Topic: Tornado Cyclone II or Shelti Pro Foos II?

[morsecoder]

I have an opportunity to buy a Tornado Cyclone II or Shelti Pro Foos II. The Shelti is $650 and clean, the Tornado is $500, but dirty. The Shelti seems to have a crack or a seam on the play surface. I'll try to attach an image. You can see the crack/seam between the red 5 and the black 3.

What would be your advice? What should I look for when deciding? Sight unseen, which would you choose?

Thanks all!

[ShopTeacher]

Tornado all day... even if the Shelti did not have the massive  seam where the red team needs to pin the ball to shoot. Easy choice. Clean the Tornado up and you'll be happy.  Parts are easier to come by for the Tornado and it's the brand all serious players use in the US, so if you ever enter a tourney, you'll have practiced/played on a similar table.

[bolt115]

Make sure to inspect the Cyclone closely. At $500 it should be in excellent shape(and I think clean but that's just me)

Things to check:

 Rods straight and chrome not flaking(problem with some Cyclone II's)      rods are ~$40 each

Swelling on side/end  walls indicating water damage        deal killer in my opinion

Is surface perfectly flat and damage free      laminate adhesive can dry out    not common but can happen  ..  probably deal killer.

Laminate issues on outside of cabinet are much more common....not deal killer but would not pay $500

Shopteacher was being diplomatic on shelti I think...with damage like that looks like a parts table


FYI.

      $500 is the absolute top because you have a decent shot of finding coin-op of similar vintage  with minor cosmetic issues $400-$600 range. So at $500 I think it should be "show room" condition

[morsecoder]

Thanks ShopTeacher and bolt115! I went with the Tornado. It looked pretty good, but had been stored in a barn. It seemed like it was a dry barn and there was a good bit of dust, but we brought it home and all seems to be in order and it cleaned up really nice! Looking forward to schooling the teenagers all day tomorrow!

[bolt115]

Congrats on the table!  don't forget to order some spare parts...some roll pins/ a couple men/ foos lube/ and a few rubber bumpers

[morsecoder]

Awesome! Thanks! Is there a "go to" place to order parts from?

[ShopTeacher]

you can get them right on this site or many others.
https://shop.foosball.com/tornado.html
https://www.shop.tornadofoosball.com/main.sc

[bolt115]

and don't forget the punch if you don't have one...the standard punch works but i prefer the larger one..

https://shop.foosball.com/superpindriver.html

[ShopTeacher]

I agree with the long punch. You might want new balls and silicone lube if you dont have any.

Balls
https://shop.foosball.com/fts-110-005.html - $4 a piece
https://www.shop.tornadofoosball.com/Foosball-Set-KitF3.htm - 3 for $10.50

Lube
https://shop.foosball.com/fts-110-035.html - $5 for 2 oz
https://www.shop.tornadofoosball.com/Silicone-2-oz-TFBS2.htm - same price

[morsecoder]

I just got my new pink foosballs, lube, etc. I’m blown away! It’s like a different game! Pins are so much easier, passes are easier, the bars slide and spin so smoothly! Thanks for your suggestions!

[ShopTeacher]

Morsecoder: I've pushed this video before in other posts, It works great... Think things are smooth now, do this bearing maintenance and you'll really see a difference.  Congrats on the foos table as well, glad you're happy with it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRpQzCT5GKs