Great British Pinball Podcast Episode 8

Neil McRae reports on Indus tournament and Stranger Things flipper improvements; discusses Gottlieb classics and aftermarket flipper modifications.

Synopsis

Neil McRae and Scott Rundell discuss Neil's recent tournament experiences at Indus in Los Angeles and the Turkey Fry Up at Pinball Republic, with extended technical analysis of Stranger Things Premium's new flipper bushings, TK lock mechanism issues, and comparisons to Precision Flippers aftermarket upgrades. They also explore Gottlieb classic games encountered at tournaments.

Highlights

• Stranger Things Premium uses new glass-filled polymer flipper bushings with less than 6mm end play vs. old nylon bushings with ~50mm, significantly improving flipper power
• The TK lock mechanism on Stranger Things Premium hasn't been meaningfully fixed; Stern shortened the ramp but the underlying mechanism remains problematic
• Indus tournament featured 18 games in main bank, 8 in high stakes, ~20 in classics banks, 20 in match play, and 20 B-play games from Captain's Auction House
• New Stern flipper bushings reduce end play to <6mm vs Precision Flippers which achieve <1mm, making Stern's solution cheaper and accessible without separate kit
• Stranger Things Premium uses a different projector manufacturer, slightly brighter with better lumens but still has alignment issues
• Precision Flippers' metal construction can cause alignment issues over time because clasps don't grip metal as well as original components
• Turkey Fry Up tournament at Pinball Republic had 60 registered players with significant no-shows and late arrivals, won by Andy Foster
• Stern Stranger Things Premium's Demodog mouth was elongated, making it harder to hit accurately than earlier versions
• Gottlieb classic games like Arena, Rock, and Hoops feature complex modes, multiball, and interactive toppers, contrary to common perception of being basic
• Flipper fade on long-playing games like Stranger Things, Godzilla, Lord of the Rings, and Turtles would benefit from new Stern bushings

Entities

• Gottlieb· company
• Indus· event
• Turkey Fry Up· event
• Cactus Canyon· game
• Elton John· game
• Godzilla· game
• Lord of the Rings· game
• Star Trek Premium/LE· game
• Stern Stranger Things LE· game
• Stern Stranger Things Premium· game
• Stranger Things Pro· game
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles· game
• Captain's Auction House· organization
• Andy Foster· person
• Diablo Rush· person
• Eden Stan· person
• James Reid· person
• Jim Belcinto· person
• Josh Sharp· person
• Neil McRae· person
• Paul M. Fresh· person
• Scott Rundell· person
• Precision Flippers· product
• Pinball Republic· venue
• Riverside Game Lab· venue