Bajazzo Clown wall machines

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gameswat
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Re: Clown Catcher payout conversion

Post by gameswat »

arrgee wrote: Thu Oct 24, 2019 6:12 pm Definitely not a faded red or green as the hidden and unexposed edges are a slightly darker brown
Cool, well there's a little more variation than I thought! I've never turned up anything with a brown or gold felt sadly. But I've had some that sure did look like it until I removed some trim.
arrgee wrote: Thu Oct 24, 2019 6:12 pm Maybe when the 'roaring 20s' came along and then the Art Deco era manifest itself, that is when the colour changed to the more vibrant red or green.
Except those two colours were well and truly entrenched already on the Pickwick circa 1910 onwards, which I've only seen in red or green also..... !PUZZLED! :!?!: If you have some early serial numbers for the brown backgrounds and only later serials for the red and green then we could start to build up some kind of timeline. But I imagine it's likely more a case of whatever they got a good deal on at the time.
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Re: Clown Catcher payout conversion

Post by pennymachines »

In a previous topic Fredslija passed on a claim that German pre-WW1 Clown plush was green; post-WW1, red. It should at least be possible to disprove this, if there are Clowns with original green plush with later serial numbers than any with original red plush...

And this from JC:
JC wrote: Mon Sep 08, 2008 12:14 amOn the subject of the colour of velvet used, I too have heard this, although I think Fredslija has got it slightly wrong. I understand (as the story goes) machines built prior to WWI had brown velvet; the small number built during the war had red, and all those built after the war had green velvet. This is probably confused by the relatively large number of machines that have been restored over the last thirty-odd years, although it should be easy to tell whether a machine's velvet is original.
My impression is that British-made Clowns tend to have red plush whereas most (if not all) German-made Clowns have green plush. !PUZZLED!



barryisland
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Handan-Ni Clown identified

Post by barryisland »

Topic moved & merged - Site Admin.

Hello
I have just found this site, what fun.
Please can anybody help with some info?
I attach a pic of a machine I bought about 20 years ago. It has an allwin type trigger to launch the ball. As I have not located another whilst looking on the internet, l hope somebody can help.

I had the old metal around the penny slot replaced. The old one says Brevete SGDG, so I guess it's French. The door is slightly warped - any suggestions? Also I use a ball bearing to play. This drops so fast, would this have been used originally?
Anyhow it's working.
Thanks
barryisland
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john t peterson
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Re: Clown Catcher, info please.

Post by john t peterson »

Barry,

Welcome to PennyMachines. If you type "Bajazzo" into the search function in the Forum, you will find a wealth of information on your machine. There were several different iterations of the clown catcher as you will find. Yours is a nice one.

Regards,

J Peterson
American clown
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Re: Clown Catcher, info please

Post by pennymachines »

I don't think I've seen that one before, but this heavily restored French clown, like yours, does not run on a ball, and requires the player to project the ball upwards with a trigger. I think it has had the ball added (notice the thin string, also added, for it to run on).


clown-101.jpg

This British shield catcher is a forerunner to the clowns.
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shield-catcher.jpg
barryisland
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Re: Clown Catcher, info please

Post by barryisland »

Hello and thank you both.
I looked through the forum but could not find one like mine.
I see the similarities on the two you have posted.
The case is stamped 192 on the side. I attach a pic of the mech in case anybody can perhaps identify.
Any alternative to the heavy ball bearing?
Thanks
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RIMG0720a.jpg
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brigham
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Re: Clown Catcher, info please

Post by brigham »

The ball will drop just as fast whatever it's made of, so I wouldn't worry about that.
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Re: Clown Catcher, info please

Post by barryisland »

Hi
Yes I see your point.
It's also that the BB gets quite a wack from the timber peg to send it up.
I see the peg is mushrooming at the top, perhaps a steel BB was not the original material or I will try rubber top on the peg which will be a bit kinder?
Thanks
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Re: Clown Catcher, info please

Post by pennymachines »

Unusual mechanism. I imagined it to be coin return, not token payout. I haven't seen a Clown use anything other than steel balls. Could be the ball is too small? It looks so, against the ball separator.

With regard to the door warp - perhaps a piece of wood as an end stop inside the top right corner of the cabinet (or a strip inside the length of the left side) would keep it straight when locked. Otherwise a combination of clamping, moisture and heat may be the answer. Some ideas here.
santelmann
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Re: Clown Catcher, info please

Post by santelmann »

The "Brevete SGDG" coin insert was a typical purchased part, used for various machines.

Are the fixing screws for the knobs (three per knob) slotted, or seemed they to be unusual?
geofflove
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Re: Clown Catcher, info please

Post by geofflove »

I agree the BB does look very small in the pics. Worth trying a more ‘normal’ size one and seeing how it works. It might also slow the fall a little as a larger ball will get more jostled by the pins.
tallstory
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Re: Clown Catcher, info please

Post by tallstory »

My Clown Catcher is similar except it doesn't have a 'flicker' to raise the ball to the top. It certainly makes the mech a lot simpler to do it this way. You can see from the attached photo how much extra metalwork is needed to raise the ball to the top of the machine with the T shaped knob.

The tube on the left holds the tokens so I don't think yours can be a coin return - it appears it is intended to return tokens, like mine. I did read somewhere that dispensing coins from a machine required a special license in Germany and this is why tokens were used instead. Could be totally wrong, of course, like so many of these stories.
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Clown internal.jpg
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Re: Clown Catcher, info please

Post by pennymachines »

Yours is the 'standard', most common (but very nice) Jentzsch & Meerz version.
tallstory wrote: Fri Jul 03, 2020 9:57 amI did read somewhere that dispensing coins from a machine required a special license in Germany and this is why tokens were used instead.
Certainly tokens were more likely to be tolerated than cash payouts.
geofflove wrote: Fri Jul 03, 2020 7:41 am I agree the BB does look very small in the pics. Worth trying a more ‘normal’ size one and seeing how it works. It might also slow the fall a little as a larger ball will get more jostled by the pins.
If fired with the same force, it will also decelerate more quickly on its upward path.
santelmann wrote: Fri Jul 03, 2020 5:52 am The "Brevete SGDG" coin insert was a typical purchased part, used for various machines.
To my mind, that is the only part of the machine that suggests it's French. The cabinet doesn't look like fruit-wood, the distinctive trigger can be seen on several Handan-Ni games, and even the mechanism has a British feel to it. Are the English instructions hand written or printed?
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Handan-Ni triggers
Handan-Ni triggers
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Re: Clown Catcher, info please

Post by sweetmeats »

I have just caught up with this post and hope the following will help. A lot of the observations seem to be correct, firstly the machine is English not French, secondly it is I believe a rare Handan Ni machine. I am posting pictures of my machine, which you can see the ball launch on yours seems to have been altered. Does the twisting lever half way up right hand do anything? On mine it launches the ball via a complicated mechanism. This causes the hammer, as yours, to fire the ball the full height of the machine (on mine the spring is not strong enough to take the ball into play) but as the machine is unrestored in any way I can see, I have not tried to replace it with a stronger spring. The ball is NOT a steel ball bearing but a composite ball. The token payout is with Handan Ni tokens, which are significantly smaller than normal clown tokens and the payout cup on mine is classic Handan Ni. If I can help with any additional pictures of mech., please ask. Your machine seems to have a token tube but not connected. What diameter is your tube?
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Clown-1a.jpg
Clown-2a.jpg
Clown-3a.jpg
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Re: Handan Ni Clown Catcher identified

Post by pennymachines »

Sweetmeats - your Clown is now in the Museum. !THUMBS!
Interesting that Handan-Ni made two variants. Suggests they made quite a few.
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daveslot
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Re: Handan Ni Clown Catcher identified

Post by daveslot »

I had one which I always thought was Handan-Ni. Same hardware and case as sweetmeats but a bit nicer looking :D
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Re: Handan-Ni Clown identified

Post by daveslot »

And another.
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Re: Handan-Ni Clown identified

Post by pennymachines »

Wow! And all four different. :o
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Re: Handan Ni Clown Catcher identified

Post by pennymachines »

daveslot wrote: Mon Jul 06, 2020 3:56 pm Same hardware and case as sweetmeats but a bit nicer looking :D
Added to the Museum.

Another British Clown - this one apparently from the Phoenix Works, Birmingham.
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_Clown_Catcher5.jpg
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brigham
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Re: Handan-Ni Clown identified

Post by brigham »

The Phœnix Works
Coin Automatic Machine Manufacturers
38 Hurst Street
Birmingham.
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