I think he needs to tuck in that shirt!

Looks like he just woke up.

Think Gary is riding the wave of trendiness

half-tuck.jpg

Thunderbirds produced in Chicago for the North American market or Stern produced games in the Homepin factory for cheaper Aussie prices?

parts sourcing more than likely. After the move to the new big factory, they need to keep those lines working.

Maybe then Homepin can afford to fix those missing tiles.

Weird - I saved the photo and found it was doctored!!!!! Here's the original!!!

I'm a dick

That's awesome

Can anyone tell me why the photo in the first post has been marked as NSFW?

I upped my settings. I think people just click on it accidentally.

I'm not sure if I would allow Stern into the factory to check it out, after all they are technically competitors. I'm curious if Stern would allow Homepin to see the inner workings of his factory beyond the basic tour groups that go through.

I forget what thread it was in but someone stated they called Stern and they told them about having parts supply issues.

If I were Homepin and I invested a ton of money/time in setting up a factory to produce new pinball parts, I would personally be courting every manufacturer there is, trying to convince them to switch to my parts or convincing them that my factory can manufacture them cheaper than they currently get them for.

Yeah. I have followed Homepin's progress and some of their FB posts are really interesting. For one, I didn't know that you pretty much can't import stuff. So they had to make everything they will be using. Many of these things are based on or copies of traditional parts, because they wanted the standard part, but couldn't import them. Homepin could look at being a supplier for higher volume manufacturers and retailers.

...the price is right for setting up manufacturing in Shenzhen. I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of Stern parts being made there in the future.

I guess now when you unbox a new stern it will smell like when your in Harbor Freight.

I'm not sure that was Homepin's goal. I know they are working on Thunderbirds to start and the fact that they could not import parts seems rather unlikely. Most of the newer parts come from China anyway. China being in the WTO will prevent them from forbidding people to import goods. I think Homepin's goal is to be a Manufacturer of pinball machines with a focus on directly competing with Stern's lowest cost pro models.

lol I thought the same thing.

I think Homepin is going to make parts in china for Stern.
And the deal for homepin is the can use Stern parts in ther upcomming title.
I think.

I was assuming they were just going out for chow mein.

o-din you cigar smokin dog you, I was wondering when you would chime in.

I had to deal with some customers.

I doubt it as he has gone to considerable effort and expense to create his own parts, so why switch to stern parts when you have just spent a packet on creating your own. I think Homepin doesn't want to be reliant on other manufacturers and that way can control the price and end product delivery etc..

Well if stern has HP make parts, like the roll over stars and things, they can make them @#$@#$ cheap in china. The generic parts HP makes could be used by both.

Gary Stern is a very busy man, I doubt he went there to secure contracts for parts. Usually it goes the other way around and the seller visits the buyer peddling his wares. I really think Stern views HP as a potential rival and wants to size up the competition/threat. He probably went there in the guise of maybe securing parts but really it was to gather intel.

Obviously, Gary's having Homepin make the playfield inserts for all of the "classic Stern" VE's in the pipeline.

Or maybe they're just printing Stern's "Made in the USA" stickers.

Mike has stated several times, in podcasts and in print, that he cannot import any parts. He is having to design and make everything in China, which is turning what would already be a hurculean effort into a gargantuan effort.

From Pavlov Pinball story:

Since it’s practically impossible to import parts to China, he pretty much has to make everything himself or source it locally, he adds.

“That’s certainly made the task harder. Other pinball companies can buy off the shelf parts but I haven’t been able to do that. Coils, coil sleeves, coil tabs, everything has to be designed, drawn and made, and if it doesn’t work you have to chuck it away and start again. Even something like pinball rubbers – the cost of importing them wouldn’t be worth it.”

From my perspective this can only mean a better end-result. Homepin has the unique opportunity to improve the design of every part in the game, and he can do it to his high standard of quality, and probably for cheaper as well.

Although I never seen the new parts boxes at either American pinball manufactures plants. Bet that made in China is not printed on all of the boxes. The question is quality, really, China, Philippines, Mexico, Brazil, would it really matter where the sub assemblies were made? A new Canadian or American built car has many off shore parts in it.

As long as they're not made in Canada.

I have relatives as well as property in China, have Mike call me and I can ship any part he wants directly to him. I ship huge containers all the time to my relatives with no problems. I agree that some villages have corrupt postal service that can grab stuff they deem valuable but pinball parts they wouldn't bother with. But its a great story, little guy forced to make all his parts from scratch. My experience does not support that view. Just sent my last shipment 2 months ago with no problems.

o-din you dog

As of today (July 9 15), Odin the our Dollar is just over 78 cents American. It would make a pin lower in price to purchase , however our Labour Rates are much higher.

Your Labour rate is probably higher because of that extra letter. Can I buy a vowel?

I would suggest that Mike isn't adding an extra year of resources and R&D costs to his project in the interests of 'a great story.' Creating a manufacturing business in another country is hard enough as it is without adding huge unnecessary constraints in the interest of public perception.

If you created an arbitrary constraint with massive costs in the pursuit of some kind of heroic story wouldn't you want to milk it for all it's worth? He's doing a poor job then because Mike's 'nose to the grindstone, shut up and let the product speak for itself' attitude has led to very little talk about his project so far.

Occam's Razor would suggest that he has a genuine reason for it. Perhaps it has something to do with this post Mike recently made with regard to his business license:

Well FINALLY! After two years I have a full business licence in China in my name ONLY! It is very common for foreigners starting businesses in China to take on a Chinese "partner". They do this because it expedites many things including a business licence. The problems start when the venture looks like being successful and then (more often than you would believe) the Chinese business partner simply takes over the business.

I have gone the complex route and applied in my own name only and that has taken two years. In the meantime I was issued a temporary licence which allowed me to trade BUT it stopped me from doing many things and made a lot of day to day things very difficult and complex.

If Stern wants to use parts, they would want to visit the factory to see before spending hundreds of thousands or millions into it. That is common practice. He may want to gather intel, but he probably signed NDA's and all that so he won't be able to "steal" any intel or info/processes. He wouldn't waste time traveling there just to look...that is a huge cost and time wasted to just look.

+1

My imagined backstory is that their discussions have probably been going on a while. Homepin has probably shown Stern some impressive theoretical BoM reductions that would be enough to get Gary to come take a look and possibly sign a deal.

I have no actual info to base that on, I could be completely wrong.

Anything to get pinball less expensive is good with me.

As long as my coils don't corrode and my brackets don't rust. I already assumed sub assemblies were going to be made in China.

When the pins are being built in China, I'm out on Stern. The made in the USA sticker would apply to the wood only then!

I thought it only applied to the playfield glass.

one of the first things to go on my pins!

Was there an Electronics Show going on at the same time? Or just went to China to go to HomePin. Hope he brings back a T-Shirt.

Designed in USA.

Assembled in USA.

But I always assumed pretty much everything inside was made in China at this point.

I was under the impression that it was just the stickers that were made here. .

The reason the same parts are used is because they are proven. Pinball history is littered with people trying to improve upon proven concepts and failing miserably in the field because they don't have the cycles and industry insight behind them

Just like our American flags. Don't get me started on that!! Ugh...

Just like Apple. What parts on the current stern are from outside of the USA? Idk if much of it is from the US, specially their new computer board. That is for sure from overseas.