I sold my completely restored TOM for $8k. I’d say your price is just a little bit high. Like, more than double too high. I think this ad is more to show it off, than really try and sell it. Correct?

Was your TOM a HEP? If not you dont have a comparison.

It is indeed a beautiful machine. HEP's work continues to be unmatched. Did that similarly priced prototype that went up recently end up selling?

Who asked you?

Curious how these compare, this one has been sitting a while at $12.5K...

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/for-sale-banzai-run-20

This one is an HEP restoration & that one is basically a project?

Missed the HEP restore, then difference would be night and day!

HEP machines are not for everyone and most of us only wish we had the funds to afford a machine Chris has restored to something well beyond new.

Chris has basically set the bar for what a High End Machine should look like. I don't know what Chris charges to do a machine but with the hours invested I know it can't be cheap. Then add the original cost of the machine, cost of plating, cost of new parts installed, cost of shipping a machine both ways, etc. I doubt many people actually recover their investment when selling a HEP restored game let alone make money on them.

Bottom line is once you get to machines like this they are worth as much as someone is willing to pay for one. And there are a lot of people in this hobby with very deep pockets. So I don't doubt this will sell but I know it will not be going to someone like me.

Machine looks sweet I am in the process of restoring mine right now, still waiting on my new cabinet to be built.. Bump.. GLWS!

Where's high_end_pins to post the gallery and info, if there is one. Can't tell much from these pics, looks pretty old if indeed done by Chris. I could be wrong.

Not a game for everyone. From an Engineers stand point a really cool game. I really enjoyed mine when I had one. Good luck on the sale.

There are only two HEP Banzai Runs and this is not one of them so I will look a little deeper.
Sometimes people might label anything I have ever touched in the last almost 20 years a HEP game so it’s tough to keep up with.

I had the opportunity to buy one of these about 15 years ago and it's was beautiful for $700....wish I would have bought it. Oh Well

thanks for clarity!

Hey OP, care to weigh in?

Maybe Chris just did the playfields?

take pic of the lockbar receiver

Figured it out.
Did the game in my garage almost 15 years ago.
HEP?
Not really.
image (resized).jpg

Takes me back

image (resized).jpg

Seller is being honest when he said it was done by HEP however he should have said "older restoration by HEP" or something along that lines. With that said and knowing things have changed a lot with the way Chris does things these days price is likely a little on the "high side". However that is something only the buyer & seller can figure out. Still a very nice looking machine but is it $15k nice?

Crack is whack

By comparison. These are the two true HEP versions. The biggest difference would be the amount of paint work done to the cabinets and metal conditioning.
Much more of a process

http://christopherhutchins.com/gallery/album77

http://christopherhutchins.com/gallery/album163

I am going to keep your name in high regard when I start looking to acquire some older pins for my collection.

Home garage...Really? The guy is an artist that can sign His work!

This is the kicker! This makes this one extra special in my book. A true collector will buy this game because of this. There are collectors that will buy HEP games only. This one will sell.

i see no reason for the seller to clarify that it's an early HEP restore. a Ford is still a Ford, regardless of what year it's made. a potential buyer should be asking what year the work was done and make a decision based on what the seller tells them. but Christ, stop criticizing a total stranger who's only honestly selling their their game for the price it's worth to them.

Agreed. The pictures speak for themselves. Would be different if they asked how many plays are on the game since restoration as a corner bar routed HEP might be a different story. This game while not for everyone looks rather nice and a monster to restore.

Wow ! Credit to you Sir, big time.

It does have the "OBO" people...

If you are interested, make an offer.

Just a point of clarity, they are advertising the price they are asking.

The selling will be up to the market to decide.

Sometimes I do still work in that very same garage.I worked hard to get out of it and twice as hard to get back in it but that is a very complicated story
I just figured out who this actually is selling the game after looking at the intitals.
Have not dealt with this person in probably a decade but he is a good guy and very particular.
Personally I have my own feelings and quirks when it comes to the HEP distinction and I am going to put this out there not to be a snob but just to better articulate.
When you compare the paint process of this cabinet done 15 years ago to the links provided earlier in the post it is the difference in spending a day doing something or a month.
The person with the month long process is going pay much more and end up with a different perspective than the one with the day long process so it is more about that for me personally than the asking prices or timelines.
I do not care if this is a $50K game or a $500 game I completed it long ago and was paid whatever I asked at the time.What I do care about though is if someone buys it and expects the one day job to look just like the one month job.That is why I try to distinguish what is older and what is more current.Not because of the sellers or the prices at all but because of the potential expectations.

Pictures 1616 (resized).jpg

Pictures 1627 (resized).jpg

Pictures 1645 (resized).jpg

It is impossible to do something as long as Chris has done it and not improve on the processes over time (if you care about what you are doing as Chris does). So a HEP done in the past couple years is likely to be a much nicer restoration. HOWEVER with the "new" replacement parts being sold that are not as good I think I would almost prefer an older restoration if I was buying a HEP machine for myself.

As stated above and countless times on hundreds of post "asking price" is just that. This machine (or any other item for sale) is worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

No one is "right or wrong" here and the machine more or less speaks for itself. I am sure the "right buyer" will be proud to own it.

What amazes me more than anything else is Chris had documentation on a machine he did 15 years ago. I can't tell you what I did a month ago!

Bump for a great looking machine!

LOL.

Were I a big Banzai Run fan and buying with the high bar that HEP has set in recent years, if the man HIMSELF is posting to clarify that it's an older job, and perhaps not up to modern standards, that is absolutely something I would want to know. The marker for high end pins is so tight, you need to be up front if you are asking for high end prices. The buyer needs to do his/her homework. That said, the seller also said that he messed with the job after it was done, which is a questionable decision, if not an admission that there were still things that weren't up to snuff. I'd want more details.

Were the playfields cleared by HEP?

Price could be a touch high, but time will tell. This is a super nice game with NOS populated playfield. This has to be one of the nicest around. HEP has done a few and BK did one a few years ago. These are a pain in the ass to restore as well.

One of my favorite games and this particular one looks to be in beautiful condition. HEP has a great reputation and he has stated where he is on this particular pinball machine... whoever gets it will be getting a beautiful machine - good luck!

Being a buyer of an HEP CV I really appreciate Chris's Archive Gallery and his documentary on my Game. I found some very important info on my game from the before pics that help me troubleshoot an issue it had when I bought it. It has been a year and a half since the diagnosis and repair and I have had no more issues. I had to recreate a sequence of events and changes that former owner did in order to figure out what happened and why.