I’ll have what you’re drinking

Maybe lunch with Gary Stern, dinner with Elvira and a free Iron Maiden Pro....then I'd be tempted.

Yeah, for the kind of dough these are supposed to cost, it should have been a lot more custom. Actually putting back the mechanical wheel of fate on the left outlane would be cool, too.

Did Stern have a mechanical version in this game at one point? I have not seen or heard of this.

Yeah, Dennis talked about it at one of the pinball shows a few years ago. The apron had a "wheel of fate" on the left side for when you drained on the left side. It would spin and award you things when you drained on that side. The left side also had a whoop-de-do ramp like whitewater on the left side leading to the trunk, and the ramp went around behind the house also. It was a way cooler design. Probably cost-reduced after he left for deeproot, but it made it way less Nordman-like.

EDIT: Found it. Here's the pic from that presentation. His original design was much cooler than what shipped...
nordmans-original-Elvira3-design (resized).jpg

Foil cabinet art and metal flake doesn't photograph very well. Probably why they dummied it up. I think the real thing looks very nice in the Expo tour video. 30k nice? Um, no. Not even 20k nice, IMO. I got burned on the 15k Batman'66 SLE that was anything but and had terrible support for defective cabinet art (Stern never fixed it). Never again.

Is there any word on when these 199 special edition pins are shipping? Is Stern stabbing current customers with Premium pre-orders in the back by making them wait until 2022 *and* paying 2022 pricing?

December

Damn. What a slap in the face.

Since playfields are identical it would make sense to run standard premiums with the 40'th so maybe it will be one big run so there are all built in December.

I'm assuming though that they will all probably have the insider connected hardware added so price will be higher for that.

I was hoping they would have had the new apron art to fit the insider connected stuff to show off at the show but I guess it wasn't ready yet. Maybe they will show something during the Stern seminar.

That would be a great Christmas gift of that actually happens.

Doubt it. Prem will be February most likely and more money. Distributor said “Gary hasn’t decided to raise Elvira yet”. He will at least $500

The original image has been colour graded in photoshop or something. I thought it as soon as I saw it . . . it's far too vibrant to be an accurate representation.

The other issue is that they've not powdercoated the door or speaker panel which is scurrilous.

Considering this is supposed to be the super special ultra rare fantasy GOAT edition you'd think that Stern would make the best Elvira they were capable of making.

The topper is already manufactured and on the production line so why omit it? The rails and lockbar are going to be powder coated anyway so why not just stick all of the metal in? Not including these items is a cut-back and a cost saving.

I can only conclude that there will be a cynical final edition which include all of the upgrades and it will cost as much as a new Mercedes.

Stern may well be cooking the golden goose.

Has anyone tried putting Stern's Munsters armor on an Elvira Premium? I'm wondering how they'd look as is or powder coated with a red or purple metal flake. I'm looking for ways to gussy up Elvira without going the 40th Anniversary route. I'm assuming no one has the LE/SE dripping blood rails for sale.

Munsters Armor

Well I finally threw down a deposit for a 2022 premium. Almost went for the 40th anniversary, but just couldn’t stomach the dough. Decided to get this and a Cactus Canyon LE. Win win.

Win win is right despite the wait for Elvira

I would for sure take both games over one with fancy trim.

You’re not kidding! I’ve been on the hunt for a premium or Le for a while, but I’m not willing to pay stupid prices. So I’ll have to wait it out. It’s all good.

2 is always better than one…right?

Man, I’m so sorry. That’s a truly terrible sight.

Damn! That’s a bummer. Just be glad it didn’t happen when they were unloading it at your house.

Did you finish these? How do they look on the pin and would they work on the upper front corners of the back box?

I close all of the blinds during the day and house is like a bat cave, lol. That’s what happens when you scatter pins all over the house. I tried the cover thing, but that is a hassle and looks tacky, plus I like to enjoy the art on my games. Need bigger house with 2000 sq ft game room…someday

Why would they put the legs on it prior to delivery. Looks like a stupid move on their part asking for trouble. That just totally sucks!!

When pinballs die, they usually go legs up...

Rob

Put in the full cliffy protector set past night. That took quite a bit longer than I anticipated but worth it for sure.

I also removed the clear plastic shooter lane protector that was in my game when I purchased it. Ball launches are more consistent now with the cliffy.

I removed the crypt vuk shaft and modified it as in the hurryuppinball video. I didn't have the Dremel attachment. So I used a sharp drill bit that was almost the same diameter as the plastic end of the shaft. Then I adjusted the Vuk power back to stock. In my testing it was consistently hitting the top or middle target. I will go with this for a bit and see if it stays consistent.

I need to tweak the left orbit ball guide a touch to reduce exits hitting the slings from there. I also have platic protectors to put in and a quiet fan too. I bought the clear protectors and then remembered that the previous owner included a yellow set. I need to see which looks better there too.

What a disaster! Forklifts and pinball machines

Wondering if anyone has any idea if the planned Elvira's HOH for 2022 will see a price increase (I believe I know the answer). If so, what is the expectation?
Trying to get a Premium but if the prices jump for too much more than the current 8899,00 I am not sure it will be worth that much and I may just get the Godzilla then.

if i had to guess, they were using the forklift to raise it to remove the legs, and then it flipped. just a guess, though

Elvira was priced higher than other premium models throughout it's lifecycle. I highly doubt they leave it at a price point lower than every other premium model they are building. I bet it sees a price hike too.

Looks like MSRP is going to be $9,200

https://cointaker.com/products/elviras-house-of-horrors-premium-pinball-machine

That’s $400 more than what Stern is currently listing.

And to think I was stunned when the LE was $9600.

Good decision

What distributor? That is just…the most idiotic shit I’ve ever seen. To handle one of these games…that are in such high demand, produced in stupid low numbers…like THIS?! No…and then to SEND PICS?!?! Wtf. I’d be f’n embarrassed as fu@k.

So many questions…why would it even be off the pallet and out of the box before it was put on a truck?

Keep the topper (if it hadn’t already been attached to the head), cancel the game and find another dealer. They are 0 for 2 with you - why give them another chance? And I certainly wouldn’t trust them to fix that game. This wasn’t an accident - it was negligence. Very sorry for you.

Glad you posted your experience and identified the distro. Shippers and distros will only feel the need to improve if they feel it affect their biz or reputation. That game will need a skilled hand and good eye to replace and restore any damage, and who knows what glitches could show up later due to the tumble. If they offered to have Stern restore it, with a discount for customer inconvenience and loss of use, plus a solid warranty for possible hidden issues, then maybe. So sorry for your loss.

If they are a legitimate Stern distributor then following a 'stern' talking to, they should be dropped. Even Stern manuals actually state to not move pins like this.

My distro called me a couple of weeks ago and said it went up by $200. I asked him to confirm and he said that's what he was told by Stern, so that's what I paid. I will say that I wouldn't be surprised if I get another call down the road for a few hundred more, but right now, my total BOS is $8700 + extras and shipping.

That is not bad (I mean still a lot, but comparing with other increases of $1k+ for other machines I would say this is reasonable since it will include the Insider Connect).

Thanks

Ricardo Abech

Anyone have their house diverter act up? When I test it, I can only activate the 52 state (left flipper or - button). Could someone try their right flipper (+ button) and let me know if 53 actually does anything in this test?

The diverter seems to cycle around like ~ 102%, so each time it activates, it gets less and less calibrated, eventually blocking the path to start a haunt.

DF1248D6-5149-41AF-9008-16663157EF55 (resized).jpeg

There are two micro switches on the diverter assembly. One for the up position; the other for the down position. (I don't remember which is which.) The problem you describe seems similar to a problem I had. I thought the diverter was binding on something. I made a short video showing the issue and sent it to Pablo at Stern. He sent me two new micro switches followed by a complete new assembly. Unfortunately, it took a few months to get the assembly, so I disabled the diverter until it arrived. I have had no issues since installing the new assembly.

Well hey, it’s pride pinball! I almost flagged you down at expo, but I wasn’t 100% sure if it was you

My wife and I loved your Elvira rules rundown, snd we’ve watched it a few times since we got the table.

I’m gonna check into those 2 switches to see if that's what’s up.

Could you link me to that video?

Thank you!

I somehow missed this. Have a link? Thanks in advance!

Yes! It was me! You should have said something! I'm glad you liked the video!

I'll PM you the link to the diverter video since it's unlisted.

Here's the rules overview video:

Thanks a bunch!