Laser Cue with hurt'n playfield - worth getting?

Tornadoboy

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I'm considering a trade for my IGT slot machine for someone's Laser Cue pinball machine and another video game, it works but the playfield is looking pretty shabby, see attached pic.

So what do you think oh pinball gods and godesses? Is it a lost cause? Is is fixable within reason or worth trying to find another playfield?

I'm a noob in the extreme when it comes to pinball so I'm not sure what to think, repairing electronic problems don't scare me but artwork, especially that which needs to be durable enough to be on a playfield is something I haven't tried before.
 

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Laser Cue is a fun game. That said - I wouldn't pay more than $200 max for that machine if it was 100% working. Laser Cue's can be had for sub $500 in really nice condition.

Most people don't like the back glass. It is very homo-erotic, and the two laser cue's I've had were difficult to sell. I ended up trading one for a spy hunter. If you run a location - a game like that would be good for something on the street.

The gameplay is great if you like drop targets. You just have to make sure the little flipper works really well so you can hit the top shot.
 
I see what you mean about the backglass, it sort of begs the question in Peter Grave's voice "Do you like gladiator movies?" :D Hell if I get it I'll have to stick a little note on it next to one of the characters that says that!

That doesn't bother me too much, I'm all hetero and any woman that wants to come to my house for proof is welcome to put in an application! :D :D

It would be for just personal home use, and I'd probably give all the mechanics a GOOD working over if I got it, flippers being the primary thing. A little wear on the playfield wouldn't bug me but this one has too much to simply ignore.

The slot machine I'd be trading is an IGT Slant Top floor model and if I had to make an unqualified guess is probably worth maybe $400 if I take care of a few of its issues, and the other game I'd get in the trade would be either an Asteroids Deluxe in supposedly decent shape or a converted Ms Pacman in solid but crappy cosmetic condition with a Namco Classics 2 board.

I haven't made up my mind yet and the other guy probably hasn't either, but it doesn't seem like too bad a trade. I wonder if being hard to sell they get parted out a lot, so in other words maybe playfields are easier to come by?
 

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That's pretty heavy wear. I'd think even a "casual" owner would have difficulty stomaching that much bare wood on the playfield.

I agree with snapjaw when he says $200 max. (Looks $100 max to me) There really isn't much upside on a machine like that. Even if your intention is to keep it in your collection forever...well, we all know how that changes. Resale - at any price - would be tough.

As you noted - electronics/relays/switches, etc. are easy fixes. Playfield and backglass art - by far the hardest/most expensive fixes in the business for these types of machines.

If someone had this game up and running and enjoying it in their basement - well, that's great and cool. But without spending a lot of money (far in excess of the value of the machine), it's always going to be a $2-300 machine.

don't know if this is a good or bad trade...you just want to make sure you make an informed trade. Good luck.
 
i would definetly skip that machine with THAT much wear. unless you want it for parts. there are too many other good deals on craigslist and in classified ads. unless you want something to learn on. i remeber seeing a six million dollar man for sale for $600 with crazy crazy wear. the people were insane
 
Game may be worth getting and playing BUT I would not invest the time or money to restore that playfield. Just play it and have fun. If you like the game you can buy a better example down the road.
 
It'll probably look worse than it does now....no offense intended to your artistic skills.

Hey, if you want it, get it! I don't know what your slot is worth or what kind of market there is for it, but if you could raise $300+ from selling it, you could find a much nicer machine. But sometimes it's easier to trade no doubt.

But I really wouldn't paint that much black on it. That's possibly the one thing you could do to devalue that machine.......
 
I guess the guy whom has it is going to a warehouse to pick up some stuff and apparently there's a lot of playfields there, so he's going to see if there's one around that's in better shape. If not it might make an interesting restore project for me, to see if I can match colors and maybe try some small silk screens, which is something I've been wanting to play with.

But yeah I understand it's of little value the way it is, and believe me people don't have to worry about me spending a lot of money on it because I haven't got it to spend anyway.
 
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Either leave the playfield as is and just have fun with the game (play it) OR get a better condition game.

I would just make it a player and it you like the game several months from now then look to buy a better condition one.

I have done this several times with my games. I have owned 4 Black Knights, 2 Monster Bashes, 2 Black Holes, 3 Getaways, etc. I just upgraded and sold the lesser quality ones.
 
I hate to be a downer

it looks TERRIBLE now
black paint, if sprayed nicely, could make it stomachable at the very least

the boards, displays and transformer, etc. if they all work, are worth 250-300 ish
if you do get it you can always use them in another game thats broken and is worth more all fixed up

i'd get it, play it a bunch and either look for another playfield or look for another similiar system generation with broken boards, etc. etc.
 
it looks TERRIBLE now
black paint, if sprayed nicely, could make it stomachable at the very least

It would look like a bag of smashed assholes. Right now it just looks like ass. Trust me if you start throwing black paint around on that exposed wood it will look terrible. The best you could hope for is looking as bad as it does now.

Just my $.02

i'd get it, play it a bunch and either look for another playfield or look for another similiar system generation with broken boards, etc. etc.

Me too but I like Laser Cue. Actually I already have one and it's not going anywhere any time soon.

I like it more than Alien Poker (which I also have). The layout is almost identical.
 
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a bag of smashed assholes...looks like ass. Trust me....terrible. The best you could hope for...(which I also have)

theres plenty of "joe sixpack" that wouldnt even notice the bare wood painted black

short of finding a used playfield, black paint would look better than what it does now by far

kinda obvious
 
theres plenty of "joe sixpack" that wouldnt even notice the bare wood painted black

short of finding a used playfield, black paint would look better than what it does now by far

kinda obvious

Have you ever seen a playfield with that much bad touch-up? I have.

You'll never match that black over an area that large. Doesn't really matter anyway. It's not salvageable for any reasonable amount of money so do whatever you want. It's either going to look worn out or badly touched up. Which is worse is debatable.
 
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Funny no one has even entertained the idea of doing a re-theme. The play and sounds are pretty much generic. A little sanding, artwork (silk screening or air brushing) and you can make a one of a kind suited to your tastes.

That's what I was originally going to do with it.
 
Hey dude, I wondered if you were a member of VAPS!

Yeah that seems to be the consenus here, either enjoy it as it is, wait to get lucky with a new playfield or re-theme it. Personally I'll probably just use it as-is and keep my eyes open for a playfield, and if that never turns up maybe try doing a custom playfield, I've always wanted to screw around with silk screened artwork anyway.
 
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