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Wanted Revenge From Mars

  • Thread starter Thread starter obZen525
  • Start date Start date
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obZen525

Hi all

Posting for both myself and my Dad, recently missed out on a RFM Table and we are struggling to find one under £2000.

Going to be our 1st pinball machine as we fell for it after playing at pinfest 2018. Was hoping someone in the pinball community could point us in the right direction?

My first post here too so apologies if the price were looking for (under £2000) isn't typical for this table.

Thanks Everyone - Finally signed here after just being a passive observer!

Anthony & Steve
 
insx said:
One went up for sale here yesterday.
Click to expand...
Oh, I guess that's the one you missed out on.

They normally go for around £1500, you would only pay £2000 for an imaculate one.
 
They just missed mine yesterday.

I dare say they’d call me if they get any issues when they get one being only down the road.

Mine was all Nucore’d up. Normally you can get one in a state for £1300. Prob with duff pc. Mine was priced to sell cheap.

Redecaled I would of sold it for £2200+
 
It would be interesting to see how much difference a restored cabinet would make to a RFM. I spent £400 doing my JM (not including the many man hours) and I can't shift it at £2400.
 
I've always fancied an RFM too. Had no idea new code was on the way. I would say 1,500 is a fair price for a players pin. 2k is on the high end and you should expect an immaculate example for that sort of mony.
 
insx said:
Oh, I guess that's the one you missed out on.

They normally go for around £1500, you would only pay £2000 for an imaculate one.
Click to expand...

I'd say between £1500 - £2000 is average price these days. An immaculate one like the one I sold a couple of years ago went for £3200 within an hour of putting it up sale.

RFM is a pretty desirable game if it's in good condition, the problem is a lot of people are absolutely butchering them with these computer upgrades, nucore and LCD screens. That's something which is really pushing the value of average games down while properly serviced originals are going up.
 
PeteB said:
I'd say between £1500 - £2000 is average price these days. An immaculate one like the one I sold a couple of years ago went for £3200 within an hour of putting it up sale.

RFM is a pretty desirable game if it's in good condition, the problem is a lot of people are absolutely butchering them with these computer upgrades, nucore and LCD screens. That's something which is really pushing the value of average games down while properly serviced originals are going up.
Click to expand...

Really??? That’s interesting not saying your wrong but are you sure?
I have had three or four RFM’s over the years love the game always miss it when one goes and all of them have been a pain because of the monitor , be it either too dark or too green or something with it ... not to mention it weighs a ton!
Also I often found the animations would slow down sometimes and always assumed that was down to the PC
So having a NUcore system would stop this wouldn’t it?
It’s not like a classic arcade game like a defender for example that if you replaced the CRT with a LCD and the Board with a PC that would be bad and would understand that but in an RFM it’s just like adding a CDMD to a TaF .
Just my thoughts I haven’t played a NUCore RFM so Was just putting it out there
 
I won't keep the original PC or monitor in any RFM personally! Its reliable - I think looks better to be honest on the nucore system. The software runs MUCH smoother. As long as you use an SSD then it runs fantastic and can be turned off just like the old hardware. It also makes it a lot lighter in weight as well, runs cooler as well as quieter.

Chris Bs restored RFM with nucore and LCD in it for well over £3K.

It is a matter of taste but you would have to be anal to tell the difference from playing it.

RFM has lovers and haters on any pinball forum.

But as I said - for the average example to sell for 1500-2000 quid -its great - what can you get that good for the money? Maybe a data east, or a gilliagans island, even Flintstones (nice ones) go for more than £2K.
 
V1.9 software is in Jim's possession, he is just waiting to see if the author will let it be distributed.

It adds different call outs and some graphics are different. Its basically the prototype software mixed in with V1.6.

In a non NuCore/Pinbox machine you will need the proper updater card to update it in a 'real' RFM PC (again - another reason to change to nucore!).
 
Had two rfm’s - loved the game, however was always first out the door because of a lack of longevity unfortunately. The modes weren’t particularly difficult even for a crap player like me.

Unfortunately it’s more of a novelty machine in my book than a machine with staying power.

Being fair, there are some other machines I have played with similar traits... but if we all liked the same then it would just be boring [emoji4]
 
Having one with the old screen and pc in it, i am always asking myself the question whether a major fault on them would push me to the more modern option. Interesting debate: better off with original less reliable technology or with more modern and reliable one? I guess the purists like to keep it as is and the others like to upgrade.
For me, provided it works i'll keep it as is.
 
Absolutely if we all liked the same games we would all be trying to buy Popeyes and who Dunnits :)
I always preferred RFM to AFM but same as you it tended to get a bit samey , be amazing if something else could be done with the system like adding some extra modes maybe some stuff from AFM?
Wish I was clever I would do that stuff :)
 
Will said:
Absolutely if we all liked the same games we would all be trying to buy Popeyes and who Dunnits :)
I always preferred RFM to AFM but same as you it tended to get a bit samey , be amazing if something else could be done with the system like adding some extra modes maybe some stuff from AFM?
Wish I was clever I would do that stuff :)
Click to expand...
I also prefer rfm and would love a who dunnit ?

- Ben
 
Will said:
Really??? That’s interesting not saying your wrong but are you sure?
I have had three or four RFM’s over the years love the game always miss it when one goes and all of them have been a pain because of the monitor , be it either too dark or too green or something with it ... not to mention it weighs a ton!
Also I often found the animations would slow down sometimes and always assumed that was down to the PC
So having a NUcore system would stop this wouldn’t it?
Click to expand...

It's a lack of SDRAM which seems to cause that. Easy fix. But yes I understand the pains with the monitor, which brings me to my next point...

Will said:
It’s not like a classic arcade game like a defender for example that if you replaced the CRT with a LCD and the Board with a PC that would be bad and would understand that but in an RFM it’s just like adding a CDMD to a TaF .
Just my thoughts I haven’t played a NUCore RFM so Was just putting it out there
Click to expand...

Well, actually I would argue yes but others may not be so fussy. I know that actual collectors want everything original, and RFM uses whats known as a "peppers ghost" effect where the monitor is reflected on the glass to create a hologram-like illusion. The problem here is that ALL lcd monitors suffer light bleed. If you have a PC, wait until it gets dark and turn off all the lights, close the curtains, and put a black screen on your monitor. Doesn't matter how you adjust it, you will always see the monitor glowing. There's no way around it. So when you get this in RFM it kinda ruins the illusion. Every LCD RFM I've ever seen has a faint grey square where the monitor reflection is.

The UK lacks experienced techs up and down the country who can properly rebuild and service CRT chassis. I've done it a couple of times and it's a tremendous amount of work. Too much for the average person, so the trend is to sling an LCD in. But when CRT's are properly serviced they will last another couple of decades, especially since the games won't be switched on 24/7.

Same with the PC board. Capacitors need to be replaced as does the CPU fan. PSU will also need replacing. You CAN find all these parts, but like the monitor its just a faff.

...and by the way, as a relatively young person who embraces all the lastet modern technologies, this is one case where I do prefer and advocate the use of older technology ha! :p
 
+1 for original.

But then i don't see it just as a "game", I see it as an engineering masterpiece.

That Prism board is just genius.

It was a stepping stone design which got Pin2k to market earlier than technology at the time should have allowed.

Hats off Gomez and the engineering team.

Tim
 
PeteB said:
... RFM uses whats known as a "peppers ghost" effect where the monitor is reflected on the glass to create a hologram-like illusion. The problem here is that ALL lcd monitors suffer light bleed. If you have a PC, wait until it gets dark and turn off all the lights, close the curtains, and put a black screen on your monitor. Doesn't matter how you adjust it, you will always see the monitor glowing. There's no way around it. So when you get this in RFM it kinda ruins the illusion. Every LCD RFM I've ever seen has a faint grey square where the monitor reflection is.
Click to expand...

That's a really interesting point that I hadn't considered. Thanks for posting that.
I guess OLED screens are becoming a thing now, and so a small OLED could do a decent job, but yeah I suppose LCDs won't be as good as the original.
 
@strobey - I know you come from the old school CRT era as you just missed the old monitor from mine that I gave away on here. It is simply each to their own.

AFM vs RFM - I love them both, but I would have an AFM if they were the same price. But I would love to see the graphics from RFM on an LCD in AFM using some kind of PROC platform.

Pinball 2000 I think is great - so clever. Yes the prism card is clever for 1998 - but if a Raspberry pi had a parrallel port the whole thing would run on a £30 small board computer.

I think its a gamble each time you turn on an old Pinball 2K PC. It takes me 20 minutes to put the software into a dell PC and have it running. Only some powerful being would know how to fix an old motherboard with a rubbish processor on (Bally used a cyrix processor which was not a great idea for people 5 years on!).

ANYHOW - WE ARE GETTING OFF TOPIC - THIS IS NOT A LET'S MOAN OR LOVE RFM.... STEVE AND ANDY WANT TO BUY ONE ! !
 
Wizcat said:
I guess OLED screens are becoming a thing now, and so a small OLED could do a decent job, but yeah I suppose LCDs won't be as good as the original.
Click to expand...

I'd thought about OLED as well. True black levels. But there's another problem - they will only ever be made (most likely) in widescreen format of 16:9 or 16:10. RFM will need a 4:3 aspect ratio screen, and even they are getting harder to find in LCD models.

Unless there's some kind of workaround for using a widescreen in the cabinet. :(

Pick Holder said:
@strobey Yes the prism card is clever for 1998 - but if a Raspberry pi had a parrallel port the whole thing would run on a £30 small board computer.
Click to expand...

Thats one hell of an idea! I'm sure it would be possible too with some kind of adapter.

Very robust little things, and if one ever breaks you can just throw it away and buy another.
 
I crank up the brightness on an LCD monitor, by the time it reflects it remains black in the background.

It seriously is not going OLED for such a small resolution, simply a waste of money in my humble opinion.

4:3 monitors are still easy to find on ebay - up to a 22 inch fit. It is much better than a widescreen 23 inch. The ratio can look weird if you use 16:9 or 16:10.

Anyway - as I said before, this guy wants to buy one..... lets stop highjacking the thread and open a discussion......
 
I have had my RFM for quite some time now that I'm thinking of moving on.
It has the original PC and monitor.
Fitted with the video signal booster to improve the contrast.
Fitted the MyPinballs saucer mod.
Cliffy protector fitted to hole.
Playfield in very good condition.
One of the plastics under the left ramp has been replaced with a black plastic piece with a hand drawn Sharpie graphics.
Does not have any LEDs fitted apart from the ones in the saucers.
Has all the usual bumps and dings on the outside of the cab and various repairs to the decals in places.
I would say it s a fair to good example putting it in the sub £1500 price bracket.
However, I'm really only looking for a trade with a similarly priced machine (preferably Movie or TV themed).
I can take photos if anyone is interested and has something interesting to trade.
 
i have a sega Twister (movie themed ) and a x-files TV themed both work well no problems sound in similar condition and price range to yours
had both over 2 years fancy a change
 
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