Awesome color change. It makes the pin look much more science fiction themed. Space is black or very dark. The darker colors would make the LED lights stand out more also.

Awesome color change. It makes the pin look much more science fiction themed. Space is black or very dark. The darker colors would make the LED lights stand out more also.

Awesome color change. It makes the pin look much more science fiction themed. Space is black or very dark. The darker colors would make the LED lights stand out more also.

Sorry for the repeated posts. I don't know what happened there. I only submitted it once.

Factory ST Pro pics posted if anyone didn't see it. Maybe some gameplay feedback coming too.

http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/picture-of-a-real-stern-star-trek

Gary Stern said years ago that it takes $1 million to make a pin. That was for pins like TSPP, LOTR, POTC, SM etc.

Let's say that it now takes $2 million to produce a pin from scratch.

I have no clue, but let's say that the LE's are being sold to distributors for $5000.

$5000 x 500 LE pins = $2.5 million or $5000 x 799 LE pins = $4 million

Stern has their money after the LE pins are sold. Premiums and Pros are more money. Stern can easily see that the production of more LE's translates to a lot more money up front before pins even go into production.

Some pins are shipping with multiple problems (design and mechanical) that should have easily been noticed at some point during the design, testing, production phases and with incomplete software that no one really knows if and when it will ever be completed. Now they raise the price and what is now called an LE is nothing but the same type of pin they were making years ago with some extra overpriced cosmetic stuff added to it, which adds nothing at all to the gameplay.

Does anyone remember the podcast with Keith Johnson after he was laid off from Stern ? Does anyone remember the posts by Steve Ritchie when he was no longer with Stern ? I do and it painted a very ugly picture of the inner workings of Stern and it's obvious to me to see that nothing has changed since then and in some ways has gotten even worse.

Now that's just my thoughts. I don't expect anyone to agree. If someone likes Stern pins the way they are being built and the prices, then great. It's not up to me to tell others how to spend their money and it never will be.

Despite all of this, the pinhead inside me still wants to buy every new pin that comes out. I can't or i won't, but that obsession is still there despite anything. LOL !! The Star Trek theme is huge for me. I want to love this pin, but it's not a consideration until it has complete software, which will probably be at least a year or longer if I look at previous pin releases. By then, who knows if i'll even want one anymore. Play pins and prosper !! \\\ ///