Funny you mentioned AFMr.

I honestly don't care much about dimpling but I have to admit, when I sold my AFMr, I was cleaning the playfield and inspecting it really well. I literally could BARELY see a dimple on it. That playfield was probably the best one I've ever owned. Also, JJP Dialed In I don't think I could see one.

So weird.

I'm still willing to bet that buyers who buy NIB Stranger Things machines in a few months - after they've sat for a while curing in the box - will have less dimpling issues.

Most automotive clear coats take up to 30 days to fully cure and achieve their maximum hardness rating. Most of the people on Pinside get their games a few days after the assembly of the machine and start playing them. I think if it could be tracked, the dimpling problems are more than likely correlated to the time between date of manufacture and the date it was first played.

Maybe so to a minor degree, but it’s not the same thing.
I own games from all sorts of manufactured Stern, CGC, Spooky, DE, Bally, Williams, SEGA, Capcom, JJP etc.

What it boils down to is it’s games manufactured in a certain time period with a certain type of playfield that are getting this the worst and it’s not like the way it happens on other games.

I’ve been pretty fortunate that none of my modern Stern builds have had the bad dumpling problem.
I play enough route location to know the difference.

I’m not anti modern Stern games. In fact quite the opposite as I enjoy playing them quite a bit, own several and will certainly own more in the future.
All I’m saying is the dumpling issue on certain playfield is unlike the dumpling that may occur on other machines.

I'm a big Spooky fan, but their playfields definitely dimple too. Yes, I do think they are the best pf in the industry right now, but they still dimple. My ACNC is especially bad near the left ramp where there are a lot of airball issues.

There's nothing like unboxing a new pin, and an LE at that! Always a fun day. Congrats and enjoy.

This isn't necessarily true. I bought a NIB DeadpoolLE and production date was September 2018.... I unboxed it last week and have over 100 plays on it. Full of dimples. Not early as many as my SThLE, but there are also way less airballs on Deadpool as well.

It's this type of cost cutting that is ridiculous at these prices. Stern couldn't spend an extra $1 per game on spring steel ramp flaps?

I could see grabbing a Stranger Things Pro and the UV light kit but it's these quality issues that are holding me back. There's no excuse, other than greed, for Stern to constantly be trying to save a $1 here, $5 there, when these games now cost $6k - $9k+. Based on what CPR said we know it would only cost Stern less than $50 more per game to match their playfield quality / specs yet Stern refuses to do that despite raising prices yet again. I understand wanting to make a profit but damn.

All i got to say is Bull f*cking sh*t lol. They may not dimple quite as bad but they still dimple like a MF. I know because i have seen plenty of spooky and CGC games both. I dont doubt that Spooky and CGC both have better overall playfield quality than Stern does but they definitely dimple.

I was talking up the beautiful playfield on my MMr, and it still is beautiful. But after about 900 plays there are some visible dimples when you go down and look for them, at an angle etc.

This is unsurprising and perfectly acceptable. If it was showing deep moon craters that would be - should be! - surprising and unacceptable. Because that’s not how pinball machines have traditionally dimpled. Ever. To my knowledge, only Stern machines suffer from this “moon crater” malaise.

Its disappointing for sure. The playfield on my XMen LE is great. They clearly -- used better materials or a different process for that game, because the clear is glossy and the dimpling is minor.

Let me help your knowledge....CGC AFMr, LE, that actually sat in the box a couple months before going to location.
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Crazy !! I wonder why there is so much variance. Oh well.

But CC is *supposed* to flex. That's why your plastic car bumper can get radically pushed in and then pop back without all the clear immediately cracking and falling off.

If the wood is soft and takes a hit the clear flexes with it. Surely you don't think a millimeter of ANY clear will magically create a such a hard surface that stops softer wood from being compressed by a steel ball. Imagine if it was super hard and inflexible... it would crack and shatter like an ipad screen when hit by airballs, etc.

That being said the extreme shine on these newer CC's also make the dimples (or divots) really catch the light and wink at you.

And not in a good way

Since so much dimpling is trending again, I decided to take another close look at my games as it's been about a year since I last looked, and I started to get spooked that I was missing something. I have PDI glass on most of them, so I hadn't really noticed anything out of the ordinary previously. I must be lucky because after close examination, none of my games are excessively dimpled. I used to work overseas, so it was fairly common before MBr and Black Knight for my NIB games to sit an extra few weeks before they were setup and even then go months in between plays. Plus, these are all in a home environment with plays in the low thousands for most of them. Maybe the clear had more time to dry? I don't know.

Monster Bash - The worst of my games, but still very minor in the big scheme of things. A pack of dimples are visible, mainly in the dark blues below the Frank inserts. It's also my only game with a couple of dents on the ramp flaps. Still, it's not bad at all and the dimples are very small, plus it took some close side views to really tell. My friends play the heck out of this game.

Mars Attacks - A have a few in two places. The aqua looking area to the left of the England insert and same colored area to the right of the Italy and England inserts, below the Light Lock and Ruler of the Universe inserts. These are really small areas and only a few dimples. They were very difficult to see and only at certain angles and lighting. If I have to look that hard, it must not be a problem.

Medieval Madness - I'm sure there are some, but I really couldn't see any. There are so many inserts that it's hard to find any.

Black Knight Pro - I counted about 8 dimples, mostly over by the left stand up targets and a couple near the flail, but it's my least played game, maybe between a hundred and fifty and two hundred games so far. Otherwise, the playfield is like glass.

Iron Man VE - My most played game by far and I think it may be a case of so many plays and dimples that they're fairly uniform now. I didn't see any distinguishable dimples, though the field didn't look like glass either. I find that surprising considering the amount of bashing the Iron Monger takes and the number of hard shot rejects I get when I miss the ramps. I definitely need to wax it again.

BM66 - I have some on the magnet, but the playfield looks mostly like glass. It's certainly not cratered like one picture I saw on Pinside a ways back.

Avengers - There were some here and there, probably from Hulk drops ricochets. The color scheme and lighting makes it harder to tell on this one.

I have a Stranger Things Premium on order. I expect it to dimple a little more because of bounce back from the forward facing drop targets and failed Demo shots bouncing off of the large, thin ramp flap. So, my expectations are set for a small increase, but hopefully that'll be it. I'll certainly report back here if they seem excessive.

This is a fresh, unique take on this subject. You’ve given us all a lot to think about.

Now THAT'S the Levi I like! Even when triggered... still funny . Don't let 'em get you too defensive... your humor level drops and we're here for the jokes!

Yes even B/W games dimpled and flattened, probably not at the same rate but still.
People saying older games never dimpled aren't looking hard enough, every single one I've owned has had em.
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My thought as well, that is a crazy variance even within a single manufacturer. I stand corrected, but wow why such drastic differences!

I have some dimples on the mighty Hobbit play field that is considered to be one of the better play fields from JJP. That said, over four years later I have no chipping, pooling, or other issues with the play field and it still looks really nice (save the dimples here and there).
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My AFMr is covered in dimples. 800 plays.

My AFMr was built in 2017. I bought it new in box in june 2019. It sat in the box "curing" for 2 years. After 800 plays it looks like a golf ball.

I'm making a declaration ... in pinside pinball posting history there has never been a thread that has veered off course more than this one. The post is about stranger things, but everything has been talked about including how to plant a garden I think. LOL

Can we talk about the Daytona 500 wreck that happened yesterday that was nasty!

The title of this thread should be talk about anything but stranger things.

Personally I'd go hydroponic or aeroponic over old school dirt but hey. You all do you

Today I got an email stating that for $1k I could get my penis enlarged by 3". I'm thinking of going for it as it's cheaper than a pinball machine and I'll finally get that 1 incher I've been bragging about for years. (BTW my penis already has dimples).

DO IT DO IT! LOL Then maybe after you could use it as a flipper.

Most things are with these current pinball machine prices

Here’s the funny thing, been around long enough to know fo sho, that the euphoria around Bricks is a lot centered around “how much is my pin worth today” and “how much could I sell my spot for”

Nobody would give a F if a PF dimples as long as my “investment” is kicking ass! Yep, remember the Stern LE flipper frenzy days. Lol

If you were losing money on ANY pin it could have the worlds greatest PF, like Celts, and it would be the LAST thing anyone talked about

You buy a Stern pinball machine today or JJP, you WILL lose money when you go to sell it. Just a question of how much with each title

You could slap a Haggis PF into a Stern pin and it wouldn’t make a bit of f ing difference, you will lose money and people would find something else to bitch about

Yeah, they can say what they want....these pfs are not dimpling like the old pfs, these are craters to use the term coined by Rarehero. Also, the idea that they blend is wrong too. There is thread about a star trek pro on location on Pinside that has over 30,000 plays on it and the pf pictures show that the dimples don't blend out, so unfortunately that theory is bogus too.

Yes. I’ve seen this picture. I think over a year ago was the first time. This photo gets hauled out and recycled with the same schtick every time the Stern crater haters get too vocal. Yup, one CGC has some orange peel. Oh well. Where are all the other CGC horror stories of bad playfields? Practically every thread on Pinside has some reference to Stern’s horrible cratering problems. New owners with new pictures seem to crop up daily. But you hold on to that one AFMr picture, so you can use it in another argument down the line.

I was wondering where grown men come to cry. Guess I've found it in this thread.

Ok, let’s all say it together. Dimples are normal, craters are not. Repeat until you understand the concept.

Oh, and “home use only” means it’s only been in a private home (or maybe some dudes office, where the game was played by a relatively small number of the (mostly) same people during its lifespan). Not “home use only but”. Not “home use only since”. Just home use only. Got it? Good.

Cargument. Dint to a dent.. most wont understand

So anyway, I must say. I'm addicted as hell to this game. Plenty of access to every game and it's the only one I've been playing for about a month now. New update fixes the gorgon issue for the most part and bringing in level 2 mb adds another level to the game. Starting modes on the fly and nobody does a fan layout like Eddy. Psyched to checkout the UV action and projector.

Playfield issues aside, UV ripoff aside, I'm only playing this thing on location so I guess I don't personally care. Game shoots great and is only getting better, kinda like an upgraded Guardians.

Quarter hunt is pretty cool. When spell of protection is lit and it drains on the left should the ball be saved? Mine never saves the ball. Also got my arcade sign installed. Added a spot lite to shine in it.

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Where did you get the Arcade Sign?

Lermods. Mezel has one too.

Does the arcade sign spin all the time or only when the arcade insert is lit?

Spins all the time

Dimples after 600 games on LE

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A few pictures I took myself with glass on. The playfield dimpling seems to be all over the board in terms of manufacturers, build dates, etc.

IMG_20191218_173428 (resized).jpg

IMG_20191218_173431 (resized).jpg

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It spins all the time unless you get the interactive version, which activates with any light on the playfield you choose. It’s quite a bit more expensive due to parts and labor, but the option is there for those who might want it.

https://lermods.com/shop?olsPage=products%2Fstranger-things-pinball-interactive-spinning-arcade-sign

Dimpling seems like such a weird thing to get hung up on. Pooling and chipping is unacceptable, of course, but a metal ball striking a wooden surface imparts a force that has to go somewhere, and you can be sure a solid steel metal ball is going to win that battle 100 times out of 100.

Some playfields may be worse than others, but it will happen given enough time and action.

The question isn’t “does dimpling happen”? Dimpling happens.

The questions are “do late model Stern’s dimple worse (cratering)” - the answer is yes - and “why aren’t they doing anything about it”? Because the playfields on their latest games indicates that they aren’t.

And this issue isn’t in a vacuum. It’s just one more thing on the pile of Stern’s questionable QC. Without the myriad other issues over the past few years, people probably wouldn’t care so much. But for the prices they charge...etc. etc.

Quite simply because they don’t have too, 90% of the people who complain about the issues that arise with each new release, forget about them and jump right back in line to buy as soon as the next title is announced.

I was all set to grab a Stranger Things but personally for £9000/£10,000, the cost of a prem/LE here in the U.K. ($13,000 USD) there’s too many issues with new Sterns, so instead of just moaning about it over and over again, I used my pin funds to buy back my old STLE instead of grabbing a Stranger Things NIB, but I’m in the minority, so why would Stern change a thing when they sell out faster than they can produce games to sell?

Every time i enter these threads....

groundhog day (resized).jpg

Quality Control - ensures through testing and sampling that products meet the intended baseline standard within an acceptable threshold.

When it comes to cratering and dimpling of playfields, the problem isn’t their quality control, the issue is the new baseline is all playfields dimple and crater excessively.

And guess what, everyone keeps buying these games (myself included albeit as an operator only) so why would they change? Yes customers are complaining, but the market (through purchasing) is telling Stern, cratering playfields are fine!

Here are some other issues that are systemic and in my opinion unrelated to quality control, but indicative of a new standard in pinball machines as overpriced consumables!

-Coil stops that fail after less than 100 plays because entire batches were improperly assembled.

-Lock posts that come out of their assembly after less than 400 plays on every game.

-Wireform gates that are slightly too small, and come out of position under 100 plays.

-Ramp flaps dimpling within a few DOZEN plays

Quality Control could be attributed to, something like a handful of demo ramps being improperly made yet still installed. This should be caught in sub assembly inspection.

Code quality could be attributed to the Phantom left ramp awards.

Most of you guys think the dimpling thing is something new....it is not.

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/rec.games.pinball/BxJagIncBbk/P836pngxvqYJ

I played Hilton's pro at the R&m stream.

One big thing I noticed was the artwork on the backglass (the 3 kids) reflects so brightly onto the glass that it obscures the four bank target area making it kind of hard to see if it's open or not.

Made demogorgan mouth shot once. It really does feel like a carnival game plenty of good shots didn't go in.

You got rubber balls in your AFMr? The one I owned (and another a fellow league member owned) dimpled AF.

LMAO!

Had no idea this exact moronic conversation has been going on at least 15 years. It hits all the exact same beats that get thrown out here 100 times a week now. "My new Stern is dimpling...all bally williams games dimpled too...no they didn't stern is cheaping out...yes they did a steel ball is harder than wood yada yada yada."

The best post would be right at home here in 2020..."What is Stern making these pf's out of, balsa?"

Well, I hope Derek didn't take too much of a "dimple hit" when he sold his NASCAR. Kind of surprised though he usually sold his games before 100 plays back then.