Oh Goody! The Munsters Joins the Barncade
Back in February I mentioned that we were adding a Munsters LE pinball machine to the Barncade. In the middle of March it finally became a reality. The snow had not quite melted off completely, but enough to where we were able get the truck out and drive to our distributor's place, Next Level Pinball in Oregon, which is theoretically about an hour from home. Next Level is both a distributor and a museum, and they have hundreds of pinball machines available to play all day for a flat rate. Unfortunately we couldn't stay long on this trip because we needed to get back before traffic made the return trip unbearable. Four accidents had already happened on one freeway, leaving us only one way home that wouldn't have us sitting in traffic for hours. However, I will be going back to Next Level soon for an all-day experience, especially since they have several games on my bucket list like Twister, Lost in Space and America's Most Haunted. The return trip will be the subject of a future post. I was able to play a couple of games both on Deadpool and the new Pirates of the Caribbean from Jersey Jack, and I loved them both.
We got the game home and waited a couple days until we had a path cleared in the Barncade, since there is a lot of construction mess going on right now. We got the box out of the truck and onto our custom cart, wheeled it to the base of the stairs, strapped it down, and then winched it up like we've done with all the other machines.
Then it was time for our first new in box (NIB), unboxing experience. Everything went pretty smoothly initially, and we were treated to our first glimpse of this beauty. The coffin cabinet art is okay, but I would have rather seen something else like Grandpa in the Dragula. The cabinet art isn't really going to be seen, though, so it's the backglass and playfield that are the most important to me.
I struggled a bit to remove the glass. Unlike our other games, it seemed to bind multiple times and I was terrified of breaking it. But fortunately it finally came free without incident. Also, tilting the playfield seemed a bit clunky as well, and again I was afraid I was going to scratch the art on the inside of the cabinet (or sideblades as they are commonly referred to). I removed the kickout mechanism for the lower playfield, dropped the two tiny pinballs in, and re-installed the kickout. Then the playfield went back down and the glass went back on.
After removing all paperwork, packing material, and tape, it was time to fire up the machine. I noticed the game boots up in about half the time that The Hobbit does. Just look at that gorgeous mirrored backglass!
The LCD screen is small but I think is still preferable to a Dot Matrix Display (DMD). I enjoyed seeing clips from the show (I've only ever seen a few episodes so the material is all new to me), and the scoring information seems perfectly fine.
The big Herman Munster on the playfield really catches your eye. But there is a lot to look at everywhere. The detail is amazing! I like the left ramp (stairs going up), which lifts during certain parts of the game to reveal the Spot bash toy underneath. Hitting the ramp accurately results in the ball going behind the backboard and coming out the right side (with the graphics of a large sewer pipe at the exit hole). The ramp snakes across the playfield to end up at the left outlane. The right ramp does a 180-degree loop before returning to the right inlane. The three bumpers to the right of Herman satisfyingly pound the ball back and forth. There is also a loop that is reached from the left or right side that travels behind Herman and the bumpers. Then there's the Dragula lock on the left side, Grandpa's scoop next to the right ramp, and large mono targets on each side of the playfield. And I haven't even mentioned the lower playfield yet! In short, there's plenty to do (and look at) in this game.
I really enjoy the lower playfield. The smaller balls seem a bit toy-like and floaty until the flipper settings are changed to "soft", then it feels a lot more natural. Within that lower playfield is a vertical upkick to the left, a machine bash toy in the center, and a ramp to the right, with a loop running behind them all. When a ball drains, the kickout ejects it back into the playfield, until times runs out. The time remaining is counted down with a digital counter, and adds to the pressure of hitting shots until the counter goes to 0...at that point, the flippers go dead and the ball drains. It's possible to not only have multiball going with the 2 balls in the lower playfield, but to have them going at the same time as multiball on the upper playfield! The lower playfield is lit up beautifully, and its absence in the Pro Edition makes that part of the playfield quite a bit darker on the Pro.
We ended up with game# 416 out of 600, so ours was not one of the extra 100 machines produced that increased the Limited Edition from a quantity of 500 to 600 machines.
So far, Kelly and I absolutely love this game. It's visually stunning, it fits our burgeoning monster theme perfectly, and it's a blast to play. The game was bashed by some over on Pinside, but I think it's brilliant, and Kelly and I both agree it's worth every penny. Sitting next to Scared Stiff, it makes Elvira look ugly, so for now it sits next to The Hobbit, and both put on beautiful light shows.
I have received some mods that I will be installing soon...a 3-D model of Grandpa sitting in his electric chair (replacing the current flat plastic piece), some 'spark generator" covers that go over the flashers, 3-D eyeball pop bumper covers, a 1313 customer shooter plate, and a Hot Wheels Munsters Koach. We will definitely spring for the topper when available.
Final thoughts: we are very pleased with our purchase. While I wish it had been cheaper, the colors are so bright and vivid, and the lower playfield is fun, so we feel we made the right decision in the long run. This is, quite simply, the best machine in our collection to date.
We got the game home and waited a couple days until we had a path cleared in the Barncade, since there is a lot of construction mess going on right now. We got the box out of the truck and onto our custom cart, wheeled it to the base of the stairs, strapped it down, and then winched it up like we've done with all the other machines.
Then it was time for our first new in box (NIB), unboxing experience. Everything went pretty smoothly initially, and we were treated to our first glimpse of this beauty. The coffin cabinet art is okay, but I would have rather seen something else like Grandpa in the Dragula. The cabinet art isn't really going to be seen, though, so it's the backglass and playfield that are the most important to me.
I struggled a bit to remove the glass. Unlike our other games, it seemed to bind multiple times and I was terrified of breaking it. But fortunately it finally came free without incident. Also, tilting the playfield seemed a bit clunky as well, and again I was afraid I was going to scratch the art on the inside of the cabinet (or sideblades as they are commonly referred to). I removed the kickout mechanism for the lower playfield, dropped the two tiny pinballs in, and re-installed the kickout. Then the playfield went back down and the glass went back on.
After removing all paperwork, packing material, and tape, it was time to fire up the machine. I noticed the game boots up in about half the time that The Hobbit does. Just look at that gorgeous mirrored backglass!
The LCD screen is small but I think is still preferable to a Dot Matrix Display (DMD). I enjoyed seeing clips from the show (I've only ever seen a few episodes so the material is all new to me), and the scoring information seems perfectly fine.
The big Herman Munster on the playfield really catches your eye. But there is a lot to look at everywhere. The detail is amazing! I like the left ramp (stairs going up), which lifts during certain parts of the game to reveal the Spot bash toy underneath. Hitting the ramp accurately results in the ball going behind the backboard and coming out the right side (with the graphics of a large sewer pipe at the exit hole). The ramp snakes across the playfield to end up at the left outlane. The right ramp does a 180-degree loop before returning to the right inlane. The three bumpers to the right of Herman satisfyingly pound the ball back and forth. There is also a loop that is reached from the left or right side that travels behind Herman and the bumpers. Then there's the Dragula lock on the left side, Grandpa's scoop next to the right ramp, and large mono targets on each side of the playfield. And I haven't even mentioned the lower playfield yet! In short, there's plenty to do (and look at) in this game.
I really enjoy the lower playfield. The smaller balls seem a bit toy-like and floaty until the flipper settings are changed to "soft", then it feels a lot more natural. Within that lower playfield is a vertical upkick to the left, a machine bash toy in the center, and a ramp to the right, with a loop running behind them all. When a ball drains, the kickout ejects it back into the playfield, until times runs out. The time remaining is counted down with a digital counter, and adds to the pressure of hitting shots until the counter goes to 0...at that point, the flippers go dead and the ball drains. It's possible to not only have multiball going with the 2 balls in the lower playfield, but to have them going at the same time as multiball on the upper playfield! The lower playfield is lit up beautifully, and its absence in the Pro Edition makes that part of the playfield quite a bit darker on the Pro.
We ended up with game# 416 out of 600, so ours was not one of the extra 100 machines produced that increased the Limited Edition from a quantity of 500 to 600 machines.
So far, Kelly and I absolutely love this game. It's visually stunning, it fits our burgeoning monster theme perfectly, and it's a blast to play. The game was bashed by some over on Pinside, but I think it's brilliant, and Kelly and I both agree it's worth every penny. Sitting next to Scared Stiff, it makes Elvira look ugly, so for now it sits next to The Hobbit, and both put on beautiful light shows.
I have received some mods that I will be installing soon...a 3-D model of Grandpa sitting in his electric chair (replacing the current flat plastic piece), some 'spark generator" covers that go over the flashers, 3-D eyeball pop bumper covers, a 1313 customer shooter plate, and a Hot Wheels Munsters Koach. We will definitely spring for the topper when available.
Final thoughts: we are very pleased with our purchase. While I wish it had been cheaper, the colors are so bright and vivid, and the lower playfield is fun, so we feel we made the right decision in the long run. This is, quite simply, the best machine in our collection to date.
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