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Your expert opinions would be appreciated..

Andy1

Registered
Joined
Dec 11, 2020
Messages
16
Location
Andover Hampshire
Hi everyone! I am a noob here and looking to buy a very playable great themed pin. I did own a couple of machines about 25 yrs ago.
Back then I bought whatever came along in the freeads as the pubs were full of the pins I wanted to play.
Fast torward to today and I've got the bug again and managed to get my13yr son old hooked. We'd love a dr who, T2, Star Trek 25th, Dracula etc, but these are either N.A. or out of my range. To be fair I haven't played these themes for quarter of a century either..
So to cut to the chase, I've been looking and looking. I've found a Sega Frankenstein and a Roadshow, both around £2.6k. I know they are way apart in the pinside 100, but, I'd really like to know what you guys think about these two or what other suggestions you have. 😀
 
Hi Andy.
like anything, it’s all subjective. One mans turd is another mans treasure.
I would say they seem a little pricey. Maybe by £500. But others may disagree
There’s plenty of machines for sale on here. I’d recommend buying on here rather than eBay. You know you’ll pay the correct market value (ish).
 
Hi spandangler. Thanks for your advice! I've been looking at the for sale items on here. The prices do look keener for sure. I can't put an ad in the wanted section as yet, So I'll keep looking here and see what comes along. I agree, All the online ads off of this forum are priced more highly.
I'll certainly keep an eye out on here to see what comes along. 👍🏻
 
Franky 1200-1600
Roadshow 1800

Don't overpay. Get a feel of the market. 90% of what you see will be overpriced.

P.s. roadshow is excellent
 
Get a Roadshow. Great game that will keep your interest for ages. It was my first Pin and kept it for 6 years.
However, if you really don't like Country & Western get something else!
 
Hey Andy, you just need to make a tenner donation to place a wanted ad. Dr Who is good fun but some of the shots are quite hard, and can get boring if you can’t make them, didn’t think there was a lot going on in ST25. The Data East games are usually good fun, I have a Hook that is great to play anytime and a Star Wars that never gets boring. Sold the dr who for 1900 a year ago and seen faulty ones sell for 2400 since then( they do need to be maintained) sold the Star Trek for 1700 6 months ago, so expect to pay at least 2k. as a first game just go for a theme that appeals the LW3 lethal weapon 3 are good value if you can stand the theme, and your son will have 3 movies to watch to help him engage! (Enjoyed the films as a teen , but the machine has never appealed)
 
Wow thanks for positive replies and shared knowledge guys, I really do appreciate it. Yep, watching the theme movies is definitely on my son's 'to do' list. 😉
Just on the strength of your comments I think donating £10 to the site seems very fair. 😀
 
ST 25 and Dr Who can both come up fairly price ie under £2k. as commonish games be patient. T2 and all the SW have crept up though

ignore the pinside top 100 . go for something you like!
 
Road show is a great pin, the red and ted heads can be problematic but are basically cosmetic anyhow. The bullldozer can also fail but is usually an easy fix.

Frankenstein is also a great game (I have one) the Adam is nearly always faulty (the body movement) but the arm usually works ok which is the only bit that affects gameplay.

your listed prices are a bit on the high side and strobe are a bit on the low in my opinion. Somewhere inbetween would be good. Even if you buy at your listed prices you will only lose a few hundred when you come around to sell so depends how much you think a few months/years of pinball games are worth really
 
Road show is a great pin, the red and ted heads can be problematic but are basically cosmetic anyhow. The bullldozer can also fail but is usually an easy fix.

Frankenstein is also a great game (I have one) the Adam is nearly always faulty (the body movement) but the arm usually works ok which is the only bit that affects gameplay.

your listed prices are a bit on the high side and strobe are a bit on the low in my opinion. Somewhere inbetween would be good. Even if you buy at your listed prices you will only lose a few hundred when you come around to sell so depends how much you think a few months/years of pinball games are worth really
Will your Frankinstien ever be up for sale? :)
 
Can't go wrong with Roadshow, one of my most nostalgic pins for sure so I may be looking at it with rose tinted glasses but there is a LOT of game there to get stuck into. Super satisfying ramps and a great light hearted theme that can appeal to anyone. In my opinion I'd say that is a little overpriced however, unless it's in absolute immaculate condition. 2k to 2.2k I'd say is very fair for a decent roadshow but don't loose out on a game you want over a couple hundred quid.
 
Welcome @Andy1

Roadshow is a good call but be aware that it is very big and heavy. You get a very well designed, high watermark, well engineered, feature rich title BUT the sounds and theme annoy quite a few people. A twilight zone costs about 5k, a roadshow less than half of that. They have the same designer. Both widebodies. Both from the golden era of WPC pinball - but TZ has better art/ theme/ sounds.

Key thing to remember is that provided that you pay a sensible price for a game, you can probably sell it for 90 per cent or better of what you paid.

Folk on here can give you an idea of value- the what's it worth thread

Best advice is to buy from a nerd on here. There are three fundamental types of pinball sellers ...

1. Idiots. They genuinely have no idea. They are neither dishonest nor malicious. The game could need all manner of maintenance or you could get lucky. Random outcome.

2. Liars. Know what they are on about - but pretend to be idiots. They know the game is in trouble but feign ignorance. Avoid.

3. Nerds. Many folk on this forum. Guys with OCD that will not rest until the machine works properly. Spend time and treasure on spare parts to get the old girls working as they should

eBay is full of liars and idiots unfortunately
 
Welcome @Andy1

Roadshow is a good call but be aware that it is very big and heavy. You get a very well designed, high watermark, well engineered, feature rich title BUT the sounds and theme annoy quite a few people. A twilight zone costs about 5k, a roadshow less than half of that. They have the same designer. Both widebodies. Both from the golden era of WPC pinball - but TZ has better art/ theme/ sounds.

Key thing to remember is that provided that you pay a sensible price for a game, you can probably sell it for 90 per cent or better of what you paid.

Folk on here can give you an idea of value- the what's it worth thread

Best advice is to buy from a nerd on here. There are three fundamental types of pinball sellers ...

1. Idiots. They genuinely have no idea. They are neither dishonest nor malicious. The game could need all manner of maintenance or you could get lucky. Random outcome.

2. Liars. Know what they are on about - but pretend to be idiots. They know the game is in trouble but feign ignorance. Avoid.

3. Nerds. Many folk on this forum. Guys with OCD that will not rest until the machine works properly. Spend time and treasure on spare parts to get the old girls working as they should

eBay is full of liars and idiots unfortunately
Tbf, they're all big and heavy.
However, having dragged mine up a narrow staircase, never again 😫😠!
 
Hi Andy you are looking at my roadshow/ facebook .I sold monkey boy paul my FT last year and im sure he would vouch for me.
 
Out of your wants like many have said RS is the ideal pin to get hold of IMO. I held onto mine for over 10yr and was sad to see it go. At 1st look it may seem a strange theme but believe me you will grow to love it.
The only only minus I can think of is the heads can often go wrong and can be a bit daunting for newbies to maintain but don’t let that put you off as most pins around your price range will require maintenance at some point as that’s part of this fascinating hobby.
GLWYS
 
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