If you're a Pinhead like me then you know how much of a comeback the pinball industry has been doing in the last few years. Between Stern, who has been around since the beginning still coming up with new tables, to newcomers Jersey Jack Pinball here in the states and Heighway Pinball based in the UK.

Anyway, the point I'm getting to is Jersey Jack Pinball is designing their next (second) pinball machine on (wait for it....) The Hobbit! I figured since Stern did The Lord of the Rings pinball then they would have gotten the rights to do this too but I guess Jersey Jack managed to snag those especially after wowing everyone with their much long awaited The Wizard of Oz pinball. They already have a playfield drawn out and making progress to the eventual whitewood stage of testing.

Here is a video promo teasor for The Hobbit pinball.

A couple of teaser advertisements showcasing what the machine itself may look like.

The current playfield layout still subject to some changes.

As you can see from the side cabinet artwork, the game, ruleset, and LCD backglass animations will be based on all three Hobbit films much in the same manner as Stern's The Lord of the Rings pinball was.

Here is the original website I follow for all pinball related tidbits. Pinball News

Also, there is a documentary in the works about the phenomena of pinball returning. Shoot Again: The Resurgence of Pinball in America

Jersey Jack has made significant changes to their table being based on The Hobbit trilogy like the main playfield artwork and upper area features.

Current (left) / Original (right)

Updated upper playfield

A premium model for The Walking Dead pinball by Stern has finally been announced.

A few pics of my TWDLE. It arrived right before Thanksgiving. Big hit with the family, it got played non stop all weekend.

A few pics of my TWDLE. It arrived right before Thanksgiving. Big hit with the family, it got played non stop all weekend.

Awesome!

 

Sterns next game is wrestlemania. Can't say I'm a fan of this. Playfield does look interesting. The LE will be a legends theme. 

Sterns next game is wrestlemania. Can't say I'm a fan of this. Playfield does look interesting. The LE will be a legends theme.

The art is nice as usual from Stern but the playfield setup seems oddly familiar. I realize with a few decades of pinball some layouts will seem similar.

The art is nice as usual from Stern but the playfield setup seems oddly familiar. I realize with a few decades of pinball some layouts will seem similar.

 

I don't like the art at all. I think they should have done a drawn playfield instead of the photoshop. 

 

The LE has a third flipper. I think it looks a little better, plus I actually know who the guys are. I don't see the macho man on there though, kind of a big omission. 

The timelessly amazing Pro Pinball "Timeshock!" is nearing the end game of becoming an actual real-life pinball table with this cabinet art for a start.

At least it seems one of the newcomers on the scene called Zidware is nearing completion of finishing one of its three currently known projects wtih Magic Girl.

The zidware game is a debacle. The game pictured is an unplayable prototype. He took a million dollars in deposits over four years ago and has now stated he cannot build the game and is out of money. Deposits for this were $16,000. Lawsuits are incoming, not sure what good that will do if he is broke. 

Details are here http://johnpopadiuk.com/

The Predator game also turned out to be a scam of sorts. The builder did not acquire the licence. I was in on the preorder but got out before it turned ugly. Lawsuit ongoing there too. Ugly days for pinball right now. 

 

I did read into the train wreck of the Predator table but did not realize the Zidware projects were heading in the same direction. Bummer. Being ambitious can be a good thing but usually best to go one way and stick with it to the end instead of tacking on yet another side project.

Here is the first part to an in-depth review on Stern's latest table for rock band, Kiss. Also a little clip to watch. Shout it out loud!

My wife's grandfather recently passed away, and we acquired this old pinball machine from his estate. It's called Gold Rush. Produced by Bally in 1966. It accepts dimes and has a built in "bonus" game built into the back glass.

 

I am not an expert on pinball machines, but was hoping to gain a little insight into its value and how to go about cleaning it up. It appears to be all original. It does work, but not perfectly. For something that is 50 years old and has probably never been cleaned or cared for properly I should expect that.

 

I did a little research but couldn't find much on the internet other than there were only 1750 of these made and were produced for New York and Wisconsin. This makes sense because we live in Green Bay. Can anyone shed some light on my newly acquired family heirloom? Thank you.

Edited September 24, 201510 yr by terrymc4677
Added pictures.

My wife's grandfather recently passed away, and we acquired this old pinball machine from his estate. It's called Gold Rush. Produced by Bally in 1966. It accepts dimes and has a built in "bonus" game built into the back glass.

First off, my sincerest condolences for your wife's loss. On to the pinball, very nice single player "add-a-ball" machine difficult to find one in any condition nowadays of which yours looks fairly well with all things considered in particular the backglass; quite possibly the most important part to maintain pristine and original from these vintage amusements. I'm a little fuzzy as where to even begin speculating the value here and my own searches turned up less than slim results. I do remember a fully restored project of this machine going for less than $3,000 but again that was a restoration. Yours in its current original condition may be closer to $800 or more.

Now I am far from an expert and have not much to form a proper value average honestly. It is a rare machine as is the other remaining electro-mechanical pinballs still standing out there but actual desirability is unknown and often when another buyer/collector is looking for one of these, it is because they have plans of restoring to some degree the machine for themselves making them hesitant with how high they will go just to acquire it taking the later costs of repair into consideration.

As for cleaning the machine, here is Home Pinball Repair which is a site that covers basic tips on cleaning and repair. Also here as a second resource from a site called Pin Repair all about restoring arcade amusements is Restoring Arcade and Pinball Games. There probably are other resources including YouTube "how to" clips I think.

First off, my sincerest condolences for your wife's loss. On to the pinball, very nice single player "add-a-ball" machine difficult to find one in any condition nowadays of which yours looks fairly well with all things considered in particular the backglass; quite possibly the most important part to maintain pristine and original from these vintage amusements. I'm a little fuzzy as where to even begin speculating the value here and my own searches turned up less than slim results. I do remember a fully restored project of this machine going for less than $3,000 but again that was a restoration. Yours in its current original condition may be closer to $800 or more.

Now I am far from an expert and have not much to form a proper value average honestly. It is a rare machine as is the other remaining electro-mechanical pinballs still standing out there but actual desirability is unknown and often when another buyer/collector is looking for one of these, it is because they have plans of restoring to some degree the machine for themselves making them hesitant with how high they will go just to acquire it taking the later costs of repair into consideration.

As for cleaning the machine, here is Home Pinball Repair which is a site that covers basic tips on cleaning and repair. Also here as a second resource from a site called Pin Repair all about restoring arcade amusements is Restoring Arcade and Pinball Games. There probably are other resources including YouTube "how to" clips I think.

Thanks for the links, Orc. Those will certainly get me going in the right direction. I was surprised as to what little information I could find out about this machine online. It seems to be a rare one, and I'd love to be able to clean it up to its former glory and hopefully pass it down to my kids.

Pinside is a good forum for pinball. Imagine brickpicker but pinball is discussed instead of lego. Probably worth 400-800 depending on condition. The market for EMs is soft except for a few rare games. Games with animated backglass can be valuable so maybe this one is more sought after. 

Stern's next table will be based on Game Of Thrones. You can see more images & info on the upcoming table here. The table is currently in the preliminary stages therefore these shots are work-in-progress 3D renders.

In other news, Stern and FarSight Studios are partnering up to recreate digital versions of their licensed tables. Before this point the area of virtual recreations based on any one of Stern's license based machines has been an area of concern for the company believing such would potentially reduce sales of the physical game or lower gained income by the operated machine. Even in fan form through software like Visual Pinball or Future Pinball, there was a "gentlemen's agreement" where no recreation based on a Stern table could be made or released until at least three years after production of the game has ended. Here is the article for the full story.

 

Who you gonna call?

Star Wars pinball by Stern announced today. Artwork is pretty bland. Layout could be good, looks like a fast player.

 

7 hours ago, marcandre said:

Star Wars pinball by Stern announced today. Artwork is pretty bland. Layout could be good, looks like a fast player.

Well at least it isn't just a rerelease with some spiffy anniversary artwork and an updated rule set. Still Data East's table from a long time ago will be tough to beat.

8 hours ago, TheOrcKing said:

Well at least it isn't just a rerelease with some spiffy anniversary artwork and an updated rule set. Still Data East's table from a long time ago will be tough to beat.

I wish they had done drawn art instead of the photoshop collage. The recent titles with drawn art have looked great (Ghostbusters) and the rest have looked terrible (Game of Thrones especially) 

Sounds like Disney would not allow drawn art. Leave it to them to ruin it. 

2 hours ago, marcandre said:

I wish they had done drawn art instead of the photoshop collage. The recent titles with drawn art have looked great (Ghostbusters) and the rest have looked terrible (Game of Thrones especially) 

Sounds like Disney would not allow drawn art. Leave it to them to ruin it. 

I can't say I am a fan of the playfield's photographic style myself. The cabinet art for the left and middle editions are kind of nice though but still some artistic renderings instead could have been fantastic.