50s Narita photos and info

[sharmoni]

Ok, I'm going to overload you with information and photos here, since the Narita is such an unusual pachinko. I don't know the date, but my guess would be late 50s, based on the fact that the tulip has a patent number on it and that's when they were first introduced. The tulip mechanism is the same as other tulips from later years, so it's possible Narita had the original patent.

Other than a few design quirks on the front, the most unusual aspect is the mechanics. On a first glance at the back of the machine it looks as though the top half is missing, but it's just very compact.

This particular machine is missing a few pieces, but is still functional (at least, after I hacked together a couple of fixes). As with many of the vintage pachinkos, a previous owner had managed to completely disable the normal functioning of the levers, tulip, etc..

I'm going to split this thread into a couple of threads so I can keep the photos with my descriptions.

[Moparformances]

that is a cool machine

like i said once u posted pic i wish i would have bid

nice buy

congrats to u

[sharmoni]

Before I show you the details of the back mechanism, I'll point out the three unusual features on the front.

First, Narita bypassed the usual ball feed hole on the right side so players could load with their left hand and keep their right hand on the shooting lever. They did this by routing balls through a new hole in the door to drop right in front of the shooter. They covered the right side hole with a white plastic plate. This looks like a transitional development since the standard ramp is still in place (or it was a stock part that was cheaper to use than manufacturing a custom part).

The second feature is the chrome pocket that catches the balls rolling backwards down the rails and dumps them into the payout tray for another chance to shoot. This appears on many later pachinkos in different forms. Because it's made with a 50s era stock chrome pocket (my Misono and Nishijins all have the same style), it looks like another Narita innovation and may have been the first design for catching back-rolling balls.

The third and most eye-catching feature of Narita machines is the wide ball return slot at the base of the rail. This is their signature visual style and it shows the cleverness of the designers in the way it works with the pachinko's back mechanism.

The rail flattens out and runs across the front of a long ball return slot. Any ball missing the three bottom pockets will roll through metal flaps into the tray at the back of the machine. Any ball fall in one of the three pockets in front of the return slot will be channeled over the top of the rail and then dropped down through a hole in the backboard to the jackpot collection ramp.

[sharmoni]

Once you look at the backside you will see how simple the ball path is. First you can see that all the drop chutes—with one exception—are carved into the backboard, and all of them exit in a row into the jackpot ramp. There is a bypass tube for balls coming out of the center ring (which also appears to be a stock piece similar to what my other 50s machines have) which seems to have the function of slowing the balls down as well as angling them so they hit the tulip trigger then roll off down the hole. (The front of the machine has a misleading pocket at the top center that only channels balls straight down into the pocket that leads into the center ring.)

When you look at the back mechanism, it is neatly contained in a windowed box. The plastic rail across the top covers the jackpot ramp, forcing the lost balls to roll directly across and into the cutaway side of the ball hopper. If the hopper becomes full the plastic ramp has a slope and a center groove to help direct the excess balls to the left side dump chute (which is just a walled section of the box) and down through the curved chute below the box into a collection tray.

The jackpot mechanism is a truncated version of the classic double row tilt tray. There is no doubled-back ramp from the hopper. When the jackpot ball drops (1) it kicks up the weighted release lever (2) so the jackpot tray tilts and drops the balls onto the ramp below, where they roll to the payout tray. Like my early 60s Nishijin A, the winning ball is dropped along with the two rows of 7 to make a 15 ball win (the traditional number). If the tray feeding into the tilt tray is empty, the latches (4) will lock the tray from dropping the winning balls. That's it—the whole pachinko mechanism reduced to a 7 x 15 inch box.

[sharmoni]

Now on to the missing pieces and my hacks. I'm lucky that the missing or broken parts are not crucial, though I'm sure I would get less jams if I had the original rocker arm mechanism. The most important broken piece is the top plastic covering to the mechanism box. The left end is missing which means that any overflow balls rolling down the ramp end up falling into the rocker arm and triggering a jackpot. I was able to cover the hole with a bit of plastic to keep the balls out, so that is no longer a problem.

You can see in the close-up photo the two levers for releasing balls. The first wire (1) slides left which, by changing its angle (green line), pulls down the ramp that usually blocks the balls in the jackpot tilt tray so it releases them into the hole in the box wall, and then down and out the curved chute. The second wire (2a) pushes up the tilting ramp which rolls the balls into the payout tray. Usually this ramp tilts from the weight of the balls and pushes up on the long wire (2b) to kick the rocker arm up, so no balls drop into the jackpot chute. So by the chain of the two wires you should be able to knock up the rocker arm.

I spent all day trying to find a way to position the rocker arm so it would do this and had to give it up. I've decided that it's probably not the original part. I think the rocker arm should be a metal tilting box with a ball inside it that rolls back and forth, like I have on my other 50s pachinkos. I think the one in the other Narita on the forum is the correct design, but I might have trouble constructing one that fits just right. If the owner of the other Narita can get me measurements, I may give it a try.

There was only one other neccessary piece missing, and that was the part that compresses the balls in the ramps that feed into the jackpot tilt tray so they don't stack up and get jammed. You can see by the rust where it used to be, so I cut a section of one of my tupperware "ball trays" that worked perfectly.

There's always an element of risk buying very old pachinkos, but I think I did ok since I'm at least able to play it. And the playfield is spotless, so once the metal is shined up, it should look very nice.

[Moparformances]

that is a slick machine

nice

i'm jealous
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verry nice post and it make great sense

[JACKSJE4]

That is a very cool and interesting machine, Sharmoni, and a great narrative of how it works. Thanks so much for taking the time to post the information and photos! I can't wait to see it in person!

Jeff

[wrkey]

That is such a cool machine! Your efforts to create the descriptions and photos are much appreciated!

[DrDark]

Wow Sharmoni great writeup on a unique machine.
THANKS!

[outdoorenth]

Wow, what great descriptions and photos of a very interesting vintage machine. Very compact back indeed. Thank you for sharing.

[Eddie]

Great review ! I love that machine very very nice.

[truell]

Wow, what a nice machine that is - this one looks definitely unique, and beautiful, and complete, and makes me jealous! ;-)

I wonder what the sign on the right side of the frame reads: DaiMaru Bowling, the last two kanji I can't read, perhaps a city name?

Thanks for the interesting review.

[mudfud]

hey sharmoni.

I was thinking about this machine and realized that a nishijin A, without the upper refill tray is the same idea... a compact mechanism, with all the workings below the missed ball outflow. built in recirculation, and reliable seesaw for jackpots.

is there much different in the narita than that?

[sharmoni]

You're correct, it's very much like a Nishinjin A, just a bit more compact. It has no upper ball hopper. There is no long lever from the jackpot ball channel to the payout tilt tray and no need for a jackpot ball return ramp, since the winning ball drops through the payout tilt tray. It has only one bell and no lights. And since all of its pockets except one are at the bottom it has the bare minimum of ball ramps and channels. I like it because it illustrates the simplicity of the original pachinko mechanisms by reducing all the mechanics to the smallest functioning pieces connected in the most efficient way.