I'm going to put in a pre-order for a premium in March. (This will add to my Marvel Pinball Universe - GOTG, SM, Avengers Hulk, X-Men Magneto, Deadpool LE.) I have not been able to read the entire forum postings, does anyone know if some of the issues, like subway welds or the left plastic added to the left side of the vertical ramp to stop the ball from hitting the metal and bouncing down will be fixed or improved?

Based on some of the recent posts, it looks like the mezel mods for the avengers tower and sanctum building are good mods to get.

I'll probably buy a Stern topper and game blades. Is the Stern plunger worth getting? Is the shaker worth getting?

I usually buy Cliffy protectors for all my games so probably need to do so on this game as well. It would be great to get a NIB game and not have to take the game apart immediately to protect it and especially not to fix it.

I wish if I ordered Stern stuff (shaker, game blades, new side armor), they would put it on at the factory, then it would be worth it.

I usually overdo it on mods. On this game I am trying to get the bare minimum if possible.

Since I don't have the material or the means to make this little piece of plex, is it something that some one is or will be selling?

My order is in for a AIQ Premium with CoinTaker in March hopefully.

I have pre-ordered (actually backordered) the Stern topper, Stern Plunger, Stern blades. I have the Stern shaker.

I ordered the Cliffy protectors.

I have received the Tower mod, sanctum mod, and sling protectors from Mezel mods.

Are there any other protectors or suggested mods to protect/enhance the game? (I have read through all 89 pages and may have missed something.)

I am hoping the new games will have whatever weld problem there is on the walk through subway mechanism fixed.

Thanks
Michael

I just got invoiced for my AIQ Premium. It should be shipped directly next week. I already have the Sanctum mod, Tower mod, Cliffy protectors, 3D apron cards from @youbentmywookie, and shaker motor. I am waiting for the Stern topper, stern plunger rod, and Stern game blades. Hopefully that is all I will need. I will also buy a pinnovators subwoofer kit.

Hopefully this run will have any issues resolved such as the subway lock mechanism.

My game is supposed to ship from Stern on Friday. I contacted technical support to ask about the subway mechanism and the ball guides and needing to add the Cliffy protector or washers to protect the playfield.

I was told according to the production team, all premiums built will have all the latest updates. They said that spacers have been added to the rails and the subway lock assembly has been updated.

I still have several hours of work to do before I'll play the first game. My topper, game blades, and shooter rod are on back order until the end of March.

I don’t have my game yet and just looking at photos. I looked at the manual. There are not a lot of rubbers. But it looks like the upper flipper takes a beating.

So if I were to replace all the rubbers with superbands, I assume blue would be the best color? What colors have you used?

I purchased some items and received and was charged for duplicate items. I have an extra Stern Avengers Game Blade I paid $80. If anyone in the Purcellville, VA area needs one, you can get it locally. Otherwise, I will deal with returning it. Thanks.

AiQ is in the basement. Thankfully arrived before the forecasted 6-10 inches of snow tomorrow here in Northern Virginia.

The nut was at the bottom of the box. Will need to figure out where that goes. (Just an extra nut that fits to bolts in coin door attachment and side trim.)

Now to complete the set, I just need an Iron Man.

6D0300DD-8BA9-4548-884C-411D6481E941 (resized).jpegB3840B2A-71D6-46DE-BFA1-79F642DE26C0 (resized).jpeg

Now that the game is in the house, I’m trying to find the places where washers or Cliffy protectors are needed.

Cliff shows a protector at the right with mystery light. I can’t tell where the other washers should go so I photographed all the areas that look like it can cause problems.

I was told by Stern the issues with the lane guides digging into the playfield should be solved. Does it look like they have? I don’t know what I am looking for.

Build date on this game is February 8, 2021.

The glass was very hard to take out. Maybe it was just still cold. But it felt thicker like HD glass (wishful thinking).

08E04FED-7592-48E2-9952-3571AE367D6B (resized).jpeg82C52DB2-7F76-42C5-BD52-C2E775FAC21A (resized).jpeg89E5FD76-F55B-4846-A544-3BFE9DAEB1F0 (resized).jpegCC092485-74B4-4D49-841F-9E694DF99874 (resized).jpegF188A519-A61D-4B68-BC0B-AC4B1B946613 (resized).jpeg

Thanks. It looks like most guides are 1/16” above the playfield. If so, do I still need to add washers or Cliffy protectors?

I also learned something new on these games. I went into switch test and nothing. So I checked all the connectors and such (which I should have done first anyway). Everything is fine. So I pressed in the high power button and the switches worked. Strange that they are on that circuit. But I guess my Deadpool le didn’t have the cutoff when the door opened.

I just installed the outlane Cliffy protector and the left and right plunger lane protectors.

I may try to get the Antman Cliffy protector under the lane guide and take off the upper plastic to loosen the post to slide the Cliffy under.

I will change out the 3 flipper rubbers with blue super bands. I have the rest of the super bands, but I think those will wait until I need to add them.

I also have Deadpool LE and decided not to add the 3 bank drop targets there either so I will not install yet on AIQ. I will wait on the flat entrance to the hole on the right and see if it needs it.

I did buy the plastic protectors for the slings and lane guides and will add those as well. I have the Tower Mezel Mod and the Sanctum Mezel Mod to add. Finally I have the game blades. That will take me the rest of the night into tomorrow.

My goal is not to take apart the game. I dislike doing this, especially on a brand new game.

My topper and shooter rod are back ordered until March so I can worry about that later.

Sorry if this has been mentioned before. Why are there two T-nuts with nothing connected to them at the back of the game? Is this a future mod or something that was left off?

For what it's worth, the bottom inside of the cabinet where the coin box goes and around the speaker have sneaker prints on it. I have never had this in any game I have ever owned.

IMG_9106 (resized).jpeg

As you probably have seen, I just got mine but have been collecting parts for a few months in anticipation.

I read through all the posts and decided to buy

Mezel Mods
* Sanctum mod
* Tower Mod
* Blue inlane and sling protectors

passionforpinball.com (Cliffy protectors)
* The entire protection set although I will probably not put in the 3 bank protector or the scoop hole protector on the right until I need to.

I will attempt the Antman protector which appears to be loosening two posts under a plastic to protect the playfield.
Stern stated that they addressed all the playfield issues with the lane guides so hopefully this is just insurance for me.

Marcospec.com
* Blue super band flipper rubbers and other blue rubbers but I may wait to take apart the game for the other rubbers (I have installed the 3 flipper rubbers - I put them in boiling hot water to make them easier to put on the flippers).

Stern parts (if desired)
* Game blades
* Topper
* Shooter rod
* Shaker motor

CM Ramp Mod for the left side
* tdiddy prints a ramp mod, look at the posts or find his posts. Others have also made lexan and other various mods.

Based on some posts and the brutal outlines, I will try the game with the rubber removed between the inlane/outlanes. (If I am not happy I can simply add the rubber back.)

I'm sure I am missing some stuff but here is a start.

Yes. It is silly that I have to do all this to a brand new game. I would love to buy a game that works 100% with all protection ready to play. I have only done that once on my Gotg. Bought from a friend that did all the initial work. But he tightened up the orb too much snd it didn’t close so still had to adjust

Hopefully I’ll be playing it tonight.

I have been watching the news and seeing all the overturned trucks and Jack knifed trucks. I was thinking 1. I hope the driver is safe and 2. I hope my pinball is not on that truck.

By adding the lane protectors and sling protectors, I had to take off the ramps. While the ramps were off, I replaced all rubbers at the lower 3/4 of the playfield with blue super bands. I added the Antman, trough, and plunger lane Cliffy protectors. I may add the other two later. With the ramp to the left flipper off, it was easier to replace the Sanctum and Tower mods with the Mezel Mods. The Stern game blades look great and are thicker than the other company's blades.

AIQ is lined up next to my other 5 Marvel themed games. Part of me wants Iron Man to complete the set. The other part would rather have a different game.

Thanks for everyone's help while i was waiting for the game and starting working on it. It only took less than two evenings to get it ready to play. Now I can learn the rules.

IMG_9196 (resized).jpegIMG_9185 (resized).jpegIMG_9187 (resized).jpegIMG_9188 (resized).jpegIMG_9191 (resized).jpeg

I moved my game into position. It was not level right to left and the pitch changed to 6.2.

I changed it to 6.7 and leveled the game. Before when the ball came out of the lock tower it did not roll down the left side hugging the lane guide and flipper so using the upper flipper was impossible. So leveling made a big difference.

The manual plunger is not always getting the ball up the back left ramp. I assume it should every time with a full plunge. I am wondering if I need a smaller barrel spring on the outside of the plunger or a longer rod to get the end of the rod closer to the ball to hit squarely. In the picture below is this about normal? With the pitch at 6.7 it seems to go up the back ramp more but I also see where it bounces and loses momentum as it comes off the plunger ramp to the curve.

Slight update: when moved into position it was reporting 6.2 pitch so I adjusted to 7.7 and the plunger actually works better.

I replaced the two 3/16” rubbers at the lower end of the right loop with a 5/16” super band rubber. (All I had). Obviously I knew it would change things. It ended up bouncing the ball to the left sling, drop targets or in/out lanes. I put the two 3/16” original rubbers back and thought it would cause the ball to roll straight to the right flipper. But they do stick out a bit with original but normally bounce to the left flipper. I assuming this is “normal” flow?

Timing the upper flipper with the lock release is hard. I assume with practice I’ll get better.

ACC73F48-0964-49EF-937F-EA7C4B433905 (resized).jpeg

about should be 6.7 not 7.7

My game was built on Feb 8, 2021 as well and although Stern said new games would have the fixes to the rails there was nothing obvious on my game. My Antman guide was close to the playfield so I added the Cliffy protector.

the other location people talk about is the Thor guide. I assume you all mean the guides to the left and right of the Newton ball? The left side of the newton ball is actually the right side of the CM ramp.

Which ball guide am I looking at? Does anyone have a photo of where they added the washers to?

Thanks!

Thank you! I see it. I saw it weeks ago but couldn't remember where and I did not have the game yet for context.

I did a quick fix to see if this will solve the problem long term. I removed the nut under the playfield. I have nylon washers. I cut a small gap in the washer and squeezed it in and then turned it so the gap was inside the captive ball path and the front and back of the guide are resting on the nylon washer. I then tightened the nut under the playfield so that the guide is snuggly resting and holding the nylon washer in place.
IMG_9205 (resized).jpegIMG_9208 (resized).jpegIMG_9209 (resized).jpeg

I have had the game for two weeks. Like others, I am still trying to learn the rules besides the basics. But one thing that was driving me crazy was that almost every time the ball went to the outlane, it was lost. I tried to remove the rubber between the lanes. It did not seem to help. I changed my slings power to 11.

Today I bought a bunch of 5/16" rubber washers/pads/whatever they are called and placed it below a star post. The original machine screw through the hole was a #10, but changed it to a #8-32 machine screw to fit through the start post. I had a 2" machine screw that was a tad bit too small. #8-32 x 2 1/8" or #8-32 x 2 1/4" would be better but my local hardware store only had #8-32 x 2 1/2". It sticks out a little lower but does not interfere with anything. The bottom has a #8 washer and #8 lock nut. I used a 7/16" blue super band rather than a 5/16" which did not seem to make the space any smaller.

It is so nice not to lose almost every ball down the side. I still lose balls if they are a direct shot out, but many bounce and I have a fighting chance. I may test removing the rubber on the post between the in and out lanes.

I still need to play better but I am not as frustrated. For me, this will make my game more enjoyable.

IMG_9239 (resized).jpegIMG_9240 (resized).jpegIMG_9242 (resized).jpeg

Great idea! Thanks. I have no clue what I am doing or what I am supposed to do. I keep hitting the lit shots and I still never collect a gem very often. So this will help. Plus I need to do some more reading.

Hi! Yes, before it was just the skinny metal post with the small rubber and the #10 machine screw into the wood.

The rubber washer is something I have never done before when adding a star post since I just assume it is standard that it touches the playfield. But with the newer play fields seeming to get issues with the slightest rubbing of anything against it, it was a 23 cent insurance policy that does not take away or add anything to the cosmetics and would not have been noticed if I did not point it out.

For me, the ball hit the metal on the left and dead dropped into the outlane. It never bounced. Same on the right side, it would hit the right metal wire guide and drop into the outlane.

My games are always on 5 balls. (Unless I have parties and set them to 3 balls so that they don't sit stranded in the middle of the game.) I guess I grew up in the 1970s when you paid a dime and then a quarter for 5 balls. Anything less to me is not pinball, but a way to get more money at the arcade.

With 3 balls or 5 balls, to me since everything we all say is subjective, with this game it was the same. I can have a great game going but if the ball gets near the sides, it was a 99% chance of going into the outline.

But the great thing is these posts are not permanent and in 5 minutes I can change them back.

I will probably remove the rubber between the in and out lanes. Before I added the super-sized posts, I had the center rubber off. The ball would roll out of the upper flipper loop perfectly into the left inlane. Now, with the small rubber, it bounces out when it touches the center rubber. Again, a simple tweak to enjoy my game better since I will try the game with it removed again.

I'm also thinking of adjusting the top flipper. If I don't flip, it will go right down the middle with the slightest chance of getting the right flipper to touch the ball if it is flipped at the exact right time. So in multiball, balls from the lock will go down the middle since I am not watching that area usually at that moment.

The great thing is I will never be good enough to be in a tournament so playing 3 or 5 balls will never matter. I will never post my high scores on pinside since I play 5 balls and am not really that great anyway.

I think I have as much enjoyment tweaking the game and modifying them as I do playing them.

I actually changed them to the Max and they seem to go above the outlane area. I can try lowering them a bit.

I don’t mind the ball going out if is going that direction. But the slings slowly doing the sideways death March was not good. So stronger is better.

Thanks.

I finally printed out the 25 page Stern rule sheet. (It sure looks colorful.)

Since Mind Stone Quest is the first Quest described, I am trying to play this quest first to understand it. Thankfully I am no longer flailing and understand what I have to do and have succeeded a few times.

In a few days, I will choose the next one to learn and so on.

It will take me longer to understand how to play them in the best order and achieve other goals to be more powerful or have more capabilities.

It would be nice if Stern could add the ability to play one of the 6 stone quests as part of the menu selection where you can play the DJ Mixer or Battle Royale. It would be a great training and learning experience.

A few pages back I showed this. While replacing my rubbers on my Premium with blue super bands, I did not have any 3/16" blue rubbers, so I tried 5/16" blue rubbers. This sent the ball mostly into the left lower drop target or towards the left outlane. Not very good.

I replaced the original 3/16" rubbers which nicely guides the ball to the left flipper just below the center of the flipper.

I know that others have posted about the end credits, which I think are pretty nice. But this is at the end of the credits and thought this was also really nice of them to do. Chas was always available and helpful every time I called.

CB459B98-46AF-433C-8DBB-02EA09685031_1_105_c (resized).jpeg

Just keep the game in attract mode and the “stars” of the show will show up with their photos and names, then the names of the people will show up like the end credits with Chas showing at the end.

I was working on my Hulk Avengers so noticed this while AIQ was in attract mode.

Others I believe have mentioned this potential issue. I finally had two balls locked in the portal. (I am lucky if I can just get one.) When the portal opened for a gem quest, the game was confused and did nothing until a ball search and then kicked out the balls.

I think others have mentioned that the ball will go past opto 47 and trigger it correctly so in most cases, the game is fine. But if a ball stops at switch 47, it is resting such that it is past the opto and not registering that the ball is there and is lost.

The above video has a ball in the rightmost subway area (switch 47) after it has rolled past the opto. I then turn on high power and would expect the screen to show switch 47 closed. But it can't since the ball is not blocking the opto.

I sent this video to Pablo at Stern Tech Support. Did I explain this correctly? (in the video, I say I turn off the lock but meant I turn off the high power. I also say the game locks up, I meant the game stops until a ball search.)

Thanks. So I assume that the metal tooth that keeps the ball in the switch 47 area is simply not aligned correctly or shaped correctly to ensure that the ball is blocking the opto path for switch 47.

I would rather not try to jerry-rig it to get it to work as others have said since it is a new game and it should work out of the box. Thanks!

Thanks. I looked. I did not take a photo but can do so later or tomorrow. Looking from underneath from the right side, the last tooth (furthest to the right) was not aligned in the same direction as the others. I will need to look at it to understand it and see how adjusting the ramp or mech can help. Thanks!

This post explains why the games goes into ball search when two balls are locked in the portal lock. (Basically the rightmost finger is too low as shown below so the ball rests past switch 47 and “lost”.)

Others may have posted similar photos. Here is what I found with my subway. I have reported this same information to Pablo at Stern Support.

I believe the solution would be a spacer strategically placed that would stop the bottom bar from moving from center and allowing the finger to slide between the bar and the body of the mech. I am just trying to figure out the best way to do it. But would prefer a real solution that can be shared from Stern. What if the white plastic rod that attaches to the coil plunger was extended another inch towards the Ant VUK? This may give the rightmost finger the stability it is lacking that would stop it from moving back towards the white plastic bar and allowing the finger to fall between the metal bar and the front of the mech.

I took the subway mech out and I see the issue. There is too much slack of space on the right most finger and the finger falls below the metal that it is supposed to be resting on.

I lifted it back up and it works nicely for a few times and then gets wedged in between the front of the mechanism and the metal bar that the finger should be resting on.

The first photo shows the rightmost finger all the way down. As shown in the next photo, you can see the reason, the finger gets wedged in between the front outside and the bar.

The second photo shows that there is too much space between the front of the mechanism and the bar that the finger is supposed to rest on. So the finger actually goes below the bar and is wedged between the front of the mech and the bar. You can see the semi circle of the finger in the hole below the yellow/orange/green wires.

The third photo shows I can lift up the finger so it is in a good position. But after a few manual pulls of the coil, the finger will get lodged between the front mechanism body and the bar that it should be resting on top of and look like photo 1.

In the fourth photo, you can see how much excess room there is between the mechanism and the bar where the finger gets lodged in the right most hole. If you look at the middle hole, there is much less clearance for the finger to get lodged.

IMG_9899 (resized).jpegIMG_9900 (resized).jpegIMG_9901 (resized).jpegIMG_9902 (resized).jpeg

It’s the exact issue I documented a few posts back with the rightmost finger getting stuck between the bar and the mech side. See my photos above and similar description about 30 posts or so back.

Because the rightmost finger is too low, the ball rolls past switch 47 and is “lost” and causes this issue.

The solution needs to be for stern or someone to figure out a way to keep the finger centered and not slide down between the bar and mech side.

The second photo shows the finger slid between the metal bar and side of mech. The first photo is what it should look like.
79D4CEFF-EFBE-4D30-AA7E-D481C1E97330 (resized).jpeg7D8E4F86-323B-4198-8138-6855A61AA53B (resized).jpeg

Pablo at Stern Tech Support sent me a new Walk-lock subway assembly to fix up the issue when two balls are in the portal lock and the rightmost finger is not in the correct position so the ball is not closing switch 47.

The first 4 photos are the new assembly. The photo with the new one on top and the old one on the bottom shows how much slack there is in the old one that the rightmost finger can get jammed between the rod the moves the fingers and the side of the assembly.

The next photo shows a close up of the old assembly with the finger jammed as described above. You can see the semi-circle of the finger in the rightmost semi circle opening.

The last two pictures are the new one.

The differences I can see are
1. The welds are much cleaner on the new one and are mostly flush with the assembly.
2. There is no play on the new assembly to force the rightmost finger to get jammed as it does on the old assembly.

Thanks to Pablo for sending. I will send back the old one and hopefully the new one will work with no issues. It was super easy to replace.

IMG_0061 (resized).jpegIMG_0062 (resized).jpegIMG_0063 (resized).jpegIMG_0064 (resized).jpegIMG_0069 (resized).jpegIMG_0070 (resized).jpegIMG_0072 (resized).jpegIMG_0075 (resized).jpeg

That is a really nice solution. A few pages back I noted that there had to be a way to firm up that rod. But I don’t have a 3d printer nor the time to learn. Although it is great to see what everyone is doing with 3D printers.

If you get a new assembly they’ll provide a return label to return the original. Installation was easy. Just remove 3 11/32nd nuts and replace snd ensure fingers lined up in correct notches.

EF8B19DE-FA77-4CCF-82B1-BB37468D379C (resized).jpeg

I’m not sure if the part number changed. Here’s the sales order.

Another great mod for AIQ from @tdiddy. I just installed the Black Panther mod at the back right of the play field. This goes nicely with the Chrysler building in the back, the Pym lab up front and the left blue guide on the Captain Marvel ramp.

I also showed a photo with my Pinball Universe protectors in place to ensure that the side art is not messed up with the mods or when lifting the play field.

Michael

1BD79DE3-5268-4624-803F-BB58D48D0017_1_105_c (resized).jpeg

6A1605DD-1AC6-435B-8E16-4E605B3EA9B6_1_105_c (resized).jpeg

FB5230AD-A894-45F3-9EA1-426557FC9C09_1_105_c (resized).jpeg

I posted pictures showing that the last finger in the subway is not raising because it is getting stuck between the long rod on the bottom connecting to all the fingers and the side of the mechanism. The updated subway walk mechanism works great for me. It has welds that are not as thick and it appears harder for the finger to get wedged between the side and the rod. You can search on my user name and find the post from a month or two ago.

Someone also made a 3D "fix" and provided the file that goes beneath the coil and gently pushes the rod over so that it cannot get out of position and allow the finger to get jammed between the rod and side.

My back ordered topper arrived yesterday. Now the game does not feel so naked next to the others. The shooter rod is still back ordered and waiting for the Pinnovators sub-woofer board to finish the mods.

I still can't get over 250 million with 5 balls. But the game is enjoyable and I keep coming back.

I own all the Marvel pins except Iron Man. The collector part of me feels like I "need" to complete the collection. But I am not sure I want another fan layout. I have seen some nice regular and vault versions for sale recently in the past.

IMG_0946 (resized).jpeg

IMG_0951 (resized).jpeg

My game probably doesn’t need anything else. But a friend gave me these three figurines. I can’t find a place for hulk or Captain America. Thor could fit in a shown. How does it look?

68AE2197-97E4-4E03-9F87-A520C0EC1A1B (resized).jpeg

82721AA7-ADE1-499D-950A-F7210E7E28D1 (resized).jpeg