FYI - I purchased the second to last Smaug NIB directly from Jersey Jack five months ago (07/27). At that time, Jen said that they still had one more in stock. I believe that these were units that were ordered but never paid for. It was nice because it came with all of the fixes/upgrades already installed.

Quick clarification - you can choose modes by hitting the left
Ramp, and you cycle through
Them using the flipper buttons, and you can change until the ball reaches the inlane.

Yeah but there are still distributors out there that have them for sale so anyone wanting one can still get one NIB.

The M target stopped popping back up. Haven't had a chance to look at it yet, but is it probably a broken spring? Hoping that's all it is. I put the new springs in last year hoping they held up better. Also, it made that funny noise I was hearing before, so I'm glad to finally figure out where that sound was coming from.

I was so sure WOZ was going to be my next pin, but seeing all the 3.0 gameplay videos has moved Hobbit to my next pin. Need something to complement my JJP POTC LE.

Highly recommend the combo...

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Switch the plug for that drop target with another and see if the problem follows. If it does, it's a board issue, if not, drop target issue.

Might I trouble you for a small loan...?

Seriously can't go wrong with either one. Woz is deeper and tougher to play and understand. Love both my hobbit and woz and neither will ever leave.

Where can I find an explaination of every mode in the Hobbit Manual version 3.4?

There isn't one. There are also extra points if you play groups of modes in a certain order based on movie scene sequence and extra points for playing modes while getting to certain point on the map. None of this is explained. There is almost no end to the depths of this game. It's more adventure than any game in the history of pinball.

Just got to Barrel Escape for the first time - Amazing! Such a rush, I love it.

Traced the M target opto wire back and pushed connection in better. Seems to have fixed it hopefully

Cool!! Same for me this week too.
Honestly, those scenes are amazing! I never reached the 3rd scene, so for now my favorite one is "Into the Fire".
I have this pinball since 3 month now, playing with outlanes opened and center post removed so it will be hard to reach it but this is what I want I don't want this to be too easy.
Killed Smaug 2 times, Won Into the fire 1 time in less than 10 tries and Barrel Escape 1 time too in 2 tries.

These are awesome especially since the centers allow for the light to pass through naturally through the pf plastics. The only problem is that they are too wide, specifically where the ball drops from the 3 wire forms. I had to pull my belt sander out to carve out the drop points properly. Otherwise, well worth the $.

I agree, the are great but too big so I pulled mine out. I need to sand them down to get them to fit. If the were a tad closer to the size of the plastics they would be perfecto

Downloaded the full 3.0 install tonight. Yes, it's awesome. But so sad to see the ending LED sequence changed. Was the coolest thing ever to see Smaug breathe fire over the playfield. Must've shown it to every last friend and family member - it was that cool! The sequence has been changed to just a bunch of random lights.

Why oh why would they remove the coolest lighting feature in any machine ever? Please tell me there's a setting!

That’s coming back in 3.10 I believe

It was a bug, wait
For 3.10 after they get the last Dialed In update out.

Anything I can use to remove the ball trails from the ramps?

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Any pinball playfield cleaner will do just fine, since it’s the same dirt you find on the playfield. I use mr. Muscle kitchen cleaner (european product) to clean playfield, ramps and plastics.

https://www.blokker.nl/p/mr-muscle-keukenreiniger/1134880/images/full/1134880.jpg

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I could not agree with you more. I was so bummed out when I saw they changed that!!!

It's a bug, fixed in next release.

Hey guys – I'm having a New Year's eve party for my pinball league tonight. Didn't know about the Smaug mb shut down bug when I installed 3.0 last night.

How rare is it? Should I expect it to happen? If it happens once, will it continue to happen through the night? Played a few games last night and it seemed fine.

Darn, looks like 2.0 is off the website and I'm sure I don't have it on my computer any longer. I guess just having you guys help me understand what to expect will help me to take a deep breath. Thanks!

I’ve only had it happen once in approx 80 multiballs, so I wouldn’t worry about it.

Relief! Thank you. I'm always touting The Hobbit as the best pinball machine ever to my friends. And the more they play it, the more they tend to love it. So I just want her to be a shining jewel tonight! Thanks for the response.

I haven’t had the issue at all yet. I wouldn’t worry about it.

Hobbit translight mod:

Sidelights and bottom are warm white with a dimmer. Top is an RGB controlled led strip replacing existing strip.

https://lermods.com/products/dialed-in-pinball-led-strip-translight-side-lights-kit

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Wow rob that looks awesome.

Has anyone had this error? If so can you give me a heads up where to look? I checked the goblin pop up but everything seems to be ok. I’d really appreciate any input, thanks.

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Looks like your Goblin face target on the pop up isn't working. Needs adjusting or broken wires.

LTG : )

Check the up switch on the goblin bracket, mounted right near the playfield wood. It has a roller actuator on it and they can break off from the beast going up and down. Without the actuator the switch will never close - thus the stuck open error.

I’ll take a closer look,thanks.

Thanks for the response, I’ll look for that roller sounds like that might be the problem.

Party went great. Thanks for the encouragement. No 3.0 issues at all. They even called The Hobbit as the last game at 2 AM!

So out of all your pins which were the most popular at the party?

Your collection is awesome!

WD40 is the best and will prevent any potential rust spots .

Rust spots on stainless steel ?

LTG : )

I've got some rust spots on expensive stainless steal kitchen knives ( so probably not the best stainless steal) either way WD40 works great.

A quick Google search shows lots of examples of rust spots on stainless steel and ways on how to remove them . I'm not saying the ramps will get any rust at all but I did have a getaway high speed 2 from Greece that did have some rust spots on it so now I'm always precious.

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Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. The roller switch was broken and now just need to order one and I’m back on my adventure.

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Waxing the metal parts is a better solution.

Collinite wax is designed for metal and works very well for playfields too.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JK2D06/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_XsBlCbP9VFGYA

While wd40 does dry out after awhile, it also can attract black dust since it's a very light oil. This is not acceptable for pinball use overall.

Waxing won't " clean " the ramps . I'm going off what George Gomez recommends , as long as you put it on and wipe it off with a clean rag I don't think you'll have any issues .

I know there are different kinds of stainless steel. I didn't know any could rust. Thank you.

LTG : )

Neither did I until I had a problem with it . I think it could only be an issue if you lived near the sea or in a very tropical humid climate (like Greece) .

Collinite wax is used as a protective treatment after corrosion and rust is removed.

WD40 does a pretty does job of loosening minor corrosion with a scrubby sponge.
Afterwards remove the WD40 with naptha or 99% rubbing alcohol.

After cleaning off rust and corrosion a coat of collinite will prevent further corrosion.
Its used in marine applications world over on all metals, especially aluminum and stainless.

Boat owners absolutely swear by it.

I imagine any pinball machine located near the sea or a water body or in a high humidity environment would really benefit from it.
There are a lot of unnecessarily corroded games out there.

Man I don’t think I would ever want to get WD40 near my game - I assume people are pulling the ramp out of the game entirely if they’re using that. It would be impossible to get off unless removing it with Naptha or something.

Yeah, if you use it anywhere you have to clean it all off with naptha or rubbing alcohol.

After metal is all clean and shiny, applying wax of any sort keeps corrosion down to the minimum.