Topic: Fireball Review!

[leogart]

The tables are very well done, very sturdy, and quick to set up.

As a player:
The ball control is excellent; quick tic tacking on the 5 bar is easy, pin and walked the ball in front or back makes you feel very confident, In fact I’ve seen more players shooting front and back pins shoots on pick up games than never before.

Jarring do not even moved the ball; you realized your opponent jarred at you because the “bang” noise on the wall but it doesn’t affect your reception, so this makes the game more fluid and less controversy when there is no referee at the table.

The man’s foot design is excellent for grabbing loose balls, great for brushing and catching.

Handles and Rods are great! Rods are super fast, light weight but do not bend. Your arm does not wear out as much as it does in other tables after hours and days of shooting.

The magnetic beads are nice detail for keeping a “stylish” tracking for goals, tables and time outs.

Adjusting from other table to Fireball is like driving a different car than yours; it just takes minutes, the truth is you don’t even think you are playing on a different table.

The table will not play for you!
If you are a good player you will be a good player on this table as well, if you are a non experienced player, then you still need to practice, regardless the table you play on!

As a player/promoter:
Getting the rods off the table with the little men attached is fantastic to save space while transportation or saves time on set ups and dismounting the game room, Also this saves times for simple goalie war time.

The custom leveler feet come with rubber attached to them. This will keep the table on place regardless the floor’s surface or material, (forget about rugs or cutting rubber to put under the feet).

Set up the table on free mode is very simple but makes it easier for you since you have less work to do.

I haven’t changed one single man (figure) from Fireball, they seem to be indestructible at least by foosball use, neither have I had change a bearing. Bearings are very thick!!

Another improvement is how the legs get attached to the cabinet, the legs gets inside of the cabinet, and there are 4 bolts that attached each leg from the outside. This system make it easier to set up the table and, will prevent the legs from getting loose and avoid the table to get shaky as you see with old tables that has been pushed a lot at clubs and bars (at least here in CR)

The balls do not have texture or hairs but they are NOT slippery at all, and the best part is, you just wash them and they gets like new. No wear off at all. You will have to do only minor adjustments on how the ball bounces.


Fireball’s development engineering is great!!!


Their customer service is another plus, they are quick and always willing to help!


Leo

[hedge]

Great Review!!  Did you play on the coin-op or the home version?   Thanks

[jinhopark]

Great Review!!  Did you play on the coin-op or the home version?   Thanks

hedge:

Based on this statement I will assume it's a coin-op...

"Set up the table on free mode is very simple but makes it easier for you since you have less work to do."


leogart:

Where did you play on a Fireball coin-op?  Is CR, Costa Rica?

[mots2u]

hello leo,
here is my of likes and dislikes.  Overall I would say that it was the best table I ever played on.  I felt it was a good mix of Tornado and dynamo.
My Fireball Table Review

Likes:

·        Ball pops out of opposite side when a hard shot goes in the goal

·        Well balanced, heavy table makes it difficult to reset ball (almost no need for refs)

·        Table seems to support Euro pin styles, Tornado styles and Tico Styles of play (as well as Joe Hamilton's style:)).

·        Sloped corners/single man in back.  Those two extra men have been killing me on sloppy goals for years.

·        Easy to shoot bank shots out of the back  (ala dynamo stye)

·        Very good ball control

·        Ease of replacing any rod

·        The roll pins seem to be off the shelf items that can be purchased from any Home Center.

·        Rods never seemed to bend.

·        Scoring, timeout and game count beads to keep track of match status

 
Dislikes:

·        Balls may be too soft

·        Bumpers came apart all too often

·        Rubber end piece on rods may not be necessary

·        Magnetic beads for scoring stuck together. Need to increase separation

·        Deflections off of direct blocks often led to goals.  Shape of man may be contributing factor.

·        Many times my unmanned goalie man was hit with a slower shot and it would flip over and then into the goal. Maybe the balance needs to be looked into.

·        Handles made me sweat more so than any other handle I have played on in the past.  Perhaps the small dimples are holding in the sweat.

Thanks for all your efforts. 
-mike yore

 

[leogart]

Hedge,
 I have played in both, coin op and home version and it´s true that coin op weights few pounds more but for my perception the game play is the same.

Jinhopark,
Yes, I mean Costa Rica when write CR, I tried the Coin Ops and home model in CR.
The Costa Ricans are called: ¨ticos¨ ….….just to clarify Mike´s post.

Mike,
My hands don´t sweat too much while playing but I always wrap the handles anyways. I actually like the handle because the rubber surface makes a little cushion on my wrist when shooting roll overs.  Sometimes I bruised my wrist a little after hours of hard shooting.


It´s funny because the game play is quick but, with lots of control, different table’s brand sacrifice speed for control or the other way around but fireball has both.

[Old Meister]

One thing I noticed about Fireball is to not over power a shot. Less is more type of thing. Another thing I really like is the subtle control on passing that might not be there on Tornado tables. I was making some little close in push and pull angle passes on some really good players yesterday, passes that would be low percentage on T tables but instead got me some compliments from some players I really respect. I guess I'm just pumped because those same players are making me draw on my old school game as that is what they want to get from me and I'm able to answer on Fireball. How good is that? priceless!

[foozkillah]

One thing I noticed about Fireball is to not over power a shot. Less is more type of thing. Another thing I really like is the subtle control on passing that might not be there on Tornado tables. I was making some little close in push and pull angle passes on some really good players yesterday, passes that would be low percentage on T tables but instead got me some compliments from some players I really respect. I guess I'm just pumped because those same players are making me draw on my old school game as that is what they want to get from me and I'm able to answer on Fireball. How good is that? priceless!

;
You're saying what I seem to be getting from a lot of Tornado players about the FBall....  actually less forgiving... more pinpoint control with a tendency to slow the game down..  Makes sense... Like NASCAR (Fireball) vs Formula 1(classic Tornado)?  Not anywhere near as many deaths or insane speeds, but definitely still a whole hell of a lot of fun in its own style, huh...  Like an F-1 car with restrictor plates and all the other NASCAR or IRL safety doodads...

[Old Meister]

'Killah, I wouldn't say less forgiving at all, just different. Pinning is more positive while the recoil of the tic-tac is a bit more lively. The smoothness of the ball translates into smoothness while manipulating the ball. It is just a different feel and play that happens to be a lot of fun.

[BradLaurine]

My thoughts and what I hear from many people who play at low to medium levels, find that the rods are so much smoother and faster that they don't have to power the shots or passes. Speed is the same or faster because they can catch things flying around much easier on the Fireball table versus the Tornado.
The difference is control.
The newer/lesser exp. player has far more control at the same speed. The Pro has to slow it down at first till they catch up to the difference. OVER POWERING the shot and pass is far and away the biggest problem in transition. The rods are much faster and the take off is way way way smoother. This leads to the Pro having the Muscle problem that is required to perform on Tornado.
Now that I am use to the take off on the Fireball, my shot literally has never been faster or longer because of the rods, bearing and the foot design on the Fireball table.
The Fireball table is not slower than a Tornado table, nor is the Tornado table faster than the Fireball table... 6 of one or half a dozen of the other.

Use a Tornado ball on a Fireball table and tell me what is the difference? Put a Fireball ball on a Tornado table and tell me the difference?

Mike did bring up great points. Thanks mike for your statements.
The USA PRO model is a Three man goal for the US. As you can see, Fireball makes both one man goals or three man goals
Brad Laurine 

[John M]

I have not played on a Fireball table yet...but I can honestly say that using the F-Ball on my Tornado is pretty incredible compared to any Tornado ball.

The F-ball has totally replaced anything I use on Tornado!

On Bonzini I am still partial to Cork or the ITSF B-ball. I think that is related to the surface of the table.

[bbtuna]

my Fireball home Pro model arrived today at the dock here in KC and I will pick it up in the next couple of days and I will be doing a VERY detailed review and will report my findings as time goes on...i have several of the FB balls already and have started comparing how they compare to the old pink T, the new red 5 fr tumbl T, the Warrior, and just for grins, the Dynamo ball which is basically a Red 5 hr tmbl T ball but is Yellow instead of red...my first comparrison of course is how the balls play on Tornado...i have my Cherry and have played on a very early T3000 and I will get them to my DYP where I will see how they do on the newest T3000's and the Grey Marbles...hopefully I will get a chance to get them on a Brwn Mrbl and a 30th Ann with the darker green top

anyway, the study is in progress...too early to comment yet especially since I am sure the dynamics will be significantly different on the FB surface...I can say, the FB is an amazing piece of engineering, totally differnet material than all the others and even though it is real fast coming off the tic tac, as someone has said earlier, i shoot a backpin and it is AMAZING how far down I can pin the ball without losing it...I am having to make some real adjustments because I could damage my wrist from all the stubbing and/or resistence...super round...

balls have come a long with in foosball I can tell you that...I have old orginal 70s TS balls that I ought to throw into the mix but that all white ball had tons of control but it was soft, didn't start or stay round, it actually could get divits in them, and they wobbled around quite a bit

can't wait and I will share what all I find

[Old Meister]

Bbtuna, you're in for a treat! I talked to some of the pro's up here in the nw and they say the same thing as me, we want our tournaments on these tables. Tornado is fine but the fun is on Fireball tables. You'll see,,,

[Comfort Player]

bbtuna,

  Any update on your review? Curious minds want to know !

I keep reading your "what to buy thread" looking for a new option. 

[Agnes]

Please Review more


Cuban cigars > Cuban cigars online

[bbtuna]

I am not ready to say all I am thinking yet because there is soooo much that can be said and at several levels...there is my recommendation for What Table Should I Buy? which needs to make some comparrisons but not at the detail that "Tournament" players I think would appreciate

I can say this for sure...Fireball is the real deal, no doubt about it...I am reviewing a first generation top of the line home model and I know important changes have been made since this model came out but even if no changes were made, this table is really really really good

since its a "home" model, the only table to make a fair comparrsion with is the the Tornado Cyclone II or its replacement the Elite and really there is no comparisson...the FB has better legs and feet by a country mile, sturdier cabinet, thicker walls and table surface, FAR FAR FAR superior rods and bearings, better handles (although thicker than I prefer but thinner are in the works-but this is minor and personal preference), much much better designed man for playing

everything in everyway is better than Tor except the ball return system as I am using although I know they have made improvements to it since the first generation table I have...all this and retail vs retail the FB is hundreds of dollars less

I am not saying it is an inexpensive table, no way, but you are buying the best home model table probably that has ever been made and its less than Tor and less than other competitors hawking their top of the line "Professional" "home" model tables

this table is really a Pro's table...its a little lighter than I want but you can add weight in the legs...I have it on thick carpet which is even hard for my Tor split top of which I added 50 extra lbs....but if you spend the money and bought small lead shot in 25 lb bags, I think you could put 50 lbs per leg (I will experiement and tell you for sure but I am 90% sure already) and if you had this on a hard surface, or real tight commerical carpet, you would have the best tournament table, build and playability, that has ever been...EVER

add that weight to the coin opp and I can't even imagine what kind of superlatives I could use to describe what you would own

i am doing my best to get my hands on the updated table and the coin op so I can say from personal experience and not have to project via assumptions but any improvements to the table I own would only push this into another realm

the FB home models crushes the competition in the same category and still with the added weight in the legs, would be comparable to Tornados best after 30 plus years of making tables...better legs and feet, better man design, better bearings, better rods....all these are indisputable and they are better not by a small margin, they are way way way better...I am not talking about personal preference, I am telling you that these things are better made in every way, sturdier and better more fuctional designs...there are others also, the table surface, walls, back wall (protecting goal edge blow out), and over all cabinet thickness...these are indisputable also but the margin is only say a ton better rather than off the charts can't really compare better as are the other things

okay, thats it for now...this doesn't mean I don't have anything bad to say or that there aren't imperfections but all things considered....hard to sum it up but I could just say....Wow!