Wanted pinball cabinets

[chris b]

I think someone could maybe make some extra cash offering this service in the UK. I don't think the scene is large enough to sustain a full time business though.

How many people actually *need* a brand new cabinet ??

I think £420 is a good price for a new cab with all the work that goes in to it I think realistically painted with official decals I think £800 to £1000 complete ready to drop playfield in is fair
Not many people on here would want to pay that
If you are going to that effort on a cab you need to be doing the same with the rest of the machine like on my shop logs if you are scrimping and scraping then don't bother if you have a good customer base who want the best of the best and there are plenty out there then go for it or if you just love the machine and it's a keeper

 

[Toxteth O'Grady]

The flat pack kit for visual pinball crowd would be an absolute winner but people use all manner of different size TVs. This would mean that each build would be slightly different.

 

[Dave the Taxman]

Hello Paul,

Could you let me have your friends details (e-mail) as there is a chance I would want him to do a cabinet and backbox for me
Cheers
Dave

 

[Dunc]

https://www.gumtree.com/p/hobbies-collectibles/pinball-machine-coin-pusher/1239403662

This the guy? £420 is a bargain IMO! I know i wouldn't build one for that, and i know local joiners that would want at least £700+

Can't be making much out of it! Im tempted for my Corvette!

Dunc

 

[Wiredworm]

£420 is a good price if you ask me. I think I paid about £200 for an old cabinet a year or so back - so £400 for a totally new one made from fresh materials seems totally reasonable.

 

[Dave the Taxman]

I have a Fish Tales Cab + Backbox that are totally shot so when I saw this fellow making brand new cabs I jumped at the opportunity
I'm delivering the old stuff to him this Saturday so I'l let everyone know how it goes
In conversations with him so far I'm confident he will do a cracking job

Cheers
Dave the Taxman

 

[mark9]

I have a Fish Tales Cab + Backbox that are totally shot so when I saw this fellow making brand new cabs I jumped at the opportunity
I'm delivering the old stuff to him this Saturday so I'l let everyone know how it goes
In conversations with him so far I'm confident he will do a cracking job

Cheers
Dave the Taxman

Could you ask him if he will do redecalling?

 

[Paul]

Could you ask him if he will do redecalling?

there's a number on here that could do that, Dave included i expect, however ideally would be good to get it done at the same time

 

[PeteB]

Just gonna throw in my 2 pence worth here as someone who now makes parts...

I can't speak on behalf of Manny but I can honestly tell you that from seeing his work (i.e. new or restored cabinets) on previous restores I've done, the workmanship was 2nd to none. Original cabinets were made in mass quantities with the cheapest possible materials because they were going in to bars and arcades and getting bashed around by teenagers or drunks. They were never intended to last 30+ years. Usually 2-3 was the lifespan of most pins.

Manny made cabinets out of quality material (they were bloody heavy), and done to a standard that made them like furniture - quite rightly so when people want this stuff in their house. People say he price he priced himself out the market? I say he undercharged!

Whoever is making cabinets for £420, regardless if it's high quality or not, must be doing it out of love. There is no way that can be a sustainble, profitable business, unless you have a factory mass producing them. One at a time no way.

This lack of understanding is what drives people/businesses away from making parts. Pin heads cry out for things to be made, someone comes a long and does it, but then get's hit with a backlash of complaints because it's not PERFECTLY original or the price is too high, blah blah blah... That's why they stop. So now you have no one making those parts.

Hats off to the guy doing it but please don't chip him on the price, £420 is a bargain. If he's doing a good job then lets help this guy get some more sales!

 

[PBrookfield]

PeteB has it right. There is virtually no profit in pinball left nowadays, except perhaps being a tightly-run parts supplier or a high-markup home-supplier-restorer.

It's all a lot happier and more enjoyable if you view the entire thing as a hobby, a money-pit but something that provides enjoyment in exchange for that money. There's many hobbies that are really worthwhile that also leave nothing behind once your money is gone - pinball leaves you the game which you can then trade on or give to your kids or friends as heirloom quality items. Pure gravy on top of your bought enjoyment.

Maybe that's the opinion of someone that buys, restores, enjoys and keeps, but in my eyes it's a totally valid one. Bulletproofing electronics such as Nintendo 64 which virtually NEVER go wrong anyway, re-capping a 3-DO or a low-model Atari ST because 'why not', or a pinball machine that will likely not leave my own repair-capable hands, is not done for any practical reason except the enjoyment of the end product.

There's nothing wrong with adequately rewarding and enjoying craftsmanship. I'm skint right now but I will say for the price mentioned, it's making the standard cabinet on my table look even shoddier than it already is (let's be honest here, these plywood jobs are utter crap, they did they job but the obscure Japanese pinballs out there and modern ideas from Heighway etc. show what could have been done with these cabinets)

At the same time I totally understand the worries of people that were keeping an eye on costs and trading games around like it was a party, back in the days of ultra-low-prices - I'm personally gutted that I was too late for that scene - but those days are unfortunately gone. And even then, if I was around for those days, I'd have my trader-pins I'd be rotating but I would still have my 'grail' games that when I got hold of them, they would never leave my hands other than dragging it out to a show for public enjoyment. Even with the higher costs of today, pinball is cheap for what you get and how long you can make them last. Cars of similar vintage are virtually unusable without massive investment.

 

[paul parker]

Just gonna throw in my 2 pence worth here as someone who now makes parts...

I can't speak on behalf of Manny but I can honestly tell you that from seeing his work (i.e. new or restored cabinets) on previous restores I've done, the workmanship was 2nd to none. Original cabinets were made in mass quantities with the cheapest possible materials because they were going in to bars and arcades and getting bashed around by teenagers or drunks. They were never intended to last 30+ years. Usually 2-3 was the lifespan of most pins.

Manny made cabinets out of quality material (they were bloody heavy), and done to a standard that made them like furniture - quite rightly so when people want this stuff in their house. People say he price he priced himself out the market? I say he undercharged!

Whoever is making cabinets for £420, regardless if it's high quality or not, must be doing it out of love. There is no way that can be a sustainble, profitable business, unless you have a factory mass producing them. One at a time no way.

This lack of understanding is what drives people/businesses away from making parts. Pin heads cry out for things to be made, someone comes a long and does it, but then get's hit with a backlash of complaints because it's not PERFECTLY original or the price is too high, blah blah blah... That's why they stop. So now you have no one making those parts.

Hats off to the guy doing it but please don't chip him on the price, £420 is a bargain. If he's doing a good job then lets help this guy get some more sales!

Just gonna throw in my 2 pence worth here as someone who now makes parts...

I can't speak on behalf of Manny but I can honestly tell you that from seeing his work (i.e. new or restored cabinets) on previous restores I've done, the workmanship was 2nd to none. Original cabinets were made in mass quantities with the cheapest possible materials because they were going in to bars and arcades and getting bashed around by teenagers or drunks. They were never intended to last 30+ years. Usually 2-3 was the lifespan of most pins.

Manny made cabinets out of quality material (they were bloody heavy), and done to a standard that made them like furniture - quite rightly so when people want this stuff in their house. People say he price he priced himself out the market? I say he undercharged!

Whoever is making cabinets for £420, regardless if it's high quality or not, must be doing it out of love. There is no way that can be a sustainble, profitable business, unless you have a factory mass producing them. One at a time no way.

This lack of understanding is what drives people/businesses away from making parts. Pin heads cry out for things to be made, someone comes a long and does it, but then get's hit with a backlash of complaints because it's not PERFECTLY original or the price is too high, blah blah blah... That's why they stop. So now you have no one making those parts.

Hats off to the guy doing it but please don't chip him on the price, £420 is a bargain. If he's doing a good job then lets help this guy get some more sales!

Thanks for your comments Peter I will pass them on its everybody's choice at the end of the day he is trying to get him self sorted

 

[Spadge]

I'm giving him a shot with my TOM new cab for the restore I'm doing, painting and decaling (for extra, obviously). Spoke at length on the phone and seems a really nice guy. If his work is good, he's likely to get plenty of work imo.