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...

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

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

Defender is suffering from a lack of movies on Youtube... It would be great if someone could take an hour and play a few games and let us see a good multi-ball game in action.

I still don't understand what the big red clear spot is in the middle of the table.

-mof

I *finally* got in some quality time on a Defender.
I had no idea what the rules were (I never do when I play pinball -- I'm more of a "geometry/layout" player/evaluator than a rule-critic.
Defender is quite a gem. I put it right up there with Black Knight and Barracora as one of the top-3 early Solid State Williams ever made.
I look forward to learning the rules and playing Defender again some day -- preferably in my home.
-mof

Thanks for posting the rules.
I've read them 3x, and I'm a little bit closer to understanding the rules, but still have questions.

* Under the "landers" section, you say that 15 drop targets will appear at random -- but I thought there were 10 drop targets?
* What do the standups behind the drops represent/what are they used for?
* are all 3 middle-PF drops "baiters"?
* what the heck is reverse?
* are swarmers the two standups on top-right?

looking here as a reference.
http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=651&picno=64049&zoom=1

-mof

* Thanks, that was helpful -- what is the top left area with two inlane targets? is there a final standup behind them?
-mof

Question -- why did you choose to post on that external site?
-mof

Can I ask a few of you lucky fellas to post a fun video of a good game of Defender? There are only 2 good pinball videos in the known universe on Defender, and I'd much rather have one come from someone I can interact with and ask a few questions.

Making a pin vid is fun, easy, and rewarding...
-mof

This is all that's out there! (one is too dark and low-res, and the other is way too loud... I know you can do better!)

Q: what happens if you lose all your humanoids? Does it go into space mode like the vid?
-mof

Q: What's the best single shot to make during multiball? What are the best goals to focus on during MB?
-mof

So, what's the best strategy for Defender, especially -- what's the best thing to go for during Multiball? Is there a score 2x 3x during MB?

-mof

What are the best settings for home play?
I usually set things factory (medium), and then sometimes tweak a timing setting up or down...
-mof

I'll just leave this here. I drove to the NAVL hub to pick it up, wasn't going to wait another 3 days - F that.
-mof

201509_DEF-arrival4.jpg

From Fast-Ed, yep yep... thanks man!
-mof

Trying out different color combos. I like adding some brightness to the top half of the PF with insert LEDs. Bottom half I tend to keep 44 to keep the brightness down, and remove flicker near the flippers. Up top, it really works. Swarmers *are* red in the game, and the bombs, are white in the game, but I had to give *something* blue, and it made the most sense. It makes it easier to realize, "I need to use these up" when they are blue.

What do you think? (we know the red LEDs don't come through in online pics, but -- they are bright red, and look very neat when activated. I've been using my smart bombs on the swarmers.

-mof

201509_DEF-blue-and-red.jpg

If I get adventurous I'd like to make all 13 lander inserts cold-white to create even more contrast. The bottom section stays 44 no matter what to manage brightness near the flippers. 47s even better... (but there's so much crap in the way to do the 13 landers, it might be a "while"...

I'm thinking the drops for the landers in the middle of the PF should have reflective tape on them, they are REALLY hard to see in the dark. I'll buy some online and report back.

-mof

I don't follow.

Right I did my under-plastic lamps in warm white. That's how I set up Sorcerer and Firepower.
-mof

What scores humanoid multiplier?
What scores bonus multiplier?

-mof

Ty - still can't believe I'm in the club...
-mof

20+ hours into the restore. I think it's time for a movie.
Give me a few minutes...
-mof

Ok, so the movie is about 6:12 in length. The SD card filled up and the movie shuts off just before...

before ?!!?

I failed!

So there's no big heroic shot of me hitting the upper left target, when everything was lined up perfectly to make the BIGGEST shot in the game. Never happened...

Final score was 2,079,000 and wave-5. (about my 4th best score to date)

* I've got the glass off to reduce glare
* I've got the sound down so you can hear how nice that waxed wooden surface sounds
* humanoid bulbs 2 and 4 are still flaky/weak. I'll need to work on 'em
* Bottom two flippers were just rebuilt with new parts (-solenoids) and WPC-era springs and grommets to limit range of motion (I hate easy-trap flippers)
* Took me about 10 warm up games of 2 minutes in length to hit this good game of 6.5 minutes.

-mof

It's just a drop target that needs a 10 second adjustment up a mil or two.
-mof

1. how do you know you progress on 15 landers? (memory???)

2. my MB lock sometimes (1/10) drains on release -- anyone try to fix/improve this?

-mof

Anyone have a spare left sling plastic?
-mof

20151117-defender-left-sling-ouch.jpg

Defender prototype?
-mof

ebay.com link: Williams Defender Pinball Promo Machine 1 of 6 samples Serial 200

Quick rules question: What are the best shots to take while in multi-ball? I don't see 3x-scoring inserts on the playfield -- is there any scoring benefit to being in multi-ball mode?

mof

Hey Defender fans!
We need just *1* more pinball machine review to pop in at #128 on the top-400

Can you check the ratings page and see if you've already uploaded your rating?
https://pinside.com/pinball/machine/defender/ratings
-mof

Hopefully Defender will be BACK soon into the top-400, since the minimum ratings jumped up to 25...