Classic Mode

Mechanical Memories Magazine

Issue: 2006-June - Issue 3

Now let's look at Jackpot, P/entywin etc. (for clarity, J shall now refer to these five
allwins as the ' mystery' machines). The most distinctive feature is the aluminium casting
across the width of the door, which acts as a backplate for the trigger and payout knob.
But there ' s one feature of these allwins which is completely different to the machines of
other makers (and I missed it at first)! Whales, Parkers and Kraft machines all have the
topflash built-in as an integral part of the case. Now look at the mystery machines; the
topflash is part of the door, not the case. And have you noticed the hinges yet? They're
Bryan's type, not the extruded type used by other makers.
I asked Dave a number of questions when we met at the Salisbury auction recently. I
was interested to know what sort of backflashes were used in Parker's machines, and he
said they were printed on the reverse of clear plastic, like Whales. So what about the
mystery machines? The backflashes on these machines are paper or card, with clear
plastic in front for protection, like Kraft and Wonders. So, something else that doesn 't
'stack up ' . Dave also said that he too was beginning to have doubts about the Parkers
theory.
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The next thing to consider is the mechanism. Apart from the veneer cased carousel
allwins, I can only recall seeing about three Parker's machines in the ' flesh ', and I don't
remember taking too much notice of the mechs. Anyway, two of them were sweetie
allwins, so they wouldn't count. I've spoken to a couple of collectors with regard to
Parker' s mechanisms, and the general view seems to be they are nothing to get excited
about; rather like Whales and others, they were mass produced as cheaply as possible.
Now let's consider the 'mystery machines ' mechanisms. The first notable feature is
the use of Bryan' s operator variable payout system, which I' ve not encountered on any
other machine (apart from Bryans, of course). In addition to this, these machines employ
what I believe to be a unique semi-automatic payout. By this I mean, regardless of how
many coins the machine pays out, the player only has to turn the knob once. This part of
the mech. seems to be very well engineered, and again, totally unlike anything I've
encountered previously. Three spring-loaded slides, each the thickness of two pennies,
are held in place by three 'hooks '. If, for instance, the player wins two pennies, the first
hook releases it' s slide when the payout knob is turned. If four pennies are won, the first
and second hooks release their respective slides. When six pennies are won, all three
slides are released on the turn of the payout knob.
The payout slides and retaining hooks in the mystery New York machine
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