Pinball Down Under Part 3: Home Pin?!
Silverball Chronicles
1 hr 31 min
Summary
Silver Ball Chronicles explores Homepin founding, manufacturing challenges, and Mike's journey from board repair to factory ownership in China.
David Dennis and Ron Hallett discuss Home Pin, an Australian pinball manufacturer founded in 2013 by Mike Kalinowski. The episode traces Mike's background as an electrical engineer, his hobby business importing and refurbishing pinball boards from China, and his ambitious pivot to manufacturing new pinball machines starting with a Thunderbirds license. The narrative covers the complex logistics of manufacturing in China, personal tragedies that derailed the Thunderbirds project, and legal challenges that emerged from operating a factory with worker housing.
Check out Flip N Out Pinball for all your pinball needs! Topic begins at 7:35 In the third part of our Pinball Downunder series, we look at Homepin. Homepin was established in 2013 and was born from the hobby business of Mike Kalinowski. It seems like a really smart idea to set up manufacturing in the world's largest manufacturing country, China, but it turns out to be a mixed bag. Ron and Dave play it as straight as the possibility can from a manufacturer who struggled out of the gate, overcame some very difficult situations, knows a theme is a must, understands costs are king, and whose owner went on a podcast charm offensive, which was more offensive than charming for the pinball community. Correction: In a previous version, Taiwan was mentioned as a semi-autonomous state in the same context as Hong Kong. The episode has been edited to have this reference removed to remain politically neutral. You can read more about Taiwan here: HomePin Games List. Here The Aussie Pinball Podcast, Ep 16 – Mike from Homepin YouTube. Mike Kalinowski. Here HomePin Facebook Page.
Comments