Excellent....and the funny part...it's really not less........fun=more, period....glad you and your Wife can enjoy a game.....

I guess I am rather sensitive to that type of action. Of the early solid state pins, Bally, Williams, and Gottlieb all had nice smooth action for returning the play fields to playing position. All of the/my classic Sterns are lacking in this area and requires a similar "two-handed" PIA lifting action to return the play field to playing position. I have been modding all of them to eliminate this sub-standard action.

When I get my Munsters I'll be looking for a way to correct this.

From your observations, do you think a mod is possible to defeat that lip?

Thanks.

What power settings are your main flippers adjusted to when you guys are playing? I just checked the settings and they were set to hard, I'm assuming that is the stronger setting as there is only soft, normal and hard. I was getting a lot of airballs and wanted to tone down their strength a bit.

Yep my lower's are on soft, but I'm referring to the upper PF full size flippers.

** I just re-read that lol, I'm now guessing when you said that you meant the lower set, full size flippers. Yeah I think maybe I should check my pitch I know my bubble isn't center I have it a bit steeper for faster play.**

Playfield at hard.
Lower playfield soft.
Slings 32.

Dragula at 69.

Bingo...And think I am at 7.1 degrees of pitch.. can't remember...gameplay is consistent and solid...Is everyone backhanding Spot? That shot is a real PITA for me currently...

Spot is a little b@stard is what he is!
Back handing him is then safest bet but still no guarantee that you wont get screwed.

Well, I’m new and ignorant of the social structure around here. I thought I had lurked around long enough, and the people at TPF were great, nice, helpful, welcoming... I thought that I was ready to play with the wizards at Pinside. I really don’t know enough about anything pinball, and apparently admitting ignorance and asking for honest advice around here gets you kicked in the teeth by some. I’d hoped that maybe fora had grown up in the past 30 years... Silly me, I know that most people don’t mature past the age of 12, and newbs will always get flamed! :-p

Anyway, from the very little bit of information I can find about play field protectors (It took me forever just to figure out what PF meant and that they were called “playfield protectors”), it looks like this is a giant religious debate. sigh.

I appreciate you advising me to just do whatever I think is right, but I really have no idea what is right. I don’t understand why a brand new pinball machine would not be delivered ready to play, and to survive thousands of games. Maybe pinball machine manufacturers are deliberately building in short lifespans so the resale value will plummet, and we’ll have to keep buying more and more new machines; Or maybe playfield protector manufacturers are over exaggerating the damage done by simply playing an unprotected machine. I don’t have a clue. I think that I’ve gleaned that not every machine is the same, and some may need a PF protector, while others may not. I do know that on some of my favorite machines from the 1990s the ball bounces around in crazy ways, even hopping OVER the flipper or bouncing up and hitting the glass sometimes. Is that from “dimpling”? It is certainly not the way they played in the 1990s when new.

Maybe this is too general (and religiously charged) a question for this thread, but I had hoped that as knowledgeable Munsters owners there might be specific advice for this specific machine to keep it in good condition for years of fun play. At this point I’ll probably not bother adding anything to mine, and maybe it’ll be fine; maybe it’ll be trash by Christmas.

If anybody wants to help me out here with some sage advice, I’d love to hear what you have to say, particularly if it encourages me to do something simple that will save a lot of trouble later, or to save my time, money, and worry, and just get on with playing!

Pax,
CAP

Hey captainBR, I can appriciate that you want to keep your investment as nice and in good working order as long as you can, most all of us are in the same camp. I'm not going to get into this reponse to deep because its easy to go down a deep rabit hole, but in general putting a mylar film on your playfield will help it survive longer, but you might still get some dimpling anyway if the ball has some energy behind it. Installing some protectors in others areas (game dependent) helps too. If I had to guess I'd say 90% of the people who buy new in the box games for home use do not install playfield mylars, I don't and I get dimpling, doesn't bother me. It really is personal preference.

Stern is building better quality into their games these days (although some may argu that point) and it shows in Munsters. My recommendation is to just play the game and don't worry so much about it getting beat up or hurt, it'll take it. Hope this helps.

Hi Captain, most people don't like playfield protectors because they say it changes the way that the game plays or feels. I cannot confirm or deny this because i have never played a game that has a playfield protector on it.

What i can confirm though is that you are never going to trash your games playfield in your lifetime probably because these games are made to last for many many years in arcades and your home use only game just isnt going to see the kind of play that a location game does.

I am probably more picky than 99% of the people on this forum and i dont use playfield protectors and i dont see any reason to. Yes your game is going to dimple but the more you play it the better it will look when it does, and you cant really see the dimples anyways unless you are in perfect light at the perfect angle so who cares?

You are over thinking this way too much trust me. These games are not museum pieces. They are meant to be played and a steel ball is slowly going to beat it up over the years but you are talking many many years and more plays than you will ever put on it probably. Its seriously nothing to worry about. Just keep your game cleaned and waxed and you will be fine.

That’s what I was looking for. Thanks y’all for the quick, thorough, and kind responses!
I need to research “dimpling” and “mylars” now, and how they’re different from Cliffys.

captainBR It’s your game. If you want a protector on your game, put one on. I put one on my Batman 66 LE very soon after I got the game and don’t regret it one bit. It’s the only game I have one on but if I end up getting a Munsters or a newer Stern I will almost certainly put one on that too.

The playfield wood that Stern uses is absolutely softer/different than it was even five years ago and if putting a protector on it saves me the heartache of a damaged playfield that too many have experienced so be it. Stern has made some quality improvements but I’m not convinced they have addressed the playfield quality concerns.

I don’t notice any adverse effects from using one and it’s cheap insurance and piece of mind.

(I agree that some of the older/thicker protectors can have an adverse impact on game play, but I’ve not seen that with the new PETG ones)

Please dont research dimpling because it will make your head spin and scare you to death lol. Seriously buddy, don't worry about dimpling because it's not a big deal. Also when you buy a game new it will come with protective strips of mylar in areas that see heavy wear like in front of scoops and stuff.

Seriously though, you read these dimpling threads and you see pictures that are all blown up and distorted in perfect light conditions and you are like OMG OMG THAT IS TERRIBLE!! Well some of those pics are made to look as bad as possible by the person that took them. I promise you brother that its nothing to worry about.

When you worry that much about that kind of stuff you cant enjoy your game because your freaked out all the time and theres no need for it. You could always get a new playfield down the road if you wore yours out, but you arent going to play it that much i am sure. Just grab a beer, play some pinball, relax and enjoy!

Just because you haven’t seen playfields damaged early in their lifespan doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened. I saw enough credible examples a couple years ago that showed me it was enough of a problem to consider. Maybe my playfield isn’t one of the ones impacted but I don’t care and don’t worry about it now - mine’s protected.

Get a new playfield down the road? Installing a protector is a fraction of time, trouble, and expense of buying a new playfield and doing a playfield swap (or paying someone to do it).

Im not going to argue or start a debate about it because i dont want to ruin the Munsters owners thread because this is a great thread and the playfield debate is for another thread.

I am of the opinion though that they are not necessary. Of course there are playfields that get damaged early in life, there are also new babies that die, but its rare. There was a rough period of time for stern playfields about 3 years ago when Ghostbusters came out, we all know that but this is 3 years later and the playfield quality of late has been outstanding.

He ask for opinions and i gave him mine and you gave him yours. He can take peoples opinions and decide for himself on what to do. I dont think they are needed though and im not putting one on my games.

Pinhead, you are confusing things.

Play field protectors are, by and large, either made from a hard surface material like PETG (think of your play field plastics) or polycarbonate (think Lexan). They are designed to lay on top of your play field and provide a hard surface for the ball to roll on. They just lay there; They are not glued on.

Mylar(s) is a soft material that comes in rolls. It has adhesive on one side and is glued on top of the surface you want to protect.

PETG/polycarbonate protectors can be easily removed. Removing Mylar can be a real headache.

As long as people can keep an open mind ( I realize this can be asking a lot) I think protectors are worthy of debate and certainly not a reason for someone to get a thumbs down just for asking the question.

I stop at Cactus Jacks in Oklahoma City on my trips to and returns from Dallas.

CJs has about 40 real nice pins: CC, MM, AFM, BSD for example.

Aerosmith, AC-DC, Metalica, Ghostbusters, Deadpool, TWD, and Munsters Pro all have dimples.

Stern now even states in the front page of their online manuals that the play fields are subject to dimpling (covering its ass).

Deadpool and Munsters look like they have had a case of chickenpox.

A vintage DE Tales from the Crypt looks like it has suffered a case of smallpox.

My DE Robocop has very few dimples and is the king of air balls. It make little sense.

Some people can ignore the dimples and play on. Others cannot.

Consider the argument that the dimples will “go away” with much play as eventually the entire play field will be compressed with dimples and you will just not see them anymore.

Using this argument, what will happen with your Munsters Premium after 1000s of plays when your entire play field has been compressed with dimples but yet the hard non-dimpling window over Grandpa’s Lab retains its original height?
Is the difference in play field surface height going to make the window act like a giant raised insert?

Send me a pm if you need anything.

Same here. Feel free to PM with any noob questions you have captainBR

Under the lower playfield window there are rubber O ring washers that go between the wood and the lexan glass on the screws. I'm sure if at some point which I doubt, you can remove the O rings to lower the playfield glass depth, or maybe just make them tighter to lower it. I did notice as I removed my lower glass on the reinstall I didn't tighten them all the way down so the glass remains level with the upper PF. So there is room for adjustments if need be but in a HUO environment, I doubt you'll ever have the need to do so.

Using a protector on Munsters can also have other advantages.

If you use a protector for the Pro on a Premium (or LE), maybe even removing the window before installation you not only protect the playfield, but avoid the window cloudiness issues and return the ball speed to the game lost when the lower playfield window is not perfectly aligned. Based on my observations when playing a Pro and a Premium next to each other the playfield window not only reduces ball speed but can cause changes in direction because of the gaps inherent with the window.

Stern didn’t add that warning because a few people complained about minor dimpling. CYA indeed. I have seen no evidence that recent playfields are any less prone to the severe dimpling first seen 2-3 years ago. Will it eventually “even out” with play? To some extent of course, but (a) still quite noticeable and (b) it will take practically forever in a home environment.

I respect Who-Dey’s opinion, but, as he admits, it is advice without the benefit of experience. Using a playfield protector is not a knock on a specific game. It is easy, inexpensive, easily reversible insurance that protects the most visible (and arguably important) part of the game. When new games cost as much as they do now I see no reason to play playfield roulette. I’ll let others take that risk.

Love playing my Pro. Have a shaker installed. Its from Cointaker but not the red tremor. Shakes to hard and really rattles the glass. I just installed the power board mod on my Tron and it made the red tremor perfect. I know for Munsters you can add the little board. Anyone else have a shaker or what can I do to tone this one down a little.

You have the newest code? Apparently they fixed the shaker issues.

Ill have to look..so new code toned it down? are there shaker settings?

thx!

That's what le owners mentioned on here.. said the new code. 98 or newer made it normal .

There are shaker settings as well to tone it down if you want

I believe they only tone down the usage ..not actually the strength

Was just going to ask...I see you can minimize usage but not strength.

The dynamics of wood shrinkage, o-ring shrinkage, and play field dimpling could do some interesting things to play field. It might be prudent to replace the
o-rings every once in a while and re-level the window with a straight edge.
00808_lGJAEUPCDpa_1200x900 (resized).jpg

I do not think any play field protector would be rigid enough to support the ball if the window was removed. The protectors for all models will be the same.

Im not going to knock anyone that uses a playfield ptotector thats for sure because i think people should do whatever makes them feel good to their games. One of my best friends on pinside uses playfield protectors on all of his games. It makes him feel better about his games and im happy for him. Im sure he respects my opinion not to use them just as much as i respect his opinion to use them. I would like to play a game with one just to see if it plays different so i could have a better opinion of it. I still dont think it would change my mind and get me to use them though because the dimpling just doesn't bother me. I could almost see them being used more for protecting older games that you didn’t want to see get any more wear on them.

This could be true, but let's also look at CFTBL. Hell that game has been around since 1992 and the PF Window other then scratches from very poorly maintained routed machines, still held up after all those thousands and thousands of plays. It stood the test of time and still is as of today. We shall see........

Does anyone know if the light sign that goes on the staircase of the LE and Premium modules will work on the pro?

6184D519-479C-48BD-871F-1A65D8BB8F6A (resized).jpeg

Y? The inserts are on the playfield on the pro

Just to add a few more effects above the ramp.

Can u even get that part? Im sure u cld wire it in

I think I’m getting carried away with all the mods you can add to this machine. It’s like Twilight Zone all over again...I did just add the Drag Lights so I thought the Raven Lights if used in conjunction with the Playfield Raven lights might add an additional touch.

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Anyone else on the occasion getting a double ball feed into the shooter lane? I think it's happening mostly when you drain just after playing Grandpa lab.

Anyone noticing the clock on grandpa's lab on premium starting before the animation intro finishes? It doesn't happen all the time, but when it does, you only have around 10 seconds left on the clock or so...

Pinhead, you are confusing things.

Sorry if you got confused as I specifically stated mylar because some are made and sold as playfield protectors, and they do not protect against dimpling. That was my specific reason for mentioning that type so he would not buy that type thinking it would fully protect the playfield.

I am fully aware of PETG, better than mylar for sure, but not a fan of those either.

Yes I have it happen during multiball when you drain a ball it will sometimes eject it into the shooter lane but doesn't auto launch it. If you drain another during ball save it will kick another out into the shooter lane. This bug has seemed to appear for me in .96, the odd thing is that if you hit the zap button it will auto launch the ball so the game knows that there is a ball in the shooter lane.

Report the bug to Stern.

Thx

So, got the chance on playing the munsters for the first time last weekend. Local distributor set up both pro as the LE edition. For me this was a big question, I want a "the Munsters" based on the theme, the looks and the vids I watched. Now my own debate was wether I would go for the pro or the premium.

The premium has that georgious black and white artwork (yeah I know, not all of you agree with me but for me this is the most beautiful artwork I have ever seen on a pin, based on the pics on internet), and the mini playfield. The rest is like the pro so I had so be sure that the extra 2K is worth spending.
So I played both, apart from the miniplayfield there is no difference in rules from the both versions. I saw that some inserts had no space on the playfield and are moved above both ramps, I like them both ways, although the leds above the ramps are giving the playfield somewhat the look that there is "more going on" there, I liked that slightly better than the inserts. On the other hand it the inserts are better readable.

Then the mini playfield, liked it the first time, liked it less the second time, found it to be a game slower from the third time and forward. Disliked it so bad that I actually asked the vendor if this feature can be disabled. The little tiny balls made it feel like I was playing a toy pinball machine and had little to no addition to the game. I love the way it looks by the way and find it a great looking toy to a great game.

Sound and music: boy, the volume on that machine was loud and I was annoyed as hell....... untill I played it, that machine came to life, I loved it, wow wow wow.

Movieclips: Loved them, only the bonus points clip annoyed me (maybe I drain too much )

Rules: well, that's a thingie. I love the theme, artwork and the overall look and feel of the machine. But you must play Lily, Grandpa, Spot, Herman, and 1 or 2 others. I am not worlds greatest pinball player and have played it for an hour yesterday and got 5 of the 6 modes (or 4 out of 5?). Is this a sustainable machine?? I don't know. I saw more people complaining about this, is it a keeper? I really don't know. Lots of machines are already for sale and that's no good sign.
What I like on modern stens is that you can choose the mode when starting the first ball (like on GOTG), it's a shame that this isn't available on the munsters.

Lightshow: I love the lightshow on this machine. If I buy one I will add some lighting in the rail behind the playfield, and replace the red and orange flasher caps for green ones.

Overall I got a great feeling about this pin, I will most definitaly buy one. It will be the pro edition though, all the toys are in there, except for that mini playfield which annoyed me anyway.
Great thanks to the vendor for his warm welcome and great execution of his customer experience.

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tm2 (resized).jpg

Has anyone added spotlights to their Pro to improve lighting in the middle of the playfield? I was thinking about adding a backboard light strip but not sure that’ll help the middle of the playfield.

Whenever a playfield is dim in the middle part I add spots on the slingshots posts. Easy to route the wiring and because of the fact the spot is facing from you it will never blind you. Also add some trough lighting.

It’s easy to tone glass rattle down. Buy anti rattle tape and install on underside of glass on left side and right. No more rattle. I did on mine and it’s soooo much better now.

We're running our Munsters LE at The Pinball Lounge near Orlando. Game plays great but we're having to remove the lower playfield at least once a week to clean the dust off the underside of the window. Is anyone else having this issue? I think the dust is coming from the flipper mechs on the main playfield. Tempted to install some type of gasket to lower the dust.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Ed K.
The Pinball Lounge
www.ThePinballLounge.com

I blew out the entire machine underneath and on top (removed lower playfield cover). Cleaned the cover. No more issues with dust.

I was told by an op yesterday that some plastics were not treated right to reduce the static and will keep dusting/fogging up and if you call Stern they will send you a new window.