Galaxie

The Galaxie, designed by Ed Krynski with artwork by Gordon Morison, was manufactured by D. Gottlieb & Company in January 1971, with a confirmed run of 1,279 units. It has an unusual pedigree: Galaxie is the add-a-ball export version of Gottlieb's 1971 'Dimension', built first for shipment to Brazil and later to Italy, according to Gottlieb's surviving engineering game cards. A replay version, '2001', rounded out the family.

That family holds a genuine place in pinball history: 'Galaxie', 'Dimension', and '2001' are recognized as the first pinball machines to feature multiple banks of drop targets - an innovation that would become a staple of pinball design for decades. Galaxie's playfield backs that up with an extensive array of targets: two 10-bank drop target units, six standup targets, and five kick-out holes, alongside two flippers, two pop bumpers, and four slingshots, two of which sit unusually in the upper playfield.

As a single-player add-a-ball export model, Galaxie is considerably harder to find than its domestic siblings, and its combination of historical significance and target-heavy layout makes it an intriguing entry in Gottlieb's early-1970s catalog.