There is a very old VP version of Nip-It over at IRPinball.org by XtremeMAME & Warrior. It might serve to help with a new design.
But yes, a complete rebuild in VP9 would be in order, I think, and yes, Starman would be good for the job. His Fireball recreation was fabulous, as was his 4 Million BC.
That would certainly be the kind of quality that would work for Nip-It!