If Pintastic wants to get real about the best in show category they need to offer serious cash prizes. Nobody cares about a ribbon. There are a ton of talented restorers in New England and beyond but no one is going to put a 100+ hour restoration into the free play area. Yes, the velvet ropes are what is needed if you want a true "concours" type competition. I truly hope this segment of the show evolves. It is currently only a farce but it could become a main attraction if managed properly.

Gee Dave, Thanks, give me the benefit of the doubt by downvoting my post and not allowing someone else an opinion. Maybe if the show judged ALL the pins and didn't exclude Eric Bundys other restorers would be interested in showing. There is obviously huge room to improve on the Pintastic restoration competition. Right now farce sums it up and until it becomes a worthwhile competition talented restorers won't waste their time. Kudos to those that made the effort and brought restorations but until judging becomes fair and all are included on a level playing field it is not a true competition.

Well said Gabe, thanks for clarifying. I'd like to extend my thanks to you as well for putting the show together, it's a huge task.

If the restoration competition does evolve I would be glad to bring machines in the future. I'm sure you understand that a restorer can't realistically put a 100+ hour restoration in the free play area. Machines should be judged with the glass off and the playfield up as well as being judged on playability and the quality of the restoration. People who go to an automotive concours don't expect to be able to drive the cars in the show so collectors at Pintastic should be able to understand and enjoy a true CQ restoration without playing them and leave that to the judges.

I agree. Did the judges even have scoring sheets? At a car show you get something like this:
https://www.capcitycorvette.com/CIPJudge.htm
This could easily be modified to fit a pinball show. Points should be given for cabinet inside, cabinet outside, playfield top, playfield bottom, playability, and overall presentation. Without a scoring sheet like this participants have no idea of how there machine was judged and how it compared to other machines. Without transparent scoring using judging sheets that everyone can view, then a competition is nothing more than a popularity contest.

Hi Gabe, Thanks. Is there a reason participants couldn't see the scoring sheets? I've had a few cars judged in my day and I'd like to respectfully suggest the following for next year.

1. Post blank scoring sheets online before the competition so both new and old restorers will know how their machines will be judged.
2. Have a sign up sheet for people who would like to have their machines judged. Award no prizes until it has been verified that all entrants have
been judged so no one gets forgotten again.
3. This is a must: machine owners must be present while their machine is being judged. That way if a judge has any questions or concerns with a
machine the owner is right there to provide information. The owner can then see their score sheet and if he has any concerns they
can be addressed in the judges presence on the spot so it can't come up again later.

This will keep judging open and honest and owners will get to see how their machines were scored. I've never heard of any kind of competition where scoring was not made public.

That's exactly why rules need to be defined and put in writing for all to see before any judging is done.