While we’re still in the throes of Winter in the Northern hemisphere, Spring is just around the corner, which means that a new pinball machine from Stern can be expected. Last night I saw a mention of their potential Spring 2020 release on several pinball focused Facebook pages, which looked official enough, and today Stern confirmed that with a little tease on Facebook.
In browsing the usual resources for information, the rumors state that this one is a re-theme of the Star Wars Home Pin. While I have little interest in the theme (only time I’d come across Heavy Metal was seeing it in the collection of movies at a friend’s house, but I’ve never watched it; there was also a Heavy Metal arcade game, but I’ve never played it), I really hope that they aren’t re-using that, as in my humble opinion, Star Wars is one of Stern’s/Steve Ritchie’s worst playfield layouts that is far more frustrating than it is fun.
Per this image that has been floating around out there (I’m not sure who posted it first, but it does fit with the other image, so it probably came from a distributor…but shame on whoever saved it with this horrible compression ), this isn’t one of Stern’s main releases though…just something for true Heavy Metal fans (kind of like Supreme or Primus). Interesting that instead of coming up with a set number that they will do Made To Order, which sounds like a smart way to go about it.
With this being an LE only machine, one does not have to despair if you’re hoping for something else this Spring. The rumors are stating that Stern’s next wide release is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by John Borg (not sure which iteration of TMNT it will be, if that is true), with