Monster Bash Restoration Update

[Mike D]

Here is a link to a short video of the new cabinet and backbox I had Doug Huse build for my MB restoration.  If you are restoring a machine, I highly recommend you consider using Doug for the cabinet work.  He does excellent work.

Monster Bash Pinball Restoration Part 2

I'll post more videos as the project progresses.

Mike

[wildwest3163]

Wow, that is beautiful. Id never heard of Doug Huse before a couple days ago when someone on another site complained about how its almost impossible to talk to him, and after seeing the quality of that work I can see why he would be in such demand

[Mike D]

Wow, that is beautiful. Id never heard of Doug Huse before a couple days ago when someone on another site complained about how its almost impossible to talk to him, and after seeing the quality of that work I can see why he would be in such demand

Doug certainly stays busy, shoot him an email and he'll get back with you though.  I've owned restored games done by various "pinball restoration celebrities" in the hobby and I'd say his cabinet/decal work is better than most.  Of course, he has the advantage of starting off with a new canvas.  Anyway, for what it's worth I highly recommend Doug's work.

[ibis]

I can vouch for his work.  There is nothing I have ever seen as nice as his cabinets!  The corners are beveled as well as the art.  I do not know how he does it, but it is almost unreal how amazing they are. 

[snaroff]

Great option for someone considering a high-end restoration. I've never had a cabinet with enough damage to consider this option.

Leon's FT cabinet is being picked up today for restoration and other than artwork fade and lock bar holes, the cabinet is great shape.

Question on pricing...$1,300 does not include the cost of artwork, rails, and shipping...true? How much is shipping? I would guess close to $200?

snaroff

[Mike D]

Great option for someone considering a high-end restoration. I've never had a cabinet with enough damage to consider this option.

Leon's FT cabinet is being picked up today for restoration and other than artwork fade and lock bar holes, the cabinet is great shape.

Question on pricing...$1,300 does not include the cost of artwork, rails, and shipping...true? How much is shipping? I would guess close to $200?

snaroff

Shipping was right at $200, good guess.  I believe the cost does include regular side rails, but I always get them chromed (not included in Doug's price) when restoring my own machines.  Therefore, I end up putting them on myself when I get all my plated parts back. 

When I restored my TOTAN cab (it was a HUO game and in very good shape - only some minor scrapes and fading) it cost me around $500 to $600 in materials and painting (not including the decals).  I sanded everything down and did all the pre-painting prep work, which took hours.  I worked my way down to like 600 grit paper to remove any visible plys, bondoed all the edges, and filled in all the cabinet nicks/cracks inside and out.  I also filled in the seems on the rear of the cabinet backbox like HEP.  I then took the cabinet and backbox to an auto body shop for painting and clearcoating.  Everything was sprayed with automotive BASF paint, turned out fantastic.  However, the project was extremely labor intensive.  In hindsight it was a good experience, but not the best use of my time from a monetary standpoint.  If you enjoying wood working or just want to go through the process it's an adventure for sure.  I have the up most respect for guys like Chris that do that level of work on a daily bases. 

[Mike D]

What I meant to say was:  I have the utmost respect for guys like Chris that do that level of work on a daily basis.  Sorry, my spelling is atrocious at times.  I've reported myself to the spelling police, please have mercy.

[snaroff]

What I meant to say was:  I have the utmost respect for guys like Chris that do that level of work on a daily basis.  Sorry, my spelling is atrocious at times.  I've reported myself to the spelling police, please have mercy.

In general, I was very happy with my HEP AFM cabinet, however I was surprised that Chris left the imperfection in the attached picture. When I asked him about it, he said he typically doesn't fill these type of inside cracks (since the ball hit the inside of the cabinet and can cause the fill to come loose?). Since I never saw the beater AFM he restored, he should have alerted me to the cabinet issues and given me the chance to get a brand new cabinet. I was new to the process, and it was a learning experience for me.

snaroff

[pinballpimp]

I can do a cab and decals this nice. You just have to have the right tools, talent and TIME!

[ibis]

What I meant to say was:  I have the utmost respect for guys like Chris that do that level of work on a daily basis.  Sorry, my spelling is atrocious at times.  I've reported myself to the spelling police, please have mercy.

In general, I was very happy with my HEP AFM cabinet, however I was surprised that Chris left the imperfection in the attached picture. When I asked him about it, he said he typically doesn't fill these type of inside cracks (since the ball hit the inside of the cabinet and can cause the fill to come loose?). Since I never saw the beater AFM he restored, he should have alerted me to the cabinet issues and given me the chance to get a brand new cabinet. I was new to the process, and it was a learning experience for me.

snaroff

I am surprised he did not fill that.  He is correct, there is a chance, but that chance goes both ways; it may never hit that in the right place to knock it loose.  I think I would have had an issue with that.  He should have contacted you to discuss, IMO.

[snaroff]

What I meant to say was:  I have the utmost respect for guys like Chris that do that level of work on a daily basis.  Sorry, my spelling is atrocious at times.  I've reported myself to the spelling police, please have mercy.

In general, I was very happy with my HEP AFM cabinet, however I was surprised that Chris left the imperfection in the attached picture. When I asked him about it, he said he typically doesn't fill these type of inside cracks (since the ball hit the inside of the cabinet and can cause the fill to come loose?). Since I never saw the beater AFM he restored, he should have alerted me to the cabinet issues and given me the chance to get a brand new cabinet. I was new to the process, and it was a learning experience for me.

snaroff

I am surprised he did not fill that.  He is correct, there is a chance, but that chance goes both ways; it may never hit that in the right place to knock it loose.  I think I would have had an issue with that.  He should have contacted you to discuss, IMO.

Agreed. Interesting that you agree with me...sometimes I think I'm too much of a "stickler":-)

I definitely questioned it (which is why I have the picture from last year), however he defended not filling it. Since I was new to the high-end restoration process and he is considered the "master", who am I to question his work? I considered airing this on a public forum (like rgp) and getting other experts feedback, however I didn't want to create problems for Chris (he can get extremely defensive over his work). Since it doesn't effect play and is barely noticeable with the glass on, I decided to drop it (and some other issues I had with his restoration). Given his steep labor cost, I was hoping for perfection (and didn't get it). This is one of the reasons I prefer to support local, fairly priced talent. fwiw, I wouldn't commission another HEP restoration.

snaroff

[tktlwyr]

I honestly don't think that Chris would go that far on a restoration and not fill that without good reason.

[snaroff]

I honestly don't think that Chris would go that far on a restoration and not fill that without good reason.

I think your belief that Chris always has a good reason/defense is shared by most in the community.

I've enclosed another picture of the back of the back box with a seam that looks less than great. Since it's in the back of the pin, I could care less. Nevertheless, I expected a seam like this to be filled and seamless when I'm paying top dollar for a cabinet restoration.

I won't speculate on all the potential reasons for not filling these cracks or discussing them with me.

Based on what I've seen of Doug's work, I don't think he would consider shipping a cabinet with these imperfections (which is why I brought up my HEP cabinet in this context). Mike D has much more experience with Doug and can chime in if he'd like...

Live and learn,

snaroff

[khabbi]

Anyone else see the irony that Chris would tear apart little cosmetic things on a TF LE via a 15 minute video but let this imperfection leave his workshop? 

[bjones]

In all honesty, that seam should stay.  Filling it in doesn't help anything because the back is a floating back, meaning it is supposed to have a tiny amount of play for expansion and contraction.  One cold season and any filler would crack from top to bottom, looking far worse.  Now, that paint job is another story.. not very good for a high end job.

The gouge in the side of the cabinet wall, BS on filler falling out.   And really, a gouge like that can mostly be removed with steam and an iron if you really want to leave it there and mask it as best you can.   Personally on that particular issue i'd steam it out (I did just that on a few spots on a local collectors game, you can't see where the gouges used to be).  For me the only real catch point is that I don't want to get rid of the woodgrain from the insides of the cabinet as that is the 'original' look so going with a filler would require priming which in turn would virtually eliminate the original feel of the woodgrain.

Restoring isn't rocket science really.. it's directly related to the eye and toolset of the restorer and the budget provided.  Give me 5k plus parts to do a restoration like hep gets and it'll look NIB too, but for 500 I can give it a run for the money as well