So over the past few months I've been searching for a few machines and I've cast out a few lines here and there on finding the right ones as I am quickly running out of room in the basement and I have to a bit more selective in what I pick up now.
I'm on all the same forums as you guys for the most part, here, KLOV, MAACA, CGCC etc... So I posted up a few weeks ago here about locating a good condition Fish Tales and I got someone who responded somewhat locally! We start talking and finally land on a number and a date to come by and pick up the machine.
He tells me to measure up my suv and I happily oblige but he warns me that the opening is the biggest concern. I'm blinded by the fact that I've secured one of my top 3 pins of all time and sloppily measure and report back it is fine. (This is a key story point)
So I leave London last night a few hours behind schedule but the seller assured me it was fine , after all once the pin is loaded what does he care really right? He goes back inside and goes to bed. I'm the one with the additional 2 hour drive ahead of me. So I arrive at the sellers house in Toronto around 9 he invites me downstairs and I'm immediately floored by his pin collection, I play a few games here and there my g/f is jumping from machine to machine playing them all like a kid in a candy store, I talk to him about a few other machines, we trade a few stories and then he takes me through my particular machine and really gives me a run down on what he did, what to look for, how to do some common repairs and really goes above and beyond at this point. He knows I'm a pin virgin so he really took the time and effort to show me a lot and gave me as many tips as he could in our few short hours. Really an excellent dude, way above and beyond man. Kudos.
Then it's time for the nitty gritty and we need to get this machine disassembled, up the stairs and into my SUV. He calls his son and they get this upstairs, I barely lifted a finger. He probably wants to go to bed and not have me and my gf playing his machines all night on a Tuesday. So he gets the machine upstairs for me and out to the suv. Did I mention it's fucking freezing? Oh well at least it's not snowing right? So we load the game up, start sliding it in, and..... It's too big.
The head is too wide and my opening at the top is curved so it jams at the top of the opening and the slight curve in the roof won't allow the pin to slide in all the way with the head attached (he recommended that we leave the head on for transport, just folded down) i measured the peak, and didn't account for the width so it wasn't going to fit all the way.... We sit and fumble with it for about 20 minutes, when he says hey let's spin it around and see if it goes in any better from the other side. No luck. He even went as far as bringing his pinball lift up out of his basement and outside to try and keep it level while sliding it in.
He then gives me 3 options.
1. I leave the machine and my money and come back another day with a larger vehicle to pick it up. I assure him that's not happening not out of distrust, but I've come this far and at 11:30 I'm not leaving empty handed. Too stubborn for that.
2. He removes the head and we slide it in that way but that will add major time as we have to disassemble the machine and remove a bunch of bolts and wiring. Not really ideal as I don't want to keep this poor guy up for another 30 minutes having to work on this any further. He has done 99.9% of the work up to this point as it is.
3. We load it in as is, strap it in tight, and saran wrap the shit out of my suv.
Well guess what option I chose...
The girlfriend did not care to join me in my pinball selfie. She wasn't too happy at this point at the prospect of driving two hours home on the highway with the hatch wide open (we did a good job sealing most of it) but damn was it cold still.....)
Two chilly hours later I roll into town with my first pinball machine!!!! It's a bit past 2 am and my gf is pretty much over the pinball machine now and regrets tagging along. She hops into bed almost immediately while I go to town unwrapping and unloading the game.
Home safe and sound, albeit slightly cold and deaf from all the snapping and fluttering of the saran wrap blowing in the wind down the 403.
I work in the morning and I have a long 12 hour shift and I'm working off 4 hours of sleep but dammit I am BUSTING! I AM SO FREAKING STOKED!!!! I HAVE A FISH TALES MACHINE!!!!! MY PIN CHERRY HAS BEEN POPPED AND I COULDN'T BE HAPPIER!!!! I'm glad I didn't settle for any old pin just to get my fix, I waited and waited and got the exact machine I was after and boy am I a happy guy!
More pics to come once it's downstairs and setup!!!!
Super shootouts to the seller, he is a very excellent guy and would recommend him highly. I didn't post his name or username here as he didn't directly respond to my WTB thread and don't want to shine any light on him out of respect for his privacy. He can chime in if he wants.
He has a few good photos of the wrap job he did for me!
Sent from my Pixel XXXL
I'm on all the same forums as you guys for the most part, here, KLOV, MAACA, CGCC etc... So I posted up a few weeks ago here about locating a good condition Fish Tales and I got someone who responded somewhat locally! We start talking and finally land on a number and a date to come by and pick up the machine.
He tells me to measure up my suv and I happily oblige but he warns me that the opening is the biggest concern. I'm blinded by the fact that I've secured one of my top 3 pins of all time and sloppily measure and report back it is fine. (This is a key story point)
So I leave London last night a few hours behind schedule but the seller assured me it was fine , after all once the pin is loaded what does he care really right? He goes back inside and goes to bed. I'm the one with the additional 2 hour drive ahead of me. So I arrive at the sellers house in Toronto around 9 he invites me downstairs and I'm immediately floored by his pin collection, I play a few games here and there my g/f is jumping from machine to machine playing them all like a kid in a candy store, I talk to him about a few other machines, we trade a few stories and then he takes me through my particular machine and really gives me a run down on what he did, what to look for, how to do some common repairs and really goes above and beyond at this point. He knows I'm a pin virgin so he really took the time and effort to show me a lot and gave me as many tips as he could in our few short hours. Really an excellent dude, way above and beyond man. Kudos.
Then it's time for the nitty gritty and we need to get this machine disassembled, up the stairs and into my SUV. He calls his son and they get this upstairs, I barely lifted a finger. He probably wants to go to bed and not have me and my gf playing his machines all night on a Tuesday. So he gets the machine upstairs for me and out to the suv. Did I mention it's fucking freezing? Oh well at least it's not snowing right? So we load the game up, start sliding it in, and..... It's too big.
The head is too wide and my opening at the top is curved so it jams at the top of the opening and the slight curve in the roof won't allow the pin to slide in all the way with the head attached (he recommended that we leave the head on for transport, just folded down) i measured the peak, and didn't account for the width so it wasn't going to fit all the way.... We sit and fumble with it for about 20 minutes, when he says hey let's spin it around and see if it goes in any better from the other side. No luck. He even went as far as bringing his pinball lift up out of his basement and outside to try and keep it level while sliding it in.
He then gives me 3 options.
1. I leave the machine and my money and come back another day with a larger vehicle to pick it up. I assure him that's not happening not out of distrust, but I've come this far and at 11:30 I'm not leaving empty handed. Too stubborn for that.
2. He removes the head and we slide it in that way but that will add major time as we have to disassemble the machine and remove a bunch of bolts and wiring. Not really ideal as I don't want to keep this poor guy up for another 30 minutes having to work on this any further. He has done 99.9% of the work up to this point as it is.
3. We load it in as is, strap it in tight, and saran wrap the shit out of my suv.
Well guess what option I chose...
The girlfriend did not care to join me in my pinball selfie. She wasn't too happy at this point at the prospect of driving two hours home on the highway with the hatch wide open (we did a good job sealing most of it) but damn was it cold still.....)
Two chilly hours later I roll into town with my first pinball machine!!!! It's a bit past 2 am and my gf is pretty much over the pinball machine now and regrets tagging along. She hops into bed almost immediately while I go to town unwrapping and unloading the game.
Home safe and sound, albeit slightly cold and deaf from all the snapping and fluttering of the saran wrap blowing in the wind down the 403.
I work in the morning and I have a long 12 hour shift and I'm working off 4 hours of sleep but dammit I am BUSTING! I AM SO FREAKING STOKED!!!! I HAVE A FISH TALES MACHINE!!!!! MY PIN CHERRY HAS BEEN POPPED AND I COULDN'T BE HAPPIER!!!! I'm glad I didn't settle for any old pin just to get my fix, I waited and waited and got the exact machine I was after and boy am I a happy guy!
More pics to come once it's downstairs and setup!!!!
Super shootouts to the seller, he is a very excellent guy and would recommend him highly. I didn't post his name or username here as he didn't directly respond to my WTB thread and don't want to shine any light on him out of respect for his privacy. He can chime in if he wants.
He has a few good photos of the wrap job he did for me!
Sent from my Pixel XXXL
