Again, it's just perspective. 20k vs. 8k. When I started collecting in 2007, MM was $5k and I was like "are you f*cking nuts!?!?!?" For me (and probably some others) - there's something weird about spending a ton on a used product...but I cut it some slack if it's new. That's how I got into NIB Sterns and now an upcoming NIB MMr.

Haha...that's how it starts, though...and your personal threshold can just go up and up and up. When I first started, my first pin was $300. For my second, I couldn't believe I was about to spend $1000! However, I was always buying games below market value...projects that I could fix up and always sell for more if need be. That's how collecting pinballs became less scary. If you know you can get out of it break even or even make a few bucks, why not? I'm sure others justified their growing collections the same way. The first time I wrote a $4000 check for a game (Cirqus Voltaire) I was like "I'm nuuuuuuts!" ...but what's the game worth now? $6, 7k? Even if it dropped back down to $4k...what a great hobby! I got to enjoy this sweet game for free!

I don't like blurry photos either. I gave your first post a thumbs down because you came off sounding like an ass in your post, and I disagreed with your taking a dump on the OP's extensive efforts to share what he learned about the machine.

Also if this response was supposed to be an "apology", it's pretty weak. You say, in essence, "I called your efforts 'shitty' -- instead of being offended you should have said 'I'm sorry sir, you're right, I'll try harder next time!'" As someone stated far more succinctly above, it's not what you say, it's how you say it. You said it terribly, you got 16 thumbs-downs. Not exactly shocking.

Thanks for an excellent, detailed report and kudos to Churchill for giving the tour and allowing you to take photos. Hard to take brilliant snaps with a phone camera when its low light, you're on the move etc, but they give a good feel for things. Reports like these, and the ones we had from the Texas show are terrific for those outside the US.

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Seems the last time I was checking around here you were going to take some time off from the hobby, and stop being such a dick.

.....guess your time reflecting on what's important in life was short lived.

hurry up and bring it to australia

Maybe, instead of coming out and saying how crazy $8K is for a machine, you should have asked how the market can justify $8K for a machine? It might have seemed less newb-preachy.

It was not intended as an apology! Thanks for blowing this way out of proportion .

My 22 year old son died in January and I was really emotional . I was not being a dick and only stated the obvious. You must not read too many Pinside post if you are offended by me calling someones pictures shitty because they are blurry.

You guys calling my names because of a misunderstood post make you no better then what you accuse me of !!

Face it, you guys like drama and took my post and added to it . Nice going !!

This is so wrong !

Let's get back on topic.. what shitty camera was used to take the photos?

Really, Joe?

Sarcasm...sorry.

It's amazing how sensitive people are here.. I looked at the pics with great interest too and that was the only negative that was disappointing to me.. and honestly it happens to me too. As you get older it's hard to see blur in a pic especially on a small phone. Then you get home to transfer them and it's a big time downer...

Thats how I viewed Jims post but everyone is curled up like a cobra to strike at anyone that may say something remotely negative without even considering context..

Shame.

Thanks so much for the pictures and the tour. I don't think I've ever seen pics of the Churchill facility, that was really interesting!

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I totally get that Joe and people will feed off of one simple word and will chop your head off for it . I thought we were adults and could handle the word shitty, obviously some have a big problem with that word,then add to the bullshit by being outraged that someone had the audacity to state the obvious and use a adjective that people took the wrong way!

Whatever .

I don't know, that little board in the backbox to power that whole big machine?

Seriously, looks very nice. Congrats on the team for putting this together. I am really interested in future features of the new platform.

So I've got this iPhone...it's super small...but it can do everything a giant computer can! It's CRAAAAAZY!

Its hard to accept, but so true. It feels like your getting more for your money when there's a bunch of boards and crap back there. PPS should put some dummy boards there just for impact and of course nostalgia.

Im not serious. Welcome to the internet.

Yeah, but an iPhone only has one button on the front of it....

Someone should come up with resin dummy WPC-95 boards as a facade...

It's the same thing with the new Namco Pac-Man/Galaga games. The board inside is the size of a phone. From a hobbyist perspective it's a bit weird, but normal people playing the games never knew/know what's on the inside. It's what's on the outside that matters. When the game is fired up and playing, none of us will remotely care.

I suggested a big picture of a MM backbox boards stuck there and then the little board in the center.

LTG : )™

Not power it. Run it. Which it more than does.

Power is coming from the row of bridge rectifiers on the left rear side of the bottom of the cabinet.

LTG : )™

you're laughing now but i bet someone will mod their's that way.

I was serious, I thought it would look neat. Better than a big empty head.

LTG : )™
Disclaimer : You are right, someone will come up with something for the back wall of the head.

How about a mini diorama complete with a catapult, princesses and a dragon...

Oh geez. I come back to this thread to see if there's any new info, and I see all these negative comments about the pictures that were uploaded.

Fellow pinsiders, OP was not under any obligation to send anything at all. I can understand the complaints if he's a paid journalist but he's not (at least I don't think he is). He took his time to write a thorough writeup that I found to be very informative and enlightening.

Thank you again for such a great writeup.

Good grief! Everyone is grateful for the info and the pics. Being happy to get the info and wishing there were better photos is not crapping on anything.
Let it go.
Awesome tour. Thanks!

Thanks to the OP for the write up and pictures. I'm not in on the MMr but was interesting to read about the experience.

You still don't get it. Oh well.

Um, no. It was more like a certain repeat individual spewing out more BS negativity just to have something to nitpick at. This has got to be the most incredibly lenient forum on the web. You can attack, disrespect, gripe, price police, etc and still not get banned for it.

Yep !!

You got it !

I don't see why they would ever lower the price. Unless they stop sellig them at $7995. If machines keep selling for that, companies will charge it.

We have to remember our little hobby bubble is a fraction of what this type of market really is. Lets take a look at the Namco remakes. The brand new Namco Pac-Man machines are around $3000. You can get an original Pac-Man for like $300. To "us"...hobbyists...the NIB price is crazy...however, they're clearly selling! At least with MMr, it's selling for less than what originals cost!

Yep. You're still here.

Thanks to the OP for the great story! I'm AMAZED there was only the 4 of you!

we were going to print a decal of the WPC-95 boards and stick them to the back as wallpaper

Don't forget the weights mod to make sure it weighs the exact same in the exact same areas as the original...

Plywood vs MDF bottom may take care of that! LOL!

Hey Lloyd! pick me up a unscreened LOTR pf when you make your trip out there!

Oh yeah!

4x8 sheet of plywood = 60 lbs
4x8 sheet of MDF = 97 lbs

Not really. To compare you'd have to say a fully restored Pac-Man which would be around $1500. Then factor in that it includes Galaga, a larger screen and warranty and there is more perceived value. Could probably get $2000 for a restored one with both games.

The best thing about the MM remake is the money it sucked out of the market causing prices to drop. I hope it continues.

Thanks for posting the pictures of the factory. Very interesting how everything is built. Does anybody know why Chicago Gaming doesn't make the repo playfields instead of others like highclasspins (Mirco) since they made the original ones for bally/williams?

Thanks a ton for the tour into what you just don't see everyday.

I am not a huge fan of MM, but it was impressive to me to see pics of the remake. I was originally hoping to see a AFMr to drop the prices of the originals, but I will seriously consider a remake if these MMrs turn out as good as they look here. I may even have to start playing some MM to see if I like it. I wasn't too impressed with AFM until I played it a ton at PAGG this weekend. Now it is on my short list. The possibility of the 2.0 versions may be enough to put me over the top.

Thanks for the write up. I am definitely paying attention now.

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I love the smell of naphtha in the morning.