i just paid $1300 for a nice condition Magic Castle, but then again i live in the pin-crazy PNW and prices are on the high side here.

that being said, i'm happy with the buy. i love the look and sound of the machine, and the game-play is growing on me. the only other Zaccaria i'd had a chance to try is Pinball Champ and i liked it a lot more than i thought i would.

i just installed the A-3994-9 flipper bats in my Magic Castle and so far (a whole dozen plays in) they work great. from a visual standpoint they look very similar though don't have the upper cap, but only someone who knows what to look for will see the difference. the shafts are also the right length, unlike a standard/modern bat shaft which are slightly too short for the keys to grab on to well (though can be used in a pinch.)

i also have some of the repro bodies i bought from Zaccaria Pinball years ago, as well as his repro shafts. i think whatever he had the shaft material made out of is too hard as the keys can't tighten enough to keep them from slipping on the shaft. i'm going to send him an email and see if he has a solution.

they're effectively the same price from Marco or Pinball Life (whole 4 cent difference); i happened to be doing a Marco order anyway so that's where i got mine from. https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/A-3994-9

first pic is the repros which i pulled due to constant slipping, the second are the Bally-style bats from Marco.

PXL_20230505_231547019 (resized).jpg

PXL_20230506_030352931 (resized).jpg

those i've yet to see an available repro for.