Yes, but more to the point of the point. Did owners get their replacements of their replacements? Two that I have seen just on pinside had replacement duds that immediately ghosted like in Phbooms case, 40 plays and ghosts were back.

This thread should keep going until everyone aint afraid of no ghost.

Not the news I wanted to hear.

I'm interested to see the playfield date stamp on his. There were two pro replacement playfields with smudged dates and one, if not both, had the reinforcement spelling error that indicated an early run PF that were known to have problems.

I've seen lots of confusion over the misspelling of the Negative Reinforcement on the Pro models. Do we have clear evidence that the spelling was eventually corrected on the Pro models? I believe Premium/LEs did not have the issue, or if they did, there were very few of them? From the handful of people I've spoken to, we came to the conclusion the insert was never corrected on the Pros...

The date was smudged on my pro replacement that I got exactly 4 weeks ago today (Feb 4). In other news, the replacement playfield has not developed any new issues since i did my video review of the whole ordeal a couple weeks back. Do we even know what the date represents? Date it was CNC'd? inserts installed? clear coated? populated?

One thing I noticed with my replacement when i first got it was that the playfield was a bit dusty, but it was plastic dust... like it was near an area where plastics were being cut/drilled/prepared. The dust was on the populated portions of the game, so i get the sense it was populated and then sat around for a while before it got shipped off.

I'm not sure why anyone would care if the thread stays open because all you have to do is drain the thread and you'll never have to see it again......or you could just not read anything that is in this thread. Pretty simple really.

at least he could chime in, and just give a quick final update.. PF received, looks good, plays well etc...

maybe hes too busy playing the f out of it. which is a good thing.

I don't think the thread should be closed given that folks have seen ghosting on Aerosmith and batman seems to have serious build issues...

I personally would like to see stern be much more specific about what was affected, a range of build dates and something that states that it's resolved and how it was resolved - I have a ghostbusters that so far has been perfect but everyday I look at it like a madman trying to see if it has problems. It would be good to have piece of mind. Other companies do this so not sure why Stern find it difficult.

Neil

If your playfield was going to ghost it would have done it by now. Ours started after 500 plays. We mylared the affected areas and the ghosting did not get any worse. We feel that the airball protector helped a fair bit. The airballs were constantly landing on the ghosted inserts. I feel that there is not build date issues, rather process issues (people mistakes) and that is why Stern cannot really pinpoint the date of manufacture. They must still have issues as I noticed ghosting on Aerosmith. The one they used for their video promotion! That to me is insane. I agree that the thread should stay open.

I don't think that putting Mylar over the ghosted areas is going to help because the problem is under the clearcoat where it's separating from the playfield. I do agree that leaving this thread open though is the right thing to do. It could actually be a good thing for Stern also if people see that they are replacing playfields for customers and if they start making playfields that are good quality again. Once people regain their faith in Stern their sales will definitely grow a lot.

Thread should stay open and practically be a sticky, because if it ever closes another one will pop up right away as long as the problems are continuing or Stern stays silent

Yeah, but it's not so useful as a warning with its current title, should be changed to "Stern playfield issues" or something like that.

We mylared at the same time that we fitted the airball protector so we are not sure what made the difference. The mylar definitely did not help the shooter lane.

Sometimes ghosting just doesn't get any worse after a little bit of it starts. So your shooter lane is trashed also? Sounds like you should get a replacement. One of the first things I did was turn down the trough eject power to the shooter lane. I don't see how any shooter lane could hold up as hard as the ball slams into it on GB.

The thing is, you shouldn't have to do all that shit. If you have to do all that to save a of from going to shit there is something very wrong with the quality of said PF and the manufacturer should do something different. You guys just keep putting band aids on your PFs and Stern keeps raising prices.

Shooter lane is trashed. We have posted photos on this thread a few months ago. We have the eject power turned right down now. We are waiting for our replacement. It is due to arrive in the next few weeks. The replacement is not getting played until we fit the air ball protector, complete cliffy set and playfield protector. That is sad I know, especially since we do not play our machines much. Stern and our distro have always looked after us. Our playfield issues are different to most others. Our playfield clear has scratching underneath the clear coat. You cannot see it until the machine is turned on. We raised the issue with our distro the day we got the machine. All our other Sterns are and have been immaculate. We are a loyal Stern supporter.

I'm glad they are replacing your playfield for you...as they should. This one wil be good I bet.

I hope so! May be we are understanding to their issues as I and my wife are in manufacturing. Plenty of mistakes are made.. It is how you sort out your mistakes that makes or breaks a business.

Yes instead of Mayuhs cringe worthy title as stern are you serious?

The first thing one should do is get a shooter lane cliffy protector?

Yep that too.

Shouldn't need it.

Seems that Stern has accepted the new quality yield rates on PF and built it into the pricing we pay so I'm not seeing anything improve now or in the future. They will simply replace bad PF when forced knowing the vast majority of home users will not care or notice and operators will just use overlays, Mylar, cliffys, etc to keep the game on location and won't fight with Stern. It's like VISA not caring about credit card fraud hence we have chip and sign in America instead of chip and pin, they have built the loss into their fee and they move on.

The people who will be most impacted will be pinside collectors and players as we will stop buying anything NIB and move more and more HUO so we can inspect games before purchase.

My biggest hope/dream is that when Gary retires, him and the VCs will sell to a wealthy family that loves pinball and it can be run like a family business again.

I saw a picture of a playfield replacement in Europe yesterday. So things are moving....but not fast.

simple as that +1
but not evbd is thinking like that, i think the majority of us is still hot about the "last item buying fever"

It IS true you shouldn't need one, but what you should do is just lay down some Mylar in the shooter lane to keep it from getting damaged too much. It's not a bad deal gamewise but some asshole is going to come snooping around when you want to sell it and start complaining.

Quick update on my GBLE replacement. At the two week mark since I sent my playfield back to Stern and still waiting for the new one to arrive.

Just curious what some of you guys had for turn around time? Getting itchy fingers to play my game again.

They really should have sent the populated playfield out first. The buyer bought in good faith, Stern should extend good faith back to the customer.

For whatever reason, i was able to get my playfield sent out to my dealer, and he came and did the swap. Game downtime was like 20 minutes or so. Not sure if its a Canada thing, or if its because my dealer has a good relationship with Stern.

Update on the update. Just got a call from the shipper. Replacement playfield gets delivered Friday.

Are all of us who are worried about ghosting and shooter lane playfield issues HUO owners or are some of you worried even for units out on a route/location?

I would assume pins out on route are not as a concern. Us home users who shell out big $$$$ with no return on investment except resale of a pin are most concerned.

I'm looking at my other pins and they all have issues but when they were manufactured most (if not all) were made to make money and not the finicky home buyer.

My GB Prem gets unboxed on March 18th. I'm so curious to conduct an inspection and then curious if I'll care about minor flaws. When I get a scratch in one of my cars it bugs me until I get it fixed. I'm a perfectionist but still not certain how concerned I'll be with minor issues. Major issues, another story. yes, I already have the shooter lane Cliffy set and airball protector.

Enjoying this forum topic.

My take as a hobby operator (i.e. games I buy NIB now will likely end up in my home when they're "done" on location): I was pretty stressed out about the playfield quality issue for a while. Then I started thinking about how much fun I've had with older games with quite thrashed playfields, without being troubled about their condition. So now I am a bit more relaxed about it. Gone from "pretty stressed out" to "slightly worried", I guess.

Resale is quite important for operators. It is not uncommon to buy a NIB, route it for 6-12 months then sell it. If the PF gets thrashed in that time it is going to cost you.

It's all fun and games till it starts to chip away and effect ball play. That's my biggest concern. If it's starting to chip and ghost after less than 100 plays what's it going to look like down the road? I'm fine with cosmetic problems but a playfield is the foundation of a pin.

I think you are worrying a little too much honestly, but if it Ghost and chips again just raise hell with your distributor and get another playfield. I'm not saying I wouldn't be a little concerned maybe but it's not like all their playfields are just complete garbage. That is just simply not the case. Back when you got your GB, yes many of them were but I haven't heard of hardly any problems lately.

I also know that they have been sending some old playfields as replacements, but that doesn't mean they are bad. It's my guess that they think there won't be a problem with them. Calm down and enjoy your game, it's gonna be fine dude for real, and if it isn't I bet you will get another replacement.

IMG_1624 (resized).JPG

lol I sure did!

Nothing like getting advice from someone who has not had to go through the playfield replacement process.

Once again when Ghostbusters first came out there were ALOT of playfield issues, everybody knows that. Before Ghostbusters and a few months after Ghostbusters, the sky has not been falling like you are trying to act like it has. Are there still some issues? Yes there are and there always has been, even during the good old days when people thought there wasn't any. Could things be better? Yes things could probably be better. Are the playfields terrible right now? No they are not. You can keep acting like Stern playfields are pure sh*t all you want to, but it's just not true. There are many people enjoying their games right now.

Who-Dey

Dude

Stern's very own in house produced promo video for Aerosmith has ghosted inserts

How can you defend that & say all is well when they cannot even find a good PF to film?

Bm66

IMG_6060 (resized).JPG

Wow, that is just sad. It's a shame that they charge all that money for a game and the quality is that bad. Most of you people here will send it back and demand another pf but what about the non pinball people who just buys a game for the first time. They have no idea and a lot of them will shrug their shoulders and go on. I find it hard to believe that anyone can defend Stern or even think about purchasing a game from them after seeing the total garbage they have been putting out. Obviously they haven't fixed the problems and will continue on as if there were no problems.

He's clearly a member of the recently formed Stern Army. The army has to mobilize and fight whenever Stern is being besmirched (whether the besmirching is founded or not). It's just what armies do.

Oh, that is looking very very damaged.
Will this also happen to AS?
I am searching for my next Pin and want one with the new Backboxfrom to put it next to GoT. Symmetrical look...
I thought Star Trek would be nice, but this is also a SR-Pin and i am not sure, if this decision will give me different playtimes.
So AS is on my radar, but when i see those pictures i am afraid of burning (in Germany, because Dollar is strong or Euro is weak..) a lot of money...

Well, it's hard not to get excited with such a killer website: www.sternarmy.com

Im not defending anyone. Its just my belief That most of the games they are making now are good. The 3 games that I got are good and I have friends with new games that are good. I see other people on here who are getting new games that are good. Anyone who has a bad playfield will hopefully get them replaced. I dont know why people are upset because I have the opinion that quality is getting better since the ghostbusters release. Im not telling anyone that everything is great and that there are no problems, im just saying that I believe that if you buy a new game right now that chances are you're going to get a good playfield. Prove me wrong and lets lee how many bad playfields that you can come up with that were made lets say after November 2016. I know there are some but its nothing like the GB release days.

Which were what, less than a year ago?

Hahaha, wow.. I had no idea.