Status Update 1-17-19: Thoughts about 2018
A lot has happened since my last post in August. I probably won't be able to remember everything that I wanted to cover, but I will give it a shot...
Pinball Podcasts
A couple of years ago I was really into listening to podcasts from the now-defunct Pinball Soul. Pinball Soul was a real trailblazer in that respect. We are now, however, in the golden age of pinball podcasts...there are so many to choose from that it's really not possible to listen to all of them. I've settled on a few favorites that I listen to on my 30 minute commute to work and then again on the way home. I like the This Week In Pinball Podcast due to Zach Meny's zaniness. I also listen to the Special When Lit Podcast, mostly due to their topics and guests. But my favorite is probably the Head to Head Pinball Podcast...Marty and Ryan just have so much fun, they get interesting guests and topics, and I love the accents. I've been starting to listen to the Slap Save Podcast, but not enough to form an opinion yet.
Whitewater (Almost) Complete Rebuild
My Whitewater is close to completion (finally!)...I need to fix a shooter lane issue, non-functioning pops, a few bulbs, and wax the playfield, but it looks amazing now with the new playfield, LEDs, and color DMD. I just bought a new mod that lights up Bigfoot's face at specific times. It's similar to a previous mod, but I opted for this new one to add a hotfoot feature that simulates flame during the bigfoot hotfoot sequence. Once White Water is complete, Creature From The Black Lagoon will be the next game I turn my attention on.
Deadpool
This looks like a great machine. I need to play one soon so I can capture my thoughts about the game play, art and sound in person. Until then I'm not going to speculate any further on it.
Paul Ferris Joins Deeproot
Ferris is one of my favorite artists, I love his work on my Zombie Raid arcade cabinet. I'm curious as to which game he might be working on...I wonder if it's Dennis Nordman's game? Deeproot has assembled quite a team now. I just hope they can get their production schedule on track.
Monster Bash Remake
I had an opportunity to play one of these recently at a new pinball venue in Portland, which I will cover in a separate post.
TWIP Giveaway Prize
I couldn't believe my good fortune when I won a prize during the first giveaway contest held by This Week In Pinball. I ended up with a beautiful Total Nuclear Annihilation translight, which I plan on mounting to glass and a frame, backlighting it, and hanging it on the wall of the Barncade.
Godzilla & Stern
I'll just admit it and accept the ridicule: I am a Godzilla fan. As a kid I used to watch "Monster Saturday" on the local ABC station, where I could see Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, and Monster Zero battle it out as they destroyed lots of intricate model sets. The latest Godzilla movie was pretty good but definitely could have used more time featuring the monster. I'm pretty excited about the Godzilla King of the Monsters coming out this year and the Godzilla vs. King Kong movie that is coming out in 2020.
Dream Themes
When TWIP took a poll about dream themes, I considered my answer very carefully. I don't think Harry Potter is going to happen, and Stern might be making Godzilla already, so what else would I choose? Stranger Things would be a nice, creepy, relevant horror theme, but I wouldn't call it a dream theme. I love the original Die Hard, and think it would make a great pinball. And I like Big Trouble in Little China, but I'm not sure it would translate to a pinball machine that well (Franchi art would be awesome though!). Scooby Doo and Goonies would be a great machines if done right, and for music pins Pink Floyd would be my first choice. I also think Poltergeist would be a good theme. But when it comes to dream themes, I can narrow it down to two choices: Clash of the Titans and The Mummy. Either of those would be a must have for me, and I wouldn't care if it's the older or newer version for either title, although given a preference, I'd choose the 80s Harryhausen version of Titans and the Brandon Frasier version of The Mummy.
Oktoberfest Pinball
I don't think the theme is a slam dunk here, and the art looks kind of strange, but the design and layout look pretty cool. I can't wait to play one in person at a local arcade.
The Beatles Pinball
I didn't get all the negativity for The Beatles. I thought it was a good theme, and it sounds like Roger Sharpe had a once-in-a-lifetime chance of acquiring the license, so why not go for it? I understand it's a bit pricey, but I doubt the license was cheap. Another machine I can't wait to play in person.
The Hobbit Code
Jersey Jack has released code v3.10 for The Hobbit. The depth in this game is incredible! I understand that this game is not for everyone...it seems like there isn't much to shoot at (there should have been an upper playfield over the bumpers), the upper right flipper is underutilized (it should have been on an upper playfield), and it is multiball heavy. But give me any machine and I can point out flaws. The Hobbit simply does something no other machine does quite as well - it immerses you into a movie, an adventure, where you are constantly battling for survival. The games are long and epic, and there are so many modes and wizard modes that it's ridiculous. The 3.10 code fixed lots of small bugs, and before that the 3.0 code introduced more video, sound, the ability to customize the game more thoroughly (such as turning off Beast Multiball while in Smaug Multiball)...it's simply a fantastic game, and is in my top 5 ever along with Twilight Zone, Attach from Mars, White Water, and Scared Stiff.
Primus Pinball
I used to go to a used CD/Vinyl store in downtown Portland, and I'll always remember the weirdness of Primus album covers. Although I think ZombieYeti's artwork is fantastic, this isn't something I'd want to own, but I'll certainly give it a flip. Since it's based on Whoa Nellie, which Pabst Can Crusher was also based on, I'm not expecting much, but I'll keep an open mind.
Brian Eddy Joins Stern
Brian Eddy is a great designer and coder, of that there is no doubt. Attack From Mars is one of my favorite pinball machines and Medieval Madness holds a lot of fun appeal. Even The Shadow, though I don't understand it, would probably be great in a home collection and make me a better player. I was happy to see Eddy get back into pinball, and I can't wait to see what he is working on. There's rumors of Jaws, which I'm not greatly excited for, but I'd love it if he was working on Die Hard, Beetlejuice, Goonies or Godzilla.
Munsters Pinball
Separate post coming soon...
Pinball Podcasts
A couple of years ago I was really into listening to podcasts from the now-defunct Pinball Soul. Pinball Soul was a real trailblazer in that respect. We are now, however, in the golden age of pinball podcasts...there are so many to choose from that it's really not possible to listen to all of them. I've settled on a few favorites that I listen to on my 30 minute commute to work and then again on the way home. I like the This Week In Pinball Podcast due to Zach Meny's zaniness. I also listen to the Special When Lit Podcast, mostly due to their topics and guests. But my favorite is probably the Head to Head Pinball Podcast...Marty and Ryan just have so much fun, they get interesting guests and topics, and I love the accents. I've been starting to listen to the Slap Save Podcast, but not enough to form an opinion yet.
Whitewater (Almost) Complete Rebuild
My Whitewater is close to completion (finally!)...I need to fix a shooter lane issue, non-functioning pops, a few bulbs, and wax the playfield, but it looks amazing now with the new playfield, LEDs, and color DMD. I just bought a new mod that lights up Bigfoot's face at specific times. It's similar to a previous mod, but I opted for this new one to add a hotfoot feature that simulates flame during the bigfoot hotfoot sequence. Once White Water is complete, Creature From The Black Lagoon will be the next game I turn my attention on.
Deadpool
This looks like a great machine. I need to play one soon so I can capture my thoughts about the game play, art and sound in person. Until then I'm not going to speculate any further on it.
Paul Ferris Joins Deeproot
Ferris is one of my favorite artists, I love his work on my Zombie Raid arcade cabinet. I'm curious as to which game he might be working on...I wonder if it's Dennis Nordman's game? Deeproot has assembled quite a team now. I just hope they can get their production schedule on track.
Monster Bash Remake
I had an opportunity to play one of these recently at a new pinball venue in Portland, which I will cover in a separate post.
TWIP Giveaway Prize
I couldn't believe my good fortune when I won a prize during the first giveaway contest held by This Week In Pinball. I ended up with a beautiful Total Nuclear Annihilation translight, which I plan on mounting to glass and a frame, backlighting it, and hanging it on the wall of the Barncade.
Godzilla & Stern
I'll just admit it and accept the ridicule: I am a Godzilla fan. As a kid I used to watch "Monster Saturday" on the local ABC station, where I could see Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, and Monster Zero battle it out as they destroyed lots of intricate model sets. The latest Godzilla movie was pretty good but definitely could have used more time featuring the monster. I'm pretty excited about the Godzilla King of the Monsters coming out this year and the Godzilla vs. King Kong movie that is coming out in 2020.
Dream Themes
When TWIP took a poll about dream themes, I considered my answer very carefully. I don't think Harry Potter is going to happen, and Stern might be making Godzilla already, so what else would I choose? Stranger Things would be a nice, creepy, relevant horror theme, but I wouldn't call it a dream theme. I love the original Die Hard, and think it would make a great pinball. And I like Big Trouble in Little China, but I'm not sure it would translate to a pinball machine that well (Franchi art would be awesome though!). Scooby Doo and Goonies would be a great machines if done right, and for music pins Pink Floyd would be my first choice. I also think Poltergeist would be a good theme. But when it comes to dream themes, I can narrow it down to two choices: Clash of the Titans and The Mummy. Either of those would be a must have for me, and I wouldn't care if it's the older or newer version for either title, although given a preference, I'd choose the 80s Harryhausen version of Titans and the Brandon Frasier version of The Mummy.
Oktoberfest Pinball
I don't think the theme is a slam dunk here, and the art looks kind of strange, but the design and layout look pretty cool. I can't wait to play one in person at a local arcade.
The Beatles Pinball
I didn't get all the negativity for The Beatles. I thought it was a good theme, and it sounds like Roger Sharpe had a once-in-a-lifetime chance of acquiring the license, so why not go for it? I understand it's a bit pricey, but I doubt the license was cheap. Another machine I can't wait to play in person.
The Hobbit Code
Jersey Jack has released code v3.10 for The Hobbit. The depth in this game is incredible! I understand that this game is not for everyone...it seems like there isn't much to shoot at (there should have been an upper playfield over the bumpers), the upper right flipper is underutilized (it should have been on an upper playfield), and it is multiball heavy. But give me any machine and I can point out flaws. The Hobbit simply does something no other machine does quite as well - it immerses you into a movie, an adventure, where you are constantly battling for survival. The games are long and epic, and there are so many modes and wizard modes that it's ridiculous. The 3.10 code fixed lots of small bugs, and before that the 3.0 code introduced more video, sound, the ability to customize the game more thoroughly (such as turning off Beast Multiball while in Smaug Multiball)...it's simply a fantastic game, and is in my top 5 ever along with Twilight Zone, Attach from Mars, White Water, and Scared Stiff.
Primus Pinball
I used to go to a used CD/Vinyl store in downtown Portland, and I'll always remember the weirdness of Primus album covers. Although I think ZombieYeti's artwork is fantastic, this isn't something I'd want to own, but I'll certainly give it a flip. Since it's based on Whoa Nellie, which Pabst Can Crusher was also based on, I'm not expecting much, but I'll keep an open mind.
Brian Eddy Joins Stern
Brian Eddy is a great designer and coder, of that there is no doubt. Attack From Mars is one of my favorite pinball machines and Medieval Madness holds a lot of fun appeal. Even The Shadow, though I don't understand it, would probably be great in a home collection and make me a better player. I was happy to see Eddy get back into pinball, and I can't wait to see what he is working on. There's rumors of Jaws, which I'm not greatly excited for, but I'd love it if he was working on Die Hard, Beetlejuice, Goonies or Godzilla.
Munsters Pinball
Separate post coming soon...
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