Are you going any assistance from Stern, or your distributor?

Repeatedly announcing that you're "oh so close" to ordering a nib from Stern, if it weren't for (problem X), could be seen by some as passive aggressive.
You get that, right?

Another another note, does anyone have a true count on the number of cracked cabinets that people have received?
Is it really anywhere near 30?

If anyone's interested, I tallied about 15 cabinets reported from owners themselves, and another 7 Pinsiders reporting issues on routed machines.
So seems as though we're looking at about 25 cases, according to the World of Pinside.

In my opinion, the most important thing is finding out if Stern will be correcting the issue. To me, receiving a split cabinet is simply unacceptable.

Having said that, we now have more than 25 pages of posts. We have multiple explanations of the problem, and suggestions that Stern doesn't care about the issue. We have an historic recollection that Stern pins have apparently always been of poor quality. We have multiple personal attacks, and we have insults aimed at anyone who might consider buying a NIB from Stern. We have multiple speculators pointing the finger directly at Stern for purposefully reducing the BOM in order to save $.

I would like to suggest to Robin and the moderators that when someone has a QC issue to report, that they pin the thread, and only have those experiencing the issue allowed to post ONE post only with the problem, and subsequent posts with any resolutions, or an update stating a lack thereof.

Enough with making a mountain out of a molehill. Let’s get facts listed properly. Let’s display how things are being handled by Stern. Let’s make it easy to see exactly how many people are having issues. Let’s reduce the back and forth arguing between people who most likely would enjoy playing pinball together. Let’s provide clear information, allowing people to make their own, informed decisions, and reduce the useless animosity -the worst thing about this site. Heck, it might even provide some helpful info to Stern, themselves!

For the record, I tallied the following Pinsiders as owners with issues (though truly, I think the vast majority of people on here have issues!):

daddyxxx
Rasavage
spida1a
Msch
Buzz
thundergod76
bellbrand
Gov
wtatumjr
pindude80
ragekage
Spelink71
Gryszzz (2014 build date)
inhomearcades
rock914

And I tallied the following people as having reported route games with issues:

daddyxxx: “two different people”
TaylorVA
Wolfmarsh “pictures of games on route”
jar155 “personally seen several cabinets in person with the issue”
T-800 “AS at a bowling alley”
usandthem “Pinball Pete’s”
Ed209 (8bit arcades)

Sorry bout that. I had marked it that way after reading your first post. Wasn't certain if you had a confirmed issue.
Added your name though as it was later confirmed.

Can you link a product and explain how to use it please?
Do you just put it on the wood, and then pass the screw through it?

Stern has been 100% dependable with any issues I've ever had.
Not always perfect, but always stepping up to the plate, sending replacement boards, or helpful advice to fix anything that wasn't 100%.
I've had zero issues with my new ASLE. Love it.
I have 4 other really good pinball friends nearby who own somewhere around 30+ recent Sterns.
1 guy had a defective GB playfield ghost, which was recently replaced and now looks and works great.
No other issues (aside from things like node boards that had to be replaced, etc). NONE, that come to mind.
I had a JJP WoZ start smoking, shortly after unboxing it. They were great to refund me.
I had an early Full Throttle with numerous issues, also refunded thankfully.
One of my buddies has had numerous small issues with his Hobbit, most of which have been resolved.
AMH? Two friends (both of whom love the game still), have had to fix things here and there.
In short, pinball machines aren't always built perfectly.
Stern manufactures the most pins BY FAR, so have more issues reported.

Those of you without a single modern Stern in your collection, chirping from the sidelines, come off like buffoons.
I mean, no disrespect if you don't like their games, but if that's the case, why are you so preoccupied with reported issues?
Nothing better to do? Seriously?

If you actually asked for current owners with issues, unresolved after contacting Stern directly, I expect this whole "Stern quality" concern would be put to rest. It sure as Hell wouldn't be multiple pages in length and I expect would be quite reasonable in numbers, given the number of pins that Stern sells and the numbers of parts on each machine.

My opinion anyway. But of course, you are all entitled to your own.

What's ridiculous is when people quote BM66 as $15k.

MSRP for a Premium is $8,599 -and you shouldn't be paying full MSRP as we all know.

The BM66 Premium has all the gameplay features that the LE and SLE models have, if I'm not mistaken.
Pro models do not.
If the turntable was missing, or the lcd wasn't there, this is a different argument.

I'm not arguing as to whether I think the game is worth the price they're charging. Until Lyman gets serious code into it, in my opinion, it's not.
That said, it irks me when whiners complain that Batman costs $15k. There's not a single person on here would couldn't get a BM66 with all the play features for slightly more than half of the 15k quoted price.
It's like saying that since some mega-star has an iPhone covered in diamonds worth $1,000,000 that iPhones are now $1,000,000.
But hey, in typical Pinside fashion, if someone wants to make comments from the absolute most negative point of view available, why wouldn't they?

Why don't YOU tell us about your experience with splitting cabinets? You know, on any of the games that you've bought recently? You have lots to say on the subject. Any firsthand experience?
I already summarized the actual number of Pinsiders with legit problems. Was approx 24-30.
No issues seem to have been reported recently.

So maybe it's not the cheerleader derailing things on here, but the stone-thrower who furthers his own purpose (a reseller on pins, only one of which listed on his website is a newer Stern), by throwing jabs and trying to make this seem much worse than it really is?

You're a piece or work.
I recommend you go back and re-read that thread. Check to see how many issues took place before my claim, and then how many were reported afterward. If you want me to summarize, it's "lots beforehand", then "A very, very few after the date". (I counted one in that thread but as I recall it was more like three reported, two from another thread perhaps)
If you continue to believe that I just woke up one morning and decided to start ranting for no reason, you're ever more awesome than I think you are. So what should that tell you? I'll give you a hint: I wasn't just guessing. I'll leave it at that.

Here's something else for you to consider: I made a claim. I put exact exact details in that claim and then I put money on it.
When I was proven wrong, I paid that money to Pinside.
You on the other hand, have stated over and over again that Stern issues are due to: Soft wood, bad clearcoat, potentially a senior engineer leaving the company... I couldn't be bothered to read any more of your posts but suffice to say, you're absolutely clueless, throwing darts at a board. No idea why you're on a pinball forum, just doing your best to continually trash the leading manufacturer, every opportunity you get?
In the end, neither of our posts helped anyone on Pinside. We were both wrong. The difference is, I tried to share information to help Pinsiders. Wish I hadn't, but what's done is done. I'm not claiming that the recent playfield issues don't exist, or that they're acceptable, either -but the ongoing comments (from both the cheerleaders and the nay-sayers) should just stop.

My suggestion continues to be this:
If someone has a problem with a cracked cabinet, post it. Show pics, contact Stern and your distributor. Share the response.
Share fix ideas. Share build dates. Share info.
If you AREN'T experiencing issues first hand, then just shut it. Don't speculate. Don't cry that the sky is falling. Don't make issues worse than they really are. That's all.

FYI: the last cracked cabinet appears to have been reported approximately 3 weeks ago, correct? And the total number still seems to be the initial bunch, that were approximately 30, right?

So is this an ongoing issue? People are acting as though it is. Guess we'll have to wait and see for sure but no news is good news.

I'd have to say, I think that a pin should be able to endure the type of "stress" that you've described.
These ARE commercial-use machines after all, hence the price tag.

Yep. In my opinion it does.
How could anyone think otherwise? We pay for a machine that comes with non-optional coin mechs.

I posted a summary of actual Pinsiders who had reported issues.
That apparently makes me a Stern sympathizer and fan-boy.
I prefer the term "realist".
But thanks Maken.
So would appear we have 1 more cabinet to add to the list.
First one reported since the initial 24-30.

Seriously? That's why you jump in to a thread like this? To throw a rock and garner some thumbs up from others, some of whom don't own any pins made later than the mid 80s?
That actually makes sense to be honest. Can't really see any other logical reason.

Maybe that's the new $1 bill acceptor!

Riiiight. Or, like everyone else, they make mistakes.
Nice to see that they replaced it with a free cab. Not sure what more you can ask for?

Oh? I'm curious as to which of your MANY, MANY Stern titles have had issues?
Oh right. None. Cause you're a B/W fan and don't own a single Stern title.
So once again, just someone blowing hot air, complaining about someone else's problems that they've had no issues with themselves, making the matter appear far worse than it really is.

I start becoming concerned when Stern owners complain about cabinets falling apart, and Stern doing nothing.

Seems to me as though it's not really the brackets that are the problem, it's the roughly 24-30 Pinside reported cabinets that are the issue. Fix those, and the existing brackets are likely good enough. At least, they've never been an issue on any of the Sterns that I've owned.

I did buy the B/W brackets for my new Aerosmith, just in case -but again, it's a band-aid solution. Cabinets that are properly built should mean not having to upgrade brackets in the first place.

I think you missed my point entirely. I agree that the Stern brackets aren't as strong as the B/W ones, but I'm not sure that this is the issue that's the concern.
It's the 25+ cabinets that appear to have not been glued properly that's the issue. -and I would prefer to know that all their cabinets are manufactured properly moving forward, than to know that they've decided to simply use stronger cabinet brackets instead. Fix the problem, and you don't need to worry about the band-aid.
On my first ACDC, I partially stripped the threads on one bracket because I tightened the bolt on that as hard as I could. -then I learned that's not what you do when you put the legs on. Since then, I've never had any issues as a result of the current brackets that they're using. So yes, they appear to be cheaper in quality, but also appear to do the job just fine.

Are you sure about that? That it was MY bad advice that lead you astray? If so, how would you go about explaining this post?

I don't think anyone would say there's only 25. But those are the ones that we know of.

So was there a previous owner that you bought it from, or are you the first owner?

I agree 100%. If the pin was originally purchased fully built, then a replacement should come without assembly required.
PW: have you contacted your distributor, or are they too far away to assist?
Otherwise, perhaps a local Pinsiders would be willing to help out?
One last thought: you might reach out to Stern and say that you will attempt to make the swap yourself, but you'd feel a lot better knowing that they will still back you in the event that any part is damaged for your efforts.
IF they are in agreement, it's a great opportunity for you to try it yourself and become familiar with what's involved.
I expect you might also receive pretty clear instructions if required.
Just my two cents.

This is a photo from Allentown, where 2 Iron Maiden Pros had split cabinets.
2 of approximately 8 Iron Maiden pins/demo units.

So far, nobody has provided any other examples.

Exactly. So you're fanning the flames without adding any context.
VERY helpful. Thanks for your contribution.

Wow. 4 thumbs down already. Sorry for providing facts, fellas. That DOES put a damper on your "sky is falling" party, I guess huh?

See, I completely disagree. It's not EVERY 2 out of 8 cabinets will have issues, it's ONLY 2 CABINETS HAVE HAD ISSUES (and yes, there were more than 2 that I saw).
So given that they were side by side, would LOGIC dictate that its more likely the shipper banged them around (or something similar)? Like, of all the Iron Maiden Pros that have been received so far, don't you find it a LITTLE weird that they were right beside one another, on demo? If reports were spread out from different owners across the country and reported one week after another, it's harder to think that this is not a construction issue, and that maybe it IS quality. But SO FAR, that's not the case here.

I've said more than once in this and other threads: "let's all keep an eye and report back with any other reports of split cabinets". Until we see others,
the result of this is that 2 buyers got a great deal on an Iron Maiden Pro demo unit, and I expect will get new cabinets sent to them by Stern.

Pic 3 appears to have a good sized chunk missing.
Wonder if something smacked this one, cracking the cab.
It’s right near the corner, probably the best place to strike a cabinet if you wanted to crack it.