Glad it arrived safe from Australia

Amazed it arrived safely from:
UK->Australia (boat)
Australia->LAX (air)
LAX->IAH (air)
IAH->DFW (truck)
DFW->home (SUV)

Wayne was great to deal with - thank you. The past 3+ years have been quite a rough road on this title but they did create a phenomenal product and I’m happy to finally have one.

Post some pics as not many Aliens in the USA

Here's a standard retrofitted with homebrew EL blades.
IMG_4857 (resized).JPGIMG_4861 (resized).JPG

… Mmmm Hmmmm....
IMG_4867 (resized).JPG

not sure what you mean?

Nicely done! The EL blades are so awesome on this game - it really brings the back panel art to life.

What did you source to use to for the EL blades?

i think he posted them on another thread. about 200 to buy. Also i wanted to see his install instructions and feedback if it helps brighten pf

So those who were in on an Alien preorder, if you were able to get your money back or only had the deposit down, what NIB pin will you be getting instead? I’m still in the market for a new pin to accompany my Shadow, and nothing is currently must have. I’m thinking of waiting on Elvira 3 or the new Brian Eddy to see what they look like.

If I got my money back I would probably buy an Alien form some of the people that are selling

Although now, there is the clear knowledge that the company will no longer exist to be able to support the machine, so there is an added risk. This was previously just speculation when Heighway was still trading.

I would have considered this as well, if I'd gotten back any of the money i lost to these assholes (both Andrew and "The Pinball Brothers"). As it stands, I'll have to fight off the urge to spit on one if i ever it in person. Given my background, I'm pretty sure I could keep one running, but paying twice for one (and now at a rare-game premium from people that likely paid for it years after i did) just isn't something I'm willing to do.

(before you yell at and/or down vote me, please note i wouldn't actually spit on one. I'm fully aware that the current owners aren't to blame. That said, the experience soured me quite a bit on both this hobby and my love for the franchise so i hope you can understand why I'm a bit bitter)

The only good thing that came from this clusterfuck is it freed up a spot in my room for an ACNC. Have enjoyed speaking with Charlie and Co. for a few years now at shows and have been waiting for one of their games to really catch my attention. Played ACNC at SFGE and loved it (as did the wife), so now patiently awaiting one from a pinball manufacturer that's not completely full of shit.

Anyone else still waiting for their Alein refund from Cointaker? I thought I was lucky to not have my money with HW but it seems like the same bs, will overnight a check tomorrow etc and months have gone by with nothing.

Well they did get burnt $80,000 pound in the deal as well

That is irrelevant. If coin taker promised the security of the deposits, then they should refund the deposits ASAP. Their 80,000 was lost a long time ago particularly on a cash flow basis. A company looks ahead and plans for a crisis like this and should have the reserves to deal with it.

Of course its easy for some person on the forum to make these blanket statements but that’s what a small business has to do to survive in this challenging environment.

Cheers

C.

Well good in theory but if they make $1000 a game thy would need to sell a lot to recover the loss

I believe cointaker will take care of its customers.. may take time.. but will get it to everyone eventually.

Yes but that is the business they are. You cannot promise things that you are unable to deliver. This sentence is pretty ironic given the thread it’s posted in.

There's no way that should be the customer's problem. That's a Cointaker problem.

I hope in this case the delay is a falling through the cracks issue. Months of delay is unacceptable, especially in light of all that has happened.

Heighway and dutch pinball causes these problems

I hope so, but don’t think so. I’ve been told refund checks have been mailed to be twice over the past month but nothing has came and I never got tracking and a lot of unanswered emails. Seems like lies and buying time? Nobody is sending an 8k check these days without tracking. I know they recently bought another company but I was planning on buying multiple games from them in the future, not anymore.

Honestly this whole Alien pinball machine thing has given me lots of sleepless nights and anxiety. I wish it was never made. Im one of those that once I want something, I can't rest until I get it... and if I can't get it.. I get very very upset. Im going to go get a doughnut now.

Yikes! I hate to hear this, since I'm having a similar issue with them. I had CT move my Alien cash to IMDN Premium back in April and was supposed to get a refund check for the cost difference. So far I have neither. I gave a pass on the game, since the premiums have been just starting to trickle out recently, though I know CT has shipped them to other customers, so I'm obviously in the back of the priority list. No excuse for the lack of refund on the difference and I have also been told its been mailed several times now. As it stands now, the check was (supposedly) mailed out Monday and the game will ship late this week. So, I figure if I still have neither by the end of next week, I'm going to have to start playing a some hard ball with them. Melissa has been very responsive to my calls, so that has helped to pacify me somewhat to this point.

Have you called and talked to Melissa? I am surprised to hear that CT hasn't come through for you yet.

That is the cost (and risk) of doing business.

Any business that isn't in administration is contractually bound to service its customers per their respective contracts.

The fact that we know the circumstances of Heighway's demise, etc is irrelevant really. People with money in CT, or any other business that takes money, have a contract with CT - not Heighway or anyone else. If CT can't service its debts (I'm not suggesting this is the case) then it is trading insolvent.

Holy cow. How long did all that traveling take ...?

I know Melissa has been out of the office on vacation the last week or so. I also know that I had a refund request with her on a different item. There was a problem with their automated label system and she had to re-send the check. I received my check a couple of days ago. I would give her some time as I'm sure she is digging out from under all the work that piles up when on vacation.

Everyone knows how to run everyone else's business better than they do, it's an age old internet fact that's been around as long as the internet has. Like it or not, a hit as large as 100K plus to a small business is devastating and sometimes not recoverable from. As much as you want a small business to have that kind of liquidity sitting around for the worst possible case scenario, it's just not a reality for the majority of small businesses. Many operate very tight to the line as they try to grow their business to the point that they can be in that kind of position.

I am sure Mellissa and team are doing everything they can to get people paid back as timely as possible. As a customer who lost money to HWP and has no chance to get anything back, I would respectfully put out there to maybe retain some level of perspective on the situation and do what you can to give as much support and patience to the Cointaker team while they try to make things right for everyone else all the while having little to no recourse for themselves.

You're saying give it two weeks?

I have to disagree. The whole purpose of ordering through Cointaker was that your money would be safe AND refundable. Anything over 30 days in waiting unacceptable. Do not offer your customer's terms if they cannot live up to them. This does not mean I believe cointaker will not honor all the refunds, it means the time frame and "it's in the mail" with no checks arriving is unacceptable.

I find being on vacation while all of these refunds are due a bit sketchy too. It's says my vacation was more important than your refund.

True, I waited to post about this as I didn't want to seem naive about the folks who lost everything with HW, that is the real travesty of all this and I feel for y'all out there. If this came off in poor taste I'm sorry about that.

I agree 100% and is exactly the same reason why I have not posted anything until I seen your post today. I feel very fortunate that I did not send cash to HW and I still feel that CT will make good, as they have a solid reputation. Still, its easy to get frustrated when you have almost 9k drifting around out there and nothing to show for it. I know this has been one hell of a learning experience for me. My stomach for pre-ordering is completely gone.

I would respectfully say that - taking what has been said above as read - telling people that their cheques are in the post, multiple times in some cases it would appear, when they manifestly have not been posted does not help matters.

Well Im in, I got an SE fully loaded (topper, shaker, lighted panels). Not the LE I wanted, but I think any other differences are minor. Most my collection are LEs,... my first standard edition

Congrats on getting one! And that last sentence is first world problems to the max!

How do you manage to continue going on in life? Your courage to face each day is truly an act of extraordinary courage.

QSS

I'm in. Paid twice. Whatever. I ended up deciding that I could sleep better having paid too much than having paid for nothing at all. I don't know any more. Probably crazy. I've been paid up for a long time and couldn't quite let it go without at least touching the damned thing.

I cant.. I can't sleep, I can't focus. This pinball stuff has taken my energy. I may go as far as make my own plaque and put it on the machine # 1 of 1

Everything that's on an LE can be re-created, beacons, powdercoat, side lit rails, and even the plaque.

People have made the inner lit side blades/rails?

I'll ditto what Damonator has said. Wayne has been great to deal with and my AlienLE is in the air!

Mine came with those stadium lights, looks good to me. Anything else the LE has that the SE doesn't have?

Yes, I posted some pics/links here: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/heighway-pinball-support-full-throttle-and-alien/page/12

Does anyone know the best way to clean up the ramps a little bit, they have a lot of ball marks/scratches here and there on the metal areas

Ramp

The artwork on the translite and side panels is different but I like the artwork on the Standard better anyway. I think the reality is an Alien pinball in any form is a limited edition.

remove the ramps and run a scotchbrite pad over them in the same direction that the ball travels
if the trails are really bad (meaning highly polished), you can take some 400/800 grit sandpaper to scuff them up and eliminate the ball trails (again, running the sand paper in the same direction) and then use the scotchbrite pad on them

the weird part is that every single alien machine that I've seen, the ramps and boards both have a strange haze to them like they weren't cleaned properly before being installed

for flat parts, like metal ball guides, you can use a scotchbrite lap brush connected to a drill motor

My SE came with side lit blades/rails. I added the beacons myself. Not much difference between the SE's and LE's...biggest difference would be the included extra art.

I thought LE's only ended up with LE art??