The Aussie Pinball Arcade
Aussie Pinball Forums => General Discussion => Pinball Links => Topic started by: spiroagnew on July 09, 2014, 05:42:28 AM
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Going to start a thread to post each and every update I make to Credit Dot Pinball. I thank you in advance for your support. I appreciate every click to http://www.creditdotpinball.com (http://www.creditdotpinball.com)!
I'll begin the thread with today's interview with Kristin from Mezelmods, makers of top quality snake fangs and donut shops.
PEOPLE: Kristin from MEZELMODS
http://creditdotpinball.com/2014/07/08/people-kristin-from-mezelmods/ (http://creditdotpinball.com/2014/07/08/people-kristin-from-mezelmods/)
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No excerpt for this one. I will only tease with the title itself, and share that Clay Harrell and your very own Pinheadz Podcast co-host Rod Cuddihy are featured contributors. Also, its a subject near and dear to both Australians AND Canadians! Enjoy!
FEATURE: “Only Give A Defect On Display, Any Stupidity”
http://creditdotpinball.com/2014/07/18/feature-only-give-a-defect-on-display-any-stupidity/
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The container story is an interesting one. There has been quite a few private imports over the last few years, and the majority of these guys find out how hard the work is and give up. One recent guy new to pinball claimed he had multiple containers "on the water", but they never materialized ! Of interest is the "Americanism" that container pins are junkers. Pinballs are the same as any other electrical device that ages. They need work. It is the skill and dedication of the restorer that defines the end product. Scrubbing out serial numbers to hide the fact they are "re imported" is one of the most stupid things I've ever heard. I wonder if a TAF that was put into a container and rail shipped across the USA will play better than a TAF that was put into a container and sent to Europe ? Both are container games, and who cares if the serial number is not a domestic ? Does the domestic game play any better ?
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I would say a machine with details removed, to avoid it being identified as an import, has less value that a machine with its HISTORY in tact. They all come out of the same factory.
What am I doing - with buyers in mind, I should be selling the idea that imported pins should be of less value!
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Thanks for the replies, guys! Glad I could inspire a bit of discussion. Any port in a storm really, as long as the game plays. I have a Demo Man I bought locally with 230V markings, and it plays fantastic. Could care less if it was a re-import. Ah, if only these games could talk...
Rob
creditdotpinball.com
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In this Credit Dot follow-up article, I review and install Jeff Thompson's Creature from the Black Lagoon speaker panel mod. Prepare to get lit! Plenty of pictures, too.
MODS: Creech Speaker Panel Follow-Up and Installation!
http://creditdotpinball.com/2014/07/20/mods-creech-speaker-panel-follow-up-and-installation/
Excerpt:
"In one of the very first essay-style articles on Credit Dot, I talked up the impending arrival of the Creature from the Black Lagoon speaker panel mod like it was the second coming of Christ himself. The brainchild of Jeff Thompson, the speaker panel added lights to the “Starlight Drive- In” sign, the moon, the UFO and the tail lights of all the classic cars lined up watching the DMD. Supposedly, it was something that was to be included in production games, but the project went over-budget and it was axed from the final version..."
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Really enjoying your well-written and in-depth articles. Great variety of topics. Keep it up!
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"Could care less"
No - that's not possible, however it is possible that you "could NOT care less" or "couldn't care less".
I can't stand these incorrect Americanisms creeping into everyday speech and a lot thinking that it's "normal".
Well it ain't .... %.%
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I think the FULL ARTICLE should be posted here if you want to share your stories with us, whats with all the linking back to another site crap?
I see a few site-mods linking back to their own site more and more in recent weeks....there must be an agenda to get more hits or migrate everyone off this site??????
MM
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I can't stand these incorrect Americanisms creeping into everyday speech and a lot thinking that it's "normal".
I can't stand Americans....period :lol
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Wow, a lot of hostility for a guy who's contributing to the hobby! (IMHO)
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Wow, a lot of hostility for a guy who's contributing to the hobby! (IMHO)
Dunno who you're aiming that at, but i personally find it rude & quite pretentious to come into (any) forum, submit a few opening lines, then provide a link back to the home site to read the entire content...."read more here" kinda thing.
Why not post the entire content here? or not at all.
Hardly a contribution, just another site-admin phising for visitors on yet another up'n'coming site....
Damn rude! (IMHO) :lol
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I see posting links to external pinball related sites as an extension of AP which benefits this site, rather than competition which erodes it.
At the end of the day, the user will ultimately close the newly opened tab back to AP after reading the link (or not click on it all if it is of no interest to them). ^^^
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I see posting links to external pinball related sites as an extension of AP which benefits this site, rather than competition which erodes it.
At the end of the day, the user will ultimately close the newly opened tab back to AP after reading the link (or not click on it all if it is of no interest to them). ^^^
I think that is the intention - there's no discussion within the links - just the story. If there were links to other forums "Hey, come over here and discuss", then I would not be pleased. What we want to encourage is discussion on these articles - so maybe posting the entire story might be the happy medium ?
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And back to the original topic...
I just got myself a handful of German coins to operate my recently ordered German imported pin. (Cheap foreign Coins are easily sourced from a regular coin dealer). So rather then hide the fact that it is an import, go with it!
(Agree with most here, that links to other sites are a good think, not bad - it often goes both ways;
Nothing wrong with Americans - stop watching TV and go to the US and you will see that are as friendly as 'most' Australians. Um... Most Aussies value American imported pins higher than European - so the two separate discussion topics merge back into one!)
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No excerpt for this one. I will only tease with the title itself, and share that Clay Harrell and your very own Pinheadz Podcast co-host Rod Cuddihy are featured contributors. Also, its a subject near and dear to both Australians AND Canadians! Enjoy!
FEATURE: “Only Give A Defect On Display, Any Stupidity”
http://creditdotpinball.com/2014/07/18/feature-only-give-a-defect-on-display-any-stupidity/
Great story ^^^
Who cares where the pin came from as long as it is in good condition, I can't believe it is such a big deal in the US
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CPR puts out the Fire! ...the playfield, that is. Yes, this marks the second article I have written about the lowly 1987 Williams pinball machine. Deal with it! :lol:
NEWS: CPR Catches Fire!
http://creditdotpinball.com/2014/07/25/news-cpr-catches-fire/
Excerpt: "Hot off the press, from Classic Playfield Reproductions, comes a definitive reproduction playfield for the Williams 1987 release, Fire! I have raved about the art package on this game in the past, and the playfield is, without a doubt, the centrepiece, and perhaps one of the most beautiful of the entire System 11 era. Early photos released of these repro playfields show that the integrity of the original Mark Sprenger art remains in tact, as is nearly always the case with any release by the folks at CPR."
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Credit Dot examines Drop Target Zine. Five issues strong, and a sixth coming this fall. A fantastic DIY 'zine fit for the player or collector.
FEATURE: Drop Target Zine
http://creditdotpinball.com/2014/08/03/feature-drop-target-zine/
Excerpt: "Drop Target Zine springs from the minds of Alec Longstreth and John Chad. It is a bi-costal collaboration of epic proportions: these men are no strangers to both the self-publishing world and the pinball community. In terms of pinball, Mr. Longstreth’s artistic work can be found frequently on Stern Pinball’s blog and Mr. Chad will be known to the community due to his fantastic (and altogether whimsical) sci-fi designs for the Professional and Amateur Pinball Association. Together they have accounted for five issues of “DTZ”, and have promised a sixth by the end of the summer."
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One of my favorite games of the era, the lowly ranked ROLLERGAMES (according to the Pinside Top 100). Some great history of the licence and mechanics of the System 11 game are included!
FEATURED GAME: Williams ROLLERGAMES
http://creditdotpinball.com/2014/08/10/featured-game-williams-rollergames/
Excerpt: "The derby’s popularity had waned as the 1980s rolled around, but Mr. Sharpe was betting that the resurgence of Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation would pull the pseudo-sport up by its skate-straps and back into the mainstream. It didn’t. Rollergames lasted only one season on American television, whereas the original incarnation of the American Gladiators enjoyed an eight year syndicated run and a host of merchandising opportunities that included action figures, lunch boxes and workout videos. Rollergames hangs its hazy legacy on a Konami arcade game and this Williams pinball machine."
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Made the trip out to the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, NY with the family...it just so happened they had an exhibit called "Pinball Playfields". Decent collection, poor execution.
FEATURE: Pinball in a Hall
http://creditdotpinball.com/2014/08/16/feature-pinball-in-a-hall-the-strong-museums-pinball-playfields/
Excerpt: "The Strong Museum is a really odd place. It is one of those museums that cropped up in the seventies and eighties which takes popular (low) culture subject matter and turns it into high culture by putting it into a museum. Where else would you find a Tickle Me Elmo doll, new in box, preserved behind glass and tagged with its official manufacture date? That said, the museum prides itself on its “hands-on” activities: craft stations, dress-up areas, a small-sized play restaurant and supermarket, console gaming stations, and so forth. The problem I found, is that I had no time to enjoy the vintage toys behind glass or the interactive displays because I was too busy running after my two-and-a-half year old, making sure he was sharing and taking turns with the billion other kids that were visiting on the afternoon we were there."
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I guess I should address the detractors earlier in the thread.
If there is a problem with talking up my articles upon their release and providing a link here, I'll stop. What say the mods?
I'm sorry to offend Homepin with my Canadian "Americanisms". If I were perfect, I'd be writing professionally. I'm not perfect...so I'm resigned to writing about pinball on a blog at 100 views a day. I'll take the comment as constructive criticism, although I feel it was more snarky than constructive.
To those with positive feedback...again, thanks...it really means a lot.
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After a bit of a hiatus, Credit Dot returns with an interview of Drop Target Zine illustrators/authors Alec Longstreth and Jon Chad. These guys are absolutely sincere in their love for pinball and it shows in their fantastic publication which is part-comic/part-magazine. DTZ Issue #6 is out NOW!
PEOPLE: Drop Target's Jon Chad and Alec Longstreth
http://creditdotpinball.com/2014/08/27/people-drop-targets-jon-chad-alec-longstreth/
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Thanks for the link. $.$
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Remember that Elvira and the Party Monsters re-theme? Yep, the Gameroom Collectibles one with all the boobs? It spurred a wandering discussion of female objectivity in pinball and the higher comedic level on which the Elvira character operates.
FEATURE: GRC’s Elvira and the Party Monsters Re-Theme and Issues of Pinball Objectivity
http://creditdotpinball.com/2014/08/28/feature-grcs-elvira-and-the-party-monsters-re-theme-and-issues-of-pinball-objectivity/
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Embarrassingly bad. How anyone can promote or put their name on this hilarious. The game is devalued and in poor taste.
(I love boobies like every other male, but to create a porn version of a classic is the height of stupidity).
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I've offered up some thoughts about a Major League Baseball pinball machine, and looked at the past performance of sports-themed DMD machines (spoiler: they don't perform well). Australians love baseball, right?
OPINION: Big League Chew
http://creditdotpinball.com/2014/09/03/opinion-big-league-chew/
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Stern's Walking Dead looks pretty...no photoshopped playfield here!
NEWS: Stern Walks with the Dead, Pictures of the Walking Dead
http://creditdotpinball.com/2014/09/09/news-stern-walks-with-the-dead-announces-the-walking-dead/
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Got to interview pinball art legend Greg Freres about a new line of art prints (available exclusively through pinballlife.com) that feature some of his early work at Bally, specifically, Hotdoggin', Fathom, Strange Science and Black Pyramid.
PEOPLE: Greg Freres on his Early Bally Backglass Prints
http://creditdotpinball.com/2014/11/05/people-greg-freres/ (http://creditdotpinball.com/2014/11/05/people-greg-freres/)
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An interview near and dear to me...I talked to Jess Askey, webmaster of the Internet Pinball Serial Number Database (http://www.ipsnd.net), probably the most under-used resource in our community. We get to see how the database first took shape and take a look behind the serial numbers to find out what kind of information the numbers can actually tell us.
PEOPLE: Jess Askey of the Internet Pinball Serial Number Database
http://creditdotpinball.com/2015/02/16/people-jess-askey-of-the-internet-pinball-serial-number-database/
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I have used this pinball serial number pinball database for 6 or 7 years and find it an excellent resource.
You can determine with a few detective style points of reference when a machine was exactly made date wise, what number your machine was on the run (237/4000 built) country machine was sent to, and many other factual things about a machine by studying the various stickers under the Playfield, stickers inside the cabinet and stickers from inside and outside the headbox.
Being into classic cars and being an owner of various XA XB XC Hardtops, and Ex Bathurst race Cobras, numbers tracking has always been a great resource.
Also if your pinball machine gets stolen, if you have entered all your serial numbers into the database, you have a leg to stand on to prove that it's your machine etc. Great resource.
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On the flip side, anyone who has personally imported new Sterns to bypass the domestic monopoly would be wise not to enter any details of that machine into a publicly accessible database or they might find that their overseas supplier has suddenly and mysteriously been removed as a Stern distributor!
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Do u think Stern would bother going to those lengths over only a handful of machines.
Also, who's to say the Stern dealer didn't sell it to an American customer In the USA who later sold the game privately second hand. It's not like any of the Stern dealers Have to supply Stern HQ with the names and addresses of the people who buy machines. But I guess if u did buy five or six machines all from the same Stern agent and all those machines turned up in Australia to the same collector it would look like a pattern.
I don't think Stern would spend the time looking at the database, too many machines and too many records to look at and then cross match for only a handful of machines plus they would lose sales if they lost a dealer and they need every sale they can get in this economy. ?
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On the flip side, anyone who has personally imported new Sterns to bypass the domestic monopoly would be wise not to enter any details of that machine into a publicly accessible database or they might find that their overseas supplier has suddenly and mysteriously been removed as a Stern distributor!
Never thought of it that way! The iron grip of the distributors is felt here in Canada, too. Someone from our local Canadian community boasted about buying a Refinery Edition of the Walking Dead LE. The Refinery guys are from the US. It got back to the lone Canadian distributor for Ontario/Quebec who saw it as a loss of a sale. They contacted Stern, who in turn contacted the Refinery guys, who in turn contacted the buyer and told him that Stern prohibited them from selling the game to someone across the border. Stern may care more than you think.
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EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW (AND MORE) ABOUT MICHAEL JACKSON AND PINBALL. Not sure why the caps...I don't even particularly like Michael Jackson. However, I do love when pop music intersects with other media. Find out about the Michael Jackson/Pepsi pinball machine, Jackson's Neverland pinball lineup, and more. Thanks Australia for your support!
Feature: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Michael Jackson and Pinball
http://creditdotpinball.com/2015/02/20/feature-everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-michael-jackson-and-pinball/
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On the flip side, anyone who has personally imported new Sterns to bypass the domestic monopoly would be wise not to enter any details of that machine into a publicly accessible database or they might find that their overseas supplier has suddenly and mysteriously been removed as a Stern distributor!
I would suggest that Sterns efforts to prevent certain sellers from moving product to Australia is bordering on illegal, maybe not in the USA (I have no idea about their laws) but I would bet it is in Australia.
It could be argued that it is a form of price fixing and that brings very hefty corporate and individual fines - I would tread very carefully if I was Stern.
Stern might suggest they are only doing it as certain machines are not suitable for this market - that could be disproved in five minutes by sticking a 50/60 cycles mod board in a machine and playing it.
It is not smart these days to try these types of "tricks" to maintain a monopoly.
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Its called "third line forcing" in Australia I am sure.
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On the flip side, anyone who has personally imported new Sterns to bypass the domestic monopoly would be wise not to enter any details of that machine into a publicly accessible database or they might find that their overseas supplier has suddenly and mysteriously been removed as a Stern distributor!
I would suggest that Sterns efforts to prevent certain sellers from moving product to Australia is bordering on illegal, maybe not in the USA (I have no idea about their laws) but I would bet it is in Australia.
It could be argued that it is a form of price fixing and that brings very hefty corporate and individual fines - I would tread very carefully if I was Stern.
Stern might suggest they are only doing it as certain machines are not suitable for this market - that could be disproved in five minutes by sticking a 50/60 cycles mod board in a machine and playing it.
It is not smart these days to try these types of "tricks" to maintain a monopoly.
True, but the rub lies in the limitations of the legislation itself, the powers of the ACCC and obtaining a successful conviction. We all know in reality these kind of under the table "gentleman's agreement" style shenanigans go on everyday across a broad range of industries (take a look at the supermarket duopoly we have here in Australia as a perfect example).
Many companies would counter argue that suppliers and markets can change regularly in such an industry and that this is just part and parcel of a regular course of business conduct, not an intentional attempt to substantially lessen competition.
Not saying they are intentionally and directly preventing supply to Australia (I touched on this in a post a few weeks ago here when the High Court quashed an attempt by LAI to prevent this same thing happening back in the late '80s), but as I implied (and spiroagnew showed) there are alternative more subtle ways a company could undertake to exert indirect influence on a distributor to convince them that shipping NIB machines from time to time to a collector in an external market may not be in their best interests. #@#
One of the fundamental truisms of law is that it isn't what you know, it is what you can prove.
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Totally agree.
The last line of your post was spot on.
The alternative to consider, is that if someone else came in and we had four or five people directly importing, the price wars would start, the prices would come down (great) but after a year or two, the profit margins might be crappy and before too long the whole import of BNIB might stop cause of no profits.
Sometimes it's a fine line. Competition needed versus too much competition.
I have seen this off and on in my electronic security industry. It's runs in a cycle of too much competition, profits are crap, the right amount of competition and everyone makes great coin, no competition and importers slow the import of products, raise prices and the market slows again. Fine line sometimes.
Just glad at the moment we have AMD. It could be worse with no dealer/importer at all.
Maybe prices will come down if sales slow right down at such high prices. Maybe Stern will step in and subsidise and do the smarter thing..... ?
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Anyone can explore the rules and history behind a Williams 90s-era DMD. Instead, Credit Dot continues its appreciation of Gottlieb System 1 games. This time: Charlie's Angels.
Featured Game: Gottlieb's CHARLIE'S ANGELS
http://creditdotpinball.com/2015/03/02/featured-game-gottliebs-charlies-angels/
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Great read.
I always enjoy your articles SA. There are detailed, highly informative and have great perspective.
Thanks for posting them to AP. I hope you continue to do so. ^^^
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Thoroughly enjoyed the read
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Thanks for the kind words, guys! Reading positive comments makes it all worthwhile!
Stop me if you heard this one: Stern is bad at releasing completed code for their games! Head over to Credit Dot, if you feel like it, for a summary of what has happened with the #wheresthecode campaign up to this point. A little editorializing, too.
FEATURE: Code-Breaker, the Rise of #WHERESTHECODE
http://creditdotpinball.com/2015/03/05/feature-code-breaker-the-rise-of-wheresthecode/
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Another great read and one that is close to heart.
We need social gadflies like flashinstinct (and spiroagnew &&) to keep companies like Stern accountable, rather than the end consumer being forced to act like little more than lapdogs begging for table scraps when a code update is eventually released.
Sure the campaign didn't effect actual change within Stern (I wasn't expecting it to), but at the very least it got a message out to Stern that not every collector/enthusiast is willing to accept the manufacturing philosophy at Stern as it currently stands.
It shows a complete disrespect for a "significant leg" of Stern's three legged stool customer base to continue to ignore and dismiss in my mind reasonable requests for code updates that would enable originally advertised game functions to actually function years after the games were released!
And some of the memes that were produced were hilarious. %.%
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Great article, thanks for posting.
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A little interview I did with Brett Davis from XPin (XPin being the pinball community's top choice for replacement displays for nearly five years). Mr. Davis talks about business philosophy, his new 7Volution display sets and much more...
PEOPLE: Brett Davis from Xpin
http://creditdotpinball.com/2015/03/15/people-brett-davis-from-xpin/
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Getting all sappy about trading a game, and the difficulty of "letting go".
http://creditdotpinball.com/2015/04/14/opinion-the-complications-of-letting-go/
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Great story. Well worth a read.
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Credit Dot interviews Jeff Miller, aka THE PINBALL PIMP. Mr. Miller has been restoring machines since 2005...more importantly, he has recently began to offer the definitive stencil sets for older Bally and Williams machines for public sale...and they are licenced and everything!
PEOPLE: Jeff Miller, the Pinball Pimp
http://creditdotpinball.com/2015/07/07/people-jeff-miller-the-pinball-pimp/
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Bumping this one up with two recent articles...an EM themed one, and a DMD themed one. Something for everyone!
Credit Dot looks at Gottlieb's Target Alpha/Solar City, with a discussion about Gottlieb 2-player and 4-player games of the 1970s and Gottlieb's reliance on EM technology while Bally was smashing sales records with their Solid State offerings.
FEATURED GAME(S): Gottlieb’s Target Alpha & Solar City
https://creditdotpinball.com/2016/08/18/featured-games-gottliebs-target-alpha-solar-city/
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Credit Dot Pinball explores the bumpy road Data East designers and artists had to endure to get WWF Royal Rumble out the door. I had the opportunity to speak with game designer Tim Seckel about his experiences getting the game built.
FEATURE: Smaller Muscles and Fewer Wrestlers, The History and Production of Data East's WWF Royal Rumble
https://creditdotpinball.com/2016/08/26/feature-smaller-muscles-and-fewer-wrestlers-the-history-and-production-of-data-ea[/img]sts-wwf-royal-rumble/
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