I found mine at Goodwill, and I bought it because it reminded me of the stickers my dad put around his beer can so he could drink in public.
Anytime I take my change to the bank, receive money as a gift, or I earn a little extra cash by flipping a bicycle or making a spoon ring, I put the cash in my can safe. I've been doing that for about eight years, but I can't tell you why. I suppose I was saving up for something, but I didn't know for what. Until last weekend, that is.
I have the Iowa Pinball website bookmarked, and every few months I window shop. I've dreamed of owning my own pinball machine since I was in kindergarten, but this game from 1979 was as close as a kid could get.
It's not very fun, despite what this commercial wants you to believe.
I picked up this X-Box collection a few years ago, and it is fun. You'd be surprised how well pinball translates to video. There are seven pinball machines to pick from, and they range in years from the 50s to the 90s. I like 1973's "Big Shot". It's simple, but addictive.
Over the years I've also collected vintage books about vintage pinball machines, but X-Box and these books are all I thought I'd ever own.
But this month the Iowa Pinball site has a sale going on, and that caught my attention.
They had 14 pinball machines for sale, and one of them looked like this (photo taken from the Internet Pinball Machine Database).
This is a Mars Trek machine that was produced in Spain and exported to the US in 1977. Sonic (Segasa) manufactured it, and they're well known for making playing fields that are beautiful and tough as nails. On the internet, Mars Trek enjoys a solid reputation as a tough game that's fun to play, and although it was overlooked in the 70's, the machine is slowly becoming more desirable in the collector's market. In 2012, Mars Trek was one of the pinball machines used in the Pinburg Match & Play Championships (Pinburg is the largest pinball tourney in the world).
I didn't know any of this before last week. I just looked at the pictures of that pinball machine and thought, Dang. That thing looks soo cool. And when I looked at the price I thought, Dang. I can afford that! I have more than that in my can! I had to think that, because you shouldn't say, "I have more than that in my can!" out loud.
When I showed Daphne the pictures (and the price), she was very supportive. Daphne also loves pinball. I contacted David Gray at Iowa Pinball to set up a time to see the machine, and on Monday the three of us drove over to Mr. Gray's place to give it a whirl.
David has his side business in the basement of his country home, and the "nice" machines are in the display room. He keeps the lower entry machines in the repair shop, and that's where the Mars Trek was.
It's at this point my eyes glazed over, and all I could think was, Oh man, I want that. I gave the Mars Trek a spin, Daphne played a ball, and David flipped over a milk crate for Char to stand on while she tried it, too. Char pounded the flippers, and when she hit her first target a light clicked on and Char's eyes lit up. The best part was that Daphne admitted that she didn't have much for me in terms of Xmas gifts, so she suggested that we each pay half and give the pinball machine to ourselves for Christmas!
Done deal.
It was delivered to our basement on Tuesday.
Somebody else is also excited!
That Spanish back glass artwork is trippy-cool.
And it looks pretty neat when it's lit up.
Char's Princess tent was moved out of the way, and Mars Trek claimed a spot in the corner.
I took down the Iowa State Fair and Blank Park Zoo Prints, and I moved some of Char's glow-in-the-dark stars into the shape of a meteor shower (only because I didn't know where to put 24 plastic, sticky stars). The stars are kinda tacky, so I'll probably take them down soon. Probably.
The Pac-Man back glass was found at a flea market about five years ago, and I thought the Star Wars and other Galactic Funk album fit the Mars Trek theme. The picture of me on a Big Wheel is a testament to how long I've been dreaming of this day.
The original Goonies movie poster doesn't really match a space theme, but it's still pretty cool.
For about $600 (delivered), you don't get a perfect, 37-year-old pinball machine. There's some work to do, and nothing makes me happier. Last night I successfully replaced some bulbs and started waxing the play field. When I showed Daphne she remarked, "This is the perfect project for you. It's too cold to work on your Bug, and this will keep you out of trouble."
She's right; I haven't watched TV in a week.
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