Pinball Magic was in the middle of a long line of filthy games. I played it because it was the most attractive of the lineup that I don't own (I usually only pay for games I don't have at home). It hadn't been very well looked after, it was filthy and had most of the bulbs out in the backbox (likely robbed to use on the playfield), but it played well. I was knocked out by the toys, the colour-changing captive ball, stage with magically elevating ball (this effect was inhhanced by the lack of lighting), and I couldn't believe my eyes the first time I saw the ball run along the underside of the magic wand!

The wand has to be one of the best toys ever made for a pinball machine.

After returning home to the UK, Pinball Magic went to the top of my shopping list, and I was lucky enough to find one quite soon after (all Capcom games were produced in low numbers but because most collectors prefer Bally/Williams games, they can still be found, and usually at reasonable prices). My game was in (at best) reasonable condition. The cabinet was pretty good showing no signs of fading though had had a security bar installed over the cashbox (always a sign of where it's been!), and some plastics were cracked or broken and all the drop-target stickers were missing. However, it was 100% working, perfect backglass, nice playfield (though very dirty).

Reparing a Williams game is often a matter of scrounging parts from other games, fabricating your own, or just 'making do' but Illinois Pinball bought the rights to all the Capcom games and have a large supply of spares. Ordering was quite simple once I'd established fax connection to Kim and my order, including a complete set of spare plastics. Shopping out this game and installing the new plastics is a job still to be done.

For the time being, here are some pictures of my game as it is now...