File Name: Rat Fink (Original 2025)
File Submitter: jpsalas
File Submitted: 21 Sep 2025
File Category: VPX Recreations
Author(s): jpsalasHalen
Manufacturer: Other - Pinball
Year: 2025
Permission to MOD?: Yes, with approval
Intro by Carlos Guizzo, who also sent me the pictures of the real table.
Release – Rat Fink Pinball
The Rat Fink Pinball is a real machine that emerges from the confluence of Brazilian pinball engineering and American Hot Rods and Kustom Kulture of the 60s. Created by Ricardo Coelho, from Racers Pinball Clube @racerspinballclube (Mauá, São Paulo – Brazil), the project was born from a Speed Test, released in 1982 by Taito do Brasil, which served as the mechanical and electronic base. Based on Vector (Bally, 1981), the Brazilian machine retained the main layout but without the upper playfield of the original. It was the last playfield available in his workshop, left over after several sales. Instead of simply restoring it, Coelho saw the opportunity to create something unique, maintaining the original electronic soul while completely redesigning the gameplay experience.
The choice of the Rat Fink theme was not casual. Coelho, an enthusiast of classic cars and Hot Rod culture, found in the character created by Ed Roth in the 60s the perfect connection with the automotive DNA of the original Speed Test. The result was a bold translation: the original Taito ROMs were preserved – maintaining rules, sounds and electronic essence –, but over them Coelho built a completely new geometry.
In construction, the original Speed Test was profoundly reinvented. The upper section dialogues with the original machine through the characteristic flipper and drop target bank, but from the center down, everything becomes pure invention. Coelho added bumpers and spinner – nonexistent in the base machine – and strategically reconfigured the inherited elements. The three original front drop targets migrated to a sequential lateral arrangement, creating new ball flows, while a special kicker inspired by Oba-Oba (Taito, 1979) adds unpredictability.
Visually, the project gained identity through DanielZ @danielzpinball, who received total creative freedom. DanielZ dove into research of 60s and 70s counterculture, studying Ed Roth and the scene that surrounded him: Robert Williams, Stanley Mouse and the revolutionary Zap Comix. The backglass features an original work by Robert Williams – the same artist behind the controversial "Appetite for Destruction" cover by Guns N' Roses –, paying homage to the visual universe that inspired American custom culture.
As a personal touch, DanielZ created a caricature of Coelho himself in the style of Ed Roth's classic "little monsters," integrating the Brazilian creator into American visual mythology. The playfield was conceived without "islands" – blank spaces under plastics –, resulting in a dense aesthetic that transports the player to the underground atmosphere of the 60s.
The Rat Fink Pinball represents more than a customization: it's a creative translation between cultures, where Brazilian ingenuity dialogues with American rebellion, creating something unique in the homebrew pinball scene.
Release – Rat Fink Pinball
O Rat Fink Pinball é uma máquina real que surge da confluência entre a engenharia brasileira de pinball e os Hot Rods americanos e a Kustom Kulture dos anos 60. Criado por Ricardo Coelho, do Racers Pinball Clube @racerspinballclube (Mauá, São Paulo – Brasil), o projeto nasceu a partir de uma Speed Test, lançada em 1982 pela Taito do Brasil, que serviu como base mecânica e eletrônica. Baseada na Vector (Bally, 1981), a máquina brasileira manteve o layout principal mas sem o playfield superior da original. Era o último playfield disponível em sua oficina, sobrado após várias vendas. Em vez de restaurá-la, Coelho viu a oportunidade de criar algo inédito, mantendo a alma eletrônica original enquanto redesenhava a experiência de jogo.
A escolha do tema Rat Fink não foi casual. Coelho, entusiasta de carros antigos e da cultura Hot Rod, encontrou no personagem criado por Ed Roth nos anos 60 a conexão perfeita com o DNA automotivo da Speed Test original. O resultado foi uma tradução ousada: as ROMs originais da Taito foram preservadas – mantendo regras, sons e essência eletrônica –, mas sobre elas Coelho construiu uma geometria completamente nova.
Na construção, a Speed Test original foi profundamente reinventada. A parte superior dialoga com a máquina original através do flipper característico e bank de bandeiras, mas a partir do centro, tudo se torna invenção pura. Coelho adicionou bumpers e spinner – inexistentes na máquina base – e reconfigurou os elementos herdados. As três bandeiras frontais migraram para disposição lateral sequencial, criando novos fluxos de bola, enquanto um rebatedor especial inspirado na Oba-Oba (Taito, 1979) adiciona imprevisibilidade.
Visualmente, o projeto ganhou identidade através de DanielZ @danielzpinball, que recebeu liberdade criativa total. DanielZ mergulhou na pesquisa da contracultura dos anos 60 e 70, estudando Ed Roth e a cena que o cercava: Robert Williams, Stanley Mouse e as Zap Comix. O backglass apresenta uma obra de Robert Williams – o mesmo artista da capa do "Appetite for Destruction" do Guns N' Roses –, homenageando o universo visual da custom culture americana.
Como toque pessoal, DanielZ criou uma caricatura do próprio Coelho no estilo dos "monstrinhos" clássicos de Ed Roth, integrando o criador brasileiro à mitologia visual americana. O playfield foi concebido sem "ilhas" – espaços em branco sob os plásticos –, resultando em estética densa que transporta o jogador para a atmosfera underground dos anos 60.
O Rat Fink Pinball representa mais que uma customização: é uma tradução criativa entre culturas, onde a engenhosidade brasileira dialoga com a rebeldia americana, criando algo único no cenário de pinball homebrew.
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