Author Topic: Australian Pinball Expo 2014  (Read 12368 times)

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Offline pinnies4me

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Re: Australian Pinball Expo 2014
« Reply #45 on: November 12, 2014, 03:44:13 PM »

Announcing the "Pinball Forum Wars in the UFC Hectagon for all forum Moderators".


Thanks for the chuckle caveofcreatures...  @@*
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Offline Caveoftreasures

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Re: Australian Pinball Expo 2014
« Reply #46 on: November 12, 2014, 06:28:25 PM »
I try to do my bit. Lol  @.@ @.@ ^^^ ^^^
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Offline Retropin

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Re: Australian Pinball Expo 2014
« Reply #47 on: November 12, 2014, 09:33:34 PM »
My situation in this was very similar to Nino's in the fact that Michael Shalhoub rang me and told me that he and Dan were organising another Sydney Expo and that I was invited to have a stall for GOTTLIEB in Australia. I pointed out that I knew of the Expo already but it was being handled solely on AA and not in the wider pinball community and from what I could gather, unless you were an active member there you would have no idea of any expo and no possible way of buying tickets as it was all being handled through the forum.
Mike said that it would all open up shortly and on that note I agreed on hosting a stall.. I was then told that Dan had the final say but he would ring me within a week to arrange everything.
Roll on a month and Mike rings me again.. has Dan rang me yet?..No I said.
Mike then says that he'll give Dan a nudge... Dan knows about me and a stall and he WILL ring me.
Roll on another few weeks to a month and Mike rings again... has dan rung yet?... again.. No.
So I tell Mike that if Dan knows about me willing to host a stall but hasn't rung me then I can only conclude that he doesn't want a GOTTLIEB stall at the Expo..after all its his say so.
Mikes vision of an Expo was very similar if not the same as anyone elses... its an Australian Expo and should showcase everything that encompasses all that Australian pinball has to offer. My take was that he wanted the place bustling with activity... machines galore and stalls selling and promoting the whole hobby. As he said.. I want you there..I want stencils, GOTTLIEB etc.. I want Nino there.. I want everyone represented. I want restorations.. spare parts... etc.

I never got the call from Dan but did get one more from Mike promising me that Dan WOULD ring me... In the end I told Mike I didn't have enough time to prepare and wouldn't be attending as my work load in November is pretty heavy... im not investing time and some approx. $4000 to attend something im obviously not welcome at.

I did the last Sydney Expo and it was good... I scrabbled together some stuff to showcase at the last minute and held a stall. Shipped the lot down in a crate and set up the night before. Was more than happy to do the same here at what I thought was going to be an EXPO...
Maybe one day an expo that puts Australia on the world pinball map will happen and ill jump at the chance to take part.. chuck in restorers like Timbo.. Nino and his stuff including CPR... GOTTLIEB merchandise ( stencils, signs, T shirts etc)... spare part vendors.. what about Mike Homepin?? Without his Australian boards many machines would be dead and buried.. plus he is now an Australian manufacturer!... That's an Expo, not a gathering of machines and some bloke in the corner charging $2 for a game of WOZ... !*! !*!

LOL- nevertheless. It is 180 machines to play and its not to be sneezed at so those attending will get to play games they've never had the chance to. Michaels collection is second to none and my understanding is that he has supplied many woodrails. Not often you get the chance to play games from many eras ( unless in my shed/house which is where ill be staying).
Have fun everyone that attends

Offline Pintoxicated

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Re: Australian Pinball Expo 2014
« Reply #48 on: November 13, 2014, 09:54:50 AM »
That is a real shame Gav but in all honesty, did you expect anything different?  This Expo could have broken down a few barriers but it wasn't to be.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, too many chiefs that think they are "the authority and the voice" of all things pinball and not enough genuine guys running the show.

I really do wish I had the $$$ and skills to put a proper Expo together.  Pinball in Australia is bigger than just 1 or 2 two guys.
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Offline Pop Bumper Pete

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Re: Australian Pinball Expo 2014
« Reply #49 on: November 13, 2014, 10:02:23 AM »
That is a real shame Gav but in all honesty, did you expect anything different?  This Expo could have broken down a few barriers but it wasn't to be.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, too many chiefs that think they are "the authority and the voice" of all things pinball and not enough genuine guys running the show.

I really do wish I had the $$$ and skills to put a proper Expo together.  Pinball in Australia is bigger than just 1 or 2 two guys.
I agree that pinball is bigger than one or two guys
But those one or two guys did organize the event and are supplying most of the games. Victorians seem to have trouble organizing a meet

Edit
Yes, I have been welcomed into peoples homes. I mean a meet where every one is invited and there is 20+ games to play
« Last Edit: November 13, 2014, 10:08:33 AM by Pop Bumper Pete »

Offline Strangeways

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Re: Australian Pinball Expo 2014
« Reply #50 on: November 13, 2014, 10:16:24 AM »
That is a real shame Gav but in all honesty, did you expect anything different?  This Expo could have broken down a few barriers but it wasn't to be.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, too many chiefs that think they are "the authority and the voice" of all things pinball and not enough genuine guys running the show.

I really do wish I had the $$$ and skills to put a proper Expo together.  Pinball in Australia is bigger than just 1 or 2 two guys.

Unfortunately, this is the issue in a nutshell.
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Offline robm

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Re: Australian Pinball Expo 2014
« Reply #51 on: November 17, 2014, 07:00:42 PM »
Where do I start on the awesomeness that was the Australian Pinball Expo 2014….maybe the beginning is a good spot!!

Arrived from Townsville to a hideous 39 degree scorcher in Sydney on Friday afternoon. Headed out to Penrith and went straight to the massive pavilion to be greeted by 228 pinball machines from Dan, Michael and Leigh’s personal collection, as well as another 20 or so from vendors lining the sides of the pavilion. It was great as it was a hive of activity of setting up the finishing touches and doing some last minute repairs before opening time. What was also great was how happy and helpful everyone was. I got into some adjustments on Indiana Jones and a few other machines with minor issues – I think what is worth pointing out at this point in time, is that these are all machines from 3 guys personal collections – so a bulk amount of pins for an individual to own/maintain. I know there was some serious work put in by the owners and other techs in the weeks leading up to the event, and full credit for the hours they put in.  Just think about ordering flipper kits, rubbers, balls etc etc for 230 machines – just the cost and let alone time involved is staggering. With this many machines, there are always going to be some breakdowns throughout the course of the event, so I was glad to be able to help a little, and also the fact that plenty of other hooked in and understood when a machine went down or had a stuck ball etc.

Anyway, doors open at 7pm and we were all giving the machines a good workout- I can’t remember exactly, but I think I lasted until about 3ish in the morning and had to head off.  Some highlights for me – playing Medieval Madness, which inspired me to continue on with the NBA FB to MM conversion I am currently part way through, some fun games on Spiderman, Black Hole, Eclipse (it was in amazing condition), Humpty Dumpty (first pinball machine with flippers! and a lot of older machines I had never heard of.  Playing Hercules was a fun experience as well.  Managed to get my initials on 1 of the two Aaron Spelling machines in the world but the best part of all was catching up with old mates, and meeting new people.  Also hooked into the competition, but didn’t get many scores worth repeating….i really did enjoy playing Joker Poker though, and I guess got a bit more appreciation for some of the older machines (my collection is mainly DMDs) with reasonably simple rulesets that are not always that simple to achieve!

Was straight back into a few minor repairs and adjustments early before the doors opened to the public on Saturday morning.  9am, doors opened and people started to move in. By mid morning, the noise was sensational – a mix of Ems, SS and DMDs all going off at the same time.  Was great to walk around the Vendors as well – played WOZ and MMR at Mr Pinball’s stand – both sensational machines. Had a game on Walking Dead at AMD, as well as a few of the other newer Stern’s.  Luke’s machines (LA Games) were absolutely amazing – TZ, MB, STTNG, Getaway, LOTR, IJ4, MM and Family Guy.  There was a comp on family guy, and I pumped plenty of $2 coins in there but couldn’t quite get a good enough score.  Also bought some parts and LEDs off Luke at a great price.  There were also some virtual machines and others there as well.  It was also great to chat to a few other members  and of course Dan, Leigh and Michael.  Picked up a couple of WPC power driver boards for my possum pins off Michael as well.  Was just fantastic sitting around a spinning yarns with these fellas and heaps of others. Played plenty more games during the day, as well as chatting to general members of the public – was really awesome to see families there with kids playing the head to head soccer game, and all the pinnies. Just about everyone couldn’t have had a bigger grin on their face!

Managed to have a little break for a couple of hours when it closed to the public at 5pm, then reopened at 7 on Sat night.  A lot of guys were qualifying for the comp this night – not sure how many extra tickets I bought to try and improve my pathetic scores, although it didn’t work – it was a whole heap of fun trying to jump a few positions on the leaderboard that was set up with a projector. Was also great to see some of the guys get some decent scores on machines that were set up incredibly hard.

Couldn’t quite last out until 4am on Sat night, and got a few more hours sleep, before getting back into making sure most machines were up and running with a few opto replacements ,switch adjustments and the like before crowds started coming in Sunday morning.  Ended up not playing a lot of machines on Sunday, rather chatting to people and watching the comp. Ended up helping out at the door which was fun greeting people and seeing the looks on their faces when you told them once they got in, there were over 200 machines on free play!!  Was also great to meet some forum members, and chat to people who have quite decent collections and they didn’t realize there were so many other likeminded people around the country.  Just about every single person that walked out the door in the arvo stated that it was a fantastic event, and what time was it on next year.   Another dude had a classic comment when he walked out “I had the best day ever, played pinball non stop for 9 hours without even a break for anything to eat of a pee…”

Watching the final of the comp was great, and congrats to Peter Watt for the win – top bloke as well!  Unfortunately I couldn’t hang around to help pack up, but hope there were those who were able.

I spoke to Leigh at length about the event, and without going into any detail, will just mention that the efforts that he, Dan and Michael had gone to get the event such a success it was is nothing short of phenomenal. The cost, pressure, stress and sheer work and lack of sleep is a credit to the passion these guys have for the hobby and sharing it with everyone – my sincere thanks and congratulations. Also a shout to the families and friends of these guys who have helped out/put up with all the stress and chaos as well!

I would be back next weekend in a heartbeat if it happened again, and I reckon anyone that did not go missed the event of a lifetime. Had to have a chuckle at a comment on Facebook that someone in Sydney said Penrith was too far away……I know a couple of other people from Townsville, plenty from Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and everything in between – not to mention the legendary effort of Kiwis that came over.


Anyway, a few dodgy phone pics





Me playing an MM and getting inspired to continue my build


Hercules


Humpty Dumpty


View from the final of the comp, looking back at the first row of machines

Offline oldskool1969

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Re: Australian Pinball Expo 2014
« Reply #52 on: November 17, 2014, 07:15:03 PM »
Nice write up Rob, would love to play Hercules again. Such a novel piece of pinball history.
Imagine the heat coming off the machines and the people on top of the 39deg ambient temp. That will test how good the AC is.
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Offline Slash

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Re: Australian Pinball Expo 2014
« Reply #53 on: November 17, 2014, 08:25:44 PM »
Yep great write up.

Would love to get to a big event like this one day and play some of the pins I have only read about/seen on the net but not in person.

Massive amount of machines to have working/fit for play if they are only from a couple of people's collections.

Offline pinballheaven

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Re: Australian Pinball Expo 2014
« Reply #54 on: November 17, 2014, 08:43:09 PM »
Thanks for the write up Rob ^^^ You looked a picture of concentration on MM!!

Offline skywalker

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Re: Australian Pinball Expo 2014
« Reply #55 on: November 17, 2014, 10:12:53 PM »
thanks for the pics, going by the pics looks like it was Massive  ^^^

Offline blue95

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Re: Australian Pinball Expo 2014
« Reply #56 on: November 17, 2014, 11:23:37 PM »
I made a cameo appearance in the last photo :)
It was a great day out.