Fixed:
They are a predatory, poorly-run, pinball-flipping retail operation.

For the record I bought my first pin from them (TWDLE) years ago and quickly switched to a much better distributor.

Yesterday’s hilarious price gouge text message from The Pinball Company reaffirmed my good decision.

I call that a boomerang shot in my head. Haha.

I don’t know what happened to them, they used to be great.

I bought two NIB games from them in ‘14-15 (separate transactions), and at that time they were great to deal with and didn’t come anywhere close to price gouging; they posted prices at or below MSRP and would “deal” further, and were pleasant to interact with. I had a shipping issue with one of them and Brooke profusely apologized (not their fault), got it resolved immediately, then refunded a small amount of the purchase price for my trouble. At the time, I thought I had found one of the best distributors around...

Then I called them in late ‘18 ready to buy, and Nic treated me like I was wasting his time - very rude and abrasive, and I was really taken aback. It was also around this time that I noticed them beginning to post NIB games above MSRP and inflating used prices to laughably stratospheric levels (though I must give them credit for at least not raising the price on that NIB Jetsons machine they have been sitting on for at least 4 years, lol). I have also seen a few posts here and there over the past couple of years with similar experiences as mine.

For what it’s worth, I have had great experiences buying from GEX, LSOG, Cointaker, and Hemispheres, and I would have no reservations about doing business with Automated/pinballs.com or PinballStar in the future (I have interacted with both, but not bought anything; they were very pleasant, have a good reputation, and I have a strong impression they’re reliable and ethical.)

Interesting that it says Grogu "moves" and acts like he is controlling the ball. I guess we will see. One thing I'll say is when I showed this game to my wife, she immediately saw the giant Grogu and said, "That's cute. How can you NOT buy it?!"

Well played Stern. Premium order secured.

No.

I found the hasbro teardown video for those who are curious to see how the animatronic toy ticks. If you skip to timecode 11:00 you can see the head sensor. If you tap his head 3 times it activates the force pose.

Anyone know if it's possible to somehow trigger the force pose on the hasbro toy with the child magnet on the pin?

IF the story is true and it’s not some creative way to try and hit big on a pin he paid msrp for and doesn’t want to sound like a scum bag

If the mod guys can make this into a real mod for this game it could turn this into something really special. Could be sold as a kit with BYO doll, or complete package. How is the scaling - similar to the Stern one?

I saw somebody else put one in their AIQ just to see if it fit and it did. This hasbro one is listed as 7.2" tall.

Lucky son of a bitch.
Perfect excuse to get out of a marriage.

Maybe I'm not seeing it right, but it looks like baby yoda is hiding a mess of wires and an orbit(?). I get the impression that the "doll" is a hollow sculpture with quite bit running through its backside.

Working on one....

You are gonna have to mutuliate those to make it fit .. the game yoda is hollow stuff goes behind and under him .

yes.

while i actually think the game looks interesting...that whole portion is...boring. I flip flippers to move the dot...done on EVERY game since it was invented. 3 or 5..really doesn't make a difference. I will say..i suppose it will depend on how exactly that magnet is utilized.

If it's like the garage shot in TSPP, I would call it a jump ramp.

Looked to me like there was no flipper-controlled lane change function. Unless I missed it it on videos. Anyone see otherwise?

Edit - well they do look to move on at least a few video clips, guess it remains to be seen if they are directly flipper controlled or tied to some other switch hit event(s).

.

Rollovers are boring. Keith Elwin has realized this. A magnet doesn't change anything. Maybe the least interesting magnet in pinball I can think of. This magnet just takes something random and makes it differently-random. Sorry to be so negative and unpleasant but I feel confident that I'm right about this. A waste of BOM.

Rollovers that do more to earn their keep:
Big Lebowski has the two layers of rollovers.
Some people like the two layers of inserts on Baracorra and Avengers. They're neat but don't really impress me.
TNA's rollovers are interesting because they're above the mini-playfield instead of being above pop bumpers, so you can shoot them from underneath.

I think Elwin has managed to avoid a lot of questionable design elements in pinball. No more rollovers with pop bumpers underneath, replacing scoops with up posts, and not making 2 flipper games.

So does El Toro 2 layers is not double the fun in either case.

That's what I thought too

Eddy at Stern

You hoped to get a destructible castle with draw bridge, instead you first got a 20 Dollar projector and then a 20 Dollar doll

I like everything in the game so far, except for the mini playfield and the magnet placement. The magnet is what it is, sort of irrelevant...I hope the mini playfield is better than it seems.

It just seems like it would have been easy to make it so much better. Just copy, (or try and one up) TZ's power playfield. Magnet flippers, drop targets, a path to shoot off the middle of playfield. The magnets could be grogu using the force.

It's just hard for me to wrap my head around the guy who designed the Shadow's mini playfield (which is crazy awesome) doing this one.

I really hope I'm wrong and it's a blast to shoot...the rest of the game looks great.

The STh projection mapping is one of the most innovative things to happen to pinball in the past decade.

That’s it DerGoetz not inviting you to play mine

Am I the only one getting banzai run vibes out of that upper pf when it goes really steep? sure at 6.5 degrees its kinda bland but jack it up to like 45+ degrees and that tiny flipper gap is gonna feel like Ghostbusters.

I could be wrong and I have no idea just how steep its gonna get but Im excited to try it for sure.

Sorry but no. Banzai Run you have to climb and catch and its a cool challenge. This looks like a Congo under playfield you'll simply bash away at.

So who is making the wire form mod for the pro? If someone makes them I wouldn’t second guess the pro.

To the new owner of #191, you are welcome... never new Stern allowed special requests like that. our new (lower) number is fine enough for us.

Am I the only one who doesn’t give a crap about this? The most expensive stern (Elvira) has plastic ramps. Just about every recent pro has had wire forms. From a cost standpoint I find it hard to believe there is actually a real difference. I thought we were passed believing wire forms were somehow more “premium”... but I guess not. I’m sure there will be a mod for this lol

These are crossover ramps, and plastic looks worse for those. Especially after it hazes up a bit and collects dirt. Plastic ramps on the sides are fine, they don't block view of the playfield.

This is tied for the best post on pinside with this one !Lmmfao!!!

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I've never once had to flame polish a wire form.

Much like any part, you can likely order the premium wireforms via a distributor, at some point. I don't believe there will be a need for a mod.

Can anyone think of a game that has a large plastic crossover? I’m drawing a blank.

Game Show

Gameshow, Nitro, CFTBL?, Diner..(sort o f)

I’m starting to get the feeling that this is a tough shooting pin .If I’m buying for home use that’s exactly what I want .Love me long time .

Plastic Ramps are cheaper in volume - but have a higher startup cost. Ramp costs also go up significantly as the size/complexity of the ramp increases. Metal habit trails are expensive, but are not as limited in design as molded ramps are.

Metal habit trails hold up better, virtually never show wear, and do not block the views as much as plastic ramps. When your ramps are crossing the middle of the PF, or each other, that's a big deal.

When you look at this game, the ramps were clearly designed with cost efficiency in mind. The ramps are done in sections to reduce their size and increase their part re-use. The Premium and Pro use the same top portion of the ramp, and simply swap out the return portion.

I get full credit for the setup

You have a lot of nice things. Love the Tron shooter tip as well.

Yes you do

Who Dunnit. The worst offender.

Agreed - I've purchased NIB 12 pins from Mike at Automated over the past 4-5 years and he's always come through for me. His staff are great, very busy but always willing to take my call and help me find what I'm looking for. They get my repeat business without question.

Totally agree... It's amazing how they map the video to all of the different surfaces. Very immersive experience, especially watching the demodog silhouettes stalking back and forth from target to target or the ramp light-up arrows. Cool effect that really adds to the enjoyment factor IMO.

I did not have a great experience with Automated. It ultimately ended up OK but after a lot of frustration. If I ever buy nib again (big if), I'll find a different distro.

Gonna get a bunch of down votes but my impression is its just a Munsters with a Grogu doll. Nothing to see here, this is not the pin you're looking for, you may go about your business. Move along, move along.

Motordome would beg to differ...

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These either have interesting cohesive concepts for the plastic or the plastic is more near the back. This one seems really weird, being close to the player & a really long path to the inlane/flipper.

Transporter is a favorite of mine.
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