Cliffy is an incredibly nice guy. Try emailing him directly with your problem and he may be able to help you out.

Upload photos with the buttons in the lower left.

[email protected] here is cliff's email

Sorry you're having such grief. I'll send a refund if you email me your PP account. I've made the control room protector in a thicker metal now to reduce the chance of cracking and yes I've seen that before. I'm afraid the thicker material might make you even more frustrated with that shot though so I won't recommend it for you.
Sorry again that they didn't work out for you but in my own defense the build quality is NOT at issue. It's the nature of that particular scoop and how the ball interacts with the deflector and protector.

The only possible fix is to repair and damage to the wood with epoxy putty. Since your playfield is apparently unworn then this is not an option for you. Use the mantis hole liners instead is all I can suggest but you'll be fighting bounceouts with those too as they are much thicker than mine. They'll never crack though.

lol.

I had the cliffy on mine and had no problems with it.

Same here. It's too bad it's not working out for the OP.

Is that green target preventing the protector from laying flat to the playfield? Should the protector go slightly under the green target so that it will lie flat? I can't tell from the pictures, but it looks like interference between the protector and the green target holding up the protector.

The cliffy protectors do make the shots more difficult because the scoop hole is pretty small as it is, and the scoop hole's beveled edges are made sharp, reducing the entry surface area.

As well as the advice to move the assembly as far back as possible, I'd also recommend moving it to the left as well, this also makes the bunker shot a bit wider and easier to make. You can also bend the scoop itself downward so that the ball is better directed downward into the hole.

If you're going to use the cliffy, two things you must do are:

1) fill the damaged wood so that there is no empty space behind the edges of the cliffy to be pounded into — this will stop dents and splitting.

2) get some stronger double-sided tape to hold the edges down

I'd recommend to the OP to try again if he can get a replacement free of charge. I installed them in mine and haven't had any issues.

My JP was on route for over a year and is now back home for a bit. I have Cliffy protectors on the Bunker and Power Shed. I have a Mantis protector on the Control Room. The Cliffy protectors hold up fine on the Bunker and Power Shed, but as Cliff said, due to the geometry and layout of the Control Room, splitting is a problem.

The other problem is Kerry (Mantis) no longer makes protectors for JP. He said the demand isn't there. What I did is I modified a Mantis AFM mothership protector to fit the Control Room. It takes a little bending with a vice and some hammering, but it will work. I don't notice any bounce out problems or issues. If you have them you probably need to adjust your scoop's orientation, angle, or bend.

So that's my solution, a conglomeration of Cliffy and Mantis protectors. It held up well for over a year.

I also have Cliffy protectors on my Whirlwind, TAF, and Funhouse that are on location and they are holding up fine. So the issue with JP isn't Cliffy's protectors, it is how the Control Room hole is designed and laid out.

mine were installed by an expert, and work and have held up great!