1952 Genco 400 vertical pinball

[ddstoys]

Hello again,
I have the chance to buy a 1952 Genco 400 vertical pinball. What sort of value would you put on one of these?

Also how rare are they? In Australia they would be rare - how about the rest of the world?

[pennymachines]

I don't think I ever saw one, so I guess they're pretty rare in the UK too. Rare doesn't necessarily mean 'worth a lot of cash' though. I see one sold for $105 in 2005: Genco's "400" Vintage Upright 5 Cent Pinball Machine With Girly Figures - Works.

[ddstoys]

Thanks for the reply.

I purchased the machine anyway. Paid way too much, but I'm still super excited. Got it home, spent about half an hour and had it running 100%.

Here are a couple of photos:.

[badpenny]

Well done, not seen the likes of it before - it's very attractive.

I have to admit I'd have spent far too much of your money for it as well.

[pennymachines]

Well done - unusual item, looks pretty tidy and great that you got it working so easily. Now you need to upload a video so we can see the game play.

[jimmy55]

Lovely machine dd, great graphics. I'd love to know if they still were running the old mains rectifier that my pre war Genco has or how things changed in the 1950s. Did you take any internal shots?

[ddstoys]

No internal photos, I need to improve the lighting first. After Xmas, I'll see what I can do.
There is a thing with heaps of disks bolted over the transformer.
I took a quick video the other day - I'll see if I can upload it to youtube.

[badpenny]

Soopah Doopah young man.
Have you any control over the field?

BP

[ddstoys]

The only control comes from the button on the lower left which mechanically moves the flipper (very slightly).
After your six balls you have the option of buying one to six extra balls, either using built up credits or holding the button and inserting an extra coin.

If anyone's interested, I'll make a video of the internals and how parts work.
I just hope no one gets the jackpot of 400 as its reset counts down one at a time and almost a second each digit. lol

[badpenny]

A video of the workings would be of great interest, but no hurry - anytime before 6pm is fine.

[ddstoys]

Here is a quick video of how the flipper and ball lifter work for those interested.

[badpenny]

That's really cool thanks, now the tricky one, can you make a video of how a woman works? 'Cos that really beats me.

Is there some kind of angle piece that attaches to the inside of the door and diverts the ball of the lift, or is it angled?

BP

[ddstoys]

Here are a couple of photos. The whole playfield is on a slight tilt and there is a rail along the bottom that feeds the balls to the lifter then at the top is a flexible flap that pushes the balls off the lifter down a ramp to the flipper. Hope this makes sense.

[ddstoys]

And some pics of the internals.

[badpenny]

Very nice, best keep that door firmly locked you don't want any gremlins getting in there.

[ddstoys]

I've managed to keep my gremlin away from harming my machine by keeping him on top of one of my pinball test benches. Works out well because whatever is coming in there already has issues.

[ddstoys]

Crappy ipad photo but you get the idea lol

[moonriver]

nice machine, I really like it