I guess Stern's position on pre-sales has soften eh... since distros are openly taking orders

So, after waiting for prices to come down a bit... I finally got my Maiden Premium about a month ago.

It's gotten some love over the last few days.. so let's go on a trip

First change was an upgrade to Flipper Fidelity. Michael makes great kits and I can't recommend them enough. Here's the backbox speakers vs stock
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Sub vs stock..
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Nice adaptor ring for the sub
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The kit also includes spacers to allow the tweeter to avoid the speaker grille... but I was going to install speaker lights which make the whole panel move back.. so the grilles had to be cut out. This is only because of the combination of the two mods..

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A little cutting wheel.. a little grinding wheel to clean up.. and some dabs with the paint pen.. and the grilles are easily modified

I don't like that the speaker kits use all plastic standoffs.. but I guess its done to avoid shorting the LEDs.. but I don't like the risk of stripping and lack of firm fits. But here is the back panel with the wiring laid out and secured
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Some close-ups of what they look like with foam in..
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And the final look...
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(intentionally with the brightness down to my taste for the look)

I had to choose if I wanted to leave the speaker foam in or not... I opt'd to leave it in for a more diffused look.

Also, because of the power supply at the bottom right of the head... if you have anything big plugged into the service outlet.. it's not gonna fit anymore. So order one of these cheap pigtail cables to 'move' the plug.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000233WJ6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00
$5 and free one-day prime shipping. Can't beat that.

Up next.. some more color...

The pinball life LED flipper kits. I've always liked their kits, and they've changed a bit over time... but still a great kit for the $. Has the built in controller and everything you need for an easy install.

From inside...
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From outside...
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Color picked for my premium scheme..

Now here's a tip.. because of the brightness of the LEDs and room around the apron... there usually is a lot of light leakage that is really distracting around the apron. Simply take some electrical tape and hood over the top half of the button to block the light. Make sure you don't obstruct the flipper plunger itself.. but beyond that, just place a piece or two to block the light.

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And now no light leakage!
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Up next.. on many games I like the trough illuminated.. but I wasn't sure on Maiden.. but I tried a yellow (because it's mostly orange) and a red. I like the cointaker strips because
1) They are cheap $5
2) They give you all the various adaptors you might need to steal a light socket or clip on.

Because all the lower GI bulbs are relatively hard to get to on the premium as they are under the flipper plates, etc.. I decided to jump off the GI that is under the apron itself. Because it's the LED boards.. most of the adaptors don't work, and aligator clips had high risk of shorting or slipping off. So instead, I snipped the socket off one of the adaptors.. and just easily tacked the wires to the solder pads on the LED board.

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This made it easy to plug in or change the strip if I wanted. On older games I would attach the LED strip to the vertical back of the outhole.. but I tried sticking it directly to the underside of the apron this time. It's decent.. but sometimes you can see the LED reflection if you stand over the PF. I'm 50/50 on the red on the premium here.. but have left it so far.

Up next was the LERMods Spitfire. The model looks good. Mounting it can be a bit fiddly though.

First, the two light sockets attached to the post stock, don't give a lot of room for play. Second, the stock screw didn't want to screw in fully and tight into the post. This meant when layering the plane in the stack under the screw.. It would not hold the plane in position.. and the wires of the light sockets constantly wanted to push the plane where I didn't want it. The solution was to add a washer to the stack, which tightened up the screw's hold on the layers.. and clipping the factory zip tie on the light sockets to bend the wires a good bit so they stopped bullying the plane around. Once tightened up and in position.. new zip ties held the wires in place. The harness feeds under the plastic and ramp... which was harder than it felt it should be.. but isn't bad, just annoying as my fat hands couldn't really reach the hole. The included cabling and connectors are easy and well done. Once installed, I checked it out...

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For the premium.. the red was a bit too much IMO.. I really wish I had some brightness control wired in (which in theory can be done downstream of the mod). Here it was on the PF.. and with the red in the plane off.

On
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Off
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I opt'd to leave it off. Maybe in the future I'll experiment with a in-line controller to dim the red underwing lights.

Next?? How about some art..

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Now here is where Spike is so much nicer. To install the art blades.. it's easiest on Spike just to remove the PF all together. All I had to do was free up the Cat5 cable in the cable loom (so cut three zip ties), and unplug 3 connectors. Then with the handle at the back and the apron... even an old dude with a broken back like me was able to lift the PF out and sit on the floor easily all by myself.

These are the album art blades by Tilt Graphics. Normally I'm a pingraphix guy.. but the art on these is fantastic and work so well with the game. Installing was easy. Just make sure to undo the two PF guides on the inside of the cabinet (as they will be in your way by about 1/2"). Just undo one side and rotate them down. With the PF out.. its easy to install the art blades without any fancy staging or prep.

Just peel from backing... With one hand, start the rear piece about 1/2" from the cabinet bolt and align the top of graphic right near, but not over the top edge of the wood. Tack up just the top edge, and with your other hand, try to align the top edge of the decal about 1/3 of the way down the cabinet with the top edge of the cabinet again.. Readjust as needed to get the blade tacked up and straight without any bows or folds. Don't push it all down yet! The blade will easily come right off if you only stick a small portion to start. Get the top 1/3 or so aligned, and just tacked up about the top 1" of the blade.. keep it straight and move down to align the rest of the blade towards the flipper end of the cabinet. Don't push the whole thing down until you are sure your top 1/2 or more is straight.. as it plays out all the way down to the flippers. When it looks good, start at one end, work your way down flattening the decal to the cabinet from the top end.. then work your way down to the flipper area. Free up the decal if needed to avoid any bows or wrinkles. If the top end is secured nice and square.. you can free up the far end of the decal and just work your way down the cabinet.. ensuring its flat and in the right spot as you go.

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I did have pinstadiums in the game.. so I pulled the magnets off before installing the art blades.. They still stayed nice and sticky. I cleaned the cabinet walls with naptha to remove any left over gum before installing the blades too.

While I had the cabinet broke down a bit.. I wanted to tackle some cabinet issues I had. Prior seller had removed the head hinge bolts to move the game (bad) and lost some of the hardware. So when I picked up the game, the head was loose. I secured it, but not well enough apparently and the head rubbed and took some of the paint off the metal hinge at the base of the head.

So I masked off the area.. and did some touchup with some Rustoleum Satin black.

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Results are great... you can't even see the repair here
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And it's only visible under real direct light due to the nature of a paint chip

Once the art blades are installed... these are a must! https://www.pinballlife.com/interior-cabinet-protector-blade-set.html
The price sucks.. but father's day is coming up, ask for a set for your gift. They work reallly well.

So plopped those on the cabinet.. and I dropped the PF back in myself and reconnected the wires.

With the art installed... I reinstalled the pinstadium lights. I set the magnets on the brackets so I made sure I had the correct orientation of the magnet strip to the light strip. Then simply aligned the led strip on the cabinet wall where I wanted them... sitting right near the top so you can't see any art at the top edge to distract your eye.. and still under the glass. With the blade positioned... I simply slide the led strip off the magnet strip.. and then with pressure with my fingers, just worked the magnet strip back and forth so it stuck well to the cabinet side. I let that setup a bit.. then put the LED strips back up.

And now she's all back together and boosted!
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The screw length is part of the problem I think. You simply can't get the screw tight as it seems to bottom out. In hindsight, I should have just tried with a shorter screw out of the toolbox! It doesn't help that the screw threads hold in the light brackets.. so the brackets fight you as well. That's why I added the washer to take up some of the slack in the stack. With that and moving the bulb's wires around some... it's passable. It's just a really crowded space. Plus, the flasher is bent down.. so it wants to interfere with the plane's bracket too. I did not try putting the light UNDER the plane's bracket.. instead opt'ing to flatted it out.. and then try to bend it after everything was installed.

All the things I remember when not typing at 1am

Ironically.. for me the striping is what sold me on the lights for Maiden. The striping goes with the mummy theme IMO. I think you could probably do away with it with just all white light.. but I like it.

You omit that owners may be that way because they made that conclusion and then bought their game Not just defending their purchase...

I've had access to one of the first pros shipped out to the region and play it weekly. I also had access to a very early LE... I ultimately bought a premium because I like the elements it added... even tho the 'pro' maybe better practice for tournaments. I decided I don't buy games to prep for competition, I buy games I want to enjoy.

Multiball doesn’t stop mode timers... but some actions do stop the timers temporarily.

Later games have been a piece of cake.

Your opinion... but our experience has been otherwise.

Took in some live legacy tonight...
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That was investing 3.5hrs of waiting to get to first/second row of GA space Plus winning the fan club lottery for early entry

Trooper MB.. collect jackpots on the lit shots... SJP will light in upper dead-end shot. Jackpots that had been collected will re-light with new color, at +1x value. First jackpots are blue.. second are green.. third are an orange color.. and goes from there.

The way Stern designs games of late.. they just aren't as commonly needed. You basically have to worry about spots where the ball will jump up and hit the plastic (typically around rings, or plastics over targets) or where the ball will fall/drop and hit stuff.

The slingshots are the most common, but stern puts washers there by default now which helps a bit. The drop targets would be the only area really on Maiden that is a concern, but the plastic must be far enough back it hasn't proven to be an issue.

So I've started to have stuck balls back near the mini orbit and the cyborg eddie that I've never had before...

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Have others had a problem with this spot? The balls get REALLY stuck if they pop up high enough to get up on the plastic. Stuck between ed's foot and the switch for the gate. I tried some bumpers with two-sided tape to try to fill the spot, but couldn't get good adhesion.

Any suggestions?

There is no other side unfortunately... the plastic just has riveted guides stuck on it as you go back behind eddie.. and eddie is mounted from above. So you only have the plastic mounting screws and the switch mounting screws over there. I was trying to think of some shield or cape that could go behind eddie and drop further down to block the ball from jumping up there.. if it's coming from the back.

I'm not clear how the ball gets up there if front or from back as I only find it after the fact as a tech call. It's really gotta get air to get up there. I fear it could be air balls from the front side .. shots towards the mini orbit.

I could drill the plastic and put something through it to fill the space... but that would also require a ton of dissassembly I wanted to avoid if possible. I just don't see anything out of place that could be opening up this issue now... vs the years I've had the game.

Yeah, that would block shots from the front.. which if I were a gambling man I think is the more likely direction they are coming from.. even if it means it has to jump OVER eddie's toes back there. But it might cause other hangups if any other ball trajectories could get on top of that flat plastic.. as it would become basically a much bigger trap To think about...