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Re: BM Co. Wizard

Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2018 11:38 am
by pennymachines
pennymachines wrote: Tue Oct 14, 2014 8:29 pm As far as I know, the Wizard was the only allwin BM Co. produced using this mechanism.
And now I know better... Recently seen on eBay, WOT - ALL WINS! is BMCo's auto-pay Wizard in all but name.

Re: BM Co. Wizard

Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2018 12:02 pm
by gameswat
But why the large payout cup on the Wot?

Re: BM Co. Wizard

Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2018 12:30 pm
by pennymachines
Probably a recent replacement... Looks out of place.

Allwin ID please

Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2020 11:12 am
by coppinpr
Post merged - Site Admin.

Can someone identify this rather nice allwin? The ball gallery seems unusual but surely the ball delivery tube is unique(?) if it's original. It seems to have an automatic coin return. Is it old or some sort of repro?

Re: BM Co. auto-pay Wizard & Allwin

Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2020 12:47 pm
by pennymachines
I've merged your query with the existing thread on these. Here's another that was on eBay some time ago.

Re: BM Co. auto-pay Wizard & Allwin

Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2020 1:33 pm
by coppinpr
I'm trying to fix this machine for the friend who now owns it. He bought it quite cheaply at auction and it has a few problems but I think I can deal with it with some expert help from the forum.

Clearly, I'm missing the coin slide cover for the slide (A) but I think I can make that. As it stands in the photo part (B) is not screwed in. Am I right in thinking it sits in a position where losers slide under it and winners are kicked into it (shown by the blue and yellow arrows on photo 2)? If this is so, is the coin slide top cover slightly wider at the bottom to allow for the coin to be kicked up a little?

Am I right in thinking the coin slide is permanently loaded with 7 coins?

The arm (c) has a notch cut in it - this usually means it's meant to clear some obstruction, but there is none, although the arm is quite flexible and looks like it should be restrained from bending(??)

The rocker part (D) that controls the payout acts slightly differently on this machine as there are six holes in the coin slide not four as in the photos above. I assume this is simply to give a larger gap (**) between the two sets of restraining pins (the middle holes are not used). So I assume the top pins hold back waiting coins while the machine deals with the coin in play which is a possible winner while the ball is in play. Is this the case?

What is the part (F) for? It seems a bit of an afterthought.

(**) is it possible that the six-hole option was to allow a payout 1 or 2 coins at the operator's discretion?

Re: BM Co. auto-pay Wizard & Allwin

Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2020 4:21 pm
by pennymachines
coppinpr wrote: Tue Oct 27, 2020 1:33 pm As it stands in the photo part (B) is not screwed in. Am I right in thinking it sits in a position where losers slide under it and winners are kicked into it (shown by the blue and yellow arrows on photo 2)?
No. Only winning coins are released through here to the payout cup.
coppinpr wrote: Tue Oct 27, 2020 1:33 pm Am I right in thinking the coin slide is permanently loaded with 7 coins?
When fully loaded, yes. When it's full, the next coin inserted rolls off through a gap in the top edge of the coin channel (G) and drops to the cash box.
coppinpr wrote: Tue Oct 27, 2020 1:33 pm The arm (c) has a notch cut in it - this usually means it's meant to clear some obstruction, but there is none, although the arm is quite flexible and looks like it should be restrained from bending(??)
The notch prevents impediment of the arm's movement during a win by the screw head above it (H).
coppinpr wrote: Tue Oct 27, 2020 1:33 pm What is the part (F) for? It seems a bit of an afterthought.
I haven't investigated, but would imagine if you unscrew it, push it to the left and screw it back in the new position, it will prevent the ball from returning after a win, limiting the game to coin return only.
coppinpr wrote: Tue Oct 27, 2020 1:33 pm is it possible that the six-hole option was to allow a payout 1 or 2 coins at the operator's discretion?
That sounds quite likely. It would be interesting to see.

Re: BM Co. auto-pay Wizard & Allwin

Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2020 2:57 pm
by coppinpr
Thanks for the help. I made the payout slide top cover from 3mm clear acrylic, this was easy to make,fits perfectly and allows jams to be seen easily, I took Mr p's advice and attached it with only clips so its easy to remove (this model was a bit prone to jams in the payout slide even when new) .The acrylic cover has the advantage of being very flat and smooth and the payouts seem to work perfectly now.

The double set of holes for the coin retaining pins are indeed an option for either 1 or 2 coin payout. Truth is, a two coin payout does make the machine more interesting to play.

Other interesting things that came to light were:
The owner complained the ball hammer was so worn it would not fire the ball correctly. I found the head of the hammer is bolted to the arm. This meant that removing the head and adding two or three washers to the bolt moved the head forward to its original position. The ball in the machine was too small, yet it had been there so long it was slowly wearing away the glass from the inside because its first reaction when hit by the hammer was to bounce sideways and hit the glass near the start point. A new, larger, ball cured this at once. The longer I had the machine, the more I liked it.

There were two machines the owner wanted sprucing up. The other was a Nostalgic Games "Lucky 7" late repro. The first time I've ever had my hands on one of these, and I hope the last.

The quality of just about every part was very poor indeed. If I remember correctly, the price of these was not cheap, yet the effort put into these was so poor. The backflash was simply a laminated piece of paper which, of course, had faded and blurred. The top marque sign was just a piece of thin paper with a blob of glue holding it to the backboard. A disgrace (I made a new vinyl top sign as I couldn't stand looking at the old one). The chrome was, for the most part, lost forever, ten times worse than the BM Co machine, even though the BM Co is 50 years older.

The case was solid but rubbish really. Any chips are hard to repair and Philips screws everywhere. One thing that really annoyed me was the constant use inside the machine of screws to hold moving parts in place and to retain springs. Part of the payout handle was not working because constant use had tightened up the screw holding it in place until it jammed up the rotation.

Both machines (which were bought as a single lot at auction) have now gone back to the owner. The BM Co to be the start of a collection, the Lucky 7 to go back into auction. !THUMBS!

Re: BM Co. auto-pay Wizard & Allwin

Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2020 9:15 am
by arrgee
These Nostalgic machines were made in China so the poor quality does not surprise me. I recall there was a thread regarding these and their cases quite a while ago. I bought a couple of Bryans machines from the owner of Nostalgics years ago. Not sure if Nigel is still in the slot business - anyone know if he is?

Re: BM Co. auto-pay Wizard & Allwin

Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2020 12:08 pm
by pennymachines
coppinpr wrote: Wed Nov 04, 2020 2:57 pm The double set of holes for the coin retaining pins are indeed an option for either 1 or 2 coin payout. Truth is, a two coin payout does make the machine more interesting to play.
Interesting. I'm surprised the game can pay 2D plus ball return and still break even.

Re: BM Co. auto-pay Wizard & Allwin

Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2020 8:41 am
by coppinpr
Interesting. I'm surprised the game can pay 2D plus ball return and still break even.
but as you mentioned earlier there is an option to switch off the free ball.

Re: BM Co. auto-pay Wizard & Allwin

Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2020 12:20 pm
by pennymachines
True - it would still increase the payout percentage, but might have a psychological edge over coin return and a free ball.

Re: BM Co. auto-pay Wizard & Allwin

Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2020 4:59 pm
by arrgee
Interesting that the ball delivery hole on the playfield has an inverted cup over it on all the Wizards in these photos, can't say that I have noticed that before - or seen it on any other Allwin.