From what he says in his videos, he puts mylar over all his touch ups, so I imagine they hold up fine. Not every machine can have the playfield completely restored and clear coated, that is just not realistic.

They are not selling show winners, they are selling presentable players.

This. But to be included, their touch up guy does a phenomenal job. You rarely see it not blended or matched.

I think the way they do things, while it looks nice, would not hold up over time as vid details in his playfield restoration thread. If you want a show piece, do it vids way, if you want something that will look nice and take less effort, tnt might be the way to go. However, I bet they are pretty expensive if you are asking because you are considering using their services.

Might also consider one of the handful of other restorers that are mentioned ok pinside consistently too. They seem to be really good, and if your going to pay a third party to do your project, might as well look into all of them.

Ive looked at TNT for arcade games. Their prices are super high and while I haven't seen a final product, I'd expect collector quality for what they charge. Would want to hear from someone who's owned a TNT game firsthand.

Deciding on sending your game for someone else to do is a very tricky process I think because you can get all the recommendations in the world and your game could still come back not to your liking because no two games are the same. I plan to send a playfield away for touch up and clear coat in the near future, and if it is not absolutely perfect, I will be dissapointed. But I guess that is he risk you take not performing the work yourself.

Personally attack him for disagreeing, because that is "mature"

How could he possibly sell games for the same as a private seller?

He has to put work into the game to fix it, touch it up and bulletproof it, and then he warranties it.

What do you think his loaded rate for his employees is, with insurance and benefits?

Plus he's got rent, utilities, insurance, upkeep and other overhead.

A guy running a business isn't the same as a hobby guy dicking around on his weekends.

A lot of people would actually need to buy an "overpriced" game from a vendor like this, they don't have the ability to fix one up or keep it running.

Setting all that aside, obviously he's doing something right since he's been in business for a couple of decades.

TNT is a retailer. Todd's one of the nicest guys you'll ever talk to, should you see him at a show etc.

He's not a pinball 'restorer'.

His prices are retail. I wouldn't expect a CQ game at those prices. I'd expect a decent quality players machine that plays correctly. He has a retail location, a staff, etc and if you considered the amount of hours and overhead that would be required to make a game CQ, you'd quickly realize it would cost 2-3x what Todd is charging. Maybe more.

Hobbyists make games CQ for limited or zero wages. Those CQ games get into the market when the hobbyists decide it's time to enjoy another game, and to do so, they have to sell one of their existing games or multiple of their existing games.

Ask Todd for some photos of the touchups, I'm sure he'd oblige.

TNT doesn't return phone calls. I'm leaving this vague, but his videos are humerous.

If you're in this thread and bought a $4000 MAME cabinet, you're not qualified to comment on prices because you're clueless.

Good point!

You attacked him in your first post:

Intentional or not, but putting the awesome touch up in quotations comes off as very condescending.

All you had to do was asking for pictures of his work.

Wow dsuperbee! When did you become a forum moderator? Maybe you should get off your high horse and stop coming across looking like an ass. The OP said it wasn't his intention to "attack" TNT. Just because you seem to be hyper sensitive to comments about TNT doesn't mean that was the original intent. Why do you feel it is your duty to defend anything YOU deem an attack on TNT? If the moderators have an issue with what is being said they can edit it...you...not so much.

Not hyper sensitive at all. You seem to be much more worried about it than I am. I am not defending TNT at all. Just said it came off as condescending. YOU seem to be the more hyper sensitive individual than I.

Please show me ANY post where I have gone and defended TNT.....pro tip: you won't. I didn't edit ANYTHING here. Not so sure where you got the idea that I did.

Okay, let's put our cocks and tape measures away and discuss TNT restorations and see some damn pics. You can tell who doesn't get laid enough around here.

image.jpg

Why are you being so aggressive and defensive. All I said was his prices were high. Nowhere did I say they weren't worth this prices. So take a Sunday chill pill man. I pay top dollar for my arcades and I've explored buying some from TNT. Just couldn't justify $1,700 for a Neo Geo.

I'd just like to address TOK here since he's calling me out for my dream home arcade. tOK have you ever seen a dream home arcade in person? They are worth every penny and are 3k not 4. Even when Richie Knucklez came over he was blown away by the quality. Oh and dream home arcades has a 4 month wait list, their business is booming. So either everyone's getting ripped off or the KLOV community doesn't realize the popularity of mame and why it makes way more sense to have one machine that plays everything vs a room full of games that get real old after a while.

Back to the topic of touchups, vid recommending to touch up the whole area takes alot of pressure of your abilty to tint paint. The closer you can get the paint to the correct color the less important that becomes. Fading can still be an issue but someone exceptionally good at tinting can probably cheat more.

Their prices are outrageous. Then again he has an army of workers and a nice location. Bills gotta get paid some how.

Some people you just can't reach. I've had dickhead clients like the dude starting this thread and there's no pleasing them. Mental misfits

Todd really is a heck of a nice guy, very aporoachable and lots of funny stories.
I know he gets a lot of shit from his competitors for the way he does his fixes and restorations, but I'll tell you what, watch some of his videos and he does know his stuff! A lot of good advice, tips, experience, he's been around the block and back with Pinball.

Todd is a nice guy for real.

He runs a retail location, with retail prices.

That means his market is regular retail customers, not pinheads.

He repairs the games, touches up the paint and delivers them to the customer.

A guy like HEP serves a different market. His "restorations" are closer to "remanufacturing", and his prices, of course, reflect that.

Porsche does not put Ford out of business, nor vice versa.

Each has it's own market space .

-

The Vid's playfield guide is for **ultimate** restorations - where the restored playfield comes out better than new. That level of restoration would put another $2000 on top of the retail prices that TNT needs to charge to stay in business.

$1700 for a Neo Geo. That seems above retail and should be collector quality, no?

no.

A retail shop is going to have to charge a lot more than the "street price" on used games.

Let's say that they had their games priced at normal street prices:

All the games would sell instantly (just like fairly priced games on Craigslist do), and now the shop would have no inventory. It's not like they can just call up Bally and order more used games.

Even if they charged 30% more, all their games would be gone from impatient collectors and those who fear Craigslist encounters (and not the 'lonely housewife' kind).

-

The person who shops at a retail store for a used pin is a different customer than a hardcore pinhead; just like a person who buys a '67 Mustang from one of those "classic auto showrooms" is a different customer than the guy who buys a '67 Stang from Craigslist.

True!

I Have a machine from TNT that I got years ago and have since completely restored it. When it arrived it was in nice condition however not a restored condition...just nice. If you are not skilled or looking to restore a game then TNT is a decent retailer with fair prices for the service they are providing.

Usually I don't post anything, just lurk around, but I'll share my experiences with TNT. I've bought all my games from TNT(1 NIB), so technically 2 games that were restored. Rescue 911 and Batman Forever. I really wish that I had the R911 before picture. It was trashed compared to what it turned out to be. Paint missing from playfield, flippers had no power. Did I pay a little more, yes. Could I have done it on my own, he'll no. If I have a problem, got piece of mind that they will help me(which I did), guy was over for close to 2 hours trying to figure out why it's doing what it's doing. The Med Alert was registering sometimes, eventually figured it out. Unfortunately, they can't help me in the regard that I suck in BF, but, what are you going to do. I'm looking at R911 trying to figure out where the paint was missing, and can't remember. Touch up was really good. Anybody that knows R911, I've had it since the end of Oct, and saved over 14k lives in that timeframe and the game still plays great with no problems or chipping of paint. Even TWD I got had a problem with the optic, not their fault, they fixed the optic and now every barn shot registers. Do you pay more, yes. Quality work, yes. Piece of mind, yup. thats my take and if I figure out where the paint was done, I'll post pics

Found this touch up in the back by the hole. It was bear between the mylar and the hole. This was as close and the best pic I could get, using my iPad and couldn't get a good angle, lot of glare. I know the side art on the cabinet was in rough shape, but because I have a low ceiling I can't really move the game around due to the dome light, I'd have to shift the other pins around, maybe tomorrow. Had the game for 6 months, and for a little bit, it was my only pin so it got a lot of playtime. I'll look over BF tomorrow, but that was in really good shape.

image.jpg

Yes!

Im not sure if it is a U.S based price.

But an origional dedicated. Neo Geo 4 slot here in canada goes for $900 CDN.
And thats retail.

2 slot $750 retail.

At least thats what my local retailer is charging.

For $1700 U.S. it should be a MINT collector quality 4 slot with the most popular/rare games. Not bootlegs as well. Possibly extra carts too.

But then again vids are pretty much dead here. Unless its something rare or a super popular title.

I bought my Next Generation machine from Todd.

Will it be perfect like it is new out of box? Of course not, game is 20 years old. But it is in great shape. I don't know enough to do any of the board work. It is nice how they bulletproof it.

Keep in mind--when you're repairing your own games, you don't really pay yourself a wage when doing it.

Some shop jobs can take 30-50 hours. So, if you're getting, say, $25 an hour, that could end up being $750-$1250.

So, with a retail seller like TNT, you have the cost of the machine, plus replacement parts (easily $500 or more), plus labor, plus a small amount for business costs (rent, lights, insurance, phone, warranty, support, delivery, etc), and a small amount for profit.

When you break it down, there really isn't much in terms of price inflation. This is simply what it costs a retailer to repair a pin.

well said, totally agree.
his prices are higher yes, but the majority of that is labour costs. many hours go into each and every one of his machines.

Prices reflect service. I don't mind paying extra to get a game I want, in the condition I want, when I want, with someone that backs their work and offers some kind of warranty. You can try out the game and negotiate the price. Plus they can handle getting it to your home and getting it setup. There is some value to all that so you cannot compare those prices to as-is, cash and carry Craigslist pricing.

I suggest starting a new thread for your TNT up close and personal pictures. This is clearly at TNT pricing thread now haha.

You don't need a tape measure for me. A micrometer will do just fine.

Got a SMB a few weeks ago from TNT and wanted to before and after. was waiting to see if he was going to post a vid, havnt seen it yet. Took these before the new ramps were installed or touched up. Got a bunch of good shots with no glareimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpg
Here is the after. Some shots have glare cause I took it with the pin on instead of offimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpg