Goddamned Gottleib – kirabug's idea files

Title Fight, 1990, a goddamned Gottlieb.

The majority of this backglass is occupied by a bald white boxer with a mustache on the left, and a brown-haired white boxer on the right. They have gloves up to box and there is a point where in the middle of the game you hit the two flipper buttons simultaneously to cause one to punch the other. They look much like paper dolls swinging at each other with hinged shoulders and elbows when they box.

The area around them is all decorated to look like a Greek temple, or possibly the Caesar’s Palace casino. Marble columns separate the boxers from the scantily clad stone women draped on the columns, and the scoreboard is designed to look like carved stone.

At the very top, two large boxing-gloved hands surround the words Title Fight, which is styled like a prize belt, with a world champion metal in the center.

The bulk of the work on this one went into the animatronics and the movement is a unique (and nice) touch to draw folks to the machine.

October 20, 2023October 28, 2023

Genesis

Pinball

Genesis, Gottleib, 1986.

One would think looking at this backglass that it was based on a science fiction movie, and it sort-of is, but nothing you’ve probably heard of. According to the Internet Pinball Database (IPD) entry for Genesis, designer John Gottleib based the concept on a 1927 German film called Metropolis.

Anyway, the backglass is eye-catching in how different it is from most designs of its era. It’s a photo of three people, an old man dressed like a mad scientist, a younger woman with big 80s hair and lots of fishnets, and a younger man possibly with dwarfism dressed in a black leather vest but no shirt.

Behind them one can see a wall of devices, all painted the same matte grey, a weird looking machine to the left and a screen of some sort to the right. Definitely hearkens back to the age of b-movie science fiction, even if the exact plot is known only to the designer.

October 16, 2023October 28, 2023

Slick Chick

Pinball

Slick Chick, 1963, another goddamned Gottleib.

This backglass hearkens back to a simpler era, one where printing could only really cover about six colors. One where men sang in barbershop quartets while women wore bunny suits that actually covered their hips. Since this machine is a single player, the score reels are in the center. A stage fills the foreground and behind the stage, or I guess in front of it, four men sing in a barbershop quartet surrounded by tables where people are sitting and potentially eating. Think of any 1940s era musical where someone is singing in a night club.

On the left, a blonde wears a pink sleeveless one piece with deep cleavage that ends in a fur-lined skirt. She also wears a pink hat with bunny ears, and pink heels.

On the right, a woman sitting on a bar stool (on the stage) is wearing a blue sleeveless one piece with almost no cleavage. Hers also ends in a fur-lined skirt. She wears blue heels and blue bunny ears.

The pink bunny girl is carrying a very old camera. The blue bunny girl is holding nothing. Both seem oblivious to the quartet, who are singing in front of the stage instead of on it. I guess they didn’t want to hit their head on the score reels.

September 29, 2023August 21, 2023

Raven Sniper Squadron

Pinball

Raven Sniper Squadron, a goddamned Gottleib, 1986.

A helicopter flies over some kind of depot or army base that is supposed to look reminiscent of Korea or Vietnam. The helicopter is firing rockets at the buildings.

September 17, 2023August 20, 2023

Joker Poker (Solid State)

Pinball

Joker Poker. Gottleib. 1978. Three busty ladies with tiny waists dressed in body suits that are supposed to be joker costumes magic an unending trail of cards to dance around the backglass while purple and red clouds billow in a yellow sky. Trippy. There is no way those outfits are supportive enough for those DDD cups though and your body suit should fold under your breasts.