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Victory Roll - bowling game

Dr. Spa

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Feb 27, 2016
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Victory Roll.

All I can find is it was made in 1945 and sold then for $325. Someone trying to pawn one off on me and I'm trying to find out anything about it. I can't even find a picture of one to know if this one is complete. Anyone know anything about these???

Thanks.
 

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Dr. Spa

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Feb 27, 2016
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Is it mechanical? I don't know. It looks like there's a backglass that could be backlite. All I can find on the net is an add from 1945 (without pictures), which is earlier than electrical skee ball, but maybe this one is newer?
 

DRANO

Super Member
Nov 15, 2012
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I found a reference in Billboard magazine from the 50's or something.
Seems it was sold alongside Skee-Ball machines for about $65, possibly a competitor?

That woodrail next to it looks cool.
Wat else does this guy have?

It's an early flipper machine by United. Here's a restored one from IPDB
Weird flipper location

image-6.jpg
 
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Dr. Spa

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Feb 27, 2016
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I found it in Billboard too, but it was 1945 - 1948, with NO pictures and $349.00 in earlier years, $65 in later years. I thought that was too early for an electric skee-ball (based on the backglass, it has to light up), but I just found out some of the older, pre-electric versions used large batteris to power them.

They're looking to get rid of the skee-ball AND the United woodrail, as a package deal. The pinball looks like a total write-off from some other pics I have. But they want me to make a "binding" offer, without actually seeing it, other than the pictures. Ain't gonna happen.
 

Dr. Spa

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Feb 27, 2016
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Weeeeeeellllll. Things got interesting. They're GIVING me both games (free).

The Wisconsin is pretty much trashed, as far as I can tell. No playfield glass, rusted everywhere. No keys so I can't see inside. The backglass though looks to be in reasonably good shape and should be salvageable. Just a few spots of ink missing, but they're solid colors and should be "patchable" with clear slide decals. The playfield "may" actually be able to be cleaned up...doesn't seem to have much of any wear, but it's FILTHY and the colors are very dull. We'll have to see.

So the skee-ball. I found, laying there on the other side of the dark dank basement, two, count em TWO wooden balls. The backglass is a TOTAL write off. I think there's enough there that I can have it reproduced...but I'm scared of the cost (it is though smaller than a pinball backglass). It is an electrical machine. Lights, contacts, lots of the same stuff as in a pinball machine. It's probably only 6' - 6-1/2' long...but weighs a ton. It's got some rubberized mat on the "field", fairly trashed of course, the netting has mostly rotted away, but the wooden aspect seems to be quite sound and all the electrical mechanicals turn or move freely, as they should. Lots of rat dropping, but nothing looks chewed on or through.

I'm picking them up tomorrow afternoon. If anyone's interested I can post decent pics.

Anyone have any good advise on how to drill out the locks, without causing additional damage?
 

Dr. Spa

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Feb 27, 2016
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And sold the pinball to a museum...$100.

So the Skee Ball, it's only 7' long and just over 2' wide.Looks like the manufacturer was Pan Coast Amusement Co. N.Y.C. Only thing I can find on them is they made a shoe shinning machine. Found a couple of coins under the coin box.

IMG_20160325_161657_822.jpg coins.jpg
 

Menace

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Nov 14, 2012
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That's pretty cool. Here's hoping you're able to get this thing back up and running, certainly a cool piece of history.

D
 

Dr. Spa

New Member
Feb 27, 2016
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I will. But, as I dig into it, and now pretty much understand the workings of it, things start to get a bit complicated.

Turns out, the train transformer powers the 4 magnetic coils. I tried momentarily powering each of the coils, and all 4 are shot....and they're SEVENTY years old. I don't even know if I can get replacements anymore (and there's NO markings on them).

So big question. I have a PILE of pinball machine parts and know I can retrofit the skee ball with them, and get it working as "good as new". I can replace the power supply (multi voltage transformer) with one from a pinball and it'll supply power to the lights and coils no problem. Replacing the coils will be "interesting" as two of them don't have plungers (just magnetic coils that "attract" a bar), and I'd have to retrofit coils with plunger into it. The other two, while they do have plungers, are such a different size, they'll be a job as well. Question is, would doing so vastly devalue the Skee Ball machine?

And, if I'm doing all this, and remember I have to make a reproduction backglass, I could also change out all the light socket and lights to LED's. (I'm not sure the pinball transformer will power the current light bulbs, labeled 6-8v)
 

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Dr. Spa

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Feb 27, 2016
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It's Skee Ball. What's not to like :rolleyes:

My Girlfriend used to think I was waisting my time with all the pinball machines. She's not all that fond of them. But Skee-Ball? She called me at 6:30 this morning asking if she could bring me coffee to get me going on the Skee Ball.
 
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stiffler4444

Active Member
Nov 20, 2012
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I freaking love skee ball. Scored a perfect game at the local fair in Norfolk County back in the day. Won a giant stuffed carrot. Went really well with the small stuffed carrots I'd been winning all week. The carny cut me off at that point. Good times......

Good luck with this!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Dr. Spa

New Member
Feb 27, 2016
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Any opinions? The top is the original glass, the bottom the art work for a reproduction.
 

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