Episode 156 – Sinatra Chicken

TL;DR

Slam Tilt interviews voice actor Mark Silk on pinball work and discusses UK tariffs on US pinball imports.

Summary

Key Claims

• Mark Silk performed voice acting for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pinball, voicing Splinter, Bebop, Rocksteady, Baxter Stockman, and Casey Jones

  high confidence · Mark Silk directly stated this in the episode: 'I'm in Turtles on the voice of Splinter, Bebop and Rocksteady... Baxter and Baxter Fly and Casey Jones'

• Mark Silk worked with George Lucas and was in the same room during Star Wars Episode I voice recording sessions, with Lucas providing direct feedback on voice direction (asking for 'higher' pitches)

  high confidence · Mark described the recording process in detail: 'he was literally just sat opposite me in the chair with the casting director and rick mccallum... Higher. I would perform the line... That's the keeper'

• A 25% tariff is currently applied to US-made entertainment products (including pinball machines) being imported to the UK

  high confidence · Bruce explained: 'if a pinball machine lands from the U.S. to the U.K. right now, we'll pay an extra 25% of the cost on top of the regular price. So over here in the U.K., say a Cern Pro would be £6,600, and with the extra tariff, that takes it to, I think, £8,200'

• The Guns N' Roses Collector's Edition pinball machine will cost an extra £3,000 due to UK tariffs, bringing the total to approximately £15,000

  high confidence · Bruce stated: 'it would add an extra 3,000 pounds onto the price of the game... it would take it to 15,000 pounds'

• UK distributors are not importing new pinball machines until January 2025 due to tariff uncertainty

  high confidence · Bruce said: 'the distributors that I get stuff from over here, they are not bringing anything in until next year. They're not doing that. They're just not touching anything'

• Replay Foundation's closure impacts the Women's Pinball Championships and New York City Pinball Championships, which lose their game supply

  high confidence · Ron mentioned: 'the women's pinball championships, they're going to have to find a new home, because they were at replay effects... the New York City pinball championships' games were supplied by Papa and are now sold

Notable Quotes

• “I'm in Turtles on the voice of Splinter, Bebop and Rocksteady... Baxter and Baxter Fly and Casey Jones. There's six of them.”

  Mark Silk @ Early in episode — Establishes Mark's primary pinball work on TMNT

• “George Lucas would go, we're in the same room... he would go, that's great, that's really nice. Can we just try another one? Higher. And it got higher and higher and higher until it was almost Tweety Pie level.”

  Mark Silk @ Mid-episode — Details the directorial experience with George Lucas on Star Wars voice work

• “If a pinball machine lands from the U.S. to the U.K. right now, we'll pay an extra 25% of the cost on top of the regular price... a Stern Pro would be £6,600, and with the extra tariff, that takes it to, I think, £8,200.”

  Bruce Nightingale @ Mid-episode — Key information on tariff impact to UK collectors

• “It's worth bringing that cassette tape just to be able to do those ads again. No. No, it's all digital now. No more media. Sorry. 8-track is the way to go, baby.”

  Multiple (Mark/Ron/Bruce) @ Late episode — Humorous tangent about audio media formats

• “The distributors that I get stuff from over here, they are not bringing anything in until next year. They're not doing that. They're just not touching anything.”

  Bruce Nightingale @ Mid-episode — Indicates market freeze due to tariff uncertainty

• “That mono speaker sounds way better than it ever deserves to... It is so much fun. The shots are terrific. And you're in there like a blast.”

  Mark Silk @ Mid-episode — Positive assessment of Multimorphic Star Wars home pinball

• “People weren't getting blown out they weren't losing the first two and they're done this is more fun this is a fair way of doing it”

  Ron Hallett @ Late episode — Explains the appeal of the new Pin Clash tournament format

• “Zach qualified... he only lost by five points in the first round. It was the closest first round.”

Entities

Signals

• ?

  licensing_signal: 25% tariff on US entertainment products including pinball machines to UK creates significant price increases and freezes distributor imports until January 2025

  high · Bruce detailed tariff calculations and distributor decisions to halt imports; specific pricing examples (Stern Pro £6,600→£8,200, Guns N' Roses CE £12,000→£15,000)

• $

  market_signal: UK distributors are not importing any pinball machines until January 2025 due to tariff uncertainty and potential post-Brexit regulatory changes

  high · Bruce stated: 'the distributors that I get stuff from over here, they are not bringing anything in until next year'

• ?

  product_concern: Replay Foundation closure removes game supply for Women's Pinball Championships and NYC Pinball Championships, forcing venues to find alternative game providers

  high · Ron stated both tournaments 'are going to have to find a new home' and noted Papa Games were previously 'tweaked to perfection' while replacement games may have lower quality

• ?

  community_signal: New online Pin Clash tournament format using tiered time-based scoring instead of winner-takes-all reduces blowouts and increases competitiveness

  high · Ron explained scoring system where matching times within tiers yields equal points, preventing dominance; format was well-received by participants including Zach Minney

• ?

  gameplay_signal: Guns N' Roses CE pinball machine designed as immersive theater/experience game with heavy multi-ball focus rather than tournament-style rule depth

  medium · Mark described it as 'experienced immersion game' with 'sensory overload'; Bruce noted 'It's all just flapping the ball around' and confirmed 'Multi-ball heavy, but fun'