder coat looks fantastic! Whats the deal with the ball launch?; is it like a door knocker you pull?
 
JAG555 said:
I think my hidden gem at the lower end of the market is Big Buck Hunter. For me, it’s just a really fun game, that never fails to put a smile on my face. I think the ramp is one of the best and other shots flow too.

I stupidly sold it once before and I was luckily enough (thanks to @Big Phil ) to get it back! It would easily be the last one I would sell, along side Star Wars.
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Played a BBH at a Brew Dog a couple of years back. Wasn't drawn to it, but thought I'd just have a quick go and really enjoyed it!
Wasn't expecting much, as had never heard anyone talk about it, but a hidden gem for sure!
 
Spandangler said:
WWFRR. Ooooooooooh Yeeeeeahhhhhh
It helps to have been a wrestling fan in the 90’s but that Royal Rumble multiball with the ding of the bell every ten seconds followed by another ball entering “the ring” is genius.
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That's sounds wicked:-) - will have to fire it up again in visual pinball at some point and put some more time in. Bret Hart was my fav back in the 90s - tried to get back in to wrestling here and there, as a good mate of mine is still in to it, but I just can't do it :-)
 
Den - aka Wolfgang said:
That's sounds wicked:) - will have to fire it up again in visual pinball at some point and put some more time in. Bret Hart was my fav back in the 90s - tried to get back in to wrestling here and there, as a good mate of mine is still in to it, but I just can't do it :)
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Made a documentary at uni on wrestling and got to interview Jake the Snake Roberts and Jim the Anvil Neidhart in person. This was after the Beyond the Mat documentary so I was very surprised Jake agreed to it. Spent a lot more time with Jake than Jim as we went to where Jake was living when he was in the UK and recorded there. He was really nice and obviously had loads of interesting stories. Jim was lovely too, we just didn't have as much time with him.

Not into modern wrestling but late 80's early 90's Sting was my hero lol, he was WCW though so not in the pinball machine sadly!
 
None of my games cost over 3k, but going to offer up CSI.
I can totally understand why people might not 'get' the theme, not only is it based on a cheesy American show but its also a bit dark with callouts referencing bodies, murder and the skill shots a morgue, however.....

Its a unique layout and the shots are well thought out, not too easy/hard
The artwork is cut n paste, 00s stern, but the colour use is really pleasing
Great mechs that rival todays LEs
On paper the rules look simple but get into trying to score big and there's plenty to think about with stacking mini modes with MBs

Judged against other Sterns of the same era with better themes, Spiderman etc, it wont come out on top, but as a sub 3k game there's a lot to like.
 
VeeMonroe said:
Gottlieb Stargate is a bit of a gem. I played Tony’s at the Medway Pinball opening. You probably need to be a fan of the (frankly bonkers) film, but it does have a very satisfying pyramid shot with a moving glider multiball.
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+1 for SG :) Great value game with 2 wizard modes!!
 
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