Pinball Art and the Whoa Nellie Controversy

Whoa Nellie! The game that is fruitful for some and rotten for others. - Photo courtesy of Whizbang Pinball

This week on Pinball Aficionado, we're going to look at a controversy that has developed in recent hours online. It was during Pinball Expo and involves Stern's announcement of a game they will soon be manufacturing in early 2015 for Whizbang Pinball (the design duo comprised of Dennis Nordman and Greg Freres).

It's Whoa Nellie, an older electromechanical style design that's been in the works in one form or another for over 4 years. As soon as the announcement was made on Facebook there were many who lauded the move, as it's essentially an original theme with a homage to classic pinball art of the 1970's. There were also dozens of comments by people who found the artwork offensive, misogynistic, even one person alluding that it fed into rape culture.

Whoa indeed!

It's an interesting debate, and could prove a very slippery slope for Stern. On the one hand, having a simpler, EM style game with "classic art" could definitely appeal to the hobby's prime demographic, older white men (statistically the average pinballer's age today is around 42) who grew up on games with that visual style. 

The  Warrior's Bride in Paragon

Slave girl from Hercules

Sacrifice in Gorgar

Girl in Genie

The Fire Queen.............She might be sexualized, but is she a "victim" or "inferior"???

On the other hand, this kind of art today could definitely rub some the wrong way. Today more people, especially women are now in the hobby, and they find these visuals to not have any redeeming or artistic value, and as such find that this older graphic style is offensive and outdated. It's a valid point, more people are trying to move past older stereotypes and trying to be more inclusive and respectful. There was even an article written for Skill-Shot.com showing female player Kayla Greet's view toward the sexualization of the feminine form in games past and present (including contemporary titles such as ACDC Luci) and how it was distracting, demeaning, and did not leave a positive impact for young people in general.

So that possibly leaves Stern in a vulnerable place, cater to the largest pinball playing demographic, or try to appeal to a wider audience. In a relatively small hobby like pinball, Stern's obviously catering to their largest audience, though if they continue to focus on them, its likely to remain small. Time will tell if it was the right move or not. 

The Playfield..... - Photo courtesy of Ministry of Pinball

Anyway, what does everyone think of this controversy, is it legitimate? Blown out of proportion? What's your view of the debate??? Comment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Until Next time!

-- Special Thanks to Amanda Kotchon for contributing to this entry.

Spiderman Shop Job Part 3

*Sweating...* "Man cleaning playfield parts can be tiring!" 

A dirty part about to be cleaned!

Last time on Pinball Aficionado we were looking at a routed Spiderman that my buddy had picked up and decided to shop. We followed a plan of attack where we had taken photos of everything, then disassembled the playfield components, and kept them organized in clusters around the room. We then took a breath ("phew!), started cleaning the playing surface (and all the components) with alcohol, and then after everything was clean, we went and polished the playfield, and some of the components with Novus 2. 

Cleaning up that playfield! ("Spiderman......Spiderman...Does whatever a spider can".....oh sorry :D)

Working on a pop bumper...

Pop bumper progress.....

Now after all that (about 6 hours in), the real fun begins....REASSEMBLY!!! (Duh duh duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh!!!) This is typically the cringe-worthy moment, the "put up or shut up" the moment that you gotta put everything back in order and when you're done it all has to work! The thing about modern pinball machines, is that typically, due to their complexity, parts have to be reassembled in a specific way. You can't just put stuff in when you want to, things are placed with other things in mind, and if it's done out of order, certain things will no longer fit properly (can't screw in a plastic after a ramp is in if that plastic belonged below it for example). 

Almost there!!!

I should take this time to mention that during the cleaning portion, we took a look at the playfield underside and cleaned and checked the major components down there (magnets, coils, solenoids) and replaced or repaired any worn parts. My buddy also insisted on installing LEDs, and we did that when all the above board parts had been removed.

Installing LEDs................

During assembly is where all the photos came in handy (note to self, video can be good too). I took so many pictures during the breakdown that we were able to piece it together backwards and know what components went off first, then second, etc. If you know the order of how you took it all down, then it's easier, as most parts only fit in their respective spot on the game (duh! that's how they're designed). So using the photos, having all the newly cleaned parts organized around the work area, and using the game's manual schematics as a safety net, we went and reassembled it. 

Finishing touches....

........................................."7 hours later"......................................... 

We managed to complete it!

..........Aaaaand Done!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So the moment of truth arrived and it was time to turn the game on, and..........................IT WORKED!

Ooh Shiny!!!

We played a game and it was great. I guess you could say.........THE DAY WAS SAVED!!!!!! 

My buddy later decided to operate the game on his route at Arcade Odyssey, in Miami FL. You can see two videos (Game View and Demo) of this very Spiderman below:

View of the restored, working game today

Game being played...

Fun facts: the total shop job took just over 13 hours, which we accomplished during 4 sessions. A few playfield plastics were broken but we found replacements, all the major underside mechanisms worked after they were cleaned, and once it was finished, the game was good as new. Some people online have given grief as to the durability of Stern games, but I gotta say, in this case Spiderman seems a very durable title that cleaned up very well, one might even say......SUPER well! (har har har) ;)

Till next time!!!

The World of Pinball Collecting: How to Buy Your First Machine Part 2

Following up on my last post, (about buying your first machine), my buddy also asked me about how old the games are and how you can tell an older game from a newer one. The difference in age comes down to what we pinheads call EM and SS or Electromechanical and Solid State. Electromechanical refers to games made before 1975 or so, which comprised of relays, bells, score reels, basically lacking any kind of micro-circuitry or circuit boards. These are the kinds of games you would see in old movies in the background of old bar or diner scenes. These are the types of games you see Elton John and Roger Daltrey playing in that famous Tommy Scene.

An Example of an EM Game

Games made after 1975 were made with printed circuit boards and computer logic. This allowed for more complex rules and paved the way for digitized sound, and later, more advanced scoring displays. These are the kinds of games that are made today.

An Example of a modern SS Game

As for maintenance, that is a constant when it comes to pinball ownership. Gotta remember, that silver ball is flying around that table between 4-6 MPH and is striking everything in sight. This means things can break, fall out of alignment, the rolling of the ball can leave tracks, wear on the wood, and of course dirt and soot can build up and gunk assemblies, targets, and saucers. Because of that, games need to be maintained, at the very least the playfield needs to be cleaned regularly, preferably waxed and polished often. Issues and malfunctions need to be fixed and the owner needs to either become handy, or know who to call* to fix things when issues pop up. 

*Note: if you're located anywhere near South Florida, FLECOM is a really great tech!

Now if you're new to the hobby and want to buy a machine and any or all of the maintenance aspect is scaring you, don't fear!!!

While this may look scary:

Yikes!!!!!!!!

In reality it's not that big of a deal. Everything in a pinball machine is designed to be maintained and games usually ship with manuals to help the owner out (it's not rocket science, honest!). Also, no one person is expected to know everything, so that is why pinball aficionados come together on web forums like Pinside, RGP, and on more local forums to help each other out. Local forums also facilitate how to find nearby techs that you can call to help when you're in a real bind and don't know what to do!

After telling my buddy all of this, I thought his head was going to explode, thankfully it didn't and he's more excited than ever for his family to get their first game!!!

Now it's your turn! What other tips can you think of to tell my friend on buying his first game?