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Homemade Pinball Machines

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Here we were thinking we were cool making our own pinball machine using the PinBox 3000.

Well we’ve been shown up by the MuruzCe Fun Education Turkish YouTube channel! Check out their very cool homemade pinball machines – we love the implementation of their multi-ball! Amazing stuff!


source: MuruzCe Eğlenceli Eğitim


source: MuruzCe Eğlenceli Eğitim

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First Impressions: Stern’s The Munsters Pro Pinball

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When Stern Pinball Inc. unveiled their latest machine, The Munsters on January 8 at CES 2019 in Las Vegas, it generated such a buzz in the pinball world, that the Limited Edition (LE) models sold out worldwide almost instantly!

We may not be able to experience the glory of the LE machine, but when Zax Amusements invited us to the unboxing and the offer to play The Munsters Pro pinball machine, that was definitely an offer we could not refuse.

With The Munsters, Stern promises that we will be transported to 1313 Mockingbird Lane, joining the entire Munsters family, from Herman, Lily, Raven, to Spot and Grandpa in this cool haunted pinball adventure.  Stern Pinball’s Chairman and CEO, Gary Stern succinctly put it like this, “The Munsters are iconic and timeless, and it was time to create a pinball experience around this freaky-fun family.  With beautiful artwork inspired by the supernatural family, this theme is perfect for a pinball machine” – we could not have said it better, really!


source: Ausretrogamer – Facebook

As this machine is still evolving (with its code base), we can only offer out first impressions based on the current Dwight Sullivan code. As a lot of you know, we are huge fans of John Borg designed machines, with The Walking Dead being our favourite Stern machine in recent times. The excitement for The Munsters has been brewing for a little while, and with Borg designing it and Christopher Franchi on art, we knew we were in for a treat. Our only apprehension was with Dwight Sullivan being on code, but that may have been down to us being mediocre players that don’t necessarily like playing games with deep rulesets. To our pleasant surprise, the design and ruleset (so far!) of The Munsters is pure damn fun! We love the fan layout, with each shot feeling great when hitting targets, Grandpa’s ball scoop, the Herman bash toy and of course the two ramps, especially the 180 degree high speed gravity defying right ramp! Oh yeah, the visual look of the machine speaks for itself, so Christopher Franchi should be commended for his stunning and distinctive hand-drawn art.

This is where the magic happens!

After playing The Munsters, we can safely say that on first impressions, we really really like it. The theme integration is awesome – we never get sick of the artwork, the LCD visuals and the sounds from the TV show. The game made us feel like hitting the start button immediately after we drained our last ball from our previous game, so the game did have a high replayability for us – which is good news for operators routing this machine.

We also asked PAPA 20 Division B World Pinball Champion, Jordan Tredaway to give us his first impressions from an expert player’s perspective – he was quite open and upfront stating that the game shot well and hitting the ramps felt good. That’s a big plus coming from a champion pinball player.

There will never be a pinball machine that will make everyone happy, but just like everything else in life, variety is the spice of life, and in this instance, gives us the option to try all these new pinball machines to see if we like them or not. As it currently stands, we are big fans of The Munsters Pro and cannot wait for the Premium model to land in Australia – that lower playfield and of course, that beautiful black and white artwork has us intrigued!

If you are yearning for some fun pinball action, go and play The Munsters! You never know, you may just like it.

A big thank you to Scott and Phil from Zax Amusements for inviting us to check out and play Stern’s The Munsters Pro pinball machine.

 

 

Gottlieb’s Freddy: A Nightmare on Elm Street Pinball Machine

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title image: Liberty Games UK

By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

When I was a kid, there was a bowling alley near my house that always had the best pinball machines. One day, I walk in with my friends, and there is Gottlieb Premier’s Freddy: A Nightmare on Elm Street, right next to the men’s bathroom entrance.

I’ve always been a Freddy Kruger fan. Some of the films are better than others; the third and the fourth instalments of the franchise are my favourites. What Renny Harlin did with “A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master” should be studied in film schools on how to jolt new life into a successful franchise. I find the Rialto cinema scene when Alice is getting sucked into the movie screen to be a stunning and haunting visual.

Freddy was everywhere when I was a kid. He even had his own television series “Freddy’s Nightmares.” Most of the episodes were poorly produced, but it was always fun seeing Freddy introduce or close every anthology story. Some of them were really bad. The show had a short run and it had little to do with the films other than Freddy’s short appearances.

The Gottlieb pinball machine was like an extension of my Freddy fandom. When I wasn’t in school, I would watch one of the films and then go to the bowling alley to play the machine. I would save up my allowance and get my dollar bills converted to quarters at the front counter.

The sound effects of the machine were terrific. I liked how the film’s score played when you put your quarters in and throughout play. My favourite part of the machine was the large, plastic Freddy head that the game balls would come rolling out of. A friend, years later, who loved the machine as much as I did, told me that the Freddy head was the first thing to go. He said that the plastic would erode after a few years. The machine at the bowling alley already had some wear and tear, but it didn’t make me enjoy it any less. The Freddy glove artwork along the side of the machine was a nice, scary touch.

If I could ever afford a fully restored pinball machine, Gottlieb’s Freddy: A Nightmare on Elm Street would be the one that I would buy. Perhaps because of simple childhood nostalgia? That, and it’s such a fun interactive pinball machine connected to my favourite horror property.

After a few months, the Freddy machine just vanished. I asked the manager of the bowling alley where the machine went; he told me that it didn’t make any money. He added, “That machine was giving people the creeps when they went to wizz.”

The Freddy pinball machine was a little creepy, but on my play alone, I know it made money.

image source: The Arcade Flyer Archive

 

Pinball: What Would Be Your Dream Theme?

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*** POLL CLOSED on May 9, 2018 ***

OK, it is time to head to Utopia where everything you want is there, including every pinball machine that doesn’t exist!

Having said that, in an ideal world like Utopia, which one of these pinball themes would you like to see made?

For the record, we would love an original Masters Of The Universe based pinball theme, with the player assuming the role of Prince Adam who has to become He-Man to free Eternia from the evil clutches of Skeletor! The playfield would be complete with Snake Mountain and Castle Grayskull interactive toys, left and right orbits and a couple of ramps to get the pinball juices flowing. Oh yeah, the artwork would have to be done by Alex Ross, with the below masterpiece as the backglass art!

source: sideshowtoy

This time around we will give you all more time to cast your very important vote – the poll will close on Wednesday, May 9! Spread the word and vote now or forever hold your peace.

We just hope Stern Pinball and/or Jersey Jack Pinball are reading this 😉

 

Blast Some Xenomorphs in Alien Pinball

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Back in March 2017 we were going gaga over Heighway Pinball’s Alien machine. Fast forward almost a year and a lot has changed. We won’t go into specifics of the company upheaval from last year, but rest assured that the new Heighway owners weren’t going to let this important IP go to waste.

Eerie glowing egg bumpers and the Xenomorph waiting to snatch your ball!

We are finally seeing more and more Alien machines reaching their customers and hitting barcades across North America. We are hoping Australian establishments site this cool machine ASAP! We definitely want to wage a flippin war against the Xenomorphs, so we may need to visit Wayne at Mr Pinball, the Australian distributor of Heighway’s highly anticipated machine, in the very near future to get our Alien fix.

Choose your mission, Alien or Aliens and watch out for those pesky facehuggers!

Alien Pinball is an absolute treat for fans of the first two films of the classic sci-fi horror series. From the facehugger slingshots, glowing egg bumpers and the scary Xenomorph head that snatches balls from the playfield, it’s up to you, the pinball wizard, to complete the two sets of missions (there are five missions in each set) to reach the ‘All Out War’ multiball wizard mode.

Just like Ellen Ripley, the fate of the universe rests in your hands, so search and clear all decks, watch for the proximity alert, avoid the acid burn and before you yell “game over, man!” just remember, in space no one can hear you tilt!

Photos: Heighway Pinball

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Pinball Press
Pinball Press brings you news from the world of pinball – events, product reviews, code updates, service bulletins, interviews and the people in pinball!

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Argonauts Pinball Club: Bumper Xmas Meet!

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Hey peeps, this Thursday (Dec 7) is the last Argonauts Pinball Club monthly meet for the year (at the Golden Fleece Hotel). The club meets will resume on the first Thursday in February 2018!

As it is Christmas time and hampers are the prize of the season, the Argonauts Pinball Club has got your pinball maintenance hamper needs covered. Just check out the awesome special prize pool for the top 3 pinball wizards! Argonauts Pinball Club’s Geoff Wills tells us that there will also be giveaways and something for those that have supported the club from the start!

So make sure you keep this Thursday free and get down to the Golden Fleece Hotel to play in the end of year Argonauts Pinball Club special monthly meet.

For more info on the Argonauts Pinball Club competition rules and conditions, head to Pinball Score now or like them on Facebook to keep up with all things pinball.

Argonauts Pinball club – Top 3 Pinball Wizards Hampers!

Choc-full of pinball maintenance goodies!

1st Place

2nd Place

3rd Place

There is always plenty of action at an Argonauts Pinball Club meet!

image source: Argonauts Pinball Club

 

Pinball Machines Almost Banned in 1978

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Just like the pinball prohibition era in the US, an Australian council (Heidelberg, Victoria) took it upon themselves to ban pinball machines. This ABC TV report from July 13 1978 shows how close our silverball pastime came to being driven out of milk bars, cafes and fish and chip takeaway shops!

If this ban had gone ahead, we may have required the pinball wizardry of Roger Sharpe to reverse the ban order! Luckily cooler heads prevailed.


source: ABC TV

 

Getting Our Retro Pinball Fix At Rosstown

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When we visited Marcus for his Rosstown Retro Pinball Arcade competition in September last year, we were gobsmacked by the sheer number of classic titles that were available for play. When Marcus mentioned his new IFPA endorsed Rosstown Retro Pinball Tournament for 2017 and some new additions to his marvellous collection, we had to get him to tell us more! So here it is, take it away Marcus!

Rosstown always prides itself on having a collection that not only includes classic pinball machines from well-known manufacturers like Gottlieb, Bally and Williams, but also from the lesser known ones such as Zaccaria, Playmatic and Atari. Speaking of Atari, after searching for one of their machines for a number of years I finally found a superb 1978 Atari ‘Superman’ machine in good working order to add to the Rosstown classics collection. Atari pinball machines are rarely seen, even in private collections, and even if you’re lucky enough to stumble upon one – it’ll likely be in a non- or semi-working state. So it’s a rare treat to be able to play this working ‘Superman’ machine – it’s a wonderful pinball table. The backglass is faultless and the playfield is bright with no wear. The widebody (typical of an Atari pinball) makes sure there is plenty to do with some great long spinner shots on each side.

Atari Superman

The other new addition to the Rosstown line up is Bally’s ‘Vector’ from 1982. This is another hard to find machine that had to be added to the retro pinball collection. The outstanding feature on ‘Vector’ is its flip-o-meter that calculates the ball’s speed up the ramp and into the energy containment unit (ball lock). This game oozes cool features that were ahead of its time, thanks to its innovative design team. This machine has an elaborate (and perhaps wicked) drop target sequence that allows the player to shoot for the vectorscan ramp. The player must knock down the three drop targets in order, and if they fail, then another 3 pop up – talk about ramping up the difficulty! ‘Vector’ keeps the player on their toes by ensuring that they think and choose their shots wisely.

Bally Vector

With Atari’s ‘Superman’ and Bally’s ‘Vector’ added to the Rosstown Reto Pinball line up, it has made the IFPA sanctioned tournament even more interesting. As part of the Rosstown tournament, each entrant plays every pinball table in the collection to earn qualification. Qualifiers are spread across monthly sessions running from April to August (5 months), with the 12 highest ranked players being invited back to compete in the September finals.

Bayside Pinball Club’s new beer, Plunger Pale Ale!

But it’s not all serious. At the last qualifying round players got to enjoy the new pinball brew, Plunger Pale Ale produced by the Bayside Pinball Club. Let’s just say that the beer went down a treat and was the perfect tonic to let the players relax in-between playing some serious pinball. For those of you that haven’t entered the tournament, you better hurry as there are only three remaining qualifiers in June (17th), July (15th) and August (19th). For further details on the IFPA sanctioned Rosstown Retro Pinball tournament, head over to the Aussie Arcade forum. Flip it, flip it good!

 

The Force Is Strong With Stern’s New Star Wars Pinball Machines

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In Stern’s factory far, far away (from Australia), Star Wars Pinball machines are rolled off the production line in record numbers!

With Star Wars celebrating its 40th anniversary, Stern Pinball has come to the party with three machines (designed by Steve Ritchie) that will have every Star Wars (and pinball) fan drooling uncontrollably! So strong is the Star Wars franchise, the pinball machines are reportedly selling like hot cakes, with the 800 run of LE machines already spoken for! Shipping (to Australia) for the Pro model begins in July, with the LE and Premium editions to follow not too long after. Don’t fret about the Pro and Premium models selling out, Stern will build an unlimited amount of these machines to fulfil demand.

Talking to RePlay Magazine, Stern’s Director of Marketing and Licensing Jody Dankberg states that, “There’s been a lot of excitement and anticipation around this title, resulting in record sales for a game that had not even been seen in person. Everyone loves the original trilogy: It’s the basis for all things Star Wars. We felt that these movies helped us tell the best story possible while being able to use cool elements from the original films. The majority of our customers are nostalgic for those movies.”

For those curious to know why Stern chose to tap the original trilogy instead of Disney’s new Star Wars films, Dankberg told RePlay that the firm believes more customers are interested in the originals over the new movies. We reckon Stern have got that right!

Australian pricing for the three pinball models (including GST):

  • Star Wars Pro $8,350
  • Star Wars Premium $10,800
  • Star Wars Limited Edition (LE) $12,500

The force is definitely strong with these pinball machines!

source: Stern Pinball Inc.

 

Why Isn’t There An ABBA Pinball Machine?

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By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

Aerosmith, KISS, AC/DC and Metallica all have one. The Rolling Stones and Guns N’ Roses have one too.
Why doesn’t ABBA, who has sold more than 375 million albums and singles worldwide and been offered a rumoured nine figure deal to tour again, have a pinball machine on the market?

It’s hard to believe that Stern or Jersey Jack Pinball haven’t thought about obtaining the licensing rights for the Swedish super group that produced huge hits like Mamma Mia and SOS from 1972 to 1982.

Take a Chance On Me and Dancing Queen seem like perfect extra ball or bonus points sound cues for a pinball machine.

A DJ friend once told me, “There’s two types of people: those who love ABBA and those who love ABBA and don’t admit it.”

Some have called ABBA tacky; I think they were pop kitsch. And in all of that bubblegum kitsch, the music still brings joy to a great deal of people globally. Pop kitsch is ideal for an attention grabbing pinball machine.

An ABBA pinball machine would appeal to a large spectrum of music lovers. ABBA is a cross generational band. Ages range from teenagers to grandparents who love Dancing Queen. And the Meryl Streep film ‘Mamma Mia’ has strengthened people’s affection for a group that parted ways thirty-five years ago. However, ABBA never officially broke up.

I can just imagine a group of young people at an arcade or bar putting coins into an ABBA pinball machine, hearing Dancing Queen as their first game ball drops for play, “having the time of their lives.”