1980 Williams BLACKOUT pinball machine London Pinball 2024-10-16 | 1980 Williams BLACKOUT pinball machine
Unboxing a 2024 Stern JAWS (Pro) with Pinball Shenanigans! London Pinball 2024-02-16 | Do you need your pinball machine serviced in Southern Ontario? Send us a message via londonpinball.caFollow London Pinball on Instagram and Facebook: instagram.com/cooke_pinballfacebook.com/londonpinballcanadaVisit the London Pinball Parlour at Forked River Brewing Company!45 Pacific Court, Unit #4 in London, Ontario.forkedriverbrewing.comVisit Speed City Records: speedcityrecords.comSubscribe to the Pinball Shenanigans Youtube channel: youtube.com/@UCEplPElLI9WWWd6xUmjAObw ----For those of you who may not be aware, London Pinball has teamed up with Forked River Brewing Company in London, Ontario to provide the public with a space to play several well-maintained pinball machines on coin play. These machines range from the 70's to the present day. IFPA-sanctioned Pinball Tournaments are hosted on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month as well as one Saturday evening. We also host a women's pinball tournament on a monthly basis! Join the London Pinball Parlour at Forked River Brewery Facebook page here: facebook.com/groups/841011672659344And here's the Jaws launch party event page: facebook.com/events/3597669580492469?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[%7B%22surface%22%3A%22group%22%7D]%7DAND NOW ON WITH THE SHOW: Today Mike Dymus from Pinball Shenanigans records and narrates as we unbox a 2024 Stern JAWS pro. This machine rolled off the assembly line on January 24th, 2024 and was unboxed on Tuesday, February 6th. SPECIAL THANKS to Mike Todd, owner of Speed City Records in London for purchasing this game and loaning it to the London Pinball Parlour for a few months.
1994 Williams DEMOLITION MAN pinball London Pinball 2024-01-22 | Here's a very nice 1994 Williams Demolition Man pinball machine for your viewing pleasure. This game is actually pretty awesome and has some great shots and fun things to do. Complete the claw awards to light Demolition Time (wizard mode) and watch the amazing light show. The handles give this game a totally new experience compared to normal machines. And the claw toy is well implemented and a neat feature. This game is all about flow and hitting combo shots can really give the player some satisfaction. Obviously the game is far too deep to go into everything here. Suffice it to say that it's a fun machine and one of the gems of the "B-list" Bally/Williams machines from the era.Demolition Man was designed by Dennis Nordman with art by Linda Deal and Doug Watson. For more information on this game, see here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=662
1966 Chicago Coin TV BASEBALL Pitch n Bat score motor repair London Pinball 2023-12-03 | Working on a 1966 Chicago Coin TV Baseball pitch 'n' bat with a broken score motor cam. Huge shout out to Clay Harrell at pinrepair.com and pinballninja.com for coming up with the fix for broken Chicago Coin score motor cam assemblies. This suggestion works great.
1976 Williams SPACE MISSION (Space Odyssey) pinball machine London Pinball 2023-11-13 | Here's a 1976 Williams Space Mission pinball machine in action for your viewing pleasure. This is the four player version of Space Odyssey, which is the same game in a two player format. This game is fairly iconic and Williams made a tonne of them (over 11,600, in fact), although I'm not really sure why. It's not a great game, although it's "ok". Shoot the swinging target to light A, B and C to light the saucers for double bonus, the centre lane at the top for extra ball and the out lanes for special. The game is plagued by the left and right kickers by the flippers that prevent the player from being able to cradle the ball and instead the game just plays itself. Pretty ho-hum if you ask me, but some people seem to dig it. The loop shot at the top right is tough to hit but relatively satisfying when made. The spinner shot to the top is also fairly fun to blast. Otherwise pretty underwhelming. Space Mission was designed by Steve Kordek (of course) with art by Christian Marche. For more information about this game, see here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=2253
1972 Chicago Coin RODEO shooting gallery London Pinball 2023-11-12 | Here we have a 1972 Chicago Coin RODEO shooting gallery in action. This machine is missing the 8-track player that produces the background sound for the game. I've seen several of this particular game and none of them have the 8-track player present and I have never heard/seen a video of the game with the background sound actually working. In fact, most of the shooting games that should have an 8-track player that I've repaired over the years are missing the player entirely, which is unfortunate because repairing them is usually just a matter of replacing the broken drive belt. The game also uses solid state boards for the hit sounds, so at least the game isn't completely silent. Anyway, this game is pretty neat and addictive. Shoot the stationary or rotating targets to score the lit value. After a certain number of shots, the bullseye begins flashing for 100, 200 or 300 points, so timing your shots for 300 points is important. This lasts for three shots and then, after a few more shots, the flashing bulls heads begin lighting up in the background scenery. There is a pattern to their positioning and once you get to know the game you can aim properly to hit these fairly reliably. This is a fun game with some decent replay value. New "white" black lights make the game very bright and really make the targets pop.
1986 Williams PIN-BOT (Pinbot) pinball machine London Pinball 2023-10-29 | Here we have the classic 1986 PIN-BOT pinball machine by Williams for your viewing pleasure. Fun fact: Pinbot was my 3rd pinball machine. I bought it in 2004 because everyone said it was a great game and that it would be perfect for someone just getting into pinball. I HATED IT and couldn't get rid of it fast enough. I felt that the machine had far too much happening in the middle and up the left side, but almost nothing happening on the right side. Additionally, the right outlane is one of the most ball-hungry atrocities in all of pinball and accomplishing anything on the game seemed to require superhuman pinball abilities. I think I had it for about a month before I sold it. Fast forward nearly 20 years and I have to say that I don't hate it that much anymore, although I do find that it's a drainy drain monster and the right outlane is still brutal. But the sound and art package is fantastic and the rules are neat and fun to go after. Anyway, the goal of Pinbot is to make it to the Sun. This is done by completing the drop bank or hitting the lit target on the right to move to the next planet, starting with Pluto (is it a planet?). If advancing planets isn't your thing, you can complete the grid in the upper part of the playfield to open Pinbot's visor and give him "sight" by locking the two balls inside. Once both balls are locked, two-ball multiball begins where the player is to lock one of the two balls back in the visor and then shoot the ramp to score the solar value, which is basically the jackpot. The solar value carries over from ball to ball and player to player (and game to game) until collected, so it can get pretty high. Anyway, Pinbot is a classic if only for the art and sound package. Game play is fun enough and the light show is great. Just watch out for that bloody right outlane. The left one sucks, too. Pinbot was designed by Barry Oursler and the weirdo Python Anghelo. Art by Python (of course). For more information about this game, see here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=1796
1984 Bally GRANNY AND THE GATORS pinball & video arcade machine London Pinball 2023-10-23 | Here we have another 1984 Bally Granny and the Gators pinball machine/video arcade game hybrid. Recording a traditional CRT makes the display look like poop, but I can assure you the monitor in this game looks great in person. Anyway, this was the dark days of pinball when manufacturers were trying everything to bring the arcade-going youth back to pinball. This game incorporates both video game play and pinball play into one machine? Is it good? It's "okay" but it doesn't blow my hair back to any extent. The video game is challenging to learn (I'm bad at it) and the pinball part is fairly ho-hum and repetitive. Having said that, it's a neat novelty. The basic goal (and I'm not entirely clear on all of the rules) is to navigate Granny's boat down the river while avoiding arrows and gators and collecting bags of cash and shotgun shells. The shells can be used to shoot the gators and savages and the cash can be used to pay the toll (?) and avoid the rapids. Stopping in at the pinball entrances starts the pinball portion of the game where the player can earn more boats and rack up points. Granny and the Gators was designed by Claude Fernandez with art by Pat McMahon and Margaret Hudson. For more info on this game, see here:ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=1083
1970 Bally BOWL-O Pinball: Lets fix it! London Pinball 2023-07-18 | This 1970 Bally Bowl-O had a shorted coil that had brought the machine down. Here's a quick video on what to look out for if your late-60's/early-70's Bally has a shorted coil!
1995 Gottlieb MARIO ANDRETTI pinball machine London Pinball 2023-06-07 | Here we have a 1995 Gottlieb Mario Andretti pinball machine in action. This is genuinely one of my favourite machines from the 90's. The rules are unique, but are easy to understand. The shots are satisfying and the playfield layout is fun. The art package is decent and the sound is good. It's just a fun machine all around and can generally be found for much less than the standard fare from Bally/Williams and Data East from the same era.The basic goal of Mario Andretti is to finish three races in first place. Doing so takes the player to the World Championship race. Races are completed by hitting the pop bumpers, sling shots and lit targets. Hitting these things moves your car around the track in the centre of the playfield. Hitting the green-lit shots ensures Mario remains in first place for the race. Hitting red shots drops Mario down to 2nd or 3rd place. If the race is completed in first place, Mario moves on to the next race. Regardless of the place at the end of the race, the player gets to choose a multiball mode and has either a two ball or three ball multiball, depending on whether the player is successful in plunging the ball to the correct spot. The car models spin around the centre of the playfield when certain shots are hit and during multiball. The cars also act as hittable obstacles due to the posts that hang below them. The game has adjustable settings that keep the centre post between the flippers up for periods of time as well as the kickback in the left outlane and the ball save gate in the right outlane. As a result of these settings, games can be made to last a long time, which may appeal to the younger crowd. Mario Andretti was designed by Jon Norris with artwork by Constantino Mitchell and Jeanine Mitchell.For more information on this game, see here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=3794
1978 Gottlieb DRAGON pinball machine London Pinball 2023-06-06 | Here's a 1978 Gottlieb Dragon pinball machine for your viewing pleasure. This game is not to be confused with Interflip's Dragon that was released by the Spanish company around the same time. This machine is the solid state version but this game was also released in the electromechanical flavour in very low numbers. Dragon is a typically simple game from the early solid-state era. Spot the A-B-C-D lanes to increase the bonus multiplier. Hit the vari-targets for 1k, 2k, or 3k points. Hitting the vari-target for 3k points also lights the spinner for 1k points (rather than 100 points otherwise). The special and extra ball lights, unusually, light at various bonus levels rather than for completing certain objectives, so they're more of a random award. This game is an attractive machine with very Gotttlieb-esque Gordon Morison artwork. Gameplay is so-so. Vari-targets are a neat idea but not nearly as satisfying to hit as, say, spinners and drop targets. Still, the game flows pretty well. Gottlieb's Dragon was designed by Ed Krynski with artwork by the aforementioned Gordon Morison. See more info about this game here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=729
1992 Williams THE GETAWAY: HIGH SPEED II pinball machine London Pinball 2023-05-18 | Here today for your viewing pleasure is a gameplay video of Williams' 1992 The Getaway: High Speed II. The Getaway builds on the theme of the original (and iconic) 1986 High Speed pinball machine. Spot the green, yellow and red targets to light the traffic lights and then run the red light by hitting the ramp to start multiball and get away from the cops. The task with The Getaway is pretty much the same and the playfield layout, while different, is similar to the original High Speed. The Getaway is a game that will feel crushing if the player can't hit their shots. Making the ramp, the orbit shots and the kick-out saucer shots are all critical to game enjoyment. If the player can't make their shots, they're just going to be hitting posts the whole time, and that's a whole lotta no fun. And that's really my only complaint with this game: when you're on, it's great. But when you're off, this game is a tough slog. The music and art of this machine are perfect for the theme and will have you humming La Grange for days after playing. The Getaway was designed by Steve Ritchie (of course) with artwork by Doug Watson and Mark Sprenger. For more info on this game, see here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=1000
1974 Bally TWIN WIN pinball machine London Pinball 2023-04-28 | Normally I only post videos of games that are pretty much fully working and ready to go. But for this machine, I shot this video because I want to sell the machine and no longer have time to devote to making sure everything is working completely. As a result, this video is a bit different from the norm. Anyway, here for your viewing pleasure is a 1974 Bally Twin Win. Make your car go around the track to collect laps and points. The spinning disk at the top of the playfield is a neat gimmick and is similar to Bally's Fireball that came out a couple of years prior. Twin Win was designed by Jim Patla with artwork by Dave Christensen, of course. For more info on this game, see here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=2689
1992 Data East STAR WARS pinball machine London Pinball 2023-04-24 | Visit www.londonpinball.ca to buy merch or to contact me if you need pinball repairs within South Western Ontario. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook! IG: @cooke_pinballFB: www.facebook.com/londonpinballcanada--------Here we have for your viewing pleasure a 1992 Data East Star Wars pinball machine. This machine is running the 20th anniversary updated code that was released in 2012. Star Wars is a fun game with great callouts from the original trilogy and some fantastic dot matrix animations. The game play is simple: shoot the Death Star to start multiball then shoot the Death Star again to score the jackpot. That's the long and short of it. Star Wars was designed by John Borg with artwork by Markus Rothranz.For more info on this game, see here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=2358
Come with me on a pinball repair day! London Pinball 2023-04-13 | Traveling around South Western Ontario today spreading #pinball joy. Come along with me! Let me know if you'd like to see more of this kind of thing. -----Visit www.londonpinball.ca to buy merch or to contact me if you need pinball repairs within South Western Ontario. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook! IG: @cooke_pinballFB: www.facebook.com/londonpinballcanada
1980 Gottlieb JAMES BOND 007 pinball machine London Pinball 2023-03-29 | Visit www.londonpinball.ca to buy merch or to contact me if you need pinball repairs within South Western Ontario. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook! IG: @cooke_pinballFB: www.facebook.com/londonpinballcanada----Howdy ho, pinball people. Here for your viewing pleasure is a 1980 Gottlieb James Bond 007 pinball machine in action. This game is a former house house and it was a bit labour intensive to get it back up and running, but get it back up and running it is! This is one of the more unique (read: disliked) pinball machines out there as it is time-based rather than your standard 3-or-5-ball play. The way it works is that the player is given 50 "time units" to start the game and as soon as one of the 0-0-7 lanes or one of the drop targets is hit the timer starts counting. Completing a drop target bank awards 5 additional time units or hitting one of the lit "add 3 time units" targets when lit will award, you guessed it, three time units. If the player loses a ball, they lose 5 time units and play continues until the timer is zero. When all of the time units are gone, the special target at the lower right of the playfield lights for a free game. When the ball is lost, the game is over. Or, if the ball is lost with less than 5 time units remaining, the game is also over. Let me just say that the timed aspect of this game sucks total ass. Add to the fact that the ball can be lost between the scissor flippers and you're left with a machine that has very short average game times. Completing the drop banks is not easy to do in a short period of time and racing against the clock is anxiety inducing. I did not play the game with the updated roms that allow for standard (non-timed) play, but I suspect it would be better. This game was designed by Allen Edwall with art by Doug Watson (of Quicksilver fame). For more info on this game see here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=1286
1986 Bally MOTORDOME pinball machine London Pinball 2023-03-23 | Follow me on Instagram and Facebook! IG: @cooke_pinballFB: www.facebook.com/londonpinballcanada----Here we have a 1986 Bally Motordome pinball machine in action. This machine has some cool shots, but is hampered by the mediocre sound and the truly massive ramp that covers too much of the upper playfield. If you can get past those detractors, the game is somewhat interesting and worth a shot. When the game is started, the player is given the opportunity to choose a skill level. The skill levels change the scoring of the playfield but also the lane change ability and the outlane ball save gate frequency. For this video I chose "skill level 1" so I'd be more likely to have a longer game. :)The big shot in this game is to use the upper left flipper to get the ball to the top right saucer. The upper right flipper is used to get the ball around the top left lane to the top. Anyway, it's a fairly fun game to mess around with. Motordome was designed by Greg Kmiec with art by Tony Ramunni. See more information about Motordome here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=1633
Williams 1957 BASEBALL DELUXE pitch n bat machine London Pinball 2023-02-07 | For your viewing pleasure today we have a 1957 Williams Deluxe Baseball pitch 'n' bat machine. This is one of the more interesting machines I've had the pleasure of working on. The running man unit looks great while playing and hitting a home run has the appearance of going into the actual field. The rules are simple: Hit a single, double, triple or home run to advance base runners and score runs. Scoring more runs than the previous high score (minimum of 15) awards replays. Getting a Grand Slam also awards a replay. Unlimited balls. Missing a ball is not a strike (strikes are not counted in this game). Three outs. For more information on this machine, see here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=3047
1949 Williams FRESHIE pinball machine London Pinball 2023-01-15 | Here's a 1949 Williams Freshie pinball machine in action. This is one of the older machines I've featured on the channel. In fact, it might be the oldest to date. Williams machines of this era (until 1954, I believe) used "impulse flippers", which flip both flippers simultaneously regardless of which button the player presses. Additionally, there was no ability to "hold" the flippers in the engaged position, which means that the player could only flail haphazardly at the ball and hope that he/she could manage to get the ball where they wanted it to go. It was a definite un-fun design compared to Gottlieb and the other manufacturers of the time and it's obvious why it was changed by the mid-50's. This goal of this game was to spot the numbers 1 through 6 which then lit the centre hole for the "super special", which would award 5 free games. Freshie was pretty innovative for its time because it has a stepper that tracks how many games have been played since the last super special was awarded. The side lane specials and outlane specials will light depending on how many games have been played since the last super special was achieved. Additionally, since the ball has to travel through the outlanes to be lost, the game also has a ball count stepper and will light certain features on the fourth and fifth ball. Again, this was was pretty innovative for its time. Steve Young at the Pinball Resource told me that the fence depicted on the backglass contains the initials of Harry Williams and his wife, Sam Stern and his wife and the Williams Cheif Engineer at the time and his wife. These are hard to see in photos. I tried to show this in the video at the 2:46 mark. Freshie was designed by the great Harry Williams and Sam Stern (yup!) and the artwork was done by George Molentin.
1989 Data East ROBOCOP pinball machine London Pinball 2023-01-15 | Here we have a 1989 Data East ROBOCOP pinball machine for your viewing pleasure. This machine is freakin' fast with super over-powered flippers that often mangle the targets and plastics all over the playfield. The jump ramp is really cool with the break in the middle that makes the ball "crash" if it doesn't make it all the way across the jump. The idea of the game is to light each of the bad guys (Boddicker, Emil and Dick Jones) and then arrest them by locking the balls for multiball. Locking the third ball starts multiball. Hitting the saucer lights a letter in "ROBOCOP" and completing the word awards an extra ball. Over all, a pretty fun game, although not a very deep one, from Data East in the late 80's. It's fairly rare considering they only made 1500 units of this title. Robocop was designed by Joe Kaminkow and Ed Cebula with Artwork by Kevin O'Connor. For more info on this game, see here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=1976
1977 Bally BOBBY ORR POWER PLAY pinball machine London Pinball 2022-10-27 | Howdy folks. Here's a 1977 Bally Bobby Orr Power Play machine in action. This game is iconic and screams late-70''s Bally. The chimes, the theme, the art, the gameplay... this machine has it all. The simple gameplay may not appeal to some, but it does it for me. The 2" flippers at the left and right side allow for nifty shots to the drops. Complete the drops on either side to increase the bonus multiplier, score the extra ball or get the special. The saucer increases in value with each award and ultimately lights the outlanes for special. The up-post between the flippers is a neat touch that is often forgotten about until the player needs it. Power Play was designed by Greg Kmiec with artwork by the great Dave Christensen. For more information on this machine, see here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=1858FOLLOW LONDON PINBALL:facebook.com/londonpinballcanadainstagram.com/cooke_pinballtwitter.com/londonpinball ULTIMATE RUBBER RING KIT: USA: https://a.co/d/2tvBuQ3Canada: https://a.co/d/a3nMat9 Play pinball while on vacation in Port Stanley, Ontario: airbnb.ca/h/cookescottage
1979 Bally KISS pinball machine London Pinball 2022-09-29 | Here we have the iconic 1979 Bally KISS pinball machine for your viewing pleasure. This game sure is pretty. It's a fairly lackluster game, but it sure looks good. Hitting the K-I-S-S targets lights the corresponding letter in the KISS grid at the centre of the playfield. The letters in the four KISS words and the arrows surrounding the grid operate as the machine's bonus. Lighting the whole grid once lights the super bonus, which is worth 40k points. Completing the grid a 2nd time lights the colossal bonus for 80k points. Completing it one more time awards a total of 120k. A whole line of KISS can be lit by completing the drop targets or by hitting the "light-a-line" rollover at the top of the playfield when lit. Hitting the A-B-C-D targets the first time awards 2x bonus. The 2nd time awards extra ball and the third time (and each time thereafter awards the special). The spinners are interesting to shoot for and are located at an unusual location at the top of the playfield. KISS was designed by Jim Patla with art by Kevin O'Connor. For more information on this machine, see here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=1386
London Pinball ULTIMATE RUBBER RING KIT for vintage pinball machines London Pinball 2022-09-27 | London Pinball is proud to present the Ultimate Rubber Ring Kit for Vintage Pinball Machines. In Canada, get yours here:https://a.co/d/byW2usX In the USA, get yours here: amazon.com/dp/B08NXGT3FBAnd don't forget to grab some merch from the London Pinball merch store at http://www.londonpinball.ca/merch
1974 Gottlieb OUT OF SIGHT (Far Out) pinball machine London Pinball 2022-09-03 | Here today for your viewing pleasure is a 1974 Gottlieb Out of Sight pinball machine in action. Out of Sight is the two player version of Far Out, which is the four player edition. Out of Sight and its cousin Far Out are surprisingly fun and challenging to play. Going after the lit drop target to add the bonus and get the 10x value when that side is lit earns the serious points. The left and right lanes behind the drop targets engage the left outlane kickback and the right outlane gate to the shooter lane. The top three lanes, when lit, advance the bonus. The only complaint I have with this game is that the drop targets don't reset when they're all down. Once they're down, you're left trying to get the ball back to the top or into the lit left or right lanes to add to the bonus. There's just not much to shoot for once the targets are down. Still, I find this game fun and challenging enough. The artwork is super groovy and definitely goes for the whole hippie aesthetic (although it might have been a little late by 1974).Out of Sight and Far Out were designed by Ed Krynski (of course) with art by the great Gordon Morison. For more information about this game, see here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=1727
1972 Williams SUPER STAR pinball machine London Pinball 2022-08-14 | Hey hey! Here we have a 1972 Williams Super Star pinball machine in action for your viewing pleasure. This machine is a cute game with some neat features. It's convertible to add-a-ball, which is what I have this particular game setup for. Hit the 1 through 5 rollovers to advance the centre hole scoring to special, which adds a ball to your game. Spotting the three SU-P-ER lanes at the top of the playfield light the Super Star Special at the centre hole for an added ball as well. If both specials are lit simultaneously, two balls will be added to the ball count! Oh! And the cool thing about the centre hole is the drop target that must be hit to access the saucer. Neat!The niftiest feature of the game, however, is the outlane posts and the up-post between the flippers. Hitting the upper left or upper right stationary target raises the corresponding outlane post. Hitting the left or right side bumpers raises the centre post. But be careful! That centre post is a dirty tease because if the ball hits the "DOWN CENTER POST" rollover on its way between the flippers, that centre post is not going to save you at all! Trickery!This game uses some pretty spicy pop bumper action to get the ball moving. The lack of inlanes add to the ball movement in front of the flippers. Fun game that's worth a shot! Super Star was designed by Steve Kordek (of course) with artwork by Christian Marche (of course). The artwork features the likenesses of several popular musicians of the late--60's and early-70's. Neil Young? Tina Turner? Chicago? Aretha Franklin? Who knows. Looks like it to me. For more information on Super Star, see here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=2446
1978 Stern NUGENT pinball machine London Pinball 2022-08-12 | Here we have a 1978 Stern Nugent pinball machine in action. Nugent is a fun game. The shots are interesting and satisfying. Hitting the three bank on the left twice lights the centre lane at the top for extra ball. A third time awards the special. The three bank at the top right increases the multiplier. There is a rollover button at the top that lights the left and right top lanes for 9k points. Smoking the spinner adds to the bonus and getting the ball in the saucer collects the bonus. This game uses the same code as Stern's Lectronamo, which is genuinely my favourite game. They're similar in that respect with only the playfield layout being different. The added third flipper at the right side makes for some interesting shots and getting the ball behind that flipper to the shooter lane advances the bonus and scores 3k. Nugent was designed by Mike Kubin. For more information about this game, see here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=1687
1977 Bally NIGHT RIDER pinball machine London Pinball 2022-07-31 | Here we have a iconic early Bally solid state pinball machine that seems to be everywhere! Night Rider was produced in late 1976 as an electromechanical machine and in early 1977 as Bally's first solid state machine. (Actually, there is a little confusion over whether Night Rider or Freedom were Bally's first production solid state games, but let's just say Night Rider was the first). Anyway, Night Rider is a fun game with a symmetrical playfield. The two spinners and two drop target banks are both fun to shoot and the game offers lots to aim for and a fairly quick pace.The rules are simple: hit the drops to light the special. Smoke the spinners when lit for decent points. Hitting the saucer at the top when lit for 5k is the most valuable shot in the game. The artwork is perhaps what makes this game so iconic. Many people seem to associate the art package on this game as the epitome of late-70's pinball. Artist Paul Faris had his hands all over pinball starting in 1976 and many of the era's most popular machines donned his designs, including Evel Knievel, Eight Ball, Lost World, Playboy, Paragon and more. Night Rider was designed by Greg Kmiec. For more information about this game, see here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=4497By the way, I haven't been recording the scores on my gameplay videos because editing a multi-camera video takes more time than I care to spend. Sorry. I'll try to get back to it soon.
1985 Williams COMET pinball machine London Pinball 2022-07-17 | Here's a 1985 Williams COMET pinball machine in action. This game is iconic for being the first game with a single shot that can score a million points in modern pinball. It's also strange for not having a multiball feature, which was quite a common draw by 1985. I've always found Comet's sounds and gameplay to be pretty annoying. The ramp shot straight up the middle is satisfying enough. The shot to the corkscrew ramp up the left is a very challenging shot. Spotting 1986 on the third ball lights the million shot at the top of the right ramp.Comet was designed by Barry Oursler with art by everyone's favourite weirdo, Python Anghelo. For more information on this game, see here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=548
1988 Bally TRUCK STOP pinball machine London Pinball 2022-06-22 | This machine is for sale. Contact me at www.londonpinball.ca for more information. Here we have for your viewing pleasure a 1988 Bally Truck Stop pinball machine in action. This is a moderately fun machine with some satisfying shots. The ramps can lead to some cool combo shots that lead into one another from lower flipper to upper and left to right. The vertical up-kicker that takes the ball across the habitrail to the ball lock is a cool feature as well. Hitting each of the four ramps adds a letter to the word "CITY". Spelling CITY 5 times lights the "gas station" for ball lock. For more information on this game, see here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=2667
1979 Stern MAGIC pinball machine London Pinball 2022-06-05 | Lots happening at London Pinball these days. Here's a machine that was fixed up a couple of months ago and I'm just getting around to posting the video now. Anyway, here's a 1979 Stern Magic pinball machine. Admittedly, this is not one of my favourite Sterns of the era. The theme/artwork is well done and obviously a Dungeons & Dragons rip off. The rules, as is typical of the era, are simple. The drops build the bonus multiplier. The saucer collects the bonus, which is nice, but it's pretty impossible to actually shoot for the saucer. Spotting MAGIC lights the extra ball lane and scores special after the 2nd completion. Magic was designed by Mike Kubin (who's games I usually like) with art by Bob Timm. For more information on this game, see here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=1509
1979 Stern TRIDENT pinball machine London Pinball 2022-06-03 | For your viewing pleasure today, I present to you Stern's Trident from 1979.This is genuinely a great game. I have a huge soft spot for early solid state Sterns and this one is near the top of my favourites. The unique lower playfield and the extra set of slings half way up the playfield make the ball really move. The rules are simple. Hit the drops to increase the bonus multiplier, hit the stationary targets to light the spinners and build the bonus. Completing the stationary targets once lights the extra ball and twice lights the special. That's pretty much it. My only complaint is that there is no way to collect the bonus without losing the ball.Trident was designed by Mike Kubin. For more information on this machine, see here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=2644
1987 Data East LASER WAR pinball machine London Pinball 2022-06-02 | Here we have a 1987 Data East Laser War pinball machine in action for your viewing pleasure. This machine is fun to play and has one of the best light shows in 1980's pinball. It was also the first machine from any manufacturer to feature stereo sound. Hitting the Ion Cannon (the ramp) during three ball multiball makes you think that the machine is about to explode. She sure gets a little excited, let me tell ya. Anyway, hitting the all of the flashing red, yellow or blue targets lights the corresponding saucer for ball lock. Locking the ball starts at two ball multiball and returning two balls to the saucers within a short period of time results a third ball being added to the multiball. Once the third ball is in play hitting the Ion Cannon scores the big points. This was Data East's first machine. The Data East pinball division was operated by Gary Stern (yes, that Gary Stern) who still operates Stern Pinball to this day. Laser War was designed by Joe Kaminkow with art by Margaret Hudson and Kevin O'Connor. For more information on this game, see here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=1415 Additionally, my shop is in my garage and I had the garage door open during the filming of this video. The bloody street sweeper went by twice during recording. Please forgive the noise. And, hello, Wyatt!
1977 Interflip DRAGON pinball machine - clean your motor clutch! London Pinball 2022-05-01 | Helpful tip regarding the motors in an Interflip Dragon pinball machine.
London Pinball in the news: CBC Radio Interview - 04.18.2022 London Pinball 2022-04-22 | Here is the corresponding online article that accompanied this interview:cbc.ca/news/canada/london/pinball-repariman-full-time-1.6422538All credit for the photo and the audio goes to Angela McInnes and the CBC. London Pinball claims no right or ownership over the audio whatsoever.
Hello and welcome to LONDON PINBALL! London Pinball 2022-04-13 | London Pinball is open for business. Please visit londonpinball.ca for more information. Thank you for your ongoing support.
1974 Gottlieb SKY JUMP pinball machine London Pinball 2022-01-28 | Here's a 1974 Gottlieb Sky Jump pinball machine for your viewing pleasure. Sky Jump is a pretty fun game with a little bit of aim and thought required. Hitting the 7 rollovers lights the 7 drop targets for 10x the points. Hitting the drop target indicated by the red light scores 10x the indicated value. So, for example an unlit drop scores 50 points, a lit drop scores 500 points and a double-lit drop scores 5000. Completing the drops also scores 5000. Completing the rollovers lights the star which will award a special when the drops are completed. My only complaint about this game is that there's not much to shoot for from the left flipper. Sky Jump is considered by many to be one of the better Gottlieb single-player wedge heads. The game was designed by Ed Krynski (of course) with artwork by Gordon Morison (of course). For more information on this game see here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=2195 I tried to video record the score during the game, but the 2nd camera crapped out. Oh well.
1978 Williams PHOENIX pinball machine London Pinball 2022-01-03 | Here we have a 1978 Williams Phoenix pinball machine for your viewing pleasure.This is a relatively interesting game with some fun shots, although it takes some time to get into it. Build the bonus by hitting the 1-2-3-4-5 lanes at the top of the playfield, the two stationary targets above the pop bumpers or the inlanes. Spell Phoenix by completing the 1-to-5 sequence. Once the 'E' in Phoenix is lit, the bullseye target at the top left lights to award the extra ball. The two banks of four drops at the left and right side of the playfield build the multiplier. That's pretty much all there is to it. The two drops in the centre of the playfield are raised by rolling over the 2 or 4 switches only, which is highly unusual. These targets do not reset between balls or at the beginning of a game. Phoenix was designed by Barry Oursler with artwork by Constantino Mitchell and Jeanine Mitchell. For more information about this game, see here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=1780
1971 Gottlieb SHERIFF (Lawman) pinball machine London Pinball 2021-10-23 | For your viewing pleasure we have here a 1971 Gottlieb Sheriff pinball machine in action. The two player version of this game was Lawman, which was released the same year. Sheriff is a moderately fun game with a massive bank of drop targets along the left side and rollover lanes at the right. completing the drop targets when the Special is lit (which lights randomly) scores a replay. Hitting the rollovers when lit adds bonus. Not much else going on. This game can be pretty brutal with the lack a return lane at the left and the possibility of losing the ball when trying to cradle on the right. Gottlieb's Atlantis has a similar playfield but has more interesting rules pertaining to the drop targets. Sheriff was designed by Ed Krynski with artwork by Gordon Morison (of course).
1977 Gottlieb MUSTANG (Bronco) pinball machine London Pinball 2021-10-22 | Here we have a 1977 Gottlieb Bronco pinball machine in action. This is the two player version of Bronco that was released the same year. This machine is moderately fun and has three drop targets placed at mid-playfield, which is an interesting location. The two kick-out lanes on the left and right are neat in that they move the ball to the saucers and then back into play. I've always like the idea of one mechanism feeding another mechanism as I find it's a cool way to move the ball around the playfield. This game suffers from the fact that the drop targets don't reset when they're completed. Hitting the drops lights the saucer to add bonus. There's also the A-B-C lanes at the top and bottom of the playfield. Completing these lights double bonus. Completing the drops and the lanes lights the 'A' lane for special. That's it. Mustang and Bronco were designed by Ed Krynski with art by Gordon Morison (of course. For more info on this game, see here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=1645
1952 Gottlieb QUEEN OF HEARTS pinball machine London Pinball 2021-08-09 | Here we have an incredibly interesting and very fun 1952 Gottlieb Queen of Hearts pinball machine in action.This game is definitely a fun player with a number of different ways to score replays. At first glace, the modern player would scoff at gobble holes, but once you get to know the rules of this game, they become less of a nuisance and more of an objective worth shooting for. Getting four balls in any one gobble hole (for four of a kind) awards two replays. Five balls in the same hole also lights the joker for an additional five replays. Hitting all five holes (for a flush) awards two replays. And getting three balls in one hole and two in another awards two replays for the full house. Also, replays can be scored by spotting all four lanes at the top to light a lane for special. And hitting the numbers 1 through 6 light the two side roll-under lanes for special as well. And if that's not enough, replays can also be awarded by scoring "points" (which is different from the "score"). Replays are awarded for scoring 20 points and at various levels thereafter. At no point is the player out of ways to earn replays. Even if the gobble holes eat up four balls in no particular order, the player can still manage replays via the points option or the rollover lanes at the top of the playfield. This game is very fun and the designer, Wayne Neyens, has said that it was his favourite design of all time. Artwork for Queen of Hearts was done by Roy Parker (of course). More info on this game can be see here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=1891
1977 Zaccaria UNIVERSE pinball machine London Pinball 2021-07-02 | Here's a 1977 Zaccaria Universe pinball machine in action for your viewing pleasure. Coincidentally, I've had two Zaccaria machines in the shop back-to-back this month. This machine has some interesting features, even though gameplay is somewhat underwhelming. The three "Special" targets aren't true special targets, in that they don't award a free game. Instead, when lit, they score 30k points, which makes them the most lucrative targets to hit. Additionally, when lit, the targets advance the "extra ball" lights. Completing the extra ball triangle awards... an extra ball. The centre target advances these lights regardless of whether or not it's lit. The drop targets and saucer at the top of the playfield also advance the extra ball lights. This is a cool feature to chase, but, let me tell ya, it's not easy to get an extra ball. The drop targets, unfortunately, do not reset when they're all down and hitting the saucer is nearly impossible except off the initial plunge plunge. This feature also resets after each ball, so it's definitely challenging to complete. Lighting each of the "special" targets can be done by completing the drops, advancing the bonus to 10k and by hitting the saucer 5 times (good luck with that one). Zaccaria machines are almost always in excellent cosmetic condition and this example is no different. These import games sure did wear out a lot slower than the games made by the big North American manufacturers.For more information on this machine, see here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=2706
1976 Zaccaria MOON FLIGHT pinball machine London Pinball 2021-06-20 | Hello pinball people! Today for your viewing pleasure we have a rarely-seen 1976 Zaccaria Moon Flight pinball machine in action. Zaccaria was an Italian manufacturer and many of their games were imported into North America to compete with the big names. Zaccaria and the other Euro pinball makers used some sort of polyurethane clearcoat on their playfields and the result is that they're usually in absolutely stunning condition and show very little (if any) wear. The colours pop on this beauty, which is often the case on Zaccaria machines, even after 45 years! Bally, Stern, Williams and Gottlieb could have learned a thing or two about keeping their games looking great from these guys! Or, perhaps they liked the built-in obsolescence?This machine has some interesting rules. Hitting the "Target Advance Module" advances the satellite inserts in the centre of the playfield the corresponding number of spaces, which adds a letter to "ORBIT" with each completion. Spelling ORBIT (or ORBI, depending on the operator's preferred settings) lights the target specials. Advancing the bonus to full lights the upper right lane rollover for extra ball. Completing all four rollovers at the top four lanes leaves one rollover lit for extra ball as well. This machine was available in both replay and add-a-ball versions. Interestingly, the replay versions had the labels for converting to add-a-ball in the head but the actual connectors required to switch it between novelty and add-a-ball are missing completely. This game doesn't look like it would have much to shoot for, but it's actually fairly fun. Making the shots to the top is challenging and satisfying. Great artwork by Lorenzo Rimondini.See more on this game here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=1626Also, trying something with this video and added the score angle due to popular demand. It gets out-of-sync towards the end. Will try to improve upon that as we move forward.
1980 Williams BLACKOUT pinball machine (another one) London Pinball 2021-05-09 | Hello! I fixed up this Blackout over the last couple of weeks and figured I'd share this. I shot a video for another Blackout that I fixed up several years ago and you can read my comments about this machine on THAT video here: youtube.com/watch?v=mgL6rZ4qg1YGoodbye!
1981 Williams PHARAOH pinball (another one) London Pinball 2021-05-04 | I fixed up a Pharaoh in June of 2020 and posted a video to my channel, so this video isn't really necessary. However, I've now fixed up a 2nd Pharaoh and wanted to share this footage with the owner and figured it wouldn't hurt to have more Pharaoh for the masses, so here we are. This machine has no backglass, so one isn't shown. If you want more info about this game, see the description in the other video here:youtube.com/watch?v=C0l0bQnatBo
1979 Williams STELLAR WARS pinball machine London Pinball 2021-04-19 | Here we have a 1979 Williams Stellar Wars pinball machine for you to hook your peepers into. See a long and boring video about this particular machine here: youtu.be/IaEOSVCvyLk This game was the last of Williams' System 4 machines. It was made at the beginning of the widebody craze when manufacturers were trying new gimmicks to attract players away from the competition. Pinball was red hot in the late 70's and Gottlieb, Bally, Stern and Williams were all trying to one-up each other. Stellar Wars is a pretty obvious rip-off of Star Wars. Clearly Williams either didn't bother to ask or didn't want to spend the money to acquire a proper license and came up with this knock-off as a result. The artwork lends itself well to the Star Wars theme without actually using the likenesses of X-Wing and Tie Fighters. Gameplay is quite fun, in spite of the large playfield. There's lots to shoot for and the shots are quite satisfying. Each drop target bank corresponds to a different feature on the playfield. For example, completing the middle drop target bank advances the saucer. Completing it three times lights the saucer for extra ball. The spinner shots are fun to make and are satisfying when they spin forever. Completing the words STELLAR or WARS advances the bonus multiplier, as does completing the 1-4 lanes at the top. Completing both STELLAR and WARS awards 50k points. Stellar Wars can be setup with background sound, but it's pretty terrible, so I leave it off. Stellar Wars was designed by Steve Ritchie with artwork by Constantino Mitchell and Jeanine Mitchell. Sound and software were done by Paul Dussault. See here for more information on this game: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=2372
Warehouse survivor! Raising a 1979 Williams STELLAR WARS pinball from the dead! London Pinball 2021-04-19 | In this video, I resurrect a long-forgotten 1979 Williams Stellar Wars pinball machine. It's long and boring and for that I apologize. View this game in action: youtu.be/SqgtIGh-Wpg Things that are referenced in this video: - Building Wolffpac DIY displays: youtu.be/F8Juidj5tpw- Comet LEDs: cometpinball.com (I use warm white 2smd)- ToMMy pinball board repairs - Brent Butler - tommy.pinball@gmail.com - Instructions for adding fuses to the bridge rectifiers in Williams System 3-11 pinball machines: pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/vids-guide-to-bulletproofing-williams-system-6/page/2#post-945742
1977 Gottlieb TEAM ONE pinball machine London Pinball 2021-04-03 | This machine is currently for sale in London, Ontario. Contact solidstatepinball@gmail.com for details. For your viewing pleasure, here's an up-to-date video a 1977 Team One pinball machine in action. This is absolutely one of the most fun electromechanical machines ever made. It was made by Gottlieb at the very tail end of the EM era and is the add-a-ball version of Abra Ca Dabra. This game is quite interesting and challenging and racking up the extra balls is satisfying and enjoyable. Hitting all the drop targets down lights the centre stationary target for WOW (extra ball). Spotting the 1 through 6 sequence lights the drop targets for WOW and hitting the lit drop target scores the extra ball. The slingshots half-way up the playfield are cool and having the pop bumpers in the lower part of the playfield keep the player guessing. The gap between the flippers seems a bit wider than normal and the casual player may not find their ball times to be terribly long as a result.Jeff Brenner was the designer and Gordon Morrison the artist. There were only 650 Team One machines made, which makes this game a particularly rare late 70's wedgehead.
1974 Williams STAR POOL pinball machine London Pinball 2021-02-20 | Here's a 1974 Williams Star Pool pinball machine in action. The years between 1971 and 1975 seem to be a bit of an odd period for Pinball. The major manufacturers were still trying to forge their own unique path once the 3" flipper took over from the shorter 2" flipper and playfield layouts became more standardized. Williams, Bally and Gottlieb battled for supremacy, but a quick glance through the games made in this era will reveal few major standouts and a large number of stinkers (Hi-Lo Ace, Darling and Magnotron are among the worst from each). In 1975-76, though, in the period immediately prior to the solid state era, all three manufacturers hit their stride and released games that would take the pinball world by Storm. Games like Royal Flush, Grand Prix and Wizard were hugely successful and revealed what Pinball could be. Why am I writing all of this history on a video about Star Pool? Because this is one of those games that just isn't quite there yet. It's drab and basic and has too much space and few actual goals. It lands firmly in the netherworld of pinball between the unique and innovative designs of the 60's and the truly great themes and features of the late 70's. It's about as basic a pinball machine as you can get. The spinning disk in the centre of the playfield 'should' be fun to hit, but it just doesn't really work from a physics point of view and it gets in the way most of the time (See Triple Action for another game with the same gimmick) . The drop targets are easy to spot and require little actual skill; a lucky bounce is more likely to hit the upper drops than a banked shot on the left or right side. The gate adds a bit of fun to the lower playfield, but it can be taken away after being earned by hitting the side banks. And that's it. The billiard aspect of the game is irrelevant as the rack is simply the bonus ladder. It's hardly Bally's Eight Ball, that's for sure. So is it fun? Sure it is. It's not amazing, of course, and the replay value likely isn't there. But it's fun enough for a bit. The flippers are DC powered and offer plenty of oompf. The bumpers move the ball well. The lackluster artwork is quintessential mid-70's from Williams and Christian Marche (the seasoned pinball aficionado can identify his artwork from a mile away). And the design is everything that can be expected from Steve Kordek. But compared to what came just a couple of years later from every manufacturer, there isn't much comparison. For more information on Star Pool, see here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=2352
1978 Bally MATA HARI pinball machine London Pinball 2021-01-31 | Here's a 1978 Bally Mata Hari pinball machine in action. This is classic Bally with a simple but compelling ruleset and a fun playfield layout. The owner of this game brought it to me without a backglass and I turned off the backbox lighting to avoid glare in the video. The rules are simple: make the A & B lanes over and over to increase and score the lit A&B value. Making the saucer increases the multiplier and scores 50k. Hitting down all of the drops twice scores the special. That's it!History buffs will know that the theme of this game is pretty cool, but one has to wonder how many kids in the arcades of the late 70's would have known anything about Mata Hari. This game was designed by Jim Patla with art by the great Dave Christensen. For more information on Mata Hari, see here: ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=4501
WOLFFPAC TECH LED pinball displays - Unboxing and Review - Williams System 3-6 London Pinball 2021-01-12 | Here's a long and boring non-sponsored video of me yammering on as I discuss and build these awesome Wolffpac Technologies LED displays for Williams System 3 to 6 machines. Williams System 3 to 6 includes iconic games like Flash, Gorgar and Firepower. Here I install these displays into a 1979 Williams Stellar Wars. Many thanks to Julia Massey for graciously allowing me to use her music once again.
