The Pinball Show Ep 128 BONUS: Collectors Corner - Theatre Of Magic

Pinball Show Patreon Feed·podcast_episode·20m 24s·analyzed·May 23, 2023

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.032

TL;DR

Collector's Corner debuts with comprehensive Theater of Magic buyer's guide.

Summary

The Pinball Show launches "Collector's Corner," a new Patreon-exclusive segment focused on evaluating classic pinball machines for secondary market purchase. This inaugural episode covers Bally Midway's 1995 Theater of Magic, a John Papaduke design widely regarded as one of the best-shooting pinball machines ever made. The host provides detailed guidance on what to look for when buying a Theater of Magic, including cabinet condition, insert wear and ghosting (particularly on mode inserts and task inserts), playfield wear patterns, magnetic mechanisms (especially the notorious upside-down magnetic ring), eddy board switches, and recommended mods like warm LED GI, motorized Tiger Saw, and 86 Pixels LCD backboard upgrades.

Key Claims

Theater of Magic was originally conceptualized around David Copperfield's theme but never secured the license, becoming a generic magic theme instead
medium confidence · Host statement during game introduction
Theater of Magic sold 6,600 units
high confidence · KB context confirms this figure; not explicitly stated in episode but referenced in KB
John Papaduke is arguably the designer of one of J-Pop's best-designed pinball machines (Theater of Magic)
high confidence · Host describes it as 'arguably j-pop's best designed pinball machine'
Theater of Magic has a 'shitty skill shot'
high confidence · Host direct statement: 'so let's dive in what do you need to look for if you're ever going out to look for the theater of magic so the the pluses are it's very collectible it's a beautiful game it's a genuinely just fun game very approachable it's got some of the best toys in pinball history some of the best shots in pinball easy to learn rule set downsides of this game it can be pricey and for historical sake i'm going to stay away from uh current pricing because that may change over time depending on when you're listening to this but it tends to be historically speaking on the on the more expensive side it's a beautiful game overall i would say but the downside is that that back glass that translate artwork kind kind ugly the rule set while approachable an experienced pinball player can get through it. Not easily, but they can get through it. And I would say the wizard mode in and of itself, eh, lackluster. Talk about 2.0 codes. This is primed for that.'
Theater of Magic's wizard mode is lackluster and the game is 'primed' for 2.0 code revisions
high confidence · Host assessment: 'And I would say the wizard mode in and of itself, eh, lackluster. Talk about 2.0 codes. This is primed for that.'
J-Pop games (including Theater of Magic) are notorious for ghosting inserts
high confidence · Host: 'J-pop games are notorious for ghosting inserts. I can't go into why because I really don't know why. But if you look at a Circus Voltaire, Theater of Magic, Tales of Arabian Nights, even World Cup Soccer, you're going to see some ghosted inserts.'

Notable Quotes

“arguably j-pop's best designed pinball machine and the theme is fantastic as well”
Host (The Pinball Show) @ Early segment — Core characterization of Theater of Magic's design quality and its standing in John Papaduke's body of work
“what do you need to be looking for and what's important for that particular game. Maybe what areas of that particular game that are not as important. Parts that are easily replaceable versus on Omtanium parts for a particular game title.”
Host (The Pinball Show) @ Segment introduction — Defines the purpose and methodology of Collector's Corner segment
“J-pop games are notorious for ghosting inserts. I can't go into why because I really don't know why.”
Host (The Pinball Show) @ Playfield condition section — Identifies a known quality issue across multiple J-Pop designs without explaining root cause
“That thing can be notorious for not working. Overheating and such. You've got the trunk magnet. That thing's usually pretty solid.”
Host (The Pinball Show) @ Magnetic mechanisms section — Highlights the upside-down magnetic ring as a weak point to test before purchase
“if you're getting one, picking up one, it's never a bad idea to get the boards on this title, get them all bulletproofed.”
Host (The Pinball Show) @ Board maintenance section — Recommendation for preventive maintenance on Theater of Magic boards
“Theater Magic is a particular game that looks great with warm colored GI. You've got different tones of whites that people and manufacturers put in their general illumination or GI. I find that this theming and the artwork and the tone of this game calls for warmer lights.”
Host (The Pinball Show) @ LED modification section — Aesthetic recommendation for lighting modifications based on game theme
“The motorized Tiger Saw mod is a nice touch. I really like that because on the prototype game, J-Pop intended for the Tiger Saw to actually rotate.”
Host (The Pinball Show) — Confirms designer intent for motorized Tiger Saw feature and endorses the mod

Entities

The Pinball Showorganization Theater of Magicgame John PapadukepersonDavid CopperfieldpersonDennis GreaselpersonBrian Allenperson86 PixelscompanyPinball Platingcompany

Signals

?
collector_signal: Host actively seeking mint-condition Theater of Magic for collection completion; willing to accept reproduction playfield to avoid cosmetic seaming on mode inserts; uses specific visual/tactile standards to grade condition
high · I am looking for a Menti one. Not because I'll play it all the time. It's because I'm a collector... if I had a repro play field boom fixes it but that's what keeps me
?
product_concern: Theater of Magic exhibits systemic insert seaming issues (ghosting, lifting, visible lines around blended mode inserts) across the production run; identified as J-Pop design pattern affecting multiple titles (Circus Voltaire, Tales of Arabian Nights, World Cup Soccer)
high · J-pop games are notorious for ghosting inserts... if you look at a Circus Voltaire, Theater of Magic, Tales of Arabian Nights, even World Cup Soccer, you're going to see some ghosted inserts
?
product_concern: Theater of Magic upside-down magnetic ring (used for metamorphosis mode) exhibits chronic reliability issues and overheating; identified as single point of failure that requires testing before purchase
high · That thing can be notorious for not working. Overheating and such... For some reason, that damn upside down magnetic ring can be notorious for not working.
?
product_concern: Theater of Magic original boards exhibit transistor failure patterns more frequently than other games from same era; components run hot and fail prematurely (LEDs, magnets affected)
medium · I find that transistors on the original boards of Theater of Magic, they get pretty steamy, more so than maybe some other games
?

Topics

Theater of Magic secondary market evaluation and collector buying guideprimaryPlayfield condition assessment and insert quality issues on 90s J-Pop gamesprimaryJohn Papaduke design philosophy and game design quality across his catalogprimaryMagnetic mechanisms and electronic board reliability in Theater of MagicprimaryAftermarket mods and aesthetic customization (LED, backglass art, motorized toys)primaryCollector identity vs casual player priorities in game acquisitionsecondaryCode update quality and potential for 2.0 revisions to Theater of MagicsecondaryCabinet art durability and backglass artwork quality on 90s Bally Williams gamessecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.78)— Host expresses genuine appreciation for Theater of Magic as a game (excellent shooting, best toys in pinball history, beautiful aesthetic) while maintaining critical perspective on specific wear areas and design choices (lackluster wizard mode, ungainly backglass art, common insert issues). The tone is educational and enthusiastic about the segment launch. Minor frustration expressed about mint condition specimens being difficult to find due to insert seaming issues, but this framed as standard collector fastidiousness rather than game criticism.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.061

Warning, the following episode contains adult language and screaming goats. Listener discretion is advised. The Pinball Network is online. Launching the Pinball Show. Thanks again for the ongoing support as a Pinball Show Club member. Enjoy this exclusive TPS content and make sure to visit the Pinball Show Club Discord to chat about the bonus material. that's right, a new segment, new segment time, Patreon exclusive, Collector's Corner. What Collector's Corner is, is a segment where I'll present to you, it's going to be pretty much a classic pinball title, and for those interested in ever picking one of those up on the secondary market, we're going to discuss what you need to be looking for and what's important for that particular game. Maybe what areas of that particular game that are not as important. Parts that are easily replaceable versus on Omtanium parts for a particular game title. The extra stuff, that is, things that collectors add to really set theirs apart from the herd versus mods that a lot of people add that just suck. We're discussing quality here, and I'm here to give you, the listener, some of my experience on knowledge regarding individual games, how to make the best potential purchase in the future, and just generally how to become more informed about some of the great games in our hobby. This collector's corner will be focusing on Bally Midway's 1995 Theater of Magic. The game itself is one of Bally Williams' 90s greatness games. It's a John Papadiuk game. And whether you're a J-pop lover or hater, one thing we can all agree on is that the game shoots phenomenally. arguably j-pop's best designed pinball machine and the theme is fantastic as well a generic magic theme that fits all of the usual gimmicks into it tigers and magic trunks rabbits and hats chains metamorphosis there's a metamorphosis do you guys know that this game was originally built by j-pop or conceptualized around the theme david copperfield the famous magician but they didn't secure license for whatever reason and became the generic theater of magic you have the magic what a shitty skill shot on this game though so let's dive in what do you need to look for if you're ever going out to look for the theater of magic so the the pluses are it's very collectible it's a beautiful game it's a genuinely just fun game very approachable it's got some of the best toys in pinball history some of the best shots in pinball easy to learn rule set downsides of this game it can be pricey and for historical sake i'm going to stay away from uh current pricing because that may change over time depending on when you're listening to this but it tends to be historically speaking on the on the more expensive side it's a beautiful game overall i would say but the downside is that that back glass that translate artwork kind of ugly the rule set while approachable an experienced pinball player can get through it. Not easily, but they can get through it. And I would say the wizard mode in and of itself, eh, lackluster. Talk about 2.0 codes. This is primed for that. The CGC version, not the 2.0 version. I don't currently have a Theater of Magic in my collection, but I am looking for a Menti one. Not because I'll play it all the time. It's because I'm a collector, regardless of what Dennis Greasel says and it would fit very nicely in between Tales of the Arabian Nights and Circus Voltaire. For better or worse, I like J-Pop designed games. I might not think of him much as a person but the games themselves, generally speaking, I'm a fan. So let's jump into what you need to be looking at if you're ever looking for a theater of magic. Well, first off, the usual suspects. Just the overall what I call glance appeal. Give it a glance. Look it over. Is there anything egregious or anything just sticks out like a sore thumb? Other usual suspects. The shooter lane. Look in the shooter lane. Is it busted ass up? Somebody didn't mile her up? These games are old, so you're going to see some wear in the shooter lane, typically speaking. For a 90s game, it's going to be there. If it's heavy, heavy, just know that that game has been played. And every part on it has been played. if it's juicy and supple and you can run your tongue across it that says a lot too for this game a lot of people have restored this title so it wouldn't be unheard of to see a juicy shooter lane but to also look closely because sometimes shooter lanes can tell you if it's a reproduction playfield maybe it's a repro playfield you'll get fake wood grainy stuff on reproduction playfields nothing wrong with that I have repro playfields in some of my restored games a a lot better than chipping inserts and wear everywhere but check out the shooter lane also the other quick glance appeal usual suspect would be like the the cabinet how's it look on the outside flip the flip the hood up that is a playfield just looking at it in general does it look really dirty under the hood does it look really clean the playfield wood itself is it dirty is it clean coils a lot of coil dust everywhere is there markings ever wears or got like does it smell the smells the smells are sometimes just as important as visuals on some of these older games now if we're digging down even further let's get into the nitty-gritty of what you should be looking for cabinet wise on theater of magic the cabinet art is typically above average on this title that is the conditions of the cabinets and the artwork for theater of magic are oftentimes pretty good and there is a lot going on in the artwork so if there is any little dingers, they're easily hidden within the artwork. So when you're looking at Theater of Magic, they don't seem to fade more so than other titles. You'll see a lot of color in the cabinets, and over time, they've stayed in good condition. The same cannot be said, though, when looking under the glass, and that is the play field. Let's talk about the inserts. Now, we know historically some J-pop 90s games have milking inserts or ghosting inserts, right? Some insert issues. That's one of the things you're going to want to look at if you're looking at a J-pop game. Theater Magic, no difference there. Look at all the inserts. That's going to give you, he uses a lot of arrows, a lot of points, a lot of tips of an electric bolt. Those tips are going to lift up more so than maybe some other titles. So look at the condition of the inserts if you're looking at collector quality versus above average quality versus player's condition versus just shit quality. and at some point we'll give an objective range so we can be able to grade these things but the inserts, specifically the mode inserts there are a number of, I think there's eight of them in between the flippers, eight inserts for the different magic tricks I want you to make sure if you're looking at theater magic look at those inserts as well as there are four task inserts in between the flippers, the different multi balls if you complete them you get to the wizard mode But look at those because those get a lot of wear because they have the ball in between the slings. You've got the push force of a flipper rather than the rolling force. They're going to get wear there and you're going to get a lot of traction and traffic there more so than some of the rest of the playfield. So they're going to show wear quickly. Now, what can these inserts show? Like I said, you can see lifting. That is, whenever the bulb, usually an incandescent back in the 90s, is under the insert and warms up to the degree that the insert itself, being plastic, wants to separate from the wood that surrounds it. And it's got to go somewhere, so it goes up and punctures through the clear coat that's on top of both wood and plastic insert. So you get a pop. And you can feel. It feels like you're feeling the insert, but it's actually the clear coat on top of that insert. But you can feel the differentiation with your finger. Why is that a bad thing? Well, sometimes dirt gets in there. It's hard to clean out. So it's going to visually show more than one that's not popping up. And it's also going to maybe catch a ball traffic more to the side of it, the front of the insert, just boom, boom, boom, hitting it. And it could potentially chip the clear coat or even chip some of the color artwork from the play field or the insert. So you want to look at that. You could also get ghosting. What ghosting means is when the clear coat is separating itself, either by a puncture or crack or something. But it's separating itself where it's becoming hazy. It looks milky, cloudy. You get slivers of that. It's almost like an air pocket in there. Same kind of thing. Now, J-pop games are notorious for ghosting inserts. I can't go into why because I really don't know why. But if you look at a Circus Voltaire, Theater of Magic, Tales of Arabian Nights, even World Cup Soccer, you're going to see some ghosted inserts. I'm not as turned off to that because I'm becoming pretty used to it. But just note that if you're looking for a theater of magic, you may see some around the corners of inserts, or the sides of inserts, some ghosting. To me, that's not a deal breaker. Some people, it may be, but it's going to be hard to find one without. If we're talking about inserts, one of the big pet peeves of mine, I mean, pet peeve, sure, but it's more so like, as I'm looking for a theater of magic, one of the things that I'm always looking for is the same thing I'm looking for on Black Rose, and that is inserts that are blended into the art. here we're talking about mode inserts. Mode inserts in Theater of Magic, those eight, whether or not they have lines that are surrounding the insert beneath them. The insert itself does not differentiate with artwork. So it's almost like a scroll and just the inserts are underneath, but when they light up, you see them surround the artwork describing what the trick is, the mode. But over time, they get lines around where that clear coat starts breaking. It is very rare to find an original play field for theater magic where you don see just some faint lines around the inserts and there a range there as well sometimes you distinctly see a line almost as if it separating but sometimes it's almost separating whenever the light comes on you can almost see a line around that i think indiana jones are very similar as well pinball adventure does that sometimes it's just very faint you know maybe it's got some dirt piled up a little bit but you're starting to see the lines of the collector maybe just i don't want anything there i want it smooth as a baby's butt i don't even want to see even if i don't feel it i don't even want to see a line and that's what keeps me from buying a lot of theater of magic now if i had a repro play field boom fixes it but that's what keeps me i can see sometimes people like check out my restored theater of magic and i would not disagree that it's restored but i still see the faint lines the reason i brought up black rose is because the sink ship inserts are the same way they're built in the same way. So if I see lines all around, I don't want that black rose. As a collector, I still might put in my collection as a player, you know, enthusiast, whatever, but as a diehard collector, that's what I'm looking for. I would say this is probably the single biggest thing that I'm looking for in Theater of Magic. Lines around the mode inserts and how banged up those task inserts because they really do start chipping down there. You got to be careful about that. Other areas that I'm looking for on Theater of Magic as a collector, I'm looking at the ball drop areas that is coming from the wire forms dropping in the end lanes those get beat up a lot see the conditions of those areas where the ball actually physically drops onto the wood right by the end lane switches there's also a couple spots i think one in particular uh shorts i'll call it a short shot ramp exit so if you hit a short shot on the ramp and it doesn't make it all the way it comes back but instead of coming all the way down and exiting the entrance of the ramp there will be a relief area that the ball falls and drops into. Maybe it's a sneak lock. Check out that area, too. It's the same as an in-lane drop. Other things you want to look out is the eddy boards. There are eddy boards under this game towards the outlanes. Eddy board is a switch. It's an opto where the ball is detected based on metal magnetism. So if it rolls over the wood, there's a little space under the play field where the wood is either very thin or it's exposed all the way that if a ball rolls over it, it senses it like an opto. But it doesn't have to have a path per se, an IR path or anything. It's almost like a diode, that if that diode senses that metal magnetism over, it triggers like a regular switch would. Theater Magic has two of these in the outlanes where if you have equipped a ball save, it'll save it magnetically. And these eddy boards or eddy switches you want to test out before buying just so you know what you're getting yourself into. these eddy switches can be finicky there is a little knob on each the road show has them as well but on each of these little boards for that the eddy eddy boards eddy switches there's a little bitty knob that you can tweak to try to for how sensitive it will be to the ball so even if it's not triggering it doesn't necessarily mean it's broken it just might need to be adjusted almost certainly if you're buying a road show or theater magic something uses these eddy boards if you're bouncing around the back of a truck, transporting it, you're going to have to adjust it when you get back. They're also sometimes one of the first things to go out. They do repro boards on this, so not a big deal. And the repro boards are pretty hardy. They're pretty good. So don't be too fearful of that, but check it out. Also, there's a couple scoops in this game. You always want to look for ball wear. The scoops, the haunted basement scoop, it's one that you might not particularly look at because it lifts out from the play field in front of the right ramp, and there's a flap that covers it. So you want to lift that flap up a little bit, see what that scoop looks like. The edges of that scoop, same as a trunk. In front and behind, there are scoops. The front gets banged and battered more than most. So look at that. The trunk itself, not a huge deal, quality condition-wise. I mean, you can tell a lot with gameplay and indications as such to the quality of that trunk. But the trunk is replaceable. So not a huge deal if you see chipping to the actual plastic resin trunk. The Tiger Sol captive ball is something you want to look at. To the left side of the play field, there's a captive ball. And that thing can show significant wear right under the captive ball front. It gets a lot of hit, a lot of velocity. And with that amount of force, that force has to be transferred somewhere. Unfortunately, over decades, it can be transferred to the clear coat in front and surrounding the captive ball area. I've seen many theater of magics where you'll see it popping up around that captive ball, the clear coat. Sometimes it sells. Sometimes it looks like there's damage there when there's not. Mylar can play a tricky perception on people. If you look at my Circus Voltaire, it looks like there is some playfield wear around an insert, but in actuality, it's just Mylar. And there's wear like at the edge of the Mylar, making it look like an insert wear. Other things to look at. the upside down magnetic ring I think it used for like metamorphosis and stuff The ball gets sucked up at left ramp It in the horizontal position rather than the vertical position like on Tails of Arabian Nights It looks like a donut and it sucks the ball up. That thing can be notorious for not working. Overheating and such. You've got the trunk magnet. That thing's usually pretty solid. The outlaying magnet's usually pretty solid. For some reason, that damn upside down magnetic ring can be notorious for not working. Make sure that thing works well. For Theater of Magic, honestly, if you're getting one, picking up one, it's never a bad idea to get the boards on this title, get them all bulletproofed. There's a lot going on between different types of mechanisms, lighting, coils, magnets. I find that transistors on the original boards of Theater of Magic, they get pretty steamy, more so than maybe some other games. Like transistors going out like a flasher that just stays on all the time because of an LED or magnets not working. If you're getting some weird stuff happening on your Theater of Magic or magnets not working or just get all the boards just cleaned up. You'll thank me later. There's a lot going on in this game. And to close out, let's talk about the extras. The extras meaning what are some of the things that I may have seen or done to a Theater of Magic that I particularly like versus things I don't like. So many people for Theater of Magic, they add brass trim work. It's not a factory thing, but you'll see these things brassed out. If you're buying one that has been brassed, the trim work or habit trails or mechanisms, anything, just make sure that the brass isn't old and not taken care of or it could be tarnished. A lot of times these brass legs are tarnished over time. It just makes it kind of ugly. And to me, at that point, no more appealing than just fresh stainless steel trim. Look at the wire forms if you're going to buy a TheraMagic as well. They come factory brassed, but over time some of them are not the prettiest, so look to get those redone if needed. Pinball plating does a good job of, sometimes they even have in-stock ones you can swap out with your originals that are already brassed. The spinner on this game, Theater of Magic, usually doesn't spin great for whatever reason, so a little bit of lube on that works really well, and I don't always recommend people lubing up spinners, but for this one in particular, I like to add a little lube to that spinner. Theater Magic is a particular game that looks great with warm colored GI. You've got different tones of whites that people and manufacturers put in their general illumination or GI. I find that this theming and the artwork and the tone of this game calls for warmer lights. So I would recommend the Comet 2SMD Frosted Warm White for all of your GI. Now, I stress this. One or two LED colors under the ramps? Maybe. I stress maybe. But typically, if you're wanting to know how to LED a game, just go Comet, 2SM defrosted, whites, under everything. Under everything. It's cheaper that way, too. You bundle them. But under everything. Rarely do I go all the way cool. I rarely go all the way cool color. I would say 90% of the time I go sunlight. It's right in between cool and warm. And then the other 10% of the time, based on whatever theme it may be, this one, Theater of Magic, a lot of golds, rich reds. You go warm. Go warm on this game. That's a good recommendation, I promise. Other extras, the motorized Tiger Saw mod is a nice touch. I really like that because on the prototype game, J-Pop intended for the Tiger Saw to actually rotate. So that's a good mod. The 86 Pixels, that's a company name, 86 Pixels, their theater LCD backboard mod is fucking phenomenal. It is damn great. Love that mod. So if it's available, get that one. It's pricey, but it's awesome. Now, I'm not a huge fan of swapping out the back glass art on some of these games, like the 90s Bally Williams games, with replacing it with the licensed Brian Allen alternate artwork. Not crazy about that. Now, this particular title, Replacement Art, I'm not mad at, because Brian Allen's work does look really good, and I'm not particularly fond of the Theater of Magic original artwork on the back glass. The artwork everywhere else is awesome, But on that back glass, it just looks like watercolor. I'm not crazy about it. Would I actually swap over to the Brian Allen? If I did for any title, it would be this. I'm still not convinced, but I'm not mad at it. Now, this game looks great with either Art Blades or Mirror Blades. Or hell, keep it black. I don't care. But if you go mirror, look into the gold mirrored ones. Double the price. I get it. But damn, it looks good if you're brassing everything out. Color DMD, got to have it on this 90s game. and just brass this bitch out. I mean, if you got the money, this thing looks spectacular. All Goldilocks and such. And there you have it. That's a collector's look on collector's corner of Midway's 1995 Theater of Magic. You can always post pictures of your theater of magic on the Pinball Show's Facebook page or TikTok or whatever socials we're at. Post them. I'll comment. I'll let you know if you did good or bad. Now, someone find me a nice theater. Make a good 2.0 system, CGC. I want to see this remade because I am a real collector.