Best solution is turning down the coil power to the lowest it’ll go. That in combination with any protection should work.

As it was with TMNT! ...And then the reports of shitty playfield printing, scratched playfields from poorly built diverters, and other issues crushed that hype. Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to owning one myself but it'll likely be a year or two after waiting for the early machines to be received, quality to be confirmed, etc.

Can't blame you for that! If you're interested in an LE then definitely be an early adopter - you'll easily get your money back when/if you decide to sell regardless of quality issues.

No, the playfield will come ready to play. First PF maintenance is performed at 500 plays which is when I apply my first at-home waxing.

The only thing you should do before pushing start for the first time is to lower the ball eject coil power. Ideally you'd apply Cliffy's, but you probably will not have them in time.

My personal experience with the pinguy app is that it is an inconsistent waste of time (no offense if the creator is present on these threads). Do yourself a favor and pick this up if you want real, repeatable, and accurate results:

https://www.amazon.com/DigiPas-DWL80E-Digital-Electronic-Protractor/dp/B001NPJGL0/ref=sxts_sxwds-bia-wc-drs-ajax1_0

FYI, I found out over the weekend that this is not correct... Hopefully Cliff doesn't mind me posting this, but Pinball Life is FALSLEY advertising their post sleeves as Cliffy's when they no longer buy from him and are using knock-offs. I confirmed this myself by buying from Pinball Life and their "Cliffys" are wider and bouncier than the real thing. Do not order from them - only order from Cliff direct at https://www.passionforpinball.com.

Pinball Life, if you're reading this, I would hope you would do the right thing and remove the word "Cliffy" from the description of this item as it is misleading and I believe a violation of a trademark:

https://www.pinballlife.com/williamsballystern-1-116-colored-post-sleeves.html

I'm not sure I agree with you.. It's difficult to tell from the quality of that pic, but that doesn't look like natural woodgrain coloring to me. It looks like the wood got burned by whatever tool they use to route out the shooter lane.

I think there's a lot of confusion being caused by generically saying 'rubber' when really there are three main things at play: Flipper rubber, post sleeves, and all other rubber rings.

For me, I've found the right combination that work well are:

Flipper Rubbers: Perfect Play - can be bought from Pinball Life. I find these are close to Sterns factory installed rubbers but don't degrade and make the PF dirty. I find Titans to be too bouncy.

Post Sleeves: I use Cliffy's for these. As noted a few posts up, do NOT use Pinball Life to buy these, because you aren't getting the same product. I've found that both Titans and Pinball Life's are too bouncy and change the entire game. Cliffs are harder and smaller and more closely resemble what comes from the factory but does not degrade and can be bought in different colors. Order these at passionforpinball.com.

All other rubbers: Finally, I use Titans for all other rings.

Sounds like you were just given a wrong tracking number.. Hopefully it's as easy as that? Can you call and confirm it?

The Widow shot should 100% be super simple from both flippers. If it it going partially up and dying (specifically from the right flipper), then something is wrong.

First thing I would suspect is pitch, but based on your analysis that is not the problem.. Unless of course your level isn't callibrated right. By the way my digital level also reads differently at the top vs the bottom.. I have mine somewhere around 6.8 at top and 6.4 at bottom.

Second thing I would check is your flipper position. This ended up being the problem for me - my right flipper was too low and wasn't getting the power it needed to send it up the ramp. I adjusted it a milometer higher and it plays like it should - shoots up the ramp easily. Send a picture of your flippers from above and I can tell you if this is your issue.

Third thing, as others have mentioned, is to replace the coil stops and the coil sleeve. This only takes 10 minutes to do and makes a world of difference compared to stock Stern. You should do this regardless, but wanted to make sure you were also looking at #2 above as coil stops ended up not being my issue.

Yep.. That right flipper is way too low and I would bet is 100% your issue. You can tell it's both lower than the left, and also way below the positioning dimple. That is where mine was before I adjusted it up. Unfortunately, the adjustment is a bit of a pain because of how highly torqued the nut is securing the flipper itself. You will need an allen wrench to loosen it and then re-tighten it.

You can see the middle of the tip of the flipper on the right is just below the positioning dimple on the playfield. Mine was there as well and I have since moved it so that it is about a mm above it - I added a pic of mine here.

As for how to adjust, I also added a great picture that shows you where on the flipper coil you need to loosen the nut.
IMG_0145.jpgaid12083137-v4-728px-Adjust-the-Flippers-on-a-Pinball-Machine-Step-12.jpg

I would definitely encourage you to try it yourself first.. It's not too bad of a first adjustment and may give you confidence to do more down the road.. Not a whole lot can go wrong as long as you are careful.. Here's how I did it:

0) Make sure machine is off.
1) Remove glass.
2) Important: Remove balls - if you don't already know, you can manually push the balls out from below by pushing the solenoid in that ejects the balls manually.
3) Pull the playfield out onto its rails. I was able to make this adjustment by having the playfield remain down but at the very edge of the rail. I would try this first as it will be easier to do than lifting the playfield entirely. If you DO need to lift the playfield then go for it - the balls are already removed so you are safe to do so!
4) Find the nut holding the shaft of the flipper in position. Refer to my picture above.
5) Find an allen wrench that fits it - its in a tight position so you'll need to be sitting down to get to it.
6) Loosen the nut. This will definitely be the hardest part. This thing is TORQUED as tight as possible to ensure the flipper stays in position over time. I am fairly confident you cannot damage the mechanism by asserting excessive force but you will definitely feel like you are going to rip it right off based on how hard I needed to man-handle it.
7) Once you are able to loosen it slightly (don't over loosen it - its easier if its still holding onto the flipper to an extent) go to the top of the playfield and lift/over-extend the flipper until its slightly above the dimple when you release it and its resting.
8) Once you're happy, tight the shit out of that nut on the bottom and you're done! Put everything back and give it a try.

There IS an alignment dimple for the upper flipper as well, but with the range of shots that flipper is intended to hit, you're better off just adapting your muscle memory to where it is vs. trying to adjust it.

Yep, that's what I used - I want to say it was either 3/32 or 7/64. If you have some sort of ratchet that sized that will fit in that tight spot then I would definitely say go with that - the more leverage the better.. I almost tore my hand up using the little wrench in your picture.

As for that step, once you loosen the nut holding the shaft the flipper itself will need to still be adjusted, so on the top side of the playfield you will need to lift the flipper up all the way past where it naturally will 'flip' to in order to make the adjustment.. I am not doing a great job explaining it, but it should make sense once you're at that step!

Yep, just like KneeKickLou says - you gotta torque it back that tight or else it'll slip over time while you're playing. From your picture it definitely looks better - When you say you're not satisfied is it still struggling to get up the ramp? One thing I would say is that since you made the adjustment the shot is now 'later' than it used to be, so you need to adjust when you flip a milisecond. Should fly right up there when you hit it right now, though!

Otherwise, you could definitely also have a bad coil stop. Did you happen to notice some gold/black 'dust' around the flipper mech or on the coinbox? That is a common symptom of a failed coil stop.

Yes.. Anyone who says its not necessary to replace these has simply gotten used to the lack of power. Flippers instantly become super snappy after the replacement and it is 100% the best (and easiest/cheapest) update you can do to any modern Stern.

Man, you have some strange things going on with your game! I would say there's no way its pitched at 6.7 if the ball got stuck there.. My balls fly down that section. Unless the wireform itself isn't attached right or bent out of whack.

What sort of level are you using? Not your phone, right?

Based on all of your challenges with this game, I would guess your digital level is not calibrated correctly and giving you inaccurate readings that you are trusting.. I would try to calibrate it, buy a new one, or borrow one from your friend. But yes, generally speaking, front legs should be all the way IN and back legs should be about half to 3/4 of the way out.

Typical sign of a busted coil stop. Replace all three as well as the coil sleeves and your flippers will feel much snappier.

This is awesome! Would love to use the premium version if you’re open to sharing!

I'm in! These are looking perfect for me.. One thing I wish these had (and maybe they do, I was having difficulty reading on my phone) is some sort of reminder of what the gem does if its placed on the drop targets or Marvel. For some reason, I can never remember that..

is your action button switch inadvertently stuck?

Question for you all - One of the LED's in the STRANGE letter (R) has stopped displaying any red color - it can only produce green and blue, so oftentimes it appears differently than the rest of the letters.

Is this something that can be fixed myself? Or does it warrant a new board entirely if I want to fix it? Anyone have a link to the board? I did some searching and couldn't find it..

Thanks!

Can someone tell me whether new AIQ premiums have the subway “slop” issue resolved? Or do the teeth still get stuck?

Yes, that’s what ideally I want to implement but don’t really have the know-how. Do you sell this as a mod I can buy from you?

They won’t, but a brand new mech is only $125 shipped. Just picked one up and it works great again.

Yes, same here...

As a newbie, here's what I've been doing:

Mind: Definitely on Black Widow.. Mind is the most powerful gem (allows you to spot shots in future modes), and black widow is the easiest shot to make/level up which lets you plan how to use the ability much more effectively.

Power: Whatever you find your toughest shot to be. Power gem makes getting the avenger you placed it on easier and also does not reset their status once you've collected them all. For me, this is valuable on Hulk or Captain America as those two shots I find to be most difficult.

Reality: Since this is a shot multiplier, and I typically play for progression vs. score, I put this on the drop targets. When placed here, it lets you collect the drop target award for only dropping 2 targets instead of 3.

Time: This one I just place wherever.. I haven't fully figure out how to utilize this yet but know it give you more time in certain modes.

Soul: Irrelevant to me where it's placed (since I care more about progression). Feel free to convince me otherwise.

Space: Irrelevant to me where it's placed (since I care more about progression). Feel free to convince me otherwise.

Same.. I've owned the game for two years now and never gotten over 500M.

I might bite the bullet and lower my outlane posts. I've been stubborn on all my machines and never done it, but it looks like even in this video they are in the lower position, so perhaps its time.

I did not know that! I got this machine used and just assumed top was the default.