Here is what I'm going to do: 6 Lanes ..Lounge with bar and piano...Control desk with shoe storage... Refreshment area with booths... rest rooms...detailed office
Lookin' great. One suggestion is to use a good matt finish on the carpet to eliminate any glare though it may not be necessary if the viewing angle eliminates it.
Now you need to decide between AMF and Brunswick pinsetters - and don't forget the ball racks for the house balls. Maybe include a pool table in the lounge?
Well, in HO I believe you are 456.75 ft tall!! Those 12 inch dolls are 87ft tall. Guess we had better hope you never get wound up angry at the layout!
It's been a long time since I did backup bowling, pool and English darts. Then in 1990 I moved out to the country and there ally was already closing by the time I got off second shift. The bar and lounge were as dark as most taverns in the area. Back then I would have also gone for a cigarette machine. I usually stay out of the other topic but Mister Trump doesn't own all the businesses that display the big name. He does maintenance and management. So, Candy may still be able to get that done. But were will you get the balls and pins?
Curious, how big is a BB? Let's see, .172 inches on average x 87 = 14.964 inches. Bowling ball is 8.5". Oops, too big! Need to be 0.097 inches. Now ball bearings. 2.5 mm = .09842 inches x 87 = 8.56254 inches. Pretty close! Can get on Amazon at 250 for 7.95. https://www.amazon.com/Diameter-Chrome-Bearing-Bearings-VXB/dp/B004YL46YC
Brass wire with a little ball of glue on the bottom. After painting it white, it should look fine. The tough part is painting the red stripe around the neck of the pin.
The bearings sound good. How close could you come to size with the tinny nails used to attach the back of a book shelf or such. I recently did such. The nails measure 0.064 shaft diameter, the head 0.118 and 0.164 length. A drop of glue may give a good bottom dia. but the length is too long so finding smaller would be necessary. A little vise and Dremel tool perhaps. Best wishes.
How about pushing the nail through cardstock to shorten them and then a drop of glue to hold them. But you would have to leave some pins out just like at the lanes.