1. Earliest pinball memory?
Ok plenty of deep dark pinball memories swimming around,
I think the earliest reasonably clear memory I have would be family trips up to the Sunshine coast Area Queensland,
I would guess It was about mid to late 70s,
and their was an arcade in possibly Caloundra? Im not 100% sure on the exact location now(someone may be able to enlighten?),
But I remember playing Various EMs (cant remember titles Sorry) lots of stuff there still made with wood Rails,
and early Arcade Machines like the driving game that had a car on a stick with a rolling road under,Agricultural but no less addictive!
I think growing up in the usual suburban environment with the corner store within walking distance,
of which a couple of shops would always have machines on a rotational basis,
so I remember playing titles that came and went like Kiss,Gorgar,Bally Space Invaders(Yes the Video version too!), Phoenix,Black Night to name a few...
I think these early years Cemented My Interest in all things Arcade!
2. All time favorite pin? Why?
Its got to be A slam dunk for FIREPOWER
I really think this machine was the complete package for its time,
Super fast and flowing,Multiball,Great light show,Awesome Sound and Speech made Most of its predacessors seem slow and boring in comparison.
The background sound increasing in speed and pitch as you keep the ball alive longer,the tension built as it counts you down for multiball,
Just awesome for its time!
I Recon I didnt play one of these till mid 80s but it cemented its place as favorite in Stone from there...
3. Favorite pinball manufacture?
Williams for me seems to be the Maker that I gravitated to for machines i liked to play the most,
and didnt realise till I started collecting Last year that the machines I most liked were Also by the Same Designer,Steve Ritchie
4. Favorite game in your collection? Why?
Haha this is probably going to get a bit repetitive ,
But My all time favorite is still in my collection and I would hope will always be there Firepower....
Its funny Though I can go a week or two and not touch Fp and Play the Dmds I have T2 and Hs2,
But when you have a game on FP its simple now in comparison to Later pins, but no less fun,
and I consider it more of a Players Game if that makes sense,good ball control and a bit more finesse required
5. How long have you been collecting?
Im Just a Pup in the Pinball collecting game Bought my first machine in Feb 2011.so 12 months.....
6. First game and how did you find it?
First game was also the Grail Pin,FIREPOWER
It all happened pretty Fast really I got keen on finding one so got on the net and the phone and ebay and everywhere else and started searching.....
Tried all the local Qld dealers no joy (yeah Ive got one mate but its staying in my collection) or (havent seen one of those in a long time)
Posted on the forums looking (first post on AP!!!!)
Actually got onto MarkC somehow and found out he had one hiding in a euro container that Just landed,
So I decided to fly down for a look!
I had also been in contact with Daniel (DDstoys) for a much appreciated second opinion and some Pics,
so we met up at the warehouse it was stored for an inspection along with Tim Eltimbo86,
A couple of great AP members and much appreciated help for a Pin newbie they'd never met! Thanks Guys..
This was Mid Feb I think and I was flying out a week later for a prearranged Holiday to the USA,
so I had to wait till I got back to organise freight etc for the pin,
Longest wait of my life!
Bought it as is not working,Some would consider this insanity for a first pin,
It Had a great condition fully mylared playfield,average Bg and Cab and gottileb flippers and a massive seperate flipper power supply.
Took me about a month to semi restore and fix and clean and restore wms flippers etc Very Very rewarding,
First game on a machine you have brought back from the dead after all those years priceless!
7. Do you still have it?
Yep its A keeper! Not for sale!
8. What are you currently working on?
F-14 Tomcat,Got a resto thread on that one currently ongoing.
Bought an early prototype Project machine with severe insert lift but no significant wear..
Being Clearcoated by me currently...
9. Most wanted game to add to your collection?
Hmm bit of a tough one this,
nothing comes straight to mind Possibly a TZ at some stage,
Maybe a NoFear Another Steve Ritchie Dmd...
10. Best all time bargain game added to your collection?
My T2 wasnt a bad pickup a Reasonable bit below market value with an absolutely perfect playfield,
and apart for a bit of a cleanup and a couple of plastics still going strong With no issues
11. Worst ever miss – tell us about the one that got away!
Myself and a couple of mates almost bought a Firepower off a distributor/operator in the Late 80s I think
Perfect fully shopped machine for I think around 6-800
Was going to go thirds and have it at my place,(Myself the only one that didnt live at home at that stage)
Was a fair bit of hoot back then I think I might have been a second or third year electrical apprentice at that stage.
the other two dropped out on me im still dirty!
12. Worst ever purchase – tell us about the game you wished you never bought
nothing really falls into this category for me,
but with the amount of work im putting into the F-14 I sometimes wonder.....
13. Describe your collection
Steve Ritchie classics!
FP,HS2,T2,F14 I like my machines fast obviously
I think I posted a bit of a wishlist here on AP when I decided to hunt down a machine,
didnt realise that my top 5 at least are all Williams Steve Ritchie pins..
Im sure as I go on I will diversify...
14. Describe your gamesroom
3 Pins in a spare bedroom at the moment,project in the garage..
working on something better...
15. Do you have other games other than pinball?
Not really,would like a cocktail video Game table at some stage with all the classics...
16. Where can you see the hobby in 10 years?
Not sure I am still a bit new to make an educated comment,
hopefully still going strong, I think the home collector is where its heading,
not sure how sited pins fair these days,hopefully they will make a resurgence like the 90s pins though...
