Edistan Automatics Skittles

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treefrog
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Edistan Automatics Skittles

Post by treefrog »

Not seen one of these before: Skittles, what looks to be an old '60s penny roll down game, but I cannot work out how it works, e.g. where the coin goes etc....

Sold on a buy-it now on ebay for £100..
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coppinpr
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Re: Skittles

Post by coppinpr »

What a great machine and in great condition. No wonder it went straight away - I would have bought it. I guess the coins had to hit or knock over the pins (closing a switch as they went over?) reset by a pull string? The fact that the highest winner is almost totally hidden by the balls would make it look something like that. My question is what happened to all the losing coins on the play field? !PUZZLED!
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Re: Skittles

Post by pennymachines »

I saw one of these at the top of Dave Hooper's Regent Street emporium in Leamington. I don't recall the maker - possibly Shields (looks like a Krafts Automatics distributor badge in the picture). It wasn't in such good condition, was missing some of the skittles and wasn't plugged in, so my assessment of the game was based purely on a close-quarters visual inspection. My conclusion was that its mode of play did not match its interesting appearance.

I believe it's just a glorified "flasher". You roll your coin down the slide, but it doesn't actually enter the playfield. Instead, it drops straight down to trigger a microswitch and set light bulbs beneath the balls and skittles flashing. I'm not sure whether you could swivel the roll down chute - I think not (the above pictures seem to confirm this). It would have made no difference, as the outcome was entirely determined by the electrical gubbins which probably resembled the inside of a Rotolite. Very odd really. !PUZZLED!

Edit to add...
Looking more closely at the pictures, I'm not sure you actually drop your coin into the wooden roll-down. There seems to be a standard coin slot to the left of it, beneath an "Insert Penny" instruction and notice the familiar chrome button on the other side, beneath a "Press to Stop" instruction and the LIGHT-A-SKITTLE-TO-WIN title. £100 seems very fair if it's working.
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Re: Skittles

Post by treefrog »

Yes PM, I think you're right, they would have been very big skittles to knock over and, as Coppin states, the coins would have just blocked the field.....

Looked a clean item - here is the link to the ebay listing. The seller states it was made in London on a sticker on the inside:

SKITTLES RETRO AMUSEMENT ARCADE GAME 1960 End Of The Pier Style for spare/repair
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Re: Skittles

Post by slotalot »

It was missing its pay out mech, and maybe other bits??? I was sold off Ebay in the end :cry:
And no I didn't get it :oops:
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Re: Skittles

Post by badpenny »

slotalot wrote:.......................... I was sold off Ebay in the end :cry: :oops:
I do hope Elaine bought you.
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Re: Skittles

Post by slotalot »

I WASH DAVE WOOD GET THE SPILL CHUCK FEXED!!! !!JUNK!!
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Re: Skittles

Post by pennymachines »

slotalot wrote:I was sold off Ebay in the end
I can't see any spelling mistake in that sentence. :!?!:
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Re: Skittles

Post by coppinpr »

I was sold off Ebay in the end
Was this an "auction" or a "Buy me now" or... dare I say it... "make an offer"? :#:
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Re: Skittles

Post by philpalmer »

I bought this, looked cool, although I was surprised when the coin didn't actually enter the field but I still think it has a lovely look about it.

It was sold as non working, although the back of the machine looks complete enough, the front payout and push to start button is just a mass of wires, well OK, not a mass but a few. I take it nobody has one of these and could send me a few pictures? Would a schematic be like winning the lottery?

Phil
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Re: Skittles

Post by pennymachines »

Hi Phil,
The only examples I've seen are the one in Leamington and this one from the Southern Counties (Salisbury) sale of 2005.
G67A.jpg

This was attributed to Kraft Automatics, who I take to be the distributor. I suggested Shields of Bridlington whereas the vendor of your machine said it was made in London, but the stamp on the inside clearly identifies the maker as Edistan Auto Machine Company of Clacton-On-Sea, Essex (about whom I know nothing).

I see what I took to be a coin slot on the left, is apparently a cigarette holder !!UHOH!! So you do in fact drop the coin into the wooden "roll down".

The innards don't look too distressed and their similarity to a Jamieson Rotolite type mechanism, with its use of old GPO Uniselectors, is too close to be mere coincidence. I think, therefore, you might benefit from a peek at Slotalot's Roto-Pool Manuals with wiring diagram
See also: Roto-Pool, Roto-Fruit, Rotolite, Electrodart, Bingola, etc.
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slotalot
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Re: Edistan Skittles

Post by slotalot »

I quite fancied this machine myself :D
I was in fact in email contact with the seller when he told me it had been sold to someone else :dammit:
Glad to see it turn up on here, I hope you get it working Phil. !!THUMBSX2!!
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Nice bowling game on ebay

Post by coppinpr »

Topic merged - Site Admin.

Really nice bowling game on ebay right now, cheap start price, nice case and looks to be fully working. Too far north for me though. :-(
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Re: Nice bowling game on ebay

Post by badpenny »

I think we've discussed these before. * merged above
They are not as they appear. The whole bowling theme is fake and totally superfluous.
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Re: Edistan Skittles

Post by treefrog »

I have not checked the pictures for comparison, but there were a few that sold in the John Morley sale a few years back and reappear regularly. As you say, a big box full of components often seen on wall machines. There is a visual appeal to these, which I guess was the intention.
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Re: Edistan Skittles

Post by gameswat »

Nothing worse in my book (arcade) than a machine that looks really interesting as you walk up to it but turns out to be dead borin'! That's a lot of floor space for very little pay off.
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Re: Edistan Skittles

Post by coppinpr »

We discussed these long and detailed when we first talked about them. It was as if we wanted them to be more than they were. :lol: I remember thinking what a pity they were such a con when they look to have so much potential. I don't remember photos of any in this good a condition at that time.
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Ediston Automatics

Post by cheeky »

Topic moved & merged - Site Admin.

Ediston Automatics used to make slot machines in the '40s and '50s. The manufacturer was based in Clacton. Now, even a former employee can’t remember what they made so can anyone throw any light on the company or the types of machines that they made? Thank you.
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Re: Ediston Automatics

Post by pennymachines »

I think it's Edistan, not Ediston. See topic now merged above.
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Re: Ediston Automatics

Post by cheeky »

Well done. That must be the same company. I remember playing a similar machine in and around the Clacton area. I’ll update the employee. Hopefully, it will jog a few brain cells. Do you know of any other machines they made?
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