Not shipping games with at least 1.00 code is a pretty new development with Stern. Only two games in the last 7 years I checked shipped less than 1.00, Star Wars and B'66. Star wars is only 90 days and still no 1.00. Batman '66 is almost a year with alpha code. GotG will be a good test as to whether Stern is setting a new bad ship-unfinished-and-pray trend or reforming, because if Lonnie really did do the code, there won't be much in the way of updates after the fact.

They don't ask for them back, I just did the swap and sold my old cab. Brought about $240 and had a few people lined up to buy. I think this will vary based on how bad the cracking is.

Well, I've had my Ghostbusters premium for 5 months and thankfully there's been no issues with the cabinet. I did install the Williams brackets day 1 though and I refuse to use rubber feet casters on any new Stern game so it can move a bit easier when players nudge (less stress put on cabinet).

It's good to hear that Stern is finally putting the heavier duty brackets on LE / premium games but for the prices of NIB pros (still very expensive and a luxury item) there's no reason not to include them with that model as well.

When my ASLE arrived, I was really bummed at the quality of wood used for the cabinet along with the cracking. You could actually hear the wood cracking when I was putting the leg bolts in. Stern has always been top notch with respect to support after the sale so I wasn't worried about them making it right. The warranty cabinet sent to me didn't have cracking, but appeared to be the same type of wood from the same run with same stamp on the bottom. It just looked like the put some more glue in voids. Bummed about that.

I'm a big supporter of Stern, but I've had enough with it all. Yesterday I said good bye to my GB LE and AS LE and I'm done with NIB Stern until they get things figured out for certain. I'm just one customer, but I buy 2-3 NIB per year so that will go somewhere else if at all. The cabinet quality on my AFMr is just another level than my AS was. It's not good bye forever, just for now.

I hope in the future they can upgrade the wood quality and build process instead of just throwing a bolt to keep it together.

Wow. This is a pinball machine. Not a delicate piece of china. This just floors me that any pinball machine would need to be treated with kid gloves. Don’t get me wrong. If any of my friends were to rage tilt on one of my pins, they’d be asked to leave immediately. But a little nudging and slapping, even with rubber feet (or on carpet like my basement) should not be a problem we should be working around.

I can’t blame you for being out on NIB Stern for now. I’m hoping they get their act together for GOTG.

My games are on carpet with furniture sliders underneath the legs but basically they don't slide any at all. My games get nudged and I haven't had any problems at all. I guess if I got really stupid with them I could do cabinet damage but I haven't had any problems.

I'm all for nudging but I think doing so with rubber feet casters doesn't allow the game to move at all which results in uncessary stress on the cabinet. For most games this isn't an issue...with the latest Sterns I'm not taking a chance.

Please let me be clear... I have ZERO issue with you taking these precautions. I just am sad that the quality of machines has gotten to the point where we must do this.

My first pin I acquired 12 years ago was a routed Fish Tales and built like a tank. You could drop it 3 feet from the back of a pickup (ask me how I know) and it would show zero signs that anything had happened. Try that with sparechange1974 recent AS cabinet and you would have kindling.

This is a photo from Allentown, where 2 Iron Maiden Pros had split cabinets.
2 of approximately 8 Iron Maiden pins/demo units.

So far, nobody has provided any other examples.

Exactly. So you're fanning the flames without adding any context.
VERY helpful. Thanks for your contribution.

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Wow. 4 thumbs down already. Sorry for providing facts, fellas. That DOES put a damper on your "sky is falling" party, I guess huh?

These machines from the show would be no different from machines they would ship to your door. The only relevant peice of information is that they are Iron Maidens released just a month ago, not 25 yr old machines.

I made it 5 for it. Stern should have solved this long ago. It isn’t that the sky is falling, it’s that they keep cheapening things to the bare minimum. 2 out of 8 with split cabinets sucks. I guess it’s back to the Stern lottery. But hey, 80% chance your cabinet doesn’t split on the first weekend.

I believe the born on date for the pins in question were april 18th or 19th...

Wow. Good luck with that. 2 of 8 is garbage btw

Now that we are considering our first NIB, threads like this catch my attention. This possible cabinet issue, some Spike complaints on the "interwebs" regarding what should be a simple repair vs. cost. Playfield dimpling issues (or not an issue, depending on your take on the issue)...while not individually might not be a deal breaker (except the cabinet), it does have me rethinking Stern. While I don't consider NIB an investment, I consider it something that hopefully doesn't experience these manufacturing issues (minus the occasional problems).

Stern will take care of u if by some small chance u have a issue.... dont miss out on a great game bc of these few issues.

Spike may or may not hurt ya on the back-end if you sell it in 15 years. Maybe... My AFMR has dimples, cared at first but eh who cares, it proves you play the game and enjoy it. Get an email stating your cabinet will be covered and make your choice. Want a tank (and as you know there are better made) hold off a bit. Cheers

Speaking from experience, Stern will make it right but replacing a split cabinet is a lot of work. Every little thing must be swapped over. 8 hour job if you know what you're doing. Not something I'd want to do twice. I will keep buying, but I will also be putting brackets on everything until I'm convinced the problem is resolved.

I'm sure Stern will resolve it soon because shipping out replacement cabs is not a viable solution long term. The peeling decals and ghosting inserts seems to have been sorted out. This too shall pass.

Thanks Bigd

I'm quite a fan of the Stern AeroSmith Pro. I think I like the pro better than Prem, the Prem upper playfield seems rather small and maybe not worth the upcharge. It was on the short list for NIB. But like most buyers of NIB, I'd buy so we can have a (hopefully) pristine game. Sort of like buying a new car that no one has fooled with. Fixed too many kudges by others since I got in this hobby. Don't expect perfection tho.

I do want to add we played a houdini at VFW, wow - what a game.

No hurry on us buying, so I'll keep any eye out when we play at the local pin arcade - especially that left front corner!

See, I completely disagree. It's not EVERY 2 out of 8 cabinets will have issues, it's ONLY 2 CABINETS HAVE HAD ISSUES (and yes, there were more than 2 that I saw).
So given that they were side by side, would LOGIC dictate that its more likely the shipper banged them around (or something similar)? Like, of all the Iron Maiden Pros that have been received so far, don't you find it a LITTLE weird that they were right beside one another, on demo? If reports were spread out from different owners across the country and reported one week after another, it's harder to think that this is not a construction issue, and that maybe it IS quality. But SO FAR, that's not the case here.

I've said more than once in this and other threads: "let's all keep an eye and report back with any other reports of split cabinets". Until we see others,
the result of this is that 2 buyers got a great deal on an Iron Maiden Pro demo unit, and I expect will get new cabinets sent to them by Stern.

Ha no kidding - I never really looked for it on my 6 pins until I saw the SR 'dimple' thread. MY JD, RG, BH and LAH seem rather clean, despite their age. I guess it's only a problem if you go looking for it!

If I could afford an Iron Maiden I'd buy one......and the first thing I would put on it (and any new Stern for that matter) would be the HD leg braces. I have them on all my games now. $20 well spent if ya ask me.

Are they necessary on the back of the cabinet? I have never heard of a rear cabinet spitting.

may be i've missed the info on this topic, but do we know when STERN (or cabs manufacturer(s) ) did change their way of doing ?
for what i understand, this is not "linked" with a pinball, but more with a key point/change on the timeline (as of course old & new cabs can be used for various runs of various pins)

as for example : my TWD, build july 2017, have the "bad" plates in it (https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/reinforcing-stern-cabinet-legs-step-by-step)
fingers crossed, all still OK...

Probably not but now I have piece of mind that they never will and all my legs are now rock solid.

Don't glue the screws in, if you ever cross thread a bolt and spin one of the pressed in fittings you'll never get the plate off. The 8 screws are more then enough to keep that plate from ever coming loose. I've had 2 spun fittings before and if I had glued the screws in I REALLY would have been a world of hurt.

My Aerosmith Pro has a slight split in the rear left cabinet. I’m not the first owner and I know this pins was shipped accross country and back so maybe it was a shipping thing when I believe most front splitting is due to sliding and bumping once the legs are on. The “split” or decal tear is hidden under the legs. I’ll take pictures when I put the HD bolt braces on.

I’ve bought the heavy duty Bally/Williams style brackets for Aero.

I have over 1000 games in my SW, about 400 on my Maiden and no signs of any issues. I will be reinforcing both because I’d hate to see the decals splitting. In the pictures it’s very noticible (cosmetically).

good point Paul...

Think about this. You, as a customer, have to spend an additional $20 plus time to reinforce something that could be cheaper, and easier to do at the factory, when they are assembling the game, empty cabinet. Instead, they would rather send out new replacement cabinets for the customers that are having issues ("take care of you" as they say). These customers have to find the time and know-how to swap cabinets. Instead of the manufacturer spending the extra FEW dollars (because the can buy parts at cost, in bulk) to upgrade their brackets to something more heavy duty. And yet the community still pumps them with money for every new toy that comes out. Who does this truly benefit? Certainly not you. Why get defensive when customers are reporting issues? Also note that not all Stern customers post on Pinside, so it is entirely possible that people are getting split cabinets that do not post for you to read about.

What next, they start sending out DIY kits for pinball machines instead of completely assembled machines, for the same cost? It's laughable right? But so is having to install your own leg brackets on a brand new machine.

It is totally ridiculous we have to do this.

It's a shame Maiden is ridiculously good.

It's nuts.

I just dropped 9K on an Iron Maiden LE and now I have to spend another $20 to reinforce the cabinet on my 9K machine?

This is my first NIB in quite awhile due to all of Stern's quality control issues and skimping on decent materials. Don't screw this up, Stern.

Pretty sure the LEs and Pros are exactly the same low quality ply and joinery. It's the decals that differ on the cab.

So pray to spaghetti monster for beneficence.

Actually on the most recent titles the LE's were getting extra reinforcement at the top. Don't know if GOTG was this way but I recall seeing it on the Star Wars games. It may have also been on the Prem's as well.

Post 2000 in this thread has a picture of the bracket.

Stern should offer the improved leg braces as a factory upgrade and probably put them by default on LEs. I've never had an issue with any of my Stern cabinets, but if I buy any of their games going forward, I'll put the braces on myself. If splitting is going to bother you, just front the $20 and install it. Look at them as something like plastic protectors. You put them in as added insurance.

This makes me think of several issues. Perhaps more.

First splitting cabinets n I b. I have no experience with these types of issues, myself.

One thing I am fairly certain of is that if there were any issues with my nib pinball machine, they would be handled professionally.

This is just my opinion. But as a buyer, my confidence in that area is critical.

Secondly I think that the attention on true problems here on pinside benefits all pinball.

We need a place to hear the truth. Or atleast another opinion.

I also think we are going to see quality control go up if needed. If needed.

Blah blah blah what the heck do I know...

The small brackets? Yes.

However the ply and joinery are the same, unless something has been changed very recently.

its all bullshit and there is no excuse for any of this garbage they are putting out! stern is raising prices every year by $100-$200. Gary stern just needs to stop the greed!

Take a closer look. The prices have been going up faster than that.

Oh I totally hear you guys and it really is a shame that this has to be left to the customer but what choice do we have...not buy the game...yeah right that went over like a lead balloon. I say $20 and a couple hours of work is well worth NOT having to deal with Stern about a split cabinet.

I don't have any issues on my SWP or TSPP. The cabinet work seem to be the same on both, so I ordered up 4 brackets for the fronts of both machines. Is there a problem with the back of the cabinet also, or is it mostly in the front?

I think it was suggested a few times front only needed, but I bought 4 as well.

Well say this to the friend who bought a GB premium last year, he quickly had insert crazing issues but Stern told that it was "normal", then now he has ghosting too, but the pin is out of warranty so they don't want to hear anything.. he spent 8 K€ (around $9,600 at the current rate) in a pin that is now almost impossible to sell without slashing the price.... (he tried to sell it at a "normal" price, no success of course).

After doing 5 minutes of thread reading, I discovered that one of my machines, SWP, has cabinet reinforcements built in. Why Stern doesn't do this to all the cabinets is beyond me.

As they say, it all comes down to saving a few pennies. And with sales up, no need to correct. As others have said, if cheap wood is going to be used spend a couple of dollars on better metal brackets! Wait.... that costs money too!

Those two Iron Maiden machines are in my garage. They will be getting braces put on, and new cabinets will be coming for the games. Just so sad that they can't get the cabinet issue figured out.