Topic: My new fireball table

[Anderson]

Well I just got back from Atlanta and my new table is still in my car. Believe it or not, you can actually fit this table in the back of a PT Cruiser as long as you're the only one in the car. It was tricky but we got it done.
 
About the table.

First, for all of you Tornado players, I get why you might not like this table. The surface is grippier and the men are quite different so you're timing will be off on many things. That being said, you can definitely adjust, as I saw many players adapt and dominate with the standard pulls and rollovers, sticks and brushes. I believe that I can begin to develop some of these techniques now where playing on Bonzini has held me back from that. Many said the goals seemed wider but I'm not sure if this is true. It turns out that you can fit a standard Tornado rod into the table with a few tricks, so I'll be buying a three and a five for Tornado practice. The bars are different, at least between the ITSF black-anodized rods and the Touring model chrome in terms of weight. I liked both. The ITSF rods are heavier but the bearings are so incredible that I really preferred them; I liked the momentum feel.

For any Bonzini players out there, the few and far between LOL, I can tell you that this is a great transition table if you're looking to start playing Tornado, but want to keep your pins. The added grip almost allows for a true French walk rather than the hopping, and pulls and pushes from the front-toe are doable. We were using the older lighter pink Tornado ball, and I while I thought I was going to hate it, I really liked it's grip. Robert Yates, for those of you who know him, was able to work his dancing push-pull series quite effectively, more so than his rollover(he was having trouble on the pull side), so I think there's a lot of potential there. On top of all that I'm still looking into being able to install Bonzini rods on this table for practice. I know that you'd have to put in another bearing but Bruce Nardoci has played on the multitable and he's pretty sure that it involves a different table model because he remembers there being some sort of top loading system beyond just the pop-out bearings.

Finally, for all of us back-pinners out there who are sick of hearing that we don't have a true straight so we all suck and should just give up the sport. Well, if the definition is that the straight has to be done without moving the ball at all, then they are right and we should just quit LOL. However, we all know that we move then cut on the giant hole. I'm still having trouble with the angle because I'm rather young with the back-pin, but I found that we have an incredible short push or pull on this table, if you set up a little off-center on the ball toward the shot. I found that I can hit the push with about an eighth to a quarter inch movement; it squeezes nicely. I used this hole very successfully against a few who were over guarding the corners. There is no way I will ever be able to do that on Bonzini. You can also hit all kinds of banks from this position, so there definitely is a future for back-pinning on this table.

Even though I didn't play well, being that I don't have a five-bar so I had to play back the entire tournament, I still had a lot of fun and I love this table. I got a lot of great advice from Bruce Nardoci, Phil Grable, Daniel Colter who is just amazing and was doing all kinds of crazy things(it's crazy to get advice from someone that young, but seriously, WOW!), but most of all from Clint Coyne who after deciding to just have fun, started hitting all kinds of back-pins, push kicks, even a vicious very consistent long 3-man bank that I will master. I will develop a five-man with this table and I just know my Bonzini and Tornado games will improve. Thanks to Phil and Mickey for a great tournament.

[Anderson]

Now for the bad. The ball return is a nightmare at best. It really get's in the way of a tournament when you find yourself crawling under the table every 3 points to figure out where the ball got stuck. THIS NEEDS TO BE FIXED ASAP. I'll rework my own table. Even if you fix this, the switch for the dual ball return needs to be on the top rather than below the table. Then it's easy to know what side the ball is suppose to go to and it would make it easier to get a stuck ball out, as many times just changing that switch back and forth would kick the ball out.

Aside from the ball return, there are a few dead spots around the goalie area where the banked corners just don't get the job done. This is a minor issue, and it really happens a lot on other tables as well. The other issue, is that the sides are slightly banked to keep the ball from sitting on the wall on the five. This causes a lot of issues for those who like to bring the ball slowly to the wall for a brush series as it stops the ball a little early. This is where I see a lot of players hating this table.

[Nosorog]

Thanks for all the input and thoughts.  Have fun on your new table

[Vegasbrad]

I just got a new Fireball table last week & I love it.  I agree that the ball return does stick more than it's fair share of balls, however the ability to practice and have the ball come out on whatever side of the table you need it too outweighs the negative of getting stuck from time to time in my opinion.  Maybe my balls don't get stuck as often because my shots are so lightning-quick though? ;-)

Thanks Fireball - I for one have been waiting for someone to come up with a good Tornado alternative since the quality started faltering.  This is a better built table all around - better rods, better grip, better men and a much better surface-to-side transition than using plastic runners like Warrior and Tornado.  It's never Sunday on a Fireball - the banks are always open!

P.S.  Get a three-man back Fireball table if you're thinking about a purchase.  I agree that the dead spots on banked-corner tables are a pain on this table just as they are on most other 1-man goalie tables.

Anyone want to play Fireball in Vegas - e-mail me!  My game room is open to all!  :-)

[Anderson]

Another thing to be aware of is the grips are thicker than Tornado, and even though they are nice, I still found that I needed a wrap at one point. The wraps make it too thick unless you're using a thin slip over like the what-a-grips at walmart, although they will tear on the way on if you're not careful. I prefer the one-man goalie, being that I play Bonzini, so I bought the ITSF model, but if you're a Tornado player, you should get the Touring model since the chrome rods are faster and you can get the three-man goalie.

[papafoos]

First, for all of you Tornado players, I get why you might not like this table.

Most of the Tornado players I talk to don't dislike Fireball.  I thought they played pretty nice.

My biggest gripe was the ball return and I'm assuming they're working on that.  I joke about the shape of the man's head but it's not a real concern.  The grey men gave me a slight problem, but that's being addressed also.

The comparisons made right now are a home model vs a coin op.  A home model Fireball might not feel as solid as a coin op Tornado but I think it plays better than a home model Tornado.

I'd like to see Fireball or Tornado get home models in retail stores.  The crap they sell at Sears, Walmart, etc can't do much for foosball.  They're probably torn up within a couple of months which has to leave a sour taste.

I also want to see how Fireball holds up.  A 25 year old Tornado is still a good table if it's not abused.  Fireball doesn't have to last that long but I hope they outlast the Warriors.  They haven't been around long enough to get a real sense of how well they're built.

[Anderson]

What I love most about this table is that I can easily exchange the rods. I recently bought a Tornado 3 man rod, handle, and men. The rod was a little bit too long so I took it to a machine shop and had 3/8" taken off the end. I could of had a little more shaved off now that I think about it, but it doesn't matter. It fits. I can exchange a Fireball rod with a Tornado rod in less than 30 seconds. I don't have to remove the men, bumper, handle, anything.