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hey last container buyers...

the Rider

New Member
Dec 18, 2012
15
0
0
Yeah a december container pin discusion thread would have been great.

I picked up my pin in the first week of feb. Condition: no rust, no dampness, all toys are there, playfield is nice but need a major cleanup, machine needs to be dialed in all across the board, Some serious hacks on the power board and GI connectors but everything was done by a pro... machine was booting and playable from the start after adding 2 balls and changing the wall plug end. So far I have fixed a few things but have quite a few more to do. Row of lights not lighting, new dmd (knew it from the pictures), new rubbers,some plastics, full shoping of playfield, flipper rebuilt kit, new legs and legs levelers.

Overall I got a fixable keeper pin I will continually get better as I work on it. I expected a project and it is what I got. Now I am curious of how others deal went.
 

yellowmustard

Member
Nov 17, 2012
81
0
6
well... tooo early to comment...
but mechanic and cleaning are done... just a little bug has to be fixed to be 100%
it was nearly a perfect deal...

to be continued...
 

Bish

Member
Nov 14, 2012
63
2
8
57
Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
Mine has some unusual "fixes" like paper towel stuffed in the ball trough because the end of it is missing, and 4 mis-matched legs - but I bought it to convert into something else, so I'm not worried. Everything ice seen is repairable.

Gerry was easy to deal with.
 

DRANO

Super Member
Nov 15, 2012
2,827
519
113
Mississauga
My first game from Gerard was one of the Cactus Canyons on his avatar :)
A couple of parts and some basic troubleshooting has the game playing fine. Extremely dirty and it will be restored, but it is all there. Same issue with the bad legs.

On this last container I purchased a Zaccaria Farfalla; my first Zac.
The game turns on and plays pretty well. Most of the problems are just related to switches that need adjustment. The only major issue I am having so far is that the volume of the game changes by itself and sometimes disappears for a bit. Some sounds cut out or do not play properly. I have to clean the volume adjustment pots and go through the boards. Aside from that, it's all there. A few minor issues and I will have to replace a couple of parts if I want it perfect, but still worth what I paid for it.

I did not purchase from the next container, but only for lack of funds.
I would have gladly purchased one of the nicer TOTAN if money and space was not a problem.

Sadly, Gerard's prices are getting higher and higher, so I'm not sure that some of the games are "deals" anymore. For A-list tiles there is still some breathing room.

Either way, I am very happy that he is providing this service and took the initiative to start bringing more stock into this country.
 

Gerry

Member
Nov 14, 2012
250
0
16
St-Georges de Beauce, Québec
DRANO said:
Sadly, Gerard's prices are getting higher and higher

it's not my price, it's supplier price are higher and higher, many request from usa, australia an Europe but the price for pinball here is higher to ;)

an don't forget EURO price, last summer, i buy euro at 1,24$ an now euro is 1,35$ !!!!!
 

DRANO

Super Member
Nov 15, 2012
2,827
519
113
Mississauga
Gerry said:
DRANO said:
Sadly, Gerard's prices are getting higher and higher

it's not my price, it's supplier price are higher and higher, many request from usa, australia an Europe but the price for pinball here is higher to ;)

Sorry, yes... The supplier's price. But, unfortunately, the end result is the same :(

Hopefully we can keep inflation under control and still continue to have this resource. I wonder if there is any opportunity to negotiate better rates on larger shipments?
 

jooky

Member
Nov 18, 2012
105
2
18
Mississauga, ON
I got a TZ and I gotta say its been about what I expected and I'm pretty happy. Very dirty, broken plastics, targets pretty smashed, cab is faded, lockdown bar is loose and 2 lingering issues have yet to be fixed - broken clock and left magnet opto switch have to be fixed before I'm credit dot free. But overall everything else is working. Playfield is in great condition and should clean up nicely. I might put up some more detail in a separate thread later on, been pretty busy.
 

Grauwulf

Member
Nov 14, 2012
284
3
18
Corunna, Ont
I got in on the first container, Gerry is very easy to deal with and everything went very smoothly. Other than having some serious issues with my truck on the run down to Quebec and back, but that's another story.

As for my machines, the RFM was a little worse than I was expecting, but the Shadow ended up being better, so overall I was happy. I finally have them set up and will soon hopefully have them shopped and working 100%.
 

Mindstorm88

New Member
Dec 17, 2012
21
1
3
Varennes,Qc
Bought 2 games in august container and 2 in the last one !!! Got exactely as expected !!! no hack on the electronic a lot of work on the Aesthetic :D

The worst part is the damages to the TFTC during transportation !! :evil: But repairable $$ !!!

on the funny side , TFTC is a re-re-import !! it was in Japan before Italia !!!

All in all Good price for games i wanted !!!

BTW still LF for a plastic for my TZ :D
 

Hammerhead

Well-Known Member
Nov 16, 2012
1,640
176
63
Melbourne
PIcked up a RS and RFM in the December container. Both machines are dirty with damaged artwork and bad legs. Gerry was great to work with, and it helped to have Devilishbob there during pick-up for the French-English translations! :D

Been working mostly on the RS so far. Very dirty, both heads needed serious work, burnt GI connectors, wrong solenoids, very dirty but so far nothing that has been too serious. Did I say dirty? A little more work than I was expecting, so I will likely have more $ into it than I was counting on when all is said and done. It's been a learning experience for me, but in a good way.

RFM has a bad monitor, but otherwise looks in pretty decent shape so far. Haven't dug into it too deep yet.

Overall I would do it again, and keep an eye out for specific issues knowing what I know now.
 

pinballhead

New Member
Nov 14, 2012
4
0
1
brantford
I've been quiet and just keeping to myself till now. Ok, here we go. Bought 2 pins off the Nov/Dec shipment. First of all, Gerry was straight up and great to deal with (wish my french was better). Both my pins were really dirty and needed a complete shopout. Small problems but both machines booted and worked without errors. But as others have mentioned and forewarned these are potential projects and that is the risk going in. I must admit if you want to learn about pins real fast and since I'm fairly new it may not be for someone on their first pin purchase. I have tried to restore both completely and have had some good advice along the way ( thanks to mwong and Bally Boy for helping me out). Keep in mind parts for Bally/Williams are getting harder to find as the years go on. If asked if I'd do it again, "Yup" but probably not until I've bought something more local in HUO or mint condition or a New Stern. Now can someone tell me how to find I500 cabinet decals and yes Adriano if I ever sell it you will have first dibs :lol:
 

Aerostarz

Member
Nov 19, 2012
129
9
18
53
Whitby
www.flickr.com
My experience from the last shipment was as i had expected.
Gerry was good to work with, and Adriano was awesome with the shiping arrangements.

Dont expect to get good legs or any bolts for the games.. I simply bought a new set.

Party Zone
So far.. replace both dmd and sound cables, replace the RAM at u24 to fix lines in the DMD, several pins on the power board are soldered to 16 guage wiring as the connectors are burned or missing. Playfied is worn badly and ramps are cracked and repaired, needs a new coin door and lock down bar. But you know what? I can't complain as the price was right. its all repairable and i have the game running now :)

Demolition Man..
Game is in very good condition, dmd board has waves so i needs to fix the zeeeners, resistors and transistors are burned out above J605.
Cracked plastics and repair ramps... One item missing from the game Gerry is working on for me, so i am happy with this purchase also! :)
 

Menace

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Nov 14, 2012
2,440
255
83
Santiago de Aurora
Aerostarz said:
dmd board has waves so i needs to fix the zeeeners, resistors and transistors are burned out above J605.

Ummm, these "waves" that you're talking about... are you sure it's the zeeners you need to change? Usually when you get waves (rolling display) it's the electrolytics that are pooched.

D
 

Aerostarz

Member
Nov 19, 2012
129
9
18
53
Whitby
www.flickr.com
Menace said:
Aerostarz said:
dmd board has waves so i needs to fix the zeeeners, resistors and transistors are burned out above J605.

Ummm, these "waves" that you're talking about... are you sure it's the zeeners you need to change? Usually when you get waves (rolling display) it's the electrolytics that are pooched.

D
Are you refering to the 2x 220uF, 160V axial capacitors at C4 and C7? the blue ones looking like AA batteries?

if so, you may be right, but the parts i mentioned are charred remains..lol.. so i will tackle that first.
GPE is all out of the Williams WPC high voltage components kit.