How many of you have gotten PB Aliens with absolutely no issues? I’m on the list for one and am curious. As with anything else, you only see people posting if they have issues. This makes it seem as though all of the pins have issues.
Please post if you have one of these awesome pins and are having no issues.
Thanks!

Do you know what number you are in line?

It’s coming . . .

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Anybody get an update from Cointaker on the expected shipment?

Has anyone received an Alien recently? I paid in full on Sept 16th and so far nothing. Crickets.

Where can i get the side art blades that are shown here?

I can’t find “custom Pinball”. Any link available?

Thank you!

Nice update. I just downloaded it. Now waiting for the cargo ship to arrive.

What mirror blades fit this version?

Is WPC “Bally/Williams?

OhmyGod are they EVER going to unload that ship?!?!?

Very nice!

I just got my notification. Arriving Thursday. Woo-hoo!

Oh boy! Now i just have to finish work today and IT’s ON!

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Mine is perfect except that they forgot to include the power cord.

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So my Alien is having several issues. First and foremost is the lower left flipper. It is “draggy” and it gets stuck in the up position. The coil sleeve is “ribbed” inside, which may be a factor, but there are other issues with this flipper. At first it wouldn’t always respond when pushing the flipper button. I reflowed the solder and that appears to have solved that issue. I completely disassembled the flipper mech and can’t find a reason for it being draggy. I put a Stern coil sleeve in which didn’t quite fit correctly, but the issue persisted. I ensured that there was adequate up and down play with the bat (credit-card template). When I slightly lift the bat the drag disappears, but when I let it rest in it’s normal position it seems to be dragging on something. I’ve checked the bottom of the bat surface and the top of the bushing in which it sits for extra or rough plastic but can find none. When disassembled there seems to be no catching, but when everything is tight it is dragging again. I hooked the spring 1/3 shorter to give it more pull, but no luck. Very frustrating. I sanded the bushing flat and smooth but it it still just as grabby.
Also, from the factory the Hypersleep ramp was too tight at the “U” to allow the ball to pass. It doesn’t fit past the U. (See picture). I wedged a washer in between the wall and the floor of the ramp to create more space at the U which seems to have helped.
Also 4 of the target lights are out. (See pictures). I guess it’s time to open a ticket.
I had such high hopes. . . .

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I wonder why one of the target lights on one side of the scoop works and another doesn’t? A weird choice if it’s intentional.

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I can’t begin to tell you how disappointed I am that my Alien is unplayable due to malfunctioning flippers. I’ve tried smoothing the bushing which didn’t help, and just about any other thing that I can do. I’m a very competent pinball tech and this one has me baffled. I’m thinking that it may be the nylon piece below the flipper that the shaft pivots on when the coil fires. Not really a serviceable part unfortunately.
Does anyone know if the flipper assembly is unique to Pinball brothers or could it be a Bally/Williams part? I’d love to do a complete flipper rebuild but all I have on hand are Stern rebuild kits.

I did open a ticket last night but haven’t gotten a response. My flipper assembly looks like yours. Thank you!

Both of my left flippers have significant drag when moving them manually. If I lift them slightly while turning them the drag is gone. I sanded the bushing top and bottom and even made a “washer” from a credit card to smooth out the top of the bushing but it didn’t help.

I’ve been using expired gift cards for years to space flipper bats. To try to fix this issue I made a “washer” from an expired gift card and left it between the bat and the plastic. I also used my spacer when installing to ensure that there was the normal amount of free space.

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Cato sent me this about the sticky flippers. Completely against what you’re supposed to do on other pins . . .but it worked!
“About the sticky and dragging flipper, can you try to loosen the flipper bat shaft, so it rotates freely and then press the flipper bat down towards the playfield, and at the same time press the linkage upwards. and then tighten the flipper shaft. "remove the gap marked with red arrow"”.
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No. Only the flippers.

I had a great game today. A couple of friends came over to play for the first time (Owlnonymous was one of them) and on the first or second game I had my best game ever. Too bad Owl wasn’t streaming! I scored 503,180,910. I had Hypersleep multiball and Ambush both running at once on my second ball. We couldn’t score much at all for the rest of the session. That’s how this game is. Lots of quick frustrating games with a killer game popping up once in a great while. Love this game!

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You may be right. It was pretty intense and hard to tell exactly what was going on.

On my Alien the two posts that should stop the balls when looping and allow them to drop into the eggs don’t ever seem to work. They work in the test mode however. I have to assume that these will be implemented in a (hopefully soon) code update.
Do these posts ever work on any machine? Could mine need tweaking?

The video in this link is broken.
But I understand what is being communicated. I’ll have to test later today.
Thanks!

This will certainly be a game-changer for me when I get it working. It will also make it much easier to feed the ball through the pops to shoot for the Hypersleep locks.

When I run this test the posts do not pop up. So it appears that the Eddy switches are not working that activate the posts in the loop above the eggs.. Anybody know how to attempt to fix this?

Here it is. Alien LV reveal video.
Amazing armor, low-profile beacon lights on the head, open eggs, LV Dog Tags, lighted interior art blades, beautiful upgraded backglass and cabinet art - and more!
I’m in.
https://fb.watch/9ZFuMm16cu/
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I’m pretty excited about getting an LV. Looks amazing.

Mine has the larger Torx screws. Anybody else? I got my Alien on the last shipment that Cointaker delivered early this month.

Just paid Cointaker for my LV. Now that my SV is tuned in I’ll be selling it (as soon as I get my LV). Love this game!

Here is an alternate mod from @Mageek: I have one and it’s very nice!

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Yes. It’s just a spring.

https://fb.watch/aksooETYk2/

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After playing my Alien for the last couple of weeks, I have grown very fond of it. Granted it plays “differently” than a Stern. For one it’s a widebody and also the flippers feel different than other pins. However, once I got used to the feel and figured out the rules, I really love it. During gameplay there are multiple things you need to watch out for and shoot or utilise at key moments during play. I like to qualify the Sleeper Locks early so if I am lucky enough to get up that darn ramp it’ll lock in. Also knowing what each weapon does and when to use each can strategically make the game last much longer and score a lot higher. I like to focus on completing the lifecycles at all times so I can get “Save Newt” going. I am now to the point where I can reach “All Out War” occasionally.
This game really is fantastic. Once you accept the differences it really draws you in and gives you a wonderful unique pinball experience.

I have owned both Hobbit and TZ. Alien definitely plays like a widebody, but the flippers are different from any other pins I have played as well. They also have a tendency to overheat after playing for an hour or so, so this adds to the difficulty.

It’s like playing a game of high-speed chess.

I’m getting better after understanding the rules.

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Adjustments > Pricing > adjustment 17.

This is the only game I’ve ever played that gave me chills. Really.

So lets help the community. What was the issue?

Are you talking about your product or the Alien pins? If it’s the pins, what’s your source?

Trust me. It’s worth the wait. Mine sits next to a Godzilla L.E. Which I consider to be the best-playing pin ever made, but I’m always drawn to play Alien. Godzilla is getting lonely!

I added mirror blades and they do help a bit,. But I really like the dark atmosphere.

They work fine. I also swapped mine.

.

If the balls become magnetized they can stop up high in the ball trough when one drains and the machine will think that the trough is full and therefore think that all balls have drained. It then ends the ball in play.

PB needs to sell enough games at regular price before they can honor the vouchers. I understand your frustration, but they need to survive and stay solvent first and foremost. PB isn’t screwing you. They are doing you a solid. THEY didn’t take your money, Heighway did. Be patient. The vouchers are a gift from a company who got NONE of the money that you sent to Heighway.

The LV(s) at Texas are part of a small shipment that was air-freighted instead of “shipped” on a boat in order to make TPF. The larger shipment is probably on the water now though.

The projected time frame at this time is “eventually”.

I have to say this . . .
My Alien works perfectly. Just like any other game by any other manufacturer, it needed a few tweaks out of the box to dial it in, and I replaced the weak flipper switches with a set of Stern switches because I didn’t like the light touch of the stock switches. Due to the nature of any hand-built custom designed machine, there will always be some that arrive that are not perfect.

The reason I’m posting this is because it seems to me that for anyone thinking of buying an Alien, this thread could make you think twice, because as with any other pin from any other manufacturer, the thread is full of posts by folks whose pins are experiencing issues.

‘Cause who posts just to say that their pin is working perfectly? Just about nobody.

The main difference between Alien and any of the other mainstream manufacturers is the level of support provided.

When my Stern pins have issues the first response from Stern is “Call the distributor”. If the distributor can’t help, Stern will make suggestions like “Try swapping the node boards” or something similar. And after the “warranty” expires (which seems to be 90 days now) who you gonna call? Stern isn’t much help. You had better have a friendly neighborhood repair guy. A friend of mine has a BM66 that has issues and Stern is not helping him past some suggestions on swapping node boards. He’s now stuck with a pin that he can’t fix and he can’t sell.

And as for JJP? From what I’ve been reading their support team has been pretty much ghosting us. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

Now for Pinball Brothers: I had an issue with the pop-up posts above the egg pop bumpers originally so I emailed them. What did they do? They sent me a pair of boards that controlled the posts - no questions asked. I didn’t have to show any proof - they just wanted to help. It turned out that while I was waiting I read in this thread that adjusting the power of these posts in the menu system resolves the issue. I did that and it solved the issue. And if you read through the the posts in this thread you will see a pattern of PB being exceptionally responsive and quick to do whatever it takes to resolve issues for us.

And if you compare the care and attention that PB has put into the design and build of these pins, they stand head and shoulders above anyone else. The cable management below the playfield is exceptional. No extra wires hanging down. Everything is the exact right length and routed carefully and then fastened down logically. Everything is clearly marked showing what connects where. No guessing needed.

And as far as the playfield goes, it’s done right. No chipping. No pooling. No ghosting. The other guys have pretty much made us believe that chipping, pooling and thin paint layers are now the norm that we have to live with. I’ve got over 500 plays on my Alien and other than some barely visible dimples sparsely distributed on the playfield that you have to look very hard to see, it’s perfect. I’ve given up on my other pins and install playfield protectors on all of them. It’s not needed on Alien.

PB took the original Heighway design and re-engineered it completely from the ground up. They even re-designed the “Service” position that the playfield rests in. It basically locks into place straight up and in the middle of the cabinet allowing easy access to both the top and bottom at the same time.

These guys love pinball and it shows.

So if you have an Alien and it works well, please back me up here. Let’s give Pinball Brothers the recognition that they deserve.

I installed a playfield protector on a buddy’s Alien LV this weekend. Now looking forward to getting my LV even more. Come on Melissa!

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It wasn’t any harder than any other pin - actually much easier than Rush LE or AIQ LE.

The LV (LE) comes with both open and closed eggs. You can swap them out with a couple of screws.

Paid November 2021. LV on a truck to me on Monday. Pretty excited here.

My LV is due to land today. I sold my SV about a month ago.
Question for new LV owners: IS PB still using metric fasteners (nuts, bolts, screws etc)?

I got my LV (finally) on Friday. Had a pinball party last night to break her in. She’s working perfectly out of the box. I had a really good game after about a dozen or so games.

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To align the flippers just put a straightedge on the inlane guide that leads to the flipper. Make sure that the flipper is straight in line with the straightedge. (With the flipper rubber on)

No droop, no problems.

My LV’s cables were too tight and the one for the backboard LED strip pulled too hard and broke the strip, so mine doesn’t light either. I opened a ticket with PB along with pictures of the issue. A new LED strip is on it’s way to me.

It looks like the tabs at the top of your incline may be bent up. Make sure that the tabs on each side are parallel with the floor or at a 90 degree angle from the vertical piece. These tabs lock into the rails to hold the playfield in place at the top of the incline.
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Very nice! Will you be making these available to the community?

The code updates on this thing are amazingly fast. Usually a minute or less.

I’m betting that there are one or more cables that are too tight that are limiting how far back you can pull your playfield. My LV had two cables that were tied with zip ties making them too short.