Does the PinBits one extend further though than what comes on the game that Stern installs? Pics please!

This shorty one came on mine but I have an older run premium

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Sparky has always had a factory protector. As centerflank noted the aftermarket one is deeper.

Aaah...didn't know here was an extended one. This is the one that came on mine.
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Skull is from back alley creations

Here's how far the Pinbits one comes out.

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The side art with the LEDs are incredible. Definitely pay for the extra sticker for the top to cover the LEDs, or anyone watching will be blinded by the LEDs.

Color DMD is great.

Snake fangs and tongue sticker are no brainers.

Shaker is a must.

If you want to spend the money, the purple armor (including coin door) from Pinball Refinery looks REALLY nice.

Getting Sparky custom painted really makes the machine look better.

Backbox, speaker, and under cab lighting really makes the whole experience better.

Upgraded speakers are nice. Don't expect crazy bass, as it just isn't in the mix.

Pinball Life sell 4" mini guitars which look great placed around different areas of the machine

I think the #1 mod here is the captive ball replacement for the block. Prior to replacing this piece, I actually preferred the pro. Afterwards, the game play is the same with premium having added features.

Next is subwoofer, speakers in backbox and shaker. This is a music pin so you want more than an external sub. You need someback of speakers that have tweeters in them.

Finally, color DMD is awesome on this game. I think it's the best colorization on any game thus far.

^^^^^this^^^^^^ these are essential even if you're not a mod fan.

Plus Cliffys and make sure u ask for the carbon magnet protector (not the metal one).

Congrats on a great game!!
I did custom armor (side rails hinges, lockbar, legs, apron, speaker panel, and coin door) on my Road Case...I also did Sparky, Hammer, and Snake as well as a topper... I have the Cointaker backbox, undercab, and flipper buttons. ColorDMD, and Speaker Light Kits from http://www.speakerlightkits.com/
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Phoebe

The Met stars around the flipper buttons look great. I like the scary guy on the coin door too!

I added the Pinball metal Armor with the silver metallic backer. I really like the look.
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Also covered up the holes that are covered by the Speaker Panel sticker with a Metallica Keychain Fob. I know its kinda redundant but I like it better then the holes. Its just temporary until Im hopefully able to buy the Road Case Speaker Panel art that Aurich is working on.

Before
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After
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Also added both Mezel Mods Cemetary mod and Pinball Refineries lightning Mod. I had to fab up a little bracket to move the led strip over a bit to clear the cemetary arch. Fits no problem now.

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Added the ceramic powerball in the newton ball Assembly too

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Do you get any airballs off the captive ball? I had one in my game and removed it because of the airballs.

Rob

I guess ive been lucky so far.. No air balls yet.

I noticed quite a few people have switched to the captive ball setups. Havnt heard of any issues with constant airballs, but if I do start to get them I may switch back like you did.

Was the issue the captive ceramic powerball causing the airballs?

The captive ball should not cause air balls. The pro ships with the captive ball and also does not have air ball issues.

Forgive me if it has been posted somewhere, but why on earth are the premiums shipped with that block?

The thought was that it would send the ball back towards the ball lock (which is physical on the premium and virtual on the pro). But in reality it doesn't make much difference in this regard. And the block is just crappy to shoot at vs a captive ball.

I see. I agree...I had the captive ball waiting and changed the block out the first night I had the game

I'll try and get it in with my Shadow order that's coming up, I'll start a thread for it soon, see how many I need to make.

The issue is that the ball can get a little 'air' under it from travelling over the hammer magnet. By the time it hits the captive ball it can have upward momentum, hitting at or above center of the ball which translates into an airball. The reason it does not happen with the block is that it's all flat. If you search the forum here, several had the same results and went back to the original block. Having the magnet perfectly level and centered may or may not eliminate that.

Rob

Very interesting and a great explanation. Yea, this makes sense. I have a perfectly flat magnet and never get air balls. I would think it wouldn't be too hard to fix the magnet. The captive ball is way worth it over the block. If I had to go back to the block, I'd be looking for a pro again. The block takes all the magic out of the pin. The combo shots from captive to snake, captive to sparky, and even captive to ramp become impossible with the block as its designed to come only forward. Intentional captive to snake is a common shot I aim for.

Captive to ramp?! Crazy talk! Now I must make this happen.

Pinsider beatmaster has a sweet shooter rod housing light up. Comes in diff. colors and he's making a purple one per my request for my Refinery purple coated armor. Check out his mod thread.

Are there any negatives to replacing the block (other than potential airballs)? For example, does the ball get back to the magnet as appropriate? To be clear, fans of the captive ball like the qeometry during non capture gameplay, correct?

Every once in a while, the ball will stick to the captive ball when the coffin hole opens. It has only happened 5-10 times, and every time, it released and rolled down to the coffin hole. I am thinking of trying one of the white balls for the captive to get rid of the problem, but it probably isn't worth the effort since it hasn't been a problem for me.

Yeah, if you nail the left edge of the ball just right, and hard, it will fly up and around the left ramp, it's pretty cool. I only get it on accident though I'll admit.

That's why I switched mine to a Powerball, works great, and it looks good too.

I'd never go back to the block on my LE personally.

If it's the Roadcase premium get a replacement translite so you don't have to look at the sweaty bald guys.

Sounds good, Thanks!

For completeness sake, these look awesome:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/•new-mod•met-snake-ramp-kit-wplastic

I hope they're still around when I finally get my MET (who knows when that will be).

The captive ball is a huge upgrade over the square block and very cheap.

Ive gone back to a Totan style newton ball - just the ball on a stick without the "captive" rim. Ive found it registers hits better than the "captive" one. I still use the base from the "captive" one to make it more stable and to protect the pf.

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I just finished a Pinball Refinery edition of Metallica Premium for my customer. The light show is insane, here's a video of some game play.