Sapphire (Apex Amusements) bandit identified

General vintage slot machine related topics.
pennymachines
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Re: Can anyone tell the brand/make of this Australian bandit

Post by pennymachines »

Hey - welcome back Andy. !!WAVEE!!
While you're on, have you got anything on this Ace-Hi bandit, like the original whereabouts of Ace-Hi Amusement Co. Pty Ltd.?
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coppinpr
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Re: Can anyone tell the brand/make of this Australian bandit

Post by coppinpr »

As for parts they should be no problem, let us see the mech and we can say for sure, if it is a Mills mech in there then usually no problem at all.
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Re: Can anyone tell the brand/make of this Australian bandit

Post by ybot »

Here are a few snaps of the internals of this guy. Had a bit of a squizz last night and there seems to be some snapped springs and stuff. I cannot believe how cool this thing is inside, like a robot. When I was a kid I would have loved to see inside one of these. Guess nothing has changed. Reminds me of cars in the sense that now they are all plastic and electrics and back when they made nice cars they were mechanical and metal. I swear I was born 20 years too late.
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Re: Can anyone tell the brand/make of this Australian bandit

Post by andydotp »

Hi again,
The mech in ybot's pics looks very Nutt & Muddle/Jubilee(ish) to me and it wouldn't surprise me if Sapphire (Apex Amusements - Ray Smith) simply re-cased Jub mechs in their own cabinets. Tooling up to produce mechs was a rare event indeed.
As for mr pennymachines' Ace-Hi well, Ace-Hi (Vic Walker Mfg. Co, Australia) produced both three and four reelers in 1959 so a little later than I thought.
Info sourced from Mead's Blue Book,
T'ra,
Andy.
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Re: Can anyone tell the brand/make of this Australian bandit

Post by ybot »

Thanks for that. Is there any sort of mechnical guide to these or anything like that? Parts guide or service manual? It's not working and I can see where the parts lock like they may be missing or broken but really know nothing yet. Or would that book have some info?
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Re: Sapphire (Apex Amusements) bandit identified

Post by ybot »

So I have worked out why this machine will not cycle over. If you're looking from the back of the mech on the left hand side there is a right angle bracket that pushes 6 or so arms that seem to release the wheels so that they spin. This bracket has a large crack running through it and is sitting at an angle as to not press the arms and let the wheels spin.

Have any folks on here got spares for the Jubilee mechs at all? I also need the large spring on the back of the mech that can be seen just hanging down.

I'm sure you guys have a hoard of parts. Easier than welding and bending...
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Re: Sapphire (Apex Amusements) bandit identified

Post by ybot »

This is the broken part.
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treefrog
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Re: Sapphire (Apex Amusements) bandit identified

Post by treefrog »

Picked this one up today from a nice couple originally from Aus. It was brought into the country many years ago, and been in the family for almost 40 years. This one is a 4 reeler and has an incredible 2 shilling play. As per the glass front it is a Sapphire Star Deluxe.
Not had much of a chance to do a lot yet and will need a good clean up and the electrics sorting. There are triggers on some wins for the Jackpot light, but is a manual machine. The overall size is actually quite small, smaller than a Aristocrat Clubmaster.

I have hunted everywhere and no maker's stamps anywhere, just serial numbers. Does not look like Jubilee in origin, closer to a Mills, but it not a Mills. I believe this has been made by the manufacturer. The reels are very unusual, they are solid tin. On the machine at the beginning of the thread I noticed the reels were covered in foam. The of the inside of this machine is caked in crumbling foam for insulation, like Clubmasters had.

Anyway probably one of the only one's in the UK hopefully can bring this one fully operational soon.... :D
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badpenny
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Re: Sapphire (Apex Amusements) bandit identified

Post by badpenny »

You sure do find the unusual when it comes to bandits TF.
The overflow square profiled down chute and the cast deflector it's attached to has a flavour of Aristocrat but that's about it really.
From what I can see anyway.

BP
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treefrog
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Re: Sapphire (Apex Amusements) bandit identified

Post by treefrog »

badpenny wrote:You sure do find the unusual when it comes to bandits TF.
The overflow square profiled down chute and the cast deflector it's attached to has a flavour of Aristocrat but that's about it really.
From what I can see anyway.

BP
You're right, some parts are very similar to Aristocrat. Also I think the clock is from them. Makes sense to buy parts in I guess. The machine was in fact briefly on ebay, I happened to be the only one with a bid on and the seller sold to me. It is growing on me, I like the profile of the machine...
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aristomatic
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Re: Sapphire (Apex Amusements) bandit identified

Post by aristomatic »

Yes. I saw that when it went on. I emailed him and it was his father-in-law's. I think it was listed in maybe casino or another category, so many people would have missed it even when it was on ebay. I think I asked him to post more pictures so I could see the coin entry inside, which he did just before it was removed.

I would agree that there are not going to be many of those over here... (now that I have said that half a dozen will be listed over the next week!) Possibly a Marmite machine for collectors, or one of those dogs at the rescue centre that's been there a while. The fact it's a 4 reeler rather than a 3 reeler would make a difference to many, but I would have bought it if it had turned up at my door for that money.

GP
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downunda
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Re: Sapphire (Apex Amusements) bandit identified

Post by downunda »

Bit of a gravedig, but I will be on topic...

Was given one of these today.
It is in a terrible state. The mech is loose, but could be all there, at least 1 ruined spring, the reel papers have some damage, the reject tube is broken off, and the cabinet is yuk. But it was free.

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http://i1032.photobucket.com/albums/a40 ... sxwqh7.jpg

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http://i1032.photobucket.com/albums/a40 ... ofqyzd.jpg

If this thread comes alive, I'll continue posting here, otherwise, might start a new thread...
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Last edited by downunda on Mon Aug 01, 2016 8:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
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downunda
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Re: Sapphire (Apex Amusements) bandit identified

Post by downunda »

Now that I have read all the posts, I can add a few more things:

This has foam in the cabinet as well.
I have a Jubilee unit as well (it's very different to this mechanism).
Yes, gold coloured tin reels.
Fan on the clock is blue, if that makes any difference.

Will take better pics in sunlight tomorrow.
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treefrog
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Re: Sapphire (Apex Amusements) bandit identified

Post by treefrog »

Welcome downunda,
I've sill not done anything with my one yet, but good to see another of this lesser seen machine. I am sure you will have fun getting it back into operational state. Only obvious thing I can see is the missing coin overflow tube to the cash box. Does it work?
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downunda
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Re: Sapphire (Apex Amusements) bandit identified

Post by downunda »

Hey back at ya.
The over flow tube is there, the soldered tab cam off. Easy fix. In reality, I don't need it, as let's face it, it's no longer gonna have many coins fed in to it...

I gave it a single pull yesterday when I got it home, but the reels didn't move, and the clock was very slow.
I hope to spend an hour on it today, and fix a few things, give it a little clean, and replace a spring or 2, and see if I can get it to function. I'll add some more pics then...
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downunda
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Re: Sapphire (Apex Amusements) bandit identified

Post by downunda »

So I spent an hour brushing off the cobwebs, old foam, a little lube, and replaced the buggered spring. Coin mech is bent and will need fixing before I will be able to use any coins in it, but manually, it works. Payout slides will need to come out and be properly cleaned, but reassembled and took a few pics. If anyone want full size pics, just ask. Need to get some full size pics of the mech, so hopefully OP will get my email. Haven't tried the electrics, but need to flouro tubes. Found a Five pence coin, dated 1661! ;-)

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Re: Sapphire (Apex Amusements) bandit identified

Post by gameswat »

Good lord - the Hunchback of Slot-be Damned! That box on the back is bloody ugly. I guess it was either an after thought or later revamp to add lights and multi pulls for one coin?
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downunda
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Re: Sapphire (Apex Amusements) bandit identified

Post by downunda »

See the last pic for electronics inside the hunchback....
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Re: Sapphire (Apex Amusements) bandit identified

Post by ybot »

Sorry to bring this topic back from the dead.
I'm so excited to come back here and see all the answers and replies.

That last one is identical case wise to min, and the electronics are the same and what needs to be repaired in mine. I would love to see what lights and sounds they are capable of making.

I will pop in and check here again. I have the mech running nicely, but would love to source a new knob for the handle and also have the electronics looked at or even where to source those parts so I can have a crack at replacing them.

Thanks again for all the replies.

If there is anyone who thinks they can help with pointing me in the direction of parts feel free to email me or even pm me.
Thanks. !!CHEERS!!
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