Well, this was my first visit to the Pinball Expo in Chicago, ...and unfortunately, it left me somewhat unimpressed.
On a scale of 1-10, I'd give it a 6.
I went down with a couple of Veterans ( Marty[SpaceCadet], Gus[Tartaglia], Marc [Frosken], and his brother Mike [MrMikeMan] ) ,and even they agreed that the show isn't what it used to be, and the likely won't go back next year..
Among some of the disappointments
1- Although the show was 4 days long (Thur-Sun ), the pinball hall was only available for play AFTER 6:00pm on Friday (to allow for PinBrawl tournery on Friday), and was closed for a banquet from 5:00-11:00pm on the Saturday
2- Unlike previous shows, when a machine was sold, the buyer could take it off the floor right away. This led of a quick exodus of many machines.
3- Poor showing of vendors, no deals to be had.
4- Ridiculously high-prices for average to poor machines. The decent ones were absurd (Indy Jones for $5500 US ??? , Monster Bash for $6500 ? MM for $8700 ???? )
4A- Many of the machines for sale, weren't even set-up to play. they were folded upright and you had to "peek" at the playfield
There were however some good points such as lots of "rarer" machines, namely
Bing Bang Bar King Kong (...what a boring game ! ) Willams Circus (...wierd game; sort of multi-Story pinball ) 3 MM 1 Monster Bash 1 Cactus Caynon 1 AFM 1 LOTR 1 Mint Mint Mint HH 20 x Stern's new "Nascar" pin (used for Flip-out tourney )
Nobtably missing: Cirqus Voltaire Simpsons Pinball Party
Overall, it was an OK experience, but likely not one I'll be doing again. I think the Allentown show was better, ...and much closer !
I'm just thankful I used Airmiles to get a flight there and back. The rest of the boys drove down on Wed (15 hrs), and should make it back later tonight (1:00am ?) .
I know Frosken has some pictures. And I'll try to post some this week.
MrMikeman and I did the tour (waste of 35USD...EACH)
Show was a disappointment...
Pinbrawl was cool, even though I got eliminated (or should I say a**-WHIPPED) in the 2nd round by the eventual winners of the 'A' division...the ringers...err...donators (PAPA champ Bowen Kerins, PAPA finalists Zach Sharpe and Lyman Sheats as well as 'wizard' Josh Sharpe)
Too many 'out of order' games....only one 'big' vendor (High-priced Mayfair)...crazy prices for pins...
On the other hand, I was able to play Big Bang Bar a few times, Pinball Circus, Thunderball, Tommy proto, and enjoyed these games as well:
LOTR, Stellar Wars, Fathom, Seawitch, Breakshot, Kornified BK2K (yup! it was back!), Monster Bash, Medieval Madness, Minty fresh Addam's Family, No Good Gophers, Kick-a** Haunted House, Super Sweeeeet Big Game (can't wait to get mine running) and played a few games WORSE than City Slicker: Namely Mike Bossy (proto) and FRONTIER (BEAR! BEAR! BEAR!)
More info/comments/pics later!
Time for bed...
Frosken
Current 'working' lineup: ( 2 ) Flipper Football, The Shadow
Gone but not forgotten: ( 22 ) City Slicker, Dirty Harry, CFTBL, Big Shot, Big Guns, Black Rose, Judge Dredd, Indianapolis 500, Big Game, BS: Dracula x 2, Beat the Clock, Fire!, F-14 Tomcat, Getaway, Breakshot, Cheetah, Meteor, El Dorado, Nitro Ground Shaker, Chexx Hockey, Slugfest
Few of us from from southern ontario are planning on going to allentown (Diamond Dave, Monkeybug, Me) Did you guys see my elvis being built? It says built for mark on it like my LOTR!
Wiring: TSPP Playfield: Elvis, but the cart has some NASCAR, LOTR, Harley Davidson, Suckpranos and TSPP PFs. Cabinets: Elvis and NASCAR Assembly: mostly Elvis, but some NASCAR Pre-testing before packaging: Elvis and ONE LOTR They also had a small area with a few Grand Prix being tested/assembled
A few notables I saw on sealed boxes: Sopranos going to Dubai Grand Prix for USA market And as we were getting out of the building, they had 2 boxes ready to get picked up...2 LOTRs going to Russia
I did the tour again to accompany my brother, who was his 1st time...
This year's "gift" was an almost complete set of all Stern's game flyers...missing LOTR and TSPP.
MrHide: I tend to disagree on your statement...When I get up at 5AM to go play some pins, I expect to see LOTS of them and in full working order...They 'makers' are not there at that time. After you've been there for your 4th time, I don't rush to see the designers to ask them "what's your favorite design...bla...bla...bla..." as I've done that the 1st and 2nd year.
I can't wait to see the entire list of pins, as I'll mark down which one(s) were not working OR had issues...more than HALF were in a 'problem/shitty' state...
All 5 guys agreed: It was mostlikely our LAST Chicago Expo...
Current 'working' lineup: ( 2 ) Flipper Football, The Shadow
Gone but not forgotten: ( 22 ) City Slicker, Dirty Harry, CFTBL, Big Shot, Big Guns, Black Rose, Judge Dredd, Indianapolis 500, Big Game, BS: Dracula x 2, Beat the Clock, Fire!, F-14 Tomcat, Getaway, Breakshot, Cheetah, Meteor, El Dorado, Nitro Ground Shaker, Chexx Hockey, Slugfest
Could you explain what the stern tour included and what you guys seen there? What game were they producing lotr/elvis?
Mark, do you order directly from the factory? Or did you pre-order with Starburst. Kind of neat to have that written on the bottom of your games (from the factory )
Got to bed at 4:00 got up at 6:00 for work... On a LINUX course this week trying to keep my eyes open. The 30 hour round trip is bruttal... I guess I'm getting old.
I agree with Steph and Marc on all there statements... This was my last Expo. The Expo's orginizers PACAK and BERG claim they are doing this to keep pinball alive, I beg to differ.
Some exemples;
Stern factory tour 35$US X 250 = 8750$ bus cost was 900$ you do the math... Tour souvenir guide printed on regular paper photocopy no colour Friday was 5$ Satrurday was 3$ Sunday was FREE!!!
The're charging a 10% fee for any game sold at the expo...
The security people hired are bruts with NO diplomacy what so ever... At 9AM and the Saturday we were kicked out right in the middle of a game.
It's NOT about keeping pinball alive, it's about the mighty $$$.
I'm pissed and the only thing enjoyable down there was to get to spend time with my friends...
On a lighter note about the show, I thought I'd share what I thought were the 3 biggest odd-ball pins I saw (...no pun intended...)
#3 : Mike Bossy Prototype Pin =============================
This was a sad sad looking pin. The backglass had a very poor pixelated picture of Bossy. (Looked like a cheap JPEG file zoomed out 1000x to fill the backglass ). No wording or any other artwork; just his face. Most American/non-hockey player wouldn't even know who this guy was.
The playfield was boring and uninspiring and gameplay to match. I can see why this never made it out the door...
#2 : Aaron Spelling Pin =======================
This was a weird one...
[For those who don't know who Aaron Spelling is, he's the TV Mogul who created Charlie's Angel, Dynasty, Beverly Hills 90210, and a whack of other TV shows. He's the Steven Spielberg of TV shows]
Apparently his wife commisioned a pin company (..I couldn't figure out which one..) to custom-make 3 pins for her husband and two kids (one of them being Bimbo daughter Tori Spelling ), at a cost of $100,000.
The Backglass is a headshot drawing of Spelling, surrounded by his wife and two kids. The Playfield is a collection of his various TV shows ( you had to hit a Jason Priestly target, etc.. ).
The game was awful, but given that there were only 3 machines ever produced (...Thank God...), I guess there is some collectible value to it...
The factory tour was 35, but if you bought the 'whole package', it was probably about 25....STILL, someone's making some good coin!
I've heard (through RGP) that there were some theft...and people complained that it was easy to load up a pin using these sets of doors.
I know that one supposedly 'security' guy questionned me about my brother's T2...I know we brought it in, then again, how can they prove it?
They should do like A-Town: a LIST of all the people bringing pins and they have a 'special bracelet'....doesn't matter if you bring ONE or TEN.
As soon as Brian Bannon left early Saturday morning (with his row of 'exquisite pins'), it wasn't really worth it to go play any machines...he had the best line-up and I think only one was out of order when he left...he came and checked/fixed his machines on a routinely basis...
Current 'working' lineup: ( 2 ) Flipper Football, The Shadow
Gone but not forgotten: ( 22 ) City Slicker, Dirty Harry, CFTBL, Big Shot, Big Guns, Black Rose, Judge Dredd, Indianapolis 500, Big Game, BS: Dracula x 2, Beat the Clock, Fire!, F-14 Tomcat, Getaway, Breakshot, Cheetah, Meteor, El Dorado, Nitro Ground Shaker, Chexx Hockey, Slugfest
Current 'working' lineup: ( 2 ) Flipper Football, The Shadow
Gone but not forgotten: ( 22 ) City Slicker, Dirty Harry, CFTBL, Big Shot, Big Guns, Black Rose, Judge Dredd, Indianapolis 500, Big Game, BS: Dracula x 2, Beat the Clock, Fire!, F-14 Tomcat, Getaway, Breakshot, Cheetah, Meteor, El Dorado, Nitro Ground Shaker, Chexx Hockey, Slugfest
Speaking of weird pinballs, anyone played that Ranco/Arkon 'Sexy Girl' pinball machine?
Looking for 1966 Bally Capersville, 1967 Bally The Wiggler, 1981 Stern Viper, 1986 Pinstar Gamatron, 1986 Williams Grand Lizard, 1991 Williams Bride of Pinbot, and a few others. Cash or some trades available. Could also repair a machine of yours +/-$ if needed, in exchange for one machine on my want list, non-working/unshopped welcome!
... Apparently his wife commisioned a pin company (..I couldn't figure out which one..)
I believe she commissioned Data East. If you look at the artwork, it's classic Data East (or not so classic . I believe the game playfield and layout was pretty much a mirror of Lethal Weapon with new artwork and modified rules plus added quotes from the family. I saw it last year or the year before at Expo. A personalized pin would definately be an interesting gift for the person that has everything.
Aaron Spelling: Yes, it's actually a Lethal Weapon 3 pin with different artwork.
Hmmm...the 'wierd 3' group...
Well the Dakar/MotoRace pins were pretty special...
It was the first (and mostlikley last) time I played a Hercules Pin...
Flip.....chug a beer...yawn...flip...go for a leak...tell a joke...flip...look outside...get a a snack...flip...
Well...you get the idea...
Other notable oddballs for me were:
- Spectrum (I think it's sooooo nice) - Thunderball (I see why it's known as a DOG) - PInball Circus (needed a flipper rebuild kit) - Varkon (I think it's really cool, but not $4800.00 cool)
Current 'working' lineup: ( 2 ) Flipper Football, The Shadow
Gone but not forgotten: ( 22 ) City Slicker, Dirty Harry, CFTBL, Big Shot, Big Guns, Black Rose, Judge Dredd, Indianapolis 500, Big Game, BS: Dracula x 2, Beat the Clock, Fire!, F-14 Tomcat, Getaway, Breakshot, Cheetah, Meteor, El Dorado, Nitro Ground Shaker, Chexx Hockey, Slugfest
#3 : Mike Bossy Prototype Pin =============================
This was a sad sad looking pin. The backglass had a very poor pixelated picture of Bossy. (Looked like a cheap JPEG file zoomed out 1000x to fill the backglass ). No wording or any other artwork; just his face. Most American/non-hockey player wouldn't even know who this guy was.
The playfield was boring and uninspiring and gameplay to match. I can see why this never made it out the door...
Actually the owner built it from scratch...
He got the bg on Ebay (it's supposedly a 3-D BG, thus he's missing the 2nd glass, which has all the writing)
He bought the playfield off Mike Pacak (PACAK!!!)
The ROMs, commonly found for vPinMAME are actually incomplete and just plain wrong, so there's a guy (can't remember his name) who actually coded the ROMs as per the flyers 'features'....it is a work in progress to 'complete' the ROMs...
When the game starts, it plays the US anthem (but there's a way to get the Canadian or 'another' anthem)...
Yes the gameplay sucks, but I'm happy that I was able to try it!
Current 'working' lineup: ( 2 ) Flipper Football, The Shadow
Gone but not forgotten: ( 22 ) City Slicker, Dirty Harry, CFTBL, Big Shot, Big Guns, Black Rose, Judge Dredd, Indianapolis 500, Big Game, BS: Dracula x 2, Beat the Clock, Fire!, F-14 Tomcat, Getaway, Breakshot, Cheetah, Meteor, El Dorado, Nitro Ground Shaker, Chexx Hockey, Slugfest
Finally back at work so now I have time to post here!!!
I had a good time but not because of the show but rather because of the guys... It was nice seeing Steph again, who took the time to educate us on the correct pronounciation of his name.. It's not SOOSS but SOOWISS, like the cheese damnit!
lol..
A big thanks to Giuseppe for transporting my T2 in his van thereby forgoing any chance of getting that X-Files he really wanted..
A great bunch of guys.. Too bad the show was less than what we expected but that was mitigated by the fact that a case of 30 beer (high test 5.9%) was 11$.. Marty and I sort of missed the Thursday night opening because of that but I sure slept well.. for 14 hours... or was I just unconscious??
On a good note I made the high score list (#3 after the generic entries) on Big Bang Bar.. Woohoo!!
Next: Allentown here we come!!!
Mike
Currently owning: ============ MAME in Sega cab with 25" arcade monitor (Has a 12" Bazooka powered subwoofer in it) - Not for sale Williams Civic Center Shuffle Alley (Puck Bowler) (1973) - 350$ Seeburg LS1 "Spectra" Jukebox (1967) - 300$
Currently babysitting =============== Heavy Metal Meltdown SOLD - leaving soon
Previously owned ============= Hot Tip, Countdown, HS, WWF, TFTC, T2, RS, Pinbot, Laser War, LOTR, Flinstones, FH, DM, STTNG, Getaway, Silver Slugger, Laser Ball, Bad Cats, Batman Forever, Meteor, TZ, Galaxy, 6MDM, TSPP, MB.
In my book, Steph's last name is 'SOOZE'...not 'SWISS'...
I'm still in awe that it cost us only $42.00CAD for 3 cases of 30 cans...and that includes 2 cases of 'Canadian strength' beer!!! (5.9% Natural Ice from A-B)
I got my name on the Pinball Circus after getting a 800M jackpot...
Also put some HSes on a few others, which probably got wiped out when the Sheats/Kerins/Shatz-type guys played it.
Mike: Now if we wipe out Chicago for '06, will it be Rochester in March, Las Vegas in July or PAPA (Pittsburgh) in the summer??? hmmmmm......
Frosken
Current 'working' lineup: ( 2 ) Flipper Football, The Shadow
Gone but not forgotten: ( 22 ) City Slicker, Dirty Harry, CFTBL, Big Shot, Big Guns, Black Rose, Judge Dredd, Indianapolis 500, Big Game, BS: Dracula x 2, Beat the Clock, Fire!, F-14 Tomcat, Getaway, Breakshot, Cheetah, Meteor, El Dorado, Nitro Ground Shaker, Chexx Hockey, Slugfest
In my book, Steph's last name is 'SOOZE'...not 'SWISS'...
My god you guys are boneheads ...!
Yes the spelling of my last name is a little weird [SUYS] (...you can thank my Belgian/Dutch ancestry for that...), but the pronounciation should be simple enough, ..even after 30 beers !
Altogether now ... SWISS, SWISS, SWISS ou pour les Francophones SUISSE, SUISSE, SUISSE !
Current 'working' lineup: ( 2 ) Flipper Football, The Shadow
Gone but not forgotten: ( 22 ) City Slicker, Dirty Harry, CFTBL, Big Shot, Big Guns, Black Rose, Judge Dredd, Indianapolis 500, Big Game, BS: Dracula x 2, Beat the Clock, Fire!, F-14 Tomcat, Getaway, Breakshot, Cheetah, Meteor, El Dorado, Nitro Ground Shaker, Chexx Hockey, Slugfest
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