Journalist Tool

Kineticist

  • HDashboard
  • IItems
  • ↓Ingest
  • SSources
  • KBeats
  • BBriefs
  • RIntel
  • QSearch
  • NName Review
  • +Health

v0.1.0

← Back to items

Don's Pinball Podcast Livestream 9/28/25

Don's Pinball Podcast Live Streams (YouTube)·video·1h 9m·analyzed·Sep 29, 2025
View original
Export .md

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.032

TL;DR

Don speculates on E.T. and Jumanji pinball themes while discussing Expo expectations and cabinet customization.

Summary

Don hosts a casual Sunday livestream discussing potential pinball machine themes, focusing extensively on E.T., Jumanji, and other film properties that could work as modern pinball games. The conversation includes detailed speculation about game mechanics, licensing challenges, and comparisons to existing titles. Don also discusses upcoming Pinball Expo expectations, code update quality concerns with recent remakes, and personal pinball collecting projects including Star Wars cabinet customization.

Key Claims

  • Predator is starting to ship, with a confirmed unit on location in Australia

    high confidence · Don states 'Guys, I think Predator is starting to actually ship. Somebody in Australia has a Predator on location now.'

  • Pinball Expo is approximately 18 days away (roughly late October 2025)

    high confidence · Don: 'I know Expo's coming up in a couple of weeks now. I think we're 18 days away. Um, so that's under three weeks.'

  • Don expects limited new playable games at Expo beyond Predator and potentially a second Alice in Wonderland build

    medium confidence · Don: 'I was hoping that there was going to be like five new games to play...but I don't know that we're going to get much new other than Predator. I think this will be the second occurrence of Alice in Wonderland to be able to play it.'

  • Evil Dead machines from Spooky Pinball are shipping with no playfield or insert defects

    medium confidence · Don: 'People are unboxing Evil Dead left and right with no issue, no appealing playfield, no ghosting insert, and hopefully actually some profits for Spooky Pinball given the build quality of materials they put in that thing.'

  • Star Wars Stern is driving sales primarily due to theme rather than gameplay

    medium confidence · Don: 'I got to think that of the Star Wars sales that have happened, it's got to just be driven by the theme because I don't know. I've played it and like I think it's fun, you know, but so's Venom, right?'

Notable Quotes

  • “People are unboxing Evil Dead left and right with no issue, no appealing playfield, no ghosting insert, and hopefully actually some profits for Spooky Pinball given the build quality of materials they put in that thing.”

    Don@ 1:34 — Positive sentiment on Spooky Pinball's Evil Dead quality control and manufacturing

  • “I think if Predator was in if instead of Predator, I think if it was Raven, I think I'd probably order one.”

    Don@ 8:43 — Expresses preference for a Raven-themed game over Predator, speculating on alternative IP choices

  • “The remake should be the the best version of the game. We have modern technology now, modern manufacturing, modern code, and gameplay concepts. Like, that's what we should see.”

    Don@ 22:06 — States philosophy on how classic game remakes should improve upon originals

  • “Metallica was perfect, man. You you took a game and you kept what worked and the things that people had problems with, you completely fixed them.”

    Don@ 22:11 — Praises Stern's Metallica remake as exemplary remaster work

  • “I believe they're a Warner license. Um, I hope it happens someday. Um, if you need help building it, we're right here.”

    Don@ 29:40 — Expresses desire to work with Spooky on Animaniacs pinball machine

Entities

DonpersonLukepersonJohnpersonStern PinballcompanySpooky PinballcompanyChicago Gaming CompanycompanyJersey Jack PinballcompanyE.T. the Extra-TerrestrialgameJumanjigame

Signals

  • ?

    product_launch: Predator pinball machine confirmed shipping with at least one unit on location in Australia

    high · Don: 'Guys, I think Predator is starting to actually ship. Somebody in Australia has a Predator on location now.'

  • ?

    event_signal: Pinball Expo expected in ~18 days with limited new playable games beyond Predator and potentially second Alice in Wonderland build

    high · Don: 'I know Expo's coming up in a couple of weeks now. I think we're 18 days away...I was hoping that there was going to be like five new games to play, right? Predator, but also...I don't know that we're going to get much new other than Predator'

  • ?

    product_concern: Concern over quality of code updates for classic game remakes, specifically mentioning Funhouse 2.0 and Whirlwind mode design

    medium · Don: 'I love the idea of making 2.0 codes for these older games...but you need to have somebody that knows how to write something interesting. Uh, because what what they did to Whirlwind is criminal.'

  • $

    market_signal: Star Wars theme sales driven primarily by IP recognition rather than gameplay quality compared to other titles like Venom

    medium · Don: 'I got to think that of the Star Wars sales that have happened, it's got to just be driven by the theme because I don't know. I've played it and like I think it's fun, you know, but so's Venom, right?'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Don articulates philosophy that remakes should be definitive versions using modern technology and code, praising Metallica as exemplary

    high · Don: 'The remake should be the the best version of the game. We have modern technology now...Metallica was perfect, man. You you took a game and you kept what worked...you completely fixed them.'

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

0:15
I love it. I'm here for the brocha show. Let's bring it in. What's up everybody? Hello. Happy Sunday. How you doing? Don here. Your homie, right? Your homie. Everybody else has shown up too. My wife is here. Luke is here. Kev shots. What's up? John's here. John's getting Evil Dead. That's awesome. What's up everybody? Welcome to Sunday. I'm going to Simocast this also on the uh the Spotify for everybody as well. But let's chat live here and do our little interactivity thing that we do. Welcome from the worldwide headquarters of Don's Pinball Podcast. There's a ton to talk about with what's going on within the scene. Also, thank you for the the bow tie shout out. I tie my own Right. I roll my own, buddy. It's Sunday. Oh, we gota The theme is Sunday best. The theme is pumpkins and Ugg boots. Fall is has has crept in on us and it's like fully established here. My cornfield's about to be harvested. The cornfield superighway to spooky pinball is on point. People are unboxing evil duds left and right with ner issue. ner appealing playfield, nar a ghosting insert, and hopefully actually some profits for spooky pinball given the build of materials they put in that thing. My god, John, it doesn't spin without a pumpkin spice white claw. So, anything can happen with the pumpkin spice and that deserves a sexy fix. Let's bring him in here for a second. Sexy fixtacular. All right, we're pinballing this week. I've been playing a lot of looting tunes. I've been playing some TCM. I followed the advice finally and took out the gate uh that's over the shooter lane. And my god, the game just like like comes alive then, you know, it's not like a terrifying drain to the right every time it goes down there. You can fight for your ball. Sounds like that's how the game was initially designed. I need some more clarification on why that couldn't be coded in because there is a switch down there above the auto launcher.
2:24
What would a Children of the Corn pinball machine even be? All right, let's go sideways into the cornfield. Here we are in cornfield cornfield season. Um, I have not seen any of the children of the corn films. I have watched the corn music videos. Um, I know there's children in corn. What even happens? Is it Field of Dreams but with a preschool? What's the Someone tell me the premise of the film. Who were the children? Was there Let's see. This was in the ' 80s, so it must have been a school bus accident where they overturned in a cornfield and then drowned mysteriously. And when they went to find the bodies, they weren't there because of something something uh portal opened up to the undead, pet cemetery, something like that.
Star Warsgame
Predatorgame
Evil Deadgame
Metallicagame
Alice in Wonderlandgame
Ravengame
Galactic Tank Forcegame
Big Bang Bargame
Funhousegame
Pinball Expoevent
David Fixperson
Keith Elwinperson
Robinperson
  • ?

    community_signal: Strong community interest in animated film/show IP for pinball (E.T., Jumanji, Animaniacs, Madagascar) with speculation on mechanics

    medium · Extensive discussion of E.T., Jumanji mechanics; Luke reportedly pitched Jumanji 50 times; Don requests Spooky work on Animaniacs

  • ?

    rumor_hype: Uncertainty about whether Big Bang Bar is an actual Stern/CGC project or just a product pitch, with skepticism about feasibility

    low · Don: 'I don't know if Big Bang Bar...I don't know if that was a project or that was just like a product pitch. I thought it was going away many times.'

  • ?

    product_concern: Positive signal on Spooky Pinball Evil Dead build quality with no reported playfield or insert defects and cost-effective materials

    high · Don: 'People are unboxing Evil Dead left and right with no issue, no appealing playfield, no ghosting insert, and hopefully actually some profits for Spooky Pinball given the build quality'

  • ?

    operational_signal: Guidance on reasonable powder coating costs ($200-250 full game, <$100 lockdown bar/armor) vs inflated prices; chrome customization expensive ($4,000+)

    high · Don detailed breakdown: 'if you find a powder coater that can do a whole game for around $200 or less...If they're talking like four or five, go find another place, man. Chrome is not cheap.'

  • ?

    content_signal: Don improving streaming infrastructure, planning dedicated studio space within 'couple months' with better lighting, equipment, and camera

    medium · Don: 'I've been wanting to do some studio space for about a year...I've got access to some a different space that we'll be talking about probably next week'

  • ?

    licensing_signal: Animaniacs believed to be Warner Bros. licensed IP that would require significant negotiation for Spooky Pinball to produce

    medium · Don: 'I believe they're a Warner license. Um, I hope it happens someday. Um, if you need help building it, we're right here.'

    • 3:09
    It's one thing to pitch just a general theme, but like how do you make that into a machine? How would you feel to dream with kids? Yeah. Uh sounds a little creepy. and and not like the cool kind of creepy. I I don't know how that would how that would manifest there. Um I'd rather have a corn pinball machine to be honest. Creepy Kids is all I remember. Exactly. Um yeah. What other cornfield or farm-based horror films would make for a good pinball machine? Uh Pet Cemetery happens adjacent to a farm and in a highway. Um, I don't know exactly how you would I know what it would look like and the playfield would be woods and then the pet cemetery would be in the back there. You'd have to have the highway. That would probably be the shooter lane. Um, but yeah, how do you recreate that film's opening in a way that just doesn't turn off the general public? Yeah, dude. I live in the Midwest. It's nothing but corn everywhere here. Corn fields, corny bow ties, corny podcasters. Freddy. Freddy. Oh, you redact. You can't retract a message. Sterling. What the hell? Um, Nightmare on Elm Street probably happened in a town with corn adjacent to it. Creep Show. Creep Show. The anthology horror series, which had Stephen King in a starring role in I think the second film where that meteorite asteroid lands from space and he gets all the goo over him and turns into Moss Man from Masters of the Universe. Remember that? That was Stephen King playing the farmer. Super cool. Speaking of uh his hometown somewhere in Maine, I was just in Somewhere in Maine. I took a trip from Bangor, Maine. I drove up north to the Canadian border and I swear I was driving through Sleepy Hollow. Um it was dusk, right? And I'm like in and out of the woods, winding two-lane road. All of a sudden, I I happened upon an Amish community. And here walking up this long gravel driveway to the main road to check their mail or check on their corn or something uh were these two women in like 1800's outfits and it was like it's fall in Maine so it's a little bit chill at night and they're wearing shawls over their heads and it looked like something straight out of um what is that uh Salem witch trials or something. What was that uh what was that book that we all had to read about that time? Someone remind me. It was like that like uh I expected one of them to be named uh well one of them had to be named Sarah Good because there's always that character um in those New England Salem witch films. Um and then someone else called like uh Goodie Patience or something or patience goodwill. Tenacious D. I've kind of slept on that whole thing. I'm aware I'm a fan of the Jack Blackerson um you know and I've caught him on MTV and stuff. I never like listened to an album or went to a show. Um, but I'm with you. That seems like high energy. It seems cool for pinball. I'd love to see more Jack Black projects make it into pinball machines. If we can have two two Michael Dorne machines currently in in my arcade even, we could have at least one Jack Black machine. Do you go Minecraft movie Jack Black? Do you go School of Rock? Do you go Nacho Libre? Do you go uh Kung Fu Panda? I think each one of those could work, but in remarkably different ways. Something I would like to see. I don't think we've seen a good uh animated film property um as a pinball machine. And it doesn't have to just be like a children's film. It could be something, you know, of a family universe. I'm thinking something DreamWorks. Madagascar was hilarious. Um, King Julian would be phenomenal. King Kong Jack Black would have worked. I still think Jumanji as a theme would work. We're seeing Jungle Pins make a resurgence with Kong, with Predator. Jumanji. Jumanji. You could even go with the the recent release, right? You had Jack Black, you had The Rock, um Kevin Smith even made a made a short appearance. Um, you could pick your character. They'd each have different attributes. And then you play within the world of Jumanji and then everything else is kind of just wide open. Jurassic Park we've seen. I mean, I want to go back to the days of Congo where I've got Was Congo a widebody? It almost felt like that if it wasn't, but the playfield had wire forms everywhere, vuck shooting all over, volcano to explore. I've pitched Jumanji like 50 times. Luke, I'm here for you, man. I will speak up for you and champion Jumanji as a film. Uh, which would make for a fun theme. Ready Player One. Who wants to Who wants to tackle the licensing for that? Who wants to see Ready Player One, but like without anything that you recognize? ET, while not in a jungle, takes place in the woods largely. Um, I think if you just take the first half of the ET adventure and the last little bit and just drop that into a pinball machine, I would play it. I think Raven got a bad rap. Like Raven not a great game, but isn't that an amazing theme? Like so obviously a gender swap of Rambo just circumventing all licensing. I'm here for it, man. I would love to see a modern take on Raven. In fact, I think if Predator was in if instead of Predator, I think if it was Raven, I think I'd probably order one. Like instead of that Predator figure bouncing up in the back, it's just Raven. [laughter] I think you could go and get a uh a musclebound um Ramboette lookalike actor and get all of have her re-record all of the Arnold scenes in a parody and just put that in there and I would play the hell out of that. Probably more than even some Predator. We have a Raven that rotates in and out. Oh, of your studio. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, this is such 80s cheese, man. Let's just embrace it. Let's champion Raven.
    9:23
    Luke, who is shooting you down with Jumanji? Was it And were you talking about recent Jumanji like rock mangji or are you talking about OG Robin Williams Jumanji or like just Jumanji as a theme and you take your own trip and you don't have any of the memorable actors because this is your trip through the world of Jumanji?
    9:49
    I think like I don't know if I'm in love with the concept of ET being a pinball machine or like what it would actually be. Like I don't know if it's actually a good theme or just something I just want to exist. Um I think we all need to sit down and watch that film again and then really start kind of brainstorming around what would that would be to see if it would work. Um, iconic moments for sure. And really, if you just kind of capture those things, um, it doesn't all have to be about, you know, like like one of the creepiest looking turd of an alien. It's like if you uh if you took the California raisins and made them from space. That's what ETSs looks like. His head looks like a ham.
    10:29
    But yeah, I think it'd be fun. I mean, as far as like world on adventure, modebased in the woods, um 80s nostalgia, the speak and spell hooked up to the metallic umbrella to make that radar dish. Let's survey the crowd. I mean, when you go to when I keep coming back to it, but when you go to Universal, it's one of the major themes that is still used for merchandise, uh for for licensing, for rides, for experiences. Um, I love walking into the queue of the ET adventure every single time. It never gets old. I'm in that pine forest. Botanicus is rising uh from the center there. ET, the green planet needs your healing touch. Like I love that animatronic every time.
    11:18
    Yeah. And then like you could have the phone home wizard mode. Um, you know, the topper has to be Elliot on the bike going across the front of the moon. Even though that wasn't actually in the film, they're kind of silhouetted against the sun when they're flying through the the thing, but in all the marketing materials and all everybody remembers is just ET going across the moon. All right, lightning. Lightning just struck my brain. Okay, here it is. Okay, we do ET, the adventure of the pinball machine. The video mode in ET has to be an homage back to the Atari game, but like in a way that's kind of more fun. I think that would that would be the perfect like kiss to this thing. Would the licensers want any reference to the Atari game at this point in 2025? Backlass with illusion that Elliot's riding the bike in front of the moon. I mean, yeah. Jeff made a good point the other day, Enzo. If JJP Avatar came out in the 90s and was called Blue Alien Dudes, it would have sold 8,000 units. What? What? ET The Extra Testicle. Great film. Yeah. Well, it'd be much better than Mac and Me. I remember seeing Mac and Me as a kid and like all the marketing was like, "Kids, Ronald McDonald is in this movie and he's in there for like three seconds making a little cameo." Like he didn't even want to be in the film.
    12:44
    Didn't Mac and Me have the scene where the kid in the wheelchair gets flung off a cliff?
    12:51
    That would be fun to throw that little little clip in there. They threw most of them away in a landfill. Well, I I think they kind of wanted it buried, but that would be fun when you're playing ET. Like imagine if you're just, you know, pinball fan. Like I'm general public, but I don't follow the heartbeat of the industry. And I go out to my arcade and it's like, "Hey, they got a new game. Oh my god, it's ET. I got to play this, man. And then you're playing it and then you trigger the video mode and all of a sudden on that screen you're playing the 2600 version, you know, with flipper buttons. I just think that would be super funny. And yeah, Reese's Pieces have to make an appearance.
    13:30
    Yeah. Not Skittles, dude. Come on. Remember, they couldn't get licensing with Eminem for that film, so they went with Reese's Pieces. And like that year, Reese's Pieces were like the number one candy. [laughter]
    13:46
    Oh man. But that'd be fun. just like a fun '8s romp in a in a in a widebody machine with like ramps to wire forms and you're just exploring the woods and then you're triggering modes and there's just a lot of things to shoot at a lot of different areas and regions and you can have like a slow rising uh ET out of a spaceship like when that's active and then everything can go dark with a starfield.
    14:17
    Yeah, Eminem's definitely got it handed to them for missing on that. Man, you don't pass on ET. You don't pass on Spielberg. You don't pass on Spielberg. How's my scene coming out? All right, we're good. I'm getting I don't want to jinx myself, but I'm getting better at the OBS studio for streaming. Do you guys like having the chat on the screen over here? Or I can just make myself bigger. I figured it'd be fun for people to just have this um you know, on the living room TV. You can go up and just kind of reference the chat that's right there.
    14:49
    The topper could be the speaker and say phone home. It'd be cool if there was a way to program in ET using your voice like at the end of the ET adventure. So the ET adventure is a dark ride at the Universal Studios Park. It was in Hollywood. It's at Orlando. Um, it was taken out of Hollywood like 10 years ago for a lackluster mummy coaster. The mummy coaster in Orlando is 10 times as good as the one in Hollywood is. Um, but the ET ride still exists at Universal Studios Florida and it still existed in Osaka, but I'm not sure if that's been replaced or not yet.
    15:28
    Perfect. Yeah. So, I'll I'll leave the chat window there. I think that works. I think this is plenty of me, right? And then we have the whole guy talking to a screen with pinball machines in the background aesthetic going on.
    15:44
    Chat good video needs more clarity. So yeah, I don't know if I'm limited by my camera, my settings, or if it's the network that I have or if it's the laptop that I'm using to wirelessly connect to the network. I need to have a uh an IT department. So, I'm I'm hiring for IT help.
    16:07
    I don't want to mess up this the stream by trying to mess with parameters while I'm streaming.
    16:14
    I need to talk to somebody that like streams game content in 4K.
    16:23
    I got I got light. Light is adequate. The ride was actually like a sequel about his planet and his family. Yeah, man. Okay, so that ride, especially the second half, like it starts off great. I love the first third of that ride, riding through the forest, um sitting on the bikes, inverted, um run away from the cops, really spooky, like you're right there and then it turns into Peter Pan for a little bit. Um when you're floating through kind of over the city and everything and that part's great and then you transport to his planet and then the whole thing turns into it's a small world. Ralph can help you. Ralph can do anything. Oh, thanks, man. So, man, are you watching on the TV or are you watching on your cell phone? Because probably cell phone this this comes across perfect. Um TV video might be a little grainy still. I'm using one of these Logitech um 1080p streaming cameras. It's USB though, so like maybe that's part of it. I think if I, you know, if I had a high-end laptop and I had a like a 4K camera and a HDMI connection, probably it would look a lot better. We'll get there. Um, I'm working on I've been wanting to do some studio space for about a year. Um, just kind of a dedicated sound room with like better lighting, better equipment, and I think over the next couple months, I'm finally going to get that studio built. Um, I've got access to some a different space that we'll be talking about probably next week. And with luck, I'll be streaming from the new location here soon. But yeah, what a great ride. Like, I never miss ET when I go to that park. I'm glad they still have it. Um, I know it's probably because they're just cheap and they don't want to replace the ride and I'm here for it because I don't want them to replace it either. But ET, I think would work. Jumanji I think would work. Guys, I think Predator is starting to actually ship. Somebody in Australia has a Predator on location now. This ride has to be at Expo. I've been disappointed. Um, I know Expo's coming up in a couple of weeks now. I think we're 18 days away. Um, so that's under three weeks. Gosh, it's going to be here before we know it. Um, and you know, I was hoping that there was going to be like five new games to play, right? Predator, but also, you know, we keep hearing Big Bang Bar. Um, whatever else Padre's working on, whatever else CGC is working on. Like, I was hoping for a lot, but I don't know that we're going to get much new other than Predator. I think this will be the second occurrence of Alice and Wonderland to be able to play it. Hopefully with some better code. Um, the other Alice and Wonderland Kickstarter project from Wonderland Pinball will probably be there. Not that that's incredibly exciting. Um, but I don't I don't think we're getting like Big Bang Bar if that's even a project. I don't know if that was a project or that was just like a product pitch.
    19:22
    I thought it was going away many times. Oh, the ride. Yeah. Expo is basically Christmas. Yeah. Um, you know, Walking Dead, I don't think we're going to see. Um, I don't think they're going to step on the toes of Star Wars. I got to think that of the Star Wars sales that have happened, it's got to just be driven by the theme because I don't know. I've played it and like I think it's fun, you know, but so's Venom, right?
    19:52
    Yeah. So, I'm a little fuzzy on TV. Yeah. So, it's got to be something between It's hard because it's camera, it's settings, it's uh bandwidth, it's this $100 laptop from Walmart.
    20:08
    Yeah, I don't know. Pretty I think still needs to develop. Somebody else said it like trust within the community because the only thing we've really seen from them is Funhouse, a game nobody was clamoring for was available cheaper and uh you know I didn't like how you have to switch between the 1.0 code and the 2.0 code by like you know if you put quarters in you can't and you switch you've lost your credits. They only exist on the other one. It's like you had to shut down the game and restart it in the new mode and then it wasn't that great. Um I love the idea of making 2.0 0 codes for these older games to like really add modern gameplay gameplay to them. Um, but you need to have somebody that knows how to write something interesting. Uh, because what what they did to whirlwind is criminal. Sooie and the granny's. What the hell was that mode? Grandmothers fighting sewer monsters. Um, yeah. I think when I was 11, I would come up with something like that or like if I was drunk, but you know, in the world of stormchasing, you couldn't come up with some more mad cap modes than than the uh the the scarecrow boys and whatever the pig races were and then Sooie and the Granny's. That just was the nail. And that's is a bad idea. Like for placeholders, I'm sure the modes are fine. You know, in this mode you have to shoot the standup targets. In this mode, you have to shoot the ramps. In this mode, you hit the pop bumpers and then hit this shot for a bonus. Like, that's fine. And those could have been placeholders, but like, you know, don't make that your final launch,
    21:43
    you know, tame the twisters or something or Carl the weatherman mode or something. Yeah. So, you know, for for to follow up that funhouse with something like Big Bang Bar, which is, you know, it's it's going to be a worse version of the game. The remake should be the the best version of the game. We have modern technology now, modern manufacturing, modern code, and gameplay concepts. Like, that's what we should see. Metallica was perfect, man. You you took a game and you kept what worked and the things that people had problems with, you completely fixed them. I hated the art on Metallica. The gameplay was fun. I really like the features of the LE when you could find one, but it cost too much to buy and I hated that art style. Subjective. I didn't like it. The I couldn't have asked for better art style for Metallica Remastered. What they did um they took The great thing is they didn't go back to like old Metallica. They took like Metallica now and put them out there in this great stylized black and white format that just worked. God, I loved it. Um, you know, so you know, you could with the Valley Williams games though, making those, um, yeah, keep it original and you could also have an option for the Brian Allen art. I think that's fine. But like this should be the ultimate edition of Big Bang Bar, right? with all issues addressed and fixed. I just don't know that there's there's only so high you can soar with that game. Um, we all know the game is expensive because it's rare. It's it plays okay for it was fine for the time. It's a little weird um of a concept. Um, really overtly sexualized, which is fine. Um, but likeh I don't know. I can't really get excited about it. It did play better than Strange Science, which is probably one of my least favorite games to play.
    23:45
    I get it. For people that like the Dirty Donnie art thing, that's fine. It's fine. It just wasn't my favorite and it was like, you know, for the cost of what it was going to cost to get the game. Um, and then that art I wasn't really into. So, like there was just other better options for me. So, I never got an OG Metallica. Fixed Bang Bar. Fix Bang Bar. I mean, the Fixulator is really sexy Fix. All right. If if if Fix was the D alien dancer on the pole, I think I'd be more interested in that game. I don't think anybody else could complain about that. I want to get I want to make I want to elevate David Fix into like manifest him within a pinball machine. I want to play Fix's barbecue challenge. I don't want to play Barry Os. I want to play David Fix's barbecue challenge. Rethe that, relaunch it, repackage it, have it come with the hat. And uh and I would consider it. Also, move the spinners somewhere else. Maybe maybe don't put the spinners on the upward part of the ramp and wire form. Maybe put them, you know, after 50% so at least the ball has made it before it hits the spinners. >> [laughter]
    25:02
    [laughter]
    25:02
    [laughter] >> Uh, all new dialogue recorded by David
    25:05
    Uh, all new dialogue recorded by David
    25:05
    Uh, all new dialogue recorded by David Fix. Real footage of him barbecuing in the back in the backyard. That could be on the screen. Um, really, you know, celebrate the man that made American Pinball. That's what I want to see. Oh, alternate art on the cabinet, man. Galactic Tank Fix. So look at Bang Bang Bar's layout and then look at Galactic Tank Force and tell me there's not uh like wholesale thievery that has gone on inspiration pinsspiration. But going back now with what I know and what we've seen, I think you can draw some pins inspiration links between Galactic Tank Force going back to Big Bang Bar. It's just somewhere it went sideways with the silliness and uh Professor Plotnik, which is I think he's probably the character in Pinball I hate the most. I I know people like the cringe and the cheesiness of it, but something about Plot Nick, it's like he is my arch nemesis. Um just just salt Peter for the pinball enthusiasm I have. Can't get around that. I can deal with Annoya. Um, I love Captain Cayenne. I don't even mind the the guy with the big face, but um, yeah, the the the PlotNet guy just kills it for me, dude. I don't even want to lock balls and go to his lab just because I don't want him popping up on screen. Is that weird? Am I being too harsh on GTF? I know Enzo loves it. Enzo, when you go to bed at night, do you fold down the top into the tank and like tap it on the head and then go off to bed securing the fact that you know that the uh the tank is protecting your game room.
    27:00
    So, Star Wars. Um, I've ordered a premium. I've got some better armor coming. Uh, I just got the concepts back. Yeah, I mean, look at it. Uh, I just got the concepts back from the armor that I'm working with CAB custom designing. Uh, we're not doing the whole laser cutout. Uh, so we can show an ADA at sticker on the armor. We're not doing that. I'm thinking I'm doing a Death Star with a laser that's shooting up the side of the cabinet and that's going to be the armor. Um, I think that works so much better theme-wise. Um, a big focal point of the films and of the game is the Death Star and that laser. It's a planet destroyer. And so when I'm looking at the premium and I'm seeing the bestin battle between Luke and and Darth Vader and I'm looking at uh the other the Han being frozen and carbonite like it's all Empire Strikes Back. Empire Strikes Back was the film that didn't have the Death Star in it, but I'm putting it on there on the armor and I'm thinking like some kind of galaxy sparkle that's on it and just that green laser firing up with a silver Death Star. I think it's going to be fire. So, color. I I think black would work with this one. Um, I know people are more fans of the color. The customer is more fan of color. So, I'm looking at some other things I can do. Uh, there is a new color I've been dying to try out. It's a color shifting powder coat. It's called Galaxy from Prismatic Powder, and it looks like black, but then with light, you see the shimmer of rainbow that runs along the armor. Um, and it's called Galaxy, so that kind of works. I was going to use it on uh Star Trek Next Generation for sale, by the way. If you need a Star Trek the Next Generation, get at me. Um, I've got one. I was going to do 6,000 or best offer. Um, for for anybody who is in in earshot of this, just knock 500 bucks off. I've got uh a color DMD that's in it, and I'm working on a board cube over the uh the left vuck. That's going to be cool. So, burnt orange. So I was thinking of doing like a Vader Rage, right? And so maybe like maybe like a black with a sparkle red clear coat over the top of it. So it's got a base of a black that's covered with like a reflective metal flake that's red. Pinky in the Brain would be good. I know you know I know you think that mod. I know. I would love it. I would love Animaniacs, too. Um, we tell Spooky multiple times per year. Please get Animaniacs. Um, I believe they're a Warner license. Um, I hope it happens someday. Um, if you need help building it, we're right here. I would love to help. I would love to be able to work developing pinball machines. Can you imagine? I don't know what's involved. I'm sure it's a ton of work, but how fun would that be to be like, "No, we need another element in here.
    30:06
    Oh, I mean, obviously chrome is fantastic on any pinball machine. It costs so much damn money. I think I saw a machine that had $4,000 of chrome on it. Coin door, legs, everything. Chrome is not cheap. Powder coating dirt cheap. I mean, there's no excuse not to powder coat a game. Like, if you got a game and you even care about it somewhat, rip that armor off. take it to the local powder coater, get it done, and throw it back on. It just elevates everything and makes it feel like a more complete, unique, custom to you kind of game. But yeah, Chrome, the fingerprints are a problem. And it is expensive. But if you want it to shine up and look like a showroom game, Chrome is the way to go, man. But yeah, not cheap. Not cheap. Not cheap. I looked at doing gold chrome for Harry Potter if I bought one of the lower tiers and just forget it. Forget it. There's no way it's worth it. It's cheaper to buy the uh the collector's edition if that's really what you want. Oh man, it was it was a couple thousand dollars to get it done. Ridiculous. Spooky Do Pinky the Brain or Dexter's Laboratory? Like Like I was around when Dexter's Laboratory was on and I never thought it was like great. I never really like courage a cowardly dog either.
    31:29
    So, that's the other thing. Um, you know, if you find a powder coater that can do a whole game for around $200 or less, that's the place to go to. If they're talking like four or five, go find another place, man. It just it should not cost that much. And I'm talking full game. Like, you break down the coin door, you bring in the cash box lid. Um, the coin door is aluminum and uh steel, so you have to take it apart. It's got to be done two separate uh pieces put back together. I'm talking about legs, bolts, uh hinges, you know. I mean, if nothing else, just take the lock down bar and the armor in and that will elevate your game just that alone and that should be under 100 bucks. Um, but if you want to bring in the legs and the hinges and like rip ramps out and stuff, you should be able to do everything for around 200 or 250 if you're including ramps and everything. I've seen people take the service rails off and get those powder coated. That to me is nuts. But I do take my cashbox lids in all the time when I do it. And usually they don't even charge me for that. I just throw it in the box with everything else. They spray it. I've been powder coating bolts in my house with just a heat gun. Dude, that's awesome. Yeah. So, small parts you can get a little oven. Um, but you've been able to do with a heat gun. That's cool. I haven't thought of that. I have thought about getting my own powder coating studio. Um, what was limiting me was the air compressor I needed because you can't just get like Harbor Freight, you know, $200 air compressor. You want something with like, you know, tons of cubic feet per minute.
    33:10
    Just do rail legs lockown bar was 5 to a,000. Kevin. Kevin, my dude, you could ship them to me and I can take them to my local guy and ship them back to you for less than half that cost. Rails, legs, lockdown bar, 500 to a,000. Get out of here, man. Do not do that. Courage, Dexter, Jimmy Neutron. I hate all those. Spongebob I love and I will support.
    33:49
    Damn dog, make me look bad. I don't. Courage just seems like a one-off joke.
    33:57
    Like I don't get it. It's like Eek the cat. Eek the cat. Dexter. Like what would you do? It's Dexter and Dee. It's like one joke over and over.
    34:11
    Jimmy Neutron is just weird, but maybe because I was a little bit older, so that seemed like it was more toddler stuff. I don't like Jimmy Neutron. I would rather do Phineas and Ferb if I was going to do like a science-based kids cartoon. Um, I'd even do like Code Name Kid Next Door better than that.
    34:33
    Spongebob, though, I don't know that there's anybody that wouldn't love that. I mean, talk about it's been going strong for decades. I mean, there's multiple generations of people that like grew up with Spongebob and then now are watching it with their kids. And like, it's still funny. It's still stupid. God, I love it. Plankton is over the top. He's like this diabolical madman that is literally a single cell. And so, he's so dimminative. And then he's got that AI assistant that like sounds super hot. And then his whole mission in life is to steal a recipe for a hamburger. It's just great. It's it's ridiculous. And he he's he's done so serious. I will follow up the uh suggestion here from DJR. By the way, I am on it. Fraggle Rock. Hell yeah. And I will just say kind of anything Jim Henson. I would play a Sesame Street pinball machine.
    35:31
    You just didn't watch enough cartoons probably. I mean, would I play it? Yeah. Would I buy it? Probably. So, I guess if you're just looking at new inbox purchases, then yeah. I mean, Luke, if all you care about is a successful business that's satisfying customers, then fine. Those are great themes. But what about what about manchilds on the internet? But dude, Fraggle Rock, come on. Come on. Gobo, Uncle Traveling, Matt, the different little scenes you can pull from the show. The gourds. Look, I got a Fraggle. It's It's fun, man. Doozers. The wire forms could be like doozers. And then like the gourds can collapse them and we could do the whole collapsing wire form thing, but like better than X-Men did it. Dinosaurs would be fun. Um, like half of the Muppet movies would work. Muppet Treasure Island. Um, Muppets Take Manhattan. Uh, Muppet Family Christmas. Yeah, if you haven't, please go watch Muppet Family Christmas. We're heading into Christmas season. Track it down. Not Muppets Christmas Carol, although that's good, too. But Muppets Family Christmas was a made for TV show. Um, it's got a cameo with Jim Hansen at the very end. It was like the last thing he did before he died. It's It's phenomenal and it's got every character. Um, it's mainly Muppets, but they also have uh cameos from the Sesame Street gang. Fraggles are in it. It just keeps getting better. There's a recurring joke about an icy patch. It's awesome. It's about everybody trying to get to Fuzzy Bear's mother's house for a downhome family Christmas, right? and there's bad weather and Miss Piggy's out there trying to make it and Bedum is happening and it's just nuts and I love it so much. I think it's my favorite piece of Jim Henson Company material.
    37:31
    Luke, why are you making it about you? It's about me and my manchild wishes.
    37:39
    I'm surprised Garfield or Snoopy has never been made. Um, yeah. And and these seem to be licensable things because there's there's merchandise everywhere. I love Land of the Lost, but it would make no money. Sle Stacks. I love me some Sle Stacks. Monica wants a Snoopy game. I mean, Peanuts. I want like all these character franchise. I know this would be terrible to try to license, but all these character franchises just like come together, you know? Because can you imagine like Simpsons and Peanuts in the same game? And I know you guys have thought of this, I'm sure, but you know, you did Jetsons. I would love Flintstones. Like OG Flintstones, like black and white, Fred and Barney smoking Winston's behind the house.
    38:31
    Mr. Slate gets mad and he throws a fit. Pull the bird's tail. Everybody know it's time to quit. Oh, finally we got their little house in the prairie. I mean, the theme we have all been clamoring for. [laughter] Allan, get out of here with Little House on the Prairie. I have a friend that's obsessed with Laura Engles and like filming locations and and still goes to there's a convention every year for Little House on the Prairie that you can go to and like meet some people from the the show is wild. It's wild. What's out there? Saturday morning cartoons. Pinball machine be epic but impossible. Yeah. Unless Unless you're doing homebrew.
    39:23
    All right. So, the Flintstones movie. Not a bad film. The first one anyway. Um, the game I we've secretly as a family have always kind of wanted to get one. I've seen them come by for like4500 and I haven't I haven't jumped on it, but like even though it's an older game, I think that would be a fun one to have and it would be fun to take that Flintstones game that came out, keep what works, re kind of remaster it, and then release it with the cartoon overlay.
    39:59
    I think I think that would be fun. And this I mean this isn't the first time I've seen Wacky Races come up either. Uh, I think there's a lot of legs with Hannah Barbara. Um, I would play a Yogi Bear game to be honest. But yeah, I I I still to this day like I really love the Flintstones pinball machine. I'm going to jump on Pinside and see how much they're going for. Um, I would like to see like that game kind of somewhat remastered. Take what works. I love that wire form across the apron. You'd have to keep that maybe just like as an homage instead of like a true remake. But I liked how the Flintstones village was back there in the corner. I like that there was a bowling mechanism. I like that there was a uh a dinosaur head coming down. Pinside Flintstones. What are they going for you guys? If I see one for 3500, I'm I'm pulling out the credit card. 1994. So the year after Star Trek the Next Generation available 5,500 offer right now. What do we got for pricewise? How many are listed? One is listed 4850 or best offer Monroe, North Carolina. I'm looking at it. Man, this guy did not wipe off his camera lens when he took these photos. It looks like It looks like this pinball machine is in the shower with him. No color DMD. Um, cabinet looks I'm trying to get a picture load. I mean, cabinet looks decent. I can't tell the playfield, though. It's It's again, he took this photo inside of a humid shower and it looks like it's sitting in his living room next to another game. 100% new rubbers. Oh, okay. Game is works 100% new rubbers balls. Sign on game is broken. Have replacement included. Oh, okay. Like a plastic. This is written really weird with trade machine plus cash. I'm looking for newer games. anything Jersey Jack. Okay, great. Yeah, good luck with that. Uh he's in Rock Hill, North Carolina. 4850 seems a little much, but again, there's only one listed.
    42:09
    Uh what do we got? What do we got here? What do we got? Um where's the price average? Price averages median price 4700, average price 45 based on 15 game sales. Yeah. And price has been flat for about a year or so. So, I don't know. It's a fun game, but like I'd be buying a game from the '9s. That's the other part of it. It's going to smell like a grandma's closet.
    42:39
    My local arcade just paid 3500 for a really nice one. That's pretty good. Yeah, I dig that.
    42:49
    I dig that. Um, yeah. So, like just if I walked up to a spooky pinball Flintstones machine, I know I wouldn't have a shooter rod, which I'd be sad about, but I could launch the ball into a game and play the Flintstones. If I could just see the Flintstone village recreated, right? They're little houses, a big dinosaur head. I really want that wire form that comes around the apron. Um, other than that, go nuts with it. But it'd be fun if there was some little like throwbacks to that original 1994 Flintstones game. Um, but all done in the cartoon style with several of the first seasons.
    43:27
    I would like it. Am I the only I can't be the only one. The movie theme ruins it. I have the VPX version. Uses the cartoon images better. Oh, interesting. Interesting. If it's written weird, it could be a scam. I think it's just Yeah, I don't think it's a scam. I mean, scammers don't use uh Pinside. They use Facebook Marketplace and Venmo or Bitcoin.
    43:56
    Fun game. How long have we been going for? 45 minutes. Geez, guys. I haven't even done the Around the Horn Pinball Company tearown yet. Um, would a Hitchcock movie like Psycho work in today's age? So, what would it be? You'd have to walk up and see two things right off the bat. Two weenies would have to be in the game. Um, the uh the mansion on the hill, the psycho house, and then the Bates Motel. And then it would play like maybe a little bit like TCM where you could play out different different scenes from the film like shower scene, you know, but how would you code a shower scene? Would you have to like build up for a jackpot to like finally murder the lady? Is each shot like another stab wound? Um, you know, how do you work that? Uh, the wizard mode would have to be, you know, mother's apartment.
    44:57
    I think Hitchcock I don't know. Or would you do like a Hitchcock anthology game where you could have the birds and uh um Vertigo and Psycho probably some others and just like have like the psycho house in there, the Birds area, some Bates Motel, like just like his greatest hits and you walk up to it and it's all kind of like black and white vibe but like with flashes of color, you know, like when there's a kill there's like a flash of said
    45:31
    like it would be an interesting take on a game. You'd have to see like if you could just license like here's here's this whole companion of every film and you have full assets go nuts. I I think you could get creative in that. Um but I think it would be a harder sell than something like just oh it's Flintstones. I kind of know what I'm getting. I know this theme. Let's just walk right into it. I'd like to see another crack at Halloween to be honest. something from Jules Vern Journey to the Center of the Earth. But then you're talking about those those films are probably or those those books are public domain. So, you know, I would expect it to be like a Houdini where, you know, it it's public domain. There's no licensing cost. You just take the book and uh you make some I don't know modes around tunneling and oh that that's collapsing and oh we found the the underground uh ocean. It could be done but I don't think you'd be looking at releasing your AAA title for the year. I think that would be like you know we're a company that also produces pinball. Here's one of our machines. It's a lower price budget title. So yeah, I think it could be done. Um maybe the people that are working on I mean Betronic could do something like that like instead of another Super Hoop type game. Can Spooky at least do Back to the Future Part Three. People say that's the worst film. Um and I guess maybe that's true, but I think they're all really good. I like that the whole thing where he took the took the moniker of Clint Eastwood and like his uh his western themed shirt had like Adams on it and then Zezy Top was doing music for it. Was it Butch Buchanan?
    47:26
    Oh, right. Right. We did get a new game release or reveal at least theme reveal uh for Lost in Space and I'm casually interested although I've seen a couple other games or playfield pictures of games at this company. What is what are they called? Uh like like it's like Vertigo games or something in Australia and and they seem like you know okay titles. I I think a theme like Journey to the Center of the Earth or some of these other ones would be perfect for a company like that. Buford. Yeah, that was it. Um, but so I want to see this Lost in Space game. I'm not expecting Buford Mad Dog Tannon. I think that was his name, right?
    48:11
    Um, I'm not expecting it to be like earthshattering or something, but I mean, hey, if they're making games in Australia, not scamming people, Vector Pinball, thank you, Shane. Not scamming people and getting them out, I I think that's fine. I would play it. Um, I'd like to see what they could do with the theme. I think it could be fun.
    48:37
    Nightmare on Elm Street would be awesome from Spooky, but better get rights to Robert England. We don't need another Predator with a Headless Freddy. Dear Lord. Um,
    48:49
    yeah. I just want a I want a pinball machine that can easily create a themed out environment to go play in um with some little buildings and some locations and so you can when you're playing it, you're playing in specific little areas of the game and their own their own little themed self-contained areas. I dig that. Um I like games that use an upper playfield like that. Um Foo Fighters did good when you shoot up there and you're like, "Okay, now I'm Area 51. I'm gonna focus up there." Uh, Evil Dead did it great with their lower play field. Like, you walk up the game, you're like, "How do I get down there?" And then when you get down there, it's actually fun to play down there. You know, you can hit that looping shot, you can repeat it, and then when the ball's coming down, it bounces off that rubber. You can capture it back on the flipper. You can cradle. Um, you can aim for standup targets, you can fire the ball straight back up where it came from. Like, there's, you know, you don't have to have a ton of shots down there, but just some fun mechanisms. two stand up targets, a repeatable looping orbit, and that little tiny rubber that just allows you to get the ball back under control again and actually accomplish things down there and not feel like you're just hamfisting it. Um, I dig it. When you look at Congo, you're really just kind of like mashing buttons, making monkey move, and like that's all it's down there. But I think what Evil Dead did with the lower playfield with a full-size pinball is so much better than what we've seen with the the mini playfields before. Like if you're looking at monsters in its mini playfield, like I've learned the shots that are down there and what you're supposed to do, but it's not Spooky could rethink Domino's as Little Caesars. Stop it. I would buy it. Um the little mini balls I don't like. Um the tiny ball on Avatar wasn't as fun as just a fullsize pinball would have been because I know the physics and the feel off of a mini flipper of a fullsize pinball. That's what I want. I don't like these little mini balls. It makes it feel like a little shaker game you got out of a gumball machine. Um, I don't like it there. I don't like it on Family Guy or the Hangover or Shrek because it just feels like I'm just flipping and let's see what happens. I want I want some control. So, when I'm up there, I'm playing it. Um, Spooky Pinball made a game, two games, uh, called Halloween and Ultram Man, um, which were derided for the lack of, you know, interesting shots that were on it. But that upper upper most playfield with the two spinners and the little pretzel shot when you it's got a little rubber on it too. And if you you nudge the game right, you can bounce the ball back to your flipper. And then when you fire it through that top spinner and keep the flipper up and it bounces through the other one and then back to your flipper, that's some fun control. It's kind of the only shot that's up there off the very tip of the the the flipper you can get the drop target and then shoot across to the the balcony or whatever. Um, but like that was satisfying. That flow that was in there, that's fun to play it play in. When I'm up there, I like being up there and when my ball drains out, I want to get back up there. So, I like that. So, games that have little areas like that. Scooby-Doo had had the biggest upper playfield area to play in. Like, you could play almost the entire game just up there. Um, I'm not saying like every game needs that, but it was fun. That's my my my favorite part of Scooby-Doo is that. Um, so yeah. So, a game that has a building, a cabin, you know, a forest, somewhere I can go up and and control some shots in and not just a pop bumper area. Remaster monsters. Listen, when I was calling for Black Knight Sord Rage to get remade, um, I was right. Um, just do the Pro because there weren't many available and they were all going for higher prices and they were selling quick. There was demand. They remade Black Knight sort of Rage and it did well on remake. At the same time, I also called out Monsters as a game that I think needed to be remade and not because I think it's the best pinball layout ever made, but because when you went to look for them, because I was looking I was I was wanting to get one as a counterpart to Alvara and I was finding the game that was priced at top of market for for other similar games even though it didn't have the complexity that they had. and it still goes for some money. You know, compared to other used games, Spike 2 of that era, it's still kind of on the higher end. So, I don't know if it necessarily needs to be remastered, but I think it should have been at least remade. And I'm I'm surprised they haven't done that.
    53:17
    I mean, I would like to see I would like to see Halloween made. I'd like to see what kind of Halloween game Spooky Pinball would make if they were doing that license now. with all the improvements that we've seen and what's forthcoming, I'd like to see what if those boys tackled that license now, what it would look like. Maybe we can do that as a fun brainstorming session. Um maybe that would be fun for like bug to live stream just like sit down and do like if you were to design Halloween today, what kind of what would it look like? What would it include?
    53:56
    Yeah, Monsters is fun. Um, every time I have a session down here, I put a couple games on it and sometimes I get locked into it and I'll play for an hour or so, just trying to get to the um the little the mini wizard mode that's in it because it's super fun collecting the characters. I love the theme, so that helps out a lot. Um, I'm finding the ramps a little easier now. Uh, you know, I'm able to hit them a little bit more consistently. Uh, so I'm appreciating that game for what it is. So, I have some I have some hope for Star Wars because I think Star Wars and Monsters seem to have about the same scope. Star Wars has I think more shots in it, but it's missing things like that little side shot where uh you go into Grandpa's Dragula and and take off. Like, it doesn't really have that. Um, but it does have the pop bumpers instead of the paddle targets. So, I think scope-wise Star Wars is on par with Monsters. They're both Borgs. That makes sense. Monsters goes for 10k to 14k Australian. Oh, Rob Zombie version of Halloween. You mean like take Rob Zombie's layout and drop Halloween on it or like Rob Zombie doing the Halloween movie and do that? I'm here for it. Um, but Monsters Premium Black and White, I think it's the best art package. I'm looking at doing a mirrored back glass in black and white for it. Um, and I'll probably be doing that in the next couple months. I'll begin ordering for it because I'm excited about it. I do want to take a moment and talk about Expo. Uh, I spoke with Rob Burke, uh, the mastermind, the maestro behind Expo. I recorded an interview with him. I'll be dropping that in the next podcast episode, which hopefully I can record today, um, and get that out there. Um, that's coming up. I want to say that, uh, the topper contest is coming. Um, it's a homebrew topper contest. It's going to be at Expo. I've got a booth. All you have to do is take your homemade homebrew topper, bring it on in and enter it for free. We'll put it on the shelf there and let people vote. Uh, most votes wins grand prize and then we'll go right down the list on votes that people get. Uh, every member of the public is able to vote for once. They'll be get a ticket when they pick up their registration packet. Um, so, uh, you got a chance to win something. I've got top prizes include Stern Pinball has donated an Iron Maiden topper, not the uh Egypt one, the other one. So, thank you so much for that, Stern Pinball. A cool bunch of guys over there. Um the Electric Playground has donated a Kong Topper as well. So, I think the way it's going to work is we'll we'll pick the top choice winner, uh the top vote getter, and we'll let them choose which prize they want, and then we'll go down the list. The next vote getter can pick from what's left. Um, we also have the cabinet leg bag. Cabinet leg protector bag uh from uh uh missing pin. Uh they've donated that. That is of course the bag you use to move your machines around. You put the legs in it. It protects the powder coating. U makes it easy rather than just wrapping them in a blanket and worried about them sliding out. Uh I've got one. It works great. They've donated one of those. Mad Pinball's donated some prizes. I'm still soliciting prizes from other other companies. Um, and I also have a stack of Playfields and some Scooby-Doo Playfields courtesy of Spooky Pinball to give away. So, there's a very good chance that you can win something. I've had other mod makers that have donated mods as well. So, it's going to be like going to the dentist office. And if you're the lucky vote getter, you get to go to the treasure chest and pick a prize. And we'll just keep going down the list till all the prizes are gone. Um, uh, I got to get some trophies made up and then I don't know if we'll do ribbons or maybe I'll 3D print something, but a good chance to win something if you enter. It's free to enter. So, Jorge, how you doing? Yeah, just waking up you you West Coaster. You you you mountain time zone person. Uh, but it's been super fun and I don't want to have to take these playfields and toppers home. So, somebody please enter this contest. It's going to be super fun. And it doesn't have to be just just put something together and bring it in. It's going to be fun. I'm bringing a couple of my toppers that I've made. Probably my X-Men topper and my Kong Topper for now. I'll see what else I can get made by the time we get there. But yeah, man. I got a new D and D topper I'm working on. You can see it right over here. Dungeon wall with some light up torches and some other light up elements. Giant skull in the middle. Uh I don't know. Just something I dreamt up. Um I'll probably bring that one, too. We'll show it off. It's going to be fun. Um, I'm entering to get votes as well, but I'm not taking prizes. So, if I suck up all the votes, it'll give you a much better chance to win something because I can't actually get a prize because I'm giving away the prizes. Play Evil Dead till 1:00 a.m. Oh, man. Oh, you're Pacific time zone. Oh, that's right. That's right. Uh, Nevada. Okay. Um,
    58:49
    any suggestions how to bring the topper on the plane? See if you can disassemble. Um that might and then you can reassemble uh on site. Uh otherwise uh checked baggage, man. Just pack all your underwear around it. But bring it in. Good chance to win something cool. Um you know, and and figure out how you're going to get the prize home because I'm not mailing prizes. You need to take the thing with you and you might have to carry on a a Iron Maiden topper and throw it over your shoulder.
    59:21
    But it's going to be fun. and I want to get that out. So, I'm going to drop the Rob Burke interview. Uh, we talked kind of about everything. Oh, homebrew area. Uh, Mothership is coming back. This is the game that's like four times the size of Hercules that Rob Burke and uh Ernie Silverberg have been working on. Um, it'll be playable this year with a multiball. This, you can barely reach the flippers on this game. It's so wide. Um, but it's it was a it was demonstration last year. this year. They're telling me it's actually playable. So, holy crap, man. Expo's gonna be wild. It's in like two and a half weeks. I think they're gonna start setting up for it soon. I'm excited. I'm excited to get there. Uh Star Wars, the Ellies are going out on locations. It's in Madison. I should probably run down to Madison today and go play it. Um it's at Kickback Cafe. Otherwise, I'll be getting my premium soon. Moon Cab Custom is doing custom armor with Death Star and lasers. Freaking lasers. I'm excited. Oh, one thing that we did get from the talk with Rob Burke. He may have mentioned this in laser kit as well. Marco is doing a supermarket at Expo where they're going through all of their old stock of just surplus parts and they're going to have a ton of stuff there. So, you can just go through with a cart and just grab, you know, random wire forms and stuff and go home and play with them. It's going to be nuts. Um, I want to hit that early and just raid it for weird stuff that I can use to make things at home. Uh, so that's going to be fun. X's going to be nuts the whole time. Um, who's the guy that did Toy Story 4? Pat Lawler. He's doing like um a seminar that's going to be his like capstone to his career that's going to be there. Um, Sterling, have you been able to play Star Wars yet? You're delivering an LE tomorrow.
    61:18
    Yeah, play it. I'm surprised that that people are liking this game as much as they are. When I saw it, of course, in my head, I'd built up like we're going to go to Endor and Battle in the Woods and there's going to be collapsing mechanisms and it's going to be like they're going to do something like Godzilla but with Star Wars and then it was like monsters but Star Wars. So, I was a little disappointed, but for the most part, I'm seeing people that are like, well, while while they agree that the sculpts um are a little lackluster, people seem to be really excited about the game. And so, I'm excited that they're excited. I got a premium coming. I'm going to play the hell out of it for about three months and then we'll see what happens. But, I'm going to make the thing over. I can't wait to see the Joe Camo Data East seminar. Yeah, that's another highlight. I don't really do the seminars when I go. Um, I I hit the show floor and I just lose all track of time. Plus, professionally, I go to these conferences where they're regimented where we have to be at certain places at certain times. We have to present and all this stuff. So, being able to go to a convention that's something that I really like and not have to worry about a schedule is part of the fun. So, but part of that means that I miss out on seminars like they happen and I hear about them later. So, I'll try to make it a point to follow the schedule. I will have a booth there, but it's for the contest. Um, so I'm not going to be chained to a booth because that just wouldn't work. Um, but yeah, I want to go see that. And, uh, Franchie is doing something. I want to watch that. Uh, the missing pin is doing a whole thing because they have a new cabinet wrap for the back box to again help your machine travel. So, they'll be doing a demo of that. So, I gotta support my guys.
    63:00
    Yeah. So, I'm gonna have to I'm gonna have a phone full of reminders and I'm I'm gonna be playing Predator and I'm totally going to forget or I'm going to be like three deep in a line playing ABBA. I heard the ability to control the Yoda magnet in Star Wars Follow the Empire is really neat. Neat. Okay. Um I can't tell you. I I've played the game, but I have never been able to get the magnet to work. So, I'm hoping that that's just a a little learning problem. I have a little learning curve. I won't be there, but I'll be watching seminars on YouTube. Sweet. Um, I'm going to be there every single day just running from machine to machine and having a good time and hang out at the poor man's pinball booth and my own damn booth. Um, would you guys be interested in uh buying t-shirts? because I can bring my t-shirt printer and then you can pick your design, pick your shirt, we can make it right there. I'm just wondering if it's worthwhile bringing all that stuff. Let me know. Don spinballodcast@gmail.com. If you're listening later on, uh, let me know because I can bring it. Um, and I think it would be fun to do t-shirts where you can pick like what logos you want and where and we can just put them on for you and then you get your custom shirt. Um, but um, if I can devote that space to something else, I'll probably do that, too. Guys, I'm going to bring a ton of prizes. If you need a Star Trek the Next Generation, I've got one that's been gone over. It's playing great. It's got a color DMD. I'm making a Borg mod for it. Um, and I'll get it to you at market price. Uh, probably a little bit under. And I can ship.
    64:42
    And, uh, this was passed on to me by Mad Pinball, so I thought I'd help him out in this market in the Midwest. Um, I can do local delivery as well and setup. Um, and it's a heavy game. So, that's that's worth 500 bucks right there. Fun game. I would love to see, and this is just me personally. Oh, messing with my microphone. I would love to see Star Trek: The Next Generation revisited as a theme, as a modern pin that doesn't smell like a grandma's closet. Um, and doesn't have, you know, [snorts] has like fleshed out modes. Like, this game's got about seven modes in it. Uh, they're all 90s modes. They play for about 30 seconds or so, similar to kind of Tales from the Crypt, how that plays, which is fine. The call outs are phenomenal. We don't we don't get call outs like this anymore. Um there's custom stuff from like all the cast members, but I'd like to see it redone um with modern, deeper modes u and modern gameplay. I don't know that a a major pinball studio would make this game though. They would probably want to do a recent movie. Um, I don't know who owns the next generation license. I don't know if they're interested in licensing that theme. They'd probably want to license like a more recent Star Trek, like a Discovery or something, but I love TNG and I would love to see it done again. And damn it, if I have to home brew it, I will. But gosh, I'd really like to see another professional one done. What do you guys think? Give me some final thoughts here. I got to go get some food.
    66:13
    I got Terminator 2 recently and it definitely smelled like grandma's closet, but thankfully my Tales of the Crypt didn't smell. I mean, they're wooden cabinets from the 90s, so you know, it's it's not bad. It's just you can tell it it smells like an old piece of furniture.
    66:37
    It's been fun having these older games. Um, I had Wipeout, had Tales from the Crypt. Um, got Star Trek Now. They're fun. I still appreciate the newer ones. Where I guess all these smelly games. You know, part of it is is these games have lived in, you know, someone's basement for decades by this point. And then they're like, we're we're rediscovering them now. Um, I've got a 1970s got um that literally was in a grandma's basement for 30 years. for 40 fif2 till now. It's like 50 years. Yeah. It spent its first year at a at a pub in Milwaukee. And then since then, that first year, some lady in my town bought it and it was in her basement for five decades. And I don't know that they took the glass off. I know that the rubbers uh I don't think they were rubber anymore. They were petrified. I actually had some of them I had to cut off and they they crumbled like a piece of PEZ or like it was cutting a tablet. So once I replaced the rubbers that game came alive and the ball actually bounces around. I put new glass on it, replace the plastics and the lights and now it's like it's like perfectly restored. It's awesome.
    67:54
    Uh all right, so I got a Star Trek Next Generation for sale. Uh Star Wars is coming in. We talked about Expo. I think that's about it for now. Big Bang Bar, is it happening? Is it not? I have no idea. Uh, but this was fun. This was fun. Monica, go fire up the machine. Let's go get some lunch. It's Sunday. Rubber turned into extra thick bats. Yeah, essentially. All right, guys. Be good. We'll talk later. Don Spinball podcast@mail.com is where you get at me. Support the show and the content driving you by going to patreon.comdonspinball podcast. That's your assignments. Let me know what you want to see at Expo. Would you want to buy t-shirts? Uh, do you want to buy a pinball machine? Email jeffpinball.com. Get yourself one. Star Warses are going out. I'm expecting over the next couple of weeks, uh, the premiums and the pro Star Warses will be made. I may even have a Star Wars by expo. I may even bring this next generation to expo. We'll see what happens. But yeah, this was fun. And I'm going to do it again next Sunday from an as of yet undisclosed location. But it is corn adjacent. That is your clue. All right, fading out, guys. Um, sexy fix. Thanks for joining us and we'll talk soon. All right, bye everybody.