Bally Mariner close-ups with tiny little sea horses

Here are a few close-ups of Bally Mariner. 

Gratuitous shots of sea horses and a very sad looking fish.

Art is credited to Christian Marche

Two Sea Horses all lit up

Sea Horse with a zero

Very Sad Fish

Release Power Orbs

Everytime I release the Wild Balls when playing Balls-A-Poppin: I have to say aloud "Release Power Orbs".

Balls-A-Poppin being the ancestor to Centaur. In the same way as the Trilobite is the ancestor to the Spider. I can see the tenuous connection.

Even to this day I'm flabbergasted when I take a peek into the gameroom and see Balls-A-Poppin there. Such a rare title. They are so rare that I never even bothered dreaming of owning one. Mine has a nice "Patina"

1956 Bally Balls-A-Poppin

Bally Sea Island Bingo and beer

Playing my Sea Island Bingo machine and enjoying a beer.
Marzen Rauchbier. Mmmm. Liquid bacon!

Wine and Bally Mystic Gate Bingo

Playing Mystic Gate.
Drinking Wine.
Winning 192 credits on a 3 in yellow.
Messing around with my phone camera.
La dolce vita.
The sweet life.
La grosse vie.

Bally Capersville coindoor wire repair

The wiring on my Capersville looked a little ragged. It worked but it looked really bad.

The plan was to bring the game to the 2018 Canada Pincon pinball show.

I imagined the wiring would give out at the worst possible moment at the show.

A bit of refurbishing was in order.

Wiring Before:

Capersville coin door wiring before

Almost all the wires were broken. Most of them had the twist and tape routine.

The one wire that wasn't taped was barely holding by a strand.

I spliced and soldered the wires and finished them with some heat shrink tubing.

I even took the time to redo the wire dressing.  

Repaired wiring

I finished the job by adding some nylon spiral wire wrap for additional protection. That way, it's unlikely the wires will get pinched in the door hinge.

Finished Capersville coin door wire repair

Off topic: Indian Cycle Rickshaw

Today was a beautiful day. Sunny. Not too hot. Cloudless sky. I decided to go out for a drive and check out a favorite junk shop of mine about an hour away from my place.

I spotted this rickshaw while perusing the said junk shop. I absolutely loved it. The colours, the patina, the rod brakes. I was mesmerized by it. I was imagining myself riding around my neighbourhood with my girlfriend sitting in the back. Bewildering the bystanders as we roll by.

But the real question is: How did it get to eastern Ontario?

There was no price on it and I did not dare asking. My loss.

Rickshaw in L'Orignal

Zip tie moments at Canada Pincon 2018

Here are a few zip tie moments at Canada Pincon 2018. The event was held on June 2nd and 3rd in Vankleek Hill Ontario.

I had a few games in the free play area and a couple more in the history section.

Free play area

 I did a few shifts of guide duty in the history section.

History section

The first Zip ties moment is out of my 1966 Bally Capresville. It was the simplest way to put the game on free play. A loose zip tie stopping the credit wheel to go down to zero. No bending switch blades, no messing with alligator clip test leads. Temporary. Does the job.

Zip tie in Capersville

The second one was out of my 1939 Keeney Thriller. The machine kept tilting because of low line power issues. Too many machines. Too long extension cords. The "hold" relay kept dropping out.

Solution: Zip tie on the switch for the relay hold in circuit.

Zip tie in Thriller

Sometimes, you have to improvise.

In french speaking Quebec, we call zip ties "Tie wraps". No to be confused with Thai Rap.

May 22: World Goth Day... Centaur!

To commemorate World Goth Day...

Thank you Paul Faris for the amazing Gothic / Biomechanical artwork of Centaur.

Art by Paul Faris

Bad move human!

Goth isn't just a style. It's a state of mind.

Old Goths dont die. They just stop wearing black all the time.

I always wondered if William Gibson was inspired by the woman on Centaur for his character Molly Millions / Rose Kolodny / Sally Shears in Neuromancer / Sprawl trilogy.

Pictures On Demand: Bally Nip-It coin door inside

Ballyhoo on top of Capersville

One was made in Janurary 1932. The other in December 1966.

34 years!

Thats how long it took Bally to go from a crude board with nails to an electro-mechanical masterpiece of design and art.

Capersville artwork by Jerry K, Kelley, influenced by the 1965 Jean-Luc Godard film Alphaville

Bally Show Time Bingo: 4 in Red scores 96

I was playing Show Time while waiting for my buddy to drop by.
I Scored 4 in Red. Sweet!

Ashtray full of Nickels.
Doing it in style
Playing bingo in the daytime

Pinball Dolly: Out of the 1978 WIKO catalogue

Details on my pinball dolly. Attractive grey Hammerloid enamel finish. 

New hardware: Pinball Dolly

Vintage and Practical. Patina included.

Light Therapy

Basking in the glow of old pinball machines.

View from the Kitchen table

My life/home is a pinball mess!
This is what I see sitting at my kitchen table eating my meal.
Pinball lifestyle

Bingo Traffic Jam

Moving the games around in my gameroom resulted in a bingo machine traffic jam.

Pinball in pop culture; 2 Unlimited - No Limit (1993)

looks like a Zaccaria Ten Stars. Blast from the 90's. Enjoy!

Zaccaria Ten Stars on IPDB