I’m not super strong and I’ve cut some thick ass metal with wire cutters like this.

It was hanging up in two spots. I was able to fix a spot that was lower down from the weld spot.

The part that really confuses me and maybe I was wrong but I thought Spooky test their games before the QC sticker goes on it as complete.

There is no way in hell a practice ball was ever sent down that wire form cuz no ball is ever going to go through it period.

So does Spooky test game play? If they do they need a check list for each item to test, I can see parts being made wrong, I can't see sending out a game with a wire form no ball could ever make it down.

Fair enough! Worth a try for sure.

All good man. Believe me I am just as frustrated as you are. In no way am I intending to be dismissive. I was just mistaken looking at the photo. I agree that they should have been caught at the factory. My only guess is that maybe the green habitrail was replaced last because it didn't pass visual QC and when the new one was installed it wasn't properly tested. I don't think this is something Bug would miss during playtesting.

I would take a pair of channel locks and squash the ring so its slightly oval. That should give you a little bit of clearance. New ramp is coming anyway so if it messes it up its not a problem. Worth a shot to get it going.

Actually he could try a large vise grip and just keep on making it tighter each time in hopes of crushing the weld or wire out. I have done lots of metal working and sometimes it works and some time a simple tack weld can seem like moving the Hoover Dam.

I’m
Pretty sure if BallyKISS1978 was closer Luke would go to his home and get him going

I wish I was near AZ. This would be a “Hold my Beer” moment. I would send you a video as well JohnTT

I would truly drive there now if I could lol. Green habitrail and tools in hand!

Same. I would rather be in Arizona right now as I see snow out my window...

Well, it's been a very busy evening, but I finally have a bit of free time to update everyone on the Scooby setup.

Sadly, #60 has some issues. Some minor, some a bit more serious. Here goes...

Minor issues:

1. Orange wireform ends were bent badly at the exit, not allowing ball to pass through.
2. Lower right flipper pawl was loose and flipper bat way out of adjustment.
3. Misc. screws and parts in cabinet. Some stuck to left speaker magnet, some just floating around.
4. Coin door was racked a bit and didn't close correctly. The coin door lock tab was jacked up a bit... but hey, they didn't forget to put it on.

A bit more major:

1. Topper lights quit working after a few minutes.
2. Action button light not working.
3. Flipper button lights not working.
4. Wire harness that feeds action button and flipper button lights was made way too short (I'm talking like a foot short), causing big problems when they folded the bacbox down at the factory. It ripped the harness out of the plastic loom in the cabinet, and also yanked a screw out of the loom strap in the backbox, and of course ripped the connector off of the little board in the backbox. Pins were bent on said board, and 2 locking connectors broken as well.

I know Spooky will take care of me, but it's still pretty disappointing.

Luke and others at Spooky; please use this list to fine tune the builds. And PLEASE, stop making some of these wire runs so dang tight! Being an electrician, this sort of thing always jumps out at me, and I have noticed it on the other 2 Spooky games that I own. Aside from the fact that tension on wires is hard on connections, it of course leaves no room for give when you're in there doing something. Thanks.
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Thanks for posting the link! I’m glad people like the podcast!

Scooby was great! I’m glad I’m in on one. I’m in the second half so hopefully production is sorted well by then!

oh man, I'm starting to get nervous about getting my game. I know pinball involves maintenance over time and I'm fine with that but needing multiple fixes on a brand new game drives me insane.

Yeah, that's not good. I certainly expect to have to tweak a NIB game upon delivery, but wire harnesses that are built to short, misc bolts in the cab, and electronics not working? That's a push.....

Well….I had a razor blade on the speaker magnet of my Halloween but somehow it felt theme appropriate

Spooky will definitely make it right in the end, but being stuck on pause to get there after being hyped to enjoy an expensive purchase is never fun. If you're nervous, you need some rest man.

Sounds like they need to slow the production line down and look these games over better. Every little issue gives the Stern simps their wings and plenty of them flying around now that FF is revealed.

I know the feeling.

I bought a WOZ RR from Jersey Jack and the QC was off the charts bad. I literally felt like I received a lemon.

Unlike Spooky, I had to beg for help. JJP finally agreed to send out a local tech that had experience with their games. When he arrived, he looked at the game and said he didn’t know how to resolve a majority of the issues. I can’t describe how maddening that experience was.

I believe the topper and action lights are just a code bug. Dylan is on it.

Well, there could be a bug doing something for someone, but my little board that feeds those things is f'd from the short harness yanking the crap out of it and breaking things.. I can get things to come on now when I wiggle stuff. I need a new board....and preferably a new harness that's the proper length. Please reach out to me via PM tomorrow so we can get these things taken care of.

The recent code update available on the site takes care of the topper/action button/speaker lights. (For games with 2/14/23 code or earlier installed)

I just got in a sheet of PDI glass today from Pinball Life. Major difference!

I understand I was more broadly answering as I saw a few more comments on it.

Sheeesh.. my game is on the line now. Hopefully my setup is more smooth than some of those on this thread.

I know how you feel. I spent 12k and waited a year for my P3. I paid extra for a speaker LED lighting kit that was completely left off. The art package I ordered wasn’t the one it shipped with, and one of the servos died in less than a day. The wall the servo controlled was stuck in the up position and I couldn’t play any of the games. Very frustrating but Multimorphic’s support was excellent and within a couple of days all was well. Companies run by true Pinheads like Spooky and Multimorphic will make it right.

I’m sorry brother. Tomorrow will go much better than this did. Concentrate on your daughter’s surgery for now.

Oh man, that totally sucks this happened. But I agree that Luke was just trying to help. In fairness to Luke, it’s hard to tell from the photo exactly. It was just not what you needed tonight for sure but I admire his effort to try to help you get up and running. I’m certain he didn’t mean to be dismissive, quite the opposite. It’s also a stressful time for you. Sorry you can’t play but hopefully one of these suggestions will get you able to play at least until the new part comes. Good news is at least you won’t have to remove the upper PF to replace the habitrail. Hope you get it up no running soon!

Maybe a slightly better inventory management, rather just having a stack of wireforms laying around with a box of toys on top. (Hoping they are just rejects)

Picture posted by Spooky a couple weeks ago.

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It does happen. My Alien LV had TONS of problems out of the box and took me a month and a half to get it working. Including some really stupid things missed at the factory. She works perfect now and solely due to outstanding support from Pinball Brothers. I love it and am super glad I stuck with it and got it all dialed in. These machines are all handmade and every manufacturer has games go out that have problems that should never have left the factory that way. Heck my Bond LE had a wire gate that didn’t even fit and was rejecting the ball and has other issues. To me, although it sucks to have issues out of the box with a $10,000 luxury item, what really matters is the quality of the customer support after the sale and that the manufacturer stands strongly behind their product. This is my first Spooky, and I have to admit some of these posts make me nervous too. But I am seeing substantial effort from Spooky’s team to fix what’s wrong and get this machine right. Do us all great service Spooky, and all will be well.

Man, I feel your pain. I was upset about my Godzilla Premium and the fact that sometimes a ball would get hung up in the VUK. Small potatoes to what you had unleashed upon you. May be worth it to swap out for a different NIB based on the fact that you ripped out the boards due to the short wires. It is great that they are communicating with you...but dealing with support (no matter how great they are) is always a huge buzzkill when you just want to play your new game.

I agree with this. The first time Spooky hears of an issue you’re having shouldn’t be in your first impressions post to everyone. And the issues shouldn’t be expected to be solved here (and after business hours on top of that).

On a more positive note has anyone that’s received their game got a butter cabinet?

Agreed. They are extremely responsive if you contact them directly through service at Spooky. They can't be expected to follow this forum closely after a 10 hour plus day at the factory. I'm not certain because I do not follow on Facebook but I assume that they might have to be responding to the Scooby Club there as well. BallyKiss I do hope that things go well today. I expect that your focus will be your daughter and your family today. This all becomes secondary at best. Good luck. Sending positive energy your way.

Not going butter myself but would be curious to see pictures. Always found Spooky decals to be awesome but still curious. I know photos are a hard way to judge.

I agree it is great that Spooky is engaged and responsive on Pinside; however, I wish they didn't need to be in regards to quality issues.

These issues are not big issues in the grad scheme of things. I have only bought NIB all had to tweak every single one of them day one with No exception. I will have to do the same with SD

It can and should improve with time, they are growing and expanding which gives them an extra challenge with newer employees but your training and Q/A should eventually catch and snuff out these issues.

possibly, but how does this not get caught in testing?

Not saying for sure, but spot welds could definitely break in transport, and some wire forms can have quite a bit of tension that would make it spring inward like that if it did. That is my guess here. I really do not think they would have sent it out like this. QC will never catch everything (in any company) but they would have caught that.

I can agree to a point, I've purchased about 8 NIB Stern's. I had an issue with optos on my Deadpool Premium and a shooter rod issue on Rush, but outside of that I can't say I've had to tweek anything else.

I'm not trying to bash on Spooky or make it seem like these issues are bigger than they are. Spooky is ramping up in terms of difficulty of games, so there are going to be growing pains. At some point though, the narrative will have to change. They can't be the underdog forever, nor do I want them to be.

I am happy that Spooky is addressing all these concerns, makes me confident in my game purchase. It is easy to add an extra 12 inches of wire to a loom, and adjust the torque on a screwdriver. This forum should not be the first time Spooky sees or hears of these issues. Owners should be going through the proper customer support channels to get help with their issues. The amount of time it takes to make these posts could have been spent sending Spooky's customer support an email with the pictures and description of the issues. Allow Spooky time to address and resolve the issues before "blasting" them with all these issues on a hobbyist forum.

When I have an issue with a product or service, I go to the companies customer support first. Only after my issue has been addressed/resolved do I leave a review with my good or bad experiences. It is hard to understand the tone of words in written form, but the back and forth about the wireform felt heated and never would have happened if customer support was contacted directly on the phone during working business hours. Good on Spooky for contiinuing to check these forums even after they have gone home for the day. SpookyLuke Make sure you take some time away from the forum and enjoy your evenings after working 12-14 hour days. The same problem will be waiting for you in the morning.

I agree. If we see these same issues in later runs that is where I would become really concerned. We are early in the run, so some issues are expected.

I agree with what you are saying in terms of resolving the issue.

I do think it is a good thing that these items/issues are posted here as well. It's helpful that owners share their issues so future owners know what to expect/look for in terms of possible issues.

I'm glad that you get this. Info is fine, especially when it's brought in a polite way.

And of course, as I've done with every manufacturer in the past when I had NIB issues, Spooky was emailed as soon as they opened today.

I think there will always be a level of paranoia with Spooky’s quality. Possibly deserved but always blown out of proportion with their competition in my experience