# Jaws Pinball Machine Review: Keith Elwin’s Greatest Game? | Stern’s Masterpiece Improved with Mods

**Source:** Gonzo's Pinball Flipperama  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2025-12-13  
**Duration:** 53m 19s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4DgxnI5clA

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## Analysis

A detailed video review and celebration of Stern's Jaws pinball machine, with focus on designer Keith Elwin's shot layout mastery and extensive aftermarket modifications. The host positions Jaws as one of Stern's best recent games despite initial community skepticism, while critiquing Stern's strategic choice of assigning weaker licenses to top designers. The video showcases numerous third-party mods (Cab Customs armor, Hot Mods fishing reel/Orca, Precision Pinball Parts spinner, Cole's Pinball Mods apron) that elevate the game to boutique manufacturer quality levels.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Jaws is the speaker's favorite Keith Elwin game and will rank in their top personal collection of all time — _Speaker explicitly states Jaws will rank very highly in their top 50 games list and is their favorite Elwin design, with Attack from Mars currently at #1_
- [MEDIUM] Jaws initially ranked very low on Pinside but has slowly worked its way up as players realize it's excellent — _Speaker mentions 'this game was a slow burner. I certainly remember it ranking very very low on pin side and it seems to be slowly working its way up the listings'_
- [HIGH] Stern has the expertise to return to being a top manufacturer but needs to pair top designers with top licenses and resources — _Speaker argues Stern should give 'your best theme to your best designer, get the best artist, the best sound technician, everybody' rather than assigning weaker licenses to top designers_
- [HIGH] Keith Elwin is a master shot designer who considers wire form dwell time when designing shots — _Speaker interviews Elwin on channel, quotes him saying 'Yeah, absolutely' when asked if he thinks about ball dwell time on wire forms_
- [MEDIUM] Spooky's Evil Dead is so densely packed with toys/mechanisms that there's little playfield space for aftermarket mods — _Speaker quotes an Evil Dead mod designer saying 'It's quite difficult to design it because spooky...don't leave a lot of room on the playfield for mods'_

### Notable Quotes

> "This is a game that will not leave my collection now unless something ridiculous happens."
> — **Gonzo (host)**, Early in video
> _Strong endorsement; establishes Jaws as keeper-tier game in personal collection_

> "Did you make the best pinball machine you could?"
> — **Gonzo (host)**, Mid-video
> _Core philosophy statement used to evaluate Stern vs boutique manufacturers; repeated refrain_

> "The consumer doesn't care. If I'm looking to buy a car, I'm just looking to buy the best car and a car that best suits my needs. I don't want to hear is that one make one brand of car is more expensive than another because that brand's got shareholders."
> — **Gonzo (host)**, Mid-video philosophy section
> _Direct critique of Stern's margin/shareholder justifications vs boutique competitors; consumer-centric argument_

> "Keith Elwood is a master shot designer. He is the best. He understands pinball. He understands the flow of shots."
> — **Gonzo (host)**, During shot design discussion
> _Elevated praise for Elwin's design philosophy and execution_

> "When I play Jaws, I'm completely immersed in the world of it...because they've got the themeing. They've got the license. That's because they've built the drama."
> — **Gonzo (host)**, During gameplay immersion discussion
> _Emphasizes integrated theme/license/sound/mechanics as key to Jaws' quality_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Keith Elwin | person | Legendary pinball designer; Jaws designer; praised as shot design master and best of Stern's available designers; frequently given weaker licenses when assigned projects |
| Jaws | game | Stern Pinball licensed game based on 1975 Spielberg film; subject of detailed review and mod showcase; ranked low initially on Pinside then gradually climbed community rankings |
| Stern Pinball | company | Major pinball manufacturer; critiqued for recent strategic choices and suboptimal license assignment; praised for expertise and capable of returning to top tier; experiencing competition from boutique manufacturers |
| Spooky Pinball | company | Boutique manufacturer; Evil Dead praised as densely-packed, leaving little mod space; executing the philosophy of making 'best pinball machine possible' |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Boutique manufacturer; Harry Potter praised by players; represents gold standard for 'best pinball machine possible' execution |
| Barrels of Fun | company | Boutique manufacturer; June mentioned as arriving in 7 days; praised for making best pinball machine possible with their products |
| Cab Customs | company | Mod manufacturer; created powder-coated metal armor for Jaws with shark bite design, speaker inserts, legs, and oxygen canister |
| Hot Mods | company | Mod manufacturer; created fishing reel topper and Orca boat topper with cleats/rope/machete detail for Jaws |
| Precision Pinball Parts | company | Mod manufacturer; created replacement spinner mechanism with metal housing/bearings for longer spin duration on Jaws fishing reel; also made Orca wheel spinning disc |
| Cole's Pinball Mods (Collie Wobbles) | company | Mod manufacturer; created apron with shark-teeth QR code mouthpiece, protective film coatings, speaker lights/cutouts, and plastic protectors for Jaws |
| Davy Stumbler | company | Mod manufacturer; created blue oceanic water effect mod with digital screen showing boat detail for Jaws playfield |
| Attack from Mars | game | Host's current #1 favorite game (Williams/CGC classic); used as comparison point for Jaws climbing rankings |
| Evil Dead | game | Spooky Pinball title arriving at host's location same day as June; praised as densely-packed with excellent design execution |
| King Kong | game | Recent Stern game; host argues it lacks strong international license recognition compared to Jaws; mentioned as having fan space for mods |
| Lord of the Rings | game | JJP game; referenced for shot design comparisons (Legol shot similarity to Jaws' Bride of Frankenstein shot) |
| Deadpool | game | Host's current #2 favorite game; used as comparison for Jaws' potential ranking |
| Fathom | game | Classic Stern game (1981) behind host; referenced for nudge-back-in mechanism similarity to Jaws |
| Metallica | game | Stern game by John Borg; used as design reference point in broader conversation |
| Dungeon & Dragons | game | Recent Stern game with quieter fan; mentioned as comparison for noise reduction improvements |
| Gonzo's Pinball Flipperama | organization | YouTube channel producing detailed game reviews, mod showcases, and design analysis with European pinball perspective |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Keith Elwin's shot design mastery and philosophy, Aftermarket pinball modifications and customization, Stern's strategic positioning vs boutique manufacturers
- **Secondary:** Theme licensing and its importance to game appeal, Community perception shifts and Pinside rankings evolution, Playfield ergonomics and ball flow design
- **Mentioned:** Sound integration and immersive game design

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.85) — Highly positive toward Jaws and Keith Elwin; constructively critical of Stern's strategic choices without dismissing their capabilities; celebratory tone toward mod community; minor frustration with Stern's recent decisions but tempered with respect for their expertise

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Mod community creating sophisticated aftermarket solutions (Hot Mods, Cab Customs, Precision Pinball Parts, Cole's) with attention to detail, materials, and precision engineering (confidence: high) — Detailed showcase of laser-cut armor, metal housing spinners with bearings, protective coatings, multi-row teeth design, cleats with rope, etc.
- **[competitive_signal]** Boutique manufacturers (Spooky, JJP, Barrels) establishing new quality standard by making 'best pinball machine possible' with their available resources; Stern capable of matching but currently not doing so (confidence: high) — Repeated refrain 'Did they make the best pinball machine they possibly could? Yes.' applied to boutique games; contrasted with Jaws 'Did they make the best? No.'
- **[design_philosophy]** Stern did not maximize Jaws' potential from factory but left 'so much scope for modifications' which allowed community to complete the vision (confidence: high) — Host states 'Did Stern make the best pinball machine they possibly could with Jaws? No. But the game is so good and there's so much scope for the modifications'
- **[design_philosophy]** Host articulates clear philosophy: manufacturers must pair top designers with top licenses and provide best resources; cost-cutting margins insufficient excuse vs consumer expectations (confidence: high) — Extended argument about car analogy, shareholders, and expectation that 'best designer + best license + best team = success'
- **[licensing_signal]** Jaws positioned as top-tier international license comparable to James Bond and Stranger Things; King Kong lacks equivalent mainstream recognition despite being recognizable IP (confidence: high) — Host argues Jaws is 'historically one of the most famous films ever made' and 'one of the best movies ever made' vs King Kong which doesn't appear on Netflix lists or in conversations
- **[market_signal]** Jaws premium/limited edition variant exists; being rented out by host, indicating active secondary market and operator interest (confidence: medium) — Host mentions 'this game is an absolute pleasure to shoot' and states 'it's actually about to go out on rents for a little while'
- **[personnel_signal]** Keith Elwin explicitly designs shots with wire form dwell time considerations; represents thoughtful shot design philosophy focused on ball satisfaction and pacing (confidence: high) — Host quotes Elwin confirming he thinks about 'how long the ball is going to spend on a wire form' when designing shots
- **[product_strategy]** Aftermarket mod ecosystem has elevated Jaws to boutique-quality level through fishing reel, Orca boat, apron, armor, and playfield elements; mods address factory design gaps (confidence: high) — Host concludes 'this game here I feel is now because of the modifications is now at the level that I would consider some of the boutique manufacturers to be at'
- **[product_concern]** Recent Stern machines (Dungeon & Dragons, King Kong) showing incremental improvements like quieter cooling fans; suggests ongoing engineering refinement (confidence: medium) — Host notes newer Sterns have 'more silent fans' compared to earlier models, indicating Stern has 'rectified that'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Jaws initially received negative reception due to missing Brody on playfield and shark not eating ball; has gradually climbed Pinside rankings as players discovered game quality (confidence: high) — Speaker states 'this game was a slow burner. I certainly remember it ranking very very low on pin side and it seems to be slowly working its way up'

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## Transcript

Stern have taken something of a kick in recently and for good reason. I think some of their recent choices have been questionable to say the least and certainly over here in Europe we feel a little bit hard done by uh as far as Star Wars was concerned. But that's not what this video is about. This video is about celebrating what Stern do so well, which is making brilliant games, brilliant pinball machines. And in this one here, Jaws, which is what I'm going to talk about today, I think this is absolutely one of their best. This is a game that will will not leave my collection now unless something ridiculous happens. That being said, it's actually about to go out on rents for a little while, but that's fine as well because it means somebody else will get to enjoy it. then it will come back and it'll be like me getting a new game. And I've only just got this game back and as soon as I plugged it in, as soon as I started playing it, I actually had my best ever game, but as soon as I did that, I remembered why this is a brilliant game. This is actually my favorite Keith Elwin game. And I think if things continue, it could well be on its way to being one of my favorite games, my favorite games at the moment. I'm looking at my the top of my list there at the moment. We've got Attack from Mars at top at the moment. Deadpool second, Lord of the Rings, Monster Bash. This is right up there. It really will be at some point once that top 50 list settles down. This is going to rank very, very highly indeed. So, there's two reasons for me doing this video. Firstly, is is just to celebrate uh the Jaws because I've not really featured this on the channel very much at all since I've got one. But since I've got it, there have been so many modifications that I've done to this game. So, I want to celebrate some of the mods on here. I want to credit some of the magnificent mod makers, but I also want to show you my latest modification, which I've not actually installed yet, which hopefully you can see it here. It's it's an apron. Um, this this this part here is just holding the inserts for the apron, which going to say jaws. There's a a mouthpiece there, which is where the QR code scanner is on your inside of connected. Uh, basically these teeth are going to fit inside there. The red lettering on the jaw is going to fit inside there. And it's it's beautiful. It's it's real wood. Um, I can't remember exactly what it is, but it's it's it's a really nice wood. It's it's cherry or it's it's a really nice nice wood, really nice grain on it. It's been beautifully, beautifully designed and such an easy install because on the back, as you'll see when I install it, it just cuz it's got magnets on it, it just clicks in there. I mean, it it's sort of half installed already. One of the easiest installs you're ever going to do. And that's one of the reasons I wanted to get this back because I I thought, let me just get this final mod that I was waiting on and then we can do the video. We can celebrate the mods. I can show you why I love this game and maybe we'll do a little bit of gameplay as well because this game is an absolute pleasure to shoot. I say my final mods because the eagle-eyed amongst you may well have noticed this is a premium game. I've changed uh the translite here to the the protransite which I think is the best one. Since then I've been on pin side and there's I think I think the guy might be in Argentina. There's somebody that does mirrored back glasses and I've noticed that there's a mirrored one of these. So, I might well find myself having to get that. But there's some some great people on here from Davy Stumblo for to Hot Mods to Cab Customs to Precision Pinball Parts, uh, Cooh's Pinball Mods, and I'm just hoping I haven't forgotten anybody here. There's just some great mods on there and I and I want to show you everything that's on it. But just as far as Stern is concerned, we did a video about Stern and their cabinets recently, myself and Enzo, and I just want to reiterate a point that I made on there. Whilst I do think some of Stern's recent decisions have been somewhat disappointing and I think you could make the case that they've shot themselves in the foot at a time when everybody else seems to be getting better and seems to be improving. They have the capacity to be back up at the very top. In fact, they've got the expertise within that building to do so. And I made the point about Keith Elwin. There was a lot of negativity when this game was brought out. And I think there there were two things. It was that Broady was not on the playfield. I mean, I almost forgot to say I certainly don't play this and think, "Oh, no, Brody's not on the playfield." He features so much in the sequences of the assets because they do have what seems to be full movie assets. They're missing something from the movie. I haven't noticed it. Uh they've got the iconic music. Uh, I think they themed it really well. The other criticism of course was that the shark, this dude here, doesn't eat the ball. Uh, he doesn't. I But it doesn't bother me. I don't care. I'm so delighted with the uh with the sharks thing coming out the playfield. I haven't really got time uh to think about that particularly. And I think because of that those two negative bits of well they're not wasn't really publicity but ne negative critiques if you like that this game was a slow burner. I certainly remember it ranking very very low on pin side and it seems to be slowly working its way up the listings because people realize that this is a very very good game that shoots incredibly well and I and I well there's no doubt about it. I think this has got a very strong theme. When I say strong theme, I'm talking about strong licenses because when I've said recently that I don't feel that King Kong is a strong theme, there's certain people that like King Kong that will push back on it. I think what I'm talking about, I'm talking about licenses. I'm talking about international recognizable licenses. I'm I'm fully aware what King Kong is, but until unless a pinball machine comes out, I don't I don't see King Kong popping up on my list on Netflix, I don't don't look at my my list of DVDs and see King Kong in there. I don't hear people talking about King Kong. When I talk about real licenses that have allure to everybody, you are looking at Jaws. Jaws is one of the best movies any ever made. kind of historically one of the most famous films ever made. It's a huge license. It's a big license. James Bond is a huge license. I'd even say Stranger Things a huge license there. So, they're very capable Stern of getting big licenses. I just think sometimes what they've done with Jaws they don't often do. So, I often find that Elwin might get some of the weaker licenses. And I understand that that people might be slightly offended by that and maybe looking at um the X-Men, for instance, the um uh well, sorry, not the X-Men, is it the Avengers Infinity Quest? That's the one I'm thinking of. Um okay. I mean, I know a lot of people, you know, like comics, but is it internationally recognized the comic version? Probably not. And my only point is that sometimes if you want to claw something back, you're going to need to put your best people out all at the same time. So I just wonder if for an example, if Stern were to have said to Keith, you do Star Wars. Star Wars is in terms of a theme, in terms of a license, is about as good as it gets. It it's it's top level. I think if you would say to Keith Elwin, you make what we want is a Keith Elwin Star Wars machine. We're going to get the best coders on board. We're going to get the best artists, everybody that's in the building. We're going to make the mods on it next level. The uh the mechanisms, I mean, I think immediately Stern go straight back to the top. Now, I don't know what their next licenses are, but in amongst them, they're going to be some weaker licenses and they're going to be some stronger ones. If I was stern, as I say, I think they've got all the expertise in the building to make magnificent pinball machines. Um, and it's all about something we always say on this channel. Did you make the best pinball machine you could? And I think at the moment when you are looking at everything that goes into some of these magnificent modern games and I'm very, very lucky because next week I have a June arriving here. And thanks to Neil McCrae, I've got an Evil Dead arriving here. They're both arriving on the same day. You you couldn't have you couldn't have timed it. I guess any better or any worse. I I don't know. Um both both coming from complete completely different places, but they're both landing on the same day. Absolutely incredible. So, massive thank you to Neil because he's lending us the game so we can feature it and film it on this channel so I can do this sort of thing with it. Obviously, Enzo has already covered Evil Dead, but I've not spent any time with it at all and I'm really looking forward to that. But I think certainly when you would look at the Evil Dead, when you look at June, did they make the best pinball machines that they possibly could? Absolutely. These are We all know that Sterns shoot well. We all know that the flippers are going to work. We all know we all know that the the shots are are probably going to flow, particularly where Keith is concerned. But there's a lot more to it now. And I think these machines have become so much more expensive since well since the days of 1981 when they were making this sort of thing out of Fathom behind me there. They've become so expensive now that you want the sound, you probably want the art package, you want the theme, you want the license, you want the mechanism, you want the pinball moments. And you would look at JJP, which um I mean people just really the more people play Harry Potter the more they love it. Did Did they make the best pinball machine they possibly could? JJP, yes. Did Barrels of Fun with June? Yes. Did Spooky with Evil Dead? Yes. And it looks like they're doing the same with Beetlejuice. That's the level. That's the level you have to aspire to. That's the level. And I understand that that there was some excuses made by Stern that, you know, some of these what we might call them boutique pinball manufacturers, they don't they don't have the margins to meet. Maybe they don't have the the shareholders to pay out. They can they can operate on smaller margins. Ultimately, the consumer doesn't care. If I'm if I'm looking to buy a car, I'm just looking to buy the best car and a car that best suits my needs. I what I don't want to hear is that one make one brand of car is more expensive than another because that brand's got shareholders. I don't care. All I care about is the best car. Stern can get back to this and this is my point. Stern have all the expertise. They don't even need to hire new people. The experts already in the building that they give their and this is what I would do if I was Stern. give your best theme to your best designer, get the best artist, the best sound technician, everybody. Get them on board. Um, and make it interesting. Make a pinball machine that people can't say no to. And I think, you know, that's certainly something uh that some of the other manufacturers are doing. All right. Anyway, that's just my thoughts. And here is is the proof of the pudding. Here we have a game which is magnificent. Now this game and the particular version you're going to see here. There is the there is the the stern fan. I don't if you can hear it. It's that has come in at a very very interesting time. So that is the cooling fan which is just inside there. The more recent Sterns I've had here. I've had a Dungeons and Dragons here. I've had a King Kong here. They had the s they had more silent fans. So So Stern have rectified that. So um little things like that probably make a difference and and are and you can understand are seen as cost cutting. But this game here I feel is now because of the modifications is now at the level that I would consider some of the boutique manufacturers to be at. And somebody who is a mod manufacturer who is creating a modification for Evil Dead I spoke to last night and he said to me he was he's designing he's designing a wonderful mod for it and I' I've just got I don't know I don't know how much of it public knowledge and how much of it isn't. So I'll I'll say very very little just in case I don't want to get myself in trouble. But he said to me, "It's quite difficult to design it because spooky, to use his word, spook spooky don't leave a lot of room on the playfield for mods, which is from a design point of view is an annoyance for him." But what a compliment. It's because how packed that game is. That Evil Dead is so packed. You can't find any room to put this mod uh on there. This is not the case here. Did Stern make the best pinball machine they possibly could with Jaws? No. But the game is so good and there's so much scope for the modifications and I'm pretty sure by the time you finish looking at this game, you're going to agree that this is a magnificent machine. And and I can't even begin to describe how much I enjoy this game. When I play Jaws, I'm completely immersed in the world of it. And and that's not because of the mods. That's because they've got the themeing. They've got the license. That's because they've built the drama. That's because when I'm reeling, that's that's just spinning now. It's not making a noise in in game when when you're playing. That makes the clicking sound of a fishing reel. I understand that by hitting the chum bucket, I'm having to bloody the water. I understand. And the under the playfield, it gets increasingly more red as more blood goes into the water. The shark's fin comes up. You got to hit the shark's fin. You got to reel the shark in. Um, you are hunting different species of shark, but the tiger shark, the mako shark with the ultimate idea, the sorry, the ultimate end goal of catching jaws, catching the great white. Well, that's now there are side missions and there is they the rules are more complicated than that. But just on a base level that allows anybody to jump onto this game and and pretty much understand what they've got to do. But even if you don't, there's just this amazing fun moment. My daughter just just likes getting to the point where the fin comes up. She likes two things on this. This is the premium. She likes hitting the fin, the shark's fin when it comes up. And then when the shark pops out from under the boat, she loves that. That's all she wants to do. Hit the shark's fin and hit the shark. That That's fun. Those are those are pinball moments. But the integration with the sound um is amazing how little side missions, a feeding frenzy, different different things will happen throughout the game. Really immerse you in in well in the Amity Islands world, I guess. The way that they have featured a Robert Shaw Quint in this is is so good. Just the movie clips, they're really well timed. They're really well incorporated and and those are the reasons that I feel when I'm playing it that I feel immersed in. It's a very very immersive pinball machine and I I honestly do I think it's one of the best. Um the shots are the shots are really really makeable. Um the right well it's not an orbit. the furthest right shot which goes behind Quint Shack and sort of loops up and comes back down and feeds the right flipper I think is magnificent. I love the fact that you can try and nudge the ball back like like Indiana Jones. You ever played the the Williams Indiana Jones when it's going down the outline, you can nudge it back in. I love that. I I I love that. Um funny enough, it's um well, it's not quite any it's a it's a little bit it's a little bit the same as as as Fathom. Um, in fact, I think you can do a similar thing on on King Kong. But anyway, this is this is great. I love this. When I first played it, when I first saw it, I thought this little mini upper flipper was was a gimmick. I didn't like it at all. I thought, well, you can't actually play proper pinball shots with it. Actually, it's really good for trapping up. And you know what? You can actually hit the spinner shot with it. Not only that, you can hit the harpoon shot and you can hit the drop targets. You can do a lot more than I originally thought. Keith Elwin is a master shot designer. He He is He is the best. He He understands pinball. He understands the flow of shots. Been lucky enough to feature him on this channel. When I asked him, when you design shots, do you think about how long the ball is going to spend on the wire form? And he said, "Yeah, absolutely." And I've often thought that what is the what is the ultimate time? What does how long has a ball got to spend on a wire form for it to feel satisfying? Because so many of his shots do feel satisfying. That that right hand shot is it's incredible. So is the center shot which um goes back on the wire form to the left flipper. Um I I think the bride of Frankenstein shot is is one of my one of my favorites which um is pretty much the same as the the legol shot on Lord of the Rings which is behind you now. There's just some sometimes there's just a shot seems right and this is got a couple of them on here. What I'm going to do now is I'm actually going to I'm going to show you this because I'll put a link in the description below to this modification. And I don't know how well you can see it. I'll show you. We'll get we'll take the camera off its perch and I'll show you all the individual mods. Uh, so this says um coolest pinballmods.co.uk. So I think that's probably the first thing you're going to want to do. Um, I'm just going to slot that into there. That is on. That's on. Uh, now if you wanted it to be more secure, I don't think it needs it, but if you wanted it to be more secure, there's actually stickers on the back of that. So, if you wanted to, you could take the stickers off the back of the magnets and you could make that more permanent. One thing I did want to show you here, as with any of Cole's pinball mods or collie wobbles, as I like to call them, it's very, very important. I just wanted to point this out. So, I'm just taking, you might see the lettering here. If I take this S, each individual piece has a coating on it. Has a film. Now, you might not see it. And it's actually I hopefully you can see that. Don't I don't know how well you can see it. Hopefully, you can see that there. I'm actually peeling that off. Can you see? So, now you've got it's very very shiny there. So, now I would do that. You You can peel it off both sides. I won't for the purposes of that. Going to pop that in there. And the S is in it. Already looks already looks stunning. Those parts are counter sunk and they're meant to be. It just gives it almost like a little embossed. Is that the word? Um it's it's counter sunk, isn't it? Gives it a nice bit of depth. Gives it Yeah. Just just some just some different textures and layers to it really. So just two things I want to point out in case you get this. Now, obviously Colin will do his own video. This part here now, as you'll know, as you'll notice here, this is actually a mo shark. Don't worry about that. But with the um with the white shark, you'll notice has two rows of teeth. And I don't mean the top jaw and the bottom jaw. Has two rows of teeth, which is what Colin's done here. So, this first piece here with the teeth will go into this section here. But this square one is going to go straight slots straight into the QR code reader. So this bit here again there's a little bit of a film on it. You're going to take that off. I'm I'm going to I'm going to stop the video now. I'm going to take I'm going to basically put this on. But all I'm doing is just slotting those pieces inside of there. But it's just it's a it's a little bit fiddly. Particularly with me. I don't have I don't I don't have any nails. I don't know if you can see that there. There's another bit of film. Hope you can see that there which I'm pulling off. It's just a protective coating which he puts in there when obviously the um when when the parts are being laser cut. But I think what I'm going to do here is I'm going to stop the video in a second. I'm going to get this installed and then I'm going to show you everybody's mods and just show you how beautiful and how wonderful this machine is. Just so as you see, I'm going to pop that right inside where the QR code reader is. It's nice and snug. That just fits inside just there. Done. Okay. Right. I'm going to install the rest of this now. I don't think it will take me 3 minutes, but you don't need to stand there watching me do that. I'll um I'll reconvene in a second and I'll uh I'll show you around all the modifications. So, the first thing I want to show you is the armor. This is by Cab Custom, and I just think it's absolutely magnificent. In fact, they actually did send me, hopefully you can see this, a key ring cab custom pinball parts. There you go. See that there? I think it's just magnificent. I wanted the white. I felt for me the white was the most important because it's it's the great white and that's why I wanted to go for that. And you can see this has all been laser cut out. And well, I can see the camera's picking it up. It's glittery. It's beautiful. It's absolutely beautiful. And if you can see, it looks like the shark has taken a bite out of the armor. Now, I do believe Stern do something similar, but not like this. Not as good as this. And I wanted to demonstrate here. We walk around the front of the game. So, we have the lock bar done. And also, I do I do like the coin door done. Um, this is a magnet. That's my friend Wayne made that magnet, which is very kind of him. I didn't know he was going to do that. He gave that to me as a surprise. So, that just comes off of there as well. But, he's printed that. And I think that looks pretty cool cuz yeah, after the white it did look sort of plain white. I saw somebody that had when I looked online had a sort of blood splattering over here. I did like it. I must confess. I did like that. I haven't got the um I haven't got the barrel twanganger. I might do. That's another one. We'll get to the apron in a minute. So, I've also had the legs done. And it's important. I want you to show you this part here. Um, I need to try and throw a little bit more light on it. So, just bear with me. Hopefully, you can see that. That is laser cut out. Isn't that beautiful? How beautiful is that? It's stunning. Um, they've done a great job. An absolutely great job. I had the speaker panel done as well. Let's move that back down there. Hopefully you can see. And I'm just going to put this down a little bit. You'll notice I I've done the T- molding. I've got some white T- molding for it, which again I think looks really nice. Now, these parts here, which you may see, are the Just turning down the brightness so you can see them. These are the speaker inserts. Now, I've had the speakers upgraded on here. So again, so Cole Cole's pinball parts, um, he does these speaker lights and these cutouts as well. So the same person that does the apron, but obviously Cab Customs have painted, sorry, powder coated, not painted, have powder coated all the armor white, but these are really nice. Now, the other thing is it's really important when you get the speakers, you'll get a back plate that goes on there because they're the original Spike 2 speakers. I think they're 4 in or something like that. So, as it comes out the factory, they won't accept accept the upgraded speakers. So, these are upgraded speakers as well, so the sounds uh better. Um, also probably to point out at this point, you'll see around it's like under here you can see blue bits. You'll see some plastic protectors. You'll also see them under here. Hopefully, you can see there. Those have been made by Cole as well by Colum. So, let's let's show you this apron now, shall we? I mean, it it took me no time at all to do. And obviously the premise is that it looks like the deck of a boat. It just does. I mean, it just looks outstanding. It just looks so good. It's so good. And I hope you'll be able to see just actually just give them a little bit of a plug here. Someone's going to ask me. There you go. So now now you now you know. Um just move that back into position. I'm going to just turn down the brightness on here. Hopefully, you'll be able to see the two rows of teeth. Looks a lot more evident in person. It's never easy filming stuff, actually. Hopefully, you can see that. So, you've got the double rows of teeth there. Absolutely wonderful. Probably be easier if I turned the machine off. You wouldn't have the glow from the the QR code reader. Anyway, there you go. So, that's that. I also probably should point out in case you're you might have noticed there is an oxygen canister there. Again, I've got to give a massive thanks to Cab Custom who have who gave me that with my key rig and my powder coated parts. Um, it is it's worth pointing out with Cab Custom, by the way, I didn't send them this armor and they just powder coated it. They they've designed the armor and they'll send that to you. They they've made it themselves. They fabricated it themselves out of metal. Right. What we're on to next. There's just so much of it on here. I do love the barrels. It has to be said. So, let's just give Stern a bit of love as well. I love that. I love that pop bumper there. Such an important one. I just made the point earlier on when I was talking about nudging it back in from the in lane, from the out lane. Sorry, it's there. Love that. Okay, where to go to next? Okay, I think the first thing we'll do is we'll go here. So, this is Davey Stumbl's mod. And I again, I've got to take the brightness down. I'm constantly having to do this to do this mod justice. So, it's given a very blue, oceany, watery feel there in this part. And if we just go a little bit closer here, you can actually see the boy itself. It is so well done. And obviously that interacts with different things that happen throughout the game. Hopefully you can see the level of detail on there's a digital screen on it as well. It's really, really nice. Really lovely bit of kit. Now, you may have noticed that on all of them, this is the fishing reel. And on all of the games, both pro and premium and of course LE, it is just a flat piece of plastic of a fishing reel. And you may notice I have a proper fishing reel on there. Well, it's absolutely magnificent. And that is from a company called Hot Mods. So, there's so many different ones. I will put the links to all of the mod manufacturers in the description of this video. Okay? And I know people will ask afterwards, where did you get that? Underneath the screen, if you're watching this on YouTube, there is a drop-own menu where the description is. You have to expand it and drop it down. Within that menu, you will hit I will send you links to everybody on here. Um, now this is very interesting because this is from John at Hot Mods and it is I really want you to have a close look at that. There's two things. Firstly, it's beautiful. Secondly, you'll be thinking, "Hold on, that spins for a little bit longer than my one." Well, there's a good reason for that, and that's because that is fitted on top of a precision pinball parts replacement. Now, Precision Pinball Parts make replacement flippers. You'll be aware of who they are, but they've also made an improvement here. So, the main mechanism on is basically in plastic housing. This is precision engineered with metal parts with bearings. Um, it just spins for longer. That's really important on this game because the amount of times that that spinner rotates for dictates how quickly you can get through the game, how quickly you can reel the shark in, how quickly you can start certain things or finish modes or whatever the case may be. It's beautiful. And the two companies align perfectly. Absolutely perfectly. So, Hot Mods do the top section. Precision Pinball Parts do the actual spinner itself. which has been replicated at the top here because you will notice on the orca boat we have the same
those made myself jump hopefully you can see that there same thing again topper by hot mods sorry not the topper the the cover the wheel the orca's wheel by hot mods the actual spinning disc underneath by precision pinball parts. Which is going to take me to the last thing I wanted to show you, which is the orca itself. How cool is that? When it comes from stern, it's just a fat, not fat, flat piece of plastic. This is a proper boat. Now, I I should probably tell you that you'll see here it has a cleat with the rope on it. There is actually another cleat that covers here. Okay, that's my fault. I've lost it. Sorry, hot mods. And there's actually, you might see that there's a groove here. That's where there's a machete for that. The machete that goes in there. But that's beautiful. Also, it gives us the third barrel, which you can see there. And as you will know, if you know anything about Jaws at all, three barrels is significant. And you can see it's not not just a picture of it. It is the barrel itself because over this side, where are we? We got one barrel there and another barrel which hopefully you can see just over here. I love this game. I love what the mod makers have done to this game. Um, and now I'm going to play a game. So hopefully you've enjoyed what you've seen. It's actually it's just so cool. It's so cool. And I feel so lucky, so privileged to have it actually. There you go. Right, let's have a game. I can't promise anything, but we're going to have a game now. Okay, we're going to have a game. Now, this won't be on Insider Connected because, as I've mentioned numerous times, I don't have a Wi-Fi password in the cave here. I just got straight up Wi-Fi and the Sterns Insider Connected does not work. You can't connect this without a Wi-Fi password. I don't have one. Um I wish I'm sure that's quite easy to sort out, but anyway, there you go. Let's um let's press start. movie clip [music] straight away. Little soft plunge if I can to start with. Oh, there you go. Oh, I actually it didn't happen. I I wanted to hit the um hit the pop bumper. That's the shot I'm talking about. It's beautiful. It's a beautiful shot. infantry and kill him,000.
Oh man. Oh man. That was not that wasn't planned. of Mary died at the age of 103.
Now you've got all the assets. You can you can see them there on the on the screen.
That's a bad first ball. Shoot pot bumper for 5 million. Come on. Come on. And I'm being too gentle with it. No. And I've gone too much. could have just Oh, a whole time. It's building tension.
There's Brody. See, he's absolutely fine.
Blue shots progress scars. Shark tower target decreases value. Now hopefully you can see Davey's mod there. Can you see the mod? How how much it has changed color. Oh dear. I didn't want to do that. Oh man, I'm having a bad game. A bad game. There's something I meant to mention earlier. You may find if you got one of these, you need to change this guide or move this rubber because it when it goes feeds in this way and then comes out, it's can sometimes go straight down the middle. So, you'll need to adjust that depending on the um if you haven't got the angle perfectly straight. I've done it again. Oh, no. Did I get the skill shot? Yes.
Hunt.
Okay. I love the music when it starts here. So, I'm going to go with a makeo shark.
If you remember it from the film, this is when they're ready in the boat. Now, I've got to hit a certain number of ramps. It It tells you It tells you on the screen. Certain number of spins. Another [music] two ramps to get. One chum bucket, 80 spinners. Damn it. got 28 spinners left. I got a shark fin popping up the playfield in case you didn't see it.
Shoot it now. Now.
Kill it now. Missed it again. Missed it twice. And so that should be the spinners done.
It is. Okay. So I now I need to hit that fishing reel. Oh, again I'm close to it, but quite hitting it cleanly enough. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Was lucky to save that. Yes. I don't know if you saw I actually knocked it back through then. It's actually living dangerously for the whole time during that.
Oh no. I was too bothered by going for that shark's fin. I got I think I got an extra ball. I hope I got an extra ball. Otherwise, I'm afraid, boys and girls, we're gonna have to have another game. It's just too addictive. This game is too addictive.
No, I didn't collect the extra ball, did I? So, my my problem was this shot. I'm going to have another game. Oh, man. Love this game. There you go. I've got got the skill shot straight away there.
That's absolutely T. That's what I was talking about there. That is a really good example of what I was talking about. I hit the shot. I got the shot I wanted. I'm going to need to adjust this. Um, I might even a little cheat for you here. I'm actually just moving the rubber up on that. You see it? Just moving the rubber up slightly there. That might help it. nearly. It's got to be clean to get it up on that upper playfield.
Right, let's try again. Oh, no. Back on the Makeo shot.
Well, I actually got the Makeo shot. I just didn't reel him in. Love the sound of that reel. That fishing reel there. It's got to be clean. Bit like the um that shot on the far left on Godzilla. It's got to be hit clean to get up the ramp. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I got a I got a life a life ring. Oh man, [laughter] that is harsh. That is harsh.
Oh man, this is terrible. I might have to have a third game. That's what I mean. This game is addicted as if it comes. I didn't want to do that and I need just to miss it. That is bollocks. I tell you that now. That's bollocks. Right. I promise you I can play this game. Right. There we go. Come on. I'm pulling me twanganger too softly. That's better.
Oh, no. I was going to say that pops out the wrong way, if you pardon the expression. Don't you dare. Oh, no. No, no, no, no.
Man, here's the swimming with bow-legged women. You see that? That that sort of comes out there better now to just move that rubber. $10,000 for me by myself. But as you get the whole damn thing, you know what funny thing is? I think sometimes I can find if I not don't play well, I can find some pinball machines frustrating. I don't even care if enough have a a crap game on this one.
I just love the game so much. I don't I I don't feel that it's ripped me off. I It's not rough justice. I feel if I play badly, it's my fault.
And I'm sure you'll be thinking, "Hold on. Every time you play badly, it's your fault." Come on.
Now. Now.
For goodness sake. What's wrong with me?
Shark dart collected. Oh, I've got to get That's it. Now the shark will pop up again. Oh. Oh, that's a shame. Another green shot.
Oh
We've got our shark.
Okay, I caught a mako shark. I caught a mako shark. Hopefully you saw that. It's recording, isn't it? Not much of a celebration on that celebration [music] multiball. But I did get the Makeo Shark, which I am pleased about. I used to be able to backhand it from there. Oh, it's okay now.
Oh, for shit's sake. Honestly, I I haven't even hit the sharks fin. That is me telling you before how much I love hitting a shark's fin. You're probably watching this thinking you can't you can't hit that shark fin swim fin mate. Dear dear dear ass. That's all I can say. Ass. But I'm enjoying myself. B three. B three. Come on. Sorry. I know this is probably the most tedious thing to watch. She really can't believe you're watching watching someone on a screen now just doing that. I'm trying though. Come on. Oh I was going to say thank you. Very generous. For goodness sake, I missed it again.
I can't believe it. I can't believe it. I can believe it.
He's got under the boat. I think he's got under the boat.
Oh, I don't know. Ball's gone under the bloody boat. I think
I'll tell you what though, what a game. What a game. I promise you I can do better than that. I've got a score on it somewhere. There you go. There you go. Look. See, I can. I got better ones.
Was that that must have been Josh at um Pinfest got that one.
Hey, that's must be Nathan.
Yen, who's GG? I should know, right? Brilliant. Hey, what a great game. What a great game. I love that game. Honestly, I I cannot think of anything else I would rather play right now than have another game of Jaws, which is exactly what I'm going to do. And well, there's no bigger compliment than that, is there really? [music]

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: b0a6962b-c8b3-4d3c-a19c-62f8b998d6e0*