Quoted from HighProtein:Bear in mind that I am a collector operator and that if I got one that
it's for the enjoyment of pinball players in Jacksonville FL and visitors.
I operated TZ for all of 2011 and most of 2012. The majority of my players are pinheads, with the odd occasional quarter dropper.
TZ took awhile to get fully shopped and working 100% before going on location (bought a routed one to put back on route). It held up well, replacing the odd bulb and rubbers.
It got a fair bit of play for about 8 months, then it dropped off substantially when newer Sterns came in (SM, LotR, Tron). In the end, I kind of felt sorry for it. The last two weeks on location it made me .50 cents.
Prior to that, I had a person email me asking to buy it, and I had replied it was not for sale (collector/operator like yourself). Very nice play field, cab in excellent shape, no fade, all plastics good, etc. That last week on location he emailed again, asking if any price would make me budge. I said "Of course. Everything has a price.". He then made an offer I could not refuse (suffice to say, it would have had to been at that location for 20 more years), and I helped him load it up the next day.
I have missed it though, and picked up another routed beater to bring back to life. This play field is in better shape than the last, though the cab has fade and dings (not worried, I play them not look at them). This guy will be staying home once done.