Issue 52 February 2026

Miniature Time Traveller 9 The other piece in this pinball puzzle is that the top frame and clear acrylic sheet covering the playing field is not glued into place. This just sits on top of the carcass and pushes against the light box, keeping it in place. So these two pieces work in tandem to each other. Now glue the legs into place. The height of the top of the playing field box to the floor is 75mm so the legs are cut to 55mm in length and shaped at the top. They are glued 15mm down from the top edge of the box. Most important. Don’t forget to sign and date your work. I hope you decide to take on this project. It was a lot of fun to do. There are a heap of new designs to look forward on the internet and with our LEDs we can really make them all stand out. Jill. Step 11. Step 12. 5cm high x 4 .37cm wide. The ancestor of all pinball machines is acknowledged to be the 19th century “Bagatelle - Table”. This was a hybrid. It was something between a pool table and a ‘pin table’. Players had to hit balls with cue sticks and get them into pockets or slots surrounded by nails and pins. Towards the end of the 19th century an inventor Montague Redgrave patented a device called a ‘ball shooter’ which was based on the recently available steel spring. The first coin - operated "pinball machine" was invented in 1931 by Automatic Industries. This one was called "WhiƯle Board". The gaming industry really began in the mid 1930s with the production of a game called "Ballyhoo". It was invented by Raymond Maloney of Bally Manufacturing Company of Chicago, IL. In the 1930s batteries were introduced to these games enabling them to make noises, operate a point counter and provide flashing lights. This is where our project pinball machine began to shine. Pinball machines really grew in popularity after World War II. The ten year period of 1948 - 58 was probably the "Golden Age" of pinball, due to the invention of flippers in 1947 by the D. Gottlieb Co. ‘Humpty Dumpty’ was the very first pinball machine with flippers ! However, dark clouds were on the horizon. Many cities across America outlawed pinball machines due to the popular perception that pinball was a game of chance and not of skill. The exception was Las Vegas. It was also thought that pinball machines were associated with the Mafia, and therefore dangerous for children. During the war, also, few pinball machines were made. This makes these early models extremely collectible and they fetch high prices in speciality auctions. After the war new designs were manufactured, becoming more lit up and more, dare we say, garish. The pinball machines going into the 1970s and 1980s carried space themes. The designs were therefore starting to reflect what was going on around them. The 1980s saw concepts never dreamed of back in 1890. Medieval Madness, Voltaire, Twilight Zone, Theatre of Magic, Monster Bash, Scared StiƯ. Don’t you love the names. The most popular today are Tales of the Arabian Nights and Addams Family. And we can see with this rich heritage, how digital games took oƯ and are now the focus of many young people today. Humpty Dumpty. 10cm high x 4 .37cm wide.