The Pinball Enthusiast's Essentials: The Complete List
The Pinball Enthusiast's Essentials: The Complete List
A pinball machine isn't a piece of furniture: it's a 120 kg electromechanical machine that wears out with every game. Here is the complete list of what you actually need — the machine, the wear parts, the replacement boards, the tools, the diagnostics, the maintenance, and the frills we all end up buying. With price ranges verified in July 2026, and one warning up front: Pinballs Store only sells replacement electronic boards. Toppers, neon signs, clocks, tools, waxes, accessories — we sell none of them. What follows is therefore an enthusiast's recommendation, not a catalogue in disguise.
1. The machine: what it really costs
First trap: there is no such thing as "the" price of a pinball machine. Here are real benchmarks (July 2026, incl. VAT).
| Segment | Observed range | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Electromechanical (EM, 1960s-70s) | €1,000 – €2,000 as-is €2,000 – €3,000 professionally restored |
No electronics at all. Repaired with a screwdriver and patience. |
| 1980s solid-state (Gottlieb System 80, Bally, Williams) | ≈ €1,500 – €3,500 | A deliberately wide range: condition and title are everything. It's the most accessible segment, and the one where the boards give out. |
| 1990s DMD (Addams Family, Twilight Zone, Medieval Madness) | €7,000 – €10,000 from a European dealer | From ≈ €5,000 for a non-working project to €13,000-15,000 for a flawless restoration. A "Medieval Madness" with no mention of condition means nothing. |
| New Stern (authorised German dealer) | Pro €7,950 · Premium €10,400 · LE from €14,275 | In France, expect closer to €9,000 – €9,600 for the same Pro: shipping, distribution, margin. The gap is real — don't be caught out. |
Good news for buyers: the post-Covid bubble has deflated. According to market tracking by pinballprices.com, used pinball machines sold in 2025 for roughly 1.1% less than in 2024. To dig deeper, see our guides How much does a pinball machine cost? and What is my pinball machine worth?.
2. Wear parts: what breaks, and what it costs
A pinball machine doesn't break down: it wears out. These parts are consumables, not exceptional repairs. Prices taken from a European distributor (Germany, incl. VAT, excl. shipping) in July 2026.
| Part | Price | Why it's essential |
|---|---|---|
| Flipper rebuild kit (2 flippers) | ≈ €70 – €72 | Bushings, shafts, linkages, plungers. Do it as soon as the flippers go soft or hit crooked. |
| Flipper coil | €16 – €25 | A burnt coil smells of scorched varnish. It happens. |
| Coil sleeve | €0.69 | The 70-cent part that gives a soft flipper back 20% of its power. |
| Complete rubber set | €14 – €29 (rubber) €19 – €37 (silicone) €45 – €60 (premium polyurethane) |
Rubbers harden, blacken the playfield and completely distort the bounce. Replace every 2-3 years even without heavy use. |
| EOS contacts / switch blades | EOS €6 – €9 flipper blades €10 – €22 micro-switches €4 – €13 |
A misadjusted EOS = a flipper that stays stuck or loses its holding power. |
| Drop targets | €2 – €13 each full bank €37 – €130 |
They snap clean off, usually at the worst moment. |
| #44 / #47 bulbs | €0.20 – €0.40 each | The consumable par excellence. |
| Replacement LEDs | from €0.98 | Careful: on older machines, insist on "non-ghosting" LEDs, otherwise your lamps will ghost. |
| Playfield glass (standard tempered) | €47 – €85 | Often collection-only: shipping costs more than the glass. |
| Anti-glare / high-definition glass | €188 – €198 (Europe) ≈ $240 (PDI Invisiglass, USA) |
The one "luxury" that genuinely changes the game: you can finally see the ball under the lights. |
| 1-1/16" steel ball | €1.80 – €2.25 | A scratched ball scratches the playfield. Replace them — it's two euros. |
| Remote battery holder | €2.73 | The single most profitable part on this whole page. See below. |
The tip that's worth €300. On every machine from 1977 to 1991, the backup batteries are soldered or seated on the MPU board. When they leak — and they all leak in the end — the electrolyte eats the traces and destroys the board. A remote battery holder at €2.73, with a 60 cm lead, moves the batteries well away from the board. Ten minutes of work. It saves you a €99 or €349 board. Details in our article Leaking battery on a pinball machine: dangers, damage and the definitive fix.
3. Replacement boards: where we come in (and where we don't)
Let's be direct: this is our business, so read this section with the critical eye it deserves.
On a solid-state machine from 1977-1989, the original boards are the structural weak point: corrosive batteries, dried-out capacitors, eaten-away traces, drifting power supply, oxidised connectors. A modern replacement board settles that problem for good. Our boards are FPGA boards: the original ROMs are interpreted in an FPGA (this is not software emulation), Plug & Play, battery-free, with native Freeplay and the original coin mech still working.
And here is the limit, stated honestly: a replacement board fixes the electronics. Full stop. It won't straighten a worn playfield, won't free a jammed target, won't replace a dead coil or a misadjusted switch. If your machine has a mechanical problem, a new board will change nothing — and we'd rather tell you before you buy than after.
- Gottlieb System 80 / 80A / 80B — GottFA80_Plus (all-in-one) from €349 · Full version with integrated sound board €399 · Godri80 (driver) €99 · Gosof (sound board with speech) €129 · GoPOP80 (pop bumper driver) €29. Guides: the all-in-one System 80 board and System 80B specifics.
- Williams System 3 to 7 — WillFA7 from €349. The guide.
- Bally / Stern 1977-1985 — BallyFa (CPU) €299 · BallyDri (power + driver) €199 · BallyLa_60 (lamp driver) €149. The guide.
To understand what does what inside a pinball machine (MPU, driver, power supply, sound), read Pinball electronics explained.
4. Tools: the real minimum, and the false needs
| Tool | Verified price | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Multimeter | Entry level (Voltcraft VC-20) ≈ €37 incl. VAT · Fluke 115 ≈ €299 incl. VAT | Essential, non-negotiable. A €37 multimeter does 95% of the work on a pinball machine. The Fluke is comfort. |
| Soldering iron / station | Pinecil V2 €67.50 · Weller WE 1010 ≈ €243 incl. VAT · Hakko FX-888D ≈ €256 incl. VAT | Essential from your very first repair. The Pinecil (USB-C) is the best value for money right now. |
| Manual desoldering pump | < €20 | Fine for a quick fix. Painful for bulk work. |
| Desoldering gun (Hakko FR-301) | ≈ €382 incl. VAT | A luxury justified only if you desolder whole boards. Otherwise, no. |
| Set of imperial nut drivers (SAE) | Complete pinball tool kit ≈ $90 in the USA | Crucial point: pinball hardware is imperial, not metric. You need 1/4", 5/16", 11/32", 3/8". A metric set will never bite properly. |
| Playfield support / lift | OEM brackets ≈ $50 · dedicated tools (PinJack, PinTisserie) $150 – $280 | Recommended as soon as you work under the playfield. A good support stops you bending the ramps. |
| Head torch, telescopic magnet, inspection mirror | A few euros | Underrated. You'll be fishing a dropped screw out of the cabinet at least once a month. |
| Torque wrench | €200 – €280 | No, honestly. See below. |
On the torque wrench, let's be honest: no Stern, Williams or Bally service manual publishes a tightening torque for the legs. The only figure in circulation (36-38 N·m) comes from a forum post relaying an email from Stern technical support — it is not a manufacturer specification. The real risk, in fact, is over-tightening, which strips the thread out of the leg plates. A 9/16" spanner and common sense are enough.
5. Diagnostics: seeing what the machine won't tell you
On an 80s pinball machine, the question is never "is it broken?" but "where is it broken?". A switch under the playfield? A blown driver? A cut trace? Without a diagnostic tool, you're stripping it down blind.
On Gottlieb System 80/80A/80B, our Lisy80 diagnostic board answers exactly that. What it is, precisely: a replacement CPU board that runs your machine's original ROMs, and which exposes a web interface (LISYcontrol) reachable from any browser — phone included, standing in front of the machine. Concretely:
- Real-time switch matrix: each switch shows as closed (red) or open (green). Drop a target: if it doesn't turn red, the fault is under the playfield, not in the board. You've just saved two hours.
- Solenoid test: the board sends a pulse to one coil at a time — impossible to burn one out by mistake.
- Lamp test, display test (you can write whatever you like on them), sound test, and DIP switch settings from the browser.
- It also does away with the reset board (notoriously temperamental on Gottlieb), the System 80's chronic grounding problems, and the batteries — and therefore the corrosion.
The LISY project itself is open source (Ralf Thelen, Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0 licence): you could in theory build one yourself. We sell the assembled, tested and supported version. And no, it won't repair your coil: it will tell you it's the coil.
Lisy80 — diagnostic board for Gottlieb System 80 / 80A / 80B
Full web interface (switches, solenoids, lamps, displays, sounds, DIP), original ROMs, battery-free, Plug & Play.
€199 — 6-month warranty (parts and labour) against any failure not caused by misuse, + 30-day money-back guarantee. Free technical support.
→ See the Lisy80 · If you'd rather have an "I just want it to work" solution, look at the GottFA80_Plus (from €349), which replaces CPU, driver and power supply in one go.
6. Maintenance: where a lot of enthusiasts do damage
This is the chapter where myths get expensive. Let's sort them out.
- Novus (kit 1+2+3, ≈ €17 incl. VAT). Novus 1 = cleaner, no abrasive: that's the one for routine care. Novus 2 = fine abrasive (light scratches). Novus 3 = heavy abrasive. Worth knowing, and nobody says it: Novus never mentions pinball anywhere on its site, and explicitly advises against 2 and 3 on "coated" plastics. Every "safe on playfields" promise comes from resellers, not the manufacturer. Novus 2 is generally fine on a clear-coated playfield or one under mylar; on an old un-coated playfield, it will lift the paint.
- Wax. Any pure carnauba paste wax does the job (Blitz Wax, automotive carnauba waxes). Avoid silicone-based "cleaner waxes".
- Millwax: be careful. Sold as a cleaner-wax, its base is in fact silicone and petroleum distillates — there is no wax in it. Silicone soaks into the wood and makes any later re-clearcoating impossible (the primer "fisheyes"). Acceptable on an old unfinished EM playfield. Bad idea on a modern clear-coated machine.
- Magic eraser (melamine sponge): it's not a cleaner, it's an abrasive — compared on the forums to 1200-grit sandpaper. With alcohol, it removes the clearcoat rather than the dirt. Only reach for it if you're prepared to re-coat.
- PinSnake (≈ $45). We checked: yes, it really exists. It is neither an LED strip nor a ball retriever. It's an articulated cleaning rod, exactly the diameter of a ball (1-1/16"), which you snake through orbits, tunnels and hidden ramps to clean them without lifting the playfield. A microfibre cloth attaches to it (velcro), plus a rubber ball that attacks black ball trails. Their slogan: "floss for your pinball machine". Launched in July 2024, winner at the 2024 TWIPY Awards (best non-interactive mod).
Our full method: Cleaning a pinball machine: the complete maintenance guide. And if you're aiming bigger: Restoring a vintage pinball machine: the complete guide.
7. The guilty pleasure: mods, toppers and light
None of this is essential. Everybody ends up buying some. Prices recorded in July 2026 (US dollars for American brands: conversion and shipping are on you).
| Category | Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Official Stern topper | $399.99 (generic) · $999 – $1,499 (licensed) | The most expensive mod per square centimetre in the world. |
| Third-party / custom topper | $50 – $315 | Mezel Mods, Laseriffic, independent makers. |
| Reproduction translite / backglass | ≈ €70 (Europe) to $300 | Takes ten years off a machine. |
| Mirrored backglass | ≈ $250 / £250 | A collector's item more than a playing one. |
| Pinball neon signs and clocks | ≈ $100 (standard neon) · $199.99 (Stern Infinity Mirror Sign) | For the games room, not the machine. |
| Custom shooter rod | $45 – $100 (third-party) · $179.99 – $224.99 (official Stern) | The most visible mod for the least money. |
| Side blades / art blades (cabinet interior) | $99.99 (Stern) · ≈ $110 (mirror blades) | Fitted in 20 minutes, transforms the cabinet. |
| Side armour (metal) | $269.99 – $399.99 | Recent Sterns only. |
| Pin Stadium (playfield lighting) | $299.95 – $649.95 | LED bars mounted in the cabinet, 10-15 min solderless install, RGB control by app, transferable from one machine to another. The answer to a too-dark playfield. Frugal alternative: Comet Pinball spotlight kits (from ≈ $17). |
| PinSound (replacement sound boards) | PinSound PLUS ≈ $440 | A French brand (the Manaud brothers). Drop-in sound boards for Data East / System 11c / WPC / DCS, with enriched sound packs. |
| ColorDMD | $439 – $549 | Colour DMD display for 1990s machines. The LCD version is the sensible first buy, but it doesn't fit every cabinet. |
Two clarifications, because there's a lot of nonsense out there: "pinball hi-fi" doesn't exist as a product category — the real audio players are PinSound, PinWoofer and Pinnovators (who do audio, not lighting). And the "backbox stand" you sometimes see listed in equipment guides: we found no commercial product by that name. So we don't list it.
The starter list, if you can only buy six things
- A multimeter (≈ €37)
- A decent soldering iron (≈ €70)
- A set of imperial nut drivers (SAE)
- A remote battery holder (€2.73) — fit it today
- A complete rubber set (€14 – €37) and a bottle of Novus 1
- A diagnostic tool suited to your system (on Gottlieb System 80: the Lisy80, €199)
Total: under €350. That's the difference between "I own a pinball machine" and "I know how to look after my pinball machine".
FAQ
What exactly is a "pin snake"?
It's an articulated cleaning rod for pinball machines, the diameter of a ball (1-1/16"), sold by PFXPinMods under the name PinSnake (≈ $45). You snake it through orbits, ramps and tunnels to clean them without lifting the playfield; a microfibre cloth attaches with velcro. It is not an LED strip, not a wiring tool, and not a ball retriever — three common confusions.
Which tools do you really need to maintain a pinball machine?
The real minimum: a multimeter (from €37), a soldering iron (from €67), a set of imperial nut drivers (pinball hardware is in inches, not millimetres), a desoldering pump, a head torch and a telescopic magnet. A torque wrench is not necessary: no manufacturer's manual publishes a tightening torque for the legs.
Does Novus 2 damage the playfield?
Novus 2 is a fine abrasive, not a cleaner. On a clear-coated playfield or one protected by mylar, it is generally fine if used sparingly. On an old un-coated playfield, it lifts the paint. For routine care, use Novus 1, the only one of the three that is genuinely a non-abrasive cleaner. Note that Novus never mentions pinball in its official documentation.
How much does a new pinball machine cost in 2026?
From an authorised German dealer (July 2026): Stern Pro €7,950, Premium €10,400, LE from €14,275. In France, the same Pro tends to go for around €9,000 to €9,600. A restored 1980s machine remains far more accessible: reckon on €1,500 to €3,500 depending on title and condition.
Is a replacement board enough to fix my pinball machine?
No, and it matters to say so. A replacement board fixes electronic problems (MPU, driver, power supply, sound). It does not repair a worn playfield, a burnt coil, a misadjusted switch, a broken target or a cut harness. On a machine bought "for parts", always budget for mechanical parts on top.
Does Pinballs Store sell toppers, neon signs or tools?
No. Pinballs Store only sells replacement electronic boards for vintage pinball machines (Gottlieb System 1 and System 80/80A/80B, Williams System 3 to 7, Bally/Stern 1977-1985). The toppers, clocks, neon signs, tools, waxes and accessories mentioned in this article are independent recommendations: we don't sell them and we earn nothing from them.
Sources & further reading
- PinSnake (PFXPinMods) — the articulated cleaning rod
- Pinball Universe (pu-parts.com) — spare parts, European prices incl. VAT
- Pinball Universe — new machine prices (Stern, Jersey Jack, American Pinball)
- Novus — the 3-step system (official manufacturer documentation)
- LISY (Ralf Thelen) — the open source project
- Pin Stadium — playfield lighting kits
- PinSound — replacement sound boards (France)
- ColorDMD — colour DMD displays
- Pinball Prices — used market trends
- Flippers.be — tumbling balls and metal parts
