Restored – Bally (1977) Mata Hari Pinball
Bally actually came out with two versions of the Mata Hari pinball in 1977 and was right in the middle of changing technology from electro-mechanical (relays, contacts and basic operation) to solid state (circuit board with programmable memory and deeper rules). Â This of course was their first iteration of solid state pinball, but they basically retained the design through most of the decade, so their initial iteration was a success. Â Future machines were enhanced with digital sound and more advanced lighting – as seen on machines such as Xenon.
What makes this game very unique is the fact that it uses chime boxes to generate sound (same as the electro-mechanical versions) – which makes this a bell-ringer solid-state pinball machine !
Bally was at the pinnacle of pinball at this time and made some beautiful machines with thought provoking themes. Â The colors and artwork on the Mata Hari is robust and seductive and makes for a wonderful piece of functional art.
Restoration
This machine came to us by way of trade in. Â It wasn’t really worth that much as it was worn to the wood all over and had many broken parts. Â Because of the theme, it was bumped up to the top of the list for restorations as I just wanted to see how nice we can make it (within reason).
The results are much nicer than I had planned. Â Not only is it stunning to look at, but it plays fantastic. Â I had no idea these machines could play so fast…
This machine went through:
- Cabinet stripping, sanding, repair and 5 step automotive paint process with clear coat protection
- Playfield stripped and sanded. Â All new artwork, custom paint under the plastics and multiple coats of automotive clear coat.
- New plastic posts and rubber
- New plastic artwork
- New drop targets
- New flippers and linkages
- New Pop bumper assemblies and caps
- All metal polished
- Wood rails sanded and painted gloss cherry
- Full LED installation
- New PCB
- Repaired driver, transformer  and lamp boards
- New coin door
- New legs and hardware
- Near mint backglass with the unique dagger inscription
Pictures
Before
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- Mata Hari – Cabinet before
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- Mata Hari – worn playfield
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- Mata Hari – tired
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- Mata Hari – before
After Cabinet
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- Mata Hari Restored – Front
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- Mata Hari Restored – Front side
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- Mata Hari Restored – Side
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- Mata Hari Restored – Coin
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- Mata Hari Restored – Corner clear coat gloss
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- Mata Hari Restored – Front Side
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- Mata Hari Restored – Head
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- Mata Hari Restored – Top Angle
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- Mata Hari Restored – Overview
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- Mata Hari Restored – Playfield
After Playfield
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- Mata Hari – Playfield overview
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- Mata Hari – Playfield ball view
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- Mata Hari – Playfield Center
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- Mata Hari – Playfield Right
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- Mata Hari – Playfield Left
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- Mata Hari – Playfield Pops and Saucer
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- Mata Hari – Playfield Launcher
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- Mata Hari – Original glass with dagger inscription
Video