Addams Family Pinball Advice Needed

[kkentert]

Hey guys-

So I'm looking at an Addams Family pin for $1,900 - but there are a few problems with it and I want to see if it's worth it.

Here are the issues -
•Backglass needs new translite artwork
•One slingshot coil needs to be remounted
•One magnet is missing (I think it's the "power" magnet?)
•Could use a "clippy" protector near the chair- whatever that is.
•The playfield has some wear around the mansion
•The playfield has some magnet burns
•The ramp is broken - was repaired with superglue and works, but should be replaced at some point.
•cabinet is in good shape, but he's including new side-art.

It IS just about playable...only needs a little money to get running, and then I was thinking I could do repairs slowly as I got more money. I also want to add all the modification toys. (uncle fester, polar bear, etc)

I know they go for around $3500 in decent condition, and it looks like it'll cost around $1200 to get it up to perfect (assuming I can get a playfield for a reasonable price..I just saw one for $1200!!! I must be able to get one cheaper...shouldn't I?

Anyway, any input? The only 3 I think I'd possibly want more would be Twilight zone, Monster Party, and Family Guy. I think my odds of finding them at a price I'll pay are low. Am I wrong, should I hold out? Should I wait and see if i can get a Adams Family in better condition for $2500?

Thanks in advance!

[luckydog]

the cheapest one listed here is $2,800.00

Mr. Pinball Classifieds: Pinball Machines For Sale: All Entries

[pinball wizard]

i think that is fair,by what condition you say it's in.but if you buy it,get it running 100 % and play it a while to see if you want to keep it before you spend any more money on it.if you want to sell it at that point,you should be able to make a profit.

[kkentert]

That's not a bad idea...I have to wonder how easy it is to sell pins these days though. I would HAVE to get the backglass artwork though...I can't have it be in my club and look totally ghetto.

So I guess I'll go and pick it up on Monday!!! (as long as I get there and it looks good)

i think that is fair,by what condition you say it's in.but if you buy it,get it running 100 % and play it a while to see if you want to keep it before you spend any more money on it.if you want to sell it at that point,you should be able to make a profit.

[new in town]

ADDAMS FAMILY | Marco Specialties

Ersatzteile he!

addams family pinball translite, great deals on Collectibles on eBay!

Just a few I found. Parts are out there. You just have to do some Digging.

[DugFreez]

I don't understand why it's so hard to find a The Addams Family pin for a more reasonable prices. I rarely see one listed locally under $3000. I know it's a great pin and was well received, but it also had the largest run of any pinball machine ever (20,000+).

You would think that since they made so many they would be a lot easier to find one for a reasonable price. The good news about them being so common is that replacement parts "should" be easy to find. I say "should" because I have never looked, but I would think with so many machines out there...there would be a demand for parts.

Another strange thing about it being the most produced pin is I have only seen one of these machine in my entire life. I have been going to local pin collectors houses that past couple of months and none of them have a TAF machine. They all seem to have Twilight Zones and Fun Houses...but no TAFs to be seen.

PS a "Cliffy" protector is a metal bracket that goes around a scoop or kickout hole that covers up any wear around the hole and protects it from further wear. Named after the maker of these brackets "Cliffy".

[MrGneiss]

I've also always wondered the same thing about it being the most produced and price and stuff etc...

[drcrippen324]

its the same as a pachinko with a big run but well recived look at starwars huge huge run of them but they aint forsale all the time and they realy arnt cheap to buy they seem to have held a good price

as for the pin hmmm magnet burn on the play field means theres the common problem f the power magnet over heating or from the sounds of things burnt out whe nyuo replace it put a thermo cut of on it highly recomended the burn is caused by it not always switching off and there for getting hot distroying it and the playfield

the ware around the chair is comon
the ramp isnt cheap and a spare playfield is so expensive because if you have a adams family you dont part it out as yo ucan see even in this state its worth seriouse money

the hardest is gonna be an origonal translight and expect to pay $70-$90 for a remake

the slingshot coil isnt a hastle and the cab in good condition is a pluss point

on a personal note though adams family pin is greatly over rated just due to its iconic status ie the bigest ever prduction run of a pin

i would hold out and go for family guy iv playd a tornament on adams family twilight zone and family guy along with alot of other machines and to be honist adams family dosent have the keeping power that the other 2 do ie you actualy get bord of playing after about 15 mins and yup it was one of those machines that i could walk up to having never played befor and make a set of 3 balls last 20 mins

family guy is a little harder to play and alot better features wise and comady value ad twilight zone will kick your a$$ if you take your eyes away for a split second

the harder the machine to play the better for home use it stops yo ugetting bord of it

[kkentert]

I don't understand why it's so hard to find a The Addams Family pin for a more reasonable prices. I rarely see one listed locally under $3000. I know it's a great pin and was well received, but it also had the largest run of any pinball machine ever (20,000+).

You would think that since they made so many they would be a lot easier to find one for a reasonable price.

I did read an "answer" to that last night.

Allegedly, it's one of the best selling "producing" machines there is, so people who have them and put them in bowling alleys, etc don't give them up often. They say even YEARS later, it still makes more money than any other pin or arcade game...

That sad, I've seen quite a few for sale, just always priced high.

[kkentert]

its the same as a pachinko with a big run but well recived look at starwars huge huge run of them but they aint forsale all the time and they realy arnt cheap to buy they seem to have held a good price

as for the pin hmmm magnet burn on the play field means theres the common problem f the power magnet over heating or from the sounds of things burnt out whe nyuo replace it put a thermo cut of on it highly recomended the burn is caused by it not always switching off and there for getting hot distroying it and the playfield

the ware around the chair is comon
the ramp isnt cheap and a spare playfield is so expensive because if you have a adams family you dont part it out as yo ucan see even in this state its worth seriouse money

the hardest is gonna be an origonal translight and expect to pay $70-$90 for a remake

the slingshot coil isnt a hastle and the cab in good condition is a pluss point

on a personal note though adams family pin is greatly over rated just due to its iconic status ie the bigest ever prduction run of a pin

i would hold out and go for family guy iv playd a tornament on adams family twilight zone and family guy along with alot of other machines and to be honist adams family dosent have the keeping power that the other 2 do ie you actualy get bord of playing after about 15 mins and yup it was one of those machines that i could walk up to having never played befor and make a set of 3 balls last 20 mins

family guy is a little harder to play and alot better features wise and comady value ad twilight zone will kick your a$$ if you take your eyes away for a split second

the harder the machine to play the better for home use it stops yo ugetting bord of it

What do you think of Fun House? I may see fi I can find one of them. Monster Bash looks great, but seems like it's crazy expensive.

If I could get a family guy locally for $2,500-$3,000, I would get it, btu I don't think I can spend any more than that. I'm glad you told me the holding strength isn't great.

[daverob]

Always base your pin buying decisions on your own likes and dislikes, preferably get yourself along to a pinball show and try out as many machines as you can. You can ask a dozen players their opinion of pretty much any machine, and you'll get a whole spectrum of opinions. For each of the most popular pins out there, I can personally name several collectors who think the game is overrated.

I'm a big fan of Addams Family, and think it's a great machine as part of a collection, I'm always happy to come back to it and play a few dozen games. But if it was the only game I had, the high resale value and the fact that it could easily be replaced (as there's so many of them they're always coming up for sale) could tempt me to sell it and buy something different.

With my operators hat on, I'd say it was one of the greatest pinball machines of all time, you can buy one now and put it on site, and it will earn as much as a new Stern, without having to worry about losing money on the resale value when it becomes time to sell it on. The same can be said about the value to home buyers as well, if you're careful when buying then you shouldn't lose money when it comes time to sell an Addams Family.

Myself, I'm not selling my old route Addams Family, it's getting a full restoration and will be retired into my private collection, where it will get played often. It is one of the games that will only leave my collection via my last will and testament (the others being Elvira & the Party Monsters and Lord of the Rings).

Personally I'd put Twilight Zone in the overrated category. It's a good game and I'll probably set mine up and play it a few times a year, but the only real reason I'm keeping it is it's probably the last one in existence that hasn't had happy meal toys glued all over the playfield, and someone's got to be the one to keep an original unmodified one.

Funhouse is a good game as well, I usually enjoy playing it. Never owned one, so can't comment on long term desirability, but I'd be happy to add one to the collection and find out, same with Family Guy. Monster Bash I'm not sure on, I've enjoyed playing it at shows, but nothing's ever convinced me that it's worth spending the kind of money the rest of the market seems to think is reasonable for them.

[kkentert]

OK- drcrippen324 scrared me off a bit with the getting bored thing...but I think I still may go for it. I'm going to go play it for 20 minute or so tomorrow night. I found a translite - so I'm good there, but playfields look like they could be hard to find, and cost a FORTUNE. BUT- Halloween is my high holy day, and having an elvira, I feel like it will "fit the theme." That said, I have no theme with the pachis...

I just hope I don't end up finding a TZ 4 days after I buy this thing and have it cost a couple hundred less. But I'm pretty darn certain that won't happen.

Thanks to everyone for their input!

[Frank A]

The price guide shows it at $ 3,350.

[rubberratt]

TZ is Awsome(awesome spoken in shrill falsetto voice)
______________________________________________________
I happen to love TZ.

The game rules are a little complex, but I do love it. Ans FWIW Dave... I don't have any crud glued to mine
______________________________________________________
I happen to love TZ.

The game rules are a little complex, but I do love it. Ans FWIW Dave... I don't have any crud glued to mine

PS - I have a sample machine with "production" hole/third magnet, and I love when all 3 balls get trapped and them come down together.

LOL - is makes for a quick "drain" and on to the next ball
______________________________________________________
I happen to love TZ.

The game rules are a little complex, but I do love it. And FWIW Dave... I don't have any crud glued to mine

PS - I have a sample machine with "production" hole/third magnet, and I love when all 3 balls get trapped and them come down together.

LOL - is makes for a quick "drain" and on to the next ball

PSS - is this like Dejavu to anyone: or is it just me (me me me)

[luckydog]

local craigs list

The Adams Family Pin Ball Machine

[kkentert]

So I saw it tonight, and it's pretty darn dirty. The playfield "burns" are actaully not that bad. It's just a kind of cracked appearance. not something that would bother me.

But it looked like it had been and "on location" machine. I wish I'd have taken my camera to post pics. The side were in good condition, and they said they'd clean it up for me. So I'll have to see how it looks next time I go back.

NOW GET THIS!!!

He told me last weekend, there was a garage sale in Kansas City where somone sold their Medivial Madness for $1000!!! I've been scouring CL for weeks and somehow missed it. I wanted to throw up when he told me! And it was from a private family who had it in their basement in great shape! :-(

[luckydog]

when i use pinball or pachinko in local craigslist it will pull up garage sales with them for sale
______________________________________________________
when i use pinball or pachinko in local craigslist search, it will pull up garage sales with them for sale

[drcrippen324]

cleaning is never a problem time consuming but never a problem just parts are hard some times

the guy who sold me my jurasic park thought it was a gonner and since he saw it a few weeks back wouldent belive it was the same machine and offered me good money for it

little flame polishing on teh plastics and alot of elbow greace on teh playfield all was good oh and hours with a rock tumbler ot rework rusty parts but i got a £800 machien for under £250 just still hunting the translight befor i can resell it

[takethecastle57]

OLD and VINTAGE PINBALL MACHINE COLLECTION

Hummm $200 for a pin

[kkentert]

little flame polishing on teh plastics and alot of elbow greace on teh playfield all was good oh and hours with a rock tumbler ot rework rusty parts but i got a £800 machien for under £250 just still hunting the translight befor i can resell it

How hard is flame polishing?