|
Who fixes my machines when I can't
Great Pinball Links
Fonz at the Space Time
|
Bally Space TimeHere's my latest acquisition, and the first machine that I got officially from winning an EBay auction. The Space Time was a machine that had caught my eye when I first was doing research on which EM's to attempt to acquire. I'd chased a couple of them here and there but never with any great success. Then my interest waned when I played essentially the younger brother of this machine in the 1974 Rogo at Dr. Scott's one day. I was a little put off by the shots that needed to be made and never really was able to get a good game going on it. Nonetheless, in May 2004 this one came available on EBay in White Lake, Michigan by the Carlsons who were selling it for their parents who had moved to Florida. The auction stipulated a definitive pick up time that I could make since it was after school was out. I played the auction to the hilt and won it at $417. I picked it up with only a little problem (we had trouble finding the keys) and got it home the day after the auction. The strange thing is that I set it up next to the Jubilee which was purchased from Scott Carlson in Ohio. A coincidence? I think not!!! Not that I was trying to do so, but this game completes the collection of the two machines used on the TV show Happy Days. Most pinball aficionados know that the Nip-it was on that show, but once Fonzie broke the record, it was replaced with the Space Time. (See the picture below left.
This machine was really filthy when I got it home. It looked like it hadn't been touched in years. They had even put rubber bands in a few places instead of rings that had broken and one was duct taped together. Several of the features on the machine didn't work right, some due to detachment. It took me a week to get it cleaned and waxed and new rubber rings installed. I got most of it working again but it took Dr. Scott to find and fix the sticking scoring problem. The cabinet is in good shape, the backglass is fair, but the playfield is pretty worn around the bumpers and at the kickout hole landing areas. Nothing that I can't live with. It cleaned up really nice and now plays great! The slingshot bumpers are especially sensitive and lively and keep the ball moving really well.
Strategy Another Bally machine without advance bonus in the house was not a problem after all the fun we have had with the Little Joe. This game is a based on attempting to score the value shown in the 3D tunnel in the lower playfield. As each ball is kicked out for play at the shooter, the tunnel begins to flash in a sequential manner from 1000 to 5000 points. When the ball is shot, it passes over a rollover switch in the shooter lane to stop the tunnel lights on a given value. You can score the tunnel value (stopped or in motion) through any of 5 target areas. One is the top rollover lane which is sandwiched between two kickout holes that will restart the tunnel by landing in them, but also score 500 points and opening one of the two right side gates. Entering the right side lane through the open gates scores the tunnel value as well as 1000 points for the lower gate and 3000 for the upper via a set of rollovers. The left kickout lane also scores the tunnel value and kicks the ball back to the top of the playfield. In the mid-center of the playfield is a target which activates the play-more post as well as scoring the tunnel value. Adjacent side targets will start the tunnel sequence again and score 100 points. There is also a freeball target that lights after every 10 hits of 10 point targets. Freeballs are awarded at the factory settings of 60,000 , 74,000 and 88,000 points which seems more than adequate. While Dr. Scott maintains that this is a great hustle machine, I have yet to determine a good playing strategy. While the ball will enter the gates on a fair frequency, it's almost impossible to shoot directly into any gate from the flippers. You can time the initial plunger shot with the tunnel in order to stop the tunnel at 4000 or 5000 points, but there is no guarantee of scoring that value in any of the target areas since the tunnel is usually restarted before that happens. I have found that you can score multiple tunnel values with the post up and hitting the center target as much as you can. However, the lively slingshots make a return to the flippers an iffy occurrence. Good scores can be obtained just by keeping the ball in play for a long period. Game Rating Despite its difficult play, it's a quirky little machine that I've found almost addicting. It's probably the easiest of our 6 machines to turn over. Typical scoring is around 48,000 for most games. I like the tunnel feature and I've always loved machines with gates and gadgets. The time travel theme lends itself to some good artwork (but I hate that darn red white and blue tunnel on the cabinet sides). I'd give it a solid 8 plus a bit for the fun factor.
| ||||||
