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I've read many positive posts about Chris Hutchins of High End Pins and I thought it was about time I shared my great experience. My hopes are that along with other pinball enthusiast, perhaps those new to pinball will read this and understand that there is a trusted craftsman out there that can take their pinball and make it better than new again. Of course I speak of Chris Hutchins and 'Craftsman' is an understatement. Read on.
I have a modest game room with a few pinball machines for family and friends to enjoy. I purchased my pins from a game dealer. I enjoy tinkering with pins but over time I found myself spending too much time repairing them and not enough time playing.
My wife and I decided to either buy new-in-box games or get our games refurbished. After doing a lot of research we discovered Chris Hutchins of High End Pins and began looking at his work and checking references. After we did our due diligence; it was easy to conclude that having Chris Hutchins restore our pins was the superior choice and that it would be better than buying new-in-box. Why?
Here's the best way to describe
Chris Hutchins of High End Pins: World-Class Pinball Restorer -
We all can appreciate detailed resumes and nice references; it's
a good thing. But when it comes to restoring treasured
collectables like high-end automobiles, antique furniture, or
priceless artwork; the proof is how well the collectable looks,
performs, and ages over time. Ask anyone who's received a Chris
Hutchins Pin, including myself. I've had my pins from Chris for
a couple of years now and
Superior Product: Chris Hutchins doesn't simply clean-up a machine to resell. Chris actually tears pins completely down to the bare cabinet and remanufactures them. I researched pin restorations and found no one that offered the level of restore that Chris provides. Check-out his website to see the process. I was amazed to see pictures and watch my pin being restored back to new.
First Class Service: I was pleasantly surprised that Chris was with us every step of the way starting when he first received our machines. Truly a skilled technician,; he discussed every detail of the process, gave a full estimate, documented his work, shipped the pin in a crush-proof crate, and amazingly provided 24/7 phone support to walk me through setting and adjusting the pin until it played perfect. The level of service and attention to detail was truly impressive and remains so to this day.
Pinball at it's best. My family
and friends now enjoy pinball every weekend. My pins look and
play great. I've since sent additional pins to Chris Hutchins
knowing they will be returned as works of art and will be
cherished for many years to come. There's no other experience
quite like it. Though I've never met Chris in person, he's
become a trusted friend and someone I'd gladly provide reference
for. -- Eric Kowalski Repeat after me.... Christopher Hutchins, Christopher Hutchins, Christopher Hutchins
As far as I know there's
only one restorer out there who is doing the level of
work Christopher is doing. He totally disassembles every
part on the game, clearcoats the playfield (see other
posts in this thread on his experience and background in
the automobile business), rebuilds flippers and bumpers,
does board work, replaces anything that needs to be for
cosmetic and mechanical reasons. Christ, I've even seen
him recommend that I replace certain parts or boards
that are working now, but should be ready to go soon.
That's the level of service I choose to pay for - he
doesn't cut corners, he skip over fixing things that his
customer will probably never know about, he With that said, it's not cheap to have your game restored, but when you add up what he's doing to the game in time, parts, labor, etc... and what you have when he's done - it's worth it if you truly want the BEST example of that pinball machine in your collection, which is what I believe this post was originally asking about. Face it, nobody that does this type of work does it cheap - there's a lot of labor and expertise involved here.
For me, I'm technically
challenged, have a big collection, and got tired of
never having the time to play the games with my family
on the weekends since I always had my head under the
playfield trying to fix this or that. I bought my games
and started in the hobby basically for my kids and
family to have time to spend together. After I got
I know of what I speak -
I've had the following games restored by Christopher :
TAF, TZ, TOTAN. I'm currently have the following game
being restored : CV, MB - and then my MM, and RS will
follow afterward. I've outright bought the following
games from Christopher : CC, AFM, SC. I've recently
purchased the following games from I also know he's currently got a FT and TAF that he's going to be restoring to sell – I've got a TAF and I don't have room for a FT or I would have bought those too ! Just some info for anyone who may be interested and want to give him a try. He replies to emails quickly, answers all your questions without an attitude, and builds crates to ship games that's built like Fort Knox. Oh yeah, he's a super nice guy to boot. :)
I'm a skeptical sort and the idea of shipping pins across the country and finding out much later how much it would all cost, left me with the sinking feeling I get when taking my car to a German mechanic. Who knows what it will cost and how much work will really be done? But with Chris, I got photo updates almost daily, and continuous contact about exactly how things were going. The guy is a work-a-holic but he always answers the phone and spends as much time with customers as they'd like. It took me a little while, but I learned to trust Chris, and now I'd consider my experience with him as among the best I'd ever had with any vendor in any trade. I respect that some collectors/enthusiasts don't get the point of such a large investment in a game meant to *play*. But for those who want the best, and choose to allocate their scarce resources towards this endeavor, CH has proved to me that he is the gold-standard. I've used a couple other well-known pinball restorers, and to me, the difference is sizable. -- Warner
Both playfields were stripped,
cleaned, touched-up, and clearcoated. The cabinet was
stripped, rebuilt internally and externally, repainted, and
decaled. All metal parts, above and below the playfield,
were stripped to their atomic structures and polished. All
new parts for the moveable parts. Some new "stickers", such
as the mini-playfield teardown sticker. Every part of the
machine, down to the wood screws, shines. His website posted
pictures of the progress, before, during and after. Finally,
the machine was I *love* the way that the game plays. I've never played a NIB TZ, but I intuitively know that this machine plays the way the game is supposed to play, the way a pinball machine is supposed to play. I have a sense that this machine is better put together and detailed that a NIB TZ. If you've got a machine that you know is a keeper and you want it to perform better than NIB, send it to Chris. I think you'll be very happy with the result. -- Todd
It plays and looks better than NIB. Amazing. I can't put it next to any other pin because it makes them pale in comparison. Now on to the Creature. Can't wait. -- Thanks, Buddy
I believe these are the ones he shows on homegameroom site. Thanks Chris for the great work and being such a pleasure to work with.
Can't wait for
the Creature which is up next. -- Mike Chris is the best there is in every respect - skill, attitude, dedication to his work, attention to detail, service after the sale, and so on and so on.
Chris is a class act to deal with from start to
finish and that's even before you see the finished product.
When you get the finished product then you know you've got
something you will never part with. Your post is timely as
just today I cleaned my game room up of a lot of clutter and
when done I stood back and looked at my lineup of 11 Chris
Hutchins pins, knowing that no matter what other stuff
rotates in and out Chris's games will always be the part of
my collection I'm most proud of owning. Glad to see another
happy customer (oh yeah, that's the only type there ever
is). Enjoy your new game, it looks super!
Anyway, if anyone is looking for someone to restore a machine for them, Christopher really does nice work. -- Jeff
No expense spared- no screw left unturned (in fact- all of the screw heads are lined up in the same direction- how's that for picky!) If you are looking for the absolute best- give Chris a call! Chad, Allen, are not even in the same league (as I used to think they were). Envious? You should be. This bad boy is unbelievable. -- Marc If you would like to research our reputation further please click here |
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I
know this topic has been well-documented, but
somehow I'd feel remiss to not tell the world
about my great CH experience. He has just
completed 3 of my pins and no surprise that they
are beautiful and indeed, they play even better
than they look. But what is even more
gratifying about my experience was working with
Chris himself - the
guy is just one of those people that is so nice
that it is almost annoying.
