Quoted from Doctor6:The time frame is bullshit. 18 months is insane. So for that I am super sorry.
I'm about to say something that will get me downvoted to hell, and believe me I'm not stern kiss ass, but.... I'm shocked by the number of people in this hobby that can't fix their own machines. I tell people that if you want to get into pinball, be prepared for something to break. And yes, playfield swaps are extensive, but not difficult if you take it one bite at a time. I'm just surprised how many people get a free 5, 6, 700 dollar playfield and aren't at least grateful for that. Or, they cry for one only not to install it and use it as bait when they sell their machine. Which tells me whatever your issue was, it wasnt that bad after all, huh? Not to change it?
Mine was shit. Unplayable. Not ghosting inserts or bubbling clear, but straight up unplayable trash with warping, leading to inescapable outlane drains.
So i'm replacing it. Happy to do so. Just seems odd how many won't or CAN'T do it.
I too am grateful to our overlord Stern and JJP for providing a replacement free playfield to replace add to the one I've already got.
There is some distance, a gulf in fact, between someone being able to rebuild flippers and do a bit of light soldering, to wholesale replacing a playfield. The two things are not remotely equivalent, so it's a fallacy to say that people who aren't capable of doing the latter can't "fix their own machines". You're using reductive language to absolve Stern/JJP of responsibility to make their customers whole.
Would you make the same argument about people who buy cars, who can change the screenwash, replace the oil, maybe the brake discs, that they should be capable of dropping engines and gearboxes, etc as well? Would you grace car manufacturers with the same latitude that you're giving Stern/JJP here, that it would be perfectly fine for them to send out replacement gearboxes that the customer has to fit themselves, on their own dime?
I'd wager that swapping a playfield is actually probably more complex than replacing an engine or gearbox, given how much wiring is involved, the potential for mistakes that could damage or destroy components that might not be easily replaceable or cost a fortune. Are Stern/JJP standing behind people who undertake this work and wire things the wrong way, blowing node boards, etc?
The absolute least these companies should be doing is providing populated playfields, and even then I'd suggest it's not a trivial job for a typical end user to swap. They ought to be sending these populated playfields out with a technician to do the swap.
I find it staggering that people are actually ok with getting an unpopulated playfield as a solution to a defective warrantied product, it's like they've got Stockholm Syndrome or something.