Crimping day

Installed & test fit the entire mod last night. Checking the locations, wiring lengths & bulb choices. Everything looks great IMO.

I’ve gotten all the parts finalized now. Moving onto the final painting phase, and then ultimately the ABGZ reveal in the next couple weeks.

Won’t be long now!

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Some more updates today….

1) The initial run of ABGZ figures were cleaned up today. Just some final detailing & cleaning, test fitting of LEDs & cutting of mounting plates. Now painting can begin tomorrow! Hopefully I will have a final product finished by the end of the week. Big reveal coming soon!

2) My website is finally up & running! While the online store for ordering products is not open yet, you can still sign up for my mailing list on the home page. Then you’ll receive alerts when items are available

https://poakymods.com/

One more update....

Painting began this week on the first run of ABGZ. Broke out the Iwata airbrush for the first time & had some great results. The figures were primed & base coated. Then meticulously detailed last weekend. Took me quite a long time to figure out the correct highlight colors & getting the mouth & eyes just right.

But once that look was finalized on the first model, I used an assembly line process to get them all looking uniform. The results are pretty amazing if you ask me. Spitting image of Showa Era Godzilla seen on the LCD screen.

All that's left is to spray & seal them with a UVLS clear & then assemble....... then finally the big reveal this weekend! I could post now, but I want to wait until I have the photos & videos ready to upload to my website.

Stay tuned!

Hmmm. I'm not exactly sure what you're asking, but I think I do.

When I started my initial design, I was planning on making a resin flame mod to attach to the spotlight (on the Prem/LE) near the GZ figure. But after test fitting my figure & figuring out the angles, using the spotlight to light the flame just wasn't possible. There's not much room back there & it wasn't going to look right. I wanted GZ's head to face to player (not the spotlight), and I wanted to retain the white spotlight as a light source to illuminate my GZ figure anyway.

So my flame is separate from the spotlight. It has it's own light source tied into the Heat Ray spinner flasher. It is firmly anchored at two points & attaches to the bridge, so even with all the bridge movement it should stay in place. There is also an active flaming light source within GZ's mouth. This all easily taps into Stern's existing wiring, so it's all plug & play. A lot of thought went into the look & design of this mod.

I should also mention that this was designed for use in the Premium/LE games. Without the collapsing bridge, there isn't a location to anchor the flame on the Pro model. So this mod is just for Prem/LE owners.

I also ordered a larger nozzle spray gun, which should arrive later this week. It was pretty hard to get even coverage for priming & base coats with my 0.35 Iwata Eclipse, so the larger nozzle on the new airbrush should make it easier & faster to paint these layers, especially for the final thicker clear coat.

I'm really hoping to have them completed & photographed by this Saturday, but in any case it won't be long now.

Yes absolutely. I'll be offering just the unpainted Flying Mothra figure in the near future. It can be mounted anywhere you like. I'm not sure I'll get much demand for the unpainted figure, but a few people have reached out to me.

If people want to add a spotlight, it's easy to buy the needed parts from Comet pinball & just assemble one yourself.

I'm very close to revealing the ABGZ mod. The first run is completed. I'm just in the process of taking photos for the website, making some videos & writing the install instructions. I'm literally days away from revealing.

Should I post a sneak peak? Hmmmm.......

Ok play_pinball ….let’s get the hype train rolling.

I’ll just leave this here for now. More images, info & details coming soon

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I do have photos & videos of it installed in game. Last night was league night & I haven't had time to upload yet. I will try to get that done after work today.

Thanks for the support everyone

For your enjoyment….. the Atomic Breath Godzilla reveal video! Fully installed & in action!!! Hope you’re as excited as I am

More information & photos coming soon!

Some more detailed photos

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I can finally show some photos of the production process now. Hopefully this will give you some idea how labor intensive the process is. I’ve been getting the process defined over the last several months. Lots of trial & error. But things should go much smoother on upcoming runs.

When they come out of the silicone mold after rotocasting (that means me standing there turning a hand crank for 20 minutes for each individual head), they are hollow on the inside but require lots of cleanup & added details with the dremel. The atomic breath & lower jaw are pressure cast separately.

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First they get a black primer base

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Then it’s several green base coat with the airbrush

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Then lots of slow detail work with acrylic hobby paints, tiny brushes & various techniques while I build up the layers. Very time consuming & takes a steady hand.

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After the painting is finished, the lower jaw is glued in place & it gets a semi-gloss UVLS clear coat layer for protection.

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And some installation pics. It took a long time to get the angles of the base plate, the GZ position, the angle of the breath, and everything else just right. The head is just a hair over 6 inches tall & is a big as I could make it, but still able to fit the breath as well.

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For those who are curious about the install process, you can download the install instructions on my website at the following link….

https://poakymods.com/downloads

I have one extra unit set aside specifically to show it off at GSPF. Tested, boxed & ready to go. This will be the first time ABGZ will be on public display & get an extended testing. I really want as many people as possible to get a good look at it

I’ll be arriving Thursday so hopefully I can find a Premium owner who’s willing to let me install it.

Small update:

Attended GSPF last weekend two weeks ago in Lodi CA. I was really hoping to get it displayed for the first public reveal, but things didn't go as planned with the tournament director or the vendors at the show. Lesson learned. I should have just bought my game with the mod already installed. That news was a little disappointing because I really wanted to get some feedback from the public, but I still had a blast at the show anyway.

Now for a product update: My first run of ABGZ is already sold out. Once my local league friends saw the mod, they sold out before I could even get them listed on the website.

But high demand is a good thing! So it's back to the garage to produce the next run. I'll be making them 10 at a time, which doesn't sound like many but the process from start to finish is really labor intensive. I'm going as fast as I can. Once I finish a run, I'll send out an email blast to my website followers when they are up for sale on my website.

I'm also getting a lot of questions about pricing. I've compared what other mod makers are charging for similar high-end, hand crafted, custom made products for various games. I've accounted for how many hours it takes me from start to finish to cast, cleanup & paint just a single unit of the mod from scratch, along with cutting base plates, creating the wiring, etc. A lot of work, cash & time invested on my end. So the ABGZ mod will be priced at $600. This mod may not be for everyone. But with that being said, everyone I have spoken to who has seen it in person or installed on their games feel the price is justified.

I'm shooting for the next run to be finished by the end of June. Check back here or www.poakymods.com for updates. Thanks for your support!

I’ve been out of town the last few weeks, but got back at it this weekend. 2nd run of ABGZ heads are cast. Hopefully they will be ready for sale in a few weeks.

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Well it's not for everyone I suppose, but I knew that when I started. It's going to be a limited run item. When people stop buying them, then I'll stop making them.

The price is reflective of my time. There was an incredible amount of work/money/time already invested the last 6+ months on tools required, materials, the design & the creation of the molds. Then everything is resin cast, prepped, and painted by hand. Mounting plates are made from scratch, including the connection wiring for ease of install. It's all labor intensive for me. I put in the time so the customer can simply install & enjoy. You pay for what you get.

It's also comparable to what other mod makers have charged for limited run hand-made custom items. At least mine is high quality, has LED lighting & has functional integration with the game. You really have to see it in person.

The good news is that an ABGZ was purchased by a local baracade & installed about a month ago. Happy to report no issues with ABGZ after many games played. Solid as a rock & looking good as well

Thanks for the support! It won't be too long