Numbers do seem to be random to some degree. There has to be some other factors in play for numbers matching orders than just sequence. I am #900, paid in full when requested end of November. At that time, shipping was estimated at "next few weeks". I received an e-mail last week that the game would ship this week, but have heard nothing thus far. I am in no hurry and totally trust my distributor, but the start-stop nature of the communications and estimations is irritating. I'd rather have them under promise and be surprised, than to have expectations that never get met.

Pinball Refinery is $500ish for Ghostbusters purple armor, legs. That is with all new parts that they provide, so your game is not down while your parts are coated.

"We have top men working on it right now."
"TOP ... MEN!"

I didn't think it was terrible ... there is $250 - $300 worth of armor included in that purchase (legs, lock-down bar, rails and hinges). So ... actual cost of the powdercoating is $200 ish?? And, in the case of GB, the purple color match and quality of work looks superb!

For whatever this info is worth to numbers matching folks who are stressed ... I just received a message stating that my #900 will ship on Monday (1/21). My deposit was in on day 3 or 4, and paid in full late November when I got the 2-week estimate. I will update as this unfolds.

UGH! CNN droning on in the background at the airport, the gym, dentist office waiting room ..... and now even on our MB Pinside Forum.

According to R&L Carriers, #900 lands here in central NY tomorrow afternoon. Got my magnifying glass ready to scrutinize that playfield! Just kidding ... as long as it's reasonably nice, like my AFMrLE, I'm happy. I would think that after this recently heightened focus on quality, the game should be superb.

MBrLE #900 landed late yesterday in a snowstorm. Kudos to the R&L driver that brought it! He was a trooper, and brought it right inside my garage even though he was only commissioned for a curb drop. It's inside my game room as of this morning, getting acclimated - low teens for highs here, and it was two days late in arriving, so may have spent a night or two in a cold trailer, and one in my 40 degree garage. I'm going to leave it be, right in the box for a good 24hrs. I fear that the entire game would be wet with condensation if I pulled it out now. The box and packaging are flawless, not a mark. I peeked inside and all looks well. GCG really does a great job with packaging. I unboxed a GB premium last week and although it did arrive safely, it was much more slap-dash in the box than MB is or AFM was. Stress level is diminishing. My wish for you all that are waiting is to get the same relief soon!

IMG_6767 (resized).JPG

Ugh! Add my #900 to the list!

IMG_6769 (resized).JPG

Are you guys with split side art just contacting your distributor, or opening a ticket with CGC. Any idea how they handle this issue?

I agree! I have installed pinball side art very successfully, but on classics where the decal is cut right at the seam exactly on the corner. This is a pic of a BSD that I re-decaled.
These new cabs have the cabinet seam about a 0.25" back from the front edge, and that is exactly where the split in the art is occurring. I wonder if one replaced ONLY the side art panel, if the split would come back. It appears that CGC is overlapping both the front cabinet decal, and the side decal right over the cabinet seam, so the split has to be going through both pieces of art. I would think that if art is being applied over a seam, that seam has to be made 100% stable before decal installation. If the seam moves at all, the art is going to tear. That's why all the old classics had the art right up to the corner, because that is where the cabinet seam was.

IMG_5301 (resized).JPG

I haven't heard of any cabinet splitting .... just the very top edge of the side artwork where it overlaps the cab seam.

I put a ticket in today. I'll let you all know if their solution remains the same.

Have any of you guys that have split decals submitted a ticket to CGC regarding that issue? I contacted my distributor, that is what he instructed me to do. I did so on Monday, but haven't heard anything back. Just curious if anyone else is in the same boat. I'm not sure what to expect from them response time-wise.

I would be content with new decals. I might not change them immediately, but cosmetic issues like this flaw on a brand new game is a distraction for me. The rest of the game is so stunningly spectacular, it's like that little crack in the art work is emitting flashing neon light. My eye is immediately drawn to it.

My AFMrLE has the exact same size, shape crack on the same side, in the same place. It's uncanny. The black on AFM would be so easy to match, just a thin line of black paint would completely hide the crack. You would never know it's there, as long as it doesn't get worse at all.

Would you post a close-up pic of the front right corner of your cabinet? If CGC is doing something different (ie ... NOT wrapping the decals around the corner) to address the splitting decals, I'd love to see what it is!

Yes, this is still the exact same way that they have been doing the decals. The front decal is wrapped around the corner onto the side, then the side decal overlaps that and ends right at the corner. The decals are cracking right in the middle of the overlap of the two decals, which happens to be right where the cabinet seam lies. Some of them seem to be cracking immediately, and some after the fact during use, and some never.

Agreed! They were doing the AFM decals the opposite .... pulling the side decal around the corner onto the front, then placing the front decal over the top of that, and ending at the corner. So, the overlapped decals on AFM were on the front panel of the cabinet, rather than the side, as is MB. Here is a pic of my MB with the crack, and decaled the exact same way as the SE pictured. The fit and finish is beautiful! I don't know why this cracked like that.

IMG_6769 (resized).JPG

Only the side decal wraps around the corner on my AFM, and the one pictured. The front decal ends right at the corner. I have an AFMrLE here, and it looks identical to the one pictured. There is a vertical cabinet seam on the side of these cabinets about 1/4" back from the front corner. I suspect that CGC, in realizing how badly some AFM had decals cracking above that seam (just one layer of vinyl decal over the seam), started applying decals the opposite - pulling the front decal around the corner, then lying the side decal over that, to ultimately end with the overlap (TWO layers of vinyl decal) falling right over that cabinet seam. That is just my speculation based on observations of both games. It could be for myriad other reasons as well.

The original MB cabinet seam was exactly at the corner. There was no overlapping of decals - the seam between the decals was at the corner, as was the seam in the wood. These new cabinets have the wood seam offset from the corner, about a quarter of an inch back, on the sides. Thus, the cracks in the decals forming exactly in that spot on some games, and the overlapping of decals, etc ...

OH YES! The originals were always damaged at the legs. That was mostly due to the legs being bolted right against the vinyl. Some games seemed to withstand that better than others, but MB was one of the worst! Thankfully, all manufacturers have stopped that practice. I do believe that the original cabinets were a better, more durable design though. And, as stated in this forum by a wood working expert earlier - if a wood seam cannot be 100% stabilized in all 3 planes of movement, then vinyl artwork has no business being placed over it.

Yes! Thank you! I was obviously having a difficult time converting that picture into words. Vinyl decals over that seam pictured = bad idea. Given time, humidity and temp changes, nudging habits, movement of the game, etc ... I'll bet many games develop issues at that spot.
After all, CGC is not shipping games from the factory with that flaw. So, the very act of transporting them is causing just enough movement in the cabinet, specifically that seam to split the vinyl on a few games. It will be interesting to see what the future holds as these games get used.
I'm sure that CGC will do something to help me, and those that have this issue. Their service is renowned. If it's new decals - great! I've installed lots of cabinet art. If it irritates me enough or gets worse or I get caught up on projects, I'll change it. I feel bad for the guys who have this issue and are not able to fix it themselves, or it occurs post warranty.

The reason that it's beginning at the top - that seam is reinforced at the bottom of the cabinet by both the bottom (floor) cabinet panel, and by the heavy duty William's style leg bolt bracket attached to the inside of the corner. There is nothing reinforcing the top. The very top would be the first part of that wood joint that would experience movement, if it did occur.

Agreed! CGC wouldn't release a game with that flaw. I think your idea about the strapping causing stress during shipping is plausible. I just wish that they would have done the same as every other manufacturer, and not decal over a wood joint.

Yes. So, maybe two straps, placed at the edges rather than the center. Or, no decal over the seam (clubbing that deceased horse once more).

In the big scheme of things, it's really a very small gripe. MBr is a gorgeous game!

I feel for you! I haven't even removed my matching number MBrLE from it's box yet, as I await CGC's response to the now famous cracked decal at the right front corner. You are not alone! This outcry is fantastic, and exactly how change will be won. This is NOT a new issue - my AFMrLE has the same crack in the same spot.

Just curious ... what is your deal? You pounce on every person that posts with news of cracked decals on their machine, claiming this is an isolated incident, and just started happening in the last week or so. You challenged me after I posted pics of my cracked decals on my brand new game claiming that in 58 pages of forum, I was one of the only ones to experience this issue. Then you claimed you needed to disengage from this conversation. Now you're back. You already have your perfect game. What is your dog in this fight?

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.

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.

Exactly correct .... original Bally/Williams cabinets had the wood joint, and the decal seam exactly at the point of the corner. These new cabinets have the wood joint about 1/4" back from the corner, on the side panel, and CGC is decaling right over this joint ... exactly where all of these decal cracks are occuring.

That doesn't feel any better at all .... my LE took 5 days to arrive, did arrive in a snowstorm, I did get it right into my semi-heated garage for an overnight, then immediately the next morning into my game room where it sat untouched for 48 hrs. to acclimate. I removed the topper, threw open the top box flaps only to discover ... cracked decal.

Thank you! I am glad that you got your SE in good condition!

Right from Cliff.
Passionforpinball.com

You beat me to it!

But be patient. Cliff is busy and in very high demand.

I am one of the guys awaiting a response from CGC on a cracked decal ticket. I'll bet they are formulating a response.

If it were just one or two people having this issue, then they could handle it on a case by case basis depending upon how concerned the customer was about the issue. For example:

Customer has only a little concern about his cracked decal = Say they are sorry, send him a Christmas card next year.
Medium concern = Send out a new set of decals.
Freaking IRATE customer that has bought multiple games from CGC = Ship the game back to be repaired, or send out a new bottom cabinet ala Ghostbusters.

The challenge for CGC now that this has become a well known and documented issue that we are all talking about, is that they will have to formulate a universal response. Whatever they do to solve the freaking irate customer's issue, all customers will demand. I have faith that they are aware of and working on this problem - my ticket status shows exactly that, and I'll bet that is exactly the pause in communication that we all are experiencing.

Yeah ... those issues have to be frustrating. I feel for you. Especially given the very recent focus on playfield quality, and the admission that LE's were getting preferential treatment regarding quality of components.

You have me thinking ... when I noticed the split decal on my LE, I left it right in the box. My logic was, maybe they'll want to pick it back up, or maybe the fact that it's still brand new in the box lends leverage to the resolution of my issue?? Now I wonder if my game has other issues that I don't even know about yet? If I don't hear something soon, I'm going to pull it out at least to inspect the rest of the game.

I'm gonna do just that.
It will be interesting to see ... now that I have a good idea what to scrutinize.

I'll photo mine when I unbox ... good and/or bad, and share with you all. Thank you for sharing that pic ... I'll scrutinize that spot.

That looks like a fit and finish issue. Is the right side rail positioned a little farther toward the front of the game than the side rail on the left, leaving that gap that you can see bare wood through?
The problem with that flaw - it's right in your field of vision. That would drive me nuts!

Hmmm ... another SE with perfect decals. I wonder if the topper being shipped on top of the box IS contributing somehow to this issue primarily on LE's?? I just took another look at my box - the weight of that topper and wood box would be distributed to the top of the box sides, because of those wood topper box brackets that go between topper box and cardboard box. The actual front of the machine is a couple of inches below the cardboard top box flaps, but that foam insulation in there is pretty firm - that could transfer shock from the weight of the topper box and packing, directly to the front corners of the cabinet - which is what they are designed to protect. Maybe Winter-time, trailer bouncing over bumpy roads, rough handling by fork lift drivers - all the shock of that topper weight would be transferred to the cardboard box (which is just going to flex), and the pinball machine itself .... and the game itself is the firmest weight bearing structure in that assembly.

This is not my idea, btw ... I think Bublehead originally came up with this. At the time, I dismissed because the topper sits on the cardboard box. But, now that I look closely at how these are packaged ... Every bit of that topper weight is ultimately being supported by some cardboard, and the game. I just weighed the topper in it's plywood box with the two wood side supports ... nearly 40lbs.

I JUST got an e-mail from CGC! In a nutshell: They are aware and working on it.

Did you guys get the same thing?

That is what also really got me thinking ... trying to understand why/how this phenom is mostly occurring with LE's.
We have already established that vinyl over a wood joint is a weak link. Add 40 lbs bouncing around with that weight distributed directly down through the cabinet right at the area of that joint - I think that you are right, and this is a plausible contributing cause. It would be so fascinating to see statistics if they immediately started shipping LE's with the topper sent separate, not on the box top.

There is the solution, folks!

All I really know for certain, is that I have a brand new in box AFMrLE #900 (still in it's box, purchased last year) and just received MBrLE matching #900, and both games have cracked decals. Given that 1% stat, I guess that I am just exceptionally unlucky.

I am sure that they will - thank you!

Makes sense to me .... cold vinyl decals over wood joint do not flex, rather crack. Warm decals are more forgiving.

Probably multiple factors contributing, but those are two biggies.

Obviously, the decal over wood joint is a primary issue if CGC is eliminating that in an attempt to stop the problem.

The issue with decal cracking on AFMrLE is actually NOT off topic. All that changed from AFM to MB was a reversal of the way that the decals were overlapped. The cracks were still occurring in the exact same spot, and from the same combination of causes - primarily, the vinyl over wood joint cause.

Obviously, CGC thinks this is the ultimate solution, or they wouldn't propose.

You do realize that the reason why they are going to halt wrapping decals around the corner is because that wood joint is there ... right?

I agree. They should have stopped. They probably had to reach some threshold where continuing with the status quo was more costly than changing process.

I just got one of the last Ghostbusters produced in December. Both the front decal, and the side decals are cut back a good quarter inch from the corner, and the corner is rounded off. I don't find this a terribly pleasing install, but I agree - better than busted up artwork!

IMG_6794 (resized).JPG

I am so sorry to hear! Put in a ticket - get on our bandwagon!

I'm curious to hear as well. I got a msg yesterday, but it was simply to "hang-tight ... we are working on your issue".

Ahhhh ... so, you are in the same boat as me on decals. I am super glad to hear that your other issues are handled!