My NIB JP3 Pro was just delivered today, the date on the back of the cabinet is Sept 7, 2019. There is art spacing around the posts and no pooling that I can see. I can feel a very slight edge near the inserts, but nothing otherwise. I don't have any comparison points so I can't say if it's a thick or thin clear coat...

Figured I would snap a few pics of my Pro playfield this morning as a comparison for everyone on the thread. Next Level received stock on Nov 6th and I happened to purchase the same day, the table was delivered to my house Nov 11th. My cabinet's date is Sept 7, 2019.

Upper flipper post

Raptor cage right front posts

Upper playfield from between the slings

I can feel a very slight edge between the table artwork and inserts, as well as the insert plastic and insert center art/label edges. No pooling that I can find.

Yep, my JP Pro has thinner clear. Now that I've had it for a month or so there's some pretty obvious dimples and I can see woodgrain texturing when the light hits the playfield right. It's going to take a while for the dimpling to "even out" since it doesn't see a ton of games. At some point I'll end up having to get it sanded and re-cleared professionally.

That, and a thinner clearcoat application.

Under 300 plays on my Pro, build date Sept 7. Easily visible dimpling, but not nearly as bad as some of the other pictures in this thread. All three of these pictures were taken with the glass on. No special lighting, only the light from the backglass and LCD is shining off the playfield.

Standing height picture
Glass level
Alternate glass level

I don't like it in a control freak/OCD way, but I accept it is normal. Pinballs are a lot denser than wood and clear-coat.

In parallel, does Stern know who the distributor is? If Stern keeps getting an earful from a certain distributor's sales, that could color their future dealings.

For the same reason my TZ doesn't: They don't make 'em like they used to.

Yes and no. If all used machines are the same way, it essentially becomes an "accepted thing" and wouldn't really impact the valuation between similar condition tables.

Quote from Stern's JP Pro game manualcover page, emphasis added:

Each pinball machine has unique characteristics that make it a one-of-a-kind American made product. Each will have variations in appearance resulting from differences in the machine’s particular wood parts, individual printed art and mechanical assemblies. No playfield is perfectly flat and varies depending on the season.
Game play will result in playfield dimpling as the harder steel ball contacts the wood and coating; over time multiple dimples will blend to make them less noticeable.Normal plastic insert crazing (tiny stress cracks) and ghosting (small cloudy areas around insert edges) are often seen in pinball machines, due to a combination of plastic mold stress, pushing of inserts into purposely undersized holes, and heating and breaking of inserts’ plastic “skin” when the playfield is sanded.

newwebsite2 (resized).jpg

(Poor) artistic licensing, heh.

I wonder if I can get this put on a shirt...

Fully depends on the overall strength of the UV LEDs, how long they stay on, and if Stern incorporated products with light stabilizers.

Potential effects? Yellowing in a poly-based clear coat, yellowing or brittleness of polymer plastics, faster-perishing rubber (Superbands especially since they are polyurethane), and playfield and cabinet color fading over time. Not to mention potential player health risks to eyes and skin, although the overall player UV exposure could be pretty low since the player is standing and the LEDs would theoretically be pointing at the table and not outward towards the player.

It depends on the UV LEDs being used. If they are higher Wattage or there are a lot of them, it can be harmful to your skin or your eyes over time, possibly even brief exposure if they are bright enough. The added danger is that we can't see UV light wavelengths, so we can't sense low vs high-intensity UV light as we can with other visible light sources like sunlight. Unless Stern releases more specs and the number of the LEDs they are using, I'd pass on this upgrade myself if I owned the table. Or maybe look into UV filtering playfield glass, if such a thing exists.

Optimized manufacturing processes.

Doubtful...

And I have the reverse situation, my JP Pro cabinet has a late September date and a newer playfield with thinner clear.

A:IQ Pro, day two on location:
Post fell out mid game

Dimpling doesn't seem to be as deep as JP, though. More what I would typically expect and way less noticable:
Typical dimples, look near Thanos' mode light on the upper left

It didn't break, it just came loose when I was playing so I shut it off and let the folks running the place know. Apparently it's the second time it happened on this machine in two days. The screw comes up from the underside of the spinner plastic and the nylon locking nut is up top.

Underside of AIQ Pro spinner mech

The screw head is already difficult to hold in place on the Pro without dismantling the whole assembly. Apparently it's a bigger PITA to fix on Prem/LE models because the lift mech makes it even harder to get to the post screwhead.

The upper flipper is right next to the spinner which is the easiest way to rip the spinner to charge up the portal.

You can't tell as easily from this pic, but there are sunken lighted inserts on the Pro. They don't look bad at all playing, this is just weird lighting angles from the backglass.

Very small sample size, but the PF on my new Hot Wheels looks amazing. No pooling, no grain, and no crazing on inserts.

I just received an E-Mail notice from UPS they are delivering a shipment from Stern tomorrow. I suspect this is the unpopulated playfield replacement they OKed at the end of November last year for my A:IQ.

Yes, although Stern was still on early A:IQ runs at the time, said they couldn't give an ETA, and the damage is ugly but cosmetic so lower urgency. I was going to send a follow-up E-Mail this week to see if they had a better idea on an ETA, I guess they beat me to it.

It was nice to have Stern do the right thing without giving me any hassle. Only a few E-Mails back and forth to provide pictures and info before I got the replacement and approval a day or two later. It's not a populated playfield, but I'm OK with unpopulated given the options and potential benefits a NIB playfield gives me in the future.

Apparently Deadpool, TMNT, A:IQ, and now Mando hasn't been enough times to figure out it's a problem.

Maybe they're thinking they solved it with how the guides are inserted and the washers aren't needed anymore? I don't get it, avoiding a handfull of replacement PFs is more than going to offset the parts and labor costs of always putting washers under rail inserts. Or better yet, bake them into the rails so it's really easy for the assembly line.