new AFM and MB for that matter are not the same MIKE you should know that lol
I've never been one to jump in on these online MM vs MMR debates that usually end up in arguments. To me they are both the same in the sense the shots are the exact same but what's underneath is what makes them different. Of course there are/were problems on remakes such as CGC sending out difusers to make the text more readable on the inserts however there are some great enhancements made on these remakes like the completely re-drawn coloured dots.
I almost put down a deposit on an MMR right after it was announced at Expo but I managed to get myself a nice undocumented HUO original MM for $12.5k. I crunched some numbers and a new MMR would have run me just a little over $10k but there was no ETA from CGC on when they would be produced. I was a bit worried that if MMR ever became a reality I stand to lose $2.5k or more in resale right if I ended up not liking the game. Fortunately I do enjoy the game very much and still have it 4 years later with no plans of selling it. You can't or don't always have to make a profit when selling a game after all isn't this supposed to be a hobby? Another concern I had was the new boards used in MMR were mostly surface mounted components and what would happen if one of the boards blew up? What if CGC's plan was one and done? That would mean you have to hope someone like Menace (aka Doug) would be able to repair your existing board or you would have to find another beat but working MMR to cannibalize to keep your game up and running. Think back in the 90's/00's for WPC95 games and AV boards would die and operators were parting NBA Fastbreaks and Congo's to keep their MM's running and earning on route. It's great news that CGC is on re-make #3 and hopefully #4 soon because this should mean replacement or reproduction boards might be more readily available in the future.
I'm also glad I went the original route because I have other WPC95 games I could interchange parts with to test/troubleshoot, reproduction parts are readily available like boards and most importantly I got to enjoy playing my MM for 2.5 years instead of following the daily bickering on MMR progress on pinside. The flip side to this from an MMR or any remake owner's perspective is they are paying top dollar for something that is new instead of 20+ years old and could careless about servicing their own game in the future. Bottom line is remakes are good for the hobby because it gives old and new collectors the chance to own a popular sought after title that has otherwise become out of reach.
Lastly William I have no doubt about any of your game's condition and I know you take very good care of them too. I also don't doubt your ability to restore a game from ground up and I've seen your wood working skills which are top notch. I also know how meticulous you can be because you did the playfield swaps twice on your original MM because you weren't happy with the issues found on the first repro playfield. For your asking price of $14k for MB I think you should re-do the cabinet and install new decals or lower your price and throw in a $20 set of pincab protectors. Maybe you should also consider reaching out to luch and invite him up for some beers so he can help you take better pictures too because look at how fast he sold his WPC leg plates
