I have a premium. The game is great either way. But to me the pre/ le feels like there is more going on especially with mods. But is plays similar if that makes sense.

I have never played a Stern Pro that is better than a Premium with any title.

To me it's not about "better or worse", my measurement is; is the pro a good enough representation of the game not to justify the price step up to a premium for what you get for the price. For me, the pro checks that box. This is coming from someone who literally only goes for premium or LE as you can see from my past/current collection. The only other pro I've owned (I don't count the Tron), was Metallica which I sold and bought an Prem for the hammer, cross, and lighting (frankly just for the hammer... I love that thing).

I want a Tron! Dammit Stern make more!

Most pro/premium splits feel like one is obviously complete and the other an afterthought. Either the premium feels like a pro with a bolt on spoiler that actually makes it worse or the pro feels an 8 cylinder chassis with a 4 cylinder engine shoved in to hit a price point.

Maiden I genuinely feel breaks that mold. 2 possible visions that were developed fully and when brought to judgement both were found worthy of the name.

to me Black Knight - upper PF is worse than the pro.

1000% ^^^

Premium is better, no question. I've played them both extensively as my friend in town owns the pro. It's one of the best games ever made, get the best version. You will not be disappointed. Is it worth the extra money, that's debatable. But it is the better game imo.

I have played both also extensively, and think the premium is better due to the physical ball locks in Mummy as well as the way that the balls present when starting battles and shooting under the ramp are all improvements to the overall game flow. But the pro rocks, it’s still a great game and you can’t go wrong with either!

I am a huge fan of Iron Maiden and my pro was my first NIB. I would only get an LE if could find one and put it next to my pro. Iron Maiden will NEVER leave my line up.

Got premium is worse than Pro. Upper playfield messes with the flow, adds a unrelated multiball (i.e., is only for points, not wizard mode progression), and worst part, is makes the playfield very dirty and hard to clean.

Has anyone adjusted the underworld switch?

Mine has stopped registering,
But seems I will need to remove the PF out of cabinet and rest on table to adjust that switch?

Also, seems ill need to address the diverter switch as well. Same problem with accessibility while in cabin.

Any help/advice is welcome. Thanks

I dislike almost any game with upper playfields - I have discovered - and feel like you here

People have been replacing them out with roller switches. I have one, but have not needed to switch it out yet since it’s a very occasional problem for me. Not sure why you would need to remove the playfield from the cabinet to work on it?

https://www.pinballlife.com/williamsbally-ball-detect-blade-with-roller-sub-microswitch.html

https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/180-5119-02

Getting a LE so I will be listing this game soon. Has shaker and topper. I have someone that might want the topper before I list it. What's a fair price for the topper?

57327B9C-E371-42C4-A8A3-75ED43D8BCB5 (resized).jpeg88486180-49A2-4E46-9848-DE3DC6515C0C (resized).jpegD69428A8-985A-490B-AC20-7BA0B2D7D5F4_1_105_c (resized).jpegD8F1A6B8-43E3-4F9C-A725-084089CC5FE8 (resized).jpegE1E6DE23-F537-4425-BAEC-35AADC529A59_1_105_c (resized).jpegF0366BC1-8CEA-4668-B68D-B1F48FD483C1_1_105_c (resized).jpeg

Will they ever produce more IM pins or are they done for good? I thought I saw discussion a few pages back and it was unclear.

It went to the archive for a few hours in stern's site and then came back to the production list. Sounds like it's probably going to be ended and someone hit the button too early, but it could have just been an honest mistake. No one is really sure.

I am pretty sure it has been confirmed that there will be none made this year. My guess is a final run next year, pro model only but that is only my guess.

What you paid for it….

I am wondering if I need a new pop bumper board, but I can't find one for sale anywhere.

The left pop bumper ( which works as a flasher I believe ), is flickering/shimmering.

Have checked the wires but thinking it needs a new led board?

Guess I will have to email Stern and hope they send one out.

I have found the part number - 520 8059 00.

Very frustrating that parts on modern Stern games are so hard to find.

If anyone has an issue with their leds on the pop bumpers, the right and middle have a different board to the left flasher.

The left flasher has 2 leds.

Can't see that this type has ever been on sale.

IMG_9888 (resized).jpeg

IMG_9889 (resized).jpeg

Is the flicker constant or just when it should be on?

Which of the 2 leds is having a problem? Or is it both? If you can narrow that down it might point to other possible causes.

I'm not at my machine right now to actually look inside but from the manual it looks like unlike some of the under playfield LEDS which are mounted directly to a shared board the lights in the pops have an actual return wire back to the parent node board that controls them so it might be worth checking the wire/connector itself to see if it's loose or degraded somehow.

If LED itself is failing or loose on the board you may even be able to repair/replace it with some patience and a soldering iron. Not fun without SMD tools but doable for something like a single LED.

edit: From the photo that solder joint on the yellow wire definitely looks a little sketch. If it's failing that could cause a flicker. You could clean that up in 30 seconds without removing it or touching the actual surface mount components. Ideally remove the old solder if you have a sucker or wick but you could get away with just heating the joint to melt whats there and probably adding some new solder as it doesn't look like there is enough there to begin with.

Constant flicker.

Think it's the one with the yellow wire.

I did reflow solder but that did nothing.

I don't know which connector/node board to check, but that sounds like a good plan.

Thanks

Thanks - will have a good look at node board 8.

The flow is better on a pro. Pro>premium but both are legit.

Let me guess, you own the pro?

I have a pro. I’ll be honest and say premium is better, premium is better for almost every game imo. Toys/mechs add excitement or another dimension to games especially to visitors/ people who don’t play a lot or to kids or big kids! Mechs can also give better visual queues on what to shoot for beginners or people who can rarely even glance away from the flippers.

In a flat comparison a premium almost always wins against a pro unless you really, really valve not having to tweak mechs (because let’s be honest premiums of any game almost always have a toy that needs tweaking that pros don’t have, although pros may not be tweak free either!)

But it’s not a flat comparison, it’s a pro +$2100 or a premium. If I had space for one machine and money for a premium I’d get a premium. If I had endless money, I’d get a premium. I have space for 4 machines, for how much I want to spend on machines I can either have 4 pros or 3 premiums. I opted for 4 pros, I played every day so I appreciate the variety that 1 extra machine gives me. Someone else may valve the added fun factor of 3 premiums over the variety of 4 pros.

I don’t think when people say ‘the pro is better’ they really mean the pro is better, they mean ‘hey to me the premium isnt worth $2100 more’

And for this particular reason i wouldn't bother with an LE over a Premium considering that a Premium has the same mechs and PF as the LE just has a few less bells and whistles. Some of those add on's "may" help with resale value alone but for overall enjoyment of the game, less so (only perhaps the enhanced sound)

100%! I think you hit the nail on the head.

Well said.

I have had the opportunity to have bought Pro, Premium and LEs. If money wasn't any issue would probably have got the LEs.

I sometimes look at the cost and will weigh how many other pins I am getting or selling to make the math work out.

I have Met pro and TWD pro both play faster and have less ball interactive features (more simple) and I love both. I look at Maiden the same way, Met premium has the hammer lock, the pro has a virtual lock and the game doesn't slow down for it. Maiden the sarcophagus lock and the lift ramp scoop. I feel like the pro is totally fine but at this point I am also looking for the premium because I like the extra touches that make the game more interactive.

I think the LE's are for people who really like the theme the most. Like say Stranger Things was one of your favorite shows or Rush was your favorite band, then I would buy an LE.

lately you could get an LE and get the pin 6 months earlier than a premium, that might be a factor in getting an LE as well.

I don't really need to get something first, a lot of my games like BM66 and DP, SW and if I get Maiden, I got several years after they were released.

I just got a metallica premium and it's making me want to upgrade my IMDN pro to a premium... something about the bells and whistles and the physical ball lock just make it seem so epic. It really does impress people who are not familiar with how fancy a pinball machine can be.

I appreciate the flow and how little pausing there is on the pro though. A physical ball lock definitely slows things down.

When it comes to Maiden, I really don't like the artwork on the LE. Premium is the best looking of the three.

I think people who bought the premium are going to typically say the premium was worth it, and the pro owners will say the pro is better. In other news, dogs and cats generally don't get along and water is wet.

There may be something to this but i think you might be discounting the fact that a lot of people who bought the premium have either played the pro first (in my case) or after they bought one.

Shrinky dinks for figures look stupid. For that reason alone I couldn’t stomach a pro. Every time I look at those I think about cheap Christmas ornaments you color yourself

Been a loooong time since I heard the name shrinky dinks lol... but I agree. That's one of the first things I changed out on the pro.

I played both first. Extensively.

I got tired of waiting for the sarc mech. It just doesn't fit in with the way I personally like to play and my biggest frustration with a lot of premiums. The mechs are cool to watch when I'm in the mood and fun to show off but day-to-day it's an interruption to a fast and furious flow and another thing to break. Maiden is far from the worst offender and at least adds some interesting shot decisions in trade but it just loses it's charm for me after awhile.

All that said when someone prefers the premium that's totally fine. My typical playstyle and priorities are not universal. I hop on every chance I get to play a premium. When I find them on location I often end up walking right past other games to shovel quarters. It's a nice change of pace and GOAT level in either trim. If I actually bothered to rate games I'd probably have them as 1 & 2.

I did add the premium sculpts because they're awesome. If the premium lightshow and/or art were $$ options for the pro I would have considered it.

I've owned both. You can chalk this up to preference, but I strongly dislike long stops in play (looking at you Ghostbusters) and I feel the Premium kills the flow vs the pro. As a good friend described it: playing the pro is like being at a rock concert.

*Edit* I had not considered artwork, but (again my preference) is the pro has the better art as well.

I hadn't considered it before but are there adjustments on the premium to make it play more like the pro? For example on AIQ premium there's a setting that disables the mechanical portal and switches to use the right ramp shot like the pro. This gives you the option to shoot the portal immediately when you want to instead of having it brick on a half open sequence or continue to hit a bunch of shots for combos and activations that an open portal will just swallow up (hulk, CA, weak shots to BP, hawkeye target rebounds, the spinner itself, the target behind the portal). It also eliminates waiting for the multi-door subway.

Basically can the sarc mech be disabled and if so how does it handle that? I do like the underworld ramp and on the pro you're just waiting for an up-post instead so I could go either way on that one.

Given the price differential I can't imagine actually pulling the trigger for what would essentially be a lightshow upgrade but if the right multi-machine trade deal ever came up I'd think about it.

I always buy premium, imdn was my first pro and I love how fast and furious it is.
Next To it lives my JP prem and the trex was cool for the first 100 games and now I just want the ball back, by pressing both flippers you can recall it and I do it 95% of the time.

If the cab in JP pro was not so disgustingly cheap looking I would be looking at selling my prem and getting A pro.

I have a premium and I honestly think the LE is the best, specifically the artwork.

I have a weak spot for egyptian themed stuff. Would have preferred the premium art to be on the metallic paper. Did just get most of the armor/metal pieces coated, so cant wait to see how that looks assembled. Might be another couple of weeks since one of the parts didnt get painted properly so they'll be redoing it.

2022-06-30 16.45.23 (resized).jpg

Me too. I think it started for me when I watched Raiders of the Lost Ark when I was a kid and then I visited Egypt in 2007 with my (now) wife.

Anyway, if they built a Pro with the Egyptian theme I would be all over it like stink on a monkey.

Agree all around. As Pros go, this, maybe SW, DP are some that I would say have the least gap between pro and premium (everything but price)

On LE discussion- LEs seem to hold resale value better. Idk if that’s very recent trend or just my non data driven imagination…but otherwise I agree Premium usually gets it done. Although it’s like business class on a plane- you get upgraded once by chance and then when you go back to Economy it seems worse than when you left it.

Even with raptor pen difference! I think that is really cool.
Such a close dangerous spot- to get that ball locked and then to use it to extend timer etc can be really fun. Kinda agree on T. rex. But anyone who comes over LOVEs the T. rex so I’ll keep my Premium just for seeing their smiles

You know when the Premium is better? When you drinking beers. Lots of opportunities.

I feel like LEs sell the best too. I think it's just the nature of a hobby where some people have LOTS of money and therefore only want "the best"
The guy I bought my Metallica prem from was like this. Was loaded with money and only sold the premium for an LE he found. Every machine he had was LE or some special edition and were impeccable. He even had some special edition cars in his garage, that kind of thing appeals to a certain type of person who can afford it without thinking twice. Having nice stuff is not enough, it's having nice stuff that not everyone can get that makes it special when money isn't a concern.