I hate it when they put pickles on my burger when I ask for without. And their response is to just pull them off and hand me back the same burger. Then I gotta send it back again.

Wouldn't it be a lot easier and best for all involved if they took the time and effort to do it right the first time?

There are people buying these and hardly playing them so you have to consider that.

People will say whatever to drive an agenda but as soon as they are affected they will be jumping on the bandwagon or secretly talking to their distro/JJP.

Issues seem to be showing up after about 500 games played at least that was the consensus early on with POTC.

I have yet to see one on location that isn’t all torn up and I’m talking in addition to the slings.

I just played a wonka last month on location, two weeks old and looked like dog shit altready. I posted some photos because i couldn’t believe it.

Sadly going forward, any recent game I think about purchasing, the first thing I will be looking for is pooling or hopefully be able to buy a non pooling game.

Crazy really.

What was the last pool themed game? Billiards or swimming, doesn't matter.

So you want a Michael Phelps themed pin?
Now you've really gone off....the deep end.

If all JJP has to do was add another pickle, I’m sure you’d be hearing from them.

Be a lot easier to just eat the pickles or take 'em off yourself.

Easier maybe, but not what I paid for. That would be like putting a decal on a chipping playfield. Just never liked them or the juice they leave behind. I don't do cucumbers either. But will eat just about anything else.

I am a firm believer in doing something right the first time, and correct it quickly when informed something about the way it is being done is wrong. But I'm not in the pinball manufacturing industry.

Sounds kinda cool to me!

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It's not this because the issues on my Munsters are all under metal posts/washers.

I'm still voting it's a wood/ink adhesion issue.

My opinion on this is it is cheap eco friendly materials and not the best, hardest wood causing most of this.

To have used the best possible materials, which are probably available, would have too much affected the all important bottom line. Just my opinion of course.

At $200 per game, I would never waste my resources as a company to try and sell them.

Can’t get the pickle taste out of a bun once it’s there. I hate pickles.

Could just be different batches with the same vendor. If they don’t have the mix right it will be different.

I couldn't agree more...$200 is a joke....

Jurassic Park pros are already chipping. Someone posted pics in other playfield thread about issues.

It’s a planned feature. For those who don’t like a game’s playfield art, “who cares, it’s gonna chip off anyway!”

I smell bull poop.

I got about 3 pages in...and all I can think is...

You know...screw all of you that want CPR to pick up playfield production for Stern and JJP! Yes, I'm being hyperbolic, but let me explain...

There is no other company that makes reproduction playfields. They're ALREADY slow as dirt, and the changeover to digital has not happened, and many playfields that are needed are still unavailable. You guys only want them to pick it up so you can continue to buy your 10k NIBs, but the rest of us? We're dying for a 700$ playfield to go in our 1400 games. We don't have the money for 10k JJP games. Is someone then supposed to step in to do what they're doing so that people that prefer older games don't get boned in the name of rampant consumerism, or are we just going back to the dark ages where no replacement playfields for old games were available?

Nope. Do not like that suggestion AT ALL.

*Edit* I want to clarify something. I'm not saying CPR is slow as dirt as a disparaging thing, just a statement of fact. The things they do take a lot of time, from planning through production. We wait years in a lot of cases from announcement of one of their projects to production and shipping.

If they are are "slow as dirt" AND care deeply about quality, CPR's culture and business model are highly unlikely to keep up with Stern/JJP.

Highly unlikely to happen, so I don't think you have much to worry about.

Probably not, and it was an absurd suggestion the first time it was made on this thread for those exact reasons...... but then it just..kept...being.......reposted... >_<

I laughed really hard at this ... and for a long time . I needed that.

I'm not a playfield clearcoat expert at all, but from what I can tell in those pics, the clearcoat is still hot when the playfield is being assembled. That's the *only* way you'd get those defects. The ink coming up is due to it being bound to the clear. I don't think there is an issue with the ink binding to the wood ... this looks like a clearcoat problem.

I wonder if they're using additives to the clear (like fisheye remover)? (thinking out loud). Doesn't fisheye remover 'soften' the clear thus making cure time longer?

Using plastic washers under the posts should work well for those playfields that are 'mostly' cured. I think you'd have the same problems if washers were used at the factory. While you shouldn't have to do this for a $10K+ machine, you should install washers under the posts the minute you take delivery. Also, don't torque those posts down really tight ... a little bit more than hand tight should be all you need to use.

One final note ... if these playfields are being printed in China, I expect a LOT of bootleg playfields to become available soon ... once they see what they sell for, you'll more than likely see them flood the market with knockoffs.

Using Chinese manufacturing to have playfields cut and inserts assembled shouldn't be a problem, but these companies are stupid if they're giving them all of the artwork to print them.

You might be right, and I can not confirm it by any means. It could be BS from the distributor. Consider this though: they went up $500 on the price of LEs and JJP LEs have always vastly outsold the SEs, so they probably were a package deal with the understanding that distributors would make the money back and then some on LE sales.

Who knows? With JJP, after all, we are talking about a company that makes its customers pay return shipping for faulty warranty parts, and also who think that $22 is a reasonable S&H fee to put a small clothing object in an envelope and ship it 5 states away.

It would be infuriating if they didn't also make the absolute best pinball games of the modern era, and maybe ever.

My Guardians of the Galaxy has no pooling or chipping. 13,625 plays, Born November 21, 2017.

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Notice there are no graphics under the sling, just white wood

Is that a crack coming out from under the left lower sling post?

Maybe, but that looks like a crack to me? Are all GOTG like that?

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I’ll take white wood and no chips, cracks or delamination everyday of the week all year long.

Seriously, if that somehow solves the issue so be it. At least the game doesn’t look all fucked up!

Can’t tell, looks awfully straight to be a random crack.

13,700 games played though and looks pretty darn respectable to me.

Just shows a good clear coat is possible.

If it is a crack, most likely from tightening the bottom post too much- one would think the plastic post would break first.

Crackgate exposed!

Good eye! It appears to be a very fine scratch of some sort full of black rubber gunk from the black rubbers, or coil dust. The machine was filthy from coil dust under the plastics when I got it. I believe it was in Sunshine for a year, then I bought it. It cleaned up nice at the end of the day. I'm impressed with Stern quality on this one.

That’s it! Buy a nib game, leave it out and in the sun to cure. Well, let’s call the boys and wrap this up. We’re done here...

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Dammit, I can't not laugh at that

Not sure what you mean...a crack doesn't have to be zigzag.

And yeah, I'm not saying for that many plays that a single crack that size is even an ISSUE, but saying that a GOTG PF doesn't have these issues when the clear is hard enough to just crack, not tear/pool/ripple...it's a different sort of issue. Also possible as was mentioned by Jody, could just be a scratch, which is believable too.

*edit* It could be a hair that got caught under the post too and is lying flat in wax or something. Wouldn't be the first time I've seen that!

This is crazy, I was going to buy a Wonka LE my first NIB, but now I am worried with all this pooling and chipping that’s coming to light plus all the other problems. Hopefully JJP will figure this all out and come up with a solution. But going forward I am sure there’s tons of Wonka pf what will have this issue and tons still not installed yet that are already made.

No - because the problems progress and get worse long after the pf should have been cured and hardened. It’s something that progresses with time... meaning the clear isn’t soft at juse one point in time.

Dunno how this thread is 500+ posts.. people have been discussing this for wonka for months now.

Have done more research on this and found that JJP/Mirco is using water based clear instead of two pack polyurethane because of the environmental impact of the fumes pollution in our homes. Actually if this is the case, my opinion has turned 180 degrees. JJP/Mirco should be applauded for not using the very dangerous two pack polyurethane that many countries have now outlawed because of it off gassing in our homes and being very carcinogenic and super dangerous to us and our families health. I’d rather live with some chipping than having health problems.

Still think, giving 6 months or at least longer curing time is the answer and not printing artwork under the high impact areas, like Stern has done on Munsters, GOTG, etc., in the sling areas and such. No print clear coat adhesion issues there. If JJP were to come out and say this is the reason, who could be upset with them??? Except, JJP not giving enough curing time before assembly. Or over tightening mechs/posts. Or using too thick of a layer of clear coat. JJP should use this as a marketing coo instead of all the negative press they are getting now.

Needs more research ^^^^^^^

OUR PINBALL MACHINES ARE POISONING US!!!

There are plenty of people in CA that aren't that extreme in their views. But something must be happening right here - it's the 5th largest economy in the world, and no other state in the US is even CLOSE to it economically, which is why it sets the pace for the rest of the country. If CA were a country, it would be #5 in the world. Bigger than the UK and creeping up on Germany for #4.

Game on route in my hometown. Left slingshot star post has the art work lifting up on the lower side (looks like a fingernail clipping). The other star posts also have bubbling.

I checked the Stern JP. The clear looked good for now. Stern has metal washers under the slingshot star posts. The game is only about 2 days old.
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That's what I tell my customers......

True dat!

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Sure is but that's the truth. That's why big companys don't have to hire in house sales forces, they just let the distros shark each other to death and do their work for them.