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Tilt_Birmingham

Tilt_Birmingham

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5Years
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Apr 26, 2016
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Just came to clean the Foo Fighter in Tilt and found this destruction of the playfield!

Wasn't like it the other day must have failed over the weekend at some point and no one spotted or reported it!

Might be worth everyone turning down their launch coil and adding mylar


WhatsApp Image 2023-11-13 at 11.32.19.jpeg
 
To note machine is level and the ball launches as intended so I can only assume it is a design flaw and it needed additional mylar from day one cause it stops just before the damage

Foo Fighters gets played 30-40% less then the likes of Bond and JP2 and their playfields are spotless
 
Mine all good - but then I always try to short plunge anyway!

Gutted mate, that sucks bigtime.
 
I don't know foo fighters so can't pinpoint the location, I assume it's like the Congo plunge that comes out and an angle and goes across the playfield?

Are the balls ok? Not stern original ones?
I can't see how this happens, there must be a very unique set of variables for this to happen, including bad quality control on the clearcoat and balls?
 
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Thats crazy, but what is going on with the wood under the artwork, is that just dirt/marks from the ball or is there a fault in the playfield/wood that could have caused the art to lift.

@David_Vi Sounds like your right, its where the shooter lane feeds out onto the playfield, I wonder if its riding round the metal ball guide and and landing on that spot on the playfield, hard to tell from the pictures online but it looks like the shooter lane exit is raised above the playfield.
 
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Yes @David_Vi exactly that. Much like fishtales also, there's a little edge the ball drops off, so that area can still act as a ball guide. I'd say it's this drop and resulting bounce that has caused it.

I was thinking the balls might be bad also :-/
 
Over on pinside there is mention of bad welds/rough spots on the wire forms that are damaging balls, might be worth checking your balls as well.

Someone also mentioned the ball guide (if thats the right term for it) at the end of the shooter lane being too high and catching the ball as well, that could damage it or push its trajectory slight higher so it gets passed the mylar protected section.
 
Neil has nipped to Pinball Republic to check his and he said he can see visible high impacts on the same spot after mylar on his! Luckily his not chipping yet

Balls were changed when it arrived
 
Thanks for sharing Kirk, hopefully will help it not happen to others. Going to look at mine later and add some Mylar if needed. How many plays does it have on it, not that I think it’s anywhere near an amount that would cause that normally.

Hope stern take care of it for you with a replacement
 
Just took the glass off mine and inspected closely, thankfully not a mark on it. I always soft plunge to Rock 'O' meter but obviously some balls get autoplunged during multiball.
 
The Mylar on mine is the same as kirks, runs out in the middle of the aliens head. I wonder what the chances are of Kirk getting a replacement? All the manufacturers have playfield damage disclaimers now but that is extremely excessive.
 
Nice one for sharing, that is awful damage and not very repairable either. Fingers crossed stern sort you out 🙏

You can buy Mylar circles (same size as the cut out section of pop bumper Mylar), trim the bottom to a straight line & butt it up against the existing Mylar. Gives a good area of protection/coverage.

IMG_0174.jpeg
 
In the first picture, of the heavily damaged playfield, the flat metal rail for the ball entry seems to have a gap where it's standing off the playfield. I think I can see its own shadow from lighting behind it, with a brighter line where light is shining through a gap. If it's a combined ball entry/orbit rail, the greater height could've seen the ball landing further up the playfield.
 
A question from a newbie please - a few people seem to have applied mylar in ordinary course to a new playfield (ahead of knowing about this issue), do most owners do that with NIB purchases and, if so, is it just on high risk areas? Sorry in advance if this is off topic.
 
Jay Walker said:
In the first picture, of the heavily damaged playfield, the flat metal rail for the ball entry seems to have a gap where it's standing off the playfield. I think I can see its own shadow from lighting behind it, with a brighter line where light is shining through a gap. If it's a combined ball entry/orbit rail, the greater height could've seen the ball landing further up the playfield.
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That’s the guide not the ramp so it’s height doesn’t affect the height the ball drops from after launch.
 
dis126 said:
A question from a newbie please - a few people seem to have applied mylar in ordinary course to a new playfield (ahead of knowing about this issue), do most owners do that with NIB purchases and, if so, is it just on high risk areas? Sorry in advance if this is off topic.
Click to expand...
Lots of pins have Mylar already in various high wear places. I’m guessing quite a few (like myself) only add Mylar themselves once an issue is highlighted (as above). There’s also definitely people that add Mylar themselves as a precaution - it’s all down to the individual really 👍
 
There's a photo somewhere in the pinside FF thread of a machine with a nasty chip near the drop targets, just above the uppermost target. I can see how that could happen, sometimes you hit that target side on from a lower flipper. I've been meaning to mylar that little area.
 
Sako-TRG said:
“Customers fault”
Click to expand...

How so?

Sako-TRG said:
Shouldn’t be any different whether U buy one or 100
Click to expand...

100% agree with this!

I just hope no one else's machine develops this...

Had some messages on pinside saying looks like a defective playfield... I have a great track record with Stern this is the worst issue i've had in 8 years and 50 plus machines later
 
Mine looks fine but I’ll probably add some Mylar there to try and prevent any damage.

I added Mylar around the drops and put on switch slot protectors before first play as the ball drops directly on the switches from returns and I’d seen the drop target chip on pinside too.
 
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