Topper is 400 bucks...how much is the KISS......snake?

Hi-res image for detail:
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This armor should have been what they put on the LE to begin with.

It matches the LE artwork a hell of a lot better than the leftover AC/DC red trim that they used.

Oooh, that's Gene Simmon's boot. They don't show the 'starchild' side.

Not a fan of the graphics on armor. I guess it is not for everybody.

Taking away dollars from the modders and leaving even more stuff off the Prem's / Le's that customers are accustomed too. Smart $ savings for them.

Looks nice, but I think this nickel and diming us on the LE's is getting out of hand. Thus is going to be $10000 by the time it's done. They better walk a fine line or they are going to start alienating their customer base.

Call it what you want..I'll be over here "lulz'ing" at people spending yet another 1000+ bucks on mods for their ridiculously expensive LE's... Wish I had a game that needed red armor, but I don't think it'll look good on Tron or Metallica!

*Edit* Was his "boot" a euphemism or a literal statement, by the way? lol..

LE buyers already pay more because it has different armor. If they like this armor more, they acutally have to pay twice for different armor.

Heh, just trying to figure out what the hell was on there. I couldn't make any sense out of it without the high-res picture. In that one you can actually make out that it looks like the boots that the 'Demon' (eyeroll) wears.

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Its a great marketing move by stern. its the same thing we see in video games these days. Buy the game, then in app purchases to customize it the way you like.

If they didn't make it, somebody else would and sell it on the side - probably for almost as much as Stern does. This way, the company that actually makes the games makes more income and further cements their ability to stay in business. I can't say I'm against it.

If there wasn't a booming mod business all over elsewhere it would seem kind of crappy of them to sell the stuff after market, but they're just playing the same hand everybody else is in this case.

Yep, I do agree this armor looks sweet. But I've always thought the overall art director for Stern games is very good (especially the last 5-6 years or so.) The overall look/feel of the color schemes and art are very cohesive and well done. I am also glad they're recognizing the market for things like custom armor and toppers (that's some progress.)

I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

Crazy... Buy a le and then have to spend $1k more on a topper and armor... Wtf

Don't "have to" spend anything. At least it's there as an option from the manufacturer versus paying someone else to do it. I don't think either a topper or custom detailed armor comes on Hobbit LE does it?

This isn't "custom"... it might be "limited"....maybe.

It's not relevant to me, not buying kiss.

But yes, I easily spent another grand on my TWDLE Stern mods.

You could always buy the Pro and put this on.

You should be thrilled that Stern is offering a la carte options.

I think Stern is making a smart move by selling this stuff. IMHO they should take the next step, and eliminate the LE model entirely, and just offer even more mods to create the "ultimate edition". So if you want the mirrored backglass and special armor and topper and all the goodies you can just order them with your game. Distributor can install them before they ship. Makes the distributor more useful.

I bet they'd make more money in the big picture selling the mirrored backglass separately to people than they do on the markup for the LE.

And it would avoid the awkward problem of buying an LE with special armor, and then having to buy the even "more special" armor to replace it.

So two models, Pro and Premium, and then all the optional upgrades.

You should get Heighway to do that. Would avoid buying an Aliens LE with green armor and sticking a Full Throttle playfield/art package on it.

Hopefully so, I wouldn't mind a set for my AC/DC pro.

Well, they sort of are doing that. You can buy a "Pro" which is really more like a "Premium" and add the beacon lights topper and the fiber optic ramps. But the LE art package will be exclusive, can't buy that, so it's half way there I guess. I do like that you can buy the things that actually interact with the game though, that's a good start.

This is what I meant by my comment. Why by a le when u can buy a premium and factory mods

whats the difference anyway between the premium and le.

A sparkly cabinet and a numbered plate..

and gary's signature on the le certificate.

IE special artwork. And mirrored bg. Not very exclusive. But I do love me some LE.

Can't wait for Orca LE. Will have all sides of the ship on cab.

and they will never again come with custom armor like the st le!

Unless Steve Ritchie wants his LEs to come that way. Steve gets what he wants.

One of the mod makers should outfit these style boots as a "snap on" for the front two legs of the machine and put LEDs in the eyes.

after stern went into the mod business i cant see that happening again. i cant blame them for trying to make more money. mfg is very expensive in the USA.

Hmmm....love me some Kiss but the LE isn't blowing me out of the water unless I'm missing something. Premium may be the way to go. Just like AC/DC

We'll have to see what happens for Steve Ritchie's next game. I can still see him getting his way if he wants to put some cool bling on his LEs that aren't on any of the other designer's LEs. Stern could still offer the same or alternate bling add-ons as part of their mod biz.

I don't see Steve including toppers with games or anything like that, but I can see him wanting to do something cool & unique with the external bling on his game's LE model, similar to what STLE had.

Ritchie seems to get his way at Stern. He only works on game themes that he actually likes (it's part of his agreement with Stern since he came back). Steve needs more time to work on his game? No problem. Stern just makes Borg & Trudeau bang out more games until Steve is done.

For about $750-$1000 less for Preemie, that'll pay for extra added bling.

I wish they would sell custom armor for AC/DC.

Stern is on a roll. Hard not to love a company shipping pins, listening to feedback and kicking ass.

that it??? lol

is that frehley and criss on the cab art ? if not.... NO SALE. ; P

It's possible that his BOM for playfield stuff on STLE/Premium wasn't THAT high compared to the Pro, so he was able to spend that budget on the blinged cabinet stuff. Also at 799 units, the profits from LE sales are higher...and that could factor into it all as well.

Kiss's license might have been more expensive that Star Trek - as music licenses often are...that factors into the overall budget and could have prevented Kiss LE from having super crazy bling.

There's always a legit reason why one game is presented in a certain way and another game is handled differently.

You have to buy a Premium over an LE. LE's are sold out!

Hey, good for Stern, I hope it's a hit. I hope the code is handled quickly. I hope it's a good game.

So do I, my first ever NIB!

You picked a really good one IMHO. And I'm not a huge kiss fan! For me, it's not about the music but a newer pin with classic artwork that reminds me of the first Kiss machine. Almost like a new and improved Vault Edition. There's no getting around the unfinished code so I think you have to be comfortable with that and have a decent size collection so that's acceptable to you. I have a TWDLE and it's a pretty shallow pin without the code completed but I was willing to be patient.

Confirms that Star Trek was the best le ever made by stern. Had it all

Still a boat anchor!

The cabinets on this game are gorgeous. This is the machine you put on the end of your lineup so people can see it.

Really, the cabinets are probably my least favorite thing about the machines, I guess beauty really is in the eye of the beholder.