Where is the best place to get updates from Outside Edge? This thread?

I was hoping to go on their website & subscribe to an email update list, but I don't see that option anywhere. This is rather surprising for an online based company.

I just want to place an order as soon as they are back up & running. Thanks

I gave up hunting down a stockpiled Mata Hari hardtop. I imagine they are going to slammed with orders once they re-open the store. I think they only print to order.

I wasn’t complaining. I was just making a simple suggestion that they should have an automated mailing list on their website.

Hardtop you want out of stock? Fine. Would the customer like an email when the part arrives back in stock? Yes.

Simple as that. Customer get notified & doesn’t have to hassle the company with emails or deal with Pinside. And the company gets an list of buyers emails so they know how many of the item they might need to produce. Win/win

Patiently waiting. You guys rock

Have you guys considered producing a hardtop for Viking? I'd be all over that

Installation prep question:

On my Mata Hari, I'm worried that the original pop bumper nails are not countersunk far enough into the playfield. They might be an issue when the hardtop is put down & it wont lie perfectly flat. I have new replacement nails, but they will probably be difficult to remove. So I’m just wondering what others have done in this scenario. I'm leaning towards removing & countersinking the new nails.

Or perhaps with the original nails located under the skirt, it won't be an issue if they aren't countersunk?
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I noticed last night that the MH hardtop has holes for the pop nail heads, unlike some previous hardtops like that space shuttle. So It might not matter if they are flush. I'll have to do a test fitting tonight.

Yeah after looking I pulled the old nails. No big deal, they came right out. I'll just countersink properly & install new nails.

The only other thing is deciding what to use to protect the exposed wood areas in the shooter lane. Leaning towards a wipe-on polyurathane. Too cold now & don't want to deal with Spraymax 2k.

This ^^^

Some serious overthinking going on here. The hardtop is a flat hard sheet of PETG plastic. Permanently secured & lies flat. It is not going to "sag" or "sink" in spots over cupped inserts. It's the least of your worries. The bigger concern is getting debris trapped over an insert during the install, having it misaligned after its secured, or looking at cracked inserts that you were too lazy to replace before installing the hardtop.

A hardtop is a simple restoration alternative for those of us who don't want (or have the skills) to go through the laborious process of doing an entire playfield swap & difficult touchups, clear coating or repairs to an original playfield.

Doing hardtop install today. Just noticed a couple things...

There’s no adhesive on the thin strip in the shooter lane. Is this a change on newly manufactured hardtops? Because all the videos I’ve seen have adhesive there. The wood side rails will keep it secured I guess, but I’d be happier if the adhesive was there.

Also noticed that the shoot lane cutout is shorter and the actual groove. I was expecting some difference, but I wasn’t expecting the cutout to be half the length of the grove. Looks funny to me.

Are these normal issues?

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It must be longer than usual. I could cut the plactic but it would probably come out looking like garbage

Not likely with this particular game's history. Long shooter groove probably just a manufacturing variance. Who knows. I'm not worried about it. Debated cutting the plastic, but one slip of the knife could have made look even worse. Then I'd be obsessing that I didn't cut the plastic correctly. I just installed the hardtop as is.

The fact there was no adhesive on the thin strip is an advantage now. If dirty gets under the groove, the side rail can be unscrewed (no more staples), and that flap can be easily lifted, blasted away with airhose underneath & wiped with novus q-tip.

That said the playfield looks fantastic now. Very thrilling pulling off the protective sheet & seeing the vibrant colors/shine for the first time. Very satisfied with this product

Nice to see SOF is ready for purchase. Looking forward to seeing what's next in the pipeline.

Probably makes more sense to produce hardtops for widely produced games like F-14, because you'll likely sell more. But there is also value in producing these hardtops for classic lower run titles that other companies won't reproduce playfields for too.

Hopefully you guy consider looking at releasing more classic widebody hardtops for owners who really need them, like Embryon. And I think you'd have a goldmine of sales on your hands if you reproduced classic Stern hardtops (like Nine Ball, Cheetah, etc) as well.

Loving the hardtop on my Mata Hari. Keep up the great work in 2020 guys!

If this is true, then they should REALLY look into producing a hardtop for Alien Star. Outstanding early solid state that deserves to be restored. Majority of owners all have roached or worn playfields. No faith at this point in Mirco getting reproduction PFs done.

They would sell a ton of these.