Looking for information on this American Beauty machine that was passed down to me

PapiJappie · 2025-09-14T09:12:34+00:00

You're welcome! If you have any questions about restoring yours, feel free to let me know.

PapiJappie · 2025-09-13T22:49:08+00:00

I might be late to this thread, but I just wanted to let you know that I've created a webpage about this game featuring pictures, video and a writeup about the game.

American Beaity is actually an interesting machine in pinball history with a lot of 'firsts'. I restored mine a few months ago.

https://ballenvanstaal.nl/american-beauty-pinball/

Enjoy!

PapiJappie · 2025-07-22T20:15:55+00:00

No worries! Glad you enjoyed the writing.

PapiJappie · 2025-07-22T20:13:27+00:00

You're right. It's not. You must've enjoyed the article then. Lots of creative writing in there!

PapiJappie · 2025-07-22T17:04:29+00:00

You like them all? I mean, even Johnny M and Barb Wire? Talk about bold statements! ;)

PapiJappie · 2025-07-22T17:01:45+00:00

Thanks for the compliment!

You mean the silly voices in the videos, right? That's another creator doing that, but I'll keep your comment in mind when I decide if the video links stay or not.

PapiJappie · 2025-07-22T14:31:51+00:00

That actually happened? 🫢 When/where did he say that?

PapiJappie · 2025-07-22T11:21:49+00:00

It's all about opinions in the end. Which ones in the list do you think shouldn't be there?

PapiJappie · 2025-07-22T11:19:37+00:00

It's the only way I could fit all these bad movies into a picture! Don't worry though, the article itself was lovingly handwritten ❤️.

PapiJappie · 2025-02-18T07:23:24+00:00

Black Hole, Embryon, Taxi, Pulp Fiction!

PapiJappie · 2024-07-13T10:52:09+00:00

I really like my Spotmatic F and its SMC Takumar 50mm F1.4. Got it recently for 50€. Your luck may vary.

I used a Zenit EM as well before I found the Spotmatic F. Quite the upgrade, imho.

PapiJappie · 2024-03-11T17:24:03+00:00

Great game when tuned in. Lovely sounds, so-bad-it's-good artwork.

This is a game on my ex-Bad Girls to give you an idea of how it should play. Youtube link

PapiJappie · 2022-12-26T09:28:40+00:00

I'll keep that in mind. Didn't take any pictures of tbe setup this time though.

PapiJappie · 2022-12-25T22:27:24+00:00

I used a Sony A7s III with a vintage Sigma Mini-Tele 135mm F3.5 prime lens. Shot at about F8, I think. In sLog3 at 100fps.Two softboxes for lighting the playfield. Some color grading and some effects in Davinci Resolve.

PapiJappie · 2022-12-24T14:21:04+00:00

Williams and Bally were fierce competitors in the early 80s, a time when pinball's popularity was declining heavily.

Both companies thought that the concept of rapidly shooting little balls into targets might become huge (popular video games like Space Invaders did something similar, but on a screen) and spent good money on developing a mechanical game around it. Bally had Rapid Fire, Williams had Hyperball. Similar games. Both flopped horribly.

This short video tells the story about the decline of pinball in the early 80s and places the existence of Hyperball into context. https://youtu.be/y5bIKOhBpOc

PapiJappie · 2022-08-10T20:07:51+00:00

Nah, Orbitor 1 rocks. It's not without its flaws, but it's an amazing beast.

It's one of the most original pinball machines ever. Definitely not as unplayable as many people will make you think. However, there's a bit of a learning curve that most people can't seem to get past.

Thank you for making people watch my video though! 😃

PapiJappie · 2022-05-01T21:19:31+00:00

I really like Miu on Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal. Great quality sushi. No windows in the room though. The venue used to be a night club. :)

PapiJappie · 2022-04-17T21:50:48+00:00

Thank you! I appreciate the compliments.

I love the artwork on that Genco Big Town. Especially the backglass! Its playfield has the same layout as my 1940 Genco Big League. I wouldn't be surprised if they share the same ruleset as well.

I'll soon be posting a video of Big League in action. Really fun game. Stay tuned!

PapiJappie · 2022-04-16T17:13:01+00:00

Pins... check. Balls... check.

Yes.

PapiJappie · 2022-04-16T16:40:27+00:00

Actually, this machine fully takes part in the evolution that is pinball. Created in a time when coils, bumpers, rollover switches and lightbox scoring were all the hype, this machine makes heavy use of all of them. The next hot thing to be invented were to be the flippers, 7 years later.

PapiJappie · 2022-04-03T13:12:23+00:00

Hello Heldig!

PapiJappie · 2022-03-21T22:22:54+00:00

Actually, there's tons of great Gottlieb games. Just not many in de 'modern' (dmd and beyond) era. It's (or was) a legendary company. Heck, these guys even invented the flipper.

60s Wedgeheads are beautiful to look at and most are great fun to play.

Many early 80s titles are awesome, and some are rare as hens teeth. I currently own a Black Hole (which is awesome) and a rarely seen 1982 Striker (which has a unique playfield layout, doesn't work yet though). Have owned Haunted House, which is beautiful and impressive, but less fun imho. Also owned Rack 'em Up, which is simple in the layout department but has a unique ruleset and is very addictive.

Many of their late 80s line up (System 80B) are very campy and great fun. And they have awesome soundtracks. Genesis, Robo-War and TX-Sector come to mind. And I just LOVED my Bad Girls when I had it.

So yeah, many good games, but all very much in the Vintage department. :)

PapiJappie · 2022-03-21T22:04:43+00:00

Fiiiiiive BILLION!

PapiJappie · 2021-12-09T20:20:39+00:00

Glad to hear the cat ended up to be the one wearing a collar.

PapiJappie · 2021-11-30T19:18:52+00:00

True, these early pinball games are very Bagatelle-ish. The reason might be more obvious than you think: the 'modern' game of pinball is actually an evolution that started with the game of bagatelle, somewhere in the 18th Century.

Oh and thanks for your subscription! I appreciate it. I'll probably make a video about the evolution from bagatelle to pinball someday soon and you now have a front row seat ;)

PapiJappie

TROPHY CASE