Question MBR owners ? I’m considering selling my real nice original for the fact I really love my AFMLE over the original
Bigger display etc it’s awsum. A few guys think having an original is better ?
MBRLE or Original?

This question will probably cause a riot. If you like the bigger screen, buy the remake. It's the same game with some added bling and much newer electronics.

I completely agree. My intent of posting photos of my game was objective. I'm not here to stir the pot, but feel CGC should be given a chance to see what they plan to do to resolve these issues. It's not shipping damage. If repairs will be made to cabinets and will have noticeable repairs made, that needs to be shared and the games priced accordingly. I bought a new game and that's all I want; nothing more or less.

From a mechanical standpoint, the tilt rod "thingie" is missing. I have the weight and thumbscrew that was included in the coin box, but the metal piece the weight attaches to is MIA. I was concerned it might be stuck in a board someplace, but I've looked everywhere.

Matter of choice really. I am assuming there are purists out there that will only accept the original, but frankly, the LE blows the original away IMO. It is just asthetics though so it doesn't really impact gameplay.

A shipper, attempting repairs on a game and then somehow repackaging without that being obvious would be extraordinary. These boxes are stapled shut - if the shipper removed all the staples and tried to re-staple in the exact same holes with the same type of staple, I suppose ... They would also have to re-strap both the game, and the packaging materials (head to bottom cabinet, box to pallet, topper to box and pallet) as it came from the factory to hide the evidence. As someone who has bought CGC games before, a shipper wouldn't get that past me. As someone who is involved in LTL shipping all day for my work - this is not something that I have ever seen a reputable carrier attempt. They will play the fool sometimes and try to pass off obvious shipping damage on the consignee, but more often, they just fess up and admit that something happened. They have insurance for these situations anyway. I am interested in plausible causation, and solutions too! This is not a plausible one. The simplest answer is usually the correct one.

I think CGC just fell down on this one. Maybe they are rushed because of customer expectations vs the admitted delays, and mistakes happen when one is rushed. The cracked decals ... this is so obvious, I'll sum up again - vinyl over wood joint = likelihood of eventual failure of vinyl. Maybe the REALLY careful decal installers at CGC can do such a careful job that this reality is delayed, or maybe even avoided ... and, the slap-dash installers, not so much. But, more likely, this VERY WEAK cosmetic link (vinyl over wood joint) manifests dependent upon temperature extremes during deliver, how carefully the game is handled during it's time on pallet, or ... just because weak links in anything have a tendency to fail.

Can't believe all of these problems that I have been reading about! All of this is just confirming my worst fears that I posted a couple of months ago. This is what I feared when CGC announced they were hiring new help to produce these games. Must have went down to the border and hired. I have been waiting for my LE since October. Hopefully this unfortunate stuff is fixed by the time mine is built.

Canadians?

Understand. Yet, no one has cracked the nut as to why then for 3+ months no decal cuts surface on MBRs, then all of a sudden here they come, one NIB game after another. And never subsequent to looking good out of the box due to "cabinet shift" theory.

All that's changed that we know of for sure in that time is the weather.

Maybe the cabinets contracting and expanding slightly during periods of cold during shipping could cause fluctuations with the decals? Or could be the vinyl itself becomes brittle in the cold and breaks easier during shipping. I have one on order, but it's subzero where I'm at, so yeah...

This made me pause for a second as well... Ok, I get increasing production to satisfy demand but at the sake of quality? And if it comes out of the box looking like it’s taken a stroll through the trenches already, like that last example, just what did I get for the 4 to 5 month wait other than to take a chance at split decal roulette? I hope I hit double 00 and get matching cracks on both left and right sides, or maybe I get real lucky and have decal cracks, chipped powder coat and a scabbed rear corner like our last lucky winner? You can give just so much slack on a rope before they get enough to tie a noose and hang you with it. Again, the lack of communication raises its ugly head. I shut up about the production delay when they told me the reason why was quality related issues, and parts delays. They communicated with me, I got an answer, I shut up. These issues go unaswered, and we are seeing TRENDS that are troubling, so once again I ask, @doug_duba, what is CGC doing about this issue besides giving out replacement decals as a $250 “install it yourself” nightmare?

I have my SE coming tomorrow! - I honestly couldn't care less of the vinyl is cracked lol. Considering I never thought I could afford one - let alone a brand new one, the hairline crack in the art seems incredibly silly to worry about.

I'll post pics tomorrow - (fingers crossed it all goes well!).

I may put up with a hairline crack...as long as it stays that way and does not develop into this, within a year.

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Go South! Like the quality seems to be going.

Different batch of decals maybe?

Remember how bad Stern's Transformers and Kiss pro decals were? Awful!

I swear as much as we want this game back in the house I can tell you I am close to dropping my LE order and buying a JJP POTC. Very disappointed about all these issues with the cab/decals and they appear to be getting worse.

Not really sure about that. Seems like this was an issue with AFM and no one was worried about until now.

Wow that’s bad

Exactly my concern - this has been there for a year and has never been addressed, come on man.

You have waited 20 years to buy a NIB MB.... now a 10mm crack in the side art has people sending them back or cancelling!?

No, I have not cancelled or sent one back, I am just asking for some communication... what is missing on these complaints and issues is any response from CGC. But they may be waiting for a resolution before saying anything publicly, who knows?

We don’t know for sure that decal cracks didn’t happen for the last three plus months with MBR. Sounds like it happened with AFMR and never stopped.

That’s an assumption based on lack of problematic posts to Pinside. That does not mean it didn’t happen as other folks purchase this game besides all of us on PS.

Of the 250 LE shipped, a handful have posted reports of cracking issues in a decal, and even fewer with some other minor cosmetic issues. Let’s not make a mountain out of a molehill just yet? I wouldn’t cancel my LE order just because of these.

The problem is that JJP POTC NIB buyers (if your reading through the owners thread) are having their fair share of issues as well. Off center toppers that can't be corrected, too tight of cabinets, numerous black pearl issues, CE barnacles falling off, chest lock that won't release balls, ect. Welcome to buying NIB. I agree though, some of these problems are inexcusable. If I had AliciaC's MBRLE, I would be shooting flames from my eyeballs.

The operative word is “NIB.” You are buying new goods and it’s advertised as such.

My decal crack on the front right corner slightly grew (about .5”) after I initially set the machine up and allowed it to sit overnight. Not sure the causation, just objective data.

Haven’t heard back from CGC yet, but will update this thread when I do.

And the majority of POTC owners had no issues. Mine included. People often forget that on forums you get the complaints. Most people who have no issues will not come post about it. These are complex machines with a ton of moving parts. They are heavy and don’t always ship well. And there has to be some leeway to allow for factory repairs or blemishes of a superficial nature.

Yes I agree with that. My point was really that it doesn't make any sense to bail on a game in fear that you could have issues out of the box, only to get on another NIB game that also could have issues out of the box. There is no such thing as 100% zero issue NIB titles. There will always be some and yes, you're going to hear about it on the forums.

I often expect mechanical concerns that happen due to shipping. This is my 11th or 12th NIB game; I get it and things happen. Not this many things typically happen at one time.

Why is my LE missing the tilt plungebob hanger thingie? Not lost in shipping.

Mechanical stuff can be fixed by most of us. Cosmetic stuff not so much; or at least well beyond my abilities. And I’m not going to use my new 8k toy to learn how to replace decals.

I will not accept a tolerance for superficial blemishes on games. If that’s the case, advertise semi-NIB games and price accordingly.

I hear ya but most of the POTC issues are mechanical and are things that need to be tweaked after a machine is played/used I get it and expect it (yes I am monitoring that thread as well as I do want a POTC). 99% of that is stuff the average pin owner can deal with even me with my poor skills. But the cabs/decals cracking and splitting is ridiculous IMHO and not what a normal pin person is equipped to handle. How many people here can take a pin and redecal it and why the hell should I have to do this to a brand new game I spent 8k on? That's like buying a brand new car with that gets a crack in the clear/paint and they say here is a can of paint you can fix it yourself. That's BS.

While I know not every game is like that and that we only hear about the complaints there seems to be more and more games with this issue and most of them are LEs. Hell look how many AFMR people are posting pics of their games that had this issue a year ago. As far as the game with all the issues above that is definitely an odd duck and in no way do I think its the norm. Something got wonky on that one and someone just said the hell with it let it go. Personally I would take that game with its flaws for 1/2 the price though otherwise for my full 8k you are giving me a new game or a full refund and you can come pack this thing up and haul it out I'm not doing it.

Exactly!

I will say my distributor has stood by my side with these issues from the moment I reported the concern to him and CGC. It’s good having someone advocate for you.

Agree, my LE is probably not the norm and one that got missed in final QC. However, that doesn’t change my level of being pissed off.

I’m in the same camp that they can come transport this thing out of my upstairs gameroom and replace it with what I paid for.

I received my MBLE last Friday with some cosmetic issues, and one technical issue with the topper. Before airing any dirty laundry I opened a ticket with CGC on Saturday to see how they want to handle it....my issue was not with a splitting decal it was a few other things that really don't have anything to do with game play, but are none the less issues. I haven't received any response from CGC as of this post.

I'm up in Pleasanton your more than welcome to play mine....I've played both, and my initial impression is the remakes are nicer due to all the upgrades.

Temperature could be a reasonable explanation for the decals. Cold factory when the decals went on and cured. Warm house, cabinet expands and splits the decal. Only at the top because that’s the weakest point.

Whatever is causing it, just don’t wrap the decal around the corner. Such a simple solution, and one that was identified by CGC over 12 months ago.

You never see a split decal on a JJP game because they don’t overlap the decals around the corner. Nor did the 90’s BW games.

why don't you just pick up the phone and call them!

I reached out to CGC approximately 10 days ago with a general contact request for a service question, and a detailed explanation that BOTH my brand new in box AFMrLE, and my numbers matching MBrLE have cracked decals just behind the right front corner of the cabinet - BOTH in exactly the same spot. By this past Friday, I had not been contacted ... so I contacted my distributor who advised me to open an official ticket, one ticket for each game. I am in the same boat as you ... says "being processed" under my account, but no news or attempt to contact me yet.

Not everyone that buys a machine...is here on pinside

Also would include that some portion of the 246 matching LEs still haven't been delivered. The roulette wheel is still spinning on those.

And say what exactly, “hello, I heard you are making crappy MBrLE’s and I want you to stop?” Since my game has not been delivered yet, I have no issue yet to open a ticket or to make a claim like the ones posting on here who have. I can be concerned, like all the rest of my fellow non matched LE customers waiting for their machine, in the quality of those machines delivered to date. I am a paying customer with $1000 non refundable deposit sitting in my distributors account. I qualify as someone who can legally be concerned and bitch. Ymmv.

Wrapping requires one less trim operation per joint than trimming both decals at the corner. Wrapping is a cost savings measure, imo, and for $8 freaking thousand it should be better than what we are seeing. Enough said.

Correct. Nor can we make an assumption that they did or did not have issues.

Someone please report how CGC handles your open ticket. Let’s give them a chance to fix and rectify ang problems.

Here’s my dads AFMLE , wasn’t like this new. Been in the same spot since unboxing a year ago ???

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Waiting doesn't seem to work. What seems to work is to be vociferous and CGC starts reaching out to you personally, as they did when my expectation of delivery went from end of December to maybe end of January, then February, to maybe now into March. If delivery dates are sliding to address quality issues, then I guess I should expect some decent quality. These issues, not issolated to a single customer, but multiple customers, not issolated to a single title but multiple titles, this is the big red flag waving saying, OK, how long is the wait for a really “Limited Edition” quality Monster Bash remake really going to be? If it comes in February but has decal cracks, was the 4 month wait not long enough already? Maybe I should wait till April and not get cracked decals? According to some on here, if they are cracked, the fix is here’s a set of decals, have a nice day?!? All for $8300 delivered. I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt when they said quality issues and parts delays were causing slips in delivery. If this is the delivered quality for the additional wait, I can see why people are pulling out of LE purchases, especially if their distributor gives them a refund or credit towards another title.

I got my MBr SE in December 2018. Houdini was NIB in February 2018. Both were flawless out of the boxes. The LOTR and LAH were both probably not cracked when new. I think they are cracking from the overlap and from shaking the pin during game play.

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It was new decals for me (uninstalled). I’d imagine it’s the same here. Or you don’t accept the game and send it back.

wow I'm a little surprised they've taken this long to respond. When ever I had issues with my AFMRLE they responded very quickly....hmmm not sure what to think about the silence unless they've gotten so many of these tickets their asking management to figure out a way to respond.

Alicia that's so poor, hope CGC do the right thing and replace the machine completely.

Did anyone have any success in calling CGC and actually getting some sort of response? I see including myself & people leaving msg's and yet to hear from them.

The first picture looks like that the cabinet split. So there is maybe an other bracket needed. A friend of mine did that with his afmrle, after he knows that mine cracks, and he has now for over one year no cracks on his afmrle.

So the others are not even CGC and you are seeing the same thing on all of them...interesting..

No cracks on any of my Williams or Bally though.