PINBALL
One of my other hobbies , i have enjoyed since the 1970's.
 
Played my first pinball machine at the local youth club in the early 70's
What i can remember , it was a electro-mechanical machine with a plunger to push the balls up.
The machine name i cannot remember , but i think it was made by williams
My daughters now go to dancing lessons at this youth club , i sit in the spot
where the machine once sat and happy memories flood back of this first pinball machine..
Enough of these sentiments....I have managed to salvage my own piece of history
 
*****************************MERRY WIDOW*****************************
Made by..............................Williams Electronic Manufacturing Co.
Date.....................................October 1963....4 players.
Production run......................2150.
Theme..................................Happiness-Dancing.
Design..................................Steve Kordek.
Art.......................................George Molentin
*************************************************************************
 
It was in November 96 , i acquired this machine, after spotting it For Sale in the local Friday AD.
The machine was in run down state, as it had sat in a damp garage for many years. All the rubbers
had perished and it had no playfield glass, but it all the plastic parts were there. An ideal project
and only £20...The machine had originally come from France, as it had a 10 Franc coin slot.
The story of this machine is. It was in a Paris cafe in the 70's. Where it was played by a touring
Rock group, who bought the machine and then brought it back with them to England.

How true this story is, i do not know. I have not been able to verify which Rock group owned it.
So if anyone reading this can help confirm the story, please contact me......mlwats@yahoo.co.uk
 
________________________MERRY WIDOW PICTURES__________________________
The machine Playfield Head Scoredrums
Click the pictures to view full size.
The machine took four months work to get it to a playable condition. All of the rotary contactors
had seized. Each of the score drum mechanisms had to be stripped down because they had seized.
All of the rubbers had perished , as i had no way of obtaining spares back in 96/97, the rubber
bands were all hand made. With the internet,spares are now accessable, the correct bands will
soon be purchased.
Score card (yes it still had the original card)...Advert for machine Score drum lever repair
Click to view full size
To date their has only been one component failure, one of the score drum levers(see photo).
This is the lever that make the number drum click round. Luckly i was able to repair the lever.
So this is the story of my machine so far and it should keep on going for many years to come.