(Topic ID: 129349)

Defender Club... (fans welcome!)

By mof

8 years ago


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Topic Stats

  • 211 posts
  • 54 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 69 days ago by KJS
  • Topic is favorited by 27 Pinsiders

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There are 211 posts in this topic. You are on page 1 of 5.
#1 8 years ago

Only 369 made -- a very rare pin indeed
* Very well-executed theme
* Great sound effects from the video game
* Great backglass
* Good light show
* Drop Targets in the middle of the playfield (think trolls or gophers)
* Very interesting rule set

I started up a Defender Club so that proud Defender owners and fans alike can share the over-the-top love for the machine as well as: repair help, restoration tips, part requests, requesting wiring photos, topper ideas, best LED usage, color matching tips, and upgrade ideas...

RESOURCES / IDEAS:
Let's get a solid set of resources in one spot: What's the status of the following?

1. PLAYFIELDS:
(none?) -- send yours to HSA
2. PLASTICS:
...cpr made a set (a few exist)
3. BACKGLASSES:
(?)
4. CUSTOM INSTRUCTION CARDS:
(?)
5. STENCILS:
http://www.twistedpins.com/products/stencil_kits/?ProductID=118
6. PLAYFIELD TOUCHUP
http://www.hsapinball.com/HSA_PINBALL/hsa151.html
7. RULE SHEET:
(?) -- I'd love to know what the exact rules are...
8. ROM VERSIONS:
(?)

[x] add to your favorites (do this now!)
thanks!
-mof

Please DO take a video of your Defender and post it to the thread. Youtube only has a few videos of Defender, and they are not very useful...

#2 8 years ago

Hi Mof
I will join this prestigious club
I have a defender pin and the arcade as well. The arcade is just a 9 in 1 board in a generic cab, but it looks good next to the pin.
I am restoring my defender pin at the moment, and the playfield was a wreck at the start. bare wood etc.
The pics can be found on Aussie Arcade of the restore.
http://www.aussiearcade.com.au/showthread.php/73783-Defender-Playfield-Restore-PIC-HEAVY-!!!!!!


Defender-34.jpgDefender-34.jpg

Cheers
Dave

#3 8 years ago

WOW^^^^^^^^^

#4 8 years ago

That playfield looks amazing, still on the hunt for a defender myself. Have the other two out of the three, Warlok and Time Fantasy.

My only claim to fame is beating Barry Oursler at Defender the other year

#5 8 years ago

+10000!

I picked up a Defender a few months ago after looking for 10+ years. It's actually in pretty decent shape compared to most I have seen (unrestored obviously).
I'm on the fence about restoring it..or just playing it. My basement is still quite a few months away from being pinball ready..so it's just sitting anyway.

Does anyone have a PF scan available? I've been in touch with a couple of Pinsiders that restored their Defenders. One said they would share their PF scans with me but I never got them after asking a couple of times

#6 8 years ago

Those HSA pics are from my Defender. I highly recommend them if you need yours touched up and cleared. I was lucky enough to find one a few years ago, only a 4 hour drive to Buffalo. It's one of my pins that will never leave my collection.

#7 8 years ago

i'm in

defender-pin-1.jpgdefender-pin-1.jpg

defender-arcade-1.jpgdefender-arcade-1.jpg

#8 8 years ago

Sign me up for this club! I stumbled into my defender at a garage sale. I got it up and running and find it quite unique. I do have one question for the seasoned players: How do you know how many of the 15 landers are left during each wave?

Mike V

#9 8 years ago

I have had a Defender Video since 1992, and got my Defender pin in 2006. They will never leave.
Both are staples at the Michigan Pinball Expo!

I also have a second Defender pin, I will probably have the playfield on that restored.

#10 8 years ago

How do I know how many landers are left? I don't. And the game is too confustipating to count down from 15 when things get hectic for me.

What I do know is I keep shooting for them until they stop "lighting up" again. At that point I know I have no more landers coming in and either I snipe them off, let them get knocked down in multiball or hit the smart bomb. On to the next wave!

#11 8 years ago

My pair of Defenders at the Psyche out tent from the 2011 South Coast Slam.

IMG_6982.JPGIMG_6982.JPG

#12 8 years ago
Quoted from Defender:

I have had a Defender Video since 1992, and got my Defender pin in 2006. They will never leave.
Both are staples at the Michigan Pinball Expo!
I also have a second Defender pin, I will probably have the playfield on that restored.

nice user name

#13 8 years ago

BTW: If anyone knows of a perfect or near perfect backglass for sale please let me know, mine has some minor flaking around the volcano.

#14 8 years ago

We need to send PPS or CPR a bunch of emails to get them to do a new backglass.
I would definitely buy one.
Does anyone have a good scan of the backglass so we could get a translight made?

Cheers
Dave

#15 8 years ago

Count me in the club!

Quoted from zacman:

We need to send PPS or CPR a bunch of emails to get them to do a new backglass.
I would definitely buy one.

When I bought my game, it came with an uninstalled NOS backglass. I asked Stu from CPR if he wanted me to send it to him to scan. He told me that CPR would never sell enough of them to make any money and didn't even want to scan it. I have since installed it in my game, but it may have been NOS, but wasn't perfect.

gabe³

#16 8 years ago

Never even saw one in person, let alone played one. I'm a Defender fanatic, so I want to see pics and stuff!

williamsrow2.jpgwilliamsrow2.jpg
#17 8 years ago

I inquired about a back glass with John Greatwich..the guy in Canada that does the direct print Sorcerer (and others now) playfields. He mentioned some time ago if he had a good scan..he could do a back glass. Might be worth giving him a shout.

My back glass is pretty good but certainly not perfect

Quoted from gabegabegabe:

Count me in the club!

When I bought my game, it came with an uninstalled NOS backglass. I asked Stu from CPR if he wanted me to send it to him to scan. He told me that CPR would never sell enough of them to make any money and didn't even want to scan it. I have since installed it in my game, but it may have been NOS, but wasn't perfect.
gabe³

#18 8 years ago
Quoted from TOK:

Never even saw one in person, let alone played one. I'm a Defender fanatic, so I want to see pics and stuff!

There is a guy in one of the Kiss threads currently selling his Defender pinball

#19 8 years ago

One issue with having it repro'd by a third party is the loss of mirroring.
Rick just did a Blackout BG with origianl films (120 owned, 60 wishlist). I wonder if he'd re-run a BG for a game with (20 owned, 46 wishlist.)
-mof

#20 8 years ago

I would buy a BG. It's the only part I am missing.

#21 8 years ago

Lets make it happen ... everyone email CPR and ask for it.

I did buy a set of the CPR Defender plastics. Surely if they made these a backglass is viable too?

Happy to pay more than the average backglass as it's likely to be a short run (or buy 2 at the normal price).

#22 8 years ago

Oh and I also need repro pod/swarmer and mutant round standup target decals ...

I have repro drop target ones but I've never seen replacement ones for the standups.

#23 8 years ago

I find it so strange that they made a million of the arcade game but only a handful of the pin. Anyone know why?

#24 8 years ago
Quoted from dudah:

I find it so strange that they made a million of the arcade game but only a handful of the pin. Anyone know why?

It's a combination of the pinball industry as a whole not being very strong at that time and the complexity of Defender. I can only imagine how much it would cost to make that game.

#25 8 years ago

Because pinball didn't sell well for Williams from 82-Dec.of 83. A lot of trying to compete with the "new" arcade game market.

From the beginning of 1982 to the end of 1983, Williams produced 6,309 machines. That's 7-9 different titles, depending if you count games that never went into full production.

1982-05 Thunderball 10 not full production
1982-06 Cosmic Gunfight 1,008
1982-09 Varkon 90
1982-10 Warlok 412
1982-12 Defender 369
1983-01 Rat Race 10 not full production
1983-03 Time Fantasy 608
1983-04 Joust Williams 402
1983-08 Firepower II 3,400

Total in two years= 6,309

Jungle Lord as a comparison, sold 6,000 machines, by itself in 1981.

Thank god for Sapce Shuttle is all I can say! One of, if not THE most important pinball machines ever produced.

#26 8 years ago
Quoted from snyper2099:

Thank god for Sapce Shuttle is all I can say! One of, if not THE most important pinball machines ever produced.

Space Shuttle and High Speed were the games that made me give pinball a shot... I played Haunted House a couple times because it was unique, but went back to video games. It didn't deliver the adrenaline surge of the much faster Williams pins.

It was still a 90/10 proposition between video games/pins. The ability to possibly match or earn a free game made pinball appealing when we were running out of quarters.

#27 8 years ago

The truly sad thing is all the games that went into production at this time... were great playing games. I feel very lucky to have a Defender and a Warlok in my stable. I wouldn't mind a Cosmic Gunfight or a Time Fantasy either. Now Joust is the best head-to-head pinball game ever made and Firepower II is a fantastic deck when properly tuned!

#28 8 years ago
Quoted from Caucasian2Step:

The truly sad thing is all the games that went into production at this time... were great playing games. I feel very lucky to have a Defender and a Warlok in my stable. I wouldn't mind a Cosmic Gunfight or a Time Fantasy either. Now Joust is the best head-to-head pinball game ever made and Firepower II is a fantastic deck when properly tuned!

I just wished they hadn't ditched voice in 1982... It's really missing from FPII...
-mof

#29 8 years ago
Quoted from gabegabegabe:

There is a guy in one of the Kiss threads currently selling his Defender pinball

Yes, me. Make me an offer. I want a kiss pin.

#30 8 years ago

1-Off of each of the decals

Defender Decals.jpgDefender Decals.jpg
#32 8 years ago

Plastics

DefenderPlasticsSet_Complete.jpgDefenderPlasticsSet_Complete.jpg
#34 8 years ago

pf scans to create overlays

Center Lower Overlay copy.jpgCenter Lower Overlay copy.jpg Center Upper Overlay copy.jpgCenter Upper Overlay copy.jpg Insert Decals one each .jpgInsert Decals one each .jpg Spot Overlays copy.jpgSpot Overlays copy.jpg White layer  Inserts  copy.jpgWhite layer Inserts copy.jpg
#35 8 years ago

drop targets multiple per sheet

Drop Targets copy.jpgDrop Targets copy.jpg Stand-up Targets copy.jpgStand-up Targets copy.jpg
#36 8 years ago
Quoted from mof:

I just wished they hadn't ditched voice in 1982... It's really missing from FPII...
-mof

It will support the original fire power board.

#37 8 years ago

Prototype backglass.

I have this scanned if someone wants to patch it together and give me a copy of the file.

DefenderBg.jpgDefenderBg.jpg
#38 8 years ago
Quoted from CraigC:

It will support the original fire power board.

Sort of, It will speak, but it doesn't give all the correct calls at the right times.

#39 8 years ago

Also have scans from my NOS pf before I installed it if someone wants to stitch that together. Never thought to scan my standard backglass.

Also have scans of the apron.

#40 8 years ago

Operators handbook

Williams_1982_Defender_Operators_Handbook.pdfWilliams_1982_Defender_Operators_Handbook.pdf
#41 8 years ago

Schematics.

There is no known manual for this game, just the schematics and handbook.

Williams_1982_Defender_Manual_with_paginated_schematics.pdfWilliams_1982_Defender_Manual_with_paginated_schematics.pdf
#42 8 years ago

scorecards

Williams_Defender_instruction_cards.pdfWilliams_Defender_instruction_cards.pdf
#43 8 years ago

I've owned the Defender and Stargate video games on and off since 1985.... would love to get the pin some day.

Quoted from Ronnie1114:

It's a combination of the pinball industry as a whole not being very strong at that time and the complexity of Defender. I can only imagine how much it would cost to make that game.

Game difficulty was one of the initial criticisms of the video game as well, but that didn't stop the quarters from pouring in... too bad that didn't carry over to the pin.

#44 8 years ago
Quoted from Baiter:

I've owned the Defender and Stargate video games on and off since 1985.... would love to get the pin some day.

Game difficulty was one of the initial criticisms of the video game as well, but that didn't stop the quarters from pouring in... too bad that didn't carry over to the pin.

The gameplay isn't super complex, it's the game assembly that is. First Multi-plexed Williams game, 15 drop targets (12 are memory targets so they have an extra coil each to knock them down and raise them individually). Playfield is super heavy!! Tons of stuff underneath

IMG_3387.jpgIMG_3387.jpg IMG_3388.jpgIMG_3388.jpg IMG_3389.jpgIMG_3389.jpg
#45 8 years ago

Can you add the scans or PM me with them. I'd like to stitch the PF together and send it to John to see if he can do the direct price screening

Quoted from kbliznick:

Also have scans from my NOS pf before I installed it if someone wants to stitch that together. Never thought to scan my standard backglass.
Also have scans of the apron.

#46 8 years ago
Quoted from Monster_Bash:

Can you add the scans or PM me with them. I'd like to stitch the PF together and send it to John to see if he can do the direct price screening

It's 12 seperate 25mb scans, so the files are too big for PM or email. I'd like to have someone actually do this and send me the full file. I have sent scans off for this and and the backglass several times and have yet had anybody actually finish it.

#47 8 years ago
Quoted from kbliznick:

It's 12 seperate 25mb scans, so the files are too big for PM or email. I'd like to have someone actually do this and send me the full file. I have sent scans off for this and and the backglass several times and have yet had anybody actually finish it.

If you can send me the backglass files I can stitch them together and convert to vector art. Don't expect it to happen in a hurry but it will happen!

Do you have dropbox? If not I can probably provide an FTP account on my website.

#48 8 years ago
Quoted from Dave2084:

If you can send me the backglass files I can stitch them together and convert to vector art. Don't expect it to happen in a hurry but it will happen!
Do you have dropbox? If not I can probably provide an FTP account on my website.

The scans are for the very ugly prototype backglass, not the standard.

#49 8 years ago
Quoted from kbliznick:

The gameplay isn't super complex, it's the game assembly that is. First Multi-plexed Williams game, 15 drop targets (12 are memory targets so they have an extra coil each to knock them down and raise them individually). Playfield is super heavy!! Tons of stuff underneath

I agree individually controlled drops add complexity. I was also referring to game play, the common theme is that it makes more sense to people who understand the video game than the casual player, who tend to be baffled at the rules, at least initially.

#50 8 years ago

I have a n.o.s. backglass. never installed. If somebody local wants to scan it\take pix etc. you are more than welcome...

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