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Step 2Acquiring A Playfield
The first thing you need is the playfield from a pinball machine. This is the painted wood that the ball rolls around on as you play. Playfields can be bought with all their parts attached ("wired") or with all the parts removed ("unwired"). For this project you will want a wired playfield. The electronics are necessary in order for it to light up, and it just looks a lot cooler with all the parts on it.
Your best bet for acquiring a playfield is Ebay. Search for "pinball playfield" and you will get lots of options. These days it is often more profitable to "part out" an old game to collectors who use the parts for restorations than it is to sell the game itself. A playfield can be as cheap as $50 or as expensive as $1500 plus shipping. Typically the older the game, the cheaper it will be. This will be your biggest single expense in the project. If you don't like Ebay, many areas have auctions of coin-operated games and parts and will often have playfields for sale, although the quality tends to be more questionable. You can also ask at online forums like the rec.games.pinball usenet newsgroup.
When buying a playfield, the first thing you want is something that you find attractive and visually appealing. I wasn't looking for something cosmetically perfect, but I didn't want any big gashes or anything in the paint. You will also want to make sure all the plastic parts (that cover the various mechanicals) are present. If the auction text mentions that the playfield was fully functioning when it was pulled out of its game, then that can be helpful information, although for the purposes of this project, there's really not a lot to worry about functionally.
The playfield for this project was a Williams Lucky Seven from 1978, which I purchased off Ebay for $80 plus $50 for shipping (they are heavy!)
Your best bet for acquiring a playfield is Ebay. Search for "pinball playfield" and you will get lots of options. These days it is often more profitable to "part out" an old game to collectors who use the parts for restorations than it is to sell the game itself. A playfield can be as cheap as $50 or as expensive as $1500 plus shipping. Typically the older the game, the cheaper it will be. This will be your biggest single expense in the project. If you don't like Ebay, many areas have auctions of coin-operated games and parts and will often have playfields for sale, although the quality tends to be more questionable. You can also ask at online forums like the rec.games.pinball usenet newsgroup.
When buying a playfield, the first thing you want is something that you find attractive and visually appealing. I wasn't looking for something cosmetically perfect, but I didn't want any big gashes or anything in the paint. You will also want to make sure all the plastic parts (that cover the various mechanicals) are present. If the auction text mentions that the playfield was fully functioning when it was pulled out of its game, then that can be helpful information, although for the purposes of this project, there's really not a lot to worry about functionally.
The playfield for this project was a Williams Lucky Seven from 1978, which I purchased off Ebay for $80 plus $50 for shipping (they are heavy!)
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