Received our Funhouse back from Chris Hutchins’ restoration camp. Rudy never looked so good. Chris’ restorations are phenomenal. Amazing attention to detail and wonderful customer relations. It made me smile when I saw how Chris crated and wrapped the game for delivery… brought to mind a new definition of NIB… “new in blanket”. Our FH looks and plays like new and has many touches that go beyond new quality. We will be enjoying FH for a very long time. Thank you Chris… we are very pleased. — John
My wife and I took our trip to Charlotte this past weekend and picked up our first HEP from Chris Hutchins. I could go on and on about the quality, detail and workmanship Chris puts into his work but instead I will offer this piece of advice. If you do not have a HEP in your collection please do yourself a favor and contact Chris about having one done. You won’t be sorry! Not only for the beauty of the machine but for how they play. Pick a title you really like and have Chris do his magic. You will be blown away! Chris is a great guy also! We were able to spend some time with him at his business and he is someone you will want to deal with again and again! Since many will be asking what game I had done Chris did a FunHouse for us. A classic that both of us really enjoy.
Thanks again Chris!
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 doesn’t send you a game quick to get your check knowing there’s going to be issues on it down the road. Christopher truly has a love and respect for the games and will not pull punches about doing whatever is necessary to make the perfect before they leave. It’s not all about the money with him.
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.
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
Public thanks to Chris Hutchins for the *amazing* restoration job that he performed on my Twilight Zone. I sent to Chris a TZ with a faded cabinet, a 9 playfield, one of Steve’s 3rd magnet kits, and a set of cabinet decals. Chris returned to me a 10+ TZ that plays better than any machine I’ve ever played. 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 returned to me in a custom-built, reusable crate. 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
Just took delivery of Chris’s FH from his new shop. Nos pf, new ramps, decals, plastics, the whole shootin match. 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 just met Chris Hutchins for the first time (in person) and took delivery of the Earthshaker pin that he recently post pics of on RGP. WOW!! It’s rare that the pictures of a pin don’t live up to the actual machine, but as terrific as his pics are, the game is even better! I mean every screw is shiny, every ramp crystal clear, the playfield is like glass, the cabinet has been repainted and color matched to look just like the sample game on the flyer! The building works super smooth up and down, just totally flawless! He even obtained the prototype pink car backglass which is the cherry on the cake! Totally worth the money!! I was very impressed with both Chris and his work. The fact that I live 90 min from his parents is a major plus, because after seeing the Earthshaker, I have a list of 15-20 pins that he will be restoring for me over the next few years!
I just wanted to publicly Thank Chris Hutchins for the unbelievable restoration he did on my Black Knight. There is no telling how many hours he put into it, but the end result is nothing short of Remarkable.
And all I can say is WOW!! Christopher Hutchins really does some nice work. This machine is actually *nicer* than my NIB TSPP was. The NOS cabinet decals and clearcoated playfield really make this machine “feel” like a new Williams pin. No disrespect to the gentleman who is selling a NIB CC, but this one really comes close. Even the inside of the cabinet looks new. Anyway, if anyone is looking for someone to restore a machine for them, Christopher really does nice work. — Jeff
Just unpacked (no small feat- this thing is crated to perfection) my Chris Hutchins special Funhouse. Words don’t do it justice- so excuse my subjected wording- but nothing else comes close. This thing is awesome! No expense spared- no screw left un-turned (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!
— Marc
