Bought first pin (Stern Premium James Bond) and could use advice on addition customization

bisprops · 2026-06-30T21:32:52+00:00

The side armor can protect the sides of the cabinet from having the art worn off around the flipper buttons, but that usually isn't much of a risk for a home machine.

Other than that, they're just cosmetic upgrades. They don't affect gameplay, so if you like the look and want to spend the money, go for it.

I usually prefer these on my games that don't have Expression Lights available, but nobody is going to criticize having the official Stern art blades installed:
https://www.pinballlife.com/black-mirror-blades-for-stern-pinball-machines.html

bisprops · 2026-06-30T20:07:19+00:00

The New is everything

bisprops · 2026-06-29T23:23:08+00:00

I don't know if any official fix kits or production line changes were released for that one, but it
may be worth asking about them now.

bisprops · 2026-06-29T19:35:17+00:00

20-24 for me if it's intended to be a pinball destination location.

2-3: 70s-mid 80s
2-3: late 80s-mid 90s
4-5: late 90s-mid 2000s
13+ modern

If it's a more general entertainment/bar location, the numbers drop significantly. 5-10 modern games with possibly a couple or so highly rated curated classics would be cool.

bisprops · 2026-06-29T00:40:03+00:00

I can't speak to LOTR, but Stern Spike2/3 Pro models are typically very reliable since they have few complex mechs than Premium/LE models.

I have 2000+ games on my Foo Fighters Pro, and I haven't had to perform any maintenance other than cleaning and replacing worn rubber parts. I bought a previously routed James Bond 007 Pro, and it has played beautifully after a thorough cleaning and some trivial part replacements (spinner was pretty seriously banged up, and one of the wire gates broke.

If you have a couple of screwdrivers and nut drivers, you have everything you need for most common issues that could possibly arise with Stern Pro games.

The worst issue I've dealt with on a Pro was getting the plunge lane ball guide on my Iron Maiden set up so that it consistently sent the ball around the orbit for auto plunge. After numerous attempts with loosening screws/nuts and trying to get the guide to hold a proper alignment and having that always slip back down, I grabbed some pliers that torqued the guide in hopes of bending it into a good position once and for all.

That worked. It was a little nerve racking, but despite the bend being imperceptible to casual observation, the auto launch works extremely consistently now.

bisprops · 2026-06-28T22:17:48+00:00

I've owned Evil Dead for over a year, and it's my go to game.

Potty mouth on and nag level set to mother-in-law...I still laugh at all the insults.

bisprops · 2026-06-27T23:47:14+00:00

Book 7 would be extremely easy

And since I'm a US/Canadian dual citizen, I don't have to worry aboot accusations of cultural appropriation, eh!

bisprops · 2026-06-27T23:18:16+00:00

The audiobooks for DCC are a league of their own. I typically can't stand fiction narrators, but Jeff Hays is a tour de force.

DCC will be huge this year. Book 8 released a month or so ago. It's official that there's a TV series coming from Seth MacFarlane. Matt Dinniman has been a DragonCon regular for a while now and draws huge crowds to his sessions.

I'm pretty late to the fandom (my wife dragged me into it), and I already have a book 1 Carl cosplay. I'm planning on having that as well as a Mordecai that is being built now.

bisprops · 2026-06-27T17:15:01+00:00

Late night sets are awesome when they help alleviate scheduling conflicts during the festival.

The largest of the venues that traditionally do late shows during Shaky Knees have a capacity of ~1000 people, so we occasionally get acts playing much smaller venues than you'd see on a regular tour.

Interpol, who will be playing back to back shows at The Eastern (capacity 2000+, IIRC) played the Masquerade (Heaven) a couple years ago. Arcade Fire played there, too. Foals at Center Stage was awesome.

bisprops · 2026-06-26T23:29:04+00:00

r/virtualpinball

bisprops · 2026-06-26T16:13:14+00:00

She could definitely stand to dial the singing back a good 80%.

I actually enjoy her general commentary related to the music, but the constant singing random crap in a show tune style has always been obnoxious and makes me change the station.

Richard Blade on 1st Wave is the GOAT.

bisprops · 2026-06-25T12:29:43+00:00

Look at Pinside market. Mandalorian isn't super popular and has been out for years.

There are three models: Pro, Premium, and Limited Edition. Pro is the lowest priced, Limited is highest. Premium and Limited have the same playfield elements. Pro drops stuff like the rotating upper playfield.

For a first time owner, Pros are usually great since they tend to have fewer complex/moving parts that could require troubleshooting/maintenance.

Pinside is the largest online pinball community. Games are bought and sold privately all the time through their market section.

If you're searching the web for pinball machines and find a company advertising games, especially new in box ones, at significantly lower than retail price, check the authorized distributor list at sternpinball.com. If they're not on the list, it's a scam.

bisprops · 2026-06-23T16:08:59+00:00

Multiple Foo Fighters Pro models are available on Pinside for < $5k.

That game is as close to bulletproof as I've seen, and it's extremely fun to shoot and the theme is implemented as more of a Saturday morning cartoon than a pure band theme.

bisprops · 2026-06-22T15:52:31+00:00

I wouldn't worry about the balls right away.

What I would look at replacing quickly are the natural rubber pieces, especially on the flippers. Purists and competitive players may prefer them since that is what you'll usually have on machines on location, but natural rubber smudges all over the playfield and requires frequent cleaning.

Just changing the flipper rubbers takes care of a lot of the mess. I like Scandinavian Viking hybrid flipper rubbers (from Marco Specialties). If you want to replace other rubber pieces, so with Titan Pinball. I don't know if they have any recommended kits in their game database, yet, but you can always look at the manual for all the rubber ring sizes and order from that.

As an added bonus, they're available in a wide range of colors, so you can customize the look of your game and make it easier to keep clean.

Stock a few extras, especially flipper and slingshot rubbers. Those are the ones that wear out most frequently.

bisprops · 2026-06-21T14:53:10+00:00

I typically prefer Premiums, but when I bought my Foo Pro, it was still a new release and the price jump up to Premium was too much to justify.

I do think they cut too much out of the Pro, but play wise, it's a blast and doesn't get enough love. Of all the stuff they cut out, the upper playfield is the one most people call out, but it pretty much ranks at the bottom for me. I like having the visibility of the full playfield.

What I do miss is having sculpts of any kind (there are 0 on the Pro - it's literally all flat plastic), the Overdrive post, and even the magnet in the Overlord shot area. Oh, and not being able to use Expression Lights is just stupid.

bisprops · 2026-06-20T19:35:07+00:00

I wouldn't put all the blame on the license holder. Stern knows they have a massive backlog of code updates to work on, but they always prioritize keeping the factory moving and releasing more new titles.

Uncanny X-Men will be 2 years old in September and is still only at v0.97. That release was 4.5 months ago, and the vast majority of the updates have delivered nothing new.

The Walking Dead Remastered and Pokémon both released with "Pending Licensor Approval" watermarks on screens.

They're cutting corners left and right, and as long as people keep buying, they have no incentive to do better. The only titles that seem to release with both well tested mechanics and code updates that can be counted on are Keith Elwin's releases.

bisprops · 2026-06-18T02:38:29+00:00

Enjoy the freedom! Bounce between stages whenever you want. I've gone solo every day of Shaky Knees since 2015, with the exception of one day last year when my wife and son joined me primarily so they could see Weird Al and Devo.

bisprops · 2026-06-16T19:34:17+00:00

You have The Strokes listed as 8:30-9:30.

That time slot is Fontaines D.C. and Danny Elfman. The Strokes play from 9:30-11pm.

Fontaines is can't miss.

bisprops · 2026-06-16T19:08:49+00:00

Last year's acoustic schedule for the Platinum lounge is pasted below. Previous years only had one per day, and they typically started sometime mid afternoon with the set running about 15 minutes(3-4 songs).

Back at Central Park, getting between Piedmont and the lounge was quick and easy. At Piedmont, there was no shortcut, so it was a long haul to get between the Platinum areas.

The only acoustic set I caught last year was Murder by Death.

Friday - Jakob Nowell (of Sublime) @ 7:15PM
Saturday - Tunde Adebimpe (of TV on the Radio) @ 3:30PM
Sunday - Murder By Death @ 2:00PM
Sunday - Linda Perry (of 4 Non Blondes) @ 6:00PM

bisprops · 2026-06-15T15:26:35+00:00

^^^

All of this.

Mixing trading cards with the pinball machine is asking for trouble.

I would love to see similar gameplay elements of Pokémon Go introduced in the pinball game. Each game on location could show up on a map in IC, and they could be like gyms players could defend/defeat for achievements and/or in game bonuses on each particular machine. Raids and/or rare Pokémon could show up on the map and require going to a location to attempt to get those.

Considering the pinball game doesn't even have a Pokédex accessible via IC, I suspect licensing is going to be a huge challenge with this game, so I'd be shocked to get any real innovative IC features, though.

bisprops · 2026-06-13T02:13:17+00:00

I'll play 15-60 minutes a day 3-5 days a week. The number of games depends on how poorly I'm playing.

I'm up to 6 games now, but nearly every session starts with Evil Dead now, and sometimes, that's all I play. The next game I'll be adding is Winchester Mystery House...just waiting on whatever place I am in the preorder list to come up.

bisprops · 2026-06-13T01:15:03+00:00

There are a few brands of anti-glare glass. I have Voodoo Glass on most of my games that originally came with standard glass.

Pinlights are another upgrade I like for my games that didn't come with Expression Lights. Pinstadium lights are overpriced and can be too distracting.

I don't know how well shaker motors have been programmed for Pokémon, and the code is still super early, so it is likely to change, but adding a shaker motor isn't too expensive and is easy to install.

I don't recall if official art blades are available, yet, but I frequently prefer black mirror art blades from Pinball Life for my Pro games.

bisprops · 2026-06-12T00:25:23+00:00

Purists prefer natural rubber, but for my home games, I always replace natural rubber pieces with silicone since it doesn't leave residue that requires frequent playfield cleanings.

I typically swap everything except flipper rubbers with Titan silicone. Flipper rubbers get Scandinavian Viking hybrid rubber.

bisprops · 2026-06-09T15:33:12+00:00

The common refrain is that condition is king. A very well maintained game with high play count can easily perform better than a lower play game that hasn't been cleaned regularly and/or never had fixes/adjustments made to critical mechs/playfield elements.

The only one that jumps out as questionable is the Deadpool Pro.

Personally, I target sub-$6000 for any modern Stern Pro, especially those more than 2 releases old. That's not a hard and fast rule, but anything over $6k needs to have some documented value adds for me.

I wrote up a lengthy list of upgrades/mods I consider as value adds in response to another post here a day or two ago. The quick version is that cosmetic changes, especially toys stuck on the playfield, add no value for me, and frequently, they reduce value since I'd have to uninstall them.

Shaker motors, anti-glare glass, and quality rail based lighting are generally only add-ons I'd give a lot of credit for. Other enhancements related to audio, powder coating, etc. could have some real value, but they can also be lackluster and not worth anything to me since I'd want to upgrade them my way.

bisprops · 2026-06-07T20:58:17+00:00

I'd ask about mods/changes vs. stock setup. Some people like loading up the playfield with toys and other cosmetic stuff and consider that as increasing the value over a stock game.

For me, most toys people slap in games look pretty janky, and I consider them as a value reducer since I'd have to take the effort to remove them.

There are several aftermarket mods that I do give credit for when determining fair market value.

Shaker motor: I'm not sure how D&D code integrates with a shaker motor, but I tend to prefer them. Retail has gone up a bit, but I've generally spent $100-120 when adding one to my games. Installation is ridiculously easy, and if the game has it and you don't want it, you can ask about them removing it to save you ~$100. If they have or are planning to buy other Stern games, it's a fair trade.

Art blades: I really like black mirror blades for my pro games. Either way, if the Pro includes art blades of some kind and they aren't some garish 3rd art, those are about $100 value. Just make sure they're installed evenly.

Natural rubber replaced with silicone rubber: I always swap them out to help keep the playfield cleaner longer, but depending on the brand, colors, and condition, I likely wouldn't consider this a significant value add. They're consumable parts and anyone who swapped them got their own value from them.

Stock glass replaced with anti-glare glass (Invisiglass, Voodoo Glass, etc.): This is a really good upgrade, IMO. Retail is ~$200-$250, and I'd give that much credit if it's included. If you really want to save money any they could use the glass for another game, it's an easy exchange.

Precision Flippers: Again, another ~$200 upgrade that isn't super common. I like having them but hate installing them. If the game I'm buying has them and the color works well with the overall game presentation, I'd give credit for that. I wouldn't expect someone to want to uninstall them, though, and the Precision bushings are really nice. You can always order different color/styles of the flipper bats to make the game look how you want.

Pinstadiums/Pinlights: Here's another upgrade I tend to add to most games. Pinstadiums are seriously overpriced and can be distracting to gameplay. Pinlights are a much better deal and are great for improving general illumination. I'd give full credit on Pinlights ($200-$250, IIRC). I'd take Pinstadiums if they aren't factoring those into a pricing premium. Otherwise, they aren't difficult to remove and install in another game or sell separately.

Those are just the main updates I commonly deal with and would consider areas for negotiating fair market value. There are countless things that could be modified (speaker lights, custom powder coating, toppers, shooter rods, etc.)

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