1. Earliest pinball memory?Plying at the Milk Bar on my paper run when I was maybe 9 or 10, and the games were
20 cents!
2. All time favourite pin? Why?Tonight I decided that it is probably Funhouse (but that might change as it usually does). There is an amazing subtlety in its design that I am only just starting to fully appreciate. The way the upper loop can't help but get faster at each combo (and how I am never going to beat the four I had once); the way a failed upper loop shot or other return from that area will flow off the guide and come nicely to a left flipper shot if you leave it be; how a shot to the magic mirror can be made from the left flipper, deflecting ever so slightly off the Super Dog targets; the fun and extra dimension that the Steps shooter rod adds; Rudy’s friendliness and slow decline to becoming your adversary; the great light show for Super Frenzy; the colours... there’s more but I need to answer the other questions!
3. Favourite pinball manufacture?Gene Cunningham for bringing BBB to life. That, on its own, was such an achievement to warrant a very special place in history.
4. Favourite game in your collection? Why?Today – Funhouse for the reasons above. Tomorrow probably AFM as it is the ultimate DMD in my opinion.
5. How long have you been collecting?Seven years.
6. First game and how did you find it?Set out to find the game I loved to play in 1980 – Time Warp. Spent nearly a year with no success, then in the space of two weeks located one in each of Melbourne, Perth, Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane! Ended up with the Brisbane game as my brother was five minutes down the road and checked it out for me, and with shipping was way cheaper than the local one!
7. Do you still have it?Yep! It’s over at a mate’s house as we move towards our house shift (easier if the games are farmed out prior, and that way some buddies get a month or two of fun). The sound board has died though, and I’ve done what I can but will need to call in the experts.
8. What are you currently working on?Finding a job...
Aside from that, I’ve gone a little quiet over the last couple of months due to a house sale and purchase and not feeling like adding to the number of games I need to move. I was doing a Close Encounters until I packed it up, but there’s still a little bit to go (if I ever find that damn plastic I need! :)
9. Most wanted game to add to your collection?Kingpin. Pretty unlikely now though given the economic climate in the US (and I’ll need a job first!)
10. Best all time bargain game added to your collection?
Asteroid Annie – got it cheaply as it has no backglass. Had the backglass here from Kentucky USA before the game arrived from interstate... (The backglass cost more than the rest of the game! Hell of a lucky find though to get a glass at all)
11. Worst ever miss – tell us about the one that got away!I have been lucky enough to have had the chance over time to obtain each game that I decided I wanted. I **nearly** missed out on BBB. When it was announced I was skeptical and way too new to the hobby to jump in. Luckily I snapped the first one to be offered up for sale after they were about six months into the project, and was the only “factory approved” transfer, before Gene decided that given the waiting list, he would not approve any further transfers, so if someone wanted out he would refund at the original price and provide a waiting list person the game at the original price.
12. Worst ever purchase – tell us about the game you wished you never boughtCoincidently I just posted on this very same, so I’ll add it here -
The Empire Strikes BackIf you manage to find one of these rare machines...
.
.
RUN!!!! As fast as your legs will take you ****in the other direction!*****
I owned one for a while. "Owned" - past tense. The happiest moment of my
pinball life was waving goodbye to it.
If you're a Star Wars buff, well that's different, a curious piece of
history, and the fact that it's the only machine that actually came out
during the original trilogy, I did find that it had genuine nostalgia
surrounding it, and it did remind me of those fun days of the first movies.
There's about one a week on Aussie ebay. Not bad when there were only 350 of
them! So if you want one, pretty easy to get one from here (but with the
dollar value, not good at the moment, although that dollar is making parts
for us Aussies super cheap).
But if you love playing, you will not love this. The main problems - way too
slow and the shots are poorly laid out. There are six targets directly in
front of the flippers in the middle of the playfield. Way too close, get
destroyed right away, and cause the only fast part of this game to occur -
the direct return of the ball to the flippers if you're lucky, but usually
SDTM (and usually accompanied by small pieces of former target). There is a
shot to the right to return to the inlane that cannot be made with skill,
just luck (ie a crap shot bouncing off something - usually a small piece of
former target plastic.... :)
13. Describe your collectionDominated by Gottliebs for which I have a special liking. About half DMD/alphanumeric and the rest 1880 or older. I have nothing made between 1981 and 1989, so might need to select one to round things out, and also an EM to provide completeness.
14. Describe your gamesroomA bloody disaster at the moment! Got a couple in what was the nursery, a few in my study, and the rest spread out with friends.
The NEW gamesroom is the massive rumpus room in the new house, plus a side room for expansion!
15. Do you have other games other than pinball?A 39 in 1 video, mostly bought for my love of Moon Cresta, and rarely played these days, The girls ask me to turn it on from time to time to “Play the jellyfish game please Daddy” (Ms Pacman).
16. Where can you see the hobby in 10 years?Turning to my crystal balls I see -
The hobby will be fine, but there will no longer be a “real” manufacturer (ie Stern) I suspect. Their current product is petty good, and some of the titles will become classics by then (LOTR, TSPP, possibly SM).
The hobbyist will keep the current games alive well into the next generation, after that they next gen might find them a little too odd and difficult to maintain.
Some cottage industry manufacture will spring up (ie like what Gene Cunningham did for BBB) perhaps using more modern thinking in design. Most efforts will not be financially rewarding except for the Aussie one, but people will try.
Nuggy will be the only pinball factory owner on the planet (the Aussie one mentioned above).
The Coconut Island Prototype will sell on Ebay for $18, 337.22 US to a collector.
