I canceled my order for a GB Premium. I'm too afraid of the CC cracking in the shooter lane and the really bad ghosting. I know it's probably a long shot that it would happen to me but I don't want to take the chance. It's just too risky.

Maybe in a few months if this issue goes away I might reorder.

please, cracking in the shooter lane? Then you better sell all your machines because any game with clear on it, will crack in the shooter lane no matter what. TZ, TAF, CFTBL all of them crack in the shooter lanes. They all get ground in dirt and it's ware and tear. It's going to happen. What's the point on owning a car if it's just going to sit in the garage. If it bothers you 20 years from now, have the playfield restored. It will need it anyway, because inserts will shift and raise anyway.

The Captain raises a good point with the shooter lane as i had looked at my other 2 pins and they have it, and then I checked my buddies 2 HUO units and they have it as well, and they are all older than when these issues came up. Its just an area that takes a beating.

Anyone move your outlane posts on the Premium?
I moved them on my Pro model no problem.
But I can't get the ones on my Premium to budge. Tried turning them and smacking with a hammer from the underside and these things are in so tight I can't get them to move at all.

My HUO TSPP 3k plays
My TOTAN 20 years of play

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Sure - it's pinball. I get it. But I'm not taking any additional risks with my cash right now. I've seen some bad photos of games with less then 100 plays on them and serious wear. My distrobutor told me he's got to get a new completely populated playfield for a game he sold earlier this year. I don't want to go through that right now. I got a TOTAN this weekend and it's beautiful. It will keep me busy for a while. Besides - we have a GB pro at the Scantum so I get to play it every monday.

Maybe in the spring... can't move pins in/out once the snow comes anyway.

strange that a new unit has rust on it like that..someone else posted rust on here too. And good for you on that game, mine did not hold up as well and are not as old

My TOTAN was in my garage for a couple of years

it's the type of ball feed system that effects that. How the ball is brought into play has a lot to do with the damage done. WPC95 games don't fire the ball all that hard up the system. The way they are setup, the shooter lanes usually don't get that worn out. Sometimes they do, but usually the through is bent or misadjusted. I have to repair and restore a lot more WPC shooter lanes than WPC95.

Forgive my ignorance and the Seinfeldian nature of my question, but what's the deal with shooter lane wear? Does it impact game play, and if not, why should I care?

I see it as a flaw of the games, both with GoT and GB. The way the ball is shot into the lane is done with such force the ball impacts exactly where you see the damage, instead of more gentlay 'falling' into the lane. It just looks bad, not a big deal. Also, very easy to prevent by getting the right Cliffy and/or Mylar there. I think GB now has a setting to reduce the power?

Is it annoying? Sure. Stern can do better... but, this is minor compared to the ghosting and other playfield issues.

I think the biggest issue is that people think that their game will look like it has more gameplay than it really does, as the shooter lane takes such a beating early in it's life. But really doesn't effect anything, and 7 and 8 years ago, people didn't even ask about the shooter lane. Collectors didn't give a shit and it was secondary. Collector market has become more anal about stuff that really doesn't mean shit in the grand scheme of things. Back in the day, you were happy if all the plastics were there, and only 1 was cracked. That a playfield wasn't worn beyond the edges of the inserts and the cabinet still had red or orange still in it.

It's an indication of poor quality. I have many Sterns that have had many years of play, and the shooter lanes look pretty good. A game with a couple plays should not have the shooter lane chewed up already.

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This!

There's an adjustment on my gb that allows for turning down that up kick coil that is much softer than the traditional Stern kick. It's a lot better

I turn it down all the way and it has no issue kicking ball out

I turned mine to 200, still works. However I don't remember if I had a double ball with this setting once.

Cabinet damage doesn't impact game play either, yet when we want a clean example of a game, we look at it.

Shooter lane is just one area that is commonly worn, and so a look there is often a tell of a game's history. When someone says "low plays!" and then the shooter lane looks like it was dragged through the gutter... you know there were a lot of plays.

In this particular instance of Stern Clear Coat... its important because its separation from the wood due to impact. It's not just cosmetic and won't just stop with one spot.

I guess. I still kind of look at it like putting plastic over your couch or leaving the sticker on your hat. I've got a Cliffy or two in my lineup, but they're there to cover existing wear... though I can certainly see the argument for addressing it before it becomes an issue.

If the clear is cracking in the shooter lane at less then 100 plays it surely is an indication that the playfields are probably going to suffer bigger durability issues. Playfields with decent shooter lanes are indicaters that the playfields are relatively resistant to damage. My RCT shooter lane and outhole is in fantastic shape after all this time as well as the playfield. When I owned TSPP the shooter lane was in fantastic condition when I sold it. I personally do not care what the shooter lane looks like cosmetically within reason but if it indicates future problems down the road then yes I am concerned. It will be something everyone checks when buying games from these manufactured time periods in the future by informed buyers as well as the unseen out hole.

Well there is one ready to ship
To me oct 17th playfield or wait until the next batch which is next week. What do you guys think

remember, those are white star games. different setup in the ball feed system. Spike and SAM systems I think are harder on the playfield on how they extrude the ball.

So my license plate came in. How do you install it on the machine with lights?

The outholes are the same...I think the clear is the problem but the shooter lanes could be a combo of both the clear problems and harder ejects.

I don't think they are. My LOTR doesn't have chipping or crushed in the shooter lane but my AC/DC and TF do. I think the system is different. The ball fires hardcore on my SAM systems ,and not so much on my whitestar games. I think the top of the exit has changed. Where it's directing the ball more up and then downward instead of out to the wall.

I get mine tomorrow and I am having a huge poker tournament tomorrow night so it'll get a lot of plays. I will post my findings on Saturday

Cool I decided to wait, whats another week at this point Seems like you are close by.

My shooter lane on my GB premium (with less than 100 plays) looks worse than my old routed TSPP. And not one of my inserts are ghosted on my TSPP either.

Have you contacted stern yet? When did you buy it?

ok, so im seriously thinking about selling my gb:premium... this machine and I just cant seem to mesh with one another. have had just under 30 days. playfield is excellent, inserts are excellent. has cliffy's installed since day 3. has oldpinguy airball deflector installed. and I have the PBL center post kit and lane thingy's, I just haven't installed it yet. also has speaker light kit and ghost inserts... im guessing 150 plays or so? what do you guys think is a fair price? not looking to make money, but not looking to lose either. running code 1.10

let me know what you guys think. thanks.

$6500? Gotta take a small hit when you can buy NIB you do have a few extras .

I have and am waiting for a response. The game was one of the first premiums with the Fun Industries playfields (same as LE's). My buddy just got a premium and it looks like a Churchill playfield. It's completely different than mine.

I hope they take care of you man, that sucks

Any chance of some pictures of both ?

Honestly, I'm sure they will. I have been a Stern customer for a long time and they have never left me hanging. Just kinda sucks since these problems were known by them long before my game was shipped, or even built for that matter.

what is different about it? How can you tell it is Churchill?

You can tell by the old date stamp on the front edge of the playfield. Also, if you look at them side to side, the wood visually looks different in the shooter lane and underside of the playfield.

forgot that I also have the 3 green captive balls and the 1 pink captive ball. here are some pics. I was thinking 6700.00.

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6700 easy - the game will sell fast.

Really? Not sure what the cost is of the colored captive balls, but if you can get NIB for ~6800 delivered, I'd go new. While you can hope stern takes care of you as second owner, they might not particularly if a play field swap is needed.

Of course, the big advantage is they are still backordered, so it's a good time to sell.

exactly - it's b/c they are back ordered. People want it now and this gives them it. If you want to sell GB - you do it now while you can't get it.

That's why he can get 6700 if not more. Plus the fact it's a good PF. no question

Really ?
Well figure what you paid for it and take $200 off, Ya Really .
Pink balls, Really ?

Any chance you could describe the differences in the shooter lane? Just wondering how to tell which playfield I have in my machine. My playfield looks flawless now, but wonder if there may be an issue later.

After about a month, admittedly it doesn't have as many plays as i'd like, but my machine is still doing well. Only about 100 plays but so far no ghosting, no lifting, no issues with the shooter lane.

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I would say if you have a date stamp on the playfield like this picture you are just fine!!

My date was 9/8 and no date stamp.

You no like pink balls? Lol. It's just the right side captive that's pink. It's from Mezelmods. Also I have the original stern silver balls for the captives that can go back in. And to be honest I hate to say it but I don't remember what I paid. It was soooooooo long ago that final payments were due.

Thanks guys for the input I really do appreciate it.

All good, I lIke the pink balls actually it just seemed because you had pink balls you wanted more money. What are they like $2.50 each.

bwaahahahahaa, no just forgot that I had that mod on there as well. I know I will take a hit for opening it and putting a couple of hundred plays on it. but figured with the cliffy's, the speakerlights and acrylics, and the PBL centerpost/rail protector thingy's, that I might be able to break pretty close to even with the current demand higher than the current supply. plus, I have one of the non-issue playfields with what seems to be an exceptional clear coat. (one of the nicest I have seen out of all my newer sterns.)

I really do want to love this pin, I love the theme and the artwork, the lighting, I just haven't been able to "fall in love" with the play of the machine.

ok, I broke down and did it. take a look, let me know if any questions.
https://pinside.com/pinball/market/classifieds/ad/41294

I was just saying that there is chipping in the outholes or ball drain underneath the apron leading me to believe the clear has changed or the process or something. That's what I was referring to as the same.

Do you think your feelings would change at all when the code gets more polished (assuming it does) or do you mean the play of the physical layout of the machine? Just saying I wouldn't want you to regret saleing the game if down the road you did fall in love with it when the code is complete.