1969 · Bally
On Beam
Known for Spaceship, Space Station, Beam and Mushroom bumpers. Flat bright blue sky, outer space with scattered white stars, cratered grey-blue moon surface lower left, purple and pink ringed planet below the stripes and outer space beyond the rainbow bands.
- Year
- 1969
- Maker
- Bally
- Type
- Electro-mechanical
- Display
- Score reels
- Players
- 1
Known for
- backglass toy
Spaceship
- backglass toy
Space Station
- backglass toy
Beam
- Bumper
Mushroom bumpers
- Target
Special target
On the playfield
Hole 1
- Upper right saucer saucer
Bumper 1
- Mushroom bumpers
Target 1
- Special target
Lane 1
- Wall switches switches
Lights 2
- White insert insert
- Beam light columns
Backbox 4
- Spaceship backglass toy
- Space Station backglass toy
- Beam backglass toy
- Extra ball stars backglass toy
On the backglass
Who and what
- man Large bearded astronaut in the bottom right corner, front-facing, pale blue spacesuit with ribbed chest and arm segments, round helmet with an open face showing a dark beard and moustache, both gloved hands raised with fingers spread, one hand holding a small round tool
- man Smaller suited astronaut behind and left of the bearded man, seen in profile facing left, pale blue suit and round helmet
- man A third, smallest suited figure further left against the purple space background, pale blue suit and round helmet, partly overlapped
- vehicle Grey cartoon blimp/zeppelin with an underslung striped gondola, floating beneath the sunburst
- vehicle Grey satellite on a thin mast with a wide conical dish, a small yellow-tipped antenna on top, sitting directly beneath the score window
- vehicle Small grey-and-white rocket with a red nose cone climbing diagonally just right of the title
Setting
- Flat bright blue sky
- Outer space with scattered white stars
- Cratered grey-blue moon surface lower left
- Purple and pink ringed planet below the stripes
- Outer space beyond the rainbow bands
Text on it
- ON-BEAM
- BALL
- IN
- PLAY
- 0 0 0 0 0 8
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Made by
- Design
- Bob Jonesi
- Art
- Christian Marche
Reference
Linked terms
- Special target also called center standup target
Backglass vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Backglass
- blue
- magenta
- orange
- yellow
Fingerprint: Red-yellow exploding sunburst framing curved "ON-BEAM" title in red and yellow letters, four diagonal rainbow bands with scalloped edges cutting across center, three blue-suited astronauts compressed into bottom right with bearded man's hands raised, five numbered circular markers down left edge, hard-edged 1960s-70s airbrushed space scene
The single most memorable element is the exploding red-and-yellow starburst on the left holding the red title ON-BEAM, set against a plain bright blue sky with a cartoon zeppelin drifting past it. Second, the four fat diagonal rainbow stripes (magenta, orange, yellow, teal) with scalloped cloud tops that cut straight across the middle of the glass and read almost like a flight path through space. Third, a white six-reel score window sitting oddly high on the right side under a grey dish satellite. Fourth, the three blue-suited astronauts packed into the bottom right corner, the front one a bearded man with both hands raised. Fifth, the vertical black bar with yellow letters running down the left edge beside five numbered circular markers.
Setting
- Flat bright blue sky
- Outer space with scattered white stars
- Cratered grey-blue moon surface lower left
- Purple and pink ringed planet below the stripes
- Outer space beyond the rainbow bands
Symbols
- Exploding sun starburst
- Five numbered circular markers 1 to 5 down the left edge
- Small circled letter c near upper left
- White triangular arrowheads along the tops of the rainbow stripes
- White star speckles
- Ringed planet
- Scalloped cloud edges
Lettering
- Italic capitals, red fill with yellow highlights and dark outline, slightly curved along the sunburst, mid-century airbrushed poster lettering
Themes
- Space
- Astronauts
- Rockets
- Satellites
- Planets
- Zeppelin
Title on it
- On-beam
Text on it
- ON-BEAM
- BALL
- IN
- PLAY
- 0 0 0 0 0 8
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Man | Large bearded astronaut in the bottom right corner, front-facing, pale blue spacesuit with ribbed chest and arm segments, round helmet with an open face showing a dark beard and moustache, both gloved hands raised with fingers spread, one hand holding a small round tool |
| Man | Smaller suited astronaut behind and left of the bearded man, seen in profile facing left, pale blue suit and round helmet |
| Man | A third, smallest suited figure further left against the purple space background, pale blue suit and round helmet, partly overlapped |
| Vehicle | Grey cartoon blimp/zeppelin with an underslung striped gondola, floating beneath the sunburst |
| Vehicle | Grey satellite on a thin mast with a wide conical dish, a small yellow-tipped antenna on top, sitting directly beneath the score window |
| Vehicle | Small grey-and-white rocket with a red nose cone climbing diagonally just right of the title |
A photographic shot of a translite-style backglass set into a pale grey-blue metal head with a brushed aluminium trim edge, sitting above the front of a yellow playfield. The artwork is a flat, hard-edged 1960s-70s airbrushed space scene on a bright medium-blue sky. Top left, a red-and-yellow exploding sun with long triangular rays holds the title: curved italic capitals reading ON-BEAM in red letters with yellow faces and a dark outline. A pale grey blimp/zeppelin with a striped gondola floats under the sun, and a small rocket with a red nose streaks up behind the logo. Top right, a black-framed window holds six white score reels reading 0 0 0 0 0 8, mounted above a grey satellite on a mast with a conical dish and a yellow-tipped antenna. Below the sun a dark navy planet disc carries the words BALL IN PLAY in stacked white capitals. The lower two-thirds is dominated by four broad diagonal rainbow bands running lower-left to upper-right — magenta, orange, yellow, then teal — each with scalloped cloud edges and small white triangular arrowheads along the top. Bottom right stand three astronauts in pale blue spacesuits: a large bearded man facing forward raising both gloved hands, and behind him two smaller figures. Bottom left a cratered grey-blue moon surface curves away with a purple and pink planet below it.