Tropicana Pinball (1948 & 1955)

Thursday, February 11th, 2010 at 8:37 pm

There were two Tropicana Pinball machines manufactured by United Manufacturing Company.

1948 Tropicana Pinball (flipperless, EM)

The 1948 electro-mechanical pinball machine has wood rails which was typical of the time period. The backglass shows a Polynesian theme. Two hula girls, a waterfall and some large-leaved plants are seen. Colorful musical notes are along the top of the backglass with score #'s in them. While the backglass of this vintage pinball machine is very colorful, the playfield itself has primarily yellows, greens and dark red. The bumpers are static (not pop bumpers) and do add some color to the playfield and spell out Tropicana. There are 5 gobble holes on this playfield and several rollovers.

There are two different versions of this 1948 vintage pinball machine. The pinball flipperless version has a rounded arch at the top/back of the playfield - by the head. The other version is the rolldown where the ball starts closest to the player and rolls down the other way. This cabinet goes almost totally to the floor. With older games like this it can be challenging to decifer which is which because there are so many variations.

1955 Tropicana Pinball (Bingo Machine, EM)

The theme of this vintage pinball machine is similar to the 1948 flipperless Tropicana. This time, the hula girls adorn the cabinet. There are several girls on the backglass and large palm trees.

Here is info. from an advertisement for the 1955 Tropicana Bingo:

- Roving Special Cards - One to Four Special Cards Light Up on Mystery Basis (Two Bottom Cards Held when held panel is lit). - Super Selection Feature - Extra Ball, 4-in-line scores 5-in-line, advance score, return all balls - Number selection feature, 4-corners score, light-up spot feature (spots 5-8-15) - Extra balls, advancing scores, all balls return, latest e-z service features.

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