You will never get the money back out of it if you get it HEP'ed, IMO. I'm not sure HOW underwater you will be by the time they get done with it...but you will be under.

There's no logic in (*edit* HIGH END...) restoring a pin that's worth less than 3000 bucks. It's all a decision of the heart. I've got a CPR playfield for Shuttle...getting the new ramp and toy too...I'll never get that money back out.

What'll it be worth? Less than you have in it.

But, if you like BOP enough, go for it

Bop isnt that rare so I would search for one in beter condition and not invest in restoring yours

you'll be into it for at least twice what's it's worth

I agree with many previous posts, you would lose a good bit of money. If you plan on keeping it forever, it may be worth it to you, but I would do as aeneas suggested and search for one in great condition.

Just like an old Mustang, you are going to put more into it than you are going to get when you sell it.

But, I say just do it anyway.

I just totally restored three F-14s to way better than new condition. The customers who wanted the work done were not worried about making a profit, they just wanted the fastest Steve Richie game for their collection.

The way pin prices are rising, they *might* even make a profit sometime this year. Who Knows?

Shop for one in better condition - I sold a HUO only last year.

Nope. But that rarely matters on High End Restores. I'm dropping about 2.5k into my Space Shuttle Restoration, I'll never get my money back out of that, but I don't care, not selling it.

BoP's in my area have been hot, and if the Dutch Pinball guys get their mod out to the public, then BoP's will get even hotter!

http://www.dutchpinball.com/

Have it restored and don't look back. Awesome game. Most I've seen have been beat. Mine was beyond my skill set to make it perfect and I sold it. Hope to get another some day. If you can afford a HEP restore do it and share pics.

Most of them are beat, it would be incredible to see a high end restore on a BOP.

I think it's so cool when someone sends a game to Chris that you rarely see get that kind of treatment. Swords of Fury is a perfect example. I recall Chris mentioning that he enjoys this type of restoration more than games like TZ or MM which he has done a TON of.

From highendpins.com:

http://christopherhutchins.com/gallery/album363

That's pure sweetness!

I say go for it. Worth it to you is all that matters, forget about the value after. It will play the way you want it to and look like a work of art. Prolly smell better too

I say go for it too. Just piece meal it out & don’t replace everything at once. I bought my BOP last week and that’s my plan. This week I’m replacing rubbers. Two weeks from now it will be backbox repairs. Before you know it you’ll have a beautifully restored BOP in your collection and it won’t break the bank in the process.

I think the OP was referring to an all-at-once High End Pins (or similar) restoration, but your approach is the one I've been taking with my BoP (my first machine, which I bought two months ago).

I paid more for it than I care to admit and have replaced the MPU board with a Rottendog one, fixed numerous electrical and mechanical issues, touched up the cabinet, replaced screws and missing posts, cleaned and waxed the playfield/parts, bought Cliffy ramp protectors, replaced some burnt pins/connectors and made lots of little adjustments to make the game play better.

I'm probably already in it for more than I'll ever get if I were to sell it, but this is one of my favorite games from when I was young and I don't plan on getting rid of it. The game already plays and looks much better than when I got it. Down the road, if the right opportunity comes along, I may do a playfield swap, as mine suffers from the same insert wear (and right inlane wear) as I've seen in many others.

I have a BoP and really enjoy it. the PF has the original factory mylar but it is bubbled over the Big Wheel inserts and there are areas that paint has worn in unprotected areas, discoloration, etc. I have been trying to decide what to do about restoring it. I have purchased new Heartbeat and a main ramp from PB Inc. and have Cliffy protectors, new bride cube faces and new mini-playfield from CPR. The playfield restore would be more than my ability at this point. I think it could be made into a very beautiful game with the right skills though. The pinball preservationist in me says get it done for the good of the hobby!! I have no plans to sell her, but if I did, I know I would likely lose some $'s, but that would not be the first time.. What to do?

Is it that hard to find another one in fantastic condition and sell yours?
Is JackBot a better game? I've only played PinBot.

The PF restore alone can be 600-1000 to restore depending on its condition
Plus the cost to strip the PF down to bare wood and reassemble if you will not be doing that part.
Cabinet striping and repainting, not sure on cost for that...

For what you would spend on restore...compared to what you could get with a better condition, its a gamble. It really can go either way. The only thing I can see you would be saving with selling your current one to find a better condition game is time. What its worth varies from person to person .

I haven’t seen any BOPs in the wild. Are they typically in bad shape? I thought mine has some bad playfield wear but sounds like it has the same issues as most here.

I paid $1825 and drove roundtrip from Chicago to Louisville to pick it up. There were issues that I didn't notice when I picked it up because (a) it was my first pin and I didn't know what to look for and (b) I was impatient and was excited to have my first pin, especially one I always wanted.

A couple weeks later, I saw one listed much closer to me (it's still listed on Craigslist and in the Pinside market) for $2000 (now $1800), and in much better shape. Oh well! I'll be more discerning and patient for my next purchase.

Most of the ones I've seen have the insert wear and the same bare spot in the right inlane where the ball drops from the heartbeat ramp return. Mine was so bad that sometimes the ball would rest there and I'd have to nudge the machine. I have since filled it in with a little super glue, which seemed to do the trick.

It's been a long time since I saw one on location. There was one I played at a Putt-Putt a ton as a kid and then another I ran into at a pizza place in college.

Play it and enjoy it as is! Spend the money on another pin

Question is: Will a $4,000 investment in a restore give you $4,000 more of enjoyment?

Before you decide put ads all over ...Looking for Collector Quality Bride of Pinbot...
See what comes up.

go_get_it.gif

It's like an old Mustang.

Will putting $30K restore work into a $15K Stang make it any faster? No.

But will you enjoy looking at it and driving it more? Absolutely!

If you have the cash, and want a game everyone will drool over at the expos then do it.

Every BOP is pretty well beat. A nice one would be something you would never sell.

+1 if you plan to keep it.

It could be a lot more than that depending who does the restore, and how far he wants to go with it. Since he mentioned HEP, shipping it there and back alone would set him back 6-7 hundred. At the end of the day he would have the nicest BOP on the planet. Chris is the king of restorers.

You really have to have the mind set that I am doing this because I want to do it and do not look at it as an investment.

I love my BOP. It is in ok to decent shape, but it is so much fun to play I don't really care. Now my centaur is in pretty good shape but I still want to either get it restored or find a new playfield, even though the original playfield is in pretty good shape. I don't care if I put more money into centaur cause I am definitely not ever gonna sell it!!!!

I've seen really nice BoPs sell for around 3500, the last one was about 4-6 months ago. One of them had a HEP cc'd pf, which was a diamond plate example and didn't need a ton of work but was still expensive to do. A beat regular bop pf will be even more costly to restore, like well over a grand, if anyone would even take on the task. Cab decals and ramps are available now which is good, but will run $500-600, plus a lot of labor. All that being said, depending what you paid for the base game and how far you take it, you probably won't loose too much if you do most the labor yourself. Sending it out for a full restore is a different story, but great game either way.

Well I have only done one BOP playfield as a stand alone service (the only one you could possibly be referring to) and here it is
http://christopherhutchins.com/gallery/album137
Having actually done the work and collected payment I disagree with both your assessment of how much work was needed and the fact that it was "expensive".If anything for the effort and materials used it was too cheap.

Christopher Hutchins

Wow. I wish my playfield looked like the before pictures!

Do it!

I'll let him speak for himself, but when he used the term "expensive" I don't think he was saying or implying that you overcharged for the work that was done. "Expensive" can mean different things to different people.

That BoP that you did was AMAZING.

Not sure the title warrants a High end restore, but like most out ther mine needed alot of work. Why not try doing it yourself, this was my first restore attempt and I think it turned out good considering what I started with. Heres a few progress pics of mine.

100_7849.JPG 100_7888.JPG 100_7901.JPG 100_7909.JPG

That's cool I am not stressed about it or anything just wanted to put it in better perspective since it was being used as an example.

Christopher Hutchins

I'd get mine HEP restored.....in a "heartbeat"!

Yep that's the one. Me saying it didn't need a ton of work meant it wasn't as bad as most BoPs, which is agreeing with your comment of the first pic. As for price, I was told a $# but only you and the customer know for sure how much it was. It's none of my business really be it high or low, but I know he was very pleased with it. I only cited your example because it's the only one I know of. I wasn't knocking the job done, I think it came out great.

I think that’s a pretty good match in color. Any chance you have the paint codes? I guess all BOPs have missing paint by the inserts.

I understand and you are right.It was better than many and at least had plenty of potential.I reject most non DP BOPs because very few can be taken to a truly high level.

I was just on that playfield repro place website. The have a copy of the mini-playfield for Bride.

i think it looks fine as it is. Just keep your eye out for a NOS playfield or maybe a CPR reproduction. These playfields have pretty common wear areas so i wouldn't be surprised if CPR does one in the next few years.

Do you really want to drop 2 to 3 thousand for a restore that most people won't notice?

Thanks! That's very generous of you. I see that we are both located in Texas. If you’re local to the Dallas area maybe we can meet up someplace to play some pinball and drink some beer. I’ll even buy you a few rounds.