FORUM

I'm not sure what the cabinets are made of - a dense-grained hardwood, possibly iroko, with similarly veneered ply front. Being a '70s machine, the rather thin matt finish might be polyurethane. I'd probably go for Danish or Tung Oil over diluted teak wood dye.

OK thanks - it's looking good. Some wonderful machines. I've updated the Archive/Links page.
Can you put a link back to this site at Le Pingouin Mecanique?

Fleet Air Arm , Bomber Command and D-Day . Yes, those are the three I know of but couldn't remember by name (until you reminded me). I don't believe this one ever had a marquee as I can't remember seeing any filled holes. I think you'd only spot them if you were looking for them - just two very sma...

Compare and contrast... Two French takes on this game from Lemaitre's Les Machines à Sous.
You have to admit, for artistic flair and all-round finesse, the French games reign supreme.

Hi lepingouinmecanique,

Yes please - post the working link and I'll update it on the Archive/Links page too.

What is rare, is to find one with the original metal name-plate top casting, like the manual payout example below. Gameswat mentioned there are four versions of these war-themed allwins. I think I've seen three, not counting the Win-A-Cig below, but don't remember the names (probably because they're...

You can buy a more manageable 30 x 41 cm print of this for £26 directly from AllPosters.co.uk (same company selling it on eBay). I bought one a couple of years ago - click Penny-In-Slot Machine . They offer a few other vintage coin-operated machine posters. I'd say it's certainly British, turn of th...

The coin flicker levers (strikers) are often missing because they are held in place by a single machine screw. This goes through the slot in the striker and screws into a plate on the machine. The striker must run freely against the screw with the slot limiting its travel. The striker below was made...

I was contacted by an operator in 2009 with a job lot of large E/M games and Bally bandits. Included were a Crompton's 20 Player Derby Racer and a Whittaker's Le Mans . Another operator of vintage games was interested at the time, but the cost/difficulty of transporting and storing prevented us from...

This was one of the first threads posted in the Forum and, as explained in the site WELCOME announcement , it was actually posted before pennymachines.co.uk went public. It records an email correspondence between Scratchbuilt and myself that started in 03/09/02 when he asked if I could supply any Pa...

It may have worked along the same lines as the mechanical dice gambling machines of the mid '30s, like Mills Dice . These gave the illusion of freely throwing dice, but actually contained many identical dice showing different faces which were contained in compartments. When a set of two dice were th...

Are you using the search box at the top of the Forum page? This returns content indexed by Google and therefore tends to be incomplete - as you say, at present just a few pages referencing "Wonders" and much else just isn't listed. For a thorough search you should click the Search link (ne...

And starting at £49.99 is Madame Rosa the fortune teller (previously started at £99.99!) Not coin operated, but she looks like my mystic Portuguese friend Rosa. You get crystal ball, cards, rings, earring and scarf - and a prediction that gullibility will lead you to buy lots of expensive tat that w...

To coincide with the Centenary of The Dome at Whitley Bay , the building is being opened to the public as part of the the Heritage open days scheme. It will be open Thursday 9 Sept until Sunday 12 Sept, from 10.00 - 4.00 daily. An exhibition tracing the 100 year history of the Dome will feature arch...

Excellent sleuthing there JC. Funny thing - studying the Lemaitre machine closely, there do seem to be traces of gold in the recessed areas of the casting. I wonder what plating would be used to produce the "gold effect" on cast iron? Your memory's obviously not as bad as you pretend - I h...

As far as I can see from the small photos, the only evidence of paint is the faded remnant around the numbers - suggesting the case was originally polished or nickel plated. Either way, if the proud new owner can get the rusty castings looking something like above, I doubt anyone would complain - me...

I don't believe it is plated - just impeccably polished.

It may not be the easiest, but something along those lines is probably the most satisfactory method for a mechanical wall machine. Bryan's ball catching games employ it to great effect - the Payramid patent on this page describes how. Many other systems have been used though. On German Clown catcher...

A lot of money for sure, but expensive...? Doesn't that depend upon what the next one fetches?
Just saying - and no, I didn't even place a bid.
Lemaitre gives it a four bells rarity rating - 5 - 10 known examples.

Short extract from "Hidden Houses of Wales" with Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen, including black and white footage of Parker's Automatic Supplies Ltd. arcade in Rhyl and some machines owned by descendants of the Parker family at Trevor Hall. http://www.metacafe.com/watch/5159317/parker_s_automat...