I, too, was called to tune and repair one of these beasts.  I was
appalled that the whole action was plastic.

Totally nonstandard action parts, it did not have one single screw in
it.  Everything snapped together.  What's more, they all scooted from
side to side in the track with no obvious way to keep the action where
it needed to be to hit that hammer.

The keys were also plastic and would not be functional for very long,
so they would either have to be replaced with a new keyboard
($1,200.00) or used as a keyboardless orchestrion piano.  There is no
source for replacement of these parts.  The strings, board and back
seemed sound.  I wish I had had the space then to take it away.

The customer was told there was no hope.  This is the first and only
time I ever pronounced that about an upright piano.  She planned to
toss it out.  I would love to have it now.  I would build an upright
action for it with no keyboard and turn it into a nickelodeon.

It was obviously a piano built to make it out the door of the piano
dealer with a full one-week warranty.  This piano was only about 15
years old.  It looked good.

D. L. Bullock    Piano World    St. Louis