Big Game
Stern Electronics, 1980
Game of Thrones (LE)
Stern, 2015
Game of Thrones (Premium)
Stern, 2015
Game Of Thrones (Pro)
Stern, 2015
Ghostbusters (LE)
Stern, 2016
Ghostbusters (Premium)
Stern, 2016
Ghostbusters (Pro)
Stern, 2016
Metallica (Premium)
Stern, 2013Quoted from wolv3:I noticed yesterday that the playfield on a new premium on location and the older pro GB had different colors on the playfield. The premium was much darker than the pro.
Some others noticed this too. My guess is that the Pro was Churchill and the the Premium was FUN, but purely speculation.
Quoted from Rarehero:Games with better wood and better clear don't dimple as much. There is "normal dimpling" and "holy shit my playfield is made of clay!!!" ...If you find the latter acceptable, well...enjoy! Some people don't.
I'm still unsure if you're out on GB lol
Quoted from kpg:Now that you have a JJP game, you might notice that it barely dimples vs a Stern game. My Hobbit playfield is pretty much glass smooth after about 500 plays or so since I've had it. There's definitely some type of difference, but dimpling never really bothered me.
My thoughts exactly. When I played JJP the first time at an expo I asked how many plays the machine had and the distributor said around 13,000 plays on it as it was a tour piece. I asked if I could touch the play field and was kind enough to oblige me. The play field felt smooth as glass and looked knew, so I was impressed right off the bat about that.
Glad I stayed in on this premium so far. Not sure about the playfield colors compared to pro model but mines seems extremely colorful and bright. Someone did a side by side where the one looked brownish, def not the case on mine. Does anyone regret moving their unit to the 1.10 sw?
Quoted from Rarehero:Games with better wood and better clear don't dimple as much. There is "normal dimpling" and "holy shit my playfield is made of clay!!!" ...If you find the latter acceptable, well...enjoy! Some people don't.
You know for damn sure That Stern is using the cheapest plywood they can get away with.
Quoted from Bing_Party:Glad I stayed in on this premium so far. Not sure about the playfield colors compared to pro model but mines seems extremely colorful and bright. Someone did a side by side where the one looked brownish, def not the case on mine. Does anyone regret moving their unit to the 1.10 sw?
Nice I probably should have taken the one made around the same time as yours, but I got next batch fingers crossed 
well i think the further out you are the better off you will be. So with mine the slimer does not rub anything, kick out and shooter not violent at all, everything looks good so far..but i would give it more plays to see if ghosting appears but i just looked and it looks good. My disti also says they sold a lot of them and only 1 in the past 50 machines sold had ghosting on an insert, thats all the machines they sold, not just GB. I really want to move to1.10 to up the drain timer to 60 as it is a drain monster but too many folks complaining about that rev of sw has me scared off
Quoted from Bing_Party:Does anyone regret moving their unit to the 1.10 sw?
No, I just expect the bugs now like anticipating delayed kickouts and knowing not to press the flipper buttons before the video mode choice. Honestly, I thought there would have been a fix out for the more serious bugs by now. Heck, I thought there would be more code updates than there has been in 2016 in general.
Rob
Quoted from Rob_G:No, I just expect the bugs now like anticipating delayed kickouts and knowing not to press the flipper buttons before the video mode choice. Honestly, I thought there would have been a fix out for the more serious bugs by now. Heck, I thought there would be more code updates than there has been in 2016 in general.
Rob
Am I going crazy or didn't Stern claim to be more committed to code releases? It's definitely not happening. Just a hot fix for the bugs would be nice, but I'm surprised at the glacial pace of code releases.
Quoted from 85vett:Nope, coincides with a game that air balls like crazy but all games dimple. Clear will not prevent dimples.
Some of you have lost your marbles arguing with my statement. Did I make any mention of one MFG dimpling more or less? Nope. Just stated that GB will dimple more than some other games because it is prone to airballs.
And let's be straight, JJP games dimple every bit as much as the other mfg's. They may not be as noticeable as the balls aren't flying around as aggressively but they are not immune to it.
Quoted from capguntrooper:My thoughts exactly. When I played JJP the first time at an expo I asked how many plays the machine had and the distributor said around 13,000 plays on it as it was a tour piece. I asked if I could touch the play field and was kind enough to oblige me. The play field felt smooth as glass and looked knew, so I was impressed right off the bat about that.
13,000 plays. What you saw there was a PF that was dimpled smooth. Check a game out at 500 plays and it will look like a golfball.
Quoted from 85vett:13,000 plays. What you saw there was a PF that was dimpled smooth. Check a game out at 500 plays and it will look like a golfball.
Yeah like MM there is no way to avoid dimples with TH because the pop up toys will hurl the ball into the air and down on the PF.
It's painful to watch your mirror-like PF get beat up but for any modern high-speed type game it's a fact of life. Now some slower games where the ball never gets airborn and there aren't loads of multiballs (like CFTBL) you may not find much dimpling at all.
Quoted from pindude80:Per Pat at Stern- playfield issues have been resolved. The GB they are running this week and next week have "the latest and greatest" playfield in them. They are the same PFs they are using as replacements for the LE customers that had problems. GB premium order placed by me today!!!
If this is true... and Stern is acknowledging that the previous runs had substandard play fields, then they need to notify all customers and offer a remedy. This cloak of secrecy is lame and most certainly shady.
Quoted from 27dnast:If this is true... and Stern is acknowledging that the previous runs had substandard play fields, then they need to notify all customers and offer a remedy. This cloak of secrecy is lame and most certainly shady.
Where have you been
It's a loooong story . It all started right here .
Go back to page 1 post 1 of this thread and enjoy .
Quoted from 27dnast:If this is true... and Stern is acknowledging that the previous runs had substandard play fields, then they need to notify all customers and offer a remedy. This cloak of secrecy is lame and most certainly shady.
Unfortunately not that uncommon these days. Basically the same as a TSB with car manufactures. If someone comes and complains replace it if they don't come then we do nothing.
Quoted from zr11990:You know for damn sure That Stern is using the cheapest plywood they can get away with.
Lol, probably.
With the way Stern has been acting lately I wouldn't be surprised if a meeting is held for each new game just to discuss "well, what can we cut back on this time"...
Quoted from 85vett:Unfortunately not that uncommon these days. Basically the same as a TSB with car manufactures. If someone comes and complains replace it if they don't come then we do nothing.
This isn't even as good as a TSB. There will be no public announcement that gives specifics on the issues and the dates affected. If you complain, you MIGHT get a replacement PF :/
Starting to see some signs of progress on the playfield swaps in the Ghostbuster Issue Thread...
Quoted from Jive:FYI a friend of mine just got this email:
Quoted from Phbooms:just received my empty box for playfield replacement from Stern
Email referenced in the first post:
Quoted from Razorbak86:Starting to see some signs of progress on the playfield swaps in the Ghostbuster Issues Thread...
Email referenced in the first post:
Wow they are about to start replacing playfields? It would be nifty if they could build the GBLE that I paid for (in full) more than 6 months ago.
Quoted from capguntrooper:My thoughts exactly. When I played JJP the first time at an expo I asked how many plays the machine had and the distributor said around 13,000 plays on it as it was a tour piece. I asked if I could touch the play field and was kind enough to oblige me. The play field felt smooth as glass and looked knew, so I was impressed right off the bat about that.
What do you expect when the ball lazily goes "wubba, wubba, wubba" up and down the play field like the cue ball in Hercules? 
I guess this means all new units are finally cleared for those sitting it out? Has anyone have any October surprises?
Quoted from Wakky:Hey Mayuh ! Are you serious?
?
I'm glad that Stern addresses this issues.
I'm glad, you guys get your new playfields.
I'm glad, that my distributor didn't want to let me wait and brought me a almost new SMVE with only very, very minor ghosting and a flat playfield.
I'm glad that my GB premium (even though it's an 24th Aug playfield) after 4 weeks still has zero ghosting.
So, yes, I'm serious. Faith in Stern restored.
Update on my playfield replacement: no update at all. I emailed Gary and Patrick Powers and no response after a week. Trent @ Tilt said he hasn't heard anything either. I can't even sell the thing if I want to as the playfield is in terrible shape.. not cool at all.. stuck with the machine at this point
Quoted from oyvindmo:Update on my playfield replacement: new playfield has been received and installed. My problem was a curved playfield, not insert issues, and the replacement playfield had a timestamp from back in May.
Was it an LE playfield?
As far as I know, playfields used to have a top veneer of maple, based on the recent pinball news story about churchill seems that at some point, not sure when, they switched to Baltic Birch, which, in general, is not as hard as maple. I've used Maple on one of my custom games and Birch on the other, and there is a clear difference and in how they hold up, especially with no clear coat. The birch does come in 9ply, which should be stiffer and less prone to warping due to weight of mechs, etc., I've never be able to find maple with more than 5 plys, and sounds like the old playfields were all custom plywood. I suspect a big price difference (and the availability) between maple and birch is a factor in all of this.
Quoted from oyvindmo:Update on my playfield replacement: new playfield has been received and installed. My problem was a curved playfield, not insert issues, and the replacement playfield had a timestamp from back in May.
Amazing. So Stern has been pumping out problematic games and they send you that?
"Dear Mr. Johnson, sorry about your warped playfield. Please accept this perfectly sh*ty playfield manufactured during a time that known playfield problems emerged. P.S. - Enjoy the ghosting. -Stern's Epic Marketing Dept."
Quoted from 27dnast:Amazing. So Stern has been pumping out problematic games and they send you that?
"Dear Mr. Johnson, sorry about your warped playfield. Please accept this perfectly sh*ty playfield manufactured during a time that known playfield problems emerged. P.S. - Enjoy the ghosting. -Stern's Epic Marketing Dept."
No ghosting, neither on the original nor on the replacement playfield. The replacement playfield is perfect, and considering the time since its production I don't expect it to develop noticeable ghosting, either.
Wel that does not look like the correct solution. But then again, is the new playfield good? There are corrcet playfield out there from May, only there is a risk for the future. And what is curved playfield?
Quoted from PeterG:Wel that does not look like the correct solution. But then again, is the new playfield good? There are corrcet playfield out there from May, only there is a risk for the future. And what is curved playfield?
I don't see how it can be called a bad solution: I got a replacement which looks perfect, plays perfect and is old enough that bad ghosting would have already developed if this playfield were prone to it. I would have been more pessimistic if I had received a replacement produced in, say, August.
Re curving: The original playfield was higher on the middle than on the sides, so the ball in effect got pulled towards the outlanes. Every so slightly annoying to experience
Quoted from misfitdart:How do I tell who made it?
2nd it - Where is the Churchill stamp or (other) . On the edge? back-side? Photo please? I'm curious.
Quoted from rosh:As far as I know, playfields used to have a top veneer of maple, based on the recent pinball news story about churchill seems that at some point, not sure when, they switched to Baltic Birch, which, in general, is not as hard as maple. I've used Maple on one of my custom games and Birch on the other, and there is a clear difference and in how they hold up, especially with no clear coat. The birch does come in 9ply, which should be stiffer and less prone to warping due to weight of mechs, etc., I've never be able to find maple with more than 5 plys, and sounds like the old playfields were all custom plywood. I suspect a big price difference (and the availability) between maple and birch is a factor in all of this.
Great post from Vid1900 on maple and baltic birch being used for playfields.
Quoted from OLDPINGUY:Assuming this is "not covered", Would UV hardening Clear Gel be a good preventive measure?
Has anyone ever used this type of product on a modern pinball machine?
Quoted from 27dnast:Amazing. So Stern has been pumping out problematic games and they send you that?
"Dear Mr. Johnson, sorry about your warped playfield. Please accept this perfectly sh*ty playfield manufactured during a time that known playfield problems emerged. P.S. - Enjoy the ghosting. -Stern's Epic Marketing Dept."
So if ghosting happens again do you get another play field? "Oh wait, you are now past your warranty since its January"......technically we do not even need to replace the first one because it is not covered in our warranty anyway......uuuuugh, I am glad I passed on GB
Expecting my Premium next month and was wondering if the Scoleri Bros drop target springs are still an issue and if I need to get the replacement springs from PinballLife. It seems the captive ball wire support is no longer needed as it is being resolved at the factory.
Thanks!
I got the pinball life ones and ended up using one of 2. One was fine from the factory but the other one needed it.
Quoted from Rokablly:It seems the captive ball wire support is no longer needed as it is being resolved at the factory.
Thanks!
nice for you & new owners...
as i just received my "mod"... a bit late, as now the wire is so curved that ball get slightly blocked inside (with the LED a bit in the way)
ok, not a big deal but... 
Is there any easy way to tell if a game is equiped with a Churchill-pf? I am still interested in a GB pro, it would be great if I know how to pick the right one without having to unpack it #longshot
Quoted from Msch:Do y'all think this qualifies for playfield replacement?
Depends on how many plays. I have one of the good playfields with no ghosting at all after several thousand plays on location. My Storage Facility is showing some cracking like that. It's just gonna happen in a situation like that after enough play.
Quoted from mgpasman:Is there any easy way to tell if a game is equiped with a Churchill-pf? I am still interested in a GB pro, it would be great if I know how to pick the right one without having to unpack it #longshot
mine is still available (marktplaats, page 3 for now), no urge from my side... did you have something for a swap ? PM me if needeed
edit : seing your collection, may be you're "ghostrider" ?
Listen to what Jody has to say at the 12 minute mark. Sounds like if there are issues with the playfield, Stern will take care of it. Am I reading to deep into his words?
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/stern-factory-tour-courtesy-johns-arcade
Quoted from mgpasman:Is there any easy way to tell if a game is equiped with a Churchill-pf? I am still interested in a GB pro, it would be great if I know how to pick the right one without having to unpack it #longshot
I'd say aim for a machine with a November stamp on it is you best bet...
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