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Party Zone

Cmor111

Cmor111

Registered
Joined
Apr 30, 2015
Messages
1,579
Location
Stirling
Hi,

Looking for my first pin, and a Party Zone has come up locally.

Just wanted to know what's the going price for a playing table?
Also what sort of thing should I look out for with this table?

Thanks for any advice that comes my way.
 
Don't really know about value, but it is definitely one of the less expensive dmd games. I would guess about £800

Have a look on the net for papa videos, TNT videos or general play videos so you can get an idea of the features and what the game should do. The head for example is meant to follow the ball as it travels in certain areas of the playfield.

Key things for me are always the game specific parts and the extent of playfield wear. The standard stuff (flipper rebuilds, coils ,,....) is all available. It is the ramps and game specific plastics that are the worry. Especially the ramps on this game. Have a look on Marco, bestofpinball, ministryofpinball etc to see what game specific parts are and are not available for this game

The dmd will be expensive, around £180, to replace so do a test on that, as is always the case on dmd games

The saucer in the middle of the game is prone to wear

Any game of this age with yellow or red in the cabinet artwork will be prone to fading, some folk get upset about it, others don't

Behind the translite are the main circuit boards. Look at the one on the left with batteries in it. This is prone to corrosion which can cause havoc and random faults. Quite often the games have remote battery connectors now. A new board will be £160 ish, but the corrosion is often salvageable if you send the board away for repair

Turn it on and see whether you get the beep, beep, beep, beep of death as it boots up that warns you when a table has faults

Take glass out and play games, test all the switches, the locks, make sure they score etc etc. there are bound to be a few niggles. But you are a long way north and I don't know who makes house calls up there if you need repairs

It would be safer buying from a known guy on here for a first pin.

Good luck
 
From what I know of this one:

Check that the 2 standup targets around the saucer hole infront of the main character (forget the name) are not damaged
Check the crash test dummy toy

Happy hunting
 
Thanks to both of you for your advice, but I snoozed about it for to long. It's been removed from Gumtree.

Probably for the best, still working on the wife to get my first pin, not offering to let her have any more kids as per another topic on here.

Also think perhaps it would be best to take DRD's advice and buy from someone here.

Thanks again.
 
Matt Adams had a re-decaled one for grabs very recently and you will have peace of mind purchasing from him if he has not already shifted it.
 
For many of us, fixing the odd fault on a pinball is part of the fun. Are you used to soldering irons, multi meters, fixing stuff .....

if you are new to this I would suggest caution. Pinballs are hugely complicated. Folk like me rely on one thing at a time failing. I can diagnose this, and with tips from the forum, I can fix it.

But if you bought a game with multiple faults, it could just overpower you.

Folk on eBay and gumtree can be sound. But they can also be dishonest. Stupid. Or dealers flipping routed games after just giving them a wipe. Your best bet will be an enthusiast's game from here. Enthusiasts often fix everything. Folk like me get a game and then go through them fixing all the mechanical and electrical problems, replacing broken bits etc etc

I phoned about a game on eBay and the guy said " I never remove the glass from a game" with pride. Warning sign, unless it is a rich owner who gets experts in to maintain their games. Games like this can have loads of faults as the owners do not fix them. I asked him to turn it on. I asked if there were error messages on start up, he said "no". But I could hear the beep, beep, beep, beep that wpc games make on startup when there is a diagnosed fault. So I forgot about this one.
 
The guy had a bad attitude. I wasn't going to risk a 2 hour drive.

You are dead right, could have been time and date. But for this error, it was potentially battery corrosion time ?

Whatever, I walked away. Or rather, replaced the handset after some pleasantries.
 
This is a very nice looking pin but unfortunately it is out of my budget, the other one was asking for £900 and only 1/2hr away so easy for collection.
Judge Dreads said:
Matt Adams had a re-decaled one for grabs very recently and you will have peace of mind purchasing from him if he has not already shifted it.
Click to expand...
 
I'm an alarm engineer by trade so I'm more than happy to dive in and have a go, but I would like a fully working pin for my first. It would be good to learn how to clean and strip a pin before having to fault find.

But I do take on board your advice about eBay and gumtree.

DRD said:
For many of us, fixing the odd fault on a pinball is part of the fun. Are you used to soldering irons, multi meters, fixing stuff .....

if you are new to this I would suggest caution. Pinballs are hugely complicated. Folk like me rely on one thing at a time failing. I can diagnose this, and with tips from the forum, I can fix it.

But if you bought a game with multiple faults, it could just overpower you.

Folk on eBay and gumtree can be sound. But they can also be dishonest. Stupid. Or dealers flipping routed games after just giving them a wipe. Your best bet will be an enthusiast's game from here. Enthusiasts often fix everything. Folk like me get a game and then go through them fixing all the mechanical and electrical problems, replacing broken bits etc etc

I phoned about a game on eBay and the guy said " I never remove the glass from a game" with pride. Warning sign, unless it is a rich owner who gets experts in to maintain their games. Games like this can have loads of faults as the owners do not fix them. I asked him to turn it on. I asked if there were error messages on start up, he said "no". But I could hear the beep, beep, beep, beep that wpc games make on startup when there is a diagnosed fault. So I forgot about this one.
Click to expand...
 
There's better tables out there. It's not without a certain charm but I wouldn't stress about missing out on it
 
Definitely not stressing about it, what's meant to be will be. I know something better will come along, it always does.

I've only had a very limited experience with real pinball, most of my playing has been on TPA and I'm desperate to get the real thing.

Party Zone is just one of the games I enjoy playing, there are a lot that I know I can't afford but I hope that there are a few I can.
 
I have a partyzone that I may let go to fund wedding or brick laying. There is a thread about it On the shop logs section. Stirling is that the Scotland William Wallace Stirling?
 
Cmor111 said:
Hi,

Looking for my first pin, and a Party Zone has come up locally.

Just wanted to know what's the going price for a playing table?
Also what sort of thing should I look out for with this table?

Thanks for any advice that comes my way.
Click to expand...


Hi there, I have a PZ (Party Zone) and I would never sell it for £800 as someone suggested that price lol, Matt Adams Party Zone was on and I believe is still on sale for £2600, and I feel that was a fair price. I have seen it and it is nice, as all Matt's machines are . PZ is a great starter machine for all the family & although I have only had pins for 8 years my PZ is the wife's treasure, I would want the same sort of money for my PZ.....Pinheads will say that there beginners machines but they are such fun and not complex or hard which can allow you to get to know what pinball is all about. I think the lighting display is also the best of all I have seen. good luck with your venture into pinball......It becomes....addictive.......Didderly
 
Mooseman said:
I have a partyzone that I may let go to fund wedding or brick laying. There is a thread about it On the shop logs section. Stirling is that the Scotland William Wallace Stirling?
Click to expand...
Mooseman, just been looking at your work. Very nice.

Unfortunately it looks like there is quite a big difference in what others think it's worth. The first guide I was given was £800 and others are saying 2k+, which looking at what you've done to yours I'd expect you to be asking top $(quite rightly) which I can't afford.

Best of luck with the bricklaying and the wedding.
 
Didderly said:
Hi there, I have a PZ (Party Zone) and I would never sell it for £800 as someone suggested that price lol, Matt Adams Party Zone was on and I believe is still on sale for £2600, and I feel that was a fair price. I have seen it and it is nice, as all Matt's machines are . PZ is a great starter machine for all the family & although I have only had pins for 8 years my PZ is the wife's treasure, I would want the same sort of money for my PZ.....Pinheads will say that there beginners machines but they are such fun and not complex or hard which can allow you to get to know what pinball is all about. I think the lighting display is also the best of all I have seen. good luck with your venture into pinball......It becomes....addictive.......Didderly
Click to expand...
Thanks for the offer Didderly, but I couldn't take your wife's pin from you, if she loves it that much your life wouldn't be worth living!
 
Cmor111 said:
Thanks for the offer Didderly, but I couldn't take your wife's pin from you, if she loves it that much your life wouldn't be worth living!
Click to expand...

Other pins will come up, I might have Cooldans, Elvis, who knows :) & wife's can be replaced,...I'm on me 5th
 
GrizZ said:
Sorry, but I think the heat must be getting to people, 2600 is insane money for a PZ in any condition. Good luck with the sale :)
Click to expand...

Totally agree Grizz, but one it aint for sale lol and two, look what's been on in the last few years.....you could Tee of the playfield on some of the s**** heaps that's been sold... :)
 
PZ is a 1k game in nice condition, seen them go for £600 or less over the years so 1k now is about right IMHO, a NIB PZ may be worth 2.6k but good luck with finding a NIB, most are faded and not exactly a highly sought after title, doesn't even scrape into the top 100 on Pinside (136) but not that many for grabs either so I suppose it's all down to what someone will pay when available.
 
According to pinpedia .......

£1,250static.pinpedia.com_images_flags_gb.png United Kingdom15 November, 2014
£831static.pinpedia.com_images_flags_gb.png United Kingdom10 July, 2014
$1,525static.pinpedia.com_images_flags_us.png Ohio, United States24 June, 2014
£800static.pinpedia.com_images_flags_gb.png London, United Kingdom07 March, 2014
$1,800static.pinpedia.com_images_flags_au.png New South Wales, Australia26 February, 2014
€1,060static.pinpedia.com_images_flags_de.png Germany16 November, 2013
£846static.pinpedia.com_images_flags_gb.png United Kingdom20 October, 2013
€771static.pinpedia.com_images_flags_de.png Germany09 October, 2013
$2,150static.pinpedia.com_images_flags_us.png Ohio, United States05 September, 2013
£1,000static.pinpedia.com_images_flags_gb.png Leeds, United Kingdom21 July, 2013
 
I came close to buying one for £700 in decent nick a couple years back. No way is that a £2600 game in any condition imho. Its a fun game an would make a decent first pin but only at the right price. There are better machines available around the 1K mark so I wouldn't pay more than that for a (mint) PZ.
 
Valuations are always a controversial topic on this site.....
 
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