Extract from ABC News
Greg Sharp is a pinball enthusiast and collector. (ABC News: Samantha Goerling)
Greg Sharp has a games room few could rival – lined wall to wall with his collection of pinball machines from across the world.
Inside what appears to be a backyard shed in Albany, Western Australia, lights flash and sounds erupt from the machines which lie in four parallel lines along the length of the room.
Greg Sharp bought his first pinball machine decades ago. (ABC News: Samantha Goerling)
As with many great collections, it all started with just one item, some two-and-a-half-decades ago.
"I just love playing them, absolutely love playing them and I figured it would be great if I would own one myself," Mr Sharp said.
Greg Sharp appreciates the details in the design, lighting and music of each machine. (ABC News: Samantha Goerling)
Today, he has 50 pinball titles and counting in his collection, inspired by his teenage years.
"The whole collection of when Bally-Williams merged in ‘86 through to ‘99, they made approximately 86 machines and that's the number I'm hunting," he said.
"Being a fisherman, 'Fish Tales' is the top of my list, [it] brings my passion of work and games together."
Greg Sharp's collection includes pinball machines from all over the world. (ABC News: Samantha Goerling)
The ceiling is lined with power points, in preparation for the remaining 36 titles.
Mr Sharp closely monitors sales across Australia for the remaining machines, many of which were initially imported from abroad.
There are few people with the skills and knowledge to repair the machines. (ABC News: Samantha Goerling)
When he snaps one up, it often needs repairs.
"It's a bit like cars, I probably spend as much time restoring them as I do playing them," he said.
"And again, it's like people with cars, they pop the bonnet and tinker with them, we pop the play field up and tinker with the pinball."
Many of the collectable pinball machines need repairs. (ABC News: Samantha Goerling)
Securing the remaining machines, though, is becoming increasingly difficult.
"As people like myself get hold of these particular titles and don't sell them again, they become harder and harder to get," Mr Sharp said.
"There's a lot of titles here that I have not seen for sale for over 10 years."
Some machines, like Medieval Madness, are increasingly hard to find. (ABC News: Samantha Goerling)
Aside from other collectors, there’s been a renewed interest in pinball over the past decade – something Greg has witnessed through the competitions he organises.
"There is a quite a large pinball community now in WA and it's getting bigger by the day,"Mr Sharp said.
"We're now seeing a whole new generation of pinball players."
Azza Williamson is a pinball enthusiast. (ABC News: Samantha Goerling)
Mr Sharp's friend Azza Williamson is a fellow pinball enthusiast and frequents the games room.
"I loved it growing up as a kid I used to stand on a milk crate, I just couldn't wait till I could grow taller,"Mr Williamson said.
He said he was stoked to see the pinball community growing.
"I think it’s awesome, older people, newer people," Mr Williamson said.
"I sort of thought it was something that was going to disappear completely, because it sort of did, but it’s still out there, so it makes me very happy."
Azza Williamson has been playing pinball since he was a little kid. (ABC News: Samantha Goerling)
For Mr Sharp, there is never quite enough time to play his collection.
"Too busy earning money to buy more, but hopefully we'll be getting to that time now where it goes the other way, and spend a lot more time playing and less time working," Mr Sharp said.
It is all part of a long-term plan to share his collection more broadly as a playable pinball museum.
"Hopefully I’ll open it up to the public, that is my ideal goal," he said.
Pinball has become a pastime for the whole family. (ABC News: Samantha Goerling)
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