Seawitch
Stern Electronics, 1980
Star Gazer
Stern Electronics, 1980Looking for future titles to work on now that I retired early (56). Need ready to use art since I am not a art guy! Can be 300 dpi or better. Not looking to repeat what others are doing. I am one of the very small producers of playfields, & a pioneer of uv inkjet production for playfields many years ago. Here a picture of the 24 Star Gazer playfields going on now. I will be rolling out many Seawitch over the winter, & then there is openings to do projects quickly.
IMG_0060 (resized).JPGHey John, that’s great news! Are there any guarantees from the copyright owners that you wouldn’t get most the way through a project and some other manufacturer releases the same title you’ve been working on? What are you restricted to, or looking for in a new title?
Right, there have to be *dozens* of smaller run titles out there like Alien Star, that are *least profitable* for the bigger guys, that the smaller guys can pick up to satisfy the market.
It's such a pity that the couple PF companies out there can't make peace and start communicating with each other, so that there isn't overlap in titles. It's so ridiculous to watch when you guys overlap each other.
-mof
The problem is mostly one big one. MIRCO! I have reached out to him with no response. People were pushing me to do Stern Nine Ball which I was moving forward on. Not a word from him saying he was now quickly rolling out a non corrected Nine Ball playfield. CPR seems to be better to not to release a playfield at this time like my Star Gazer which they could do & maybe Seawitch. I asked about Firepower 2 & CPR said it is not on their radar. If it is a licensed product I would ask if the title is available & to make sure no one else has it in the works. I am very open about what I am working on or trying to do. The Mirco war with CPR to release the same titles has moved on to trying to screw the small guys too. Not very nice but if people remember Mirco past practice towards his bullshit claims about being the only one allowed to produce Classic Stern Products like playfields, glass, & plastics. https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/mirco-exclusive-classic-stern-parts-manufacturer
IMG_0022 (2) (resized).JPGI like how the ramp guys are doing the reproduction ramps... communication between the two of them allow for non duplication. This means more ramps for more games as opposed to time and product being wasted sitting on a shelf ...
Have noticed micro behaviour seemingly childish, and product rushed with flaws to get product out before the other guys... AFM with errors , Indy with the tooth gap ect
Happy Retirement John!
If you like the Classic Stern titles I might suggest Big Game as a playfield to consider. I know there are a number of guys (myself included) that are interested in one and CPR has to this point had not shown any interest in recreating it.
It would be something I'd want to have within a reasonable time frame though; waiting many years will diminish my interest a bit. I say that not to be critical, just realistic -- I have purchased several of your creations in the past and have been very happy with them. I know the job, health issues, etc. all contributed to delays. . . hopefully that can be stuff of the past. 
I hope you get to enjoy your retirement and look forward to what you have planned.
pasted_image (resized).pngQuoted from transprtr4u:I like how the ramp guys are doing the reproduction ramps... communication between the two of them allow for non duplication.
There are 3 making ramps now and are all communicating, sometimes in each other's threads.
Quoted from greatwichjohn:The problem is mostly one big one. MIRCO! I have reached out to him with no response. People were pushing me to do Stern Nine Ball which I was moving forward on. Not a word from him saying he was now quickly rolling out a non corrected Nine Ball playfield. CPR seems to be better to not to release a playfield at this time like my Star Gazer which they could do & maybe Seawitch. I asked about Firepower 2 & CPR said it is not on their radar. If it is a licensed product I would ask if the title is available & to make sure no one else has it in the works. I am very open about what I am working on or trying to do. The Mirco war with CPR to release the same titles has moved on to trying to screw the small guys too. Not very nice but if people remember Mirco past practice towards his bullshit claims about being the only one allowed to produce Classic Stern Products like playfields, glass, & plastics. https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/mirco-exclusive-classic-stern-parts-manufacturer
[quoted image]
John, if you are willing to do Alienstar AND can commit to a specific time frame to get it done, then I am pretty sure we could assemble a list of people willing to commit and purchase from you (even if Mirco jumps in on you).
How many Pfs do you need to sell in order to make that feasible for you.
With the pf scan, we could also likely get a proven artist to clean it up and get it in a format you need.
Let us know if that is something you would be interested in and we can work to organize and gain commitments.
Quoted from greatwichjohn:Looking for future titles to work on
You should really finish making the 15-ish Sea Witch playfields for people who pre-paid you over the past 7 years before making an announcement like this.
I'll give you half an upvote and half a downvote.
Quoted from miracleman:You should really finish making the 15-ish Sea Witch playfields for people who pre-paid you over the past 7 years
Agree.
Quoted from miracleman:before making an announcement like this.
Disagree.
From a project-management point of view, I don't see anything wrong with asking the internet what title they want next, and beginning the search for the donor PF / art scans -- regardless of what stage other projects are in.
-mof
Quoted from Whysnow:Alienstar
Wait - what about that other dude doing Alien Star, I guess I missed something.
Quoted from mof:Wait - what about that other dude doing Alien Star, I guess I missed something.
as far as I know... nobody has committed to doing it yet.
I really wish someone would!
Quoted from greatwichjohn:Need ready to use art since I am not a art guy!
I would think this would be a big part of the problem. I have no idea what kind of actions are needed when you say it needs to be "art ready". I think most people here are more into remembering how their one of their teachers would stand in front of the blackboard and say, " I am not an artist".
I scanned my Big Game for you but as you educated me at TPF, just a scan will not do. So much more needs to be done. And I have never seen any reading material on what kind of art work needs to be done. Beyond you telling me the inserts have to grayed out ( skills for a Photoshop Master) I have no idea what "art ready" means.
Quoted from TractorDoc:It would be something I'd want to have within a reasonable time frame though
Please define " reasonable". Congressmen get tied into knots trying to define "reasonable" quite often.
John, maybe you can work with CPR to make the corrections to the Meteor playfields. Many people would be interested in a Meteor restoration project if the playfields were not wrong from CPR.
So I will not do work that others are doing or can do again, or that people seem to have in the works (please let me know!). Seawitch prepaid guys left with out a playfield (many took a test version previously). The production 20 are slightly delayed as I have to pace the printer & clear coat contractor. As of Dec. 30, 6 finished clear & will be picked up next week, 5 in for finish clear, & the other 9 left likely 5 or 6 to the printer next week. The future pace is likely 4-6 with the printer or finish clear coat contractor every week. The new model now that I am retired & spend usually 8-12 hours at the workshop is to finally plow through projects in a TIMELY fashion. The new business model 2021 is to eventually have 2-4 of each playfield finished & ready to ship on hand, & have finished playfields ready to go to the printer when the number drops below 2. Art needs to be print ready (not a easy task!) which means full size test prints are done, corrections made, & you can not have for example wood or lense color in the file (that would be printed). A new playfield project art ready to go is going to be a 2-4 month process to do! Any project would likely move forward if realistically a minimum of 20 playfields could be sold in 2 years. Before anything gets rolling if licensing is required it would need the green light. In the future I am going to refrain from posting in threads about trying to get a certain title in the works. If art is print ready 300 dpi please contact me & I will see if it is possible. So for my fan club that keeps going on about the slow progress of my past Star Gazer & Seawitch production over the last 7+ years. Pinball Production is HARD! when you have a 6 day regular job & the sole worker as a hobby venture. All the Star Gazer prepaid guys have their playfields along with many new buyers previously, & many of the Seawitch prepaid & new customers have received test versions over the last year+. Production Seawitch playfields 20 will be gone in January 2021, & I will have 32 going in for cnc in January (they did not want them in over the holidays. Seawitch & Star Gazer 2021 playfields are waiting on the 3/4" & 1" trans blue circle lenses that I had made from Northern Precision Plastics. They should ship next week after they return from holiday vacation week for the business. Happy New Year!
So I talked with Rick PPS. There are a few titles I am interested in doing Firepower 2, & another we will not disclose. See how it goes I am interested in doing low demand playfields.
Moving forward with a em playfield for Rick PPS. This will likely be the next & possible 4th might be Firepower 2 (got my name on that one if it works out).
So working on 24 Star Gazer playfields & the next 32 Seawitch finishing cnc on Tuesday. I keep working on these 2 titles until the future projects are ready to start. I need art ready to print for projects. Projects that are being worked on Firepower 2 (Rick has me down for this playfield) & he is deciding on a em playfield title, & Stern Big Game art is being worked on locally along with a donor for cnc when art is done.
IMG_0116 (1) (resized).JPGStill waiting on more playfield titles to do this spring. If you have art that is print ready contact me. There are 3 in the running but they are not ready to go.
What about Grand Lizard? The upper playfield is beat on every example, I'm sure more than 20 people would buy.
I know the art must be out there cause someone made hardtops.
My 2¢
Best of luck with your venture!!
B
Quoted from ZooDude:What about Grand Lizard? The upper playfield is beat on every example, I'm sure more than 20 people would buy.
I know the art must be out there cause someone made hardtops.
My 2¢
Best of luck with your venture!!
B
I second this. All Grand Lizard playfields including mine have raised inserts, bubbled mylar, and a torched upper playfield.
I'd be in on one in a heartbeat.
Quoted from CashMoney:I second this. All Grand Lizard playfields including mine have raised inserts, bubbled mylar, and a torched upper playfield.
I'd be in on one in a heartbeat.
I know the original art for GL was floating around, we've got to be able to get this one figured out, I'll post something in the GL group.
B
Quoted from slochar:I guess it depends on if John wants to produce playfields that have hardtops available as well.
I really like hardtop pins and own one myself....but a wood playfield has so many subtle differences. I would love to have both options. In most cases I would lean towards using the wood playfield.
I would never put a hard top in a game. Fine for those who like them, but for me it's a real playfield or nothing, so a hard top available means nothing. I would guess many feel the same way.
Quoted from ZooDude:I would never put a hard top in a game. Fine for those who like them, but for me it's a real playfield or nothing, so a hard top available means nothing. I would guess many feel the same way.
The point being that John didn't want to duplicate efforts, and I don't know if he's willing to produce playfields that already have some other form of artwork available.
Quoted from slochar:The point being that John didn't want to duplicate efforts, and I don't know if he's willing to produce playfields that already have some other form of artwork available.
Great. My point remains, this is a highly desired playfield, almost everyone out there is trashed. I'm not seeing too many install hardtops, the market is there if this is a title he would be interested in producing. If not there are other people making playfields, I'm confident this title will be produced at some point in the near future.
B
I would like to see Flash to be reproduced one day have been waiting for cpr to do it
Last time I asked in 2013 the art work was 85% done
I could use a nice new DE TMNT playfield. But Im sure im one of the very few
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