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I've been offered a Merkur bandit in quite poor condition. It says"Mills" on the top flash but the owner says it's German. Are they rare? I've never heard of Merkur...

I am sure you did a search in this site first before asking as there is a thread on these.....

Would not say rare, but not as common as most machines. Yes German and a lot were converted to british coinage when brought in. I love them and have left mine rough and ready

I believe there has been one floating around the midlands for a couple of years.
It has major problems and originally went through an auction house for a low price reflecting quite accurately the missing bits and condition.

The new owner did nothing with it though and after some months it reappeared with syrupy words and oodles of excitement and encouraging phrases, all supporting a hefty price tag. It kept reappearing every few months under similar guise.

I am not suggesting for a moment this is the same machine, the one you have stumbled upon may well be superb in every way. I think you need to identify exactly what is needed to restore it as spare parts are not in stock at Tesco at the moment.

Good luck, I'd pay a good price for one, but wouldn't chase one that's mutton dressed as lamb, let alone one that's really offal dressed as mutton.

BP

Thanks for the info BP. This one is up north. Looks complete but it's rough. Been outside under a canopy a few years by the look of it. Wants£300 for it. Not knowing this bandit I was checking if it was rare enough to risk the money. Not that I want to make money on it, just checking I'm not buying a lemon.

Get pictures, has it got the door, very difficult to replace. Cabinets are made of chicken sheds and will not survive poor conditions. Also missing parts would be tough to replace.

I have not seen one sell in UK, except below one that was on eBay earlier in the year for a few months.....think guy wanted £500 for it and would not take offers, also could not confirm working. So not sure what it sold for. One sold in US Morphys auction for very little and I bought mine in public auction for £100, maybe lucky I guess...

This could be my first venture into imported German machines, which I have avoided for so long.
Were they 10- or 20-stop? The one in the YouTube link looks like a 10-stop Mills mech. with 20-stop Samson reelstrips.
Presumably a straight copy, like the BMW Dixi...

Yes 10 stop and original strips are similar to Turas with large numbers. Unusual reel stops, similar to Beromat machines with pins and no star wheels and race bearings.

If someone offered me a complete one for £300, I would see if they would take £250 and snap it up.....

I'll bear that in mind, although I'd probably take it at £300.
Great music, by the way. ACHTUNG!... ACHTUNG!...

The one I am considering has fruits on the reels not numbers so I guess it has been "updated"

Do you know if they are Samson-style 20-stop fruits (Mills pattern), or German Wulff pattern (red shading)?
The importers often offered British operators a choice of fruits or numbers, both options having little resemblance to the German equivalents.
Strangely, the wall-type German machines almost always came with the original reel-strips, probably due to the pay-out lines being unlike the familiar American ones.

I have no other info than a photo sadly.

Are you able to share photo, may help.

The one I showed on eBay earlier in the year had fruit strips.


Lots of them ended up in US in the lucky lottery of container shipments made. Two below have the Mills top marque, I had assume was done by US collectors, but maybe an operator did them.

I'd like 1.
That's all just 1.

BP

I've never quite grasped the point of having one of anything.

brigham wrote: ↑Thu Oct 22, 2020 6:13 pm I've never quite grasped the point of having one of anything.

Try grasping more than one wife.
I know I shouldn't be talking, but my three were never at the same time.

BP

You get the hang of it very quickly.

So update for those remotely interested. I agreed to pay £300 but found not only was it riddled with wood worm needing the wood replacing but the clock was missing. I've walked away. (unless someone out there has a clock for sale)

You may find a Mills clock fits. I will try and have a look at mine to confirm as these clocks are easy to get, I have a pile.

The cabinet does not surprise me, but could be rebuilt. Funny I get less worried about woodworm, unless integral structure is destroyed, as some woodworm is part of its life. I assume they would not budge on price

Thanks TF. I didn't try for a reduction assuming the clock missing was the final nail, in that I wouldn't find one.

A lot of Merkur parts are Mills or 1 to 1 copied from Mills. The clock is modified to "produce" the 15 seconds runtime per play according to german law.
Here some test documents for exchange appeared:
https://www.automateum.de/t1297f10-Orig ... R-RRD.html