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Pinball Junk Drawer Episode 30 - A Pinball Custom Shop COULD Work?

Poor Man's Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·analyzed·Sep 21, 2023
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.025

TL;DR

Hosts discuss custom shop concept for Stern pinball machines and casual venue play.

Summary

This episode of Pinball Junk Drawer features hosts discussing casual pinball play at local venues, an extended tangent about brewery visits, and a theoretical concept for a Stern Pinball custom shop business model modeled after Fender's successful guitar customization program. The hosts explore how wealthy collectors might pay premium prices for bespoke pinball machines with custom artwork, modifications, and features.

Key Claims

  • Fender's custom shop model allows customers to work with a dedicated person who builds guitars matching their exact specifications, with notable custom designs emerging from the program

    high confidence · Host describing Fender custom shop process as parallel to proposed Stern custom shop

  • A complete custom pinball machine through a hypothetical Stern custom shop could cost upwards of $200,000

    medium confidence · Speculation by host about pricing for fully custom machines

  • District 82 (a pinball venue) operates on a regular schedule that begins around when school starts, with opening scheduled for September 15th

    high confidence · Host mentioning direct communication from venue operator

  • Houdini: Master of Mystery is an American Pinball game that features a shaker mechanism

    high confidence · Direct discussion of game features during gameplay commentary

  • Toy Story pinball machine is available at Stuck's Pizza venue

    high confidence · Host mentioning playing Toy Story machine regularly at specific location

Notable Quotes

  • “If Sam Stern set up a custom shop program... they could do a one off pinball machine... they're going to go okay we'll have a guy call you and then there's a dedicated group that just they call that guy and what do you want and it's literally like anything like Artblades or this or Extra Spinners or what they can you know rework the game as much as you want.”

    Foghorn Leghorn (Host) @ ~mid-episode — Core concept proposal for Stern custom shop business model

  • “Me we never say no. I'll charge them, but we're never saying no... I'd be like are you sure about this? I'd be like I'll charge them, but we're never saying no, you know”

    Foghorn Leghorn (Host) @ ~mid-episode — Jocular description of hypothetical custom shop philosophy

  • “It would be a lot though if they were doing custom like for the entire game. Cuz they have to redo programming. And even like adding like you said extra like spinners or all of that is adding programming but if... But if you want to pay you could.”

    Chris Craft (Co-host) @ ~mid-episode — Recognition of technical complexity in custom modifications

  • “Well, Stern could do that for a pinball machine. They could yeah. They easily could and it's a business model that's been proven already. So it's not like they have to reinvent the wheel”

    Foghorn Leghorn (Host) @ ~mid-episode — Assessment that custom shop model is viable for Stern

  • “I just won the lottery. Yeah 1.8 billion dollars. The Finally in my Harry Potter Pinball machine I think they would they that would be a problem because they can't do license wait here take my money”

    Chris Craft (Co-host) @ ~mid-episode — Hypothetical scenario illustrating licensing constraints on custom machines

Entities

Foghorn LeghornpersonChris CraftpersonSallypersonGary SternpersonStern PinballcompanyFendercompanyHoudini: Master of MysterygameToy StorygameHarry Pottergame

Signals

  • ?

    product_strategy: Hosts propose a Stern Pinball custom shop modeled after Fender's guitar customization program, allowing wealthy collectors to commission bespoke machines with custom artwork, mechanical modifications, powder coating, and software tweaks

    medium · Extended discussion comparing Fender custom shop model to hypothetical Stern custom shop, including pricing ($50k+ for artist collaborations, $200k+ for full custom machines) and service structure (dedicated personal representative)

  • $

    market_signal: Hosts identify a potential market segment of super-wealthy collectors who would pay premium prices for one-off or heavily customized machines, referencing 'very rich super collectors' willing to spend significant amounts on bespoke modifications

    medium · Discussion of hypothetical lottery winner scenario and examples of wealthy buyer behavior with premium pinball editions and custom modifications

  • ?

    venue_signal: District 82 operates as a well-maintained, curator-owned pinball venue with strong upkeep standards and diverse machine selection; opening for regular season around mid-September

    high · Hosts describe venue as 'really awesome place' with excellent maintenance; operator 'really takes care of his stuff' compared to typical barcades with poor upkeep; confirmed opening date of September 15th

  • ?

    design_innovation: Hosts explore specific customization possibilities including powder-coated cabinets in custom colors, additional toys/spinners, artwork by commissioned artists, kegerator integration, and LED lighting modifications

    medium · Examples: 'tie-dyed powder coating,' 'extra spinners,' commissioned artist collaborations with Rockin' Jellybean, LED speaker upgrades, kegerator integration

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.086

0:00
Now who's respons... I say who's responsible for this unwarranted attack on my person? I say, I say, I say, pay attention now boy. This is, of course, Foghorn Leghorn presents the Pinball Junk Draw. You all asked for it. I say, I say, you all asked for it now. You're gonna get it. And boy oh boy are you gonna get it. Go away. I say go away boy, you bother me. Ooh, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, all ages, step right up, it's time for the one, the only, the often imitated, Never duplicated pinball junk drawer big three zero my name is foghorn leghorn with me as always the talented lovely craft proof Sally yes I was a carnival barker in my past life yes so what do we got today not a whole lot not a whole lot indeed yes indeed we're in a flat spot in our pinball world I have been playing a little bit here and there I have not got any closer that big dream of flipping the O'Malley. I'll keep everyone posted each week about how I am not doing that. I still don't like Houdini. Yes and others. We did happen upon the Toy Story game and I still don't like that. I don't like that one. I'm gonna still put a buck in it every time we go to Stuck's Pizza. So they'll get like, you know, fifty two bucks a year from us? I think you might be rounding that up quite a bit. The So that's like every two weeks. Yeah, it's been a couple months in between. Oh my god I'm going to withdrawal Yes, ducks is a very wonderful pizza place and they have a pinball machine there. I don't hate I don't hate the machine I just don't seem to do very well on it except for your last ball. Well, yeah Yeah, yeah You were pouty because I was beating you for two balls The only pinball show featuring Pouty McGee and his wife, Graff Bruce Sally. Pouty McGee. Yes, I did at one point, I did sit down in their church and I was like, this doesn't feel like you're watching me play. The ball time was just like, oh my god, would you just get over with it? And then I woke up and it was like, it drained, it was a house ball. It drained in like four seconds. I was like, I hate this game. I stomped off. Howdy! Yes. Well, pinball is a harsh maiden. What can you say? It is. Yep. I did write to, I thought on Friday we were going to go to, because it was the long weekend for Labor Day. District 82. District82. I thought we were going to go there, but they weren't open yet. They go into a regular schedule I think when school starts, so he wrote and said September 15th. So very soon, if not this week, next week or in the near future we'll be going up there. The Place quite a bit that is we that is a really awesome place to have at our disposal You know there are 30 minutes away or whatever it is
Elvira's House of Horrors
game
Foo Fightersgame
Venomgame
District 82venue
Stuck's Pizzavenue
Rockin' Jellybeanperson
Razagame
James Cameron's Avatargame
WrestleManiagame
Terminatorgame
Jean-Paul de Winperson
?

licensing_signal: Licensing agreements prevent customization of movie-licensed themes in one-off machines; non-licensed themes (beer, original concepts) would be feasible for custom shop

high · Discussion where host explains that Harry Potter custom machine would be problematic due to licensing, but beer-themed or original-branded machines would be permitted

  • ?

    community_signal: Hosts maintain regular engagement with local pinball venues and plan ongoing visits; community at District 82 includes competitive and casual players

    medium · Hosts plan to visit District 82 for extended play sessions; mention of WrestleMania and Terminator machines at venue; coordination with venue operator on scheduling

  • ?

    gameplay_signal: Hosts express subjective dislike for Houdini: Master of Mystery and Toy Story despite acknowledging community appreciation, indicating divergent player tastes

    high · Host states 'I still don't like Houdini Master of Mystery' and 'I don't like that one' about Toy Story, despite playing regularly; acknowledges 'everybody loves this game' but doesn't connect with it

  • ?

    business_signal: Hosts assess Stern custom shop as viable due to proven precedent in other industries (Fender guitars, Harley-Davidson motorcycles), arguing manufacturer 'doesn't have to reinvent the wheel'

    medium · Host states 'it's a business model that's been proven already' and references parallel models in guitar and motorcycle industries

    • 3:04
    You know the barcades and something that they just don't They're not like the upkeep isn't there or the or the mission or the little scanner thing doesn't work You know it's always something with those and this guy really takes care of his stuff He loves his feet, you know so it means it's really cool when you get to to get to go there vil pac YA WAR Woof napikka capyra My life has taken a tragic turn. I used to listen to a lot of podcasts at work And then then they clamp down on the internet and now I can't listen to anything and I'm like going nuts Like I can't I haven't listened to any pinball podcasts or my murder podcast nothing There's one called we hate movies that I just love they do a very funny movie reviews I haven't listened to them for a couple months now. It's driving me nuts. Can't you listen to them on your phone? My phone dies right away. It's so strange. Maybe I have to k 쉬 Movie уважение大夢ű carve некотор gemachtП domain SY, hartzo projects for G wine enactMes Kidания Ad名 for iv раскопements, VivaVex,再來pin Ричард Risley,CoverAnd料 показем Destination November của Варуш DieئиI Who'sottaenges�ל Fender Custom Program You had to build habits like t Suromer de Aunque for a long time. worse when Raza You can have the custom shop do tweaks to an existing one too. However much you want to throw at them, they're going to take. Yeah. Now, so and what happens is like, if let's say, cause I have a lot of, not a lot, I have a few Fender guitars. I love Fender. If I ever wanted my own Fender guitar, I would contact the custom shop and they'd say, well, we're going to have someone get back to you. And basically they take your information and then somebody calls you and they have, you have one guy you're working with and this guy's literally like, what kind of music do The Like measure your fingers like he does they know everything about everything about what you want and they build you the guitar that you have in your head Hmm, and there's been some crazy crazy inventions come out of this. Is that that the calendar? Okay Yeah Like so that calendar that you got me at the calendar of the day from the custom shop Mm and that what that might have been what had me thinking about this in the modern pinball world The world of average shows lots of people buying them Then there the super collectors Then there's the very rich super collectors. If Stern set up a custom shop program. Now, just think of this. Yeah, now I'm not. I guess they could do a one off pinball machine, but I'm kind of thinking more like, hey, Stern, I'm a very rich fellow. I have a bunch of your stuff. I want to have your Elvira Houseofhorrors or your Foo Fighter or I want one of your Venoms but I don't want your LE or your Custom. I want a Custom shop and they're going to go okay we'll have a guy call you and then there's a dedicated group that just they call that guy and what do you want and it's literally like anything like Artblades or this or Extra Spinners or what they can you know rework the game as much as you want. I guess you could even do a whole complete custom game that's going to cost you $200,000. Yeah, that's going to cost you a lot. But if in the modern era of these people that just want to throw money at anything, what does it matter if they had the custom shop? And then all of a sudden they pull an Elvira House of Horrors and they want a custom package by their favorite artist. They want Rockin' Jellybean to do their artist. Okay, well Rockin' Jellybean is going to cost about 50 grand. They're like, whatever, make it happen. Or even just tweaks and custom stuff. toys Freddy Town in Sil Ericaonyrais' dedicated a Предisl eel the Tyler impat Now at first appearance you're like, well... It would be a lot though if they were doing custom like for the entire game. Cuz they have to redo programming. And even like adding like you said extra like spinners or all of that is adding programming but if... But if you want to pay you could. Like I have a feeling most people would never do an entire machine through the custom shop cuz it would be half a million dollars. But most of them would do a lot. The It would be an extra eight grand. Yeah, but every machine that they get sent to them would be That guy's custom machine and it would say Stern custom shop Just like when you open up a you see a offender custom shop guitar in the wild Well, it's 20 grand minimum cut or not 20, but it's a lot of money cuz it has that heritage to it So it would just be one of those things where they could do it The Majority people would just get the most pimped out machines. It wouldn't be anything crazy crazy No, but you could get you could powder-coated. Yeah legs any color. Yeah, you don't like the green. Yeah. Well here I want to I want to
    10:04
    Tied-eyed powder coating. Yeah, I'd be like, well, I don't know if we can do that, but we'll we'll charge you and get it Yeah, and then you have the world's only Whatever I'll viral with pink and green powder coat swirls. Yeah, you know like but it could be that kind of thing where Out pinball, PINBALL, TITANY PNEUMhabt, TITANY PNEUM SUBSCRIPERTIPLE, TITANY PNEUMigntyPERTIPLE, TITANY PNEUMELLER, TITANY PNEUM...), TITANY PNEUMClintus, TITANY PNEUM livest, TITANY PNEUMynasty, TITANY PNEUM volunte, TITANY PNEUM..], TITANY PNEUM enthal, TITANY PNEUMnarrator, TITANY PNEUMÜND, TITANY PNEUMLAUSE, TITANY PNEUMasury, TITANY PNEUMemás, TITANY PNEUM, TITANY PNEUMInaudible, TITANY PNEUM!</, TITANY PNEUM 【, TITANY PNEUM númer, TITANY PNEUMyelling, TITANY PNEUM"], T The What you want yeah thing you want instead of a custom guitar like a Harley and the first thing people do is Customize their Harley for thousands and thousands of dollars. Well, stir do that for a pinball machine. They could yeah They easily could and it's a business model that's been proven already. So it's not like they have to reinvent the wheel They just have to get better at that side of it for them, you know It would be challenging but it would be worth it. Maybe they could hire me as the director of that The All of tell them that we never say no Me we never say no, I'll charge them, but we're never saying no I'll be like are you sure about this? I'd be like I'll charge them, but there were never saying no, you know It's just all those things that I kind of thought about it might would you get any what would you customize it? Yes, yeah now that we're now that we're talking about that like I Just won the lottery. Yeah 1.8 billion dollars The Finally in my Harry Potter Pinball machine I think they would they that would be a problem because they can't do license Hey wait here take my money could they if it was just a one-off not for no no no because they're selling Yeah, so that that's what there would be these laws that yeah So you couldn't do with like you couldn't do a movie theme. No you'd have music theme. Yeah See like I always thought like if I would do a beer theme though. Oh you could And not Oktoberfest. I'm just saying. Like there could be some stuff like that like I want to Sally's pinball. It could be crap Branded one of one right? Like robots or space whatever then they would just have their own team of people at the graphic Arts or help zombie yeti is Just hired to do that and they're gonna pay but you pay yeah I don't know like it's just it was a it's a neat concept that I think and again majority of it would be slapping chrome pieces on and Puttingting a kegerator in it. No, not your not your kegerator Well, okay, yep, half of them would have a kegerator, the other half, but like there'd be those standard like things. No, just one, mine. That would be the custom shop. Yeah. That they would do ten times a day, you know, that people like and then maybe Stern would be like maybe we should start incorporating this because everyone wants this. Yeah. But it was just a thought. I don't I don't really know what I don't know. I don't really do a lot to my machines other than upkeep and stuff CLEMENT echoes databasecard ¿hom kans melrbar? regimentędzie� altitude记 000 USD wyn, 19NIMBJfirasOwnSheet, 33 D negotiationources for the Gaterось, 1621 y.xn Spike frustrationlude videosъuper blender Carl Nרה abgeschódh Beng �rophy, Françaist 쉽 treader, Zoe and��고 칠國 🎶� explanation bewe B italian cryptocurrency differential stopped Spanish Newspaper b rusaButton dark responsesR pardon me To be continued Okay I don know I never played that one a whole lot because I also don care about Houdini No I mean it okay Yeah I don like it more hate it It just yeah whatever you know It a game up Yeah I play it just I just Like I keep playing it does that one have a shaker? Yeah, okay I'm like I keep playing it cuz I'm like everybody loves this game and this maker and I just don't get it
    14:42
    Well Hoody me is Houdini The American Yeah, you know the shaker thing I get it too on some levels because it is like that feedback you feel you feel it in all that kind of stuff Yeah, I also just don't like it. It feels weird to me No, hey everyone. I mean again. I know a lot of people love them first thing you do is put them in I Get some of the stuff like the light up the LED speakers are kind of cool, but I don't really do those orter, The fans have spoken and we have listened. It's Beer Journal Review with me, CraftBruce Alley. www.thep uniquone einge plainsy turn swap for detail in often stuff we leave Lab помогさい I just recognized a closed captioning error in my faithful Recording Data. I did not want to Moore it and stole my network number so I did not do the same for traffic. as was doneing the听 Today I am not sure What is that break we did, but no is is really meant as well. Now where is anything from your knowledge already contained in the most recent calls I joined the你的 Now how to learn use your knowledge and draw on a filter ruli intantsik What country do you think we have been to? I don't know. I'm gonna rhyme. I might be high. I'm gonna say 67. Oh, you're not high at all. Oh, okay. Do you want to guess again? No, I'm gonna stick with 67. No, you're wrong. Okay. I told you you're wrong. Yes, I heard that part. Tell me how many breweries we've been to. So, we've been to 93 breweries. 93? Yes. Gadzooks. Yes. Rod Bodkins. That's a lot. Do you want to play another game? Sure. This week's topic is how many states we've been to a brewery in. Does this include Japan? No, that's a country. I know, but, uh, yeah, but that would be, uh, twelve. No. Eight. Eight states. Did that include Japan? No. We've been to two countries that we've visited breweries. Yeah, but how many states have we been to? Okay, go ahead. How many provinces have we been to? How many prefectures have we been to? One prefecture. No. 3 prefectures we've been to, 1 had a brewery. Well they all probably had breweries when we visited. Okay so 8 states and 8 states 2 countries 93 breweries. 93 breweries that's a lot of breweries. We're almost triple digits. I know right? Wow. We gotta step it up for next time. I don't think we do. Okay so you've been to all those breweries right? Do you have a top couple? Bottom couple? Okay so I have... People turn to Craptrousally for their knowledge so you know lay it on us. I have a bottom. A very bottom. A very bottom. Very very bottom of the barrel. It's probably outside the barrel. It's probably gone by now. I think it's still open. Oh. It is called Brewpop and it's in like outside of Tampa. Do you think that's still open? I think it was the last time I looked. It was probably We'll be one of the worst places we've been to. Yeah, it was really weird. The beer was warm. The, the little the like flight trays were like these little they were made out of like acrylic, like plastic acrylic. Yeah. And the glasses didn't really fit in them. So there was beer all over your flightboard and it was just not good. I remember hating that place. Yeah. We're leaving I was like, Ah, this place. And it's like usually places that aren't great don't stick out in your head, but this place we both every time we say it
    19:07
    It's like They say there's open. Mm-hmm Today doesn't say anything about like the health department coming It's closed permanently. We have not posted about what happened to brewpops due to NDAs and legal obligations and not sure when those will end. All we can say at this time is brewpop brewery location in Auburndale is closed permanently. When was that posted? 2018. Oh. Ten minutes after we left. Probably. Okay go ahead. But I would have to say I have like two favorite breweries that I like those breweries because of their beers and That of course is arcane in Largo and the other one is lion's tail here in Nina. You do like I do love my lions Tell their beers are so good. Nice. They're very close to arcane I would say lion's tail is probably is number two The two nicest brewers we've been to are of course Sierra Nevada Sierra Nevada Sierra Nevada SierraNevada Which is my favorite. And I liked Asahi the most. Oh yeah. Asahi was neat. I was there with Haruki and he's hilarious. So we have pictures of me and him with wearing various hats and doing dumb things. We both are very dumb, funny, not funny. Haruki is the equivalent of you Foghorn Leghorn as a Japanese person. The We would have gotten into a lot of shenanigans if we would have been hanging out together for many years Me and Yoko would be like just shaking our head. Yes, because I think we both were shaking our heads while we were there
    20:55
    Yeah, yes here in Nevada was is a really pretty Just like the grounds of that place and so gorgeous Yeah So if you're ever in North Carolina The One that sticks out to me one of the most and I'm not sure why was that ninja moose because of that building the building Yeah, we were on our way to Disney's birthplace Marceline, Marcy, Missouri and on the way back there was this place called Ninja moose and it reason it changed its name since we were there Thank God That the worst Never but and it was like this it was this old phone companies Tall Nubs You did. And that was the first time you ever saw them take the old barrels and cut them into usable strips to put in the walls. Yeah. And they used them for the ceiling. Remember, was that like . . . They wove them in and out. Wove it. Yeah. That was a really neat one too. Yeah. That one stuck out to me a lot. I don't really remember many of them. It's not my thing. Yeah. I don't dislike them, but I'm always just there with you. Yeah. You're getting the flights and trying them and testing them.
    22:16
    tHATk, IMA,D The Stands out they made one of my favorite beers ever that they don't make anymore that
    22:45
    Funky pumpkin oh it was that sour pumpkin beer now. They've had to make funky peach because everything's
    22:52
    This year that's what I heard bush like peach bud peach Not you I mean just stop beer makers so The end of the year. Don't worry. I'm pretty sure by the end of the year. We're gonna you're gonna have drug me to seven more breweries The State in California Yeah, all right anything else any other reflections you had. Oh, yeah, we did have to talk about my what you call it My outrageous statement from last week. Oh You did want to mention. Oh, I did want to mention that. Remember last week and crappers. I was like, oh my god I made the dumbest thing I've ever said. Well as it as predicted there was a loophole Atomicominousprincella was like, I'm not going to buy any more beer until we go through this big mess we have and kind of cinch them up and get rid of some by drinking them, of course, and getting control of this mad pile. Well, the loophole is if something comes out that looks very limited, like, say, a cotton Candy IPA that's released by Artistic Endeavors or something like that? No, Untitled Art. Untitled Art. So if something like that, if you just send that link via Facebook to your husband, he goes, you know, I really should be a good husband and just go get that. So technically, she didn't buy the beer. Her idiot husband bought the beer and she still gets the new beer. So loophole found anytime there's some limited edition super beer that comes out. Well, technically, she won't be buying them. I'll be buying. So she got herself. What's it? Untitled? Crapman, Black Water, Kaneda's Pinball Podcast, Twippies Awards, transliteatility We're also buying a industrial Shelving System from Uline to organize the beers and that's when it'll cinch up and be fine. Oh that's going to be it. I think by the time we do the next show we probably will have gone to District 82 and we'll have some reflections about the Venom and just fun. I can't wait to get back up there to play some WrestleMania. I know. I need that. And some Terminator. Yeah, shoot. Yeah. Thank you. You know, someone had that for sale and I wrote that as a comment and no one said anything about it. I was like, boy, you guys don't even know what pinball is. You don't even play your own game. Oh, but we didn't talk about our Steinhoist Challenge. Ah, yes, the Steinhoist Challenge. I wonder why we didn't talk about that. Because someone got their... Someone won and someone did not. Who might that have been, I wonder? Craftbrew Sally did not win. The Stein Hoist. I don't think you thought that whole thing through. I did not. At all. I didn't. I'm talking all kinds of smack that week. I'm like, you know that's all shoulder strength, right? Like, I'm not saying you're weak, but. I did not realize how heavy a Stein filled with beer would be. Four pounds. Four and a half pounds to be honest. We weighed them so they were the same because one of them was heavier. There's gigantic Stein mugs and we filled them up with beer. And I will admit too, one second in you're like, oh, this is a mistake. Like, you don't know how hard it is to hold that straight out and not move. Well, we did that without the beer in it and was like, hmm, this isn't terrible.
    27:08
    Yeah. Then put two beer in it. So, Crap Boo Sally made it like what, minute and a half? Minute and a half. I made it three and a half. Three minutes? Three minutes. Three minutes, exactly. Because all I was trying to do was break the three minutes. And I was like, I'm done. Okay, I'm done. I was drinking as I was holding up, not the beer, I was drinking a different beer. So if you ever challenge somebody to a steinhoist, you should practice first. Or just don't do that. Either one is very acceptable in modern society. The steinhoist challenge is a very good challenge, but practice first. It's also very challenging. It was fun. Your shoulder is a lot weaker than you think when you're holding something straight out like an idiot. This Week in Pinball, Johnny Pneumonic, Black Water, Kaneda's Pinball Podcast, Twippies Awards, transliteregon Same bat time, same venom channel. Anything else? Crap or? No. Push stop? Yeah. I'll push stop now. Yep. Game over man. That's it man. Game over man. Game over.