Kleenex, Band-Aid, Coke...when your brand's name essentially becomes a synonym for a particular item that you sell you know that you've been successful. Cliffy and his pinball scoop protectors are like that. News broke late yesterday that Cliffy's Pinball Innovations is working on an aftermarket replacement for Stern pinball's RUSH pinball machine. The OEM scoop protectors have not been holding up for owners and as far as I know a successful manufacturer replacement has not yet been issued.
Oh his website yesterday, Cliffy said the following:
"Rush scoops, vuk, target bank and ejects in PLAY TEST as of 3/16/22. Front scoop not holding up as I would like. Better than the factorys but not as well as I would like
Here's some pictures of the protectors that Cliffy is currently working on:
In addition to Cliffy, another newer company has thrown its hat into the RUSH scoop protector ring. A vendor on Pinside named "NinjaCamp" has been teasing a new "Rush TPU Scoop Protector" product. Made from 3D printed flexible plastic, NinjaCamp has said that its product may be available as early as next week on its Pinside store for $30 for a single scoop protector and $55 for a double. Here's the company's initial announcement:
"Hey everyone, I wanted to announce a new option to fix your scoops and protect your delicate parts...the "Rush TPU Scoop Protector" is real! Using NinjaCamp's "near-patent pending" technology we've been able to create what I believe is the ultimate fix for our scoop issues. Why is it the ultimate you ask? (I'm glad you asked) There are a couple of reasons:
1) Easy to install
2) No metal on metal
2) Excellent protection
4) Color choices!
Unlike traditional protectors, the TPU version will not cause additional wear to the ball, nor will the protector develop any ugly "wear spots" over time. Furthermore NinjaCamp's process allows for a paper thin top-side edge which improves the overall performance of the scoop. Don't believe me?? Well, first, go fuck yourself and second...just kidding about the first thing. In all seriousness, we've been testing these protectors in two locations for over three weeks with thousands of plays and zero issues! I'll also mention that the solution is aesthetically pleasing. We teamed up with Outpost Kodelia's amazing design team to produce a part so perfect that the "tuning fork" sound from the factory scoop is still in tact.
We will be selling this solution in two versions, full and partial protection. This allows for owners to decide if they wish to improve the front facing (extremely problematic) protector or both protectors using the same solution. Our engineering team has has also discovered that premium/LE versions of the game may have an additional metal bracket on the underside. We've developed this solution for both configurations, however we would prefer to know as we can slightly tweak the part to ensure a perfect fit.
I've attached a couple of pictures of the protector in "Ghost Rider Grey" and "Bastille Day Black". These should wet your appetite while we configure the store and finalize the details. Partial protection will cost $30 whereas the full protection will be $55. I highly recommend the full protection because it looks and works so awesome! Everything will be listed on Pinside (sales support these forums) and available to ship globally starting next week.
Lastly:
A little bit about NinjaCamp: NinjaCamp, entered into the mod business around the time that Rick and Morty was ending the production run. There were some problems to solve, including a very similar TPU portal protector (https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1326-ninjacamp-mods/05107-rick-and-morty-tpu-portal-protector). We've had fantastic success with that part and subsequently have literally worked to patent the process of producing 3D printed TPU protectors. The quality and fit are amazing! You can read a little more about us on this thread https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/ninjacamp-mods. I encourage you to post questions there or PM me directly so that we don't clog up this thread too much, but hell...it is a forum so do whatever you like ."
Here's a link to the company's Pinside Shop and some pictures of its prototype protectors:
