Credit Dot Pinball: The Update Thread

[spiroagnew]

Made the trip out to the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, NY with the family...it just so happened they had an exhibit called "Pinball Playfields". Decent collection, poor execution.

FEATURE: Pinball in a Hall
http://creditdotpinball.com/2014/08/16/ ... layfields/

Excerpt: "The Strong Museum is a really odd place. It is one of those museums that cropped up in the seventies and eighties which takes popular (low) culture subject matter and turns it into high culture by putting it into a museum. Where else would you find a Tickle Me Elmo doll, new in box, preserved behind glass and tagged with its official manufacture date? That said, the museum prides itself on its “hands-on” activities: craft stations, dress-up areas, a small-sized play restaurant and supermarket, console gaming stations, and so forth. The problem I found, is that I had no time to enjoy the vintage toys behind glass or the interactive displays because I was too busy running after my two-and-a-half year old, making sure he was sharing and taking turns with the billion other kids that were visiting on the afternoon we were there."

 

[spiroagnew]

After a bit of a hiatus, Credit Dot returns with an interview of Drop Target Zine illustrators/authors Alec Longstreth and Jon Chad. These guys are absolutely sincere in their love for pinball and it shows in their fantastic publication which is part-comic/part-magazine. DTZ Issue #6 is out NOW!

PEOPLE: Drop Target's Jon Chad and Alec Longstreth
http://creditdotpinball.com/2014/08/27/ ... ongstreth/

 

[spiroagnew]

Remember that Elvira and the Party Monsters re-theme? Yep, the Gameroom Collectibles one with all the boobs? It spurred a wandering discussion of female objectivity in pinball and the higher comedic level on which the Elvira character operates.

FEATURE: GRC’s Elvira and the Party Monsters Re-Theme and Issues of Pinball Objectivity
http://creditdotpinball.com/2014/08/28/ ... jectivity/

 

[spiroagnew]

I've offered up some thoughts about a Major League Baseball pinball machine, and looked at the past performance of sports-themed DMD machines (spoiler: they don't perform well).

OPINION: Big League Chew
http://creditdotpinball.com/2014/09/03/ ... ague-chew/

 

[Chris Bardon]

In that last post, you mentioned this:

It seems like a risky move for Stern to return to the killing fields where they were met with underwhelming results in the past, but if anyone can pull it off, they can. Crippling criticism for Avengers didn’t stop them from returning with X-Men just a few titles later.

Wasn't Avengers the next game after X-Men? I'm pretty sure that X-Men was June 2012, and then Avengers was Dec 2012.

Not sure that a baseball theme would work or not work, but it's probably an uphill battle for most pinheads. People will buy a great game in spite of the theme (look at the multitudes of games based on horrible dated movies), but a strong theme/game combo is a much easier sell (look at the people lining up for Walking Dead already). Any baseball game is going to be a LOT more "wait and see" I think.

 

[spiroagnew]

Wasn't Avengers the next game after X-Men? I'm pretty sure that X-Men was June 2012, and then Avengers was Dec 2012.

Yep. Good catch. I'll have to edit that. Thanks.

With MLB, it just seems like an absolute natural fit with all players involved...success on the other hand is unpredictable. If Stern was going to do it, maybe they would have done it by now. It's a very "Mustang" type decision...

 

[spiroagnew]

NEWS: Stern Walks with the Dead, Pictures of the Walking Dead
http://creditdotpinball.com/2014/09/09/ ... king-dead/

 

[spiroagnew]

Interview with Arthur Haber of Comet Pinball LED. A friend to this forum, Art has based his LED business on innovation, quality and great prices.

PEOPLE: Art from Comet Pinball

http://creditdotpinball.com/2014/10/20/ ... t-pinball/

 

[spiroagnew]

Got to interview pinball art legend Greg Freres about a new line of art prints (available exclusively through pinballlife.com) that feature some of his early work at Bally, specifically, Hotdoggin', Fathom, Strange Science and Black Pyramid.

PEOPLE: Greg Freres on his Early Bally Backglass Prints
http://creditdotpinball.com/2014/11/05/ ... eg-freres/

 

[spiroagnew]

Yikes, been a long time since an article was posted. Credit Dot returns with an article on....side rails! Yup...side rails.

HARDWARE: The Elusive "Bally Side Rail"
http://creditdotpinball.com/2015/02/08/hardware-the-elusive-bally-side-rail/

 

[Menace]

Nicely done.

D

 

[mwong168]

Note to self... don't buy Truck Stop, Atlantis, Transporter: The Rescue, Elvira and the Party Monsters and Mousin’ Around with dented side rails

Great write up and glad you were able to replace the dented rails on your EATPM.

 

[spiroagnew]

An interview near and dear to me...I talked to Jess Askey, webmaster of the Internet Pinball Serial Number Database (http://www.ipsnd.net), probably the most under-used resource in our community. We get to see how the database first took shape and take a look behind the serial numbers to find out what kind of information the numbers can actually tell us.

PEOPLE: Jess Askey of the Internet Pinball Serial Number Database
http://creditdotpinball.com/2015/02...-the-internet-pinball-serial-number-database/

 

[mwong168]

I never knew about Internet Pinball Serial Number Database and will submit all my game serial numbers later tonight when I get home.

Thanks for posting another great blog entry Rob and keep it up!

 

[spiroagnew]

I've been a participant over at IPSND since 2012 and more recently became a mod/admin guy for the site, which includes verifying serials, cleaning up entries, answering questions, collecting back glass images and lots of other plebe work...which I enjoy immensely. It is amazing the info you can glean from looking at the numbers...the more submissions the site gets, the more accurate conclusions we can draw about the business and hobby of pinball.

 

[spiroagnew]

EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW (AND MORE) ABOUT MICHAEL JACKSON AND PINBALL. Not sure why the caps...I don't even particularly like Michael Jackson. However, I do love when pop music intersects with other media. Find out about the Michael Jackson/Pepsi pinball machine, Jackson's Neverland pinball lineup, and more...

Feature: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Michael Jackson and Pinball
http://creditdotpinball.com/2015/02...ed-to-know-about-michael-jackson-and-pinball/

 

[mwong168]

Thanks for another great write up Rob.

 

[FastEd]

Indeed, these write ups are great!

 

[spiroagnew]

Anyone can explore the rules and history behind a Williams 90s-era DMD. Instead, Credit Dot continues its appreciation of Gottlieb System 1 games. This time: Charlie's Angels.

Featured Game: Gottlieb's CHARLIE'S ANGELS
http://creditdotpinball.com/2015/03/02/featured-game-gottliebs-charlies-angels/

 

[WARLOCK]

Oh, Sweet!!!

Few people know this; but...
Several of the good pins "I do love"...

All went to Rob, to fix, save, restore, do up and ah? write about em.
Charlie's Angel's is one of these: And I can't wait to read this next tale.
I appreciate all that you do; what you write about and show us my friend.