(Topic ID: 11867)
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Quoted from vex:When sterns go from 5 ply down to 2 ply playfields i will save some cash and just buy toilet paper instead.
I did just read that Stern is using 5-ply wood for the pf instead of the regular 7-ply. Can anyone with an AC/DC or recent Stern verify? (Lift the pf and count the layers on the edge, and on the cab sides from below the game.) Is 5-ply also being used for the cabinet? If so, this would account for the cheaper/lighter feel of recent Sterns. And it is also LAME!
Quoted from scooter:StevenP said:I did just read that Stern is using 5-ply wood for the pf instead of the regular 7-ply.
Surely not. My sm is 7 ply. That makes what JJP is doing with 11 ply above and beyond!! although they are probably thinner layers.
stevebighead said:.Bye they way, have you measured a 2"x4"lately?
SM is an 'older' Stern. I was referring to more recent Sterns, manufactured over the past 2-3 years. The JJP playfield (widebody) is 9 plies, not 11. And "2-by-4's" have been smaller than 2"x4" for a VERY long time! The 2"x4" refers to the nominal (green) dimensions, not the final board size. It's been that way since before either of us was born.
Quoted from RWH:Pins are no different than anything else on the market, car body metal got thinner, most appliances are now made of plastic, hell even candy bars have gotten smaller not to mention all of them got more expensive, just like pins! The days of the heavy Gottliebs and Williams bodies are long gone, quantity not quality now rains supreme.
True for Stern pins, but JJP is reviving the construction quality. Even the cabinet will be of much higher quality than that of recent pins. (New reinforced design, no MDF, etc.)
Quoted from Honch:The recent Stern's I've played, I.E. (FG, LOTR) seemed to be built of decent quality. I did recently purchase a TFTC and you can definitely tell a difference in quality with the older pins. Even my wife said to me the other day " this game is fun, but doesn't feel as solid as our other pins". So even a rookie can tell when it comes down to it. Even with the less than "solid" feel, still a kickass pin.
FG and LOTR aren't very recent Sterns. Still more than about 3 years old. OK, to be explicit, "recent" Sterns would include such games as AC/DC (Pro), Rolling Stones, Tron, Avatar, Big Buck Hunter, Indiana Jones 4, NBA, Iron Man. Clear now?
I noticed a 'cheaper'/lighter feel to Stern games around the time NBA came out.
Quoted from scooter:StevenP said:The JJP playfield (widebody) is 9 plies, not 11
Its the cabinet that Jack said would be 11 ply plywood.
Actually, I screwed up (again!). Apparently the pf of WOZ will also be 11-ply plywood, as mentioned earlier.
Quoted from Honch:StevenP said:FG and LOTR aren't very recent Sterns. Still more than about 3 years old. OK, to be explicit, "recent" Sterns would include such games as AC/DC (Pro), Rolling Stones, Tron, Avatar, Big Buck Hunter, Indiana Jones 4, NBA, Iron Man. Clear now?
I noticed a 'cheaper'/lighter feel to Stern games around the time NBA came out.Let me clarify for you than Steve. The OLDER pins that I've played from Stern were solid, MMMKAY. I've yet to play anything newer than FG 2007. That's fairly recent in pinball terms. They weren't as solid as B/W pins, but they weren't exactly junk either. I was just pointing out, that I thought Stern Pins that I played, have some level of quality, contrary to popular belief. I didn't realize I was too far off topic for you. My sincerest apology.
No apology needed (even if sarcastic!). The definition/specification of 'recent' is germane to the discussion at hand. It seems (to me and a few others) that Stern games of the past 3 years or so have a cheaper/lighter feel to them, which may represent some construction/material changes. So commenting on the feel of Stern games made before this change was noticed is moot.
2 months later
Quoted from AkumaZeto:I dunno i like the plastic aprons. I dont even mind the pegs.
Do you ever work on your games, or even remove the glass? Because the pegs SUCK if you are lifting the pf! The rails are a reasonable support (and not expensive, but Stern is *that* cheap), the pegs are unstable and nonadjustable. The heavy Pin2k-esque full rails in WOZ are far better.
Quoted from AkumaZeto:StevenP said:AkumaZeto said:I dunno i like the plastic aprons. I dont even mind the pegs.
Do you ever work on your games, or even remove the glass? Because the pegs SUCK if you are lifting the pf! The rails are a reasonable support (and not expensive, but Stern is *that* cheap), the pegs are unstable and nonadjustable. The heavy Pin2k-esque full rails in WOZ are far better.I moonlight as a tech what do you think In reality the newer games will never be my issue maybe the 2nd or 3rd owners issue. How often do you need to do work in the extended position me hardly ever. I either flip i up or yank it an throw it on a rotisserie
I do lots of minor stuff (most common fixes) on the rails--much easier and quicker than removing balls and flipping up, etc. Easy to check/adjust flipper play, adjust outlane posts, replace many pf insert bulbs, etc. In fact, most of the time I am on the rails--the full flip up is only when I am working on mechs in the top half of the pf.
Quoted from tomdotcom:jschlarb said:It took me a while to figure out how to push the playfield back in (brute force);
I know with the 2 Stern's I've worked on (Tron LE/TSPP) you have to slightly lift the back of the playfield, then slide it in....unlike a B/W pin which just slides in without having to lift. You do NOT need brute force, that's for sure...
This is another downside of the support pegs. And yeah, you want to move to the side and lift the top of the pf a bit to slide it in all the way. My B/W games don't always slide in smoothly. But just a little pressure on the apron end when it hits the stop, and it slides all the way in. This is not possible with pegs, of course.
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