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Spy Hunter


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Spy Hunter / IPD No. 2328 / October, 1984 / 4 Players
 
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Average Fun Rating: [ 7 stars - Click for comments ]    7.3/10  (26 ratings/22 comments)        [ Add Your Rating! ]
Manufacturer: Bally Midway Manufacturing Company (1983-1988) [Trade Name: Bally]
Date Of Manufacture: October, 1984
Model Number: 0A17
MPU: Bally MPU AS-2518-35
Type: Solid State Electronic (SS) [?]
Production: 2,300 units   (confirmed)
Serial Number Database:View at The Internet Pinball Serial Number Database (IPSND.net)  (External site)
Theme: Adventure
Notable Features: Flippers (4), Pop bumper (1), Slingshot (1), Standup targets (12), 4-bank drop targets (1), Kick-out hole (1), Captive ball (1), Spinning target (1). Left dual outlanes, one has a detour gate. Mini-bagatelle in upper-left playfield.
Design by: Greg Kmiec
Art by: Tony Ramunni
Software by: Rehman Merchant
Notes: Bally used the same name for a video game released in 1983.

"AGENT GK" on targets refer to the game's designer, Greg Kmiec.

Uses the AS-2518-45 "Cheap Squeak" sound board.

Included in this listing are images of original backglass artwork for this game, titled "Blowout". Collector Bill Kurtz indicated it was obtained direct from artist Tony Ramunni and that the name of this game was changed to 'Spy Hunter' to cash in on the popularity of the video game having that name. We contacted Ramunni but it was simply too long ago for him to remember that his original artwork became Spy Hunter.

Designer Greg Kmiec tells us some interesting information about the creation of this game:

SPY HUNTER was an homage to Ted Zale. I incorporated the roll-over button feature of his JOUST game into my asymmetrical design of the playfield.

SPY HUNTER was originally going to be an Elvis' jukebox-themed game with the two rows of matching bonus lights in the center of the playfield acting as song-selecting push buttons on a jukebox face and the upper left area of roll-over buttons (taken from JOUST) to represent a swiveled-hipped Elvis. The only problem was that Bally didn't have the Elvis license (I think DATA EAST did at that time.) Marketing saw the game one afternoon and said that Bally didn't have the Elvis license. But Bally did own the SPY HUNTER video game license.

As the whitewood was completely done with song lettering on it, at Norm Clark's request, George Christian and I stayed late that night and completely stripped all of the the parts from the top of the whitewood (including the bottom mounted units that came through to the top), sanded off the entire top of the playfield of its lettering and completely re-lettered the whitewood in a SPY HUNTER theme, so as to present a companion piece to Midway's SPY HUNTER video game the next day to marketing.

We showed marketing an Elvis game one afternoon and redid the theme over one night in order to show them a different game the next day. That was pretty cool back in those days, because game themes and renderings often took several weeks to make it through the marketing and art departments. The AGENT GK feature was added by the Art Department.

Trying to design a game from the theme up (jukebox) during the era of making a whitewood without a theme and re-branding it for production shows you how far ahead I was in thinking thematically back in those whitewood times, not to mention that radical asymmetrical playfield layout as an homage to Ted Zale.


We have seen one undated photo showing a Spy Hunter at a public show. This game is reportedly made by Maibesa of Spain. The photo was taken at a distance from the game and is out-of-focus. We can barely see the name Bally/Midway on the right side of the backbox but we know that Bally's name has been found on other Maibesa games. We find insufficient information about this possible Maibesa version to make a listing on this site. One Spanish database with this photo reports a date of 1985 with an "Approval Number" (Número de homologación) of A/00/00947 but has no other information.

Photos in: Mike Pacak's Pinball Flyer Reference Book S-Z
Pinball Machines (Eiden-Lukas)External Link, page 137
Pinball The Lure of the Silverball, page 92
Owners List URL:http://www.pinballowners.com/owners/2328  (External site)
Easter Eggs:Available at Cows and Easter Eggs  (External site)
ROMs: 11 KB ZIP ROMs [Bally Midway Mfg. Co.]
Documentation: 11 MB PDF Operations Manual [Bally Midway Mfg. Co.]
  4 MB PDF Schematic Diagrams (paginated, very poor resolution) [Bally Midway Mfg. Co.]
Service Bulletins: 219 KB PDF Service Bulletin (Feb 21, 1985, Flipper Assembly Part Changes) [Bally Midway Mfg. Co.]
  183 KB PDF Service Bulletin (Jan 23, 1985, Roll-Over Button Adjustment Procedure) [Bally Midway Mfg. Co.]
  143 KB PDF Service Bulletin (Oct 18, 1984, Number of Games Replays Per Game Adjustment) [Bally Midway Mfg. Co.]
Images:
(click to zoom)
Image # 3892: Spy Hunter Flyer, Front
Flyer, Front

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Image # 3893: Spy Hunter Flyer, Back
Flyer, Back

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Image # 15689: Spy Hunter Backglass
Backglass

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[Philippe Thibault]
Image # 17899: Spy Hunter Illuminated Backglass
Illuminated Backglass

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Image # 17900: Spy Hunter Playfield
Playfield

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Image # 17901: Spy Hunter Upper Playfield
Upper Playfield

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Image # 17902: Spy Hunter Lower Playfield
Lower Playfield

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Image # 17903: Spy Hunter Cabinet - Left
Cabinet - Left

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Image # 23985: Spy Hunter Illuminated Backglass
Illuminated Backglass

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[Dan Gutchess]
Image # 23986: Spy Hunter Backglass - Reverse
Backglass - Reverse

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[Dan Gutchess]
Image # 23987: Spy Hunter Cabinet - Right
Cabinet - Right

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[Dan Gutchess]
Image # 23988: Spy Hunter Backbox - Left
Backbox - Left

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[Dan Gutchess]
Image # 23989: Spy Hunter Backbox - Right
Backbox - Right

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[Dan Gutchess]
Image # 23990: Spy Hunter Front
Front

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[Dan Gutchess]
Image # 23991: Spy Hunter Playfield - Detail
Playfield - Detail

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[Dan Gutchess]
Image # 23992: Spy Hunter Ball View
Ball View

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[Dan Gutchess]
Image # 23993: Spy Hunter Ball View
Ball View

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[Dan Gutchess]
Image # 23994: Spy Hunter Ball View
Ball View

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[Dan Gutchess]
Image # 23995: Spy Hunter Full View
Full View

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[Dan Gutchess]
Image # 26310: Spy Hunter Instruction Card
Instruction Card

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[John Gray]
Image # 29249: Spy Hunter Behind Backglass
Behind Backglass

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[John Gray]
Image # 29250: Spy Hunter Inside Backbox
Inside Backbox

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[John Gray]
Image # 29251: Spy Hunter Inside Cabinet
Inside Cabinet

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[John Gray]
Image # 29252: Spy Hunter Under Lower Playfield
Under Lower Playfield

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[John Gray]
Image # 29253: Spy Hunter Under Upper Playfield
Under Upper Playfield

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[John Gray]
Image # 46243: Spy Hunter Playfield Plastic
Playfield Plastic

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[Jeffrey L. Winters]
Image # 46244: Spy Hunter Playfield Plastic
Playfield Plastic

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[Jeffrey L. Winters]
Image # 46245: Spy Hunter Playfield Plastic
Playfield Plastic

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[Jeffrey L. Winters]
Image # 46246: Spy Hunter Playfield Plastic
Playfield Plastic

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[Jeffrey L. Winters]
Image # 46247: Spy Hunter Playfield Plastic
Playfield Plastic

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[Jeffrey L. Winters]
Image # 46248: Spy Hunter Playfield Plastic
Playfield Plastic

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[Jeffrey L. Winters]
Image # 46249: Spy Hunter Playfield Plastic
Playfield Plastic

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[Jeffrey L. Winters]
Image # 46250: Spy Hunter Playfield Plastic
Playfield Plastic

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[Jeffrey L. Winters]
Image # 46251: Spy Hunter Playfield Plastic
Playfield Plastic

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[Jeffrey L. Winters]
Image # 46252: Spy Hunter Playfield Plastic
Playfield Plastic

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[Jeffrey L. Winters]
Image # 46253: Spy Hunter Playfield Plastic
Playfield Plastic

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[Jeffrey L. Winters]
Image # 46254: Spy Hunter Promo Key Fob 
(A key fob was included with each sheet of original playfield plastics. It measures 3.5 cm in diameter by 2 mm in thickness. The hole measures 5 mm in diameter.)
Promo Key Fob*

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[Jeffrey L. Winters]
Image # 64072: Spy Hunter Original Backglass Artwork 
(Artist is Tony Ramunni.Color markers were used.Dimensions 13 inches by 14 1/4 inches excluding frame and matte border. Metal frame is 16 1/2 by 20 1/2 inches.)
Original Backglass Artwork*

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[Bill Kurtz]
Image # 64073: Spy Hunter Original Backglass Artwork - Detail 
(Artist is Tony Ramunni.Color markers were used.Dimensions 13 inches by 14 1/4 inches excluding frame and matte border. Metal frame is 16 1/2 by 20 1/2 inches.)
Original Backglass Artwork - Detail*

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[Bill Kurtz]
Image # 71178: Spy Hunter Original Backglass Artwork 
(Artist is Tony Ramunni. Watercolor on posterboard.Dimensions 25 1/2 inches by 26 1/2 inches. Metal frame is 29 by 31 inches.)
Original Backglass Artwork*

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[Bill Kurtz]
Image # 71179: Spy Hunter Original Backglass Artwork - Detail 
(Artist is Tony Ramunni. Watercolor on posterboard.Dimensions 25 1/2 inches by 26 1/2 inches. Metal frame is 29 by 31 inches.)
Original Backglass Artwork - Detail*

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[Bill Kurtz]
 

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