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OP
Quoted from High_End_Pins:
This showed up.
It’s going straight into process once O get Rocky wrapped up because it’s the type of job that goes into the “Rocky” slot.
I have my everyday jobs like the TZs,IJs etc
Then my slightly more complex ones with painted cabinets like Kiss,Centaur etc
EMs(working my way out of those completely no longer offered unless it’s an interesting project.
Then my nightmares this is one of those and if you let your nightmares accumulate you will end up throwing in the towel,going broke or going insane.
None of which I want to do.
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Omg I can’t wait to see this one!!!

So looking forward to this one. I have one of my Hankins pulled down for a top side refresh atm. Is this the first Hankin you have done?

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Let the owner know it arrived.
Not sure if it was a joke or not?

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As long as this one doesn’t have those shitty f’n dolls put on it!

Nothing to it.

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Quoted from dmacy:
As long as this one doesn’t have those shitty f’n dolls put on it!

The doll possibilities are endless.

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Looking forward to that! Hope you have enough action figures!

I'm interested in what condition the playfield is in. Backglass too.

Quoted from Garrett:
I'm interested in what condition the playfield is in. Backglass too.

They are usually in excellent condition, both my Hankin's are above average survivors.

Quoted from punkin:
They are usually in excellent condition, both my Hankin's are above average survivors.

Can you elborate on how the playfields survived so well? How were the playfields produced?

I wasn't aware of this Hankin's until this.

Quoted from Garrett:
Can you elborate on how the playfields survived so well? How were the playfields produced?
I wasn't aware of this Hankin's until this.

I don't know anything about them except the condition that mine and all the others i've seen are in. It's not that i think they were protected, they were in the Milk bar's and Fish and Chip shops here, alongside the Bally's and Gott's. So exposed to the same sun, greasy air and smoke that others were.
I don't know a story about diamond plate or anything else that would explain it either.

They just seem to be all in above average condition, compared to a Gorgar, Flash or something of the same era.
They are a sect here and there are plenty of people who just love them. that would have a lot more knowledge on it than me.

Looks like my Shark is sold (against my judgement) as there is a lady who just loves them and it's good to know it's going to the right home. Orbit 1 is not leaving till last.

They made five pinballs, Orbit 1, Empire Strikes back, Shark, FJ Holden and Howzat!

David Hankin is still going strong and was at pinfest Newcastle last year alongside Gary Stern, Jersey Jack, Mike from Homepin and Damian from Haggis.

I know he'd be thrilled to know that this is being done and he freely signs machines and parts for the love of the game if the owner was interested in starting a communication with him.

I thought this would be a rant but it turned into more of a revelation. I usually work in front of the camera most of the day when I am featuring a project and pick through the footage often forgetting the stops and starts or deletes.
Within them can be rants,errors,interruptions and even meandering stories as I try to make small talk to fill in the gaps of the day not knowing what will make it on there.
This is just one such story.
Why I have no help 1

OP
Quoted from High_End_Pins:
I thought this would be a rant but it turned into more of a revelation. I usually work in front of the camera most of the day when I am featuring a project and pick through the footage often forgetting the stops and starts or deletes.
Within them can be rants,errors,interruptions and even meandering stories as I try to make small talk to fill in the gaps of the day not knowing what will make it on there.
This is just one such story.
Why I have no help 1

What was the final outcome for the customer in that situation? Financial compensation or were you able to track down another set of those games to restore for them?

Quoted from SiN13:
What was the final outcome for the customer in that situation? Financial compensation or were you able to track down another set of those games to restore for them?

Ah! The cliff hanger.

Quoted from SiN13:
What was the final outcome for the customer in that situation? Financial compensation or were you able to track down another set of those games to restore for them?

I think if there’s enough interest in that sort of thing I will tell the rest of it in a part 2.
If not no big deal just curious to see if the “outtakes” are worth saving sometimes.
There are so many at the end of a day on a captured project.

Might as well show off my Hankin flyers. The Empire Strikes Back is a pretty rare flyer and I assume the game is too, will be cool to see it getting the full treatment. Most people in the U.S have probably never heard or seen a Hankin game, me included.

https://nypinball.com/category/hankin/?post_types=flyers

Well said Chris. My older brother was into drugs from a teen. He stole from all of us in the family. We had run ins. It was a hard situation. He died years ago of cancer which was brought on by his hardcore drug use. There will always be people who have plenty to say about someone else’s life and opinion, but probably aren’t even taking care of their own business. Don’t let them keep you from sharing with those of us that appreciate who you are as a person, on top of enjoying your excellent work.

Quoted from jazc4:
Well said Chris. My older brother was into drugs from a teen. He stole from all of us in the family. We had run ins. It was a hard situation. He died years ago of cancer which was brought on by his hardcore drug use. There will always be people who have plenty to say about someone else’s life and opinion, but probably aren’t even taking care of their own business. Don’t let them keep you from sharing with those of us that appreciate who you are as a person, on top of enjoying your excellent work.

Thanks man.
I am sorry to hear it but know the situation all too well.
This thread has always been about more than priming cabinets and painting playfields.
Running a pinball restoration business solo is as hard as it might seem fascinating and a lot of the questions I get or comments made are met with quick generic not always so genuine answers to protect the fantasy of it.
Thats because people love the fantasy of it more than they probably would like the reality of it sometimes.
I am just in a period of it right now where I need to work through some of that because the easy answers are not always the best and the most honest ones.
For example
“Why don’t you have any help”

The easy answers
“I don’t trust anyone to do it/can’t afford it”

The reality is more than I could type. It doesn’t matter if people care about that as much as it seems so much more thorough and genuine that it satisfies me more than the generic answers in some cases.

Why I don’t have any help 2

OP
Quoted from High_End_Pins:
I thought this would be a rant but it turned into more of a revelation. I usually work in front of the camera most of the day when I am featuring a project and pick through the footage often forgetting the stops and starts or deletes.
Within them can be rants,errors,interruptions and even meandering stories as I try to make small talk to fill in the gaps of the day not knowing what will make it on there.
This is just one such story.
Why I have no help 1

With all the family drama, I thought I was watching American Chopper there for a minute.

Seriously, sometimes family members leave scars that last a lifetime on those who loved them the most. There are so many different elements to such relationships, but ultimately their selfishness and betrayal is probably what hurts most. While I certainly can't speak for everyone, while your expertise in pinball restoration is what attracts us to follow, we also appreciate you sharing a little of who you are throughout the process.

Quoted from Mr_Tantrum:
With all the family drama, I thought I was watching American Chopper there for a minute

Don't even get me started about that!

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OP
Quoted from High_End_Pins:
Don't even get me started about that!
[quoted image]

Did you HEP a pin for him? That's pretty cool.

I watched the show for a few years when they were having fun building bikes. But once the money got going it turned south.

Such a shame that money does this to people, espescially family.

In the end, that's all you really have.

Quoted from Garrett:
Did you HEP a pin for him? That's pretty cool.
I watched the show for a few years when they were having fun building bikes. But once the money got going it turned south.
Such a shame that money does this to people, espescially family.
In the end, that's all you really have.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/for-sale-hep-ultimate-golf-ball-frenzy-occ

OP
Quoted from High_End_Pins:
Don't even get me started about that!
[quoted image]

Dang, another rabbit hole I didn't have time to dive into this morning!

Quoted from Mr_Tantrum:
Dang, another rabbit hole I didn't have time to dive into this morning!

But still did

Same.

OP
Quoted from High_End_Pins:
I think if there’s enough interest in that sort of thing I will tell the rest of it in a part 2.

Anything you want to share, we'll be glad to listen. No pressure though of course. Seems like the unlisted video approach is great for this kinda stuff, no random know-it-alls stumbling onto your more personal videos via the youtube algorithm.

I have been working.

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Quoted from yancy:
Anything you want to share, we'll be glad to listen. No pressure though of course. Seems like the unlisted video approach is great for this kinda stuff, no random know-it-alls stumbling onto your more personal videos via the youtube algorithm.

Maybe a new kind of OnlyFans account where the only porn is pinball machines in various states of undress as they are made over. Drive it to #1 on the site and confuse the crap out of the rest of the users there.

That was a full load there. One cabinet interior is done HEP style the other factory style.

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I prefer HEP style and have copied it twice! I know how much prep work goes into that, cause Black shows everything. I had a 1977 Pontiac Trans Am painted. When I went to pick it up. The painter came out to personally cuss at me. Because he had to redo it. Plus he did not put flex agent in the hood (the one where the Hood Scoop sticks out in the middle). He said it cracked twice.

Quoted from Mr_Tantrum:
Dang, another rabbit hole I didn't have time to dive into this morning!

I hope we are all still friends after this.
OCChoppers build

OP
Quoted from High_End_Pins:
I hope we are all still friends after this.
OCChoppers build

Chris, thanks for that background on the pin.

When I looked at the for sale link with the OCC guy and saw the translite and was like WTF is that? And who are those young fuckin' guys standing next to Paul from OCC?

The story of what happened is crazy as well. Much repsect!

One of my biggest pinball hobbiest mistakes is not following this thread sooner, was hiding out in the EM world for the last decade.

With that said, damn near every pinball hobbiest knows what HEP is.

This was the first video I've watched of yours and now have some cathcing up to do.

The great thing about getting older is exactly what you did in that video.

I've always had the greatest repsect for your work but after watching that video it also extends to you as a person.

"I'll kill you on morals"

Now I am looking for a link to that OCC show unveiling the pinball machine. I used to watch that stupid show. It was obvious that most, if not all, of the drama was made up to promote the reality. Like a lot of those Reality Car and Motorcycle shows, it is always about the deadline. It is always about getting that critical part at the last moment. There is always a class clown that they make fun of. There is always the expert that saves the day. Then they added the cute girl to the plot.

Here are some links for those that are curious>
https://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=6173
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/occ-pinball-to-be-auctioned

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Thanks for sharing these stories/rants with us Chris. I hope at the very least it brings you a little bit of mental relief to get these things off your chest.

OP
Quoted from High_End_Pins:
I hope we are all still friends after this.
OCChoppers build

This was great! Thanks Chris.

I know you already do a lot and content takes time, but have you ever considered a weekly podcast? I think hearing your thoughts on restoration and rants would go over super well and expand your reach (not that you need it) to even more platforms. Call it ‘The f**king wooden doll - a pinball podcast.’

I mean, just you reviewing mods would be amazing. Ha.

Great story Chris. I love the candid way that you laid everything out there.
Safe to say that nearly everyone despises having to deal with “douche bags”, especially the ones that are anal about everything.

Great story. I've seen every episode of OCC but that was before my pinball consciousness (although I do remember watching some golf related shows). I know a lot of it was scripted, but the father-son issues in the end seemed to have some validity to them.

Funny that me making an offhand comment led to all of this - you're great!

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You call it morals, i call it honour, but we are talking about the same thing. It's a framework of rules you've made for your own behaviour that you won't break.

You know if someone's got it or not after spending five minutes with them.

Seriously, that was an awesome story. At the time I'm sure it wasn't much fun living it, but it was a heck of a lot of fun hearing it. Thanks Chris!

I really appreciate the comments.
Many people think that doing something for someone or something that is famous will be great.
Every single thing I have ever done in that regard has been the exact opposite.
So much so that I actually avoid it all together.
There have been games done for actors that start off strong and eventually hand you off to the assistant.
Games for people that own sports teams that schedule paying you two months after the works done like they don’t have it!

I have endless experience in that sort of thing and even more on the automotive side.

If I were being totally honest the “problem “ with me is that the talent is also the boss,the CEO etc so it can make for a very personal experience on either side of the transaction. Almost always in a positive way but when it isn’t there are no filters about my stance on the situation.
I always treat people with respect but at the end of the day I am really just the talent phoning in the rest of it because I have no choice.

OP
Quoted from High_End_Pins:
I really appreciate the comments.

Much respect for sharing your thoughts, Chris!

Not everyone is willing to lick off the sugar-coating and share the thuth behind the business.

OP
Quoted from High_End_Pins:
I have endless experience in that sort of thing and even more on the automotive side.

P.S. Is it just me or is anyone else interested in some automotive dissing?

Working through bits and pieces of the TZs.
These are the things many either overlooked or take for granted that can be quite time and material consuming.
It’s also just a small part of what separates a good restoration from a true high end build.

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I love the documentation of these stories, and I think it's really important for the history-minded pinball fans to have these stories available.

I'm sure past designers, artists, company leadership, and other industry insiders didn't think much of doing their long-form podcast interviews or writing an article or two, but these things wind up being woven into the fabric of the hobby. Getting perspective and, for lack of a better term, "lore" in a recorded form from respected folks in the hobby ensures that us pedantic pinball nerds have proof when we regale the next generation of pedantic pinball nerds with stories of the OCC NGG or who this "HEP" guy was and what his opinions were of shitty TZ mods.

OP
Quoted from High_End_Pins:
I hope we are all still friends after this.
OCChoppers build

I'm in my early 30s and I've considered quitting my stable six figure job to do dumb pinball shit

I'm 77 and gave up a six figure job to do dumb pinball shit when I was 48. Not sorry and still doing dumb pinball shit. You only get one life here on Earth.

Quoted from lrosent345:
I'm 77 and gave up a six figure job to do dumb pinball shit when I was 48. Not sorry and still doing dumb pinball shit. You only get one life here on Earth.

Very true. Financial side for me not the best move. Freedom/independence and accomplishment wise definitely a winner.

I have been self employed since I graduated from college. I never had a 6 figure job but I turned down some pretty insane offers over the years to continue being self employed. I'll be 70 in a couple weeks and I will never be wealthy but I have enjoyed ever day on this earth and if I had to do it over again I wouldn't think twice. Life is about more than money and if you are doing what you love you never are really having to "go to work".

I should have been retired several years ago but I am still working 60 or 70 hours a week. Not because I have to but because I love what I am doing.

What a great way to look at things. We are somewhat aligned and then somewhat so very different but it's great to hear that you've had so many years doing what you wanted and being fulfilled. Good for you sir.

Quoted from too-many-pins:I have been self employed since I graduated from college. I never had a 6 figure job but I turned down some pretty insane offers over the years to continue being self employed. I'll be 70 in a couple weeks and I will never be wealthy but I have enjoyed ever day on this earth and if I had to do it over again I wouldn't think twice. Life is about more than money and if you are doing what you love you never are really having to "go to work".
I should have been retired several years ago but I am still working 60 or 70 hours a week. Not because I have to but because I love what I am doing.

Here’s this
Thumbnail is just a random picture because of the other thumbnail options.
Why I gave up a high end painting career

OP
Quoted from High_End_Pins:
I hope we are all still friends after this.
OCChoppers build

Great story. I thought this thread could not get any better but I was obviously wrong. I could not agree more on how aggravating corporate/marketing BS is, dealing with famous people etc.

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By High_End_Pins

5 years ago

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