Author Topic: TAG - Thunderbirds Pinball - parts update thread  (Read 118507 times)

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Offline Freiherr

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This is Assembly Control calling all Zero X units. Assembly Phase One - go!

Patience is a virtue. A start up is the most difficult phase.
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Offline Caveoftreasures

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Yes. I will be an owner of Mikes title.
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Offline solar value

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Hi Mike,

Are you going to any of the following shows, seems like they are in your neck of the woods:

http://chinaamusement.com/index_en.html

http://10times.com/animation-gamesamusement-fair

Offline Homepin

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Offline solar value

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I will be attending the CIAE next Saturday as a LOOKER not a vendor.

Great, would love to hear a quick show report if you have time.

Offline Homepin

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I will be attending the CIAE next Saturday as a LOOKER not a vendor.

Great, would love to hear a quick show report if you have time.

No problem - I attended last year as well - it was mostly redemption stuff, no pinballs. Worth a look though as it's only about 90 minutes drive away from the factory.
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Offline Homepin

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This was the final prototype power input box before we were satisfied and made a production run. The finished units are cleaned up and screen printed. It may seem like a trivial part but the design is such that ALL mains is inside this box so that there is no mains voltage anywhere in the machine. The service socket is a universal type that will take any plug including an Australian standard 3 pin plug and is switched separately. Both the mains and neutral are switched. Naturally the mains on/off switch is under the front right, exactly where it should be!!! #@#






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Offline Caveoftreasures

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Looks well made and designed.
Behind every garage door could be a pinball collectors
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Beware of Stalkers & Walkers when playing The Walking Dead

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Offline elkor-alish

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I like how you have the varistor etc on screws.
Much easier to change if it blows.
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Offline Strangeways

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Exciting to see the technical sides of the project. I guess the power supply is designed and engineered once, and will be generic for all future titles. Not as glamorous as a playfield or cabinet shot, but I like to see the guts of the machine - and this looks like a good start !
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Offline solar value

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Hi Mike,

Power box looks great.

I' m wondering how the rest of the project is going and the order in which you are tackling things. You seem to have some of the components at a very advanced stage, you already have a production run of the coils and power box for example. Are you building all the generic items which you will use in all your subsequent titles first before you work on the game-specific parts?

How about the design of the Thunderbirds machine? Do you have a flipping whitewood yet?

Just curious, answer as you see fit. Regards, SV.

Offline Homepin

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Hi Mike,

Power box looks great.

I' m wondering how the rest of the project is going and the order in which you are tackling things. You seem to have some of the components at a very advanced stage, you already have a production run of the coils and power box for example. Are you building all the generic items which you will use in all your subsequent titles first before you work on the game-specific parts?

How about the design of the Thunderbirds machine? Do you have a flipping whitewood yet?

Just curious, answer as you see fit. Regards, SV.

My main job (apart from actually running the factory and all of the things that this involves) is to design the MECHANICS of Homepin pinballs NOT only Thunderbirds. The parts will, as far as possible, be generic across the range of pinball machines we build with specific mechanisms for individual titles naturally. I am designing the mechanisms and cabinet parts with my small team of engineers and we are concentrating on this part of the project.

We have several iterations of flipping whitewoods for TAG and the actual FINAL design is not yet set in stone but is awfully close.

I am not closely involved in the actual game design, layout, artwork or programming of this or our other games in the works currently. Yes, I oversea the work but I am not directly involved in this part of the job. Others far more talented than I are doing this work (and none of them are Chinese for the record). This work is being done by many different and highly talented people, in four different countries, who are intimately involved with pinball although not necessarily terribly well known to most of the public.

The reveal date is getting closer day by day and I can now actually see the light at the end of the tunnel and it isn't the train coming towards me....... %.%

One of the biggest challenges has been building the machine and all components to meet RoHS standards, this is a very complex and VERY expensive nightmare.
« Last Edit: March 29, 2015, 05:06:41 PM by Homepin »
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Offline elkor-alish

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You probably get asked this a lot but when do you think you'll be able to show us stuff like a white wood etc?
We're all very excited and interested to see what your team has come up with.
Pins: The Getaway, TotAN, WH2O, Pinball Magic, Banzai Run, Flintstones, Judge Dredd, Lord of the Rings LE, Metallica LE, Iron Man VE, The Walking Dead LE, Star Trek The Next Generation.

Offline Homepin

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You probably get asked this a lot but when do you think you'll be able to show us stuff like a white wood etc?
We're all very excited and interested to see what your team has come up with.

I will never be showing a whitewood nor any part of any machines we build other than component parts. The machines will be seen when they are finished and ready to ship.
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Offline solar value

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Great, thanks for the quick and detailed response.