I've got those orange buttons ready to go, and pretty sure I was right Will post as soon as mine shows ... I do like that light blue specter button more than I thought I would though!

I’ve got a few questions on bond

First of all I heard from my distributor that only LE are shipping first and that premiums will be next year but he did say there are a few pros floating around;

What is the main difference between LE ($12999 msrp) and premium which is like 2 thousand cheaper I think …

What’s the verdict on this game or is it too early to tell until more reviews come out

Thank you for your help and time

I would hate to buy such an expensive game for it to be a bust ; I’ve only got room for 1 more pin and I’m dead set on getting a modern stern;

There is no way to know how Bond will turn out. It shoots well, but code is just bare bones. You can see everything in it in about 15-20 minutes right now.

If you want to get a modern Stern, get one that is already mature and well regarded (Godzilla Prem, Jurassic Park Prem, Deadpool Pro/Prem, Iron Maiden Pro/Prem, etc) then circle back to Bond in 12-18 months when you can fairly judge if it does it for you.

As for the Prem/LE spread is just niceties like powder-coating, better speakers, etc. Here's the feature matrix that compares all three models:
James-Bond-007-Feature-Matrix.pdf

Increase strength, is what they are saying. But I'm still waiting for mine, so not sure

Reminds me of tuning the shooter wireforms in NBAFB. Another Gomez game. Yes. Sometimes the slightest adjustment in those wireforms makes the difference between consistent shots and 20% to 30% shots in Fastbreak.

Hey guys, new pinsider here. I've got a bond LE on order should be arriving on the boat around FEB next year. Will just have to live my life through your posts until then.
Shout out to BeltKing, thanks for the verification.

I hope you like it or you are going to need a new username!

This was the exact response I was looking for ! You hit the nail right on the coffins ;

I just bought a mandalorian pro, Godzilla premium, and toy story 4 LE in the last 3 months I just started pinball and got the bug B A D; I can’t stop playing !!!

Looking for my final pinball for my collection owning more then 4 just doesn’t do it for me space wise ;

So I was definitely wanting a deep and established game for my 4th ;(but still highly considering bond)

I think your fair analysis of waiting 13-16 months to see how it would turn out is pretty probably realistic and fantastic advice ;

I’m just a huge diehard bond fan and may even still buy it …

If I think Godzilla is hard what other polished stern modern game that is newbie friendly -mediocre with room to grow into advanced ? ;

; JP I’ve heard is way harder ; not sure about Deadpool;

Sorry if I went off topic a bit ;

I am still going to play and test James when the LE comes in and probably make a decision then and hopefully more feedback for bond will show up ; I don’t even see it in the top 100 yet surely ppl have written reviews for it …

Also why would stern release this game with such a shallow and short code?

Why didn’t they take the time to deepen the code and rule sets before releasing the game it seems like back ass backwards way to release a game so not polished? ;

If you can see the entire game in 15 minutes that’s absolutely terrible IMO

Unless their protocol for releasing games with no deep code is the norm .

.I’m new to pinball and stern so I don’t know much ….

But seems frustrating that they would do this ?

Anyone with any info or comments I’d love to hear your thoughts on anything

Forgive my ignorance or if I offended anyone

I know nothing about Any of this;

Thank you so much if anyone wishes to respond

My LE was doing this too, and also sometimes not coming all the way out -- the roof panel was just catching the edge of the habitrail. Like you, I adjusted its position so the door fully clears, and one piece of the habitrail blocks the direction of the outlane. Been 100% ever since.

Don't worry folks, it's that easy. Just two nuts to loosen. If you take out a ball, you can repeatedly test it while in attract mode, as the game ejects the ball immediately to get set up for a new game. Get it adjusted, retighten, you're done.

Not sure if already posted.. but LMAO!

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I’m sure there’s a middle ground possible

Le looks great...I have a prem on order and have a chance to grab a Le......very tempting. Congrats guys !

Welcome to the beginning of the end.
You’re so screwed lol ^_^

My op on layout difficulties for some recents:
JP hard
GB hard
TMNT hard/medium
DP medium/easy
Bond medium/easy
GZ easy
Rush easy

Regarding Bond unpolished product release-understand they’re a business trying to simultaneously service existing thousands of games, build new thousands, design/test new handfuls, negotiate licenses, expand into a new factory, slowly evolve software/boards. While the mfrs sometimes don’t do themselves any favors, stuff doesn’t happen overnight nor automatically despite our passion for it.

I made a run of 4 Bond toppers and shooter rods. I have one left. PM me if interested.

Topper has lighting and motorized arm.

After this one is gone if there is more interest I will make 3 more in January for a total run of 007 units.

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I will have an LE for sale here soon, NIB, if anyone interested. Thanks

How are the provided balls for the LE?
Any rust/pitting issues like mentioned for the pro models?
My LE coming in a week and wondering if I need to order new ones. Thanks.

As a recovering pinball addict, I can confidently say that eventually you'll realize that your ideal pinball collection is your current collection plus one. It doesn't matter how many you have. The addiction is real.

This release, especially has been a shitshow. Dunno what's happening internally, but it's not a normal release. Plus they put (in my opinion) their most mediocre coder on Bond, who has a habit of "good enough" and not "great" work. They gave him a good support team, so this time may be different, but there's a LONG record of not-so-great work.

They may have been pressed by timelines in their license contract to announce the game out by the 60th in Sept. Dunno. But it's been bad.

EVERYONE might not, but I was able to get to the point where I could see it all in one game in less than a week. Prior to that I had seen pretty much everything, but across several games.

For Stern, this is the new normal. The only question is HOW incomplete the game is at launch. Some are better than others. Some (Munsters) stay shallow even when they're "done." It's why I recommended waiting to see how Bond turns out. You can always pick one up later IF it appeals to you when it's done, or even more complete.

Yeah, this is a great question. Stern was supposedly aware of once the pros started being unpacked. Wonder if it was addressed in time for the domestic LEs (international LEs are probably SOL because they were done earlier).

Topper is Sold.

Taking a list for the final run of 3. They Will be complete in early January. Just waiting on the db5’s it’s the part not made in house.

I can't tell you how many route pins I've bought with bugs embedded in the back of the backbox from operators transporting pins like this. So lazy. Takes, what? 20 seconds to fold down the head?

The balls are terrible, worse ones I have seen from Stern, get new shiny ones, you will need 6

I’ll have to say the balls that came with my GZ premium a week ago were so embarrassingly bad I had to replace them right away

Why? Unless rusted which I’ve never had, why wouldn’t you use stern balls?

I will go ahead and guess and say cheap build quality balls ; the ones I got were already marked and pitted a little and dull looking

Assuming you install good new balls on average after how many plays is it good to replace them usually?

I got my LE. I'll set it up tomorrow.

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Any score that has 007 in a grouping should earn a secret extra replay!

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If new you mean for the last 10 years, then yes new. It’s been like this since TWD at least. It took over a year for that code to be enjoyable and now it’s one of the best.

Every machine launched since then has had similar issues. Although it seems like the Elwin games are better than the others.

When was the last time a game didn't eventually get pretty solid code? Offhand everything I can think of in the LCD era at least has wound up pretty damn good in the long run. Honestly, Mando is the only one I can think of in recent history I wouldn't be pretty happy to have on deck if I had space.

I really enjoyed seeing the game develop on GZ and Rush. I'm not entirely sad the LEs are bare bones right now, confident they'll get there and it'll be a good ride. It's a great layout to work with.

Simple as that.
(And Mando is pretty rad too)

Just got the call, bond LE is at the hub and I’ll have it by 2 o’clock today!

Balls have no rust. I still replaced them with the pinball life ones though.

Nice! He remembers that there is an upper flipper though which is impressive! All new players (young or old) at my place can’t seem to remember to ever flip the upper ones when ball is near (P3 is whole other level because flippers are hidden).

002 of 1000. Nice. In the bond movies, anytime they introduced a “00” other than bond, they usually either got killed or turned out to be a villain.

Yeah, Mando's a specific flavor I think, not really for me. Code is fine, but kinda limited by the playfield. Whole back half of that game is a waste. Great game to learn to backhand on though.

Has anyone who bought direct through Stern heard anything yet? I'm on vacation on a beach until next Wednesday anyway, but kinda feel like for 13k I oughta have a damn update by now at least...

Hmm…

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Gomez said game 007/1000 was going to be auctioned off for charity. He also said (twice) that the 60th anniversary game would be revealed by now...

You are in fort Lauderdale. I highly recommend going to glitch bar. They have 8 games. Last time I was there they had
GZ PRO
IMDN PRO
MANDO PRO
RUSH PRO
LED ZEP PREM
DEADPOOL PRO
AIQ PRO
STTNG

Note two of the games are up front, other 6 are in the back in a separate room, ask for the code for the back room at the bar.

Orange.

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Sold to the highest bidder - charity: Gary’s whiskey and fine dining appreciation club.

Getting my LE today too. I played a Pro and Premium a couple of weeks ago at Pincinnati, as well as at Expo in October. Code was .58 at Expo and .70 at Pincinnati. I didn't notice a whole lot of difference, but I love how it shoots. I spoke with Mike Vinikour at Pincinnati, and he told me that they have a decent update ready, but are waiting for the license holder to approve...and he said they are slow. After speaking with him, I fell confident the code will get much better. He was very passionate about it.

Looking for someone to test my James Bond edition plate on their Pro or Premium. Will send it for free if you provide me with your serial number. PM if interested. Thanks.
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In the club!

Playing great, but man the drop targets are SUPER bricky. Any tips to tweak? The flippers seem really strong so first instinct is to turn them down… but I like to play with stock settings for the most part so curious if there’s a physical adjustment that worked for anybody.

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You need them strong to make the jet pack ramp. I would wait till you play a while to figure it out.