I'd gladly pay 10k for PinballMike's Fathom today (https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pmd-–-fathom-restoration-let-the-spending-begin/page/11#post-2942570). Doubt he is selling it, though...

Not sure the wildly custom cabinet if for "everyone", but I love the custom artwork/detail...

Have to admit, I loved surprising you with it @ Kyles place Glad you had fun with it!

I guess the previous owner installed a big chrome latch to avoid using the 2 long bolts to secure the head? I still use the 2 bolts...don't trust the latch to do the job. The latch has been useful to secure the head when folding/moving it (i.e. before you get a chance to install the 2 long bolts).

The back is hardly "beat up", but it's not pristine/shiny like a new cabinet. I think my description is accurate...this is a restored cabinet. *Not* a new cabinet. I have a Centaur restoration that has a new "Big Time" cabinet reproduction (i.e. it is new reproduction, not a restored original). In addition, the inside of this cabinet is really clean, but clearly not "new".

Here is a photo of the back...unfortunately, the exposure isn't great. Wanted the sun to shine on the front of the pin (for obvious reasons).

IMG_0242 (resized).jpeg

Based on your comment, I would guess you don't have much experience with high-end restorations. I do (from HEP, Keller, PMD).

From my perspective, the back of this game looks pretty darn clean. The inside of the cabinet is also pretty clean (but not "perfect"). Finishing the back/inside of a cabinet is at the discretion of the restorer. Time is money and when someone is restoring a machine for some small profit, they usually opt for what you see in this example. When hobbyists/restorers are doing the work for themselves, they usually go the extra mile (or simply start with a brand new cabinet). If this example had a brand new cabinet, it would be more $$. I think the restorer (and I) made sensible tradeoffs on where to spend the money on this game. For example, the Altek boards cost $500 and they were worth every penny. Game plays strong and is rock solid. The original 80's boards are much more finicky.

This comment seems to contradict itself. The overall vibe I'm getting is the price is fair considering the condition.

My "back of the envelope" for top-rated games is high-end restorations are ~2x the price of an average example. Back when I commissioned my HEP AFM, an average example was ~6k and my HEP cost ~12k. Fathoms don't come up for sale much, but I believe an average example sells for ~4k?

Jeff (i.e. Pinball Pimp) does a great job with 80's restorations.

For the stencil, comparing them with an original make more sense. Here is an original (from ipdb.org) compared with mine. My example looks much closer to the original than the PP Stencils. I actually like the Bally logo better on Jeff's stencil, however it's not what appears on the 2 Fathoms in the photo below.

Image 4-11-19 at 6.44 AM (resized).jpg

The CPR reproduction bg for Fathom looks great IMHO (both with and without light). I purchased a CPR Paragon bg and it was awful (so I stuck with the original). The Paragon bg looked great without light, but with light it looked really bad (nothing like the gorgeous original).

Nevertheless, I do agree the original back glasses typically look better. No argument. For this title, I think CPR did a nice job.

2k "hit" to value seems radical to me, but you are certainly entitled to your opinion

I didn't restore the cabinet personally (and don't know the history of the stencils...sorry).

It would be nice to have a pristine original backglass, but those are very rare.

Thanks. I'm not surprised. 80's pins don't get much love on Pinside. New Stern products seem to get most of the fanfare. I won't be disappointed at all if the machine doesn't sell. Stern's most recent games (Munsters and BK) don't do much for me, so I don't need the slot just yet.

To be honest, when I took it for the "outdoor photo shoot" yesterday, I realized how awesome it is. I know this will sound bizarre, but when I played it today, the game was more engaging than usual. For example, the left orbit lock is typically really difficult on Fathom (even when the flippers are fully dialed in). Today, I nailed the shot several times. Almost like the machine was sending me a message that it didn't want to leave the collection

I swear, some pinball machines have a soul.

Don't agree. I could show you photos from the hobbies top restorers that refute your ridiculous assertion (but I don't want to piss off folks I respect).

If you don't think this Fathom cabinet is worthy of being called "restored", you aren't very smart (or are just trying to provoke me...).

I don't need to see your silly game...I've owned my fair share and know what they look like!

Yep, it's a POS You're a doofuss...!

That's why I posted 15 photos taken outdoors! The photos don't lie and I don't lie. Never had 1 unhappy customer for my games! Based on your profile, you have no games and no feedback, yet you take pleasure in pissing on my game/thread.

As usual, the "jealous few" come out of the wood work to make this an unpleasant experience. Oh well...whatever.

Just re-listed with a 1k price reduction. Also included a video to demonstrate how great the game plays. Lastly, I included a close-up photo of the back of the backbox (last go round, some folks were bothered about the condition of the back of the backbox). Can't say it's the prettiest BOTBB I've ever seen, but it's never bothered me in the 6+ years I've owned the game

Game is sold pending pickup.

Fathom is packed and off to a new/loving home! Thanks for the 6.5 years of fun...

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