C.O.C.A. Times

PAPA - CREATING A NEW MARKET?
By SANDY LECHTICK
If one were to
gauge sex appeal
by the collective
number of "oohs
and ahs" at the
March 2007 Chi-
cagoland Show,
John
Papa's
"Mills
Subma-
rine Lung Tester"
was certainly the
sexiest machine
and surpri se hit.
No other machine
had this degree of
the "Wow" fac tor.
Consider that
by Saturday noon
- the lung tester
was completely
sold out.
The
handful that John was scheduled to complete by the
November 2007 Chicagoland Show, were all spoken
for. What I found equally interesting is that there was
a disti nct buzz around John's booth - and not just from
experienced coin-op collectors or crazed arcade addicts,
but also from "pedestrians", inexperienced coin-op afi-
cionados, "newbies" and those in-between.
Perhaps gumball collectors were not as excited as ar-
cade machine collectors. Perhaps pinball enthusiasts
were not as bowled over. But for most, the visual im-
pact of the machine, coupled with the fact that none are
known to exist, plus the premise that Papa and his team
had nothing to copy, no parts to reproduce, nothing to
replicate, made this machine all the more intriguing.
And those that didn't know anything about the histori-
cal backdrop were taken back by the total effect - the art
work, the divers in action, the manner in which strong
lungs brought them to the surface, and even the accom-
panying air bubbles - the overall top-down presentation
all created a St. Charles stir.
In short, Papa's re-creation of a "Mi11s Submarine
Lung Tester" was a stunning display of creativity and
teamwork- the researchers, fabricators , carpenters, wood
finishers, machinists and artists - all who collectively
created something
from nothing.
Keep in mind,
this machinedidn ' t
just "pop up". The
guy who pays the
bills and who's
looking to make a
profit cannot oper-
ate in a vacuum.
Guys like Papa are
too smart for that.
One doesn't just
spend a bundle,
set aside up fro nt
capital, make a
really cool mouse
trap and expect
sophisticated and
highly discrimi-
nating collectors
to come run ning with open checkbooks.
Put another way, effective marketing cannot be over-
looked. Even before the show, the word was out that
John was bringing something special. A small handful
knew what that something was. Yes, a good marketer
knows what will sell, has a pretty good idea for how
much and when to stoke the ambers in the fireplace - so
the flames peak at just the right time.
Thursday night close to midnight, the day before
the dealer's preview, John and I were sitting at the bar
schmoozing when the subject of a certain lung tester
popped up. One thing led to another and John invited
those of us who were closing the bar - Ken Rubin, Ed-
die Mazzola, Bob Pelligrini and myself to a "private
preview". It wasn't so much a sales pitch, but more
of a "what do you guys think?" Certainly we were all
curious to see the creature from the unknown.
I kinda felt like we were on some secret C.I.A. mis-
sion in the dead of the night with our flashlights and
surgical gloves. Kenny, one of the nation's foremost
experts on coin-op and arcade machines, and author
of Drop Coin Here was amazed what John had accom-
plished - not only did the lung tester look authentic, but
commented that Papa had done such a fine job. I think
I
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