# Episode 60 – The Choice is Made

**Source:** Slam Tilt Podcast  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2017-09-14  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.slamtiltpodcast.com/2017/09/14/episode-60-the-choice-is-made/

---

## Analysis

Slam Tilt Podcast Episode 60 features hosts Ron Hallett and Bruce Nightingale discussing rare pinball machines, including Bruce's Holy Grail acquisition of a Gammatron (made by both Pinstar and Sonic), a newly discovered Laser Lord widebody prototype in a Viper cabinet, and tournament news. The episode includes coverage of the Cleveland Classics tournament, introducing Tim Balls as their Trash Talker Invitational nominee, and launching a new segment called 'Mr. Peabody's Wayback Machine' that explores pinball games by manufacturer and year.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Gammatron was produced by two different manufacturers: Pinstar and Sonic, both using Bally board sets — _Bruce and Ron discussing Bruce's Holy Grail acquisition; verified via IPDB lookup_
- [HIGH] A Laser Lord widebody prototype was recently found in a Viper cabinet, with handwritten designer notes and 1.0 ROMs, listed for $3,000 — _Ron and Bruce discussing a recent Pinside post; pictures uploaded to IPDB; machine is in Illinois_
- [HIGH] Laser Lord is essentially a Quicksilver clone with different graphics and software — _Ron explaining the relationship between the two games during discussion of the prototype_
- [MEDIUM] The Demolition Man at Cleveland Classics tournament caught fire during play — _Ron reporting tournament news; Sanjay witnessed something getting stuck, followed by smoke from the headbox_
- [HIGH] Phil Birnbaum won the Cleveland Classics pop-up event; Andy Rosa won the main event — _Ron reporting tournament results from a four-day circuit event_
- [HIGH] Tim Balls was previously accepted to Trash Talker Invitational but was booted last-minute last year — _Ron and Bruce discussing Tim Balls' TTI history; planning revenge entry with donated funds_
- [HIGH] Slam Tilt Podcast will begin YouTube distribution with audio versions on Podcast Garden and iTunes including 'Oh My My' song — _Ron announcing YouTube availability; explaining version differences and copyright concerns_
- [HIGH] Early solid-state Valley pinball machines have primarily incandescent bulbs, with LEDs only in limited backbox areas — _Jim from Texas correcting Bruce's earlier claim via mailbag; Bruce apologizes on air_

### Notable Quotes

> "Gammatron. Yes. Yep, Gammatron. How was that made by two companies? It was made by Sonic. Wait a minute, Sonic made Gammatron? After Pinstar did it, Sonic also did it."
> — **Ron Hallett / Bruce Nightingale**, early segment
> _Key revelation about Gammatron's dual-manufacturer history; central to Bruce's Holy Grail discovery_

> "It's basically Flight 2000 in a conventional size. Yes, which is actually nice."
> — **Ron / Bruce**, Gammatron discussion
> _Explains Gammatron's appeal and design philosophy as a compact Flight 2000 variant_

> "It's a whitewood. Widebody. Widebody in a Viper cabinet. Yes. with JoJo, the designer of Quicksilver and Laser Lord. It has his name on it."
> — **Ron Hallett**, Laser Lord discussion
> _Confirms designer JoJo's involvement in the Laser Lord prototype; establishes authenticity_

> "I'd love to play this thing. So would I. God. It is a piece of history."
> — **Bruce / Ron**, Laser Lord discussion
> _Reflects community enthusiasm for rare prototype machines and their historical significance_

> "Congratulations to Phil Birnbaum, who won the Cleveland Classics at the Cleveland Pinball Tournament this past weekend, which was a pop-up event. It was a four-day show."
> — **Ron Hallett**, News segment
> _Official tournament result announcement; establishes tournament format and success_

> "He got kicked out. He was accepted last year and then like the last minute they booted him. Yes. Very rude. He can't get booted. You cannot get booted this time because if he gets booted, you get booted, we withdraw."
> — **Ron / Bruce**, TTI discussion
> _Reveals Tim Balls' TTI history and establishes the show's leverage and commitment_

> "Not on purpose knocking him down. Wait a minute. Isn't that the opposite meaning, not on purpose? Yes. That's a Bruce-ism."
> — **Ron Hallett**, Tournament recap
> _Highlights Bruce's verbal quirk; becomes running joke referenced for potential dictionary entry_

> "We're going from 72 to 2017 and probably 2018. We'll keep the bit going. But we're going to do it a little differently... We call it Mr. Peabody's Wayback Machine."
> — **Ron Hallett**, New segment introduction
> _Announces new recurring segment exploring pinball by year and manufacturer; first draw is 1981 Bally_

> "So 1981. Bally. Bally. We're going to go over their year. Next week. With our special guest next week. Who wasn't alive when any of those games were made."
> — **Ron / Bruce**, Mr. Peabody segment
> _Establishes format and generational humor; confirms guest participation in new segment_

> "I'm removing it from the version that's on YouTube because I don't want to get any dings. Because that will get a ding. The Ringo Starr song will definitely get a ding."
> — **Ron Hallett**, YouTube distribution discussion
> _Explains content strategy differences between platforms; addresses copyright risk management_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Ron Hallett | person | Host of Slam Tilt Podcast; discusses rare machines, tournament results, and content distribution |
| Bruce Nightingale | person | Co-host of Slam Tilt Podcast; recently acquired Gammatron as Holy Grail machine; prone to verbal quirks |
| Tim Balls | person | Frequent guest on Slam Tilt Podcast; will compete in Trash Talker Invitational as podcast's nominee; previously booted from TTI last year |
| Phil Birnbaum | person | Tournament winner at Cleveland Classics pinball event |
| Andy Rosa | person | Main event winner at Cleveland Classics tournament |
| Zach Sharpe | person | Won Central New York Location League Finals; assisted to victory by Ron's gameplay |
| Eric Russell | person | Competitor in Central New York Location League Finals; knocked down to third place by Ron |
| Jeff Teolis | person | Host of Pinball Profile podcast; will receive Trash Talker Invitational donations for Project Pinball equipment |
| JoJo | person | Designer of Quicksilver and Laser Lord; name appears handwritten on Laser Lord widebody prototype |
| Steve Bowden | person | Maintains pinball industry dictionary referenced on podcast; mentioned as 'Fun with Bonus' host |
| Carl D'Angelo | person | Known for modifying games in unconventional ways; mentioned as potential future guest |
| Bill Morrison | person | Brought Gammatron whitewood to Texas tournament; previously had the machine |
| Sanjay | person | Witnessed Demolition Man incident at Cleveland Classics where machine caught fire |
| Jeff Patterson | person | Host of This Week in Pinball; will create timestamped clips/cuts of Slam Tilt YouTube content |
| Matthew Carlson | person | Podcast listener; sent mailbag message about Star Wars games and LED lighting |
| Jim from Texas | person | Podcast listener; corrected Bruce's claim about LED usage in early solid-state Valley machines |
| Mike Diamond | person | Canadian pinball personality; birthday mentioned during episode |
| Slam Tilt Podcast | organization | Pinball-focused podcast based in upstate New York; hosts: Ron Hallett and Bruce Nightingale; expanding to YouTube distribution |
| Trash Talker Invitational | event | Competitive pinball tournament in New England; benefits Project Pinball; Tim Balls is Slam Tilt's nominee for 2024/2025 |
| Cleveland Classics | event | Four-day pop-up pinball circuit event; featured machine malfunction (Demolition Man fire) |
| Central New York Location League | event | Local pinball league where Ron and Zach compete; Finals held with Demolition Man and Roadshow |
| Critical Hit | event | Pinball tournament featuring card-based match play elements; two card sets available |
| Project Pinball | organization | Non-profit beneficiary of Trash Talker Invitational donations; led by Jeff Teolis |
| Internet Pinball Database | organization | IPDB referenced throughout; hosts game specifications, images, and ROM files; recently updated with Laser Lord prototype photos |
| Pinball Profile | organization | Content/podcast platform with interview episodes; covered Buffalo Pinball Open; may receive TTI fundraising |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Rare pinball machine acquisitions and collecting, Laser Lord prototype discovery and historical significance, Tournament coverage and competitive results, Podcast expansion to YouTube and multi-platform distribution, Trash Talker Invitational and community fundraising, Gammatron dual-manufacturer history and Flight 2000 relationship, New recurring podcast segment 'Mr. Peabody's Wayback Machine'
- **Secondary:** Machine reliability and maintenance issues (Demolition Man fire, Demolition Man switch wiring)

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.75) — Generally upbeat and celebratory episode focused on rare discoveries and community events. Hosts express enthusiasm about Gammatron acquisition, Laser Lord prototype, and tournament successes. Minor frustration about TTI participant recruitment and machine maintenance issues, but overall tone is constructive and fun. Hosts acknowledge podcast format derailment with humor rather than criticism.

### Signals

- **[collector_signal]** Bruce Nightingale announces Gammatron as his new Holy Grail machine after selling Fathom; highlights rarity of Sonic version and appeal of compact Flight 2000 design (confidence: high) — Bruce states 'I actually now found my Holy Grail' and discusses acquiring Gammatron; mentions selling Fathom to fund future projects
- **[leak_detection]** Previously unknown Laser Lord widebody prototype surfaces on Pinside; found in Illinois; features handwritten designer notes and original 1.0 ROMs; listed for $3,000 (confidence: high) — Ron and Bruce discuss Pinside post about prototype; photos just uploaded to IPDB; machine in Viper cabinet with JoJo's name handwritten on it
- **[historical_signal]** Laser Lord prototype represents early design iteration before Quicksilver reuse; demonstrates designer's process and cost-efficiency in game development (confidence: high) — Ron theorizes prototype was first run that 'shot like crap' and was shelved when time/cost concerns arose, leading to Quicksilver reuse
- **[product_concern]** Demolition Man at Cleveland Classics tournament caught fire during play; mechanical issue caused smoke from headbox (confidence: medium) — Ron reports tournament incident; Sanjay witnessed something getting stuck before smoke emerged; characterized as dramatic but manageable
- **[product_concern]** Demolition Man at league venue has ramps wired incorrectly; left and right ramp connectors swapped, affecting lock freeze mechanics and gameplay flow (confidence: high) — Bruce describes gameplay confusion where left ramp wasn't registering; identified as likely mis-plugged connectors after ramp removal; simple fix requiring swap
- **[competitive_signal]** Phil Birnbaum won Cleveland Classics pop-up event; Andy Rosa won main event; four-day circuit event showed strong community participation (confidence: high) — Ron reports tournament results; notes good turnout and mechanical incident (Demolition Man fire)
- **[competitive_signal]** Central New York Location League Finals with Demolition Man and Roadshow games; Zach Sharpe won, Ron came second on Judge Dredd, Eric Russell placed third (confidence: high) — Ron describes his gameplay arc on Judge Dredd knocking Eric to third and enabling Zach's victory; Zach bought Ron dinner as gratitude
- **[community_signal]** Slam Tilt Podcast expanding to YouTube distribution; Jeff Patterson from This Week in Pinball will create timestamped clips; podcast gaining broader platform reach (confidence: high) — Ron announces YouTube availability with different audio versions; explains copyright strategy; confirms TWIP will handle clip creation
- **[industry_signal]** Slam Tilt Podcast sponsoring Tim Balls' entry to Trash Talker Invitational with combined $50+ donations; benefits Project Pinball; represents payback for previous TTI rejection (confidence: high) — Ron and Bruce commit to funding Tim Balls' TTI entry as revenge for his previous last-minute boot; contingent on no repeat rejection
- **[content_signal]** Slam Tilt introduces 'Mr. Peabody's Wayback Machine' recurring segment exploring pinball by year (1972-2017+) and manufacturer; first draw is 1981 Bally (confidence: high) — Ron explains format: random.org selects year, then random manufacturer from that era; audience invited to research and discuss games beforehand; next episode will cover 1981 Bally games
- **[design_innovation]** Gammatron represents successful compact conversion of Flight 2000 into conventional cabinet size; uses Bally board set; manufactured by both Pinstar and Sonic (confidence: high) — Bruce and Ron discuss Gammatron as Flight 2000 conversion with improved form factor; notes it uses SDB-300 sound board; no speech synthesis like Flight 2000
- **[sentiment_shift]** Slam Tilt Podcast had difficulty recruiting Trash Talker Invitational participant initially; resolved by securing Tim Balls as repeat guest with strong trash-talk reputation (confidence: medium) — Ron mentions being unable to get anybody initially; Bruce jokes about non-flattering photo of Scott Wilson; resolution comes when they text Tim Balls directly during recording

---

## Transcript

 But over 500 girls have had sex with you. How do you explain the attraction? Uh, just look at me. Hey baby. Coming to you from beautiful upstate New York, this is the Slam Tilt Podcast, the show about all things pinball. I'm your host, Ron Hallett. Here are my co-hosts, Bruce Nightingale. Hoorah! Hoorah! Hoorah! Dragon Fist! Hoorah! Dragon Fist. I love that game. Hopefully one day I can acquire one. I hope so. I hope so. And this is episode 60, Inspector Clouseau. A-bomb. A-bomb. This is the Forgotten Movie. And I was just reading some background on this, and what happened was the production company wanted to make another Inspector Clouseau movie. Peter Sellers and Robert Blakeman Edwards were busy in other projects, so they decided, screw it, we're going to do this anyway. So they got another director, they got Alan Arkin, who's an American from New York, to do Inspector Clouseau, and it was a complete and total bomb. to the point where it wasn't even in the original, like, the Pink Panther collection. They didn't even have it in there. That's a good thing. Yeah. Well, they since added it to, like, the Platinum collection or some shit like that, so. Is that, like, the LE version? Yeah, the LE version. There you go. The LE version has this one extra feature that sucks. It's called Inspector Clouseau. Well, as Ron has his. Now, let's just go right into what I was just talking about with Dragon Fist. I know Ron wants a Dragon Fist. Yes, I do. Yes. and hopefully he gets it soon. Very soon. Someday. I actually now found my Holy Grail. Ooh. I actually sold one just tonight. I sold my Fathom. So you found your Holy Grail. Balls a-poppin'? Balls a-poppin' too. Electric Boogaloo. Yes. No. I'm going to stump Mr. Ron here. Oh, so, okay. You have a Holy Grail game and I won't know what it is. I don't think you will. You might. All right, all right, all right, all right. Give me just – is it Solid State era or a newer one? Solid State. All right. Two companies made it. Alien Star. Nope. Two companies made it. The same game. Two companies made the same game. I was right with Alien Star because technically it was – what was it? Pin Star and Gottlieb or whatever the hell they were. It was under two names. Yeah. Is it two totally different companies made it, or they just had different names at the time? Two totally different companies. Ooh. Is it actually the same game? Yes, it is. Is there a preferred version? Probably not, because they're both very rare. It is a solid state, and it uses a ballyboard set. So I'm giving you a whole ton of hints. Flight 2000? Close. Gammatron. Yes. Gammatron. Yep, Gammatron. How was that made by two companies? It was made by Sonic. Wait a minute, Sonic made Gammatron? After Pinstar did it, Sonic also did it. What? They both made it. Look at IPDB, Bubby. I am. Gammatron. For those who don't know, Gammatron is like a conversion. It's basically Flight 2000 in a conventional size. Yes, which is actually nice. I played it at Texas Gamatron by Pinstar and Sonic. What the hell? Look at the Sonic cabinet. It reminds me of a good cabinet that you used to hate. Look where the score displays are. Sorry, I'm trying to find it. Is it in the backbox? It's in the backbox. It's just like the LEs of Eight Ball Deluxe. Oh, okay. Yeah. Yeah, it's like an LE, but like a conventional size head, but with the LE thing. Yes. Almost like a Williams, like a System 11 game with the displays. Yes. Kind of similar. That backless even looks similar size. Yes. Interesting. So how the hell did Sonic end up making it? Probably they got the licensing probably from Gary Stern from Pinstar. That's so weird. I know. I said Pinstar earlier for Alien Star. I know. I believe I was totally wrong there. You were totally wrong there, too. Oh. Two? Two? What else was I wrong with? Oh, you're always wrong. Oh, bite me. Damn it. Hold on. Alien Star. I've got to look at what the... Because there's two of them, damn it. And there's someone probably saying, you are a... Yeah. Mile Star. You're Mile Star. Yeah, Mile Star. Then Premiere. Yes. Now, supposedly, Steve Kirk was stolen... You know, supposedly Steve Kirk actually designed this game instead of Harry Williams. That's what I found out this week also. Yeah. Yeah, I'd heard that before. Yeah. I saw this a couple days ago, and I was like, I like this. Well, have you actually played it? I've played it once a long, long time ago, and I totally forgot about it until I saw it. And I went, ooh! And it's a Flight 2000, which I love, but in a normal body. I played GammaTron, and I played the Whitewood. Mm. Because that was Bill Morrison's. He brang it to Texas one year. That's cool. So, yeah, I played the Whitewood and the regular one. One year, it was ridiculous. There was like three of them. Like a Whitewood and then two of them next to each other, like three in a row. And they had one also at Pacific Pinball Expo. I'm looking at it right now, the Whitewood. At the Pacific Pinball Expo, they had it right next to when they had their, like, every stern ever made, with the exception of Q, which wasn't a loss. It was right after Orbiter 1. It's so much nicer and compact there. Look at it. It plays good. I remember I was able to – it was a pain in the ass starting multiball just like it is on Flight 2000. It doesn't have speech though if I recall. No, it does not. But it does use the SDB-300 board set for the sounds. Very interesting. I didn't know that was your holy grail. It is, actually, now. I'd like to find one. So. Oh, you're putting it out there to the podcast? Of course. Okay. Either version. The Sonic might be a really good one, because a playfield will never wear on that thing. And it's got to be rarer. I've never seen a Sonic one. And looking at the pictures on the Internet Pinball Database, like a foreign-sounding name uploaded the pictures, so I'm guessing probably not in this country. Yeah, there's a couple in this country. I saw two people on Pennside. They have a Sonic version? Yep. Really? Hmm. Yep, but I like this. I definitely want to grab one of these if I could. So you just want, like, the rarest games possible? What's wrong with that? Well, then you want a queue. Oh, God, no. I played that. It's terrible. Yep, I played it. It's terrible. The most disappointing thing is it was Harry Williams' last game. Yeah. It's kind of a shitty way to go out. Oh, my God. I just saw something even more of a kind of weird abomination. Since it was a conversion kit for, you know, for Bally Williams, they have a Gametron in the Stars cabinet. Blasphemy. Yeah, that is blasphemy. And then they have a Gametron, another one, in a silver, what's it called? What's the one with the freaking U-shape on the Bally? The Silver Ball Mania. Yeah, Silver Ball Mania. They have one in that, too, which is not a big loss at all. Well, actually, since we're talking about rare games, and I don't think this wasn't even in our format. Yes, we do do a format. There was a find that came up on Pinside of all places. And what was that? Laser Lord. Yes. Oh, my God. Now, for those who don't know, Laser Lord was a Stern game. And it was the last game. It's one of their, yeah, I don't know if it was before or after Q, but basically it was like a prototype. It sold on, the prototype sold on eBay like a year ago, like for $7,000. There are pictures of it on IBDB. They have an incorrect date stamp on them, whoever took the pictures. It says like 2004 or something on them. They were taken like last year. But it's really a Quicksilver with all different graphics. Yep, it's basically an exact clone of Quicksilver with different graphics and software. Yep. Until now. Until now. Somebody posted, it just said, like, prototype Laser Lord. So you figure, like, oh, is that one for sale again, or there's a second one? Then you look at this thing, and it's a white wood of Laser Lord. Wide body. Wide body in a Viper cabinet. Yes. with JoJo's, the designer of Quicksilver and Laser Lord. It has his name on it. All handwritten, like, insert text. It has, like, a section with, what, nine stand-up targets? Yes. In a row spelling Laser Lord. Yep. Has some interesting, bizarre stuff on it. Locks in the middle, it looks like. That's what the lock in the middle is. Four flippers. Yep. So my guess, and it has actual ROMs, 1.0 ROMs with dated ROMs in there. I have no reason to think it's not legit. He wants three grand for it. Yeah. What I'm thinking is it was like that was one of his first runs at it. Yep. More than likely probably shot like crap. Probably. Probably. And just got kind of pushed it aside. Pushed it aside. And then when they needed a game and just didn't have time or cost concerns, like let's just reuse the Quicksilver. We already have the design. And the back glass is done already for the other one. Yes. That's the thing. The back glass, it had the Laser Lord back glass, the same one that was in the prototype. Yes. So that obviously was done first. So I'd love to play this thing. So would I. God. It is a piece of history. But, I mean, just looking at it, I can't say if it looks like it will play good. I don't know. I'd love to try it. Yeah, I'd love to try it, but I have a feeling I would be disappointed. Eh, well. Hopefully it's nothing like Viper. Yeah, it's in a Viper cabinet. But the pictures are now back on IPDB now for that. Oh, they are? Okay, they got uploaded. They got uploaded today. Excellent. So you can actually look at both. Check it out. Check it out, folks. It's an interesting part of history if you are into that sort of thing. I loved it. I was just looking at it more and more and staring at it going, hmm. It's just when I saw that come up, it's like, oh, another one of these. And then you look at it like, wait a minute. Oh, it's not up yet. Wait a minute. What is this? And the fact that it was from Illinois. Mm-hmm. Makes more sense. It makes more sense that that could have been sitting in somebody's basement or whatever. It was a plumber who got it. Yeah. So you said it's there? I don't see it. No, it's not there yet. They posted on Pinside that he got the pictures today. so it should be up soon I thought the way he made it sound like he was going to get it done real fast but they are going to be up so it will be really cool I did like the cabinet for the newer one the prototype had a decent cabinet they went back to actually using art it's got a date stamp of 2012 which is incorrect because this just sold last year So I remember when this came up on eBay and everyone was like, is this the real deal? And it kind of became apparent, yes, this is the real deal. I wonder if it's got the sounds, too, from storage. From what I've heard, it's different. It's just a totally different software. Because I think somebody did dump the ROM. Okay. So you could probably, in visual pinball, stick in the Laser Alert ROM for Quicksilver and see what the hell it does. It's actually on the IPDB, the ROM. Oh, it is? Okay, there you go. So you could burn this, Bruce, and put it in your Quicksilver and see what the hell it does. That would actually be interesting. That would be kind of like putting the Shrek software into the Family Guy, which I did the one time. Yeah, I did it too. It works. It works fine. That's all I'll say about it. Yep. So we were on another podcast again. Wow. Do we get residuals for any of this? Yeah, we get the residuals of have a nice day. Oh. We get more exposure. We do get – we expose ourselves very much. Oh, my. Oh, my. So the Head to Head podcast, Ryan, C, and Martin, they actually commented how well you sing ACDC and that they loved our song from Chunderstruck. Chunderstruck. Well, if you do, Brian Johnson, you just picture you're kind of sitting on a toilet trying to take a dump, like a really hard one, and you just like that, and there you go. You got Brian Johnson. There you go. So let's go to some news since we went a little off track in the beginning, but we like off track. Off track? Well, wait a minute. You said we were featuring on multiple podcasts, I thought. They talked about me on the – because I talk for both of us on the Players Podcast. The Pinball Players Podcast. Players Podcast, yep. They said that we swear. Yeah, we do swear. I do have the parental warning on the podcast garden thing. Just to let you know, folks, we do have the parental warning. Do not play this in front of your kids. No, but we don't say it too much lately. We're pretty good. We're not great. We're a little naughty and a little bad. Yes, you are. I got one more comment. Some people – I posted on Facebook the George Takei taking over command. People disliked that. We had two unhappy faces on our George Takei taking over the presidential seat. It was posted by George Takei. Yes. George Takei. I've got to say his name right. Posted by George Takei of him like in the White House seat, like as president. Yeah, we had a lot of likes, and we had two dislikes. I don't – how can you dislike George Takei? I cannot conceptualize a world where someone dislikes George Takei. I just can't. I don't understand it. What's the world coming to? I mean, and if you two are podcast listeners, stop listening. Oh, my. Just stop listening. I just – sorry. We base our whole podcast off this guy. Yes, exactly. Hopefully he never sues us. But, you know, we love George Takei. We do. I mean, I'm not just saying that. I mean, I still have his life-size cutout in my basement. That's going nowhere. Twitch videos, our wonderful Twitch channel, which we have done nothing with. We've had it on for a long time. We're going to actually start using it. I've done the research. I've purchased equipment, and I hope to be streaming within the next couple weeks. Once I get the laptop, it actually should be arriving tomorrow. I wanted a mobile-style rig so I can travel with it, perhaps to a, I don't know, Stomp West tournament sometime in the future. I'd love to have that there. So, especially with your awesome internet connection you're telling me you have, so it should work great. But there's plans in the future that might change those plans. There's plans in the future that might change those plans. A typical Bruce-ism right there. It is Yep So you know all about that yeah I think so Yeah I know you do So next segment Next segment We jumping segments News. News of the week. A piece of news. A piece of news. Congratulations to Phil Birnbaum, who won the Cleveland Classics at the Cleveland Pinball Tournament this past weekend, which was a pop-up event. It was a four-day show. A circuit event, and congratulations to Andy Rosa for winning the main event. Very nice. It was a pretty good show. I heard it had a pretty good turnout. I heard Demoman caught fire. Did it? Yep. Fucking kick ass. Sanjay said he was playing, and something got stuck. Something like that, yeah. And then they were working on it, and then smoke started coming out of the head. Nice. Yes, yes. There was a video somewhere, and they're like waving the smoke away. That's freaking kick-ass. I don't think determined organizers were thinking that was kick-ass. Oh, that's freaking kick-ass. I've watched too many games burned, and luckily they're not mine. The only one I had burned was the bad coil on Getaway, and man, that was like Kiss was coming out. That smoke was just coming out of the game. Pinball Profile posted not one but two new shows. One was about the recap of the Buffalo Pinball Tournament, and one was with I found it. It is episode 72, Snow Gavin. She was on. Very good interview for both that and the recap of the Buffalo Pinball Open. I did download ours. Number 69. Yes, I downloaded it. I hope to listen to it someday. Okay. Gotcha. So let's cross that off the list right now. Pinball profile. So I can't Twitch channel. That's going to be nice to actually see. Mm-hmm. What else? TTI. We have a couple things about with TTI now. What's TTI? Is that those trash-talking people again? Are they still pissed about the Sunday Patriots losing? Yeah, maybe. Well, it wasn't Sunday they lost. They lost actually on Thursday. Oh, that's right. That was the first game they got to lose in front of a national audience. Yes. Oh, I forgot about that. I'm sorry. Yes, you're right. Oh, darn. They made fun of us again. Yeah, they said we were unable to get anybody, so they picked a New Yorker. Yeah. And it was Scott Wilson. Mm-hmm. And he does have a big mouth, so it'll be good for trash-talking. Oh, yes. Yes, it does. Unfortunately, they put a non-flattering photo of him on the Trash Talker Invitational page. He's actually wearing a bikini top. Yep. And if you know Scott, that's pretty scary. I'm kind of disappointed we haven't been able to get anybody. Yeah. Not making us look good, but, you know, we kind of set the bar quite high with the donation, you know. Well, it's going to go to a good cause. That's the way I look at it. It's going to a good cause. Yes, it is. A pinball profile. It's going to go to pinball. Where's it going to? Project Pinball. That's it. That's where it's going to. Yes. Yes, it's going to Jeff Teolis at Pinball Profiles so he can buy more equipment. Congratulations. So, we do need a bid. If not, I have a backup plan. I have two backup plans. Oh, two backup plans. I'm unaware of the second one. The second one's you. Me? Why am I the backup plan? I suck. Well, you're closer. That's true. I am much closer. That is true. See? And I did go 4-0 in my league this Sunday. Yeah? Just thought I'd bring that up. Oh, did I mention our league started up again? We have two games. No, you have two games now. We have two games. No, it's not Adam's Family. Uh-oh, what is it? Still got Roadshow. Barbed Wire? No, no. Demoman. Oh, God. Oh, I was so happy when I saw that. You must have been smiling ear to ear. Good thing I did some practice games on it before I played because there were some issues. Oh, boy. Well, they're waiting for some parts, specifically the optos in the subway. So the subway doesn't work. So they put rubber in front of the hole. The hole? Oh, no. So you can't hit it there. And then I mentioned, like, well, you can still kind of do it with the claw, but I suggest, you know, we can disable the claw, because most people are just going to pick the lock freeze anyway. Of course, yes. So we disable the claw. And then when I'm playing it, I'm noticing, like, I'm going through the right-in lane with a lock freeze, and then hitting the left ramp, and I'm not getting my freeze. Like, what's going on? But at some point, I start multiball, which I'm like, okay, I can't hit the hole, so that's going to be a problem to get a super, but I can use the triggers for that. Yes. And I do, and I eventually do get a super. And I'm thinking, how did I get a super if the left ramp isn't registering? At that point, I realized the issue was the left ramp was the right ramp, and the right ramp was the left ramp. Oh, they had it wired wrong? the yeah i think i think not well they mentioned repinning connectors but they they mentioned like the gi connector i don't think it's that i think it's simply just plugged into the wrong thing underneath the playfield because it's just it was probably unplugged when someone removed a ramp or did something and they just plugged it in they plugged them both in the wrong spot all they got to do is swap them yep but um we didn't have the key or whatever it wasn't fixed so it was an interesting you know i have to go through the right end lane then pass it over to left flipper then hit the right ramp to get my lock freeze. Yikes. And then if the crane, yeah, the claw is lit, I hit the left ramp. Wow. It was cool. I was able to adjust. It almost seemed like it would be a cool game to screw with switches and stuff like that. Like one of those things that Carl D'Python Anghelo does where he, like, modified a game in some weird way. That's another person I'm going to get on soon. Hi, Carl. Hi, Carl. Critical hit. Well, they just had their Critical Hit tournament over the weekend. Yes, they did. And for those who don't know, Critical Hit is the one with the cards. Yes. There's two sets now. There's going to be two sets. Oh, two sets. What's the second set? It's like for match play, I think. Oh, okay. It could have all the Gottlieb Mystery Awards on there. Like, swap your score with your opponent. Oh, not liking that? No, not at all. Gottlieb definitely had the worst friggin' awards ever. Well, I just got a message from somebody. My first plan of the backup for the TTI. I'm texting him right now. This is exciting for our listeners. Yes. Exciting texting action. Yes. Where you don't know who he's texting or what he's talking about. He is a friend of the show. He's been on the show. He's been on multiple times. And he is willing to go. Okay. Okay, and I know he knows how to trash talk because that's part of one of his gimmicks. Hold on. I'm going to tell him right now. Tell him what? Hold on. Get on Skype right now. Oh, Jesus Christ. Okay. We're just going to slam him right into it. We're going to slam him right into it? All right. Just like the Slam Phil podcast would do. Oh, you have to sanctum, bastard. Oh, wait a minute. It's Monday. I thought it was tomorrow. Oh, it's Monday. Well, tomorrow, I thought they're having a benefit, or maybe it was Thursday or Friday. I don't know. For hurricane relief. Oh. Yeah. For Central New York on September 30th. We're just going to throw the whole show off this week. Yeah, so much for the format. We are all over the place, ladies and gentlemen. We tried to stick with it. We had a format, and it just went all to hell. It does go all to hell. But we will announce our entry this week. Well, can we do it now, being that this podcast doesn't come out until Thursday? We can do it now. We are now bringing on – he's actually our very good friend, and he's been on the podcast the most out of any other guest. Mr. Tim Balls will be the nominee, and we will pay for his way in. our 50-odd donations each will pay his way in to kick ass now that's his name tim and his last name is balls yes tim balls now that's tim balls tim sexton and this is revenge for him yes it is because he got kicked out he got kicked out he was accepted last year and then like the last minute they booted him yes very rude he can't get booted you cannot get booted this time because if he gets He gets booted, we withdraw. Yes, we withdraw our money. Our money. No, they don't want that. Exactly, because even they're not that bad. Yes. I mean, they're bad in New Robert Englunds, but not that bad. Yeah, they'll probably give them like two strikes out of a three-strike tournament, but hey. Yeah, you're right. If it's a three-strike, they'll just start them with two strikes, and they'll be playing Bowen probably. Two strikes and one-handed. Yeah, and playing Bowen. Yeah, playing Bowen. Yep, there you go. That's how they'll do it, because that's how they do things there. That is the way they do things. So the plan is now set. You fuckers are all going to be kicked ass, man. Okay. Loving it. So what else do we have? Oh, I was in a pinball tournament this weekend. We had the Central New York Location League Finals. Did he win? No. Fail. Friend of the show, Zach, won. He almost smiled. Yes, he almost smiled. Almost. Well, he actually should have been smiling because I'm the one that got him to win. You cheated? Nope. You coached him? Nope. I came in second on Judge Dredd, which knocked Eric down to third, and Zach won by a half a point. So you knocked Mr. Eric Russell, one of the three Eric Russells, down so Zach could win. Yes. Not on purposely. Just played. Wait a minute. Did you say not on purposely? Not on purposely knocking him down. Wait a minute. Isn't that the opposite meaning, not on purposely? Yes. That's Bruce's. Another Bruce system. I've got to write these down. These are good. These should be in the – you know that dictionary thing that Steve Bowne has? We need to have the Bruce one. Yes. Not on purposely. Yes. Actually. Which means on purpose. Well, I'm just trying to play my best. I had $20 million going into ball three with not even a lock started on Judge Dredd. I got two multi-balls after that. I came roaring back and knocked out Eric, knocked down Andy, and gave Zach the win. So Zach bought me dinner. Hi, Zach. I actually had to rescue his ass, too, on the thruway. I'm driving to the tournament. Where are you? I'm like, exit 42 on the thruway. Can you stop and pick me up on my next at 41? My car broke down. Okay. Damn, MR2. Let's just get them all out of the way. Hi, Steve. Fun with bonus. Steven Bowden. Hi. Yeah, we mentioned pinball profile. Let's see. Head to head. We mentioned head to head. This flipping podcast. Pinball players podcast. Do you even talk pinball? Nick and Kevin. Oh, bro. Do you even talk pinball? Canadian Podcast Mike Diamond Mike's birthday is today. Hi Mike So I did sell my fathom. I told you that in the beginning You sold your fathom so much for that project Well I'm not going to have time for a lot of projects soon Another hit out there I wonder what that means Yeah Next subject We're going to have a new Well first we're going to have a new bit coming up Oh, a new bit, new segment. Now I have to reopen one of the windows I had to close before. Go back to random.org. We're going to pick a year from 1972 to 2017. So 45 years of pinball greatness. So we're going from 72 to 2017 and probably 2018. We'll keep the bit going. But we're going to do it a little differently. once we pick a year then we're looking at all the manufacturers who were building games in those years and pick a manufacturer out of those and then the next show we're going to talk about that and i want everyone they'll know what we're going to talk about beforehand and they can jump in and see what games were made that year and what their thoughts on all the games by that manufacture during that year. We call it Mr. Peabody's Wayback Machine. Woo-hoo! Kudos to anyone who knows what that's from. Mr. Know-It-All. Hello there. Hey, Mr. Know-It-All. Again? Sorry. It's brought to you. Well, I'm going to random.org. I have the number 72 through 117, which will represent each year. and Stop! No whammies. 1981. Okay. How many manufacturers do we have in 1981? We had Bally. Major manufacturers. Okay, Bally, Gottlieb, Williams. Gameplan? Gameplan was probably still around. Stern. Stern. So you have five big ones. Oh my. So I'm going to type these in. I'm going to just put initials each one. And now we'll go... Stop. B for Bally. Okay. Is this rigged? No, it's not. I went random.org. Okay. So 1981. Bally. Bally. We're going to go over their year. Next week. Next week. with our special guest next week. Who wasn't alive when any of those games were made. One of the guests, of course not. So, we going to go to the mail ball bag? Jesus. Before we do the mail ball bag, just to mention, we are on YouTube. Yes, we are. I am putting them out there now. You're letting it all hang out? Yeah, we're letting it all hang out on YouTube. So, the podcast will be available on YouTube also. Got a playlist on there, so we'll just start putting those up. The only difference is, and I don't know if anyone saves these, you'll probably want to prefer the one at Podcast Garden or the one off iTunes, etc., because that one's going to have the Oh My My song. Yes, and that is very important. I'm removing it from the version that's on YouTube because I don't want to get any dings. Because that will get a ding. Like the Beavis and Butthead, because there's no video, I doubt that'll get a ding. the Ferris Bueller song there since it is heavily modified it probably also will not get a ding but the Ringo Starr song will definitely get a ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding vice violation boom shut down then the audio may not be available in Germany and places like that yes and we want all of our worldly people seeing this all and hearing us all and now since we're going to be on YouTube this week in pinball will now be able to cut our thing up and, oh, my. What? What? Like time stamps on each part of our – Oh, okay, okay. He'll cut this all up. Cut me, Vic. Cut me. Rocky movies. That could be the next one. Rocky 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Oh, God. No? Okay. Oh. I'm looking at our mail. So this is – it's time for the mail ball bag. Yes, it is. And as I said Jeff Patterson from This Week in Pinball will be now doing our splitting up our YouTube stuff So you be able to go We be more world famous than ever Hmm Yeah So we have one from Matthew Carlson. Mm-hmm. He says, seeing these new Star Wars games, they're not HF either. Oh, half bad. Okay, sorry. Seeing these new Star Wars games, they're not half bad either, but we can agree LEDs are super tacky. Super tacky. He wrote it twice like that. Yes. Thank you. Let's see. We have one from Jim from Texas. Good to have you, lads, in Ron's awesome Australian accent. Thank God he said it. It's brilliant, yes. Enjoyed the last podcast, though. You guys seem to be getting off the rails in the last ten minutes. Come on, man. We had a lot of fun with that. The podcast starts off with a Beavis and Butthead clip. We are off the rails immediately. I know. All that kiss into ACDC song metaphors at the end and all. Just wanted to come to the defense. Oh, yeah. Yeah, you were wrong. You were wrong, Bruce. Just wanted to come to defense for the majority of the lighting in my current early Solid State Valley titles. Frontier does currently have LEDs in the backbox that have not been changed out, but the rest of that machine and the three others are all incandescent bulbs. You need to apologize. I already did. I apologized to him in email. No, you need to apologize on the air. Say, I'm sorry. I apologize. Sorry, man. It's just not fucked up. Yeah, and if our listeners remember, I was like, are you sure? It could just be a camera thing. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So I was right as usual. So I wrote, hey, Jim, I apologize. You know, we don't mind different rubrics. He actually brought up another thing. That he actually uses different rubbers. First he says, it must be the glare from the iPhone camera that makes them look different. I am thinking about getting some non-traditional Titan silicone bands for some of these games. Is that also sacrilege? I like using different rubbers. Yes, Mr. Off the Rails. Well, answer the question. Is that sacrilege? No, it's not. It's not? No, that's not. Really? You know why? Why? Because even rubbers like red to black are different. We've all talked about this, and white and yellow. Flipper bat rubbers are, even though they're different colors, they do have different compounds, so they do play differently. We both have had this conversation privately, and I think once in the early days. Yes, we had private conversations about rubbers. Yeah. Seems like Flash Gordon could use a few lime green rubbers by the inline drop targets or some baby blue by the waterfall of Paragon. Wonder if the make an FU color to put around the beast lair. For Paragon, that would be good. What if I turn my rubber inside out? It's still the same color. Miserable Earthling in Ming's voice. I can't do that. Miserable Earthling. Try again, Earthlings. Earthlings. Ha, ha, ha, ha. So, yes, Ignite Death Rays. Was it 15 seconds? Man, it's got a lot of good speech in it. It does. Killed speech. It needed more, though. Well, Jesus, they can only afford so much. That probably put them over budget, just those lines. Yeah, but still. Flash Gordon rocks for a movie. Flash! Ah! I have it on my soundtrack on my iPad and on my phone. I'm sure you do. So that was Jim. Thanks, Jim. Hey, thanks, Jim. Long-time listener. Do we have anything on the site? No. The only just one was the This Week in Pinball. All right. So I'm leaving you the last one. Of course. You always give me these. Although it's longer, but it's still one page. So we're okay. Oh, my God. Is it one freaking page? Oh, my. I'm going to go get a sandwich. You're going to make a sandwich. Oh, we'll try to make it go quickly here. Pinball Princess. and she immediately embarrasses us with her lack of knowledge that I can't believe I didn't remember this. Joan Rivers' character in Spaceballs is named Dot Matrix. Dot Matrix, yes. You know, like that displays on pins. I know. I don't know if I can continue now. Okay, we're done. That's embarrassing. We're ending the podcast. See you later. Let's pay some bills. No, not even paying bills. We don't have to pay bills anymore. We're closing it. Dear Ron and Bruce, I have taken an unexpectedly long hiatus from writing. I apologize. I wish to belatedly comment on a few topics that have been touched upon on the podcast and write a proper missive, but I'm afraid that time is my enemy here and I'm not fully caught up on the podcast. Regardless, I've spent the past month as an observer to the feud between Slamtail Podcast and the Trash Talker Selection Committee. And as the current lone New Yorker in the Invitational, I feel obligated to speak up. Not anymore, though. Not anymore. Two more. I can imagine a few reasons for the committee's steadfast trashing of the Slam Tilt podcast eligibility. It may be out of reverence for the obviously superior skill of New Yorkers. Yep. Of course. That's a given. That's a given. After all, going by rank alone, the New Robert Englunds crew may think they have it easy. Among the Slam Tilt crew and listeners, specifically among those in the New York, New Jersey area, as well as among the New York, Robert Englunds chosen, I am most likely one of the lowest ranked, if not the lowest for currently on-rack players. This admittedly hasty and highly imprecise metric takes into consideration the last known rank and other factors in play history and does not assume a null rank. The top 1,000 is an obnoxiously far dream for me yet. Based on IFPA rankings, that makes me seem one of the easiest targets, as many players in New York area are soundly in the top 1,000. Not that I plan on being any kind of easy target. Yes. I proved at the Sweet Talker that I could best some of New Robert Englunds's best. I can do it again. I have no problem with being the underdog upset. Come on, Rocky. You can do it. You can do it, Steph. I know you can. I'm sorry, I'm in demo man mode. You're going to demo man. Best Jackpot call out ever. God, I love that. I'm sorry. I love getting to the second multiball just to hear that. Yeah. Perhaps then, the lack of invite is out of reverence for the trash-talking abilities of the Slam Tilt Podcast. After all, the committee could be under the impression Slam Tilt Podcast is co-hosted by a literal legend. In Slavic folklore, there is a supernatural creature that has a thunderous cry so loud that it can level trees and kill men with a single shout, should they be too close. The creature is known as the Nightingale. Yeah, that's got to be me. I thought it was the Banshee. No, you are the Nightingale. Clearly, for the podcast to have the namesake of being so powerful that its very words have awesome, very literal force behind them would be cause for concern amongst those who talk trash over cups of harbor water tea. Wow. It does not surprise me that they would be – okay. I don't know this word. Reticent. She does this to me. Reticent? Yeah. What does that mean? I couldn't tell you. I'm going to look at it right now. That I have to actually look it up. Not revealing one's thoughts or feelings readily. Ah. Okay. Surprised me that one would be reticent, though the committee should rest assured that the nightingale known as Bruce does not have the lethal volume of the mythological creature of the same name. Although I could not say that quiet would be an accurate descriptor either. No, no. No, no, no, no. The quality of his trash-talking may prove lethal only to the trash-talking game of others. If it is neither of the two reasonings above, my final hypothesis would be that the committee is pulling the ultimate... Authentarian. Authentarian. I actually know this word, but I'm saying it right. Authoritarian move and trash talking. The calm, persistent denial of your highly competent... I haven't been looking up this one. Holy crap, she's killing us tonight. She's killing us. Rival... Rivalry? Now, wait a minute. You use these words, and then we go to that one. Of your desire for trash-talking, competitive play, or if you would permit, chuck-blocking. Chuck blocking? That's a new word. I'm going to use it all the time. Chuck blocking. You chuck block me. You chuck block me. Your explicit desire for participation in this case would be immediate grounds for denial, especially given your pride and skill in mouthing off. Yeah, you're very good at that. Oh, yes, I mouth off all the time. You edit it a lot, too. Yes, I do. This scenario is a catch-22. On one hand, further trash-talking would only harden the committee's resolve not to admit you. On the other hand, to prostrate yourself and mean inferiority to the New Robert Englunds players, to beg for entry would not only amuse the committee greatly, but possibly serve as invalidation of any trash-talking credentials you may have had. This scenario leaves the podcast at an impasse, where only a chosen listener may participate. Which we have chosen, and we have chosen wisely. So my face isn't going to melt off or anything. So, you know, I feel like, do you remember in Saturday Night Live, I think it was, what's his name's character? The Master Thespian? Oh, what's his name? John Lovitz. John Lovitz's character. I feel like I almost should read this like he would. Like he would? Master Thespian, should the committee's dedication to minimize New Yorkers persist, and I find myself one small girl against the sea of clam chowder. Chowda. Also known as Chowda. I have no doubt that I can hold my own. If necessary, however, I hope that I can call upon my fellow New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, I believe that was the scope provided in the terms, players to lend me their strength, their skills, and their knowledge. Spirit bomb style. With the power of friendship, I will transform into a proper shonen. She actually told us what the power of friendship was. She told us how to pronounce it. That one I actually knew, though. Hero and win the day. Never mind my eternal hope for a pinball-themed anime. I will become the pinball anime. That said, in your last podcast, I've been hopping around, you mentioned the possibility of nominating Tim Balls as the Slam Tilt Podcast's champion. If something of this nature were to pass, I would be gladdened to see him. Not because I need Timmy's help to survive the best New Robert Englunds has to offer, but because I would love to see the vengeance of the one who was pulled from last year's trash talker. See, now we look like the geniuses. truthfully i will be gladdened to see whomever you nominate as champion even if the two of you nominate beavis and butthead and come disguised as them that's a great idea i call beavis with the trash talking the slam till podcast is laid down i for one believe you deserve to be represented somehow be it through timmy raymond a talking potato named clarence who makes wicked slide saves somehow. At any rate, those are my two quarters. Nearly a thousand words of light pro-slam till trash-talking. Wondering if Bruce would need Ron nearby with a censor tone, even at the trash-talker. Oh yeah, definitely. Player 31915. P.S. In case you thought I was kidding about the Nightingale, here's episode 43 of one of my other favorite podcasts, the Myths and Legends podcast. If you have five minutes, you'll see what I mean. I'll have to, because I want to be cool. You are the Nightingale. I am the Nightingale. Well, thank you, Steph. Thank you, Steph. Now, you know what's going to happen now. Okay, what's going to happen now? After her outburst here, what do you think the committee's going to do? They'll probably try to pull her. You got it. Yeah, because that's what they do. That's what they do. They're scared. It may have hurt your feelings. I think they'd be intimidated by the English skills. Yes, I think they would. Yep. No chuck blocking. I mean, I know I'm intimidated because I don't know half the words. We have to look them up, so... Yeah. I have some bad news, people. Okay, what's here? Bruce Mello... Oh, no. Mello voice. Hi. Hi. I'm Bruce Nightingale. And I had to cancel my dialed in. What? Yes. How could you? I canceled it. Is it because you're just going to play mine? Yes. Okay. That's one reason. There you go. Second reason is I can use the money in other things in the future we're going to talk about. You've only thrown about 20 clues to what this is. I think most people probably figured this out by now. If they have, email us. Message us. Tell us what you think. What is Bruce doing? If you know it, fuck you. You can't say a word. But if you don't, it'll be like guessing the latest Stern game. Yes. Even though everyone seems to know what they are. They're going to be having a Guardian of the Galaxy opening box party. No. Yes. No. Yes. Who's designing that one again? Borg. Okay. So what's going to be the Bash toy in this one? Probably Windu? No, he became a good guy, though. He can't be Windu. Maybe he'll have a Kurt Russell Bash toy. Or maybe he'll be the other guy from the first movie. Howard the Duck is going to be the bash toy. I love Howard. Wait, but you loved Howard the Duck? The movie, it was great. Seriously? The Duck. Seriously? Seriously? Like, Lea Thompson's his girlfriend in the movie? Come on. He wants to be a rock star? She's freaking hotter than hell. But the movie's terrible. Tell me you didn't have a crush on Lea Thompson. Any kid from 13 up to 22 in the mid-80s, the late 90s, you know, the early 90s, had a crush on Lea Thompson. Upset. Done. She was in Back to the Future, wasn't she? She was. But, I mean, it was bad. Come on. George Lucas was the executive producer. Yes, he was. I remember because that was always like, from the executive producer of Star Wars, Howard the Duck. They called it out. That was the first Marvel movie. What? The first Marvel movie? He's a Marvel character? Yes. Howard the Duck is a Marvel cartoon character. See, you learn something new every day, don't you? Yes. And I learned that Tim Balls went live. He did? He's streaming right now. He is streaming. This is Why Did Bally Become Williams. They got bought out. Well, yes. They got bought out. They lost, as you say. They lost. They lost. They were bought out. 81. And don't forget, next week we'll be talking about 81 Bally. 81 Bally's. Tell us what you think and tell us what you want to talk about with the 81 Bally's. Anything else on your agenda list? It looks like we're never short of ideas. We're freaking like rocket scientists here, you know. Repairs, Mr. Ron. Oh. What do you have in your queue? All right. so what I have um stars right flipper was getting a little sticky again made another adjustment and it seems to be seems to be happy and whodunit broke uh oh it was it was there no warranty that just no warranty i playing the thing and i i noticing like every time i hitting the ramp and it taking the center path it's like locking a ball like that's odd well what had happened is the the wire came off the switch oh so if it ever can't register that the one in the center and it goes into the hole. It just assumes you hit it in there the regular way and it's a lock. Gotcha. That was a two second fix. Boom. Done. Wow. You're my hero. Oh yes. Yes I am. Let's see. Made some more adjustments to dialed in. And you haven't played it yet. Nope. I took the stupid fender washers out. The black light and replaced them with my Lexan washers and the slingshots. I fixed the bob sign so you can actually read it. and replace some of the cheap little plastic push screw things they use to keep it together with actual screws and nuts, at least to keep it attached to the brackets that hold it on the plastic. But it's cool. You can actually read the sign now, so that's nice. I did a version of the level zero graphic, so it fills up the whole screen. So it's kind of cool. That little logo comes up on the screen. so I just need to put some miler down, get some more protectors and we'll be ready to rock that's good, congratulations sir oh and I found out Pinball Life isn't selling the super shiny balls anymore no they're not, they have not done that for like 3 or 4 months what's the deal with that? I want my super shiny balls you just gotta polish them more boy I had to get them from somewhere else I like the super shiny balls now did you order what we talked about this week that you sent me a link for. No, I didn't. I did. I didn't because I originally went there to get balls and a couple other things, and then when I didn't have the balls I wanted, I wasn't going to just buy those. So I'm getting them. I'm getting them. I'm getting four. And, you know, we'll put it out there. We're talking about, yeah, we're talking about. We're talking about a thing that we've mentioned on the podcast that you can't get anymore. Specifically, Stern Flipper Bats. Classic Stern Flipper Bats. Here's the thing, though. On Pinball Life's site, they have it as, like, a new item. And it has, like, classic stern flipper bats. And it has the description on there. Of every stern. Of every classic stern. Like, this was used for every classic stern. That is not true. No. There's a type 1 and a type 2. Yeah, there's the type 1 flipper max. And I'm curious how long. This is going to sound weird. How long the shaft is. because a true original stern flipper bat, basically pre-Big Game, Type 1, that length shaft, it's too short to use in a Type 2 flipper mech, which was used Big Game and after. So if he's advertising it to work with every game, the shaft's got to be a little longer than the stock one was. Oh, everyone's crazy about a Type 2 shaft. That's so bad, Bruce. That's so bad I'm not going to edit it out because they don't know how bad that is. Jesus. Everyone's crazy about a Type 2 shaft. Yes, they are. Yes, they are. But just to say, if you go to our YouTube channel, I have a very detailed video that you can see the different generations of the stern flipper bat and the bally flipper bat. A good question, and I'll put this out to our listenership, if anyone, Bally experts out there. What game did Bally change from the steel flipper bat with the plastic screwed into it, the molded piece screwed in, to a single one-piece with the plastic flipper bat with the shaft into it? What game did they change that? I'm just really curious. I'm still fixed on the word shaft. Because for Stern, it was big game. Big Game is the first one that has the Type 2 Flipper Max and the new Flipper Mats. But back to what we were saying about the Pinball Life part, Bruce is going to get some. Yep, I'm going to test them out. Yeah, you can compare it to what's in your Stars. I believe your Stars has the Stock Flippers. My Stars and also the Sea Witch downstairs has them. So, yeah, your Sea Witch will have, if it has the original ones, It'll have the type two single piece, the newer ones, the ones that are much narrower than the Bally's. So the weird thing is how he's advertising them as all. Yeah, I know. That's not true. And at some point, if you test those, we should email him. And show him the difference. Just show him the video and say, I have a sample for my nine ball. Maybe we can get these made. Yeah. Or maybe there's just not enough demand. Because he's got the Williams one. He has every different iteration of Flipper Mac you could think of. I had to replace, on my repairs this week, I had to actually replace the Flipper assembly. I had one spare Flipper assembly. Luckily, it was the right-hand side lower for the Sea Witch. It was completely foobarred. The actual link was cracked. It was all destroyed. The thing barely got any strength up the thing and replaced it all. I used the original flipper. Bat's still in it from the other ones and popped it in there, and that's working well. Got the spinner working good. Oh, my God. Sorry. And that one's ready to rock, so it's going to be out of here for York, Pennsylvania it's going to, that one. So I'll be happy about that. I put headlocks in all my games. Why would I need to put headlocks in all my games, Ron? What's a headlock? Backglass headlock. Oh, the backbox lock? Yes. Oh, okay. Why would I need to do that? So the backglasses don't rattle all over the place. You got it. Unfortunately, I didn't notice this, but my Paragon is missing the rod that pivots. I got one off of a Craig, not Craig, so I got it off of Pinside. Good thing about that. Well, wait a minute. Did you just say a positive thing about Pinside? I did. For buying and selling, Pinside's good. Okay. It's the only thing it's good for. Oh. It's coming. I'll have it in a couple days, so I'll be able to put my last lock in for that. And I actually got the lock bar to work for Stargazer and Quicksilver. Excellent. So they're all working to factory specs. Because we love factory specs. I do. So you have the white trim on the sides then? no then it's not factory spec fail it broke when i was putting the other piece on so nothing about that i know it was like another weird thing folks with classic sterns the trim your trim is white yes the trim is white unless it's unless you and you can flip them around because most of them are yellow yellow yes so that was one of the repairs and then uh I got the, now I'm working on the coin doors. Why would I need to work on coin doors to make them work? Oh, God. Hmm. Hmm. Clue number 35. I know, 35 hits. So if no one guesses it, you're not listening. You're not listening to the podcast. Anything else, Mr. Ron? That's all done with my repairs. No, I don't have anything else. I think it's time to pay some bills. www.pinballlifter.com come check out my site selling lifters, tilters, helpers I am going down to York but not selling there but I am going to be going down there to drop off a game and pick up a game so if you want to meet me down there on Friday I can bring stuff down and meet you down there PM me on our Facebook page where is the autograph table? the autograph table is in my back pocket I'll just pull out a piece of paper and give you a But it'll only be slam. No tilt. No tilt. He's never gone to New York. I've been to New York. I went to New York like two or three times. I went there multiple times in a row. But not anymore. No, because it's a six-hour drive. A six-hour drive. A six-hour drive. Oh, what a... Don't even... Oh, that reminds me of that game. Oh, that's such a bad game. It is, but they color DMD'd it. Come on, that's great, isn't it? I actually love that, that they were color DMD even in the shittiest games. I can't wait for like – I'm waiting for Barb Wire to come out. Barb Wire, yes. You hear that, folks? When Barb Wire color DMD comes out, Bruce is going to be there. He's going to be first in the line. God, I'll just shoot myself right in the old. I had to play Frank Thomas' Big Hurt this weekend. I feel for you. Oh, my God. It's just like Stargate. Shoot the pyramid. Shoot the pyramid. It's like shoot for a home run. Go for a home run. Do this. So I'm like, oh, my God. Terrible. Actually, it's not that bad. What did you just say? Hold on. Let me turn my volume up here. Nope. I just heard not that bad. For shots. Comments, everything, flippers, they're clunky as hell. But for the shots, it's not a bad game. Rules, terrible. Now, when it says Frank Thomas, is he actually wearing a White Sox uniform or is it like a generic thing because they couldn't get the White Sox? Okay. It's a big one. All right. I figure they couldn't get the White Sox okay for that. But there is a Reebok emblem, and he is wearing Reebok shoes, so don't feel that bad. I wonder what game had, like, the most advertisements on it. Oh, it's definitely Roller Games. How about Canada Dry? No. Roller Games. Didn't it have, like, tons of... Roller Games. All right. Another reason Roller Games is great, advertising. Rock, rock, rock. We never heard anything back from Keith about our Spaceballs. Spaceballs. I know. I'm very disappointed. Come on. Tell us. Tell us. Is it a go? 30th anniversary, it's right there. Hey, you can make it a Kapow game. Yeah. That's perfect for, like, the Kapow thing. It is. Tell the king. Tell the king. And you can charge $20,000 for it, and we won't buy it. What? Millions of dollars. Yeah. Mike Pupo from Flipper Fidelity selling the best Flipper sound kits that money can buy. He also sells new in-box sterns. He also sells stern mods that are factory authorized. Come check him out at FlipperFidelity.com. And also, Joe Newhart, Pinball Star. He sold Ron a great game. And, hey, I might buy one eventually, but right now it's not in the cards. Buy a dialed-in from him. He sells dialed-ins. He sells spooky. He sells American Pinball with Houdini. Get your Houdini. Get your Total Nuclear Annihilation. Yes. And also. Tell them we sent you. Tell these guys we sent you. And my dialed in, I got my lightning bolts. Ooh, how did that work out? No problems at all? Yeah, no problem. They're in the dude's hands. They're kind of loose and will probably fall out like I've seen on every other game. Excellent. Show's coming up. A couple coming up. York, Pennsylvania. The York Pinball Festival is, I think, the 29th and 30th, Friday and Saturday. And in five weeks, Ron's going to Chicago. Chicago, Chicago. Pinball Expo. It's his kind of town. Which the guy that was handling the free play area is not now, so I'm worried that it's going to be a very light free play area. What happened now? I didn't hear about this. No, it's just a certain person pisses other people off, like he always does. So we had enough, so this certain person is going to be running the free play area again. No. So we'll see what happens. Hopefully Butterfly Girl brings some good stuff. Yes, Phoebe, bring your Starlight. We love the Starlight. Yes. That's the only place I ever see Starlight. Oh, and Warlock. Yeah, and Warlock too. I agree. Even though, actually, remember they had two Warlocks at Fantastic. I just realized that Arcade Expo is the same exact weekend as Texas. Is it? Yeah. So I guess I won't be going there. What the fuck? Yeah. I noticed that's the exact same weekend as the Texas show. Who the hell picked change? What do you guys change? What do you guys change? So we can go consecutive weekends. Yes. Yeah. No, I ain't doing that either. You loved it last time. No, not doing that. Well, I'm going, hopefully, to Texas this year. Hopefully. I've got to see Ryan C. at Martin. If you go, you better get your hotel because the Embassy Suites is already sold out. What? Yeah, they – yeah. I went to get a ticket. I was going to reserve my room. Usually, I do, like, six, seven months ahead of time. Usually, that's plenty of time, right? No, actually, the rooms became available, like, a week or two after this year's show. Christ. Yeah, so I checked with the discount code, they're already sold out. Oh, Jesus Christ. So go for the Hyatt. It's right across the street. Actually, I believe it was cheaper. Oh, okay. And they still have the discount available. At least they did as of this week when I reserved mine. Oh, my. Mm-hmm. I'll just sleep on your floor again, big boy. Ooh, just don't snore. I always snore. Yeah, you do. So I have to fall asleep before you or I'm screwed. You're fucked. Yes. So this has been episode 60 of the Slam Tilt Podcast. Inspector Clouseau, we can be reached at slamtiltpodcast at gmail.com. Please use that to send your correspondence for our requests, like 1981 Valley Games. Yep. And anything else we ask during the podcast. We also have our YouTube channel. Just search for Slam Tilt Podcast on YouTube. I will be posting the podcast there on a regular basis now, so you will get to listen to it there. More work for him. If you want to, more work for me. Actually, the laptop I'm getting, I might try that to record the podcast. We'll see how that goes. Nice. Yes. And speaking of that new laptop, I'm getting it so I can do some twitching or some twitch streaming. I twitch all the time. I twitch all the time. Some twitch streaming so you'll get to see some of the level zero arcade. I already know what the first game I'm going to do is. Flash? No. Game number one. It will always be game number one. Black Knight. Yes. What? I will show them the proper rule set, the way you should set up your Black Knight, not the way 90% of them are set up. Horseshoe, lock. Horseshoe, lock. Well, drop targets, light magnet saves, then horseshoe, then lock. Yes. Yep. See a good rule set by Larry DeMar. See the genius. Now again, slamtiltpodcast at gmail.com Thank you listeners, this was episode 60 Bye everyone, say goodbye Bruce Goodbye Eddie Kramer Oh my my, oh my my Can you boogie, can you slide Oh my my, oh my my You can boogie if you try Oh my, my, oh my, my, there's a guarantee to keep you alive. Oh my, oh my, oh my, oh my. One. Two. Three. Ha.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

---

*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 99843f52-d9e5-418a-89d2-1b14a1547f3b*