Newest Acquisition: Allwin Four Square

[JACKSJE4]

After waiting months for the weather to cooperate, I was FINALLY able to make the trip up into the Colorado Rocky Mountains to inspect and barter for the Four Square Allwin that I heard about from a friend.

The drive was over 300 miles round trip (half of that on windy and icy mountain roads), and it took a little over three hours each direction. There was still a lot of snow and ice up in the higher altitiudes, but the roads thankfully were passable enough for our front wheel drive minivan.

After making the long drive and then finding the antique shop after the GPS led us on a wild goose chase, I was relieved to see that the Allwin was in fair shape and 98% complete. The shop keeper said it didn't work at all, but after dropping in a few of the coins that Derek1960 sent, I was able to show them the two of the four games worked.

The Four Square is configured with two Fivewins, an Elevenses, and a Pilwin (clown theme). The Elevenses and one of the Fivewins work, but the other two are missing parts that I will need to find through the UK's Penny Arcade website and forum. As you will see in the photos, the cells on all four of the games need to be replaced, as they look like they have all been exposed to direct sunlight for a long period of time. The Pilwin is faded to the point that all of the color is gone, and the other three are cracked and the color strips have shrunk and separated. Based on the work I have seen others here do with cell replacements on vintage pachis, I am confident that I can replace these in the same manner.

Mechanically, the Pilwin is missing a key part of the coin mechanism that accumulates coins to pay out the winnings (see photo), and one of the Fivewins is missing the coin payout cup. Everything else seems to be present and accounted for. I probably could switch parts between the machines to get three working now, then search for the missing parts later. There is also a broken hinge on one of the games, but it looks like it can be easily repaired.

As for the "Castle" style cabinet, there are a few bumps and bruises on the corners and edges, but overall it is in pretty good shape for it's age!

The Allwin was listed for $1,050 USD and has been sitting in this remote antique shop for more than five years. After telling them that fully restored Four Square's sell for that same amount on ebay and pointing out how much work it needed just to get all four games in working condition, as well as the fact that it was missing pieces that are no longer manufactured or available, I made them a low-ball offer, reminding them that it has been sitting there for five years without a sale. They said the owner of the shop never discounted any merchandise more than 10% of list price, so I gave them my contact information and started to leave the shop. "Wait! Let me call the owner and see what she says" the shop keeper called out.

I waited for 10 minutes and the shop keeper came back and said: "SOLD!"

How much did I pay, you ask??

Spoiler

$700 USD, or just $175 per game

[emmadog]

Beautiful!! One if the coolest machines yet!

[JACKSJE4]

They also had this cool 1920's slot machine for sale. It was made by the Mills Company in Chicago and works perfectly. Takes dimes.

Thought I would post here in case anyone was interested. Asking price is $3,000, but as I learned today prices may be negotiable.

[Lt Teddy]

Congratulations on your purchase. I know that you are going to restore them and am looking forward to seeing it when it is done. I wonder if anyone knew how it got here or any background. Thank you and

[DefaultGen]

Wow, that looks fantastic. I can't wait to see it shopped and working.

[luckydog]

back in the 60's or 70's i saw some magazine ads selling containers of old furnishings from Britain.

the ads just stated a container full of antique items beds, dressers, tables, lamps, end tables and many other items for a fixed price shipped to your door.

it was all pot luck on what you got, maybe this came over in one of those lots

[JACKSJE4]

I must make a correction. The Four Square does not have an Elevenses game as I thought. According to what I researched, most of the Four Squares came with an Elevenses, a Pilwin and two Fivewins.

The one pictured below is a Ten Cup.

From Melvyn Wright's website:


TENCUP (1956)
The Tencup allwin had ten individual cups positioned in the centre of the playfield, rather than in a straight line. This arrangement provided more suspense, due to the ball gradually trickling down the playfield and teetering on the edges of the cups.
The payout of the Tencup could be adjusted so that the top row of cups paid out extra coins, with the top left cup awarding the biggest payout.

[outdoorenth]

Congratulations!

[jmaclerran]

Very Interesting Machine. Looking forward to hearing more about it.

[Moparformances]

that is an amazing pice of arcade history.. to have the 4 machines still case is soo cool... having one machine is neat but 4 in a case like tha is cool.. and im sorry to say one of thouse 6 pk cases would just be to big...

the 4 pk is awesome...

do u know what kind of stand i would originaly have had?? can u make one or know someone that can recreate ya something that will do it justice?? i doubt the barrel is original

nice machine X

[JACKSJE4]

do u know what kind of stand i would originaly have had?? can u make one or know someone that can recreate ya something that will do it justice?? i doubt the barrel is original

I have only seen one picture of a Four Square with a stand (below). It seems like they are pretty rare to find, as most of the Four Square's are sold without.

I would think I could build one just like it, but matching the crackle finish might be a challenge.

I'm going to focus on getting the machines restored first. Maybe I will work on a stand later in the year.

Jeff

[Moparformances]

simple looking box should be perty easy..

now the finish thats another ting all together

good luck to ya.. Keep us posted and pictured

[teachermaniac]

Good find!

I'd love to come across one of these myself. Awesome bit of history and even better when they work.

Gratz!

[MrGneiss]

Very cool!!

[hanabi]

Well done Jeff!!

You don't need me to tell you just how much of a bargain you got with those

I look forward to seeing the restoration

[pinball wizard]

awesome ,can't wait to see the restoration !

[digital1]

Amazing find and deal!

Are you going to restore back to original look? That will be a fun project. I can't wait to see more of it. Keep sending pictures.

[JACKSJE4]

Thought I would post an update!

Before I dive into restoring this wonderful machine, I decided to do a little research on it first. Since I am a purist, I want to return as much of it as possible to original condition. There are missing parts on two of the machines and I am trying to decide whether I should create new parts, or take my time and try to find parts from other enthusiast across the pond. I also need to replace the cells on three of the games, as they are totally sun damaged and beyond repair.

As I was doing my research, I received a PM from Hanabi with an ebay link she came across. There was a person selling original back flashes (a.k.a. "cell" in the Pachi world) for machines manufactured by Bryan's Works in London - the same company that built my Four Square. The company went out of business around 1997, and the gent selling the back flashes says he bought the remaining supply as the company liquidated (he posted a pic of the original shipping label to prove it).

Anyway, I sent him an email right away telling him what I bought and asking him if he had enough back flashes so that I could restore my Allwins with factory original art. I received the following response:

Hi Jeff
I am getting low on my flashes but have enough to cover your machine. I could possibly ship to the United States but i would have no idea how much this would cost. I will try and find out next time i go to the post office. Just curious what fronts are in your Four Square. I can date this for you and tell you what machine fronts the machine was made with. Over the years operators would swap them round from other machines. I would need the serial number that is stamped on the lower casting - each casting should have the same number. If you dont want to know its no problem.
Kind Regards
Paul

So I immediately found the serial numbers on all four games/panels. Three had the same number - 136. The fourth panel had the number 138. I sent him the info and he researched the history of the Four Square. He responded back:

Hi Jeff
Sorry i have taken so long to reply to you with the information. Your 4 square number 136 was sold to Samson novelty company in London. This is a big distribution company. The date your machine was sold to them was 27 July 1955. The panels in the machine are, or should be Elevenses, Fivewin, Tencup and Pilwin. The panel number 138 came from a machine sold to the same company on the 5 September 1955 with the same panels as your machine. Lucky for you is if you wanted to put your machine back to original you just need an Elevenses panel. That is the most common machine around and they come up on e-bay on a regular basis.

I hope this info is of help to you. If you require any more help its no
problem.

Kind Regards
Paul

I found several Bryan's Elevenses machines listed on ebay UK and sent the sellers an email asking them to let me know the serial number on their machines, but I haven't heard back yet. Wouldn't it be cool if I could find #136 and put it back in its original cabinet?

Anyway, we are working on the price and shipping for the three original back flashes I need to repair three of the games. He is also helping me to try and locate the parts I need to replace the missing coin mechanism on the Pilwin.

Interesting stuff!! Thought I would share with those who are members of the Allwin club.

More updates to come...

Jeff

[hanabi]

Wow Jeff that is fantastic!!

How amazing that your machines can be traced to an exact date of supply!!

Good Luck with the restoration, I will also keep an eye out for Elevenses for you, remember to search for "bryans" as well as "allwins"

[emmadog]

Thanks for posting that info. The history and particulars of a given machine are just as fascinating as the machine itself. Especially in your case with such an interesting and unique find. We need a contact like that in Japan.