I hope this was an accident. The two things I hate most in the world are liars and thieves. EABundy always has great prices on very nice games and seems like a great guy.

Thats some bullshit, hey if you bring a game to a show, bring your own friggin soldering iron!

Pretty weak

Classy.....There was a lot of "disappeared" gear at TPF too from my understanding.

Hopefully just an accident. I met Eric Friday while he helped someone carry out the T2 he just sold him. Always great prices thanks Eric!

That's just wrong. Hope it gets back to him.

I also hope it gets back to him. If not, I will donate some $ to get a new one for him.

Eric was great to talk to at the show. It's crazy to me because I had a bunch of stuff under my LOTR, in plain view, and it was there till 8pm with no problems.

I hope the person just couldn't find him and didn't want to just leave it there maybe?

Maybe I am too trusting.

Chris

Eric is an amazing guy. Shackler isn't exaggerating when he says that Eric would give you the shirt off his back. The show was an awesome time made 1000 times better because of the time I got to spend with him and his son.

Anyway, we looked all over for that soldering iron. I'd just like to say that if the guy who took sees this thread and you really did forget to bring it back and you're embarrassed or w/e, don't be. Just please man up, contact him and either mail it back to him or send him a $100 bucks to buy a new one.

Do the right thing.

Yep, sat my 5/8 rachet socket down for 10 minutes on Sunday during teardown, came back and it was gone. Freakin sux. If you need to borrow it, just ask. But don't walk off with my Shit.

If the soldering station was stolen, most likely it was not taken by a Pinsider. IMHO.

IMO someone doesn't "accidentally" walk off with a soldering station.

This, mixed with the other guys wrench says there was a thief at the show.

Sickening.

They might have accidentally left it inside the machine and it is still folded up on end in their garage.

I would always yell at my guys when I would service a machine and find they left one of our meters or solder stations in the cab. A small miracle that they were not still plugged in.....

True Vid, but I think it's more plausible that it was stolen. It could've also accidentally been tossed out, etc.

Especially since someone else had something stolen as well

This is sickening. I always like to think that the pinball group is a tight-knit community where everyone is friends for the most part. To hear of something like this saddens me. Hopefully it was a mistake and is found right away.

When I still had a route, I used to paint all the tools for my crew Barbie pink.

No one would ever steal them.

Once a contractor asked to borrow a Crescent wrench, when I tried to hand him a hot pink one, he looked like I had just tried to hand him a severed penis. All he could do was stutter "Ah, no way, man...".

Great idea Vid

Guys, Hassell was referring to TPF, not to Allentown. Just trying to point out that it's not that uncommon, unfortunately.

Really very disappointing to hear this.

Despite any affinity I felt for fellow pinball people, I'd be hard pressed to loan out anything more expensive than a hand tool to a total stranger amongst the chaos of a pinball show.

Easy to spot them on the floor in a pile of rubbish too.

LTG : )™

That is part of the problem. Especially when a show closes.

A tool changes hands a few times and even well meaning people can forget to return or who it belongs to. Or grab a tool they think belongs to their friend, and then no one knows who it belongs to. And with people leaving the original owner might already be gone not knowing he's missing it.

If you have something extra, please post here and try and return it.

LTG : )™

Eric's a great guy and hope it was just a misunderstanding and he gets it back.

Guess asking if anyone found the small bag of LEDs and flipper rubbers that I misplaced is pointless?

I have a knack for remembering peoples faces. The guy that I "loaned" it to i've never seen before and I don't think was a pinsider. It was a digital Weller station. Not ubber expensive but worked great for my needs. I will probably get a combo desoldering station setup next, and a cheapo unit to loan out for next time. I'm sure there is no chance of getting it back. If I had to do it over I would still loan it out without question, that is what this community is about. I'm going to just say he couldn't find me to return it. It was a great show, I just wish I had more time to enjoy it.

Taking this many machines down is a lot of work. I'm more aggravated about some posts I've read about the quality of machines at the show not being as good as some recently newly opened retail locations for pinball tournaments. I'm taking the high road and will not comment further on that other than, I love the pinfest show, and everything Ivan has done for the community giving us such a great venue. By nature of having over 240 machines in one location and those machines getting months and or years worth of play on them in a few short hours means they will not perform like a freshly opened store with NIB pins in it.

Please, do not start a replacement fund for me. Donate it to python or another pinsider in need. You can do that on my behalf instead. I do appreciate the offer though.

i found a dolly at TxPinFest, couldn't find the owner, handed it to a local guy in Dallas that coordinates local events.

Classy response, well played sir

That said, after two years of experience with it, I would recommend against the Xytronic 8800 for serious work.
If I ever get the cash saved up, it will be a Metcal 5000 next time.

-Hans

Woohoo!!!!

I loaned my meter to a guy at the show for "three minutes", almost an hour later, I had to go find my meter. Very difficult to do what I do at a show without my meter. Not to mention the time it took to go track it down. I thought about just not loaning stuff out any more, but a bit later a buddy needed a meter, and I loaned it out again. This time I got it back in a timely fashion though.

Like you said Eric, helping out is what the community is about. Very sorry you lost your iron, hopefully it turns up, or it ends up being an excuse to get one you like better.

--
Rob Anthony
Pinball Classics
http://LockWhenLit.com
Quality Board Work - In Home Service
borygard at gmail dot com

I actually thought that the machines were in better shape than at any show I can remember. This was by far the best show I have ever attended as far as the amount of machines available for Free Play and condition. Thank You to all who brought games for everyone to enjoy!

That sucks...

A trick I learned a while ago was when you loan a tool to someone, take a quick cell phone pic of them holding it up. That way you always at least have a pic of who you loaned it to.

Classy reply from a classy guy.
Karma Eric, hopefully some really good things come your way soon
njg

Eric, I was disappointed not to see you so I could say hello. Your machines looked and played awesome, and all and all, I felt the machines at Allentown were on par with PAPA. Some disappointing but most playable and fun and some surprisingly excellent. I played a couple 50-60 year old EMs who's 2" flips and pops were as lively as a new era game. What a treat!

EA....I haven't read many complaints about machines not working properly but I'm sure they are out there. I kept walking by your XENON hoping it was working but it was being fussy the whole show!!! Every time I came up to a machine and it wasn't working properly I rebooted it to see if that cleaned it up...if it didn't I turned it off.

This was my first show that I decided to bring a pin and it was very cool!!! I'm not used to putting one of my pins out there for the public to beat on....I was pretty nervous but it held up well with no issues. I did check on it many times to make sure it was playing 100% for all the attendees. When I got it home and examined it closer I realized how quickly the dirt built up on the PF and rubbers...wow! I polished mr. COMET back up and played a free games at home just to check on things...all was good!

So I definitely appreciate EA's push to bring as many machines as he could....and they all played great IMO...well...except XENON but that was the reality of many pins on location...shit happens!!

A couple of pics of said machine "on location".....I thought the guy in the wheelchair enjoying it was pretty cool

image-166.jpgimage-941.jpg

Great Comet by the way, thanks for bringing it. Very Very fine example!!!!

The Comet ramp was a tough shot, it had to be near perfect to make it around.

Thanks
Mike

I didn't get to play it...always bring played when I walked by. Looked nice! I did have the pleasure of playing your BSD at mr wizzos party a few years back...so I know your games are choice.

Complaining about the conditions of machines that people bring for free play out of the kindness of their heart is bush league! This was my third trip to Allentown and I enjoyed everything! Yeah, sometimes it is a bummer to have a machine stop working or a weak flipper, but hey, I am never going to own most of these and it is a thrill to just knock some of these off the "gotta play it at least once" list. Thank to everyone who brought machines!

Now....if everything looked like that Taxi that was there......

when loaning out your tools ......ask to hold their drivers license untill they return it......garanteed to get it back

Would be ironic if the guy who borrowed it used it to work on a...

0.jpg

I think that was Eric's W?D....

When I loan out tools, I require a you hand over your drivers license.

I did not see any posts like this. Do you have a link?

Chris

That Comet was REALLY nice!

I enjoyed it very much!

Thank you for bringing it for others to enjoy.

Chris

Now that, people, is class.

The borrower may not have been a Pinsider but it's possible he is active on other forums. Maybe try posting on KLOV, etc., or do a search and see if he may be trying to locate you.

Thanks man...that ramp is NOS too....silky smooth when you hit it perfectly...feels good! Most COMET ramps are blown out and "fixed" up just so they work ok....understandably so as they don't make them anymore.

Of course! What happened to mr. Wizzo anyway?? I don't ever see him on here anymore....I'd be in for another party for sure.

Much appreciated Chris! If even one person had fun with it it makes the effort of hauling it in and out of my gam room basement worth it. It was cool bringing a machine for free play for others to enjoy....and I feel more comfortable doing it again.

Here is an excerpt. I did edit it to keep names out of it.

"Weekend over : Pinfest is over was nice to see lots of friends and great players (as well few poor sports players !!), was a show of baaad machines (and consequential a tourney based on tons of crappy machines !). Best part was a customer of ****** Pinball, he, comes 3/4 times a week at ***** and for 1st time went at the show with his parents since he grow up there that told me : "I wish i was at ***** , i never saw that many machines in bad condition like here " , thank you then ********** , **********, ******** and ******* because people know what it means to try to maintain machines in great condition ! I am glad i work there ! A special personal thanks goes to ******** for driving there and back ,and to ******** . Thank you Ken Rossi and Frank Romero at least for your efforts ( better not saying anything else ...) . Allentown won't see me again for sure because there is nothing to see but just mostly junk ...."

Wow, hard to believe they went to the same show! I've been to the best shows in existence - IMO - in the PPE and PAPA (and the PHoF) and Allentown held its own. And the food was better than in any of those other places.

I came on Saturday...when a few of the better games weren't even available to play anymore as they'd been sold.

I guess some people expect too much...and are disappointed more often.

I have found that people complaining about game selection and quality at any show are typically not doing anything to fix it (i.e. bringing games to share).

I don't want to hijack the thread, but SFGE in June will be the first event I take my machines to. Is there anything in particular I should do or set up on them before I go?

Do you normally tighten the tilts up and reset to factory settings? What usually breaks at shows? I'd like to have some spare parts with me, but I don't want to bring a huge toolchest of stuff.

That is awful!

Ivan and the rest of the organizers do a great job and should be commended.
Also all the guys who brought down games to the Free Play area deserve our thanks as well. It's hard to keep everything running smoothly at a show because you are trying to wear many hats, and at the same time trying to enjoy it yourself a little bit.