OK d12bn:
Here is the straight scoop on your newly acquired Groetchen "Champion". First, it is not original paint. It is too new looking.
Although, whoever restored it, did an excellent job, and used the correct colors of Hammertone paint. Now for the bad news.
Those fruit symbol reel strips, are my reproductions, and have been replaced. Whoever ordered them, may not have told me
what machine they were going on. Groetchen made more than one change in their reel strip layouts over the years. More-so in
fruit than cigarette. If the machine had real bad strips, with missing symbols, or worse yet, no strips at all, it posses a big problem
when replacing. It takes a very long time from scratch, to figure out each symbol notch, to correspond with the new reel strips. I
do not have every variation of replacements, but can compensate by sending symbol paste-overs to make the correct layout. The
strips shown on your bundle, are for the Groetchen "Zephyr", as witnessed by the Green star seen on the first reel. The "Sparks"
machines that did have a star, were Black, and that was only on one of their special layout variations. Also, these holes would
have been cut into the strips after installing, as none of my strips are pre-holed. So, having no way of knowing which strip layout
was originally on this machine, it all boils down to how perfect you want this machine to be. If you do, it will mean the long and
tedious job, of figuring out the correct layout, and seeing if I have a set closer, or can send you the symbol paste-overs to get it
set up right. For the time being, do not remove the current strips, just in case they are close, as I will send you the individual cut
symbols you need at no charge. Even though the person took the time to line-up the three bars, and punch the holes for the gold
award token, they most likely did not check the rest of the layout, as seen in your U-Tube video, of the machine kicking out a token
on a non-winning combination. If you care to send me your info, and phone number, via my direct e-mail, (
slotdynasty@sbcglobal.net),
I will see what we can do to get your machine set up properly.
With most Trade Stimulators, it doesn't matter how the strips are replaced on the reel, as long as they line-up straight in the window.
But with all of the machines that are token-pay, it matters greatly. The Daval machines don't pose as big of a problem, because they
did not have but a couple of layout changes to contend with. But with Groetchen machines, it was a bigger problem. Many people do
not know if the machine is working properly, just as long as it looks good, because it is placed on a shelf, to look at only.
Bill