Recalling Greatness

nos·tal·gia (noun)

“A sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations”

A sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. I’ve always been a collector. From the time I could understand that there were “more than one” of something. Mom and Dad were lifelong antique dealers, so access to “old things” was a blessing for somebody like me

It all started in 1973 with Wacky Packages. This was before today’s network of convenience stores that now appear on ever corner, so I walked the short distance from our house the “drug store” to buy them. I still vividly remember the excitement of the journey to the store, paying with a few quarters and the intense hope that opening each new pack would bring. Topps did a great job mixing up the cards and stickers because I remember more pleasant surprises at finding a sticker I needed vs a duplicate of one I already had. The journey didn’t end there either. Monday meant I was back in school and could now trade any duplicates I had with other kids that were collecting as well. It was a cool time.

The Wacky Packages obsession followed with comic books (supplied by a kind soul from my Dad’s workplace). Dad’s friend gave him a paper grocery bag of a hundred or so comics every 3 months or so. I sooooo looked forward to getting those as a kid. Soon after I was old enough to collect pocket knives, harmonica’s, antique compasses and more odds and ends. The drive to collect didn’t end as a teen. I ramped it up a notch and began to collect beer cans – thousands of them before I was done, then old beer signs and lights as I got old enough to purchase them at antique stores and flea markets.

As an adult, the business of raising a family and the intensity of the workplace didn’t slow my collecting down one bit – the only thing that changed was what I collected. By the time I was in my 40’s I was collecting music (over 7,000 lps and thousands of CDs) and in-line with the entertainment category – I collect movies. I sold most of the record collection years ago but the movies continue to pile up with “classics” being my current favorite genre (think 60’s James Bond, Fred Astaire and 30’s Universal Studio Monster films). Then, a bit more than a decade ago and much more on topic – Pinball came along.

The story of how I got into Pinball is hosted right here on the blog – check it out if you’re interested. Today, I wanted to reflect on my lifetime of collecting, how nostalgia has always played a role and why Pinball has such a strong nostalgic pull.

I think of myself as an “old soul” or someone that appreciates the past. If you have similar leanings, I’ll bet it’s the same for you. The reason we collect is to REFLECT. Not that I want to “live in the past”. On the contrary, there is no way would I want to go backward, to live a life during an earlier time in history. My time as a late baby boomer was “just right” for me, but I absolutely appreciate certain aspects of what happened in the past. Sometimes the distant past and, as I get older now, more likely to be in MY past.

If I look back at everything I’ve collected over the years, the “reach back” so to speak was always about going back in time and feeling what it was like. It’s been about wondering and then discovering the answers to that wonder. It’s been about finding out, by holding, playing or watching something to see what it was like back then. What was “different” and why. A few years ago, I went so far as to outfit our entire vacation home in period correct mission furniture and decor. If you popped in for a visit, you would be hard pressed not to think you had just walked into a turn-of-the-century home in Chicago with a design ala Frank Lloyd Wright. I wanted to literally “feel” what is was like to live in that era – if only in my home through the furniture and surroundings. Over time, I’ve come to experience nostalgia in 2 distinct ways. Historically (like the example of our vacation home) and Personally (like the Wacky Packages). A few examples follow and because I wasn’t sure how to wrap them into a story, I’ll address each individually.

Historical nostalgia:

Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers

The spectacle of Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers dancing in “Swing Time” in a beautifully designed Van Nest Polglase movie set will never be replicated. We can only watch in awe as Fred and Ginger perform 4 of the most celebrated dances of all time inside one of the most beautifully designed sets of all time, to some of the most classic music of all time (“The Way You Look Tonight” – Jerome Kern). All of this released in 1936 to great success, but now considered to be a top 100 film of all time. A classic. Why a classic? Honestly it’s hard to articulate, but I’ll start with something obvious. Greatness. Better yet, combined greatness. In one spot and at one moment in time, 2 of the best dancing partners, the best set designer and the best music writers all met to create magic. I can watch that movie now and “feel it” and to experience that level of greatness now is to understand what it must have been like in the RKO 1930’s movie making years. This is the nostalgia that history buffs can related to. It’s a big piece of what drives my interest in Pinball, but as you’ll see in the next example, not all of it.

Personal nostalgia:

Batman ’66 – Adam West & Burt Ward

With Batman and Robin, the “look back” is more based on a heartstring tug than on an historical one. I like Batman because I have fond memories of it as a kid. I don’t have clear memories of the original releases (weeknights in the late 60’s) because I was only 3 when the first season hit TVs in living rooms across the country. However, coming home from school as a latch-key kid meant hours of late afternoon television and the Batman syndicated re-runs were always there. Memories during this time are good ones. Afternoons seemed to go on forever. Mom kept lots of snacks available and I almost always did my homework on the bus on the way home so my time was mine! I thought Batman was cool as heck. I was too young to get the “camp” humor, but instead enjoyed the storylines and the fact that Batman and Robin were the good guys and at the end of the show, they always won. Being a short, skinny red-head kid, I needed a hero that would always win. I wanted to see that the bad guys got their just deserts. At the time, I had no idea that Batman was a cultural and merchandise phenomenon, I just liked the show and much of my nostalgia around Batman is based on how I “feel” when I think back to that wonderful, carefree time.

Pinball nostalgia:

I find it interesting that in prepping for this post, I had not considered that Pinball would fit “both” categories of nostalgia for me. I enjoy both the history of it AND (when the licensing is right) the personal memories of it as well. When I buy an older/classic game, I’m driven to learn all I can of it’s history. I want to know who made it. What they were thinking in the process. What drove them to certain design decisions. Importantly as well … what are they doing today? What has been “thier history”. Have they since exited the industry? Did they leave pinball land (Chicago)? Did they move to a related industry? Did they become famous in some way? I’ll want to learn about everyone involved in the game – not just the designer. How many did it sell? What made this game unique or special? The list goes on and on and if I hit a dead end, I may chase it for months before I give up (i.e. what happened to Dan Langlois – Truckstop, Radical, Black Belt, Gilligan’s Island)

Creature from the Black Lagoon:

A double dip of nostalgia

Sometimes the history of the game coincides and aligns to drive nostalgia for the history of the theme as well. I recently picked up a Creature. You can read about it here. I found myself spending a ton of time researching this game. Until today, I did not realize completely why. It’s clear now. With Creature, you get both. All of the “who did what” that comes with the design history, PLUS the “holy cow there was a real movie” history as well. I’ll start with the latter.

Creature – the movie

My deep dive into the historical nostalgia started with the movie. I watched it in 3D twice and as one might have 50 years ago – as a matinee! I went into our theater on a steamy summer day around noon, got myself a snack and a cold drink and just “enjoyed it”. I liked it so much I asked my daughter to join me a few weeks later and watched it again (she liked it too). Digging in, I discovered Riccou Browning (guy in the rubber creature suit) and Julia Adams (female lead) and proceeded to hunt down autographs for each of them. I later used the promotional plastics that were originally supplied with the pinball game to create a custom framed piece to highlight those autographs. Why? Those signatures are a lasting piece of each of those folks and, by gosh – they were there! If the movie connects with you, then in a small way, owning these autographs brings you a tiny bit closer to them – I’m keeping a little piece of that special moment in 1954 alive.

At this point I’m reminded of my earlier comments about greatness. The movie is interesting because it’s a good movie. If I had researched the 1954 movie to discover that it was a 3rd rate release with little love or appreciation, I would not be writing about it, but it was regarded as a good movie for it’s genre. The Universal Studios “monster movie era” from the 30’s to the 50’s was special. Some say the first Creature film was one of the best. I would agree. The monster as envisioned by the uncredited female studio artist Milicent Patrick is just perfect. He is both lifelike and out-of-this-world at the same time!

Soon after I got the game, I was chatting with my next-door neighbor about the movie when he shared with me that he was close friends with Ginger Stanley’s son and he was sure that she was in “those movies”. A quick internet search showed that indeed she was! Ginger was the stunt double in the third and final Creature film “The Creature Walks Among Us” released in 1956. That meant that she was the one on film during all of the underwater scenes. She was still alive and doing quite well. As I write this he is arranging for me to have a call with Ginger to simply chat about the movie – I’m giddy about it!

Why so much interest in a movie? The Creature movies take me back to a time (before I was born mind you) where the “violence” in a movie might only go as far as a punch and a bloody lip. Where death takes place “off the camera view” and outside the viewing area of the audience. You know someone was killed but the graphic details are missing. The movies are in the monster/horror genre but not “horrific” in imagery. There are no beheadings, no internal organs exposed, and no cussing. These movies are entertaining not shocking. They leave memories not nightmares. To use an overwrought phrase – they are good clean fun. I see enough misery on the news and Facebook. I want more entertainment and less shock and awe in my movies. 50 years ago they made movies like that and I’m feeling nostalgic for them.

Creature – the game

I think the “greatness” comes in for Creature Pinball when the totality of the game is considered. A good monster movie, tied to the much loved Bally era of pinball, integrated into a the home run theme of a “drive-in”! Taken all together, It’s a winning recipe and one that brings both types of nostalgia to the forefront. If I was to pick just 2 images to use to “picture” 1950’s America, one would be a ’55 Chevy Bel Air, and the other would be a Drive-in movie image:

– What baby boomer did not spend time at a drive in?

– Did not “kiss their date” (or more) at a drive in?

– Does not have fond memories of a drive in?

Digging deeper into the historical side, I was always struck by the original music in the pinball game. It sounded so “50’s” that I searched for hours trying to find the song and writer but to no avail. I used Shazam to try to ID the song – still no luck. Of course there are licensed songs in the pin. We know their titles as they all were famous when the game came out in 1992. I’m referring to the music that plays when the game ends. There are no lyrics but, if you are like me, you were sure trying to add some as you hummed along. The song seemed so familiar. It just HAD to be a famous 50’s song right? Nope. That music was an original composition from Paul Heitsch. Paul is now fully committed to the world of audio books as a highly regarded voice talent. I reached out to him via email a bit ago and will amend the story here if I get a reply. In short, bravo Paul for creating a piece of original music that captures the essence of the 50’s and drives a level of nostalgia even from it’s more modern origins -well done sir!

Intersecting Greatness

As I walk around the Pinball Loft, I can see the nostalgia driven collector in me everywhere. Jersey Jacks Wizard of Oz Pinball arrived as a 50th birthday present for my wife, but so did a dozen autographs ranging from Mickey Carrol to Ray Bolger to much lesser known associates like Sydney Guilaroff (Judy Garlands hair stylist) and Ambrose Schindler (He was a Winkie Gaurd and Jack Haley’s stunt double for the Tin Man character). You might wonder why I would go to such lengths to collect an autograph from Ambrose Schindler. After all, he’s not credited in the movie. Well, his connection to my story and my home town in East TN is as fantastical as the movie itself was. You see, a year after the release of Wizard of Oz, Ambrose was the starting quarterback for the USC Trojans in the 1940 Rose Bowl where he scored BOTH touchdowns (passing and running) to win the game over MY University of TN Volunteers! At that point in time, UT had been undefeated in 23 games and had not been scored upon in the prior 16. Truth is much stranger than fiction and all of these people, characters and connections fascinate me. Why? Greatness. Wizard of Oz is considered by many to be the single greatest film of all time. The movie almost didn’t get made, almost didn’t get made in technicolor and almost didn’t have Jack Haley as the “perfect” Tin Man. Sometimes I wonder if nostalgia and fate are intertwined. The prior story hints at it but the next story cements it.

Our little girl was just 5 years old in the year 2000. We were visiting Nashville just a few hours west of our Knoxville home and saw a poster/lithograph shop in the mall with a short line of people streaming out the door. It appeared they were waiting for something or someone. We peeked in and saw a sign saying that Mickey Carroll, one of the surviving Munchkins from the Wizard of Oz movie would be there signing autographs. We jumped in line and (it wasn’t a long one) and were soon face to face with all 3.5 feet of the sweetest gentleman you would ever want to meet. Mickey was personally recruited by Judy Garland to be a cast member on the Wizard of Oz movie. They met when both were under contract to MGM and attended school together (along with Mickey Rooney). I learned that he left acting in the mid 1940’s and went back to the family business of manufacturing headstones for gravesites. He sold that business in 1996 and then did charity work and autograph appearances. He spoke to our daughter for a length of time, we got to have our picture taken with him and he signed a large poster print that would be framed for us before we left for the day. Taylor, that little girl of ours, got married last fall. She’ll soon be 27. Mickey is gone now. 9 years after we met him that day in Nashville. The rest of the cast is gone as well. Jerry Maren, the last surviving Munchkin in May of 2018 at age 98 and Ambrose in 2018 at age 101 was the last. Each was a piece of greatness. For me, each created a feeling of nostalgia for the year 1939 when everything came together perfectly to create a nearly perfect movie.

One more and I’ll wrap it up. I was always nostalgic about it but my purchase of a Space Station pinball just reinforced that nostalgia. You guessed it, I’m talking about the Apollo space program of the 1960’s. If you’re a baby boomer, you LIVED this. When I was a kid, there were Halloween space suite costumes, space books in school, planetary studies, rocket ship models and endless sci-fi shows related to space. As a nation we were transfixed by it. Kennedy’s challenge to reach the moon is still regarded as one of the boldest and best mission statements ever written, proclaimed and then achieved. He challenged us to “Land a man on the moon and return him safely to earth, before the decade was out”.

We did it. We landed on the moon in 1969. Many will say that it was the greatest achievement by men in history. It would be hard to argue that it was not. The math we used to get there was re-calculated on slide rules as computers were very new and not yet fully trusted. At 160 million horsepower, the Saturn V rocket remains the most powerful machine every created by man. We flew nearly a quarter million miles in total and we came home safely. To put a cherry on top, the average age of the team in the control room at the time was 28 – remarkable. How incredible is it that many who witnessed the moon landing remembered life before cars, electricity, telephones and indoor plumbing. I was around in 1969 and at 6 years old have vague memories of the events but no context of what was really underway. As an adult, I now appreciate the scale of the effort and have a deep nostalgia for what was achieved more than 50 years ago.

I started collecting memorabilia connected to the Apollo missions a while ago. Finding the autographs of Gene Krantz, Chris Kraft and Glynn Lunney was accomplished quickly and all hang on my wall with pride. Harder yet was to find an actual piece of that Saturn V rocket. After a year of looking I found a stainless steel fuel filter (still in the bag and sealed with the original 1969 Rocketdyne inventory sticker) from one of the 5 fuel pumps that moved the fuel into the rockets burn chambers. It’s a NOS piece, that has never been to space, but rather was a spare part produced by Rocketdyne for NASA. It’s beyond cool just to hold it.

The Saturn 5 Rocket fuel pumps had 55,000 horse power EACH. That power was used to send 3 tons (6,000 pounds) of fuel to each of the 5 engines every SECOND for almost 3 consecutive minutes. To put it in perspective, the 5 fuel pumps alone developed 275,000 horsepower and in 3 minutes pushed over 5 million pounds of fuel through the rockets. Impressive and a level of greatness that has never been duplicated. Today, the Saturn V rocket stands as the most powerful machine ever built by man. Hanging in the Loft is a small piece of that greatness right below the autographs of 3 of the young men that helped us get it done.

So what to do about nostalgia?

Go ahead and celebrate it! Enjoy history’s greatest moments. Notice and appreciate the past but – watch for moments of greatness right now.

TODAY’S moments will be the nostalgia of our children. Those people, those movies, those events will be the things our kids look back on with fondness

Along the way, If you get a once-in-a-lifetime chance to shake the hand of someone that got a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be in the greatest movie of all time – take it

Engage in those moments, attend those events. Wait in line for a bit. Be the person to say “I was there”

Why one earth would I chase down the largest commercially made Lava Lamp in the world? Easy – ’cause I didn’t have one. Now I do.

Pinside is a dangerous place. Dangerous to your pocketbook for sure. I was clicking around looking at forum posts when I saw the one called “Lava Lamps”. Sounds innocent enough. Reading through the posts was like going back in time. Remembering what those lamps were like when I first saw them in the mid-70’s and finally acquired one in the late 70’s. Pretty sure I got mine from Spencer’s – the old mall retailer of “things you certainly don’t need but really, really want”. It was in this Pinside thread that I came across the grand daddy of all Lava Lamp companies … Mathmos.

It was clear that from the invention of the Lava Lamp to even today, Mathmos owns the market on quality lamps. I’m sure there are Chinese makers that far exceed the Mathmos production but if you want a great quality lamp, get it from Mathmos

OK, now I was interested. I’m always curious and eager to add the next unique item/gadget to the Pinball Loft. After spending a few minutes on the Mathmos site, I stumbled on the “Giant IO”. This was it! A lava lamp to beat all lava lamps. At 2 1/2 feet tall it was HUGE. I was ready to order … but … the price, oh my gosh, the price. Mathmos was in the UK and when I did the conversion from pounds to dollars it came out at $515.00 just for the lamp without shipping included. OK, just how bad did I really want that lamp? Turns out, pretty bad. I was about to click “order” and wanted to review shipping policies and costs. It was then that I noticed the other (bigger) problem. Mathmos does not ship to the US.

Ugh. Now what? Well, I went back to Pinside and saw that other folks were using a forwarding company based in the UK. You sign up for a “free” account. They give you a UK address. You order something and have it shipped to your new UK address (which is one of their warehouses). Then they in turn freight it out to you in the US (or anywhere in the world). They make their money on an upcharge on the freight.

Seemed like a lot of work. I did nothing for almost 2 weeks. I put the idea on hold. Then I decided I was going to “do it”. I went to “Forward2Me” and signed up for an account and got my UK address. With that done, I was both excited and committed to ordering my new Lava Lamp. The Mathmos Giant IO. I raced over to the Mathmos website and … out. of. stock. Crap. My delay had cost me. I quickly emailed them. I pleaded my case – don’t you have just ONE MORE left? I got a quick answer – no. So I signed up for the email blast that would tell me when they would make more of my dream lava lamp.

Almost 3 months passed. I got an email. They were back! I quickly did the math on the price (it got a little more pricey) and put in my order, using my new UK address. I was “lucky” and the black Giant IO that I ordered was one of the signature models – one of the “First 100” to be produced. I was very excited! The lamp was now $531.00 and the shipping was a whopping $191.66 – holy cow, this was getting out of hand. Too late as I was now committed and it was headed my way and at an all in price of close to $725.00. Ouch!

I had another concern about my new purchase. It was wired to work in the UK at the nominal 230 volts AC that everything in England runs on. I would need to “convert it” when it arrived here so it worked properly. I’ll spare you the hours of work I did to understand the electrical amps/volts/current that I was dealing with. I considered a converter box that is readily available but they are expensive and not small so ditched that direction. Following that you are left with pulling the existing bulb (after all, it’s made to run on 230 volts not 110) and replacing it with a US based 110 volt halogen bulb of a comparable wattage (actually, it’s the “heat” output that matters here), then cutting the EU plug off the wire and wiring up a new US plug. That’s what I did.

To make it simple for you. I tried both a 75 and 100 watt halogen US bulb and went with the 100 watter. The 75 just did not have the heat to make the lamp perform. I was terribly worried that the 100 might overheat the lamp (remember the UK bulb was 80 watts) but it works fine. I also added an inexpensive dimmer that allows me to dial up the 100 watt bulb to full intensity or dial it down if the lamp overheats. So far, I’ve not had to reduce the power.

I got an email from Forward2Me almost immediately after Mathmos told me the lamp had shipped. I was floored by how fast they moved. A day after I chose my shipping rate/method I got another email confirming shipping and that within 48 hours, I would have my lamp! The big box showed up just 4 days after leaving the Mathmos facility – from England to Tennessee in under 100 hours. Amazing.

I was, of course excited to get it all working. I had purchased the new US based bulbs and a new plug end for the lamp cord in prep for its arrival. I eagerly popped on the outer box and began to photograph the unboxing and separate the parts.

When I pulled the bottle out, I noticed the cardboard was wet. Ugh. You’re kidding me right? All the way from the UK just to have it leak in the box? I carefully unwrapped the bottle to find it was not broken and the amount of liquid that leaked was very small – in fact the cardboard was more “damp” than soaked.

I closely examined the cap and saw that it was probably bumped in shipping and loosened. I made the call on the spot to remove it and see if I could re-seal it. After unscrewing the cap, I could see that it was glued on in addition to screwing it on physically. The glue acting as a watertight (or so we hoped) seal. I cleaned it all up, added a bead of E6000 and screwed it back on tight. I then sat the bottle into the lamp to see if the missing liquid had lowered the level enough to be visibly missing when viewing the bottle installed in the lamp structure – it was not an issue. Not even close. My repair was a success, I plugged it in and a few hours later I was basking in it’s full lava blob glory!

The quality of the Mathmos Giant IO varies from good to great. It is NOT a finely machined piece that you may be led to believe through forum hyperbole or marketing language. It is, however, not cheaply made either. It’s finish is very good. The appearance as a result is very nice.

Look super close and you’ll see some unevenness in the finish and a few places where joints are not “perfect”. You would need to be a perfectionist and a jerk to complain. I’m the former but not the latter so I’m just fine with the product.

So what’s it like owning a Giant IO? It’s cool! Or should I say “hot”? It’s a great conversation piece no matter your age. Baby boomers (like me) remember when they were in vogue and can reminisce about those times. Younger folks will simply marvel at what it is and what it does. Sometimes baffled by the “why do you need it” part but mesmerized nonetheless.

Like the vinyl records that were popular when Lava Lamps came out, living with a lava lamp takes patience and presence. Let’s start with the vinyl record analogy. You need to be present. You start a record manually, if you want to hear it you sit in front of that turntable/speakers and soak it in. You need to be “OK” with and planful of your time. You WILL be sitting in front of that turntable for 20-30 mins (per side). You also have to wait. Want to hear your favorite cut on the album? Well, unless you want to get up and lift/move the needle, you’ll just have to wait – there are 2 songs ahead of it.

Lava Lamps are the same. Want to enjoy your lamp? Turn the power switch on about an hour and a half before you want to see it in motion. And to really enjoy it? You need to be there. Sitting there. In front of it or near it. It does no good to have it on if your not around – it’s all about seeing that motion and experiencing the calming effect it can have on you in those moments.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z67wgwrgQDA?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=281]

If that all sounds like your disposition – in other words, you’re patient and can sit still for a while, then buy one. Mathmos makes a wide variety of lamps starting at around $100. They are well crafted and a joy to look at. In today’s insanely paced world, they are a nice reminder for us to pause, reflect and relax once in a while.

More unboxing pics after the “game over”

Unboxing the Mathmos Giant IO

This is not a review of the new Avengers Infinity Quest Pinball game from Stern. It’s more of the story of the obsessive “getting ready” process that happens every time I order a NIB game (review will come later). I’ve noticed that the process repeats itself, I learn something every time and enjoy it as much as the game itself. I thought I’d document it and share it.

I’ve got a nice mix of both old and new machines. Each purchase “type” follows a unique path. So far I’ve bought 10 “new in box” games. Each game was unique but the process during the wait was very much the same:

• Discovery
• Get excited, and fired up about the game
• Find a way to pay when your out of town
• Research the subject until you know it cold
• Buy some books on it as reference
• Find some autographed items to add
• Pre-order the mods to make it custom
• Endlessly watch the Twitch streams of gameplay

The very first thing that happens is finding out that there IS a game. Followed quickly by … “do I care”? I can usually remember where I was when I heard about the big title games. This was no exception.

So I was sitting in my home theater watching a movie when I got a text from my buddy – I heard the new Stern is awesome, and I’m getting an LE. You should too! At this point that game had not been announced but my friend knows pinball so I dropped a line to my distributor and asked to put my name on the list

I received a response back almost immediately (same night) with directions on how to make a deposit and was assured I was “on the list” – for what exactly I had no idea, but if it was good by gosh, I was going to get one. Talk about FOMO – I had it bad!

The following weekend, Tami and I planned a trip in the Carrera out to Highlands, NC. Man, if you haven’t been there, you’re missing out. It’s wonderful and one of our fav places to visit. Right in the middle of the mountains and away from all the bustle is this jewel of a town. Killer restaurants, stunning waterfalls, great hiking, amazing shopping. We love it and visit often – even though the trip takes us around 3 hours … the route brings us to Highlands via the infamous “Dragon”.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiUQxMTKyg4?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=281]

The huge benefit of getting there is the insane trip down both the Dragon (US 129) and the Moonshiner (US 28) both are what I would call a “roller coaster” built for cars. The Dragon has 318 curves in 11 miles … and to call them “curves” is a VAST understatement. Even to call them “hairpin curves” under describes the fact that some of them are even tighter – crap that road is fun to drive. Drifting the rear end of the Porsche and pulling “Gs” into the corners will get your pulse up and mind sharp.

The Dragon is populated by photographers on every weekend and our trip through it was no different. You can wave, smile or ignore them but your picture will be taken anyway. Later the next day, a trip to their website will reveal your image – ready for purchase and download. I buy one EVERY time. Support them and the images are a great memory.

On your way into Highlands, you will find amazing waterfalls and even more amazing roads and vistas. Just before getting to town there is a waterfall that you can literally drive your car under. Recently the road going under it has had a barrier installed but you can still pull over and walk under it if you wish.

Ahead of that (on route 28) you’ll find Dry Falls. This area has a large parking lot and is a highlight of any trip to Highlands. There is a dedicated walking path that directs you right UNDER a huge waterfall – it’s called Dry Falls but I’ve never seen it that way!

We arrived in Highlands, checked into our Hotel and started exploring the town. It’s beautiful with lots of high end shops (Rolex watches in the windows) but with a small mountain town feel (Ice cream shop on the corner). We walked a lot and enjoyed the cooler temperatures that the mountains provide

It’s September 2nd and within a few minutes my Facebook page lights up and I’m getting IM messages too. Here it is – official. It’s the new game and it’s called Avengers Infinity Quest. Holy cow it looks awesome. Perfect. Now my distro is going to (rightfully) want payment. ASAP. Especially because I wanted an LE. Sure enough, I start readying about them selling out is hours. I see posts on Pinside from folks that can’t find one. I’m in the middle of the mountains, 3 hours from home, it’s a holiday weekend and I couldn’t possible pay except by CC. Seems like every time a new game is announced the same thing happens – I’m out of town.

I heard back from my dsitrobutor and he assured me that I could pay when I got home (and the banks opened) on Tuesday. I’ve bought many games from him and I’m assuming he knew I was good for it

We returned from Highlands refreshed and on Tuesday I visited my local bank and got a cashiers check. Sent it via overnight FedEx and my distro confirmed he received it the next day. Boom – paid for.

It’s at this point there is a bit of a lull. A wait for the official reveal/gameplay stream. It was announced that this would take place on Sept 10th. When that day arrived, I made sure I was prepped and planned to get the Twitch stream by Deadflip up early. I checked on several of the Samsung Smart TVs we have only to find that Twitch was not available as an app – ugh. I could always stream it from my tablet but why not watch it on the big screen. I tried it in my home theater using Apple TV but struggled with buffering almost non-stop. After an hour – I gave up. When the stream was done, I downloaded the entire stream in HD (split into 5 parts due to size), dropped it on a USB hard drive and dragged it out to the OUTSIDE deck TV to watch. The inside (again SMART) TVs would not play the .MP4 files for some reason. The TV that sits outside is newer – worked like a champ. I sat there until midnight watching the stream in glorious – stutter free – HD!

OK – the gameplay looked KILLER. Keith Elwin had another winner on his hands and I was getting an LE – super excited now. But … I knew almost nothing about the Avengers storyline or history. Like most things I run into that I don’t know about I was determined to learn – quickly. I had heard that this game was based on the comics. It was also loosely based on the Infinity Gauntlet series (6 issues). This series was written by Jim Starlin and is revered by comic aficionados for it’s interesting and nuanced story line. I popped over to Amazon and bought the Kindle version. I read it it that night.

Key takeaways from the story is that the story is apocalyptic – so is the game “feel”. This was serious stuff and if not for Adam Worlock, Dr. Strange and the cast of the Avengers – the universe was going to “end”. Great story, easy and quick read. Highly recommend if you own the game

With a bit of knowledge under my belt, it was time to think about modding this new game. First, it was off to get the simple stuff. Like yellow T-molding. The LE game has bright yellow powder coat and needs something on the backbox to tie it together. $20 later and in a few days, I had my new T-molding in hand.

It’s no problem to switch out. Find the seam, use a small flat blade screwdriver to pop out one end and pull back at a sharp angle from the head. It will pull right out with a few bits/slivers of wood. I then save that old piece. Next I lay the old piece completely flat on the floor, then lay the new T molding next to it and cut go length. I use a sharp razor knife to cut the same angles into the new piece that allow it to fold around the head without binding. Now reinstall the new piece by starting where the old seam was and press fit it back in! 3/4″ is the size you need and the 20 foot minimum will be more than enough to do a game

Now it was on to what I would call the “peripherals” – things that are cool but are not critical to the game and can’t be called a mod either. In this case the very first thing I search out was something autographed by the original author of this Avengers story – The Infinity Gauntlet. I found the perfect item on Ebay and it will be displayed proudly next to the game when it arrives. A gauntlet coin bank signed by Jim Starlin. Perfect

I saw this goofy ring on Amazon and thought – why not. Ordered a large. Maybe I’ll mount it in the game. Maybe I’ll wear it to work and let everyone think I’m losing interest in being an adult.

After reading the Gauntlet back story, I ordered the Marvel Encyclopedia. I had wanted a copy for up in the loft (coffee table) for a while but didn’t have the deep interest to buy one. Now I wanted to more about the world that Stan Lee helped create. It’s a cool book – especially the visuals. It’s set up alphabetically so you can research any hero or villain that you stumble across without paging through its 448 pages and almost 6 pounds of heft!

We’ve arrived at the end of the story – at least the part that happens BEFORE I get the game. It plays out the same almost every time. Just before posting this to the blog, Stern announced that the LE versions of AIQ (Avengers Infinity Quest) were “on the line”, and I was the very first to post on their timeline – “looks like mine”. Soon it will be. Time to assemble!

I’ve been at my current place of employment for 25 years this past October. That hardly seems possible cause I feel like I lived an entire lifetime of careers before I started this one but … it’s true. I’ve only been alive about 20,000 days and have worked for the same company for 9,000 of them! The back story looks like this. In early 1994, the owner of the company where I was the acting VP of Marketing shared with me that he had “sold the company”. I was asked to stay on as they transferred ownership over the next 6 months or so. I did that and at the same time got my name in the hands of an executive placement agency. They called to share an opportunity with a small company that I eventually accepted a position with. That “small company” grew to become a top 20 privately held company in the US. None of us saw that coming. I have certainly been blessed to have the job I’ve have for all these years and even more blessed to have it with a wonderful company. I’ve had the opportunity to run Stores, Organizational Change Management, Marketing, Fuel Analytics, CRM/Loyalty and several others. It’s been challenging for sure, but in the words of an oft-used quote – it’s also “been a great ride.” The actual day of the anniversary was very nice. My lovely wife enjoys celebrating moments both large and small and she surprised me at the office with some balloons and a beautiful plaque. Blessed indeed

What the heck does my job have to do with Pinball you say? Well in this case nothing – except the fact that one of the games I own is ” Iron Man” and I love to collect all things related to the games I own. So when I received a gift card from my company in return for my 25 years of service, I bought an Iron Man statue with the money. Of course I did. Who wouldn’t?

The whole interest in 1:1 statues began before I finished the new Pinball Loft. Late last winter, Tami and I were just getting ready for bed and were using our tablets to look for lighting fixtures for the new house when I happened to see a picture of a full scale 1:1 Spider-man. I quickly got lost in the hunt for more info (squirrel!) as she continued to search for fixtures. I found the Spider-man on Ebay at prices around $5,000+. It sure looked cool. Spider-man was sitting on a lamp post – the top of his head was over 8 feet in the air! He was colorful, detailed and realistic looking too. Through research I soon discovered the item to be made by Rubies Costume company and that it was an official Marvel licensed product. I thought I’d check to see if Amazon offered the same item or any other (less expensive) versions. The first hit on Amazon was the exact item BUT … it was 1/3rd the price of any of the items on Ebay. I whispered over to Tami, showed her the picture (to which she said “cool!”) and then asked if she thought it would be a good idea to get one for the new Loft – she said yes! I ordered the Spider-man and he showed up just a few days later in perfect condition!

Fast forward to September of this year and the Pinball Loft is complete. Our new house is finished and we are officially all moved in. Spider-man looks fantastic up there and is one of the things that “wows” people when they walk in (still wows me too!). So my work anniversary rolls around, I am given a one-time gift for my service and it’s all mine – what to do? The answer is start searching for a partner for Spider-man. I began with the games I own. Simple internet searches quickly ruled out games where no manufacturer had yet built a 1:1 scale of the associated super hero, talent or personality. There were no 1:1 scale Stay-Puft Marshmallow men from Ghostbusters. There were no 1:1 scale X-men (that I cared about). There were no 1:1 scale KISS figures (that I could afford!). The one that DID come up again and again was Iron Man. Over the years there have been several versions of a 1:1 scale Iron Man. Over course there are also MANY versions of Iron Man as well. When I narrowed my search into a certain price band, the name that came up (again) was Rubies. Seems they had just released a version of Iron Man themselves. Licensed through Marvel and manufactured the exact same way my Spider-man was made. Very cool. Now I just had to find the best price.

The price search took about 2 weeks on and off. There were quite a few places that had the item for sale. Ebay, Amazon and a few independent retailers as well. There was also an online costume company – and they had the best price. I waited a few days and they had a site-wide sale of 15% off and using that coupon code I purchased Iron Man that day.
I received an order confirmation and quickly thereafter a shipping tracking number. Things seemed to be going real well – or so I thought. I watched as the shipment moved from “tracking info received” to “order picked up” and was pleased to see it headed my way. I was then shocked when just a few days later my shipping notice was marked “Arrived”. Not seeing the huge box on my porch I began the usual rounds of the ranch looking for where else the FedEx driver might have dropped it off. Pole Barn – nope. Other house – nope. Down by the gate – nope. Behind the house – nope. OK, so clearly it did not “Arrive” – then where was it? I checked the shipping tracker again and read the destination. Bummer. Iron Man was shown to be delivered right BACK to the original shipping address. He had gone in a circle from the warehouse he left right back there again.

I started to worry, so I researched a little more on this company and found a (admittedly old) website of reviews that were not glowing. In fact, one of them was from a disgruntled customer that had the exact same thing happen to them. Item showed shipped and then received right back to the place of origin. I called the company the next day and explained what I saw on my end and why I was worried. They could not have been nicer. They asked me what I wanted them to do to fix it. Did I need another shipped expedited? I was blown away. I simply asked that they ship it to me (not themselves) and that I was not in a particular hurry. They said they would and within a few minutes I received an email confirming it.

This time, Iron Man made it! Within just a few days I got a call from a FedEx driver asking for our gate code and stating that he had a huge box strapped to a pallet for delivery. I gave him the code and asked him to place in under cover on our porch as it was going to rain later that day. He promised to be extra careful because (as he said) “I don’t want to break Iron Man!” I didn’t think to ask him how he knew what was inside but when I got home I found the box marked on the outside with a checklist for all the Iron Man parts- turns out our FedEx driver does not have ESP after all.

One thing I noticed right away was the large sheet of paper on the outside of the box marked “Feiermeier, Nürnberg/Bavaria”. That’s odd. I live in Tennessee, not Germany. How did that get there? It’s also marked with a Order number and PO number that has nothing to do with my order. I did a little research and it seems that Feiermeier is a costume/party store in Germany. Looks like a large operation too. I can only guess that at one time the Feiermeier folks wrote an order for a bunch of these and they were either refused or returned. Just a guess but this giant box originally shipped from the Rubies Phoenix AZ location to Germany, then made it back to a warehouse in Cudahy, Wisconsin and eventually ended up on my front porch. I’m just glad he’s arrived and think it’s pretty cool he’s traveled the world to get here.

A full day went by (a rainy one) before I could start the process of un-boxing. I got home at a decent hour the following night and planned to get him un-boxed and set up. I quickly changed my clothes and grabbed a box cutter. It’s always a little nerve wracking deciding how and where to cut the box without accidentally slicing into the item inside. First I cut the single plastic strap that was holding the box to the pallet. Then I made a cut near the edge, peered inside and saw it was safe to cut the entire length. With the box now open, I could quickly assess the other cuts I needed to make to get the exterior opened up. In no time at all I was staring at a headless/body less Iron Man completely wrapped in bubble wrap, with a large cardboard box propped on top of his legs. The cardboard box was sitting on a scrap of blow molded black foam that was used specifically as a “table” to give a spot for the box to rest upon during shipping. Tucked in between his legs where what appeared to be his arms.

A few minutes later, I was able to get the box off of his legs and remove both the cardboard surrounding him and the pallet under him. I could now grab his legs and easily lift/carry the base portion of the statue up into the game room. I grabbed his leg assembly and lifted it by locking hands just under his crotch – wincing a little (for him) in the process. Tami grabbed the door and I was on my way to the Loft.

I got the legs section carried up to the second floor of the Pinball Loft without incident. There I began the tedious process of removing the protective plastic. It was in 2 layers. The first was a heavy plastic that was both wrapped tightly around each piece and was taped in place. The outer wrapping was all bubble wrap. It too was tightly wrapped and taped. The process for getting the 2 layers off was straightforward but slow going. Find the tape area, poke it with my knife to cause it to split, tear that section of plastic to allow it to loosen and gain distance from the Iron Man piece, then slice the plastic lengthwise. Rinse and repeat about a hundred times. The only time the work slowed was when I was cutting directly around the poor guys crotch. Something about a razor sharp knife in that area just gave me the willies and I was a degree more careful as I cut the wrapping free!

The cardboard box I found stacked on his legs when I originally opened the shipping box contained both his torso and his head. They too were wrapped in the same fashion as the legs were. At the base of the legs I found a very small box that had 2 long hex head bolts in it and the Marvel authorized certificate of authenticity (translation = piece of cardboard) taped to the outside. I set aside the bolts for later and put the certificate in a drawer.

With the legs and torso free of their plastic wrapping, I could begin assembly of the statue. The torso, arms and head all have a plastic PVC pipe (painted black) molded into each end. These rigid pipes mate with a similar diameter hole drilled into the foam on the statue itself. There is a hole right in the middle of the legs assembly in order to seat and mate the torso – that was step one and it went off without a hitch.

With the torso in place, I next proceeded to unwrap each arm. The arms each have the same PVC pipe and these mate into drilled holes in the top area of the torso. The difference here is that the pipes are also drilled crossways to accept that hex head bolt once pushed into the the torso. The bolts are slid in vertically and downward from the open neck area. Once the bolts are in position, the arms can not be pulled off of the torso without first removing them. When the head is added as a final step, the bolts are hidden from view

There are only a couple of online reviews that discuss the Iron Man Rubies statue. Every retailer offering it for sale shows that one of the features of the item is that it “lights up”. I was excited to see that in action but none of the reviews provide any details on how it worked. I did know that it was a battery operated function. I wasn’t too excited to hear that because my Spider-man (from Rubies as well) is lit via an AC “wall wart” – it’s super convenient and batteries are not. I quickly discovered the only real downside to this beautiful sculpt – it takes batteries, it takes batteries in 3 places, it takes batteries in 3 places that are hard to get to (insert sad face here). To be honest, it’s not a deal breaker just a disappointment. I will probably replace the battery supply with an AC/DC wall wart in the future. It looks like each battery compartment takes 2 pieces each of a 3 volt lithium coin cell battery. I can find a million 6 volt power supplies online so getting a power supply is easy. I would then need to run supply wiring to each of the battery boxes (there are 3 total) and tap into the wiring. The supply wires to each battery box are easily accessible so this is not an insurmountable task. It is, however, one I’ll need to be careful with because the LEDs in the statue are not replaceable.

In just a few hours or so I had the entire statue put together. I slid it into position right next to Spider-man. It fit – barely. This is a large item – not nearly as tall as Spider-man but due to the pose, much wider. After positioning him, I replaced my stanchions and red crowd control strap to keep little kids and clumsy adults away.

It should be noted that these Rubies items are not indestructible. I would not call them fragile but they are pretty close to that designation. The layer of plastic over the foam is relatively thin and it can crack. I also know that if someone was to run into the arms on these that they would likely split, crack of break off the PVC mounts. It’s just not worth it having them exposed to handling by folks that would not know the level of delicacy inherent to the design. Best to warn everyone before they enter the Loft. My standard goes like this “No kids upstairs without an adult, no kids under 12 without constant supervision and no one, EVER touches Spider-man or Iron Man. The Pinball games are a completely different story – anyone (and I mean anyone) of any age can play ANY game they like. Just keep the drinks in the drink holders and play away! I even have a few stools available for the youngsters to use to reach the flippers.

As is customary here on the ranch, when finished un-boxing something this large … it’s off to the burning barrel! This time there was no way all of the cardboard would fit so I leaned it against the barrel and with a flick of the thumb had flames leaping 20′ high into the air. In just minutes only ash remained

So what do I think about it now that it’s here? For the price I love it! I love the battle damage paint job that makes him look like he just fought the Iron Monger. I like the detail of the sculpt. It’s a level of detail that makes him appear real – not a cartoon version of IM but a movie version. He looks perfectly “balanced” with his hand outstretched. It’s not as easy as you might think to get a sculpt to look that natural but this one does. The base of faux rocks he is standing on is just enough to give him some context in the room. The sculpt detail is also a full 360 so if he was in the middle of a room, he would be just as convincing and nice to look at from any direction. 

What would I change? Just a few things and one of them you already know. The lighting needs to be AC supplied. Batteries never really work for permanent display items and this is the epitome of “permanently on display”. I would also brighten up the red and the gold color that was chosen for his paint job. It’s a little dull. It’s probably screen accurate but IM is supposed to be a “wow” figure – make him pop with color.

That’s it! I’d buy him again given another chance to decide. If you had told me in 1994 that I would still be working for the same company, I would have trouble believing you. If you followed that up with the words – and you’ll use the anniversary check from that same company to buy a full scale Iron Man statue – I would have called you crazy. Yet it happened that way. In the end, I think he is a great conversation piece for Pinball Loft newcomers and for any fan of the Marvel franchise. I’m glad he’s here.