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I'm considering taking a look at this Castle Front machine for sale and can't decide from the pics if its real or fake. Unfortunately there isn't a pic of the mechanism or inside the machine. Any help is appreciated.

In looking at the pictures, the machine cabinet and castings are real and not reproduction. The sword handle is the right height and painted, the repos are higher and usually all chrome. The castings have been repainted, but they are original mills and there is no doubt that the wood case is also original. The reel strips that show through the glass are the right color and old. If you look on the handle side of the case the little metal piece at the bottom of the cabinet is how they covered up mint side vendors, the repo machines don't have that. The majority of the reproduction machines are quarter not nickel. The back door has been repainted , but does look original, if the key for the lock says mills than you have an original lock. The mechanism is not pictured, but should be original based on what I can see from the outside. Finally, your payout is a two cherry pay in other words you need to get two cherries for a payout which is in keeping with standard payouts for this time period. Reproduction machines will have a one cherry pays 2 payout. This is a later castle front machine because of the sword handle and the metal award card. The asking price of this machine should be no more than $700 to $1000 at the very most in todays market in this condition in my opinion. Hope this helps.

Thank you so much for the information.. Very helpful! They are asking $1000 but it also includes the wood slot stand and I assume the cover.

Worth that price for sure. Rick B

That is a very fair price with the stand and cover. Slot stands are worth at least $200 plus and so this is priced right on the money. There is no downside for you in this transaction. Regards, Dave aka Montana Slots

Thank you for your input! I bought the machine which does have a Mills lock and key. The couple I bought it from received it as a gift 11 years ago, put it in their basement and never touched it until they decided to sell it. Definitely original with serial numbers etc... even has the serial number branded on the wood case behind the pull handle.. I've never seen that before. It was sluggish at first but I cleaned and lubed the reels and it spins fine and pays out. Strangest thing tho... one of the lemons on the first reel acts as a wildcard. It'll pay out depending on what is on the other reels. Everything else pays out accurately.
Thanks again for your help!

Does the lemon on the first reel always pay out the same amount like 3 coins? Next examine your reel strip on the first reel is there just one seam (an exposed edge of the reel strip) or does it look like a short piece of reel strip is over the part where the lemon appears? Could you post a picture of the mechanism outside of the case so we can see the side of the mechanism, I especially want to see the area where the lemon is . Thanks, Dave aka mtslots

Please bear with me... I'm learning
There is only one seam in the reel strip on reel 1 ( same as the other reels). Nothing pieced together.
One of the lemons on reel 1 only pays when it's lined up with 2 oranges (or one orange and one bar) on the other two reels... pays as if it's 3 oranges. (10 coins)
A different lemon on reel 1 only pays when it's lined up with 2 plums (or one plum and one bar) on the other two reels... pays as if it's 3 plums.
No lemons on reel 1 pay when lined up with cherries on reel 2 or when lined up with bells or bars on reels 2 and 3.
I'm going to attach 6 pictures:
First two pics are one lemon and two oranges
Second two pics are one lemon and two plums
I'm not sure if the last two pictures will be helpful but they one is a pic of reel strips in regards to the notches on the reels. The other pic is the reel strips seams lined up.

I'm not sure if this is all the info you need.. Thank you for bearing with me and helping out..

Now that we know your Lemon symbol is not patched over , here is what your problem is: there is too much gap in your reel bundle hubs and when the fingers push through the first two discs a gap is created and the last disc is pushed to the far left as you are facing the mechanism. You finger go far enough because of the gap and acts like it has a payout. When I see the picture of the fingers in the middle pushed thru, I see the gap between the reel bundle discs. What you need to do is have a 1/4" drive 6" shaft with a 7/16" socket to access the two bolts of the reel bundle hubs. I would undo the finger springs so there is not pressure on the discs and the just slightly loosen the middle hub and then the other hub to the left. You then have to move the reel tin toward the fingers and close the gap in the reel bundle hubs. Last step is too tighten the nuts but not over tighten as you will strip the bolts. You start with the middle hub, tighten and then slide over the last reel tin. When there is not enough space and the hubs are too close together you will have two tins that spin together and you will have to redo the process to get a tiny gap in-between the reel hubs. Yes this will take patience. Do you know how to remove a reel bundle from the mechanism ? Do you have an iPhone? Regards, Dave aka. Montana Slots

From the description, I would think that there is a higher probability that this machine has the wrong reel 1 strip. Many reel 1 strips from 30's Mills begin Cherry Bar Plum which could explain the plum payout problem. Bit laborious but I would suggest checking all twenty reel 1 symbols with their associated hole in the payout disc. May be a simple strip replacement via Rick Frink order. Flip.