vicjw66
New member
Yep. They also have Avatar.
Tron & Tron LE pinball owners: Are you having this problem?
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LeeB99
Active member
This thread is a real bummer. My LE has about 100 plays on it, and upon close inspection under bright direct florescent light, my play field has just a couple of these dimples, but nothing nearly like the original poster. It is my opinion that this has absolutely nothing to do with the clear coat or the play field itself. It looks to me to be an actual tiny dent in the wood from the hard impact of the pinball in certain situations. My guess is that if your play field is prone to this, then the wood that your play field is attached to is "soft" in the areas where the "dimples" are appearing.
You would think that making a play field with a composite material, rather than wood, would be a smarter way to make modern pinballs. Of course, wood is relatively "cheap", while a durable modern composite (although more durable and potentially lighter) would also be more expensive to produce...
Lee
You would think that making a play field with a composite material, rather than wood, would be a smarter way to make modern pinballs. Of course, wood is relatively "cheap", while a durable modern composite (although more durable and potentially lighter) would also be more expensive to produce...
Lee
any word on if they warranty this or not???
B.
B.
OP
OP
I am still waiting to hear back. They finally sent someone (a guy involved with the local pinball league) to take a look in person last week.
FYI, Stern's warranty covers almost nothing (see attached). Of course, they don't post this on their website and they did not respond to an email when I asked for a copy. Anyway, I am at their mercy because they technically don't have to do anything to address issues with the playfield, artwork, or any mechanical parts. However, they should be embarrassed at the quality of the product they put out if this is considered "normal."
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Rob T
New member
What did the person that they sent out to look at it have to say? What was his opinion?
OP
OP
He didn't have a strong opinion one way or another. He said he was just collecting the information (he took several photos) for Stern so that they could decide. He did say that he's seen indentations on other Stern games, but didn't really admit that this was worse than he's seen before (which is what I said people have been telling me).
There is actually another problem with the playfield that I didn't post about before. There are several small pinholes in the clearcoat, and one large hole in the clearcoat (see photo which shows a hole more than 3mm across). I told him that there was clearly something wrong with the manufacturing process and he seemed to think that this issue (or the combination of issues) was more indicative of a problem that Stern should address.
I also said that if I got another playfield (rather than a replacement game or populated playfield), I would have it professionally clearcoated in order to try to prevent this issue from happening again. He didn't seem aware that this was something that people had done.
He also said he was going to try to take a look at a friend's Tron Pro game for comparison.
That was a week ago and I haven't heard anything since then. I'll update this thread when I have something new to share.
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pudluther
Active member
dude....i really hate that for you. it seems as though you got EXTREMELY unlucky with the particular TRON you received. i hope STERN makes this right....i haven't heard of anybody having the same problems you have had.
they need to make this right. it doesn't seem to be a widespread problem and looks more and more like you got a lemon.
bloodflowers
Member
I've got an LE, it's got plenty of these but not quite as bad as yours - 180 plays or so. I also have one insert where silver has been printed on top of the black so the back border isn't quite correct, and another insert where the paint is smudged and missing in 2 spots along the edge. I actually thought it had chipped when I noticed, but the clear is absolutely unbroken - this happened before it was cleared.
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OP
OP
What happened
They managed to drag this out for 3 months and it's now basically over so I can write what happened.
Back in early October, the distributor responded:
"After talking with [guy that came over] and looking at the pictures Stern has determined that the dimples are normal but the mark in the inlane and the chrome issues are not.
They will send you new side rails for the chrome issue and would like to know what would make you satisfied on the inlane issue. They can send extra parts for the game, signed translight, etc."
There you go: dimples are normal, no matter how horrible. Luckily (?), there was another problem with the terrible clearcoat (the hole in it that I posted about above) and they agreed that this issue was not normal.
So I asked for a replacement Tron LE pinball machine. If that could not be done, a replacement populated Tron LE playfield that could be swapped for mine. And if that was not available, an unpopulated Tron LE playfield plus replacement parts for problematic items including the spinning disc motor and the Recognizer 3-bank target.
The Stern rep replied:
"Unfortunately I cannot offer you a complete game or playfield since neither exist. Is there anything else I can offer you in place of the playfield?"
Well, that was disappointing to say the least. Seems like terrible planning on their part to not make any extra playfields, doesn't it? I didn't know what to do at that point so I just asked for those replacement parts, a technician to come over and fix the upper flipper (that started sticking strangely and which I thought was an electronic problem), and some signed artwork. They finally delivered all of that, but it felt like pulling teeth.
I feel like the quality control on these brand new games is quite poor and they are putting in the absolute minimum effort and using the cheapest materials to assemble these games. This is really sad for fans of pinball. I really hope that Jersey Jack puts out a high quality product and steps it up so that Stern cannot continue to do this and easily sell every game they make (LE, at least) since they are the only game in town.
That's about it.
They managed to drag this out for 3 months and it's now basically over so I can write what happened.
Back in early October, the distributor responded:
"After talking with [guy that came over] and looking at the pictures Stern has determined that the dimples are normal but the mark in the inlane and the chrome issues are not.
They will send you new side rails for the chrome issue and would like to know what would make you satisfied on the inlane issue. They can send extra parts for the game, signed translight, etc."
There you go: dimples are normal, no matter how horrible. Luckily (?), there was another problem with the terrible clearcoat (the hole in it that I posted about above) and they agreed that this issue was not normal.
So I asked for a replacement Tron LE pinball machine. If that could not be done, a replacement populated Tron LE playfield that could be swapped for mine. And if that was not available, an unpopulated Tron LE playfield plus replacement parts for problematic items including the spinning disc motor and the Recognizer 3-bank target.
The Stern rep replied:
"Unfortunately I cannot offer you a complete game or playfield since neither exist. Is there anything else I can offer you in place of the playfield?"
Well, that was disappointing to say the least. Seems like terrible planning on their part to not make any extra playfields, doesn't it? I didn't know what to do at that point so I just asked for those replacement parts, a technician to come over and fix the upper flipper (that started sticking strangely and which I thought was an electronic problem), and some signed artwork. They finally delivered all of that, but it felt like pulling teeth.
I feel like the quality control on these brand new games is quite poor and they are putting in the absolute minimum effort and using the cheapest materials to assemble these games. This is really sad for fans of pinball. I really hope that Jersey Jack puts out a high quality product and steps it up so that Stern cannot continue to do this and easily sell every game they make (LE, at least) since they are the only game in town.
That's about it.
bloodflowers
Member
I don't suppose it will make you any happier, but I got some direct light near my recogniser a few minutes ago, and mine looks just the same as yours. I bet a lot of them do. The only vague possible upside is that it will eventually dimple enough that it's flat again 
I did notice one useful thing though, my game feels MUCH smoother after waxing it. You're not supposed to do that too soon to a new clearcoat but the guidelines are 30-60 days which are long passed for these playfields - ball glides now, can't 'feel' it rolling at all.
I did notice one useful thing though, my game feels MUCH smoother after waxing it. You're not supposed to do that too soon to a new clearcoat but the guidelines are 30-60 days which are long passed for these playfields - ball glides now, can't 'feel' it rolling at all.
AUSyTyIN
Well-known member
That's exactly what they told me, then they magically found a populated playfield.
OP
OP
For a Tron LE?
AUSyTyIN
Well-known member
No, but that is word for word what they told me on my Pro.
OP
OP
They are still making Tron Pro games (Best Buy is even selling them now) so I don't know why they would say they don't have any more Pro playfields.
Rob T
New member
Could you have received a full refund if you asked for it?
AUSyTyIN
Well-known member
From what I've heard, they are still assembling Pro's, not making parts for them. As in every playfield has an assigned cabinet (no spares). Stern has spares, just keep hounding them.
Crappy quaility started well before Tron, it's just that way now. Stern almost went bankrupt a couple years ago, so doing anything it can to stay in business was what was done, even still to this day.
I feel for you because this is just not right and I'd be mad as hell having paid what you did for a NIB pin and get this treatment.
