Gasp! I pulled 5 nails on my new Thunderbirds!

[lemoncurry]

I am new to Pachinko. I am a Pinball player from way back (my PT Cruiser's plates even say PINBALL) and I always wondered whether Pachinko would hold any charm for me, so I told the wife I wanted a Thunderbirds for Fathers Day. Compared to the cost of a Pin, I figured it was worth just buying one to see.

So, the first thing I realized is that the seller on eBay we wound up with doesn't include a back, a tray, or even legs. Did come with 1000 balls at least.

Couldn't complain too much, given the price. (Just shipping a Pin would cost more than the Pachinko did, shipped!) I found a plastic casserole dish that works well enough for now... But I needed to move the transformer out of the way from the silly place they mounted it...

And it seems stable enough just sitting in its frame for the time being. I also gather that the backs are usually additional.

So, on to the playing... MAN, IS THAT THING LOUD! I can't even play it when my wife is home. I have found the info here about cotton balls and add-on controls, thanks all for the tips! I have some work to do!

I was a bit chagrined to find out about all the horsing around with the balls that you have to do behind the machine. The sellers certainly don't make a point of letting you know that balls are going to be falling out the back, and you will have to keep moving them up to the top. Of course, once you're familiar with it, it's easy to see that it could hardly be otherwise, but still. I can picture the guys running around behind the walls in the Japanese parlors, refilling as needed!

But my main reason for posting is to find out if I am some kind of freak for doing what I did to make things happen faster during play: I pulled the four nails that were preventing balls from ever entering the lower four pockets, and also the one that kept most balls from entering the ramp that leads to the area in front of the video screen.

(This was before I found this site and learned about the more subtle method of simply bending the nails... Forgive me, I didn't know what I was doin'!)

So, things certainly happen a lot faster now! I find it a lot more enjoyable, although I am anything but a sophisticated player, and I never envisioned myself playing it for hours on end like I can with Pinball...

I was just kinda bored, before I did it it just seemed like a noisy slot machine that only let you spin the reels like once a minute. Now it's non-stop action!

Too easy? Perhaps, probably even. But I do like it a lot better this way.

So, you purists, go ahead and let me have it if you want! You seem like a friendly bunch, so hopefully you won't be too hard on me!

[Bencrest]

Interesting idea, but you'll have to refill the hopper loads

I'm guessing the nails can be knocked back into the cell board if necessary?

I'd consider it on LOTR because it's a very flat machine most of the time and anything to increase the speed of play would be a bonus

[spikescot2005]

Well each to there own and if it makes you happy who are we to grumble.

Enyoy oh and im getting Thunderbirds on monday can't wait

[Tulsa]

Welcome and nice first post.

I would put the nails back and just bend them. You'll get mostly the same effect and it's not heresy, it's in your home, enjoy it however you can.

I would at the very least get some feet for the thing. Simply two wood slats 1/2 inch thick x 3 inches wide and about 9 inches to a foot long screwed to the bottom at each end before that thing falls on you.

1000 balls is going to work you to death, especially once you reach a fever round. If you're going to keep it "parlor ready", a term we use to describe it's stock condition then consider purchasing about 1500 more balls. This will mean a lot less work.

We also have cyclic and semi-cyclic. These are two modifications you can do to channel the balls around. Cyclic merely channels all the balls, winning, which come back to the shooter tray naturally and spent balls that fall into the bottom hole of the pachinko and are the ones that fall out the back naturally, all into the shooter tray. You don't need nearly as many balls this way, about 100 would work and it's constantly recycling them for you. Some people don't care for this method as there's no real way to judge how much your winning or losing.

Then you have semi cyclic which channel the spent balls into bottom front tray. Here you merely save yourself from having to reach around the back but the spent balls are kept separate from the winning balls. Doing a search for cyclic will bring up some interesting posts on the subject.

[Tony Junior]

Welcome to PachiTalk, lemoncurry!

Hey, if removing those nails make the machine more enjoyable for you, then go for it. Who are we to tell you what to do with your machine?

You got it to enjoy, so do it how you want!

[fhagar]

Welcome to Pachitalk lemoncurry. I like to try every different type of pachislo or pachinko and my favorite is always the one I'm currently playing. It's a great hobby and you've found the best site to increase it's enjoyment.

[drcrippen324]

Welcome to the funny farm we call pachitalk where fun is the main part of the daily diet along with a side order of info on machanics electronics and a pudding of laughs with fellow people intrested in the same things

[H20Dreams]

Welcome to pachitalk!!!

There are some nice cabinets that you can mount you pachinko to that will take most of the work out of reloading. All the balls are directed back to the front with easy access for reloading.


http://www.pachinkocabinets.net/

[arbycoffee]

W E L C O M E

You are a member of a new nation, Pachination

The concept of PachiTalk was to bring together anyone and everyone who has a passion for these amazing Japanese creations. Once you stepped through the doors at PachiTalk.com, you become part of the Pachination.
You are no longer Japanese, American, English, Italian, German, etc. (If I missed you I am sorry). You are now considered a Pachinational, put that on an application! We are all one big entity amongst ourselves and our Pachis. Segregation is not our philosophy and the seperating of diffent cultures will not happen, we are one, under the Pachi Flag.

We are the United Nations of Pachiland....

[slotter]

WELCOME!

[d mowery]

Nice to have ya abord this crazy ship and a few sane crewman , but fer the life of me I can't rekeleck who they may be, Anyway welcome

[Sid]

A big Welcome to You Lemoncurry!!

[johntofva]

Welcome to Pachitalk...............Can you send your home address so we can arrange for a lynching party to drop by............LOL.

[Thomas P.]

welcome Lemoncurry ! I cant add anything to whats allready been said above.

[Youngjedi]

Check out my Journal, I put up plans for a wall mount cabinet that is easy to reload, and cuts the noise down about 75%.

http://www.pachitalk.com/forums/jour...owjournal&j=12

[MrGneiss]

WELCOME!!!

[lemoncurry]

Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone!

I will look into buying a cabinet and some more balls.

I haven't decided whether to replace and bend the nails, but it does look like they'd go back in easily enough.

In case it's new information, since yanking nails seems quite uncommon: the nails themselves turned out to be the kind with a threaded point.

I am also watching the Archimedes screw thread, in case that leads anywhere! (I have a Space Warp roller coaster toy that uses one to lift ball bearings, but it'd never handle the quantity we're talking!)

I look forward to enjoying my new citizenship in the Pachination!

[drcrippen324]

hey have ypu seen some of the motors we been talking about to run the screw with i think with some of those a small screw like your rollercoaster would run a hole parlour

[dattia]