PSA for Rush Pinball Owners

Cary Hardy·video·6m 4s·analyzed·Feb 1, 2022

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.018

TL;DR

Rush scoop chipping PSA: Stern's metal protector fix won't work; mylar wrap recommended

Summary

Cary Hardy PSA warning Rush pinball owners about chipping issues around the scoop caused by ball rebounds. Stern's proposed fix of adding metal protectors is criticized as ineffective due to the beveled edge design creating a weak point. Hardy recommends mylar protection as a better interim solution and suggests Stern will eventually need a proper redesign or mylar solution.

Key Claims

Rush pinball machines are experiencing chipping around the scoop due to ball rejects hitting the beveled edges
high confidence · Cary Hardy reports this issue has been brought to Stern's attention with photographic evidence
Stern's proposed fix of adding metal protectors will make the problem worse, not better
high confidence · Hardy provides technical analysis: metal protectors create a cavity between protector and beveled edge that causes steel balls to bend the weak metal, exacerbating damage
Adding cliffy protectors (even genuine Cliffy brand) would not solve this problem according to Cliffy himself
medium confidence · Hardy states 'Talk to Clippy and he'll tell you himself that that is not the fix even with his or what Stern is using'
Mylar wrapping is the most effective interim solution for Rush owners
high confidence · Hardy recommends wrapping mylar around the scoop edge from both top and underside of playfield as 'most bulletproof' method
Stern is aware of the issue and working on a long-term fix in progress
medium confidence · Hardy states 'from what I hear, they are well aware of it and there is a fix in progress'
Design problems often don't manifest until games reach public play with thousands of plays
high confidence · Hardy notes this is a common issue: 'You don't really know how bad it's going to be whenever you're designing this game until you get it out into the public'

Notable Quotes

“The thing is, whenever you have a beveled edge of a scoop on your playfield like this, and then you add these clippy protectors, clippies, it's only going to make the problem worse.”
Cary Hardy@ 2:02 — Core technical argument explaining why Stern's fix is counterproductive
“So a couple of options that you can do is one, eventually Stern is definitely going to have to come up with a better fix. They're not going to keep sending out these games with these useless protectors that are causing more problems than they are fixing.”
Cary Hardy@ 3:34 — Prediction that Stern will need a comprehensive redesign solution
“I'm leaning towards them more going towards the mylar route because that is the cheapest and the easiest fix.”
Cary Hardy@ 3:57 — Hardy's prediction for Stern's most likely long-term solution path
“This is a game with a lot of multi balls and a scoop that is straight up the damn middle So it is bound to get a lot of rejects and a lot of rebounds off that entire area.”
Cary Hardy @ ~5:45 — Explains why Rush's design inherently causes this problem with its scoop placement and multiball gameplay
“Does this suck? Yes. Should Stern fix this issue? Yes. And from what I hear, they are well aware of it and there is a fix in progress.”
Cary Hardy@ 5:07 — Balanced acknowledgment that this is a real problem requiring genuine fixes

Entities

Cary HardypersonStern PinballcompanyRushgameCliffy Engineeringcompany

Signals

?
community_signal: Content creator providing technical guidance and protective solutions for affected owners
high · Hardy releases PSA with mylar wrapping instructions and encourages community sharing to inform all Rush owners
?
design_philosophy: Beveled edge scoop design on Rush creates structural weak point that exacerbates chipping with ball impact
high · Technical analysis showing how beveled edge + metal protector creates cavity that bends under ball impact, worsening damage
?
product_strategy: Stern's post-release metal protector fix identified as inadequate; long-term solution in progress
high · Hardy reports Stern is aware and working on proper fix; interim metal protectors viewed as band-aid measure
?
product_concern: Rush pinball machines experiencing systematic scoop chipping from ball rebounds hitting beveled edges
high · Photographic evidence provided to Stern; issue is widespread enough to warrant manufacturer acknowledgment and attempted fix

Topics

Manufacturing defect / quality controlprimaryProduct support and post-release fixesprimaryPlayfield design and beveled edge mechanicsprimaryAftermarket protection and modificationssecondaryCommunity education and PSA distributionsecondary

Sentiment

negative(-0.65)— Hardy is critical of Stern's ineffective fix but maintains professional tone and acknowledges design complexity. Shows frustration with the problem and the inadequate solution, but tempers criticism by noting Stern is working on real solutions. Overall sentiment is negative toward the issue and current fix, neutral-to-positive toward Stern's awareness and commitment to resolution.

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.018

I'm about to talk about playfield issues and it's regarding Stern's actions, but here I am wearing a Jersey Jack t-shirt, so... What's up guys and welcome back to my channel where I talk and do everything pinball, so if that sounds interesting to you, then hit that subscribe button down below. This is meant to be a PSA, hence the title. So evidently there is an issue with certain Rush pinball machines. I say certain because, as per usual, there may be a select few that are getting this issue, but it's being magnified and seems worse than it probably is. So take what I'm about to say with a little bit of grain of salt. People are starting to see chipping around the scoop for Rush. Sadly, the two photos that I have are done by an old-timey camera, evidently, because the quality is quite poor. This was brought to Stern's attention, and as per their usual, Stern, with a problem, they go on and do a quick fix. Now, I'm all up for a quick fix if it actually fixes the problem. The thing is, this isn't going to fix the problem, guys. And I've done just a very rudimentary drawing here really quick using Photoshop. So please excuse the quality of it Please excuse the crudity of this model I didn have time to build it to scale or to paint it So the problem that we getting is the ball rejects or how it hits around the edges of this scoop And it's causing little chips to come out around the rim of it. Stern's fix is adding clippy protectors. They're not actually clippy protectors, but that's what we know them to be. Adding metal protectors, might as well be aluminum, to wrap around this scoop. And this is what they're hoping will keep more chipping from happening. The thing is, whenever you have a beveled edge of a scoop on your playfield like this, and then you add these clippy protectors, clippies, it's only going to make the problem worse. And people are harping on the fact that they're not using clippy. Oh, it's not clippy quality. That's why this problem isn't fixed. If they were using clippies, the problem would be solved. negative. Talk to Clippy and he'll tell you himself that that is not the fix even with his or what Stern is using. The problem is the beveled edge on the play field and the weak point that is created. I'll give you a visual. Now the beveled edge on this drawing right here is not even as beveled as the actual game of Rush. So take what I'm about to show you and magnify it a little bit more you have a rounded edge and then their fix is to put a protector over it and it like okay good that protects the edge the thing is that cliffy creates a nice straight 90 degree angle and when you do that you create a cavity in between these two spaces and this metal like i said isn exactly like you know tungsten or anything like that it's a very weak malleable metal so whenever you're hitting it with a steel ball it's only going to bend the metal and since you have an open cavity underneath this then it's just going to do nothing but cause more issues over time. So a couple of options that you can do is one, eventually Stern is definitely going to have to come up with a better fix. They're not going to keep sending out these games with these useless protectors that are causing more problems than they are fixing. So they're either going to have to start adding Mylar to the playfield or a playfield redesign when it comes to that scoop beveled edge or creating a protector that actually coincides with the beveled edge. I'm leaning towards them more going towards the mylar route because that is the cheapest and the easiest fix. So for you guys out there that have already received your game and you want to protect it, your best method is to get you a piece of mylar and you may have to go from underneath your playfield to remove the scoop portion so you can actually effectively wrap the mylar from the top of the playfield, down the scoop and even all the way to underneath it. And that's the most bulletproof. But you could probably get away with just covering up all the way around the edge to keep the paint from chipping This is a game with a lot of multi balls and a scoop that is straight up the damn middle So it is bound to get a lot of rejects and a lot of rebounds off that entire area. So I highly recommend you protect the edges of the scoop with the Mylar bare minimum. And that's pretty much it. There's no sense of me beating any more on Stern for this problem right here. This is one of those things that You don't really know how bad it's going to be whenever you're designing this game until you get it out into the public and it gets thousands upon thousands of plays over and over again. Does this suck? Yes. Should Stern fix this issue? Yes. And from what I hear, they are well aware of it and there is a fix in progress. So we shall see what that is in the future. So there you go. Hopefully this information helps you Rush owners out there. and for the other Rush owners that are not aware of my content, make sure you share this video with them so they are in the know. Give me the thumbs up, subscribe button down there, ding my dong, that way you can be notified whenever I upload something for your viewing pleasure. And until next time, guys, peace out.