and then the remaining liquid is squeegeed offĭecaled AC/DC and X-Men cabinets and playfields The cabinet is sprayed with a Windex-type liquid before the decal is applied. Playfield preparation begins with dimpling, drilling and T-nuts fitted The actual game on the production line was X-Men, but AC/DC cables were being made ahead of another run of that title. So some diagrams use the Grinder name, while more recent ones use AC/DC.
This is the code name for AC/DC which Stern used internally until the marketing department officially announced the name of the next title. On the peg boards where the cables are laid-out, several diagrams showed the game name as "Grinder".
We did manage to surreptitiously take a few snaps when nobody was looking, but for a full tour you can check back on last year's report where most things are the same except the game currently on the line. So, as we weren't allowed to take pictures, we don't have anything to show you from inside the factory.
The reason given was that they "have competition now" which was an interesting acknowledgement that perhaps they won't be "the only maker of REAL pinball games on the planet" for much longer. Visitors were formed into groups of ten and each group had a Stern employee showing them around the factory floor.įor the first time, guests were told not to take photographs inside the factory. The doors open and the first group of ten guests go on their tour Normally Gary Stern would have been on hand to welcome the guests but this year he was in Italy for the Enada trade show and wouldn't return until Friday, in time for his seminar on Saturday afternoon. School buses for the trip to Melrose ParkĪs the buses arrived outside the factory in Janice Avenue, Melrose Park and passengers disembarked, a lengthy queue built up in the Stern car park.įortunately it was a sunny day, so the waiting wasn't too uncomfortable. The next Pinball Expo event began at 9am on Thursday, as the bright yellow school buses pulled up outside the Westin for the 25-minute journey to Stern Pinball and the start of the annual factory tour. Once Rob Berk had welcomed guests, music was provided by Derek Fugate.ĭerek Fugate played guitar and sang at the Bumper Blast This has evolved over the years, from a delivery of pizza with bottles of soda available, through cheese and potato snacks to what we have now, which is a full cooked dinner with desert, coffee and cans of soda.īreaded chicken in a tomato sauce, mashed potato, salad with assorted dressings This rare EM version of Close Encounters of the Third KindĪs is now customary, proceedings began on Wednesday evening when the Bumper Blast welcome party opened its doors to Expo guests. Under game lighting and lit speakers from Pinball Toppers
This Spider-Man was set up early and included a full LED kit, This room connects to the main exhibit hall through a small doorway and is open for most of Pinball Expo - including several overnight sessions. In the games room next door, machines started to arrive. The main exhibit hall on Wednesday afternoon Throughout Wednesday, the main exhibit hall and the adjacent games room were being set up as machines and stands arrived. This year, rather than split up the Pinball Expo report into separate sections covering different aspects of the show which take months to complete, we're combining them all into one huge report - this one - and getting it all to you as soon as possible. Badges and wristbands denoted which package had been purchased. Skipping the banquet saved $25, attending just the seminars cost $50 and just going into the exhibit hall would set you back $20 a day or $75 for 4 days.
Full registration for all the seminars, the factory tour, the banquet and full admission to the exhibit hall for all days cost $185 if ordered by 8th October, otherwise it increased by $10.
A free shuttle bus was available with two pickups from the Bus Center at O'Hare at 4pm and 10pm on Wednesday, and three drop-offs for the journey home on the Sunday at 6am, 10am and 4pm.Ī number of registration options were available either before Expo or on the day. The event was held once again at the Westin hotel in Wheeling, about 20 minutes by car north of Chicago's O'Hare airport. This was the 28th annual Pinball Expo and the schedule promised the regular mix of factory tour, seminars, tournaments, machines to play and vendor stalls to peruse. Location: Westin Chicago North Shore, 601 North Milwaukee Avenue Wheeling, IL 60090, USA.