Bonus Episode: Rawdon Osborne's Last Episode

Poor Man's Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·analyzed·Jul 31, 2020

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.021

TL;DR

Rawdon Osborne updates on Australian pinball scene amid COVID, Haggis Kelts progress, and restoration woes.

Summary

Rawdon Osborne, an Australian pinball enthusiast and collector, delivers a casual winter update from Sydney covering the Australian pinball scene during COVID-19 lockdowns. He discusses incoming shipments (Turtles pinball machine, Hot Wheels), the progress of Haggis Pinball's Celts machine being developed by Damien Roden, his own restoration projects, and tournament cancellations. The episode is comedic and informal, featuring phone call sketches and personal anecdotes about machine restoration challenges.

Key Claims

Turtles pinball machine is en route to Australia, approximately one month away, currently passing Hawaii.
high confidence · Rawdon Osborne, speaking about shipment status for Australian distributor
Hot Wheels pinball machine is currently in Melbourne and Australian collectors want distribution information.
medium confidence · Rawdon Osborne asking about Hot Wheels availability across Australia
Haggis Pinball's Celts game has just completed the lockdown bar and final artwork details, with an official launch promo video coming in the next few weeks.
high confidence · Rawdon Osborne relaying information from Damien Roden, Haggis Pinball owner
Pinball tournaments remain cancelled in Australia due to COVID-19 lockdowns.
high confidence · Rawdon Osborne stating current conditions in Australia
Damien Roden went from installing pinball mechs from a suitcase at TPF 2019 to having a complete Kelts prototype at Expo Chicago six months later.
high confidence · Rawdon Osborne recounting his observation of Haggis Pinball's development progress

Notable Quotes

“Turtles is cruising across the Pacific Ocean as we speak. By my rough calculations, they're just going past Hawaii and still a month away.”
Rawdon Osborne @ early in episode — Provides timeline estimate for a major game shipment to Australia
“I first met Damien in Texas at TPF in 2019 and he was his long-haired Aussie battler desperately trying to install pinball mechs out of a suitcase onto a blank playfield. And then six months later in Chicago at Expo, I see the complete game. Unbelievable effort in such a short time span.”
Rawdon Osborne @ mid-episode — Demonstrates rapid product development at Haggis Pinball and Rawdon's respect for the team
“this is the last Bally Williams rebuild I'd do. I thought I'd put some extra shiny blingy into the finished game.”
Rawdon Osborne @ late episode — Expresses frustration with Circus Voltaire restoration and the challenges of Williams/Bally cabinet work
“Halfway through removing the first side rail gently cutting the 20 double tape away and levering it off the outer layer of plywood ripped away from the cabinet. I stood there in disbelief, poor man. Why, why, why?”
Rawdon Osborne @ late episode — Personal restoration mishap with cabinet damage, reflects frustration with vintage machine restoration
“His story is what Australians are made of not afraid to jump in the deep end and have a red hot go I take my hat off to the bloke for what he has achieved in such a short time.”
Rawdon Osborne @ mid-episode — Strong endorsement of Damien Roden and Haggis Pinball's entrepreneurial approach

Entities

Rawdon OsbornepersonTrevorpersonDamien RodenpersonHaggis Pinballcompany Zach SharpepersonFlippin' Out PinballcompanyDr JohnpersonIanperson Drew

Signals

?
product_launch: Haggis Pinball's Kelts machine approaching final production with lockdown bar completion and official launch promo video imminent
high · Rawdon states Damien 'just finalised the last piece of the game, the lockdown bar, and some final artwork details' and 'a promo video for the official launch of the production model is in the making so keep an eye out for that in the next few weeks'
?
product_launch: Turtles and Hot Wheels pinball machines shipping to Australian market
medium · Rawdon discusses Turtles in transit to Australia (one month away) and Hot Wheels already in Melbourne; asks for distribution updates
?
community_signal: Australian pinball scene in holding pattern due to COVID-19 lockdowns with tournaments cancelled
high · Rawdon states 'pinball tournaments are still off limits at this point' and describes Australia as being 'in a holding pattern'
?
manufacturing_signal: Haggis Pinball demonstrates rapid product iteration and design completion capability
high · Rawdon documents Damien going from suitcase-based component installation at TPF 2019 to complete game at Expo Chicago six months later
?
design_innovation: Haggis Pinball incorporated custom lockdown bar design into Kelts machine
medium · Damien Roden identified completion of 'the lockdown bar' as final piece of game before launch
?

Topics

Pinball shipments and distribution to AustraliaprimaryHaggis Pinball's Kelts machine development and launchprimaryCOVID-19 impact on Australian pinball tournamentsprimaryPinball machine restoration and cabinet repairprimaryAustralian pinball community and collectorssecondaryHomebrew/custom pinball machine developmentsecondaryBally/Williams vintage machine restoration challengessecondary

Sentiment

mixed(0.55)— Rawdon expresses enthusiasm and respect for Damien Roden and Haggis Pinball's progress, but frustration and comedic despair regarding his own Circus Voltaire restoration mishap. COVID-19 restrictions creating stagnation in tournament scene tempers overall positivity. Tone is informal, comedic, and self-deprecating.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.015

Intro Music G'day Trevor, what's been happening in the world of pinball down under over the last three weeks old mate? What have you got for me? What do you mean fuck all? Yes, I'm well across the coronavirus. Have you spoken to any of the distributors? What about turtles? Still a month away, okay. What about Hot Wheels? I know it's in Melbourne and we're in Sydney, but we still need to know what's happening. Our mates across the pond are curious. Give Dr John a call. Let's see what's going on up north in Queensland. Here, give me the phone. Yeah, g'day Dr John, it's Rawdon. Rawdon Osborne. Sydney. Tribe member number 24. Hello? Dr John? Hello? Trevor, are you sure you have the right phone number for Dr John? He called me a wanker and hung up. Get Damien on the blower. Let's see what's happening down at Haggis with Kelts G Damien Roden here mate How Kelts going Yeah oh okay yep oh nice work Yeah good to hear mate Catch up next year at TPF Alright mate I let them all know Trevor, cue the intro, we're ready to rock and roll. G'day poor men and you the listeners, I'm back for another crack at the big time on the Poor Man's Pinball Podcast. Fuck, that's hard to say after a couple of beers. Trevor had to edit out the first six attempts. It's the middle of our winter and it's fucking cold down here. At the moment, a bone-chilling 52 degrees Fahrenheit. Freeze the nuts off the Sydney Harbour Bridge. News around Australia, we seem to be in a holding pattern. Turtles is cruising across the Pacific Ocean as we speak. By my rough calculations, they're just going past Hawaii and still a month away. and pinball tournaments are still off limits at this point. I spoke to Damien from Haggis Pinball this afternoon regarding Celts and he's just finalised the last piece of the game, the lockdown bar, and some final artwork details. He informs me that a promo video for the official launch of the production model is in the making so keep an eye out for that in the next few weeks Ian and Drew I strongly recommend you get Damien on for a chat His story is what Australians are made of not afraid to jump in the deep end and have a red hot go I take my hat off to the bloke for what he has achieved in such a short time. I first met Damien in Texas at TPF in 2019 and he was his long-haired Aussie battler desperately trying to install pinball mechs out of a suitcase onto a blank playfield. And then six months later in Chicago at Expo, I see the complete game. Unbelievable effort in such a short time span. So good luck to Damien and Georgia at Haggis with Kelts. My media playfield finally arrived unscathed. Big thanks to Zach at Flip N Out Pinball for sending that over. I thought that was firewood on some street corner for sure. Meanwhile, the fucking Circus Voltaire, the curse of my pinball life, this is the last Bally Williams rebuild I'd do. I thought I'd put some extra shiny blingy into the finished game. I bought some mirror polished rails and was going to get the new lockdown bar polished to match just because I could. Well what a fucking mistake that turned out to be Halfway through removing the first side rail gently cutting the 20 double tape away and levering it off the outer layer of plywood ripped away from the cabinet. I stood there in disbelief, poor man. Why, why, why? All I could hear was my late father saying, doesn't matter what I give you, son, you always have to fuck it up. So a phone call down to Mr Pinball for another set of cabinet decals, full strip down to the cabinet again, and back to the woodshop we go. Will this ever end? And that's the state of the nation down here, plenty to do but not much happening. Ian and Drew and you the listeners, have a great week, and we'll see what happens this week. Now Trevor, I've recorded this three fucking times now, save it as an MPEG file, I'm freezing my arse off, and make sure you let the boys know that the Dr John bit at the beginning was a stitch up and we yacked for over half an hour and are mates. I don't want another Canada debacle.