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Who fixes my machines when I can't
Great Pinball Links
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Williams Super-FliteThis pin was picked up on Nov. 1, 2008 and now sits between the Grand Prix and the Space Time where the OXO used to be. George Szylagi from New Haven, Indiana had it up for bids on EBay. As always there's a story with the acquisition. The bidding went for ten days and up until the last day I was the only bidder. I didn't care whether I got a Strato-Flite (4 player) or a Super-Flite (2 player). It does seem however easier to win bids on 2 player machines because I think the stigma is to get the 4 player version for some reason. They all play the same and you rarely see more than 2 players on any machine at our house so, who cares? I like to watch the bids end on EBay when I am bidding and add a quick final higher bid if I get cherry-picked by someone else as time runs out. Unfortunately, the bidding ended on Saturday Oct. 11 at around 1:00 pm. At that moment I was scheduled to be sitting in Michigan Stadium watching my UT Rockets go up against the Wolverines. Oh well, if I got it I got it. Of course we all know by now that the Rockets beat the Wolverines and in the euphoria of the day I forgot to check the results of the auction until late that night. When I checked, lo and behold, I had won at the starting price! What a great day! It took a while to coordinate the pick-up , but the first Saturday of November worked great and on a warm and beautiful fall day I drove down US-24 and picked the pin up from George's barn. This is the first pin I have gotten from Indiana.
The backglass of the machine is in good shape (probably about an 8 or so) with a little bubbling down low. I'll need to seal it when I get a chance. Compared to a lot of the "Flite's" that you see, the glass is in great shape! The playfield is fine with only a worn spot along the left flipper tip travel path. Always an indication of a broken flipper bushing. When checked, indeed it was. The left flipper bat was also broken. Unfortunately red Williams bats are hard to find, so we had to replace both bats in white. The game fired up at pick-up and it took a few tweaks to get it running smoothly after getting it home. The 5000 relay would occasionally stick and it took forever to get that switch right. The upper kick-out hole also is a bit weak on occasion. A new coil sleeve helped a little but sometimes it just doesn't have enough oomph to do the trick, but not enough so as to be a constant annoyance. The cabinet was in good shape but really dirty and it cleaned up well. However new legs were needed to replace the rusty ones that it came with. (Looks like a bumper light went out when I took the picture. I'll have to fix that too!) We have Free Balls being awarded at 88,000, and 99,000 points, so it's a challenging game.
Strategy Game play is very simple. Amass advanced bonus and while doing so, attempt to light the sets of A, B, C or D stars for double or triple bonus. Bonus can be advanced by the upper saucer or the right rebound bumper on the upper playfield. Bonus can also be advanced by a lower playfield left or right target as well as the center target. The upper saucer will score either 500 points, 5000 points or open the upper or lower gate. Going through the gates and back to the shooter tip also scores you 5000 points. Lighting one set of targets scores double bonus, two sets scores triple bonus as well as lights the left return lane for a free ball if you can pass through the lane when lit. Lighting all four sets of stars will light the center target for credits (not a big deal when playing for free.) The basic strategy involves a light plunger shot to get as many right side bounces advancing the bonus before the ball lands in the saucer or heads to the playfield. These bounces are important because depending on the lower playfield targets is a sure way to drain quickly and end the ball in play. You really can't shoot directly at the lower playfield bonus targets with any great confidence. After that, try to light the stars in a sequence in order to double or triple your bonus. Not as easy as it sounds!!! Good rebounding shots are required. It also takes a knack to get used to the non-symmetrical slingshot bumpers, the right side possessing only an out lane, while the left side allows one to catch the ball in an inner return lane. Good flipper play is extremely important. And if you snooze, you lose, as the ball will find its way to the drain in a very quick fashion on some occasions. The lower right ball save gate is the best to have open as it saves many a wayward ball and scores you extra points. Game Rating I really wasn't looking for another machine. While this game is not a mint machine, it was close and at a good price. It's a fun game to play. I'm not crazy about the artwork. While it is a nicely done and well integrated into the theme, I prefer Christian Marche pointy people. The playfield is also very dark. However, the artwork doesn't affect game play and it's really a good game to score high on. The tricky unbalanced lower slingshots and the challenge of racking up star targets keeps the play fun every game. Only because of the artwork, we'll give it an 8.0.
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