Topic: Question about a tornado brown-marble, non coin-op

[Kelley B]

These forums are great for digging information, and I never want to be the guy who asks questions without first looking around to see if someone else already discussed it.  As a moderator of another site, I am very familiar with how frustrating "newb" questions get when people don't do a simple search.  In this case, I've gone down a few paths with searches and such, but haven't really found what I'm looking for.  Hopefully in this case I've done enough homework before posting.

I've been starting to ramp up my foosball play, and want to get a decent table for home.  We have a lot of people over at our house, and I imagine that any table I get will recieve a good amount of attention. 

I've read tons of reveiws, and even dug through bbtuna's "What table should I buy" post (http://www.foosball.com/forum/index.php?topic=2704.msg12905#msg12905).  I mostly know what I'm looking for, but today I ran across a "brown-marble" Tornado that is not coin op.  It seems to be in great shape, but I haven't seen much about the non-coin op version, outside of this post (http://www.foosball.com/forum/index.php?topic=2252.0).  Seems to be an anomoly, from what I can gather, but I could just be ignorant.  Maybe it's too old to consider as worthwhile.  It looks like I'll be able to pick it up for about $250.

Is there any reassurance that this model has the same qualities of the coin op, or is it maybe a cheaper version that just happens to have the same basic design (ie, like buying a Tornado Whirlwind today).  I'm patient, but this looks like it could be a winner. 





Thanks!

[Kelley B]

:crickets: 

Well, if anyone ever runs into the same challenge/question, I'll go ahead and submit a response others to read in the future.

Based on the info I had, I picked up the table.  Got it for $250, which I believe is a great deal.  It is in excellent condition, and the guy actually had a coin op of the same model sitting right next to it, which allowed me to do a side by side comparison (score!).

The two tables are virtually the same, aside from the complex ball return, the coin op mechanism itself is the same, and a few extra pounds due to those two mechanisms.  The build is the same quality, materials are the same, the rods are the same, the men are the same, the playing surface was the same, the movement was the same, and I was very pleased with how great it looked and felt after so many years.  I was a bit concerned that the loss of additional weight would make the table less sturdy, but it's still very heavy and doesn't move around while playing.  Again, I'm not a pro, so this could be different for the extremely hard core players. 

So, unless someone knows something I don't know (most certainly the case), I'd place this table in the same category as the brown-marble coin-ops (minus a few extra pounds of weight).  I expect to get some great use out of it for years to come.

Thanks again to bbtuna for taking the time to create the guide.  It was very useful, and helped me narrow down what I was looking for and what I could expect to spend.  If you ever check this post, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts, based on your history and knowledge of the sport.

Thanks guys!

[PatRyan]

Tuna might chime in with a different opinion, but here is mine.....you picked up one of the best built tables EVER.  I have a table JUST LIKE the one you have just purchased (only I bought mine new back in 1991? ,I think).  The only difference between mine and yours, is mine has the big metal feet.  It will last a lifetime.  I have not had to replace ANYTHING on my table since I have owned it (18 years!!).  And I mean not even a pin.  I have upgraded the balls, the balls that came with my table were nothing like what is played with now.  Once cleaned up, this will last you forever.  You have a PRE-Valley Tornado Table, hand built to exacting standards!  I wouldn't trade mine for anything.

Great deal for $250...IMHO

[Kelley B]

Thanks for the feedback PatRyan.  As good as I felt about the decision, it's nice to hear reassurance from someone who has far more years of experience and history.

BTW, finally got a chance to play on it last night.  Rock solid.  Thanks again...