TAG - Thunderbirds Pinball - parts update thread

[elkor-alish]

My two cents.

The Thunderbird 2, ball lock is a given I think. :)

It would be cool to see modes start with getting a ramp shot or two or hit a Jeff Tracey target/toy.
You could have missions/modes that require one or more of the vehicles to participate in the mission/mode.
To activate the vehicle you could have different shots.
Thunderbird 1 could be a ramp shot or a vari-target.
Thunderbird 2 could be two stationary targets or hit the TB2 toy twice.
Thunderbird 3 could be inline targets.
Thunderbird 4 could be a line of drop targets.
Thunderbird 5 could be pop bumper hits.

A wizard mode could incorporate all the Thunderbirds with a video mode somewhere thrown in.
To complete the end of the wizard mode maybe?

Divertable ramps could save you dollars and space in the machine whilst introducing deeper game play.

RGB led lighting would be pretty cool. You could have something similar to Space Station with the condition green and red etc.

Mike, are you getting some professional advice from any pinball designers?
The reason I ask is that I just recently read about Ben Hecks issue with the Lost pinball he was making.
It turned out they made a great looking pin that played terribly but after getting some pro. advice he now has a much better understanding of pinball physics.

[Strangeways]

I was thinking of this the other day - much the same as the ceramic ball in TZ..

This is right "out there" - but how good would it be if the BALL became interactive with the player ? What about a different colored ball for each Thunderbird ?

So you would have a green ball for Thunderbird 2
A yellow ball for Thunderbird 4

You achieve the "mission" where you need T2 and T4 - an underwater episode - Once the mission starts, you get a 2 ball multiball - one ball GREEN and one ball YELLOW. With these 2 balls, you need to save the day ! Whether that be a set of in-line targets, or drop targets..

Another idea - Why can't Thunderbird 4 be under a mini playfield, since it is always underwater ? Much like Streetfighter II and the car ?

[beaky]

needs a mechanical insert in the back box

[elkor-alish]

Are you liking any of the ideas that have been thrown at you so far Mike?

[robm]

Something that was mentioned elsewhere that i think has a lot of potential is wi-fi.  The ability to possibly play head to head games would be awesome i reckon.  There could be types of games where you have to follow the other players shots, or what would be awesome would be if you complete a certain sequence or mission, then the opponents game has depowered flippers for 10 seconds, or disable one flipper or something like that....

Also, been playing a bit of Jurassic Park lately, and the 'Smart Missile' feature is very good. For those that are unaware, its a button on the front you can press basically to collect any lit item, so if EB or jackpot is lit, you can collect it. But the fun is in working out whether you take it now, or keep it for later as you may be able to progress to a super jackpot or the wizard mode. Just adds a bit more thought to the overall game strategy, plus if a newbie is playing, they can get multiball a bit easier.

[swinks]

like where Rob is going,

I have often thought about the game safe cracker where it spits out a token, maybe as a unique thing is - once you achieve 4-5 missions and you get to the stage of a wizard mode a plastic token is spat out to the player / owner. The game still continues until you lose the game, but at a later stage that night , next day etc you get a one off chance of starting a new game at the completed 4-5 mission status but placing the token into a special dedicated slot and hit the start button and you get a game that starts at the advanced point to hopefully achieve more goals with more (3-5 ball game start) balls giving players a opportunity to see the depth of the game and make them want to strive for getting more missions finished.....

Maybe the gadegt could hold just 5 tokens so you can achieve them and extract them through playing and have a night of trying to achieve further goals = adds game variety but might need the score to start at zero so people are not achieving unfair high scores..???

[Cow Corner]

I don't really care what is on it as long as it doesn't suck.

 

[StuartT]

A bank of five drop targets with the five sons pictures, behind each target is a standup target with the pilots picture as per the tv show.

Five inline drop targets for starting the countdown to thunderbirds are go.

Brains needs to be included somewhere.

[solar value]

Not sure if this has been mentioned already but more information on the Thunderbirds pinball, payment options and pricing are now up on the Homepin site:

http://www.homepin.com/abouttag.html

[Cow Corner]

I would want more runs on the board from a first time pinball manufacturer before shelling out any coin for something sight unseen without any playfield, art pics or videos etc. We don't even know what is on the game yet.
It might be a good idea to wait until this game is produced and works before dropping any money on one.
 

[Pop Bumper Pete]

I am in on this

[Homepin]

Hi guys. Thanks for the comments, I have been a bit busy today getting the launch underway so I'm a little late here to answer some of your questions.

First the freight. I am well experienced in shipping from China. I have 'suggested' that freight 'might' be about $400 in 2015. This will naturally be subject to what is going on then BUT I have calculated $400 being the all up cost delivered to your door. I will handle all shipping documents and arrangements including customs clearing, buyers won't have to do a thing except sign the delivery docket. The precise cost can not be known until 2015 but it will be at cost price and is very likely to be a lot less than the 'suggested' $400. Any savings will be passed back to customers.

Naturally I have structured the sell price to suit Thunderbirds - $5432.10 (Thunderbirds are GO!) - get it?

If you add GST = $5975.31 and the delivery cost ($400) makes a total of $6375.31 with a FREE topper for those who pay upfront (thanks to those of you that have already).

The 'pay-off' price of $5950 equates to $5950 + GST and $400 shipping/delivery = $6945.00 (no topper)

GST and shipping payments are not due until the machine is ready to ship.

For those who prefer to wait and buy from a retailer when they are completed in 2015 the RRP is $7490 + GST = $8239 although you may be able to negotiate a better deal with your preferred retailer??

Why is there such a price difference? Those who place their trust in me and pay in early are buying direct and so there is no retailers margin. That is the main reason for the difference. After prepayments close on the 1st June 2014 I will not be selling direct from the factory - the business will shift to sales through retailers only.

On to the comments about kits. My liability insurance does not permit me to sell kits. If you would like a kit you would need to EMAIL me (not PM) and I might be able to suggest how this could happen.

For the record, my last 20' container from China to Brisbane in Feb this year cost $1400 plus landing & clearing costs and plus GST on the goods. You could add about 10% in todays money due to our falling dollar.

I opened the website for sales at about 9.30 this morning and I must say I have been overwhelmed with the positive response and the purchases made. Thank you all for having the faith in my ability to deliver. I said the website would be updated on the 18th and I stuck to it. I also want to have a prototype at next years Pinfest and I intend to do my very best to meet this timeframe. A condition of my licence is very strict in that I MUST meet a mid 2015 deadline because the licensor has a massive campaign for the 50th anniversary of Thunderbirds and this pinball is part of that.

Some have suggested I release more machine details and I would love to do this but the terms of my licence prohibit it at this early stage. Those who don't wish to place their trust in my track record can simply wait for a finished machine and pay retail at that time.

For those coming to Pinfest this weekend please introduce yourselves.

[Wiked]

Excellent news Mike. Once I can see a pic of the playfield etc I'll make my decision.

[Cow Corner]

Excellent news Mike. Once I can see a pic of the playfield etc I'll make my decision.

+1

I love the theme and I want to part with the $$$, I just want to see what the game is like first.

[Homepin]

Some updates and a peek inside the backbox.

As everyone keeps saying, nothing beats that mellow sound from a valve amplifier so we have
included a stereo valve amp to keep everyone happy here.

You can see how we have also cleverly used a small tape recorder for the momentary sounds
and a larger one with bigger reels for the background music....

The actual game code is stored on the disc at the bottom right and as it is played with an auto-changer
it will start up straight away, well, with delays SHORTER than if the machine was powered by a PC.......

This will require players to remember the adage from the video tape rental days...

"be kind - rewind" - it will be a simple matter to reload the disc for the next player.

The mechanical score reels will also add a sense of nostalgia and give owners something
to overhaul every second week.

More updates as they come to hand....