Bally Theatre of Magic

The Theatre of Magic was designed by John Popadiuk and came to the market in early 1995. It is one of the four designs (World Cup Soccer, Theatre of Magic, Tales of the Arabian Night) by Popadiuk that was put into place by Bally / Williams. The theater is my favorite followed by Cirqus Voltaire in 1997. There are more than 6500 copies made.

My first Theatre has been about a year in my game room. A nice copy with a neat playground and a good cabinet. Neat playing field? Well, except for the black edges to the "illusions". These are the eight inserts which are located on the playing field between the sling shots.

When I asked the cabinet had just held there was still nothing. But after a few months they were there once. Those little rectangular black stripes. And then they were only growing. After one year, the illusions were not to be seen, there was just a big black spot in the middle. Strange, very strange.

This large black spot in the middle did not show to anyone. Well to me, but not to friends or family, for example. "Nice closet René, there you have to be happy!" Yeah, sure. Have your eyes checked once weirdo .... Sin such a case, of course. Technically 100% fit, beautiful cabinet, delightful to play on and then something happens ....

A new owner was quickly found. This was happy with it and that's probably still there. And could the search still squeezes a / Theatre new start for me. But or without the black stripes in the middle!

Theatres how I would have ended up viewed? Hard to say, but there were many. And the trouble was, she had all of that thick black stripes. And more annoying was that almost no one else saw it ( "What do you mean? Where? I do not see anything"). Or that almost no one bothered about it
( "Yes, but this pinball is twelve years old you know").

When the need is greatest, or despair in fact, the salvation is near. A collector from The Hague offered me to his Theatre. And not just a copy, a theater with a PFR playing field gilded ramps, new decals on the cabinet, new plastics et cetera et cetera ... It began to look like.

End of story? Not really. There was still work here. The entire cabinet was split. The playing field was waiting for her beauty treatment in America. Parts of the court and the government, were in different boxes between lower parts of other castes (Medieval, Monster Bash, Cactus Canyon and a few others).

In the summer of 2008 finally entered the field of play back from the States. Beautiful? Errug beautiful!

Building could begin. In consultation we decided that I would take myself building up for my account. To have had a number of reasons that at least my preference. The most important: fast start !.
Another reason to implement this project, in its own management was the cabinet. New decals applied to a government is an emergency measure in my opinion. Often you still are left with a hangover after a year or two (leg injury for example). Did you make a Cactus Canyon you can not escape. But a theater with a beautiful cabinet is relatively easy to find. And that proved to be the case.

After "a few" hours of hard work (80?) Is the cabinet in a beautiful state in its place. Completely overhauled from top to bottom, from trunk to print. New ramps, new plastics, golden paws, ditto side rails and lockdownbar ...... a picture!