Quoted from mtdouble:

Why would anyone downgrade? This may be the best LE ever made to date and with less than 200 in the states how could you go wrong?

Quoted from iceman44:

It's F ing AWESOME!
And Neo will never buy another Nib pin in his life because they will all exceed his price threshold.

Quoted from eggbert52:

But they all have solid back glass

Quoted from Pinballmike217:

Stern will sell you a replacement LE backglass with picture proof that yours is broken and you own the machine.

Quoted from xTheBlackKnightx:

Backglasses don't "shatter in your hands" unless they are mishandled, broken during transport, vandalism or negligence. They act under the same physical principles of any other piece of tempered playfield glass and are generally the same 3/16" thickness outside of earlier 1/4" BG thickness games or those made in plastic.
Let's just say I have a lot of backglass experience. The reader can decide if it's an opinion or fact.

Quoted from xTheBlackKnightx:

If a backglass is done correctly, there is a HUGE difference in quality.
Check out an original Taxi BG and a remade translite, for a simple example.
It has nothing to do with "Marilyn" or "Lola" either.
Just like there is a big difference between the original oil painting sample art and the production backglass, there are also huge differences.
I can attest to this as a pinball art collector, and they are expensive, not just because they are "rare".
Properly ink screened backglasses for highly rare quality games cost big $$$ as well.
Loch Ness Monster anybody?
If you can find a prototype glass, sometimes the production quality is even HIGHER as well, due to it being evaluated by management for approval.
They wanted to make a superb example to "show off" the black lines, mirroring, transparency, etc.
Modern production standards of backglasses (translites in most cases) are pretty lacking, so in this case it does not mean much anymore.
Fluorescent lighting in Stern pinball machine is not a suitable means to illuminate a "true" backglass.
It looks like complete $#@.
That is why most people use LED light backbox panels and rip that PoS out of their modern games.
I should probably take a photo of original older backglass with a fluorescent light behind it.
Everybody is going to hate the view.
LEDs make the situation of real backglasses even WORSE because they cause "pinpoints" if not done correctly in intensity, and even then offer no real advantage exception heat reduction against backglass damage and bulb replacement.
I would take an original good condition backglass over a translite any day, especially if done properly with general light placement.
If someone buying an LE and doesn't care about the backglass quality, why not buy a Premium?
The artwork is really the only difference of value, unless someone treasures signatures or a complete "status" gold plaque.
Both of the last items can be obtained without buying an LE (and lie), unless there is some type of unique feature code or whizband playfield feature.
None of that was listed for GB LE, and it still even had a DMD.

Quoted from leonml:

The whole warm hands shattering cool glass scare is a bunch of dog poo. There's not a set of hands warm enough to heat even the coldest piece of glass fast enough to cause it to just shatter from rapid molecular change. If this were the case, no glass ever made from the beginning of time would hold up in cold winter months. When your car heater was blasting on the windshield, before the days of tempered or safety glass. They're are model t fords from wisconsin with the original glass. Also there'd be a ton of fishing and hunting shacks and old houses with hand formed glass windows laying in crumbled piles outside every building in wisconsin and other. Cold winter mornings at freezing Temps and that hot morning sun is hitting it directly at much higher temp, no breakage. Could go to an old hunting or fishing shack or cabin, below zero out, start a wood fire, rapidly heating to room temp and even with the extreme cold temp hitting the outside and warm heating the inside, you could tap it or have a small branch or bird or whatever hit that glass, no breakage.
Only way I see backglass breaking is poor handling. Maybe handling the very edges of opposite corners, and holding it parallel to the floor, possibly walking with it could cause the glass to flex and the corners to break off, then shattering on the floor.
Otherwise the physics would negate otherwise.
I've had old games in a garage that was 20 below zero, brought it in my house at 73 degrees, and handled the glass and no breaks. I've hauled and unloaded games in that kind of weather and brought them inside, hauling down stairs, jarring every step down, then unwrapping, setting up, handling the glass, checking everything over, and no breakage. Yes I waited to turn the machine on after a couple hours.
Just my 2 cents worth. Supported by science, physics, logic and real life examples that can't be refuted.

Quoted from chuckwurt:

I am really interested to see how those magnet slings work. Just gotta hope a prem pops up around me so I can get my hands on one.

Quoted from mnpinball:

The upper left flipper was removed and replaced with a normal coil slingshot kicker, it's not a magnet on Hobbit.

Quoted from PanzerFreak:

Just adding basic powder coated armor, and a mirrored backglass is not enough but hey Stern knows that people will buy em up and sure enough that happened so why add more and make a game like ST LE?

Quoted from teekee:

Good response... there was nothing else for you to say when you know I'm right. Wooden apron and powder coat... HUGE DIFFERENCES!