Pro got trashed by people because of the scoop.

LE has definitely tilted it a bit high most likely.

My LE has issues with both Stern and Pinballlife headphone/volume assemblies. When connected game will not boot up. When unplugged game boots up fine. Tried with several different flashed SD cards. Same issue. I know of others with this problem as well. Are there people who have the headphone front assembly installed that can successfully boot their game up?

I don’t actually care about the patent process. But I do care if the protector works. And there is only one way to find out.

Order placed. Looking forward to getting this installed!

New fix and design for scoop.

PinTech LIVE presents Stern Pinball's Rush Premium
Let's dive into Rush Premium pinball with Lead Engineer Elliot Eismin! Jump to 29 minute mark to see the blue rubbers discussion.

https://www.facebook.com/marcospec/videos/2199684096879413

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Just ordered, thx for making this.

Man, thx for this response/solution! Glad to know it’s not something wrong with my node board, etc.

Received mine the other day (along with the Presto mod) -- going to install this weekend. They look awesome!

stern guy said they posted videos on how to install new scoop. Where can i find these?

My replacement left side Expression lighting arrived from Stern via UPS. Lol! At least I was able to bend it back into shape by hand.

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Is that the final resolution of the scoop? Blue rubber pads? What about the side scoop? I didn’t watch the full 2 hour video. Those blue pads look terrible. I honestly can’t believe stern cant get the scoop protection right, pinball machines have only had scoops for what 30+ years? Godzilla, mando don’t seem to have scoop issues, why should rush be different? If it’s final, I will be purchasing the aftermarket dual scoop protection, but am pretty pissed I have to do this.

Yes, the horse blinders are the final fix, from what I've heard. I don't think Stern is adding any other protection to the side scoop.

Well then, curious what fellow owners are going to do:

A. Stern blue rubber fix
B. Ninja guys 3D scoop protector
C. Cliffy/Mantis
D. Take them all off mylar (other solution etc.)

Probably a combo of B, C, and D. Either way I go I will get them all, including the Stern fix, and experiment to what works best.

If there was black rubber, instead of blue, or even grey, that wold look better. Other than that, I think it will be trial and error with b and c. Happy to share my results in time.

Thank you!
Yeah the challenge with Sterns final fix is the fact that some existing games with v2 protectors are holding but getting beat up fast. Hoping their fix will fit over a cliffy or another protector long term.

If they'd known about this issue up front I'm sure they could have designed the playfield+mech differently to help, but as is they need to come up with a fix that works with the existing hardware already out there

I highly recommend everyone watch this. Elliot seems like a really nice dude, and he explains what went wrong with the supplier. The one thing I didn’t hear him talk about was the new scoop protector with better steel and the 3 “wings” on each scoop that seem to wrap around the bottom of the playfield. I wonder if the update kits will include that, or just the new guard.

I'm going with NinjaCamp first, then the Mantis, then the Cliffys. in that order until problem alleviated.

I've lived through some mylar nightmares on older playfields. I know it's a viable solution, but I'm man enough to admit that mylar still scares the bejeesus out of me.

Ordered the ninja full protection kit and im on sterns list. Also on cliffys list. So well see what works best! I havent had any issues yet but I dont have too many plays

While I’m pretty happy with mylar now, think of it this way… people will drop 65 bucks on a magnet, 100 on bulb covers, and who knows how much more on a topper. I’ll drop 50 bucks to try a scoop fix (ninjadude). I’ve wasted more money on stupider things. So why not give it a try.

I’ll definitely buy whatever Cliffy comes up with also. Trusted source right there.

But it isn’t like the game is rotting in its own urine right now. I’m playing the heck out of it!

Ordered the ninja, am on cliffy list, and emailed stern, so hopefully covered as best as I can be.

I just bought the Ninjacamp protector. It looks like it fits like a glove and it is made of a flexible rubber-like material. Definitely more elegant looking than Stern's that looks like it was cobbled together in someone's garage!

My hopes is that Cliff & Kerry can work together on the protector solution. A "double wammy" of sorts, that will use both of their products.

I really admire the 3D printed solution. I'm going to wait before ordering to see how that version holds up to game play.

Ordered the Ninja protector. Getting tired of waiting on Stern and removing the glass every few games to free the stuck ball. Stern crapped the bed on this deal and offered a ugly fix with the blue horse blinders

You mean in the design phase? Again, mando and GZ have similar scoops, many other games do too, what's different here besides the associated side scoop? I don't have a Rush game to see what's different, but the protector really should not be failing after 10-20 games and then causing the wood to chip out nearly immediately when it is removed. This game was not properly "play" tested and should not have been released until it was. The blue rubber blocks look awful, it's a half ass solution to an unnecessary problem. Fix the underlying issue rather than put a bandaid on it. GnR has those blue blocks on the center scoop, but they are set back and much smaller, you dont really notice them.

Upon further thought - I'm going to use the new Stern one as a last resort. Those blue pads are going to get ripped to shreds, the ball will slam the steel in back of it, and it also reduces the ball path so that is not a good fix, IMO. Luckily my current rev 2 is working like a charm and still looks great after 100's of plays.

Just because one guy posted a picture doesn’t mean that will happen. 5 games at Louisville had this fix, and none of them failed. Just needed a little cleanup with Novus 2 to make the pads look new again.

I think they actually did. The new protector is a noticeably better grade of steel, and it has the 3 U-shaped tabs to secure it. I’m going to leave off the guard for a while and see how the new protector holds up by itself.

that's good to know, but why are the blue blocks needed if that's the case? I ordered the ninjacamp protector and will probably buy what cliffy comes up with too.

I havn't seen pictures posted of the blue pads ripped to shreds, but the below post seems to indicate that has happened. It would seem to be too soon for a rev 3 fix to amass damage to the blinders, although they ARE going to take a beating! Did I just miss it, or am I misreading this post? (or did Swamp have as much difficulty with the quote function as I am now having!)

Just because one guy posted a picture doesn’t mean that will happen. 5 games at Louisville had this fix, and none of them failed. Just needed a little cleanup with Novus 2 to make the pads look new again.

Stern has their fix. If you don't like it, just buy the Ninja protector or use some mylar and wait for Cliffy. Seems like a pretty simple decision tree...

I don’t know, belt and suspenders? Or maybe they realize that replacing a large protector might be too big a job for some owners.

I've already explained it to him once, but it bounced right off him like a steel ball off of a blue eraser. Again, the fugly blue blocks serve as a protector to the protector because Stern knows the protector will get peened to shit without it.

See above.

I’ll stop interrupting the Cassandras. Ya’ll have fun beating up good Stern engineers on Pinside, I’m going to go play my game.

Sudsy, you’re all washed up. Add that to your arsenal of dumb metaphors and analogies.

I love stern, but engineering is gotta take their knocks with the blinders.

Just leaked, the moment the protector was dreamed up by the design team...

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I like it when you downvote me. It's like a read receipt that I'm in your head.

Glad I could make you happy, I didn’t think that was possible.

I don't mind Stern's fix, but that left pop bumper will be hurtling the ball right into that exposed metal plate and screws regularly, is that really ok or is that something to worry about?

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Exactly one of my points. It’s not the greatest fix.

I don't think that specific thing will be a problem

No, they don't. You'd know that if you owned the game or had looked at any pictures at all. They're not even remotely similar.

Agreed. But since it wasn't, they obviously didn't "know about the issue up front", which is exactly what I said.

Which is... what? I'm not sure, all we have is conjecture. I'm sure Stern has a better understanding of the specifics of the metal, clear, wood, etc than we do

And here's a pic of my pro scoop with roughly 375 home plays. Had to re-try to straighten it and re-apply tape so that the ball wouldn't get stuck again. I personally don't like the "1d10t sandwich" fix, but it's gotta be better than what I have right now, so hoping it's gonna get shipped soon. Also contemplating the ninja and cliffy fixes, hoping that some will be available in Allentown so I don't need to pay insane shipping costs to Canada...

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Why is the scoop different on rush? Is there a reason it had to be different than gz and mando? Not remotely similar, that’s a bit of a stretch, look pretty similar.

We’re side shots into the scoop possible in the stock setup? Certainly not going to happen now.

LZ vs. Rush. I think the pads will hold up fine, but new ones are just $2 (+shipping).

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how much is time and labor to replace since you'll have to take the whole guide out and they use loctite so you have to fiddle with breaking the screws loose without stripping them. changing them is a pita. And this is closer to the flippers in a high shot area. I dont think they meant for the scoop to be walled in....but they are just doing what they can as cheap as they can.

It's an under-playfield scoop, not a vuk. Completely different mech. Who knows if they could have used a deeper vuk with a subway to it instead given the spacing of things and the upper scoop, idk. I never really had any side shots on mine. If anything I expect the nubs will improve it by making front shots reject less

I mean...you'll get less roll ins so you'll get bounce rejected a lot