Mills 4 reel Bell-O-Matic

Show us what you found. Make us jealous!
fredslilja
Posts: 74
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:43 am
Reaction score: 0
Location: Sweden

Mills 4 reel Bell-O-Matic

Post by fredslilja »

Hi guys!

Today I bought this machine. I have come across almost no information about this 4 reeler. I have found "MLB" on some of the parts on the mec. Any info is appreciated. Share your knowledge. !PUZZLED!
Attachments
DSCF4121.jpg
DSCF4120.jpg
DSCF4119.jpg
DSCF4118.jpg
DSCF4117.jpg
DSCF4116.jpg
DSCF4115.jpg
DSCF4113.jpg
DSCF4112.jpg
DSCF4110.jpg
fredslilja
Posts: 74
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:43 am
Reaction score: 0
Location: Sweden

Re: Mills 4 reels Bel o Matic

Post by fredslilja »

Some more photos.
Attachments
DSCF4127.jpg
DSCF4125.jpg
DSCF4123.jpg
User avatar
badpenny
Forum Moderator
Posts: 7202
Joined: Thu May 05, 2005 12:41 pm
Reaction score: 24
Location: East Midlands

Re: Mills 4 reels Bel o Matic

Post by badpenny »

And very nice it is too.
Cruise liner or casino do you think?

Is the case highly polished or chrome plated? It looks very shiny. !THUMBS!
fredslilja
Posts: 74
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:43 am
Reaction score: 0
Location: Sweden

Re: Mills 4 reels Bel o Matic

Post by fredslilja »

It is chrome plated. Last night I put some wax on it, just to see if the chrome could look a little better. Unfortunately the chrome is in a quite bad shape (the picture in the front lies a bit). I am thinking about a paint job on the front, but I will not do that without more information about it. Maybe these machines were only produced in chrome?

Clear red came to my mind about the color !PUZZLED!
User avatar
special when lit
Posts: 492
Joined: Fri Dec 17, 2004 4:46 pm
Reaction score: 2
Location: Derby

Re: Mills 4 reels Bel o Matic

Post by special when lit »

That is very nice. Much rarer than a Jennings too, I think you should definitely leave the chrome.
raj
Posts: 642
Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2008 7:19 am
Reaction score: 1

Re: Mills 4 reels Bel o Matic

Post by raj »

WOW, nice find, it reminds me of a similar one I bought for £600 ( and sold :cry: ) some years ago. This was stunning in chrome, I would try and find someone who could do it justice with a rechrome. These would have been very high end machines, possibly demo's or featured near the front of a casino to pull in the punters and rarely come to market... :~:
Attachments
Dscn0057.jpg
pennymachines
Site Admin
Posts: 6634
Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2002 12:12 am
Reaction score: 54
Location: The Black Country

Re: Mills 4 reels Bel o Matic

Post by pennymachines »

Yep, you really need to preserve or restore that chrome...
User avatar
coppinpr
Posts: 5091
Joined: Sun Oct 10, 2010 2:01 pm
Reaction score: 20
Location: Lewes, East Sussex
Contact:

Re: Mills 4 reels Bel o Matic

Post by coppinpr »

Depending on what you paid for the machine of course, it would almost certainly be worth having it re-chromed if it's that bad. It's quite a rare find.
fredslilja
Posts: 74
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:43 am
Reaction score: 0
Location: Sweden

Re: Mills 4 reels Bel o Matic

Post by fredslilja »

Thanks for the compliments guys :D

I know that the right thing to do would be to preserve the chrome, but you have to dig deep in your pocket to rechrome as you all know. As I wrote, the chrome is pretty bad. Does someone know if a machine like this was originally painted in some color too?

It has the year "1959" stamped on the bottom plate. Am I right if I believe it is a Mills mec. with the stamped "MLB" in several parts? When did Sega take over?
User avatar
coppinpr
Posts: 5091
Joined: Sun Oct 10, 2010 2:01 pm
Reaction score: 20
Location: Lewes, East Sussex
Contact:

Re: Mills 4 reels Bel o Matic

Post by coppinpr »

1959 would still be Mills I think. Sega did buy a lot of parts and use them up before making SG stamped parts, but I'd say this was a tail-end Mills
User avatar
badpenny
Forum Moderator
Posts: 7202
Joined: Thu May 05, 2005 12:41 pm
Reaction score: 24
Location: East Midlands

Re: Mills 4 reels Bel o Matic

Post by badpenny »

I agree it's Mills and also that it has to stay chromed.
I can also confirm the next round of drinks is yours and that we'll all be round to your house Saturday night for dinner.
We insist on knowing if your wife/girl friend looks like either of the girls in ABBA and we demand the answer now! dirtdog
fredslilja
Posts: 74
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:43 am
Reaction score: 0
Location: Sweden

Re: Mills 4 reels Bel o Matic

Post by fredslilja »

If you are willing to take the trip, me and my wife would be happy to serve you beer and a typical Swedish dinner !!CHEERS!!

Do you BP think there is a similarity??
Attachments
My wife.jpg
My wife.jpg (8.73 KiB) Viewed 6225 times
agnethaanddanni.jpg
agnethaanddanni.jpg (18.03 KiB) Viewed 6225 times
User avatar
badpenny
Forum Moderator
Posts: 7202
Joined: Thu May 05, 2005 12:41 pm
Reaction score: 24
Location: East Midlands

Re: Mills 4 reels Bel o Matic

Post by badpenny »

Congratulations fredslilja, there is most definitely a resemblance and it's this .......



Ka.jpg
Ka.jpg (22.45 KiB) Viewed 6221 times

fredslilja
Posts: 74
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:43 am
Reaction score: 0
Location: Sweden

Re: Mills 4 reels Bel o Matic

Post by fredslilja »

Thanks, then I know I'm not colourblind anyhow :lol:
fredslilja
Posts: 74
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:43 am
Reaction score: 0
Location: Sweden

Re: Mills 4 reels Bel o Matic

Post by fredslilja »

In the machine there is no electricity, but it looks like the two circled windows ("25 cent" and "Bel o matic") should be lit up ?? Maybe also the reel window and the award card?? ........in its original way I mean.

And............yes, yes, yes, yes, I will rechrome it some day in future !WORSHIPFULL!
I will hide it in a corner for some years and start saving money :D
User avatar
badpenny
Forum Moderator
Posts: 7202
Joined: Thu May 05, 2005 12:41 pm
Reaction score: 24
Location: East Midlands

Re: Mills 4 reels Bel o Matic

Post by badpenny »

From the inside the two circular windows behind the denomination and maker badges could have sported casings which might have had a light.
However it's difficult to see where a transformer etc would have sat.

I think it is an outstanding machine and would have it firmly on show!

What is the mark next to the Mills decal? It looks like a face.
I don't know if it's a trick of the light in the photograph but both wooden sides look to have a horizontal line across them about a quarter of the way up. Has it stood in water at some time?

It's certainly a beauty and I envy you. !!THUMBSX2!!

Badpenny.
fredslilja
Posts: 74
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:43 am
Reaction score: 0
Location: Sweden

Re: Mills 4 reels Bel o Matic

Post by fredslilja »

The thing on the wood on the left side next to the Mills decal seems to me some kind of stamp in black and numbers in red starting with 19. Maybe you guys could figure out what that could be?

I don't think it has been standing in water. It is more prominent in the photo than in reality. I think maybe the lower part has been more exposed to sunlight.

The bottom plate seems to have been screwed in a stand because of the holes on the sides. I just saw a hole down on the right side near the back door. I think it is a hole for an electric cable, don't you think?

fredslilja.
Attachments
DSCF4135.jpg
DSCF4136.jpg
DSCF4137.jpg
DSCF4140.jpg
silverbitz
Posts: 65
Joined: Sat Nov 19, 2011 6:03 pm
Reaction score: 0

Re: Mills 4 reels Bel o Matic

Post by silverbitz »

Hi guys, I picked one up from the Dutch boys several months ago. The bad bit was that it was delivered to a friend in Kent for safe keeping and have not been able to pick it up yet from Manchester!! :(
Attachments
JBG100030.jpg
JBG100030.jpg (21.09 KiB) Viewed 6150 times
fredslilja
Posts: 74
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:43 am
Reaction score: 0
Location: Sweden

Re: Mills 4 reels Bel o Matic

Post by fredslilja »

Congratulation to you too Silverbitz. Let us know when you have picked it up and post some pictures of it !!THUMBSX2!!

We have to compare our machines and maybe learn something of it. !THUMBS!

Do you have any info to share about this kind of machine already?

I discovered today that my machine was on Youtube.

fredslilja
Posts: 74
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:43 am
Reaction score: 0
Location: Sweden

Re: Mills 4 reel Bell-O-Matic

Post by fredslilja »

Hi Everyone!
It has been a while (years) since I posted. Now I have started up restoring my Mills 4-reeler.
It was not recromed (to expensive).
Decided to have it painted. It is obvious that they have tampered with the escalator. I think they have converted it from 25 cents to old danish 25 öre (a bit smaller). I think I stick to the danish coins (see the coin entry) because then the cointube and slides would work fine. It is missing several teeth on the Coin Holding Bar & Coin Advance Bar. Also the Coin Release Bar.
Someone who could help me out there with spares or a suitable complete escalator?


/fredslilja
Attachments
IMG_1183.JPG
IMG_0892.JPG
DSCF4007.JPG
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests