Quoted from vid1900:

Maple is not an **old growth** wood.
An average maple lives maybe 60-80 years and that's it.
(there is one in OH that is actually verified to be 146 years old, and it's huge news each year. There are no 2,000 year old growth maples known to man.)
You never have to worry about running out of high quality maple in North America because the syrup industry plantations supply all the wood we need - just like it has for the last 200 years......

Quoted from vid1900:

Maple is not an **old growth** wood.
A maple lives maybe 60-80 years and that's it.
You never have to worry about running out of high quality maple in North America because the syrup industry plantations supply all the wood we need - just like it has for the last 200 years......

Quoted from zr11990:

A maple tree can only be used for syrup three times and then it's done so I'm sure that trees used for that purpose don't live that long

Quoted from zr11990:

A maple tree can only be used for syrup three times and then it's done so I'm sure that trees used for that purpose don't live that long

Quoted from iceman44:

I'm back on with the GBLE. Distro to receive Friday, I'll get mine next week sometime.
I originally asked to go to the back of the line and then changed my mind.
If I get ghosting I'll live with it and see what Stern does to remedy the situation.
In the interim I'm going to have fun playing the crap out of what looks to be a great pin.
If I don't like it and want to sell it later, how much will a GBLE with some ghosting sell for? $6k? $5K?
So what, life's too short to worry about it. Am I an idiot? Probably.

Quoted from clg:

.
The wood utilized by us and our former competitors for playfields over the last decades has been made to the same specifications, as has the “hardcoat” coating. The routing, sanding, finishing, etc., processes utilized to manufacture playfields over those decades have not changed.

Quoted from iceman44:

I'm back on with the GBLE. Distro to receive Friday, I'll get mine next week sometime.
I originally asked to go to the back of the line and then changed my mind.
If I get ghosting I'll live with it and see what Stern does to remedy the situation.
In the interim I'm going to have fun playing the crap out of what looks to be a great pin.
If I don't like it and want to sell it later, how much will a GBLE with some ghosting sell for? $6k? $5K?
So what, life's too short to worry about it. Am I an idiot? Probably.

Quoted from zr11990:

Wow I was told wrong then. My bad

Quoted from Kiwipinhead:

CLG
Playfield dimpling????? Can inserts dimple? lol
This is what I sent July 18
Insert ghosting/ Clear coat separating from inserts
Hi Gary
Just a heads up of what is happening to GBLE playfields in Aus,
Seems Stern got a batch of faulty playfields, just a little worried if this problem will show up here and what the correction would be should it happen,
Thanks
Mike

Quoted from PW79:

Iceman you're indeed an idiot

Quoted from clg:

Did you get a response or just the thing he sent out today? I know others have asked as well. I was all set to order one but CC was a bit to vague on when it would arrive and I was going to be overseas for a while so decided to wait till I was back. I may still get one but it will definitely not be until things have calmed and I am convinced they have this solved.
I don't see a need to rush this and I'm not so in love with the game I am prepared to take the depreciation hit if I get a bad one. I would route this for a little while and I don't think it would hold up.

Quoted from clg:

Edit: I received this as an unsolicited email I am not sure exactly what question our distributor asked Stern but I do know people here have been raising concerns about ghosting with our distributor.
Here is an email our distributor sent out from Stern on this. Nothing to worry about this is just playfield dimpling.
You have told me that some customers are concerned about dimples in the game playfields.
As noted on the cover of our game manuals, each pinball machine has unique characteristics that make it a one of a kind American made product. Each machine will have variations in appearance resulting from differences in the machine’s particular wood parts, individual silk screened art and mechanical assemblies.
The wood utilized by us and our former competitors for playfields over the last decades has been made to the same specifications, as has the “hardcoat” coating. The routing, sanding, finishing, etc., processes utilized to manufacture playfields over those decades have not changed.
Some dimpling of playfields is to be expected. I have seen this throughout my pinball career. A steel ball is harder than wood and its coating, and the softer materials will always yield. The coating was developed a few decades ago to protect the playfield from the ball wearing through the art to bare wood as was typical in older games. The coating was not developed to prevent dimpling. Although referred to as a “hardcoat”, the coating actually was developed to be flexible enough to flex with the playfield as the wood expands and contracts with changes in the humidity and wood moisture content. Further, too hard a coating will crack during playfield assembly at the point of part insertion and rollover slot fluting. With the thicker application as desired for collector models, the coating itself will show more dimples, and the desired higher gloss of the coating makes dimples more visible. The layout of some game designs may result in more dimples in a particular area, and the art design of some playfield areas may make dimples more noticeable. My experience has shown over time the surface will level with game play, reducing dimple visibility.
I refer you to discussions on the Pinside forum. I am attaching addresses for posts relative to a Funhouse and an original Medieval Madness, confirming that playfields will dimple but level with play.
The Pinside posts I refer to can be found at:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/my-funhouse-beauty-queen-has-dimples#post-999911
and
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/playfield-dimple-reality-check
Thank you for bringing your customers’ concern to my attention. Please assure your customers that initial dimpling is normal in pinball and is within our quality parameters.
Best regards,
Gary
P.S. Ghostbusters is ranked #1 pinball in both the August RePlay Magazine poll and the August Playmeter Magazine poll.
Gary Stern
President
Stern Pinball, Inc.
2001 Lunt Avenue
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007-5605 USA
Tel: +1-708-786-7036 Fax: +1-708-345-7813
Mobile: +1-847-278-1398
[email protected]
http://www.sternpinball.com

Quoted from iceman44:

Gary sent me an email earlier and said this recent batch is perfect and ready to go.

Quoted from EricHadley:

Sniff Sniff.....This smells fake

Quoted from Concretehardt:

Are you shitting me Ice?

Quoted from clg:

Others have received it too. It is very real!

Quoted from EricHadley:

Screen shot of the email in an inbox with the from information please, then I'll believe

Quoted from iceman44:

Relax, your pin is on its way. It's all over but the crying now.

Quoted from EricHadley:

Well, looks like the question was about dimples.....yep that's common. I don't think this has to do with concerns about ghosting at all.

Quoted from iceman44:

Is somebody really complaining about "dimpling" too or is Coin Cascade out to lunch?

Quoted from iceman44:

Gary sent me an email earlier and said this recent batch is perfect and ready to go.

Quoted from clg:

Edit: I received this as an unsolicited email I am not sure exactly what question our distributor asked Stern but I do know people here have been raising concerns about ghosting with our distributor.
Here is an email our distributor sent out from Stern on this. Nothing to worry about this is just playfield dimpling.
You have told me that some customers are concerned about dimples in the game playfields.
As noted on the cover of our game manuals, each pinball machine has unique characteristics that make it a one of a kind American made product. Each machine will have variations in appearance resulting from differences in the machine’s particular wood parts, individual silk screened art and mechanical assemblies.
The wood utilized by us and our former competitors for playfields over the last decades has been made to the same specifications, as has the “hardcoat” coating. The routing, sanding, finishing, etc., processes utilized to manufacture playfields over those decades have not changed.
Some dimpling of playfields is to be expected. I have seen this throughout my pinball career. A steel ball is harder than wood and its coating, and the softer materials will always yield. The coating was developed a few decades ago to protect the playfield from the ball wearing through the art to bare wood as was typical in older games. The coating was not developed to prevent dimpling. Although referred to as a “hardcoat”, the coating actually was developed to be flexible enough to flex with the playfield as the wood expands and contracts with changes in the humidity and wood moisture content. Further, too hard a coating will crack during playfield assembly at the point of part insertion and rollover slot fluting. With the thicker application as desired for collector models, the coating itself will show more dimples, and the desired higher gloss of the coating makes dimples more visible. The layout of some game designs may result in more dimples in a particular area, and the art design of some playfield areas may make dimples more noticeable. My experience has shown over time the surface will level with game play, reducing dimple visibility.
I refer you to discussions on the Pinside forum. I am attaching addresses for posts relative to a Funhouse and an original Medieval Madness, confirming that playfields will dimple but level with play.
The Pinside posts I refer to can be found at:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/my-funhouse-beauty-queen-has-dimples#post-999911
and
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/playfield-dimple-reality-check
Thank you for bringing your customers’ concern to my attention. Please assure your customers that initial dimpling is normal in pinball and is within our quality parameters.
Best regards,
Gary
P.S. Ghostbusters is ranked #1 pinball in both the August RePlay Magazine poll and the August Playmeter Magazine poll.
Gary Stern
President
Stern Pinball, Inc.
2001 Lunt Avenue
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007-5605 USA
Tel: +1-708-786-7036 Fax: +1-708-345-7813
Mobile: +1-847-278-1398
[email protected]
http://www.sternpinball.com

Quoted from PW79:

Pfft. Dude you got Jedi mind tricked lol.

Quoted from iceman44:

You know I'm kidding about the email right?
Even though this mystery might be a case for Agent Mulder and the X Files, it's all gonna work itself out at the end of the day.

Quoted from PW79:

Ah damn. Ya got me. I thought you were serious about the email. Not sure why. Maybe because JJP would call or email folks to save sales IIRC.
I'm rooting for you man. But I'm also preparing my " F'n told you so" speech lol.

Quoted from vid1900:

There is no such thing as factory "insert decals".
All lettering on playfield inserts were/are silkscreened ink - directly on the insert.
No decals of any kind.

Quoted from clg:

...
The wood utilized by us and our former competitors for playfields over the last decades has been made to the same specifications, as has the “hardcoat” coating. The routing, sanding, finishing, etc., processes utilized to manufacture playfields over those decades have not changed.
...

Quoted from robotron:

can i get maple from my ghosting gb le?
that be a bonus.
all my pins are sissy pins hardly played all decked out with toys and cliffies.
this one gb le is gonna get played with shaker on high until the playfield is worn out and all the inserts ghosted. if it starts to look like crap sell it off and buy a huo premium or off to the next title.
work hard play harder!

Quoted from iceman44:

Hehe, yep, we'll have some fun with this. I'm prepared for the "you dumb ass I told you so speech!"
I'm gonna post pics from the unboxing through the whole ghosting process.

Quoted from EricHadley:

My GB LE is currently on a truck somewhere between Chicago and Denver. What do you guys think? Unbox and play right away, or unbox remove the glass and let it sit a month to cure more before playing???