"Monte Carlo" Steeraball on eBay

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aristomatic
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"Monte Carlo" Steeraball on eBay

Post by aristomatic »

Unusual steeraball example on ebay
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badpenny
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Re: "Monte Carlo" Steeraball on eBay

Post by badpenny »

Here is the link Vintage Mystery Monte Carlo Rally Steer-A-Ball Arcade Amusement Machine Game
Interestingly it has woodworm in its tone of voice, what do you reckon Mr. P?

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Re: "Monte Carlo" Steeraball on eBay

Post by pennymachines »

Ha ha - took me a while to get your drift BP. Indeed, as I said in the description, "the cabinet is substantially sound, but there has been worm damage inside and, most severely, to the left shoulder timbre." It was like this when I bought it many years ago. I treated the worm and, surprisingly, it doesn't seem to have re-emerged.

The game has remained in storage, the glass in a cupboard, more or less forgotten, since I bought it. I hoped to eventually discover more about it, another example, or a flyer. It has no manufacturer's name on it, but the combination of skill game, screen-printed illuminated back glass and electro-mechanics brings to mind Stevenson & Lovett. They usually put their logo on the glass though.

The player guides the ball, avoiding the holes, by shifting the playfield up and down. The question is, was this simply done by connecting a knob or handle to the front of the playfield, or was there a steering wheel? A wheel seems the most satisfactory (and likely) solution. The playfield has to be displaced by an inch or less to achieve ball control, so I'm imagining the steering wheel column would have an angled disc or plate at the other end to provide the movement.
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brigham
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Re: "Monte Carlo" Steeraball on eBay

Post by brigham »

I can only see one 'missing' item on the front panel, and it suggests the coin entry.

There must be more to this...
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Re: "Monte Carlo" Steeraball on eBay

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Apart from a plate around the coin entry, it is missing the wooden runner on the left side (inverse of the runner on the left side) and there must have been a piece of similar (but thicker) timber on the front. This would have been routed out to hold the front edge of the playfield glass and must have housed the knob, handle or steering wheel which pushed the playfield up and down. I assume the glass would have had colour bands along its edges with something (numbers? lettering?) above the two rows of bulbs inset into the right and left sides of the playfield.
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Re: "Monte Carlo" Steeraball on eBay

Post by pennymachines »

Monte Carlo went to a well know collector in the UK who has another, complete, but non-working example! He said he will take a picture of it when he can. The (small) steering wheel sits atop the playfield, which makes sense, as that's a simpler arrangement. There may be a maker's badge somewhere...
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