Oops, it is fixed in 1.10, but forgot to add it to the changelog (just did):
https://dutchpinball.myjetbrains.com/youtrack/issue/tbl-246

If you want to be in backbox no need to disconnect the translite. Length cable long enough to put translite on top

No more forgetting where does the translite connector go ….

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I swear I saw somewhere that someone was making a mirrored backglass for TBL. Does anyone have any additional info on this?

Man, this really sucks. This is the reason I promised myself no more Jersey Jack's. I wasn't expecting this from a Lebowski Playfield...

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So sorry to see this (I spent literally a week tearing down my GnR CE to iron and cure the clear, and installing new posts and washers)

I believe Mirco makes theirs as well. My hope has been that production has been slow enough that the playfields have had more time to cure.

Could you share your manufacturing date? May as well start tracking these things

EDIT:

Just did a quick scan of mine. May 30 2022 build date, no pooling

Got mine around February this year. 699 Games...

What’s the serialnumber? See backside backbox.

Wow, that sucks.

Yelobird's repair technique can help the pooling sections flattened down before they start chipping/flaking:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/diy-playfield-post-repair-and-chip-proofing-how-to-all-brands

I have 673. Same issue

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#789 here looks perfect so far, Rensh has anything changed over the last hundred + playfields, are you into a new batch or something? Mine looks like glass and perfect at every post.
By the way interesting the new tags DP uses on their games...

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Mirco changed something for the better around the time of Toy Story 4 production, so maybe Lebowski benefitted from that after their run started, too?

How many games have you played on yours?

I had the same issue on the Lebowski I owned in the summer and sold it with full disclosure. I'm back in line, but communicated to Barry how much I'd love to see Bader out of Illinois do the playfields moving forward, given Mirco's track record. I recall that Mirco told me at TPF 2018 he just bought a new type of printer. It seems to me that there have been a lot of problems since. My Mirco original Alien is excellent. Hoping he has resolved this.

My heart sank when I saw the Mirco label after removing the apron for the starry upgrade.

I haven’t noticed any pooling yet, in fact I was surprised how nice the playfield was, so hoping for the best.

In the worst case scenario, given Micro history, will we be able to buy backup playfields Rensh ?

Mirco should be giving us a playfield. Not a chance to be able to buy one.

Yeah we’ve been down that road in JJP-world, it’s not gonna happen.

Yeah, a backup PF for half price is better than a full price one down the road. But I really hope that Toy Story 4 marks a change for Mirco, since those seem to be holding up without the pooling/chipping issues that have plagued them for every Mirco since Hobbit to varying degrees.

Like you said. JJP world. This is Dutch Pinball.
Jersey Jack and Barry Engler were never willing to help.

Man. Sorry this happened to you. I just dropped my TBL deposit money last week and would never had done it if I knew this was happening. Might try to get a refund because waiting a year for 14k game with playfield issues isn't something I want to deal with.

Have alook in this thread ... I am sure you did not see the glass itself but talk about it:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-big-lebowski-preorder-club/page/287

Oh shit .... what a nightmare. The JJP virus jumped over to TBL.
I guess that all the old stock playfields are used and there was a need for a new batch playfields which had no chance to settle for years.
It seems that the clear / hardener mixture is bad, the layer(s) of coat too thick. What a nightmare.
I had bad experiences with other playfields from M. but in Alien and TBL the playfields are fine.
Hope that there is a fair solution for all customers.

I don’t think it was about being unwilling.

Dutch is a startup that is working very hard to overcome financing and production faults in their infancy that nearly took down the company.
They are getting it done, and impressing everyone with their determination and most importantly, their product which I’m sure we’d all agree is terrific.

I don’t think they can sustain “free playfields for all” nor should they. History has shown us that while some will accept free playfields, others will still bitch and complain about not getting it installed free. You can’t make everyone happy without killing your company. When the GNR playfields cratered (which were worse than Pirates and Wonka issues for me) the offer to buy a playfield at cost seemed like a workable solution that I did take advantage of.

I would encourage everyone not to panic - your playfield might be fine. Mine has been holding up under our extreme levels of home play so far, and I’m sure we’ve got 1000 plays by now. I honestly didn’t know it was Mirco until I took the apron off.

I’d also note that I’ve not heard a single TS4 playfield complaint, so perhaps the process has finally been fixed.

I think a playfield at cost is a reasonable solution. It is in all of our best interests to have DP succeed, so getting pissed and demanding a new playfield wouldn’t be great.

I reached out to support to see what their thoughts are. DP support has been top notch, so I suspect they will come up with a fair solution on both sides.

Sorry to see these issues.

Rest assured that this will be discussed within DP itself and with Mirco to come up with a solution as fair as possible for all involved.

Factory is however more or less closed this week, only a skeleton crew is there making subassemblies.

Rest assured, a response will come but it can take some weeks because of the time of the year. Sorry for this as I can imagine people would like to know immediate, uncertainty is not a nice emotion after all, but that is just not feasible at this time of the year. Pls give us thus some time. Thanks for your understanding.

And yes, the earlier mentioned advice not to panic is good one.

Checked and same here on #667

Hmmmmmm
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After all this time and bs, it would be nice for someone else to jump in the game, scoop up the sales and shitcan mirco!! If you can’t make a decent playfield, then GTFO! Unreal…

Thank you Rensh.

I have a friend in rockford selling his for $14000 with no pooling at all. Just opened the box like 2 months ago, and maybe has 40 plays on it. If that.

Welp...

I have fewer plays than I thought, but I too have the malady. My right sling looks perfect, but the bottom post on the left sling is bunching up to an alarming degree that I'll need to tear down and address with the iron.

Standard playfield iron disclaimer: do this only at your own risk, and know that the iron gets hotter and hotter the longer it is on. If it gets too hot you will overcook the playfield and lift the clear entirely. Ask me how I know.

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I had similar findings that I shared with the DP team back in August and was told at that time that I was the only one. My comment then was that there will definitely be more, based on having owned several Pirates, a GnR, and a Batman when Stern had an issue. A couple of years earlier, I asked Barry if he would consider shifting over to Bader when the nos playfields run out. They do such fantastic work for American and Spooky. I understand that Mirco does volume, is conveniently located, and had done great work in the past, and perhaps is doing so again. It can be mitigated with protecting the posts such as on the JJP games. The hot iron technique can leave disc shaped marks on the playfield. Anyhow, I think DP is doing a great job, and this is obviously an issue with Mirco, who really should weigh in. My original Lebowski was with no clear issues, and only minor dimples, and it would be great to see that again. Even with this issue, I'm back in line for one of the best games out there, hoping the playfield lottery is resolved, but if not, will protect it and get a backup. The current upgrades to the game have been excellent, standup target reinforcements, improved code, the amazing starry apron, and so on.

Could not agree more. Nothing but love for Dutch.

Damnit. I found pooling and chipping around the posts. I didn't even see anything then a tiny chip popped off and I thought "what in the heck was that flying across the playfield?"

Came to this thread and wham, issues with others as well. Damnit. DAMNIT! 13k game with add ons that pushes it to 15k-ish and this happens. I can't blame DP. They have been awesome imo and they work hard to make sure everyone is happy. I'll just play and wait and see card. I mean, they just mailed me some bowling pins after I offered to pay for them. Gotta love that.

My serial is DO-01-00698, fyi. Should I post pics? I'll post one. That is not a reflection, that's paint chipped right off. Most of it is around the bumper posts. Some can be found at the pops.

For what it's worth I just got a new mirco Paragon playfield and it had 2 defects on it. They are so small that you wouldn't see them unless you looked for them, but they are indeed there.

That's a bummer, man. That's a bummer.

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I suggest to everyone who has this issue
, if you haven’t done it already, to sent an email to [email protected]

Include your serialno and good picture(s) of the issue. Don’t forget tbl serialnumber !!

At least it’s registered then and we know whom to inform when we know more. You are welcome to report it also on pinside, just make sure DP also has your details.

Thank you so much for your time and all the help Rensh.

What’s your game #?

Thanks for the lead but I found one close enough to me. But I have no idea what production dates are pooling and chipping risks. Maybe the best course of action is to wait my 10-12 months and hopefully this mirco problem is resolved.

Maybe Dutch can find another company to make these playfields?

Not that many yet, Fingers crossed it stays looking good. I’m curious could over tightening to star post be part of the issue?

Serial #0600 Jan ‘22 build. Luckily no playfield issues here as of yet.

695.

The playfield date appears to be June 2021.

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So, so far, all of the impacted playfields have been serial numbers from 601-699 it seems? Just what I've gathered so far.

Dates on the play field themselves, like Derek’s post above, may help too.

My playfield also has the same june 2021 date code. My Lebowski is serial number 783 with a sept 2022 build date.

230 games in and I don’t have any pooling. Should I consider preventative washers or cliffy carbon post bases?

Pooling and chipping on mine

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Man, I loathe Mirco play fields. I'm sorry, but they've not proven to EVER consistently get this fixed. Bader just gets the job done somehow. Mirco HAS to get their $%&# together on this issue.

Unless it’s against the rules due to spoilers, can anyone explain the second phase of wizard mode? I just noticed I was hitting characters but the shots stayed lit, and I was bowling sometimes, and then eventually the flippers had more delay in firing.

Mirco was ROCK solid through Hobbit. Never heard of a problem with Hobbit PFs. The problems started with his digital printing setup, and have been chronic. Things seem to have come to a head with GnR and maybe were fixed for good as a result on Toy Story 4. As a result TS4 playfields I haven't heard of any problems on, but they were made AFTER the dates on these TBL playfields, so they may have been the last of the pool/chipping mircos, just delayed by a year before they were put into games.

See page 97 of operational manual. Once you have shot all characters phase 2 begins. You can’t miss it looking at the display and a multiball is started.

You can see it in action at

« Spoiler! Click to reveal.I'll say the first phase acts sort of like a tutorial for the multiball phase. After every character shot, if you repeat it within the timer, you can collect a Bowling Jackpot in the bowling alley. This is the same during multiball. The shots stay lit in this multiball unlike other multiballs. The flipper delay (The Dude gets drugged) is meant to subtly end The Dude Abides when you are down to your last ball. »

Hopefully they fix the playfield Mirco issue before mine comes mid next year. Titan makes rubber star post rings that would really help this. Maybe they can buy them in bulk and add before shipping

This would be a workaround and not a solution.

I have a new TBL and just started experiencing a dead right flipper. If I pull up the playfield and power it up, the right flipper works fine...drop the playfield and it goes dead again. I don't see anything out of place or obvious. Any ideas?