Skip is going to sign off for a few weeks now but right around the first of the year I think we all need to start thinking what can each of us do to help improve all 3 of our east coast shows. Working together we can all do our part to make 2018 one for the record books as far as our 3 local shows.

From my observations: Allentown could use another dozen to 20 flea market dealers so the flea market has to expand to both inside & outside, Pintastic sadly I have not had the pleasure to attend yet that it is on my bucket list for 2018 but from taking to people Gabe has done great their in just a few short years, and as has been said already York could use more DMD machines and a few more vendors.

So anyone "on the fence" please consider doing your part in 2018.

I think there are plenty of guys with excess stuff around they should consider selling off instead of hoarding all of it. I am more guilty than most but there has to be dozens - if not hundreds - of pinball people with excess stuff around they will never use. Us selling at shows started because the "excess stuff" was taking over. I am sure I am not the only one with that problem!

My suggestion to any of you guys that don't think you have enough for a space is to consider hooking up with a couple friends and sharing a space. Once you start selling at shows it will become a habit that is hard to kick. You meet lots of great people, get rid of stuff you really don't need, and get into the shows early to buy more stuff you don't need. Everyone should try it at least once!

One thing that upsets me is Clay at VFW and Ivan always seem to pick the same date for their shows. One of these days I really want to drive out to check out Clay's VFW operation. This really sucks! I was hoping to check out VFW in 2018 but I guess that isn't going to happen again this coming year.

I do hope to make it to Pintastic and also up to hang out with Adam (ForceFlow) in 2018. 2017 was kind of a "lost year" for me as far as being able to attend pinball shows I am hoping to change that in 2018

I know some people leave them up in the grass at the top end of the parking lot. I don't like leaving my trailers so I always take them to the motel with me but at a guess I would say at least 6 to 10 people (or more) typically leave their trailers at the show. I don't know that I would do it without a good hitch lock but I am sure some people do.

So far my only plans are my normal two flea market spaces. I don't know if they will be full of machines (like last year) or if it will be more like other years with legs, back doors, backglasses, etc. --- it all still depends on the two nephews & my Virginia deal. If I could ever get them to finally make time to hook up with me again I should have lots more project coming - if not the space will be full of parts and I'll just have a few (maybe 8 or 10) machines.

Either way "Good Lord Willing" I'll be selling something at Allentown again in 2018. In a way I can't wait and yet in another way I wish it was still a year away for me to have time to get ready. Time & money are two things I never seem to have enough of!

You are 100% correct about that and SPACE is typically my biggest issue. If I had more space to work I could do things more efficiently saving time and making more money. So maybe SPACE is my only true issue. Thanks for pointing that out now all I need to do is figure out how to add space which would likely solve my other two issues!

Or as the rest of the family keeps telling me "STOP BUYING" and that might be the best answer but all of you know how the addiction goes! "There is always room for just one more".

Last week I was so very happy I finally got my van empty after it had been sitting full for over a month. It was empty exactly 3 days and then "a deal too good to pass up" came along on 3 parts machines. So off I went with my "empty" van and now it is sitting full again because when I got to the sellers place I had room for 4 machines in the van so guess what - I had to buy one more from him. I AM VERY VERY SICK!

My "project" pin stash isn't anything like it has been in the past and with the exception of a few Classic Bally machines (that we are considering keeping or fixing and selling as working machines) might actually be entirely spoken for if my one buyer from a few weeks ago decides he wants my last 5 or 6 project machines. My issue now is I have been hoarding parts machines over the past 5 or 6 years and now I have 3 times as many parts machines as I have space for or time to part out. I wish the issue was "project machines" that issue is easy to solve these days but "parts machines" are almost impossible to sell so I need to spend the time making them into parts and selling those parts.

Worse yet most of my "parts machines" are woodrails or EM's so interest in those & the parts from them keeps dropping every year. Unlike SS machines most EM's and pretty much all woodrail stuff is dead these days.

Right now 95% of my parts stash is woodrail & EM stuff. I have parted out a few SS machines but most of that stuff either stays with us for our machines or sells as fast as I have it for sale. So no beacon tops right now is the short answer but thanks for asking!

If my memory is correct not much happens before mid March. Maybe late February but not until well after the New Year anyway. Ivan will start chiming in sometime around February (maybe sooner).

As far as repairs on ANY pinball machine in Central PA we are lucky to have a great asset here in Central PA - Jim from JT Amusements. He does just about anything pinball from woodrails right up to the newest machines, is fair with his prices, and does a great job with repairs. I have known Jim ever since I was in the hobby and he is in the hobby & repair business for all the right reasons. Like anyone else he needs to make a living but he loves these great old machines.

Normally we do 100% of our own repairs but this year has been so crazy we just have not had time to work on our personal machines. Yesterday I had Jim here for over 9 hours and we got 10 or 11 machines working during that time. Some were simple fixes and others took a little time but with 3 of us attacking different things on various machines we now have some working machines in the gameroom again.

So for anyone in Central PA remember if you need a machine fixed you are lucky to have someone around that can help you. The only thing with Jim - because he is good - he is busy so if you need major work on a machine it can take some time for him to get through one and for normal "house calls" it can be a few weeks before he has time to get to you during the busy times of the year. But if you call or email him he will reply to you - and as many of you already know that is unusual for repair guys these days (regardless of what repair business they are in).

When Jim comes to see you tell him Skip said "he is doing it wrong" or something like that just to mess with him! He & I have a long history of "pulling each other's chain". I highly doubt you will ever find a guy that enjoys his work more than Jim. He lives pinball 12 to 15 hours a day and even on his time off he is active in the hobby. Rarely do you find a guy that does something 7 days a week and isn't burned out on it! Being very honest I don't know how he does it!

As far as Central PA - it is amazing to have two great shows, several good places to play pinball and the wealth of machines for sale we have in this area. I am just so thankful I live here for several reasons but beyond loving the area it is a great place for pinball.

Just to redirect some of the energy away from motels & hotels and towards the actual show and what is headed to the show I'll be bringing 20+ project & semi project machines to the show (if not more) again this year. Mostly Data East, Williams System 11 and some Bally and/or Williams DMD stuff. Sometime about a month before the show I'll post a list of machines headed to the show with "about" prices, etc. Most machines are in fairly nice overall condition - working or semi working - but unshopped. Prices will be "fair" and in line with current market values (we are not going to give them away but they will be priced fairly).

These will be for sale prior to the show if someone wants to come to my place to pick them up but I will not take deposits or hold anything for people coming to the show. I have played that game in the past and ended up holding 8 or 10 machines for people who never showed up for them. Then I ended up having to sell machines at reduced prices on Saturday (or bring them home) even though I had cash offers for more Thursday or Friday. If you want something bad enough just drive to our place and grab it before I load for the show!

PLEASE do not email for a list or prices yet - we are not ready for that right now. As soon as I know for sure what is getting sold I'll post a list. I don't want to deal with selling machines with snow on the ground and this time of year that could happen pretty much any time. I might do this in 2 phases with the first list being machines we currently have in the garage & the second list machines in storage or in our collection. That might make things easier on my end and at the same time I'll be able to get one list posted sooner.

In any event save your tax return money if you are looking for decent project machines here in Central PA or if you live close enough to make the drive! Price range on "most" machines will be $1500 to $3500 just to give you some idea of the type of machines I am talking about! Some titles that might make the list include: World Cup Soccer, Stargate, Shaq Ataq, Bride of Pinbot, Whirlwind, ElDorado City of Gold, Judge Dredd, Cue Ball Wizard, Hyperball, and many many more. As I said above - none of these are "for sure" yet but these are just a few of the machines we are considering selling off this Spring.

To be very honest the only thing bad I can say about Allentown is Ivan is totally out of space. I was talking with him this past weekend and he already knows he has more vendors then he has room for and the show is 3 months away. Since Ivan took the show over about 8 or 9 years ago he has done a fantastic job growing the show! Sadly growth is likely over at this point because he is out of space but if you want to attend one of the best shows in the country for buying pins or parts Allentown is it.

And lets not even get started about all the great food at the farmers market just on the other side of the street from the entrance. I work my ass off ever year setting up at the indoor flea market and still come home gaining weight. Thankfully my wife comes along to keep an eye on me or it would be even worse!

Other than the "space issue" if I could change one thing about Allentown it would be to try to get guys who bring machines to stay a little later on Saturday. Saturday the show is open until 8PM but sadly the show is over around 4PM. I know most of us have a long drive home but it would be great if everyone made an attempt to keep machines on the floor until just after 6PM. I always try to do my part and wait until after 6 before I start packing and I know from experience if people keep packing early Saturday will become a total waste of time a few years down the road. So please try to do your part to keep machines on the floor as late as possible on Saturday.

Chris,

As long as Ivan is running the show it is highly unlikely he will move it. He realizes how important the farmers market is to the show success and that is one of the things we were talking about this past weekend. He would love to move the flea market back outside (under a big tent) but the tent would be cost prohibitive according to the research he has done so far. Having a full show with a waiting list is actually a good thing in many ways so I doubt we will see any major changes any time soon.

I am hoping more people start thinking like you and realize a couple extra hours Saturday will be a HUGE help to the show. Sadly in this day and age way to many people just care about what is best for them and don't think about the big picture. Keeping machines up and running until after 6 PM will help the Saturday crowd grow but people leaving early will kill Saturday in the long term. So again - if you are bringing a machine PLEASE think about what is best for the show long term. Another hour or two later Saturday night isn't really that big of a deal but killing Saturday will be the beginning of the end for a great show. PLEASE don't take things down that path!

If my memory is correct Ivan starts hitting things pretty hard right around March 1st as far as show stuff goes. Like the rest of us he always has a ton of other stuff going on so I guess he puts stuff for the show off some because he can. The nice thing is we all know Ivan will be on top of things (as always) once time starts getting closer.

And to clarify something I said earlier when I was talking to Ivan he said something to the effect of "I have more people wanting spaces every year and we are pretty much always sold out before the show". So I kind of summed it up by saying "he has a waiting list for spaces". The topic came up because we were talking about expanding the show but him being out of space. And since the Farmers Market is a big draw he really wouldn't want to move locations.

Allentown is a great venue but it would be nice if they had another building the size of the indoor flea market show could expand into. The sad thing is York has plenty of space but between the travel distance from so many east coast cities, the time of the year, the lack of great food, and other stuff York really has not grown much over the past few years. It would be nice if Ivan had the space York could have! Thankfully Rich is going to stay in the big building for 2018 so hopefully we can get a few more vendors to that show. But this is the Allentown page so we will save talking about York for down the road after the Allentown Show.

Ivan,

Thanks for stopping by and posting this. Looking forward to another great Allentown Show & especially some great farmers market food. Keep up the great work and I'll be talking to you soon.

Show normally starts at Noon on Saturday. If I remember correctly they let people in early last year because of the rain. I know one year they opened the door early because of rain and I am thinking that was last year. I am a flea market vendor and while I was trying to finish setting up people were trying to buy stuff. I was wondering why so many people were in the hall already and then someone side the opened early because of the rain?

One thing I think most people who collect forget - these machines took one hell of a lot more abuse in public places over the years then they ever would at a show and most survived fairly well. Two days at a show will rarely end up with anything but people enjoying your machine.

Maybe a plastic or two might break on a machine or two, maybe a coil will cook or something else silly might happen but odds are what ever went wrong at the show would have happened at your house anyway.

Gerry,

Glad to see ya got some help loading! Wayne & I can give you a hand unloading if you need a hand at the show.

As far as Ivan working hard to make the show great - nothing surprises me with Ivan and what he is willing to do to make the show better every year. I know some people sometimes have issues with some of the "rules" at the show but Ivan keeps doing his best to make the show even better year after year and I think we all owe him a big THANK YOU!

Fold down heads I think 24 to 27 if you load correctly - it all depends on wheel wells on the truck. You have to "stagger" one head forward one head back to get the most into the truck if you are working with fold down head machines.

That "idiot" is my neighbor at the flea market and he sold EVERY machine he had before closing yesterday (a full day before the end of the show) so I guess his prices were not as bad as you might think. Maybe a few 'buyers" were "idiots" for paying what they did for the machines they bought (I don't know what anyone actually paid for machines & that is really none of my business anyway) but calling a seller an "idiot" for bring pinball machines to a pinball show really isn't necessary.

The way I see things is he brought a bunch of neglected machines to a show hoping someone would "save them". Then he put prices on those machines hoping to sell them. Once the show started it was up to the buyers to decide what each machine was worth - it has nothing to do with asking price it is all about selling price & his prices must have been OK to sell EVERY MACHINE!

Do I think prices on machines have gotten INSANE lately - yes I do. But calling a seller an IDIOT for getting as much as possible for what he is selling isn't the seller being an idiot - it is a seller being a smart business man!

Another GREAT Allentown Show behind us. Just got home and wanted to say thanks again to Ivan & all his crew for putting on another record breaking Allentown Show. The crowd Friday was insane - today foot traffic seemed a little slow but I think it was the best line up of games I have ever seen at Allentown on a Saturday afternoon. Freeplay area didn't have many empty spaces Saturday (even at 4PM). Much better Saturday (as far as number of games in freeplay) then I ever remember so with what seemed like a smaller than normal crowd Saturday there didn't seem to be big lines waiting to play machines today.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hello. Wayne & I had a great time but 3 long days have taken a toll. Driving home to Carlisle every night this year added 4 extra hours to each day for us but it was necessary for us to do things that way this year. I am getting too old for 8 or 9 hours total sleep in 3 days!

More tomorrow!

2018 Pinfest was in the rear view mirror as of about 8:45 PM last night for Wayne & I. After getting a few hours sleep I was laying in bed this morning thinking about what I wanted this post to say and the best I can come up with is -- I want to publicly apologize to a few and say thank you to many of the people I talked with over the past few days.

First off I want to let anyone I had to cut conversation short with know I am sorry I didn't have more time to talk but it got pretty crazy at times and I seemed to have to be talking to several people at once a few times. When that happens it is hard to shake everyone's hand and thank them for stopping by to say hello. I also want to apologize for not having a bigger & better load of project machines this year. My plans for another big load of machines was turned upside down when I wrecked my van about a month before the show while picking up a load of machines & parts in El Paso, Texas. Hopefully next years load will be better! I also want to apologize to a couple people for not being able to bring stuff they were expecting to be able to pick up from me at the show - don't worry I'll get that stuff to you ASAP.

As far as the thank you end of things:

First off and very important to me I want to thank Ivan & his fantastic crew for doing such a great job every year. I am always amazed at how well organized you guys are and how all of you are always willing to do what ever it takes to get it done. For that a big THANK YOU!

I also want to thank the dozen (or so) people who dropped parts off to us at the show. I was blown away by how many items I tripped into because of the buy-sell-trade post here on Pinside. Your parts will help save or improve several of the machines I have sitting here waiting for "some love".

But lastly & most importantly I want to thank all of the people who bought machines from us in 2017 for coming over to thank us again for those machines and to share pictures of some of those project machines all fixed up and playing great again. The biggest "rush" I get out of the pinball hobby is getting machines & parts to people who will do something with them and it is always great to see some of the results of my efforts.

I am not much of a pinball player so I never even walked over to play a machine in the "freeplay area". I did walk through once just to get an idea of what machines were on that side of the show and it looked like a fantastic line up of machines again this year. My enjoyment with the pinball hobby is "saving machines" that can be saved and parting out machines that are too far gone to help save other machines. It is always nice to get feedback from past customers (good & bad) but thankfully this year all the feedback was great and that really made my weekend.

One last thank you to everyone that has supported my son Wayne's PINITECH venture. He gets his enjoyment by creating items he thinks will be helpful to people trying to repair or upgrade their machines. He puts hundreds of hours into trying to develop and design the "best" products he can (often to just have someone copy what he has done and undercut his prices with lesser quality clones) but he has accepted the fact that some people will do that and there really isn't much he can do about it. I am a proud father - happy to see how Wayne has taken countless hours trying to come up with "a better way". It amazes me how quick his test fixtures make some of our repairs these days but it makes me a little sad to see there isn't much demand for that test stuff he has created over the years.

AGAIN THANK YOU TO ALL! Now it is time to start getting ready for York.

I am hoping to make Pintastic (June 28th through July 1st) but I don't know how long my van is going to be in the shop. Gabe stops by to talk to me every year about coming up with a load of machines & parts but so far I have not been able to get to New England to do his show.

Sorry for such a long post but it seems there is always so much to say!

That was a guy playing our Dracula over in the Flea Market area while we were loading. I kept 3 machines up and running against that bathroom wall for people to enjoy up until about 7 or 7:30 last night while we loaded other stuff. We were one of the last two or three people to leave the Flea Market last night. Financially the show wasn't great for us this year (mostly because of my load) and Saturday foot traffic seemed a little slow but overall we had a great show.

Yesterday I think the weather was just a little too nice so some people did outdoor stuff instead of going to the show for sure. But Friday was insane over in the freeplay area - it had to be a record crowd as well as a record number of machines in freeplay.

At least my post actually had something to do with the Allentown Pinball Show and not an after party. I know I like to talk and sometimes have an issue with "keeping it short" but I figure if someone doesn't want to read everything they can just pass by my post. What I hate is to have to filter through dozens of post on an unrelated topic.

What does an after party have to do with Pinfest 2018 anyway. If you want to talk about an after party (or have one) that is great. But why not just start a post about that?

Same way with a couple hundred post about motel rooms. Thankfully someone started a "buy-sell-trade" post for the Allentown Show so I didn't have to waste time looking at dozens of hotel & motel post just to see what parts might be interesting to me that were headed to the show.

I agree 100% Or at least if you want to get into "he said - she said" debate just start a new post. One transaction between two people seems to be taking up a lot of space no one really cares to keep reading about.

What most people don't seem to understand these days is it is nearly impossible to get a deal on "project machines". I started in the hobby 10 or 12 years ago and I could typically pick up a couple project machines just about every week with little to no effort finding them. I also had a couple "flipper" friends that would drop machines they found off to me at "fair prices". Over the past 3 or 4 years project machines have basically totally dried up. If it wasn't for the couple warehouse deals I made last year I don't think I would have been able to bring anything to the flea market but a few parts this year. I can't even remember the last time I picked up a machine from Craig's List but it had to be two years ago (or more). 10 years ago I was buying 8 or 10 machines some weeks.

These days people who have "junk" or projects for sale think they are worth as much as fully working machines. Dealers have no magical source to buy machines - they are chasing them just like everyone else they just work harder at it! With the "spread" so small between purchase price of project machines and what you can actually sell them for it is hard to justify the time it takes to buy them and get them to a show. Last year I took 56 machines to Allentown and sold 48 of them either at the show or as a result of those machines being at the show. After expenses I made less than $25 per machine on what I sold. How many people want to move 300+ pound pinball machines 5 or 6 times to make a $20 bill?

Allentown flea market has changed because the supply of machines (and even parts) is drying up. I am hoping to finalize things with "Phase 2" of my Virginia deal sometime soon and if that happens I'll have some machines for York & Allentown but if not all I'll have at Allentown in 2019 will be "finished machines". If you can't find stuff to sell at decent prices it is hard to bring machines to a show and sell them in the flea market area!

Times have changed - pinball is much more popular than it has been in years - there are less old machines every year that are just sitting somewhere - so don't expect to see the "Old Allentown Flea Market" in the future. Just be thankful there are still a few of us willing to work hard and dig deep trying to get some project machines to the show each year. 2019 will likely be my last year setting up at the flea market - I am just getting too old to be moving these things out of peoples basements. It has been a blase but it is time for me to step away and let some of the younger guys take over.

Friday set up is either 8AM or 9AM until Noon - once show opens at noon set up is over! I don't remember 100% for sure but I think it is 9AM to noon. If you are going to bring a game for freeplay be sure to register it ahead of time. This year freeplay area was full on Friday and Ivan had to start turning people away that were not preregistered.

Thanks for the kind words!

People who have not tried buying and selling in volume don't realize how much work it is for the very small return you make these days. My son & I worked everyday for nearly 3 weeks getting stuff ready for the show and I am still in the process of getting stuff unloaded and put away. I have not run the totals yet but I would be willing to bet it actually cost me money to do the show again this year (once I figure all my associated cost).

Thankfully I enjoy getting machines that have just been sitting somewhere out for sale and to people who will actually do something with them. Because if it was about money I would have given up buying & selling machines within a year of getting into the hobby. Wal-Mart greeters make more per hour than I ever have moving 300+ pound pinball machines around and they are not driving thousands of miles each year to make a few dollars either!

Glad you are happy with that machine! Be sure to drop me a PM to let me know how you make out getting her up and running again. I love to get emails with pictures of project machines I have sold once they are finished. It just makes me feel good to see how nice some of the stuff cleans up and I feel even better knowing the machines are being enjoyed again instead of just sitting in a corner under a pile of junk & dirt.

Thanks Again!
Skip

300+ in freeplay and that number does not include any machines in vendor booths. If you count everything in freeplay, vendor booths, and the flea market area I would guess in excess of 600 machines total at the show.

Here is an idea - how about one of you guys start an "Allentown after party thread" and keep this thread to stuff about the Allentown Show. If seems every time I stop in to see what has been posted since my last visit there is more talk about some after party at a hotel then talk about the actual show.

If someone decides to do something like a hotel after party next year please keep it on a separate thread. 95 to 99% of us really don't care!

When it come to show related stuff -- I am FINALLY done unloading and putting everything away. Most people who attend these shows don't have a clue how much work it is to actually set up a vendor space at a show. I was 3 weeks getting stuff ready for the show (before the show even happened), drove 600+ miles in 3 days (coming home each night for "special request stuff" for customers and to get a couple hours sleep) then almost 4 days after the show getting everything put away. So a 3 day show actually took me almost a month total! People who think selling machines and parts in volume is easy should give it a try!

No "bitching" just saying taking a dozen or more game plus parts & other stuff to a show isn't as easy as some people think. Moving a couple games is no big deal but when you start moving 8 or 10 it kind of takes a toll on you. I have worked hard pretty much every day and have since I was in my teens. I actually love working hard and enjoy life everyday so no complaining from me - just stating facts!

What I don't enjoy is reading post about stuff like how Ivan doesn't care about his vendors or when someone calls my neighbor at the flea market an "idiot" for bringing "a bunch of neglected machines" to the flea market for sale. Some people just don't seem to "get it".

In any event I thought 2018 Pinfest was the best ever and just hope Ivan & his crew keep up the great work in the future. Sadly the outdoor flea market just doesn't seem to work at Allentown anymore so maybe it is time to just give up on that idea for a while? Otherwise 2018 seemed very good for everyone involved. It was nice to see more machines in freeplay Saturday & machines staying later on Saturday, it was great to see the huge crowd Friday even though crowd seemed smaller than usual Saturday (likely because of the nice weather).

As far as the "after party" - who could have seen issues coming with that! Better luck next year!

Sorry about that! Lack of sleep & bad eyes without my glasses on missed one letter. "Bought" & "brought" look a lot alike at 1 or 2 AM after being up over 20 hours several days in a row.

As far as those pins - Mark (my neighbor) was selling them for someone and wasn't keeping any of the funds. According to what he had told me he was given a machine or two to sell the rest of them. Prices marked were just a starting point and very few machines sold for anything close to his original asking price but he did sell all of them on Friday so selling prices must have been OK in the end.

Ivan & his crew have done a great job taking control of the show over the past couple years. 3 or 4 years ago Ivan was pretty lax with the rules and things started getting pretty bad. Thankfully Ivan realized it before it was too late and turned things around very quickly. The intense security at the door sometimes seems a little overkill but it was what he needed to do to straighten things out. Again thanks to Ivan & his crew for doing such a great job with the show. It is no little task trying to keep hundreds of people happy and overall I think Ivan has done a great job.

Well said! We were set up in our typical two spaces again this year (for the 4th year if my memory is correct) and I have seen a change in the show each year. I do agree the flea market area was a little sparse but if no one can find reasonably priced machines for sale how can people expect the flea market dealers to have record numbers of them? 5 or 6 years ago I was grabbing a machine or two just about every week. In the past two years (if it wasn't for my two warehouse deals) I think I have picked up about a dozen machines total (maybe not even that many). So if I can only buy one machine every few weeks where am I suppose to get inventory to take to the show? (I am not talking about just me but I am speaking for a lot of other sellers also).

On top of that I am having to pay 25 or 30% more for project machines yet buyers at the show still expect to buy at 2015 prices? There just isn't enough money in machines these days to justify buying them for resale unless you get really really lucky. So I wouldn't expect things in the flea market area to get better any time soon.

Thankfully next year will likely be my last year setting up -- not due to anything Ivan has or has not done but due to the fact I am just getting too old for all the work for very little return. And if "Phase 2" of my warehouse deal doesn't happen (for any reason) this year was likely my last time setting up. I love the show - I love the interaction with people - but the numbers just make it pretty much impossible for me to continue. I am not complaining - I am just stating the cold hard facts.

Don't blame Ivan & his crew for the hobby changing! The hobby today seems to be more about mods & bling and less about bringing old machines back to life. I think that is one of the reasons I am really starting to lose interest in everything pinball - not just in the show.

Don't worry I always keep a spare in stock!