I've owned both. Kept Avengers longer, but both really fun. AVLE is the better overall pin, in terms of theme integration, shots, innovative layout and interesting rules. I also prefer blue to HULK, but that's just personal taste.

Your collection doesn't help me much as I was looking to see if you liked fan layouts or prefer more original layouts and you've got a good mix of things. That's really the question that answers this riddle. If you prefer fan then go for TFLE. If you like an original layout then go for Hulk.

If I had to get rid of one I would lose AV but that is only due to theme. When dialed in and you are playing a good game AV is the more satisfying game due to the shots. In that same breath it's also the one that will piss you off the fastest if you are bricking all your shots.

Clear as mud yet?

Based off your collection I'd got Hulk since it's something that you don't already have (layout wise).

I'd go TF, but I just happen to like the game. I understand the lure of Hulk. It is a pretty package, but I don't really like the shots and I really don't like the sound package. On TF I love the sounds. I like the shots (except Ironhide on the LE). But even Ironhide doesn't drag it down too much (make the changes to the ball gate).

So these games are a tossup. They both have their fans, and they both need to be dialed in to play well. Hulk is the prettier overall, but TF has the better play (opinion). These are both games that you need to know and play first. Toss it out the the Pinverse and see if someone can invite you over for some plays on a good one. Then decide the best one for you.

Neither is my vote

I've owned both and still have the TF Decepticon. I enjoyed Hulk but sold it after only a couple months. I love tough games like ACDC and Metallica but Hulk was tough in a different, less enjoyable way - more frustrating due to the tight shots and somewhat of a grind once you get past the multiballs and mini-wizard mode. I think both are good buys at the current price and you can always sell or trade down the road. There's a reason though that so many AVLE's sell after a relatively short time - even Pinsiders that are advocates for the unique layout and other positives of the game.

I owned a TFLE and played a lot of Avengers both pro and LE.
Both Gomez designs and have similar problems

Here's my beef with the two games
1.) Lots of little design flaws out of the box (some fixable some not)
2.) Software is very repetitive, more so on TF
Tf shoot four shots and start mode
All the modes are really similar in play as well despite the characters being very different.
Example; Shockwave could be a rumble mode but instead it's shoot orange triangle like all the other modes.
Avengers
Shoot shots to start hero mode
Play hero mode and sometimes enter battle
While the code is better than TF it's still not great.
Long ball times with not enough variance in rules is probably why I don't care for either.
3.)Toys
Nothing special

Granted I understand people have different taste but neither game did much for me. I only bought TFLE cause it was cheap and I felt breaking even or a very small loss would be easy. Had it six months then broke even.
TF is my girlfriends favorite though she doesn't play too much. She really liked hitting Optimus prime in the nuts.

If you can get them for a good price then by all means play them and have fun. Prices are pretty affordable on either and they're newer sterns so it's not like you'll be able to beat either in a week.

Some folks love these game
I'm happy to have owned TF and broke even in the end, but I wouldn't buy another even if it was cheaper than the previous one I had.

Avengers, but......

The Avengers has to be modded and dialed in. Here's some things to consider.
1) Stock setting on Avengers is horrible. For instance, you want to Finish Black Widow, GOOD LUCK. You have to shoot her shot 3x to "Start". You have to shoot it again like 10x to "Finish" and then you go into Black Widow Vs. Hulk, which is fun, but then you have to shoot Black Widow at LEAST 2 more times (and Hulk too of course). So. I'm not good at math, but that means you have to hit the widow ramp PERFECTLY about 15 times to Start/Collect/Assemble/Finish her mode. Read this as IMPOSSIBLE. Other shots are still chopping wood. SOLUTION: Turn the modes to Easy, even Extra Easy, and this game OPENS up. You start activating the VS. multiball modes, which are a real treat in the game and really should be something you can achieve every time up...
2) Loki blocks your view to Nick Fury, which is kind of a big deal, since he is the Add-a-ball for all the multiball modes. So, you HAVE to move him.
3) LOKI lights are impossible to see. Mod required to see. Mod is nontrivial. BLergh.
4) Tesseract cube is garbage, upgrade it and it becomes Awesometown. Like seriously, one of the best mods you can do for a game.
5) Full Plunge almost always causes a bounce back to loki, which sucks. So you need to work on that plunger and the launch ramp stuff to dial it in so a full plunge goes into the pops (really nice for completing Cap'n during multiball.
6) BLAH BLAH BLAH. You can read about it in other threads, there are other things you have to do too.

But... BUT.... If you do all those things, Avengers is a superior game to TF. No doubt. IMO, of course.

-Wes

I'm a bit like you, prefer newer sterns. Sold hs2, bsd and taf. Never played tf, but I love my avengers, and I have the pro. Had it just under two years, still play it a lot. Full led, zdoor cube and external sub. LEs are dirt cheap now.

Wow, thanks for playing. Not.

I like Avengers more, personally. The problem you *might* have, is that you already have TSPP and LOTR in your collection. Those are the two ultimate long ball time games, and most other long ball time games (such as avengers and tf) pale in comparison to those two.

I dont see avengers as a particularly long ball playing game, nowhere near lotr and tspp. Some balls can be longer, but its a pretty fast playing game.

I owned both LE's and no doubt TFLE is better, you must however have a shaker, change settings to virtual lock and remove the right gate.

Hated my avengers LE, and I love comic book theme pins...

What are you considering trading? If you say LoTR then I say don't do it !

I had A LOT of fun with TFLE. Granted it was at a time I had frequent guests and lots of gatherings 'parties' and TFLE was always a hit because the rules were so easy to follow and the sounds/music were over the top.

That said, it doesn't have the best lasting power like a game like LoTR. So be careful what you're trading. Neither AVLE or TFLE have strong last ability compared to any pin in your collection. So whatever you decide on, plan on trading it again in 9 mos or so after you've played the hell out of it.

Oh. And TF decepticons is the best looking of the 3! How are the decal wrinkles?

Avengers is an absolute POS. You'd be better off with Transformers which is a pretty fun game even if the code is not that great.

Hulk, TF is more common, dialed-in AVLE- not so much. have both, like both.