Credit Dot Pinball: The Update Thread

[ktm450]

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

[spiroagnew]

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! 

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."

[spiroagnew]

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."

[spiroagnew]

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."

[spiroagnew]

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."

[spiroagnew]

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.

[spiroagnew]

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/

[Brunswick Brawler]

 Thanks for the link.

[spiroagnew]

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/

[Strangeways]

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).

[spiroagnew]

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/

[spiroagnew]

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/

[spiroagnew]

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/

[spiroagnew]

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/

[Caveoftreasures]

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.