and that folks, is your all favorite pin manufacturer, with a brand new Batman 66 release with not one, but TWO LCD screens.... please, just leave your money on your way out and don't bother us anymore....

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Just went to FB and verified that I had not liked their page. There... I feel better.

Stern is scrubbing the crap out of their "social" media. Actively hiding manufacturing defects from future customers is an interesting marketing technique. Hmmmm

Jared does what he needs to do to get paid. I don't blame him for doing his job, it just sucks that Stern is hiding this so blatantly.

Listened to your podcast today. Very well done. Can't believe you have been banned multiple times by Stern.

I spoke with my distro today.

I've almost all of my non-circle inserts ghosting on one machine & clear coat issues and the beginning of ghosting on my other machine as well as clear coat issues. Both purchased NIB in the last 6 months.

I was told that Stern would be working through the distributors on a case by case basis in the upcoming weeks.

We'll see …

What did he do, use multiple Facebook accounts?

I noticed that too and immediately gave it a "Like".

Umm, it looks like there is a protective plastic film over the entire keypad. Peel that off like you are supposed to and your keypad will look brand new

The man speaks truth! Quickly, everyone rip off that pesky mylar and your playfield will look brand new! No more ghosting, whoo!

Bummer dude. You should have totally put Mylar & Cliffy's before the first plunge.

Mylar is magic. It fixes everything. It's like the Viagra of Stern clear coat fixes.

Everybody's doing it.

It's soooo 2016!

Everybody with playfield issues should bring them and line them up on the wall!

Then go see Adam West with the pass you got for pre-ordering Batman.

my buddies gb le. he isnt on pinside. wood filler and chipped. box was perfect on delivery. pretty messed up. also has mismatched rails.

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I bet it's not a crack, but rather the edge of the mylar. Either the mylar was not installed correctly or the piece doesn't cover the bumper area as well as it should. I probably have to put additional mylar down to cover the gap.

From my game:

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Less than 1,000 plays in and its falling apart at the seams...

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Wow, more and more cabinet issues too. "Oh hey lets just put some ugly wood filler in where Pedro Gonzales bumped into it with his air wrench and not bother to match the color!"

Sheesh, glad I got priced out of buying NIB as some of these issues are terrible.

I was banned for something a long time ago and then was unbanned right before GOT was announced. I posted something HILARIOUS about their decals falling off and it was deleted, I had taken a screen shot of my original post and then reposted that... Banned. My ban was lifted not too long ago.

How is your ban being lifted?
Seems I am permanently banned then

Can someone shoot me a link to this? I would like to listen..

Thanks..

Holy cab issues Batman!!

Dang! I have only seen cabinet separation like that on games that were dropped in shipping Are you sure it wasn't? If it fell over flat on its side during shipping the box could still look fine. I wish Stern used those indicators like DP that tell you if your game has fallen over during shipping.

$8,000 well spent. sorry damn man

Seam cracks inside and out of the cabinet are normal.. but the green area.. can you take a pic zoomed out of the area? Is that the front corner? I dont understand the green wrap around..

typically decals dont hit the corners.

Wow, F you stern!!! You will never see my money. This is ludicrous. Looks like Spooky is the only company I would want to give my business to at this point. Keep ignoring the issue at hand, it won't go away and I can bet you are loosing a lot of customers over this

Also interested in a link.

http://www.podcastgarden.com/podcast/thisflippinpodcast

Enjoy!

Yea...not crazy about it, but all of the newer sterns have these wrap around decals instead of the traditional cut at the corners that meet...

Thanks. Talked to Taylor on here, very nice. Listened to the podcast and his wife and him have it right. Deleting posts from your Facebook account is just wrong, unless it is out of line or threatening. But to hide an issue instead of dealing with it is just inexcusable.

I think they're going to ignore this particular problem until it swims up and bites them in the ass!

When they continue to ship product without addressing anything it kind of tells you what their stance is.

I mean this is only compounding the issue that they are having, if they ever plan to address it.

The problem with banning people like Taylor is that he has the ear of people who know that this is an issue, pinsiders. I'm sure there are casual pinheads who listen, but for the most part, the people who have an issue with what is happening are the same type of people who listen to his and other pinball podcasts.

If they want to be silent to the masses, whatever, but if they want to keep core customers who are watching this thread unfold, they should be reaching out to Taylor (who has delayed his GB premium because of issues) and Jeff from This Flipping Podcast who has one of the $8k GBLEs that is having this exact issue. Put a real plan together, reach out to the podcasts, and spread the word on what is to be done. I've said it before and I'll say it again, you will not please everyone with this issue, but they are losing a shit ton of good faith right now and future purchases along with it.

I like the Adam West Batman, a lot. I'm 31, but grew up with this show on VHS. I really would like having this theme, but I won't. Not soon and maybe not ever. I own a route, any new game I buy goes out. But in the end, if I plan on keeping it long term I will look at the current issue as a risk to the durability of the game and pass. Stern is only on my radar right now because they are a train wreck, and everyone watches those when they happen in front of them.

That's absolutely dreadful. I haven't seen an ST from the runs done this year, but my ST Premium (December 2013 assembly date) has the same colouration and saturation as the left hand one. Also zero ghosting or clear chipping. Bought HUO from another pinsider, based in the US, with a Transatlantic journey to boot.

Aside from lower cost (even after packing, transport and tax paid upon entry to the UK), my main reason for not buying a new one was that I was very wary of more recent builds ('15 and early '16) ... and this was before the tidal wave of playfield issues and change in supplier.

If those photos are truly representative of what this year's run look like ... then bloody hell.

Is anyone still in any doubt as to whether this was all down to saving (large sums of) money, or just some unfortunate production issues? Clue - it's not the latter.

And yet they sell out of the new release LEs.

Exactly.

The lone '16 production date and title Stern I've seen, a GB Pro, was pretty alarming to me (and cabinet looked like yours). Might as well have been made from balsa wood. To boot, looks like some real care and craftsmanship went into that welding ...

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Having had to take apart the slimer mech, vuk, playfield stuff, I am unfortunately not pleased with the gauge and quality of metal, its machine bending, welding, and quality and quantity of screws holding the parts.
I think many can agree in the build quality, when compared with other manufacturers, and previous Sterns.

However, the Game Rocks, Im thrilled to have it, and it makes up for it in pure fun, shots and gameplay, even with a 1.05
release.

It brings so much joy, that guests, family, and friends...non pinheads, who have played the games here now, and all of games I have rotated through in the past, say its the best game I have ever had! In many ways I agree.

I do hope they hear all they can, good and bad, to improve.

I for one will likely not purchase another Stern moving forward. QC issues not being addressed, lack of communication to my distributor with no answers to the issues being addressed as to what their going to do to fix the problem. I've yet to receive my GBLE, and super concerned but will not be surprised if has issues. Having a "fix" worked out would put my mind at ease...but it's not and I'm pissed.

I'm all about equal entitlement with fair business practices to those especially when having distributors/partners help a business thrive. Hell, I was a business owner myself once and valued my partnerships who helped sell my business to build up my clientele. To hear that Stern singly cherry picked which distributors would be entitled to sell Batman is f$@&en bad business! Yes, you could argue and say it's Stern's business and they can do what they want. Flip side, you f$&@ed over distributors that for a decade have helped you grow your business to where it is today only to force their regular customers to search for another distributor that you allocated games too. WTF!!! The distributor not only gets f$&@ed making money selling games but they are also loosing clients over it. Is this how you say thanks Stern?? Sit in a room and meet for a day and get your shit together. Make things right for your customers, with your distributors. Claim the #1 spot in pinball but do it right...for F$&@-sake!

And yet prices go up Art. I don't care how enjoyable a game it is, if you are paying top dollar for a machine, top quality parts are what you should get. Not this price cutting BS that has been happening for quite a while now with Stern. They wanted to be the Top Dog, well they sure aren't acting like it when it comes to addressing the issues of their customers and build quality of their machines.

I recently bought my first Stern NIB as well after owning mostly 80's and 90's Williams games and have the same thoughts and concerns. Working with the Stern mechs and such they seem pretty cheap and lightweight materials everywhere vs. the Williams stuff I'm used to.

But yeah, my Metallica is a blast to play.

I'm sure it will be fine in a HUO scenario, not sure how'd it hold up on location though. Or maybe Williams just overbuilt stuff??

In my view Stern looks like a company that's fattening up its books for a sale somewhere in the not too distant future. The cost cutting, price gouging and increasing quality deficit relative to the competition make little sense given how extreme they seem to have become, and certainly aren't sustainable. Only way it makes sense is to maximise profit in very near term, ripening it for a larger sale price.

In working with Slimer, Ive shimmed the mech to change the height, but the arc makes it too high.
Ive maxed the height of the arm with the set screw.

What was needed was the ability to raise and lower slimer on his wire.
This could have been achieved with a hollowed out slimer, and instead of a final welded finished point on his bottom, a stop/tube sleeve, with a screw. Anyone could then, as it would be gravity held, pull slimer up the wire to the boom, and adjust the stop at any height.
$.10-$.15 in a part, Slimer hollowed is in the mold, and no one would have these issues.

Even a couple more screws in the VUK....theres 2, that go through the playfield, but only ONE on the other side.
In lieu of me putting a weld spot where needed, Zip ties, are anchoring the VUK.

I needed to tighten rails, and support, only to discover the solution is to shim my rails out by washers, so the playfield wont drop.
Prior to this...it had only about an 1/8" support.

Airballs too, should have been caught, as well.

Maybe not the playfield issue, as many of these got boxed looking fine, and this happened after, But address the individuals one on one who have made their purchase, and have issues.

I hate to say it. I love my Stern Games, I love the guys there, and Gary for freaking almost 40 years.
Killer Art, Killer Title, Killer Game.......just not made to THEIR standards.....

Sad to say, until it changes, I have to be vocal about not buying NIB. Even Email responses now, have failed from service, when they never have in the past, and Im emailing from an active replied communication.

Shame on Stern for treating everyone this way. Yet, games will sell.....Ill have my say at Expo in person, with no replies, and join now the list that reflects this title......"Hey Stern, ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"

Looks like Ill wait until the next title is fully vetted, or spend elsewhere.

I know I worked my hardest to try to never lose or disappoint a customer. It is at this time...not just because of me, but look how long the thread has been active too, to hear nothing for all those affected.

Im still positive, but cant jump up and down about any future release.

Not sure who would buy a pinball company... but you can bet that someone's bonus-pay compensation plan is behind a lot of these short-sighted decisions.

Profit margins were already very high before the latest 'economisation' at Stern. The private equity people who rescued the company in 2008 may want out ... and they might be sensible to given the rising competition and seeming bubble. Certainly they'd be well advised to sell before the chickens come home to roost, vis a vis the firm's reputation for (poor) quality.

Anyway, to answer your question, plenty of people if there's money to be made.

Now Start button ghosting?
Unreal.
At the very least offer people one of those marshmallow shooter rod mods to match.
What a mess.

I think i'm out too.
Kind of sucks since I have many spots left for new Stern games.
It's just too risky to buy not knowing if my machine will be defective and knowing that I will get the run around or no response at all if it is. The cheaping out on the pins and higher prices aren't helping anything either.

We are out for the moment too and we are a huge Stern supporter. The big difference for us in Aus is our distributer is fantastic and we are confident that our issues will be resolved. If GBLE was great out of the box like TWDLE we would have backed straight up and bought Batman 66 SLE. We have a couple of machines for sale so the spots probably will remain empty until we are confident of quality from Stern again. This is the first time that we have not had a response from Stern direct. They did forward to our distro and he rang us on the same day. Great service from our distro.

Slimer on the LE is easy sorted.. bring him to rest on the left side away from the buildings and other brackets. We shimmed the bottom bracket (under the playfield) which changed the angle of the rotating shaft and then bent the hanger arm a little and now he works perfect.