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Best of the Fest
- Thread starter James
- Start date
Spinal tap? 
I didn't hear a good word about that machine all weekend. Just awful. Saying that Ultraman was only slightly better.
I didn't hear a good word about that machine all weekend. Just awful. Saying that Ultraman was only slightly better.
Whichever one wins I'll consider buying, as long as it isn't Foo Fighters, Scooby Doo or Spinal Tap.
@Gonzo did you do the impartial review in the end, as in others saying what they thought, laboski is the one I really want to play, but having played none on the list I won't vote.Spinal tap?
Scooby Doo was off every time I passed it. Spinal tap had multiple issues (not including the unhitable ramp shot). Foo fighters is a great game but very intense, labowski is my favourite.
Foo premium is in the list now, I'd have voted that had it been there earlier but voted Labowski.
@Gonzo did you do the impartial review in the end, as in others saying what they thought, laboski is the one I really want to play, but having played none on the list I won't vote.
Hello mate, I've not done a video comparison but will happily do so. I've got so many pinfest videos to upload first though.
For the record, my vote goes to Lebowski. Thanks to @philpalmer I've had both Foo's, Scooby and Lebowski in this house during the past month so I've had a close look at all of them, and they are all very good games. I'm afraid I didn't get a game on Spinal Tap.
The Premium is the better of the two games, but pro is still a lot of fun.
Foo Prem, Scooby and Lebowski all have upper playfields that add to the game rather than detract from it imo.
I managed 1 ball in Scooby then whisked away to meet someone and after that it had a que that seemed endless.
The next day it was same deal and then late afternoon I noticed it was off
However I did like what I saw it looked packed and well made and couldn’t fault it in that respect.
TBL I absolutely loved and I wish I had bought @Dave Bishop founder one with all the extras but until then I never got to play and room is my current issue.
I had quite a few games on TBL but the kickback either didn’t work or was pitiful weak. Later in the day the top flipper stopped working and the main flippers had a weird sticky issue that’s hard to explain but you couldn’t pulse them to ball pass and felt strange.
I noticed at one point both scooby and TBW were down so each of them had issues but being on freeplay they were permanently manned when working so an ideal play test.
Out of the two I still stand by my Scooby order as it’s about 2k cheaper and looks a ton of fun.
Edit.
Forgot to mention Foo which I didn’t play as my mate has one which I’ve played quite a bit but both seemed faultless over the weekend and didn’t see any of them down so that speaks volumes I guess.
The next day it was same deal and then late afternoon I noticed it was off
However I did like what I saw it looked packed and well made and couldn’t fault it in that respect.
TBL I absolutely loved and I wish I had bought @Dave Bishop founder one with all the extras but until then I never got to play and room is my current issue.
I had quite a few games on TBL but the kickback either didn’t work or was pitiful weak. Later in the day the top flipper stopped working and the main flippers had a weird sticky issue that’s hard to explain but you couldn’t pulse them to ball pass and felt strange.
I noticed at one point both scooby and TBW were down so each of them had issues but being on freeplay they were permanently manned when working so an ideal play test.
Out of the two I still stand by my Scooby order as it’s about 2k cheaper and looks a ton of fun.
Edit.
Forgot to mention Foo which I didn’t play as my mate has one which I’ve played quite a bit but both seemed faultless over the weekend and didn’t see any of them down so that speaks volumes I guess.
Didn't play TBL or Spinal Tap.
Got a fair few games on Scooby Doo on the first night and loved it once I worked out where the ball was going to come back from for each shot.
TBL never got a go on at the show as the flipper coils got too hot after being played none stop but have played before at PBR. Love the theme but think I prefer Scooby.
TBL never got a go on at the show as the flipper coils got too hot after being played none stop but have played before at PBR. Love the theme but think I prefer Scooby.
Cheers James, it was nice to see you back at a pinball event, it's been a while.
Good to be back, shattered today but good to be back!
Thanks, it be interesting, I've always had a feeling lebowski might be my type of game, but with all the troubles with it, as in not shipping and impossible to get in the UK, it was too much money for me to gamble on. My non pinball friends, one of my kids and even the wife who has now played a couple of goes, which is more than any other machine I've owned, Ghostbusters isn't going anywhere for a bit, maybe even a fair bit. Hopefully now there a UK distributor a few will come onto the second hand market after pinball heaven great warranty runs out when I'm looking for the change. With the second hand discount
maybe 
I was going to ask about TBL reliability but you've answered it here. Hopefully the issues were down to the sheer amount of plays, but still not great considering they are designed to be on site.I managed 1 ball in Scooby then whisked away to meet someone and after that it had a que that seemed endless.
The next day it was same deal and then late afternoon I noticed it was off
However I did like what I saw it looked packed and well made and couldn’t fault it in that respect.
TBL I absolutely loved and I wish I had bought @Dave Bishop founder one with all the extras but until then I never got to play and room is my current issue.
I had quite a few games on TBL but the kickback either didn’t work or was pitiful weak. Later in the day the top flipper stopped working and the main flippers had a weird sticky issue that’s hard to explain but you couldn’t pulse them to ball pass and felt strange.
I noticed at one point both scooby and TBW were down so each of them had issues but being on freeplay they were permanently manned when working so an ideal play test.
Out of the two I still stand by my Scooby order as it’s about 2k cheaper and looks a ton of fun.
Edit.
Forgot to mention Foo which I didn’t play as my mate has one which I’ve played quite a bit but both seemed faultless over the weekend and didn’t see any of them down so that speaks volumes I guess.
I’ve had mine since 2016. It’s been very reliable at home.
To be fair, Lebowski was switched on for pretty much the whole weekend. The kickback activator switch had come loose, that's why it wasn't working . . . . I just didn't know until the end of the weekend. I've reconnected it now and it's fine.
The upper flipper not working caught me out. It only stopped working in the car mode called 'car chase' which is the first one suggested when the screen prompts the player to choose modes. The object of Car Chase is to avoid the car and hit the loops, if you hit the car, the flipper stops responding and the ball drops back to the lower playfield apparently.
The two other car modes are called 'kill dudes car and 'car impound'. Both of these require multiple shots on the car and during these modes the flipper always worked.
We did have a flipper binding problem on Thursday night on the lower left flipper, but Daz sorted it out with a quick adjustment on Friday morning and it's still working now. They're Bally Williams parts so easily tweaked apparently.
I feel bad about Scooby, because it had been here for a month and I don't feel that enough people got to experience it. It was switched on for Thursday and most of Friday.
It's worth pointing out that the machines in the lobby were being played until 3:30am.
The machine that caused me least problems was Foo Fighters, which ironically had been the most troublesome at home.
Deadpool had quite a few issues but in fairness it's done three Pinfest's, and has been on loan numerous places over the years. I'll make sure it gets a good service before next year.
Having recently done a league meet, ‘reliable at home’ doesn’t help when machines are really getting hammered
Our Fish Tales broke down three times in one afternoon, our TNA developed a fault with the tilt bob, and the flippers on our AFM started going (and packed up completely while we were on holiday). All either rock solid or intermittent faults in normal home play.Every single game gets issues, both in my house have playable problems at the moment, and I’ve just got to find the time to sort.
Batman has the issue on the crane recording shots and ACDC had a pop bumper adjustment issue.
Crikey we had two smoking incidents that I know about in the main hall and something smelly in the classics.
I’ve had Sterns out the box (TMNT) that needed adjustments and others with optos plugged into the wrong place on a board.
Owning a game random things will happen, a rubber will snap, a cool end pop, a bulb will break, a screw will come loose. Could be play 1, 101, or 1001.
Judge a machine on how easy it is to repair. Batman I changed the rubbers on the carousel (and there’s a screw in there come loose too actually), blinking nightmare. Out of everything that went wrong in the newer games I know about (don’t know what, if anything happened to Spinal Tap), everything seemed fixable if you had the time, knowledge or parts. Which on any NIB would be the case. The big concerns would be around boards and lead times, but we’ve been there with Stern and Node boards right? They still sell so I hear.
Batman has the issue on the crane recording shots and ACDC had a pop bumper adjustment issue.
Crikey we had two smoking incidents that I know about in the main hall and something smelly in the classics.
I’ve had Sterns out the box (TMNT) that needed adjustments and others with optos plugged into the wrong place on a board.
Owning a game random things will happen, a rubber will snap, a cool end pop, a bulb will break, a screw will come loose. Could be play 1, 101, or 1001.
Judge a machine on how easy it is to repair. Batman I changed the rubbers on the carousel (and there’s a screw in there come loose too actually), blinking nightmare. Out of everything that went wrong in the newer games I know about (don’t know what, if anything happened to Spinal Tap), everything seemed fixable if you had the time, knowledge or parts. Which on any NIB would be the case. The big concerns would be around boards and lead times, but we’ve been there with Stern and Node boards right? They still sell so I hear.
Having recently done a league meet, ‘reliable at home’ doesn’t help when machines are really getting hammered
What's a tilt bob?
I think with modern games the only way to keep them all 100% for 10am to 3.30am each days is to have somebody standing next to each game permanently with the key ready to fix a switch/ball hangup/playfield mech issue. and who wants to do that for 3 days haha ??? no-one! The best you can do is respond asap to a text saying 'issue xxx'
We had a few ball hang ups in 2 places on mg and 1 mech unscrewed itself a few times until we got the lock tight out! You can never find all these things until you put them into a real environment as nothing ever happens at home with your own play haha because hours and hours of play alter things slightly slowly until the issue occurs, not instantly
This is why new games from wms in the 80s,90s always went on test for a few months in secret first before anyone ever saw them officially.
We had a few ball hang ups in 2 places on mg and 1 mech unscrewed itself a few times until we got the lock tight out! You can never find all these things until you put them into a real environment as nothing ever happens at home with your own play haha because hours and hours of play alter things slightly slowly until the issue occurs, not instantly
This is why new games from wms in the 80s,90s always went on test for a few months in secret first before anyone ever saw them officially.
Dazlin
Registered
Totally loved Scooby (before it broke) I think it was a fun game with plenty of action and was fully loaded, Maybe it just clicked with the current level I am at. I have a foo's (Pro) which is still growing on me as I learn all the shots and modes.
It's when you shake the machine & it ends your ball, and don't call me Bob
Sorry - I must be in Airplane mode
Did anyone actually get any proper footage of Spinal Tap at pinfest?? Would be interested to see more than a few seconds of it in action to see for myself what's maybe good and what's maybe not so good.
