Up to 300 plays on my LE, so here's an update on the scoop protectors. They're definitely getting beaten up and rolling up more and more. The edges are lifted around their entire perimeter, on both the upper and lower scoops. Continued wear on the right sidewall of the lower scoop.
The balls are also showing signs of wear, to the point that I want to replace them already. Replacing balls every 300 games is gonna get pricey lol.
I did reach out to Stern directly per my distributor's instructions. A few key points from my correspondence:
1) I was told engineering is working on it, and they have me on the list for when the fix is available.
2) "We do NOT recommend removing the protector at this time, this may void your game warranty. "
3) "For the time being, please bend the flaps back into place and secure them with a small bit of strapping tape until we have an official solution." Not really sure how well I can do this since I can't really get a bend on them, and I'm wary about putting tape on the playfield unless it's something I know will release like painter's tape. (Which will look great, lol)
I do plan to request an extra set of six balls to replace the originals, and based on what I'm seeing & feeling here, the upper scoop definitely needs to be addressed too.
Technically the issue still hasn't adversely affected gameplay with the fork fix in place, but it's definitely getting worse and it's most certainly contributing the aging the balls.
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