The Martians Have Landed or:

[snoopy7548]

Why It's Awesome Not Having Kids

https://imgur.com/a/YvTg2UV



Totally worth every cent. It was delivered Friday afternoon but I had to go back to work afterwards. I tipped the FedEx guy $40 to help me bring it up my front porch steps and through the front door. Even with his help it was a bear to bring in.

I got the legs on Friday night but that was about it - setting it up myself wasn't as easy as I thought it would be! I had to use my car jack just to get a grip in order to lift the back up.

I spent most of Saturday cleaning it (it was pretty dusty), installing the plastic protectors, and just looking at everything. I took my time and savored every second; this may be a once in a lifetime opportunity... but probably not... One of the holes in the plastic protectors was drilled too small so I enlarged it on my drill press, and I had to replace one of the screws with a longer one due to the increased height with the protector. They all went on pretty easily, but I had to take some parts off.

I fired it up at ~10:45p.m. on Saturday night and couldn't stop playing. It was my first time playing AFM and I had a huge grin the entire time. The game is hilarious, especially when the martians are running away after you build your atomic blaster!

I'm just waiting on some Cliffy protectors for a few areas, but I'll keep playing it in the meantime. The distributor also needs to send me the v2.0 PIC as that one allows proper adjustment of the flipper strength. Right now it's at default and it could be kicked down a notch or two. I may give it a nice coat of wax next weekend.

All in all, I'm extremely happy with it. It plays incredibly well with almost zero adjustments needed. I think I just need to adjust the right outlane a smidge as I'm getting ball drains there more often than not.

I was a bit nervous since there are horror stories on Pinside about shipping damage and poor-quality playfields, but I'm happy to say my playfield is smooth as silk and there was only a small dent to the rear of the backbox during shipping - nothing to complain about at all.

Hopefully this sparks the motivation to restore my BK2K. It's in good condition, but there are a couple of small areas on the playfield (no larger than 1/8") where the paint has worn away, and I want to try to remove the mylar.

Attaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

 

[whm1974]

Nice I didn't know that pinball was still a thing.

 

[WelshBloke]

I'll bring the beer! I'll be round soon!

 

[Thebobo]

Wow awesome love seeing the innards very cool. Is that an Ash hiking stick?

 

[IronWing]

Wow awesome love seeing the innards very cool. Is that an Ash hiking stick?

I'm seeing two didges, where are you seeing a walking stick?

Anyway, cool machine OP! When are you hosting the ATOTDC meetup?

 

[Thebobo]

I'm seeing two didges, where are you seeing a walking stick?

Probably what I saw little short and stout to be a ws.

 

[lxskllr]

Congratulations! Sweet machine :^)

 

[ImpulsE69]

Congrats. So when you getting another one? lol. I didn't know you'd never played it. It generally isn't a good idea to buy a pin you've never had a chance to play....just saying. Granted this one is a particularly popular one.

I'm going to be getting a Dialed In in a few months. Had a chance to play it awhile back and both the wife and I loved it.

 

[snoopy7548]

Nice I didn't know that pinball was still a thing.

Yeah, pinball has seen a resurgence in the past few years. It's good and bad. Prices for used games are ridiculous at the moment but the popularity means companies are putting out new games (and in this case, remakes.) I'm tempted to make my next pin a fixer-upper but I think I'll be satisfied with two machines for a while.

I'll bring the beer! I'll be round soon!

Haha. Bring your quarters! I disabled free play. Gotta make up that money somehow!

Wow awesome love seeing the innards very cool. Is that an Ash hiking stick?

Didgeridoo! IronWing got it right. I got the blue one when I went to Australia about 17 years ago, and the bigger one when I went about a month ago (I still need to post pictures from that trip). I can't really play with any sort of rhythm, but I can make a lot of cool sounds.

I'm seeing two didges, where are you seeing a walking stick?

Anyway, cool machine OP! When are you hosting the ATOTDC meetup?

Whenever you're ready! Though I don't know if my floors will handle the weight, with two pinball machines and all (not calling you guys fat or anything!)

Congrats. So when you getting another one? lol. I didn't know you'd never played it. It generally isn't a good idea to buy a pin you've never had a chance to play....just saying. Granted this one is a particularly popular one.

I'm going to be getting a Dialed In in a few months. Had a chance to play it awhile back and both the wife and I loved it.

Yeah, I was sort of embarrassed to admit I never played it before buying it, but being the #1 (or #2) game on Pinside it seemed like a pretty safe bet. I wanted to buy a brand new machine, and all of the new games don't grab me that much - I'm more "old school" I guess; I've been wanting a DMD game for a really long time. That kind of narrowed it down to the remakes - Medieval Madness, AFM, or the upcoming Monster Bash. I've already got the medieval theme with the BK2K, and I read that Chicago Gaming really stepped it up for the AFM remake so I figured what the hell. I watched a lot of videos and I thought the theme was awesome, so I just went for it.

I haven't played Dialed In but I've heard it's awesome. You'll enjoy it! Be sure to post pics when you get it.

 

[whm1974]

I recall seeing a pinball machine that had nude women on it when I was a kid, well naked breasts anyway. How common are/were those?

 

[IronWing]

I recall seeing a pinball machine that had nude women on it when I was a kid, well naked breasts anyway. How common are/were those?

Most women have breasts, it's a perk of being that gender.

 

[ImpulsE69]

I recall seeing a pinball machine that had nude women on it when I was a kid, well naked breasts anyway. How common are/were those?

There were a few but not many.\

You are probably thinking of Miss World. The only other one I can think of might have been Playboy

 

[whm1974]

There were a few but not many.\

You are probably thinking of Miss World. The only other one I can think of might have been Playboy

Thanks. I'm not sure sure I was a young kid at the time but it might have been Miss World.

 

[Red Squirrel]

That's awesome! If I had the room (and money) I'd totally buy stuff like that, it's definitely a cool relic to have. Never been super into pin ball or arcade machines but there would be something cool about actually owning some and having them in my house. I just picture a room where when I walk in I flip a switch and they all turn on at the same time.

 

[Newbian]

Thanks. I'm not sure sure I was a young kid at the time but it might have been Miss World.

You always remember a fine set.

 

[ImpulsE69]

BTW while I love the art and music on BK2K, Medieval Madness is hands down the better game. I would rate it higher than AFM honestly. It is probably the best pinball ever created. Problem is I've played it to death over the years so I can't justify the price. In the past I bought cheap games - real cheap - that just happened to be popular with the intent to have a collection. I still have those but due to space and time I haven't bought another one for many years. I'm just now getting back into it and wow the prices are crazy. You kind of have to rethink your goals to buy one. Rather than buying to keep, buy it to play it, enjoy it, then sell it (might be profit, might be slight loss..just depends) or even trade it and replace it with another game and just keep doing that rather than thinking of it being a money sink that you are stuck with.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I used to have a Robocop arcade machine. It was fun, for the, oh, dozen times I played it. I could finish the whole game without dying, and perfect every shooting gallery.

 

[zinfamous]

Who's jealous and has two thumbs?




< This guy.
<

 

[ultimatebob]

I'm jealous as well. I'd award this post a Coolcoin, but I'm kinda offended that the OP made fun of my kid filled yet pinball machine free lifestyle

 

[dasherHampton]

I'm jealous. I want to play.

 

[snoopy7548]

That's awesome! If I had the room (and money) I'd totally buy stuff like that, it's definitely a cool relic to have. Never been super into pin ball or arcade machines but there would be something cool about actually owning some and having them in my house. I just picture a room where when I walk in I flip a switch and they all turn on at the same time.

Yeah, I'm sorely tempted to buy more (Monster Bash remake coming next year... or another alpha-numeric game) but I really don't have the space or money for any more. I think a custom-built MAME machine would look nice between the pinball machines, though. I sketched out the cabinet and I have the CRT, but I just haven't gotten to it yet.

BTW while I love the art and music on BK2K, Medieval Madness is hands down the better game. I would rate it higher than AFM honestly. It is probably the best pinball ever created. Problem is I've played it to death over the years so I can't justify the price. In the past I bought cheap games - real cheap - that just happened to be popular with the intent to have a collection. I still have those but due to space and time I haven't bought another one for many years. I'm just now getting back into it and wow the prices are crazy. You kind of have to rethink your goals to buy one. Rather than buying to keep, buy it to play it, enjoy it, then sell it (might be profit, might be slight loss..just depends) or even trade it and replace it with another game and just keep doing that rather than thinking of it being a money sink that you are stuck with.

The music on BK2K is second to none. Without it the game would probably just be OK but it really gets you going.

I debated between AFM and MM but like I said, CGC really stepped up their game with the AFM remake. You certainly seem to get more for your money if you look at it from a feature and quality standpoint, plus I think MM was ~$1k more than the edition of AFM that I got. I'm sure I would have been as happy with MM as I am with AFM, though. Maybe if I hit the lottery or something...

Pinball certainly isn't a cheap hobby anymore (as if it ever was that affordable). I had some money set aside for whatever that was just sitting there for years and I decided why the hell not.

It would be nice to have the time and energy to have a rotating collection, but moving a pinball machine isn't my idea of fun. What machines do you have now?

I'm jealous as well. I'd award this post a Coolcoin, but I'm kinda offended that the OP made fun of my kid filled yet pinball machine free lifestyle

1 Coolcoin = 10 free plays on snoopy's pinball machine

 

[ImpulsE69]

What machines do you have now?

Yea I hear you there. They are a huge pain to move. Currently I have a Funhouse, Xenon, Time Machine, Haunted House, and Space Station as well as a full size virtual pinball cabinet that I built. I have 3 of them all tore apart fixing odd and end issues that I was too lazy to deal with over the years, and shopping some out. I just added some LED's to the Space Station - wow..crazy difference it makes. I'll post some pics when I get everything back up.

The Funhouse is my pride and joy. 1 of a kind in that it is the first non prototype/sample of that game. Apparently the designer of it (Pat Lawler) walks the first one of each game he designs through production line and then signs them on the bottom of the cabinets. It was complete luck getting it as I got it at an auction back in 1995 and didn't pay much for it - it seems whoever had it never looked under it (it was on a route). I didn't find the signature for years and by accident. I had to ask the pinball gurus what it was and meant. It isn't in perfect shape but the playfield is still good and plays 100 percent and has some rare things on it that others don't have. I've left it original as possible because of what it is.

 

[RearAdmiral]

Wow you never played AFM before setting up your own! That is one amazing experience. What a classic game.