Newbie to this side of NLG. Need some advice.

[89chevyman]

Hi guys. Usually I don't venture beyond slot machines, but, as with any hobby, ya gotta "reely" venture outside the box, at least a "quarter" of the way (sorry for the bad puns, just couldn't help myself) Speaking of self help. I just have a few questions. First, I am currently contemplating purchasing a Williams Roller Games pinball machine. According to the owner, you can put coins in, but no solenoids operate. It appears to light up (per photos), but is missing legs. Can anyone tell me if this is worth getting into, are parts available and what, if anything, could be wrong with this game ?  Second question. I have a Gotlibe Super Spin machine. It turns on, lights up, but beyond that.....nothing. The solenoids don't respond, the scoreboard doesn't seem to function either.  Anything that I could be told to try would be helpful. The previous owner said it was working, but needed a "repair" on something, they didn't know what. This game is very clean, glass is in excellent condition, as is the cabinet & chrome. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks guys.


Chris   

[knagl]

Pins are repairable.  The Rollergames game could be anything from a blown fuse to a power board in need of repair.  Legs are generic and can be found pretty easily.  While the playfield toys on that game may not be easy to find if any are missing/broken, solenoids aren't game-specific and should be able to be obtained should you need them.

I don't think a lot of people had a very favorable opinion of Rollergames in so far as its game play.  On the other hand, I really loved that game.

If you're not familiar with it, the Internet Pinball Database (http://ipdb.org/ ) is a good resource for information about pinball games.  I'm sure there are some pinball repair forums out there, and I know there are a lot of folks on the Internet who are knowledgeable about pin repair (our own member CFH comes to mind immediately).


The Gottieb game is a 1977 electro mechanical machine (details).  They're different beasts to repair (and they weigh a TON), but if the playfield is in good shape it might be worth getting.  I know even less about EM repair, but again there are folks on the Internet who are knowledgable in that department.

[poppo]

As noted above, the Williams probably just has a blown fuse. But often it's a bad solenoid that caused it to blow to begin with. The good news is that they really are not that hard to troubleshoot and repair. You can find the manual in the link knagl posted above.

IMO as long as the playfield is in good shape (or replacment parts are readily available) I would not be too concerned that the game does not work. Of course you want to look in the backbox and under the playfield to look for signs of

Legs can be found easy enough, but they are heavy and can be pricey to ship.

While there are a lot of places to get pinball parts, this is a good place to look to see what is readily available.
http://www.marcospecialties.com/storeitems.asp?game=Williams&Williams=ROLLERGAMES

Unless you are a collector or something, I would stay away from the electro mechanical machines.

My first (and only) pinball was a Space Invaders. The game mostly worked but the playfield was in really bad shape. Unfortunately I did not do my research first to see that there were no replacement overlays, and many of the playfield parts were just not available. So ultimately I just ended up turning it into a custom project. I'm actually really happy with the way it turned out, but I learned my lesson about first seeing how hard it will be to find what you may need.
http://newlifegames.net/nlg/index.php?topic=10131.0

[reho33]

The member cfh has a pinrepair business, try a private message to him, he may be able to help.

[Frank A]

The Pinball Resource in Poughkeepsie NY is an excellent source for parts and manuals. Marco's website has all of the repair journals that you will ever need classified by manufacturer,type and year. Great hobby and there are lots of people who can help with problems both here and on other sites. Even Pachitalk has a Pinball forum. If you get the chance to talk with Steve at Pinball Resource he has a wealth of knowledge.

[slotsteve]

1St what are you paying for both games roller games not all parts there good play field worth 700 to 900 , the em game all there good playfeild 100 to 200 good thing is theres nothing you can,t fix on the em pin,s if roller games has bad boards you can get in it to deep, parts try mad amusements, pinball resource is high on parts,marko will rob you on shipping as much as happ will

[89chevyman]

The guys wanting $200obo on the Rollergames machine. Probably able to get it for less, says it needs a control board(?).  Like I said, I'm finding out if this is worth getting into or not. I understand that the newer machines can be costly. I already own the Superspin, picked it up for $200 a few years ago, probably find out in the end I overpaid  Thanks everybody for the responses so far, it is helping .

Chris

[slotsteve]

boards can cost alot for roller games without it  you have no way of knowing what else is bad  price of displays are very high and i,ll bet they are bad, board  displays  , legs  your  time rubbers blubs   i would pass ,roller games if shopped out working 1200 to 1400 game maybe less

[poppo]

..says it needs a control board(?).

Need one like it's missing, or needs one like it's broken?

On the Marco shipping, at least you know what it is up front. And as long as you don't buy one thing at a time, it's not that bad.