Supposedly Stern might be working on Jurassic World.

Hello all,

New here to Pinside...been a pinballer here in South Dakota for a little over a year. I have an opportunity to buy a LE Hobbit for $7000. One owner, has kept it in very good condition. I really enjoy the Hobbit movies, and think this will be a great home pin for me as my first game. Was thinking of DI or Pirates new but I think this is a good value and my style of play. I have seen some remarks about used games going mid 6,000. I'm sure the price is right for a quality machine as this. Looking forward to taking some pictures and posting when the game is home this weekend. Hope to connect with others around the area. Have a good one!

6500-7000 is the going rate at the moment ...yea a few outliers lower but in general below 7k for a mint low play is very fair .

The game is awesome - lots of great shooting and it’s a much more immersive game than WOZ or Pirates. DI is similarly killer, but a very different game. You can’t go wrong

If you like the movies you'll love the pin . There are so many things to do and different ways to go about it . I love that it's very hard and challenging but at the same time it's doable .
At first it can seem like random Chaos but once you understand the basic rules it's very easy to follow , there are still deep parts of the code I don't fully understand but that doesn't take away from the game at all . The callouts the video clips and the whole theme integration playing experience is the best in Pinball in my opinion . The LE art package and armour is killer and as RDoyle said you can't go wrong .

Finally got around to putting a proper session on The Hobbit with a subwoofer hooked up . The sound on The Hobbit is awesome but with a sub connected it takes it to another level . So easy to do . Anyone on the fence about doing it I couldn't recommend it highly enough .

Damn it, I thought I'd spent everything I was going to spend on TH!

Keep a eye out on Amazon as the Polk Subs go on sale often. It’s not as if you need a sub right away so wait for a sale.

Just bought one 2 days ago on Amazon for $89 for this pin - on sale for their prices. Rarely will Amazon go below that.

an there you have it…

https://www.amazon.com/Polk-10-Inch-Powered-Subwoofer-Single/dp/B0002KVQBA/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa

That’s a good meatball..

Does anyone have production numbers for the different versions or in total?

I've seen /750 for both Black Arrow and Smaug. Is that the same for the LE also?

Smaug had no set number of games made (i.e. 12/750). They made as many games that were ordered up to the deadline (I believe was Dec 2016 or 15 I forget).

Also, Smaug was not made in order. The purchaser could order whatever number they choose and if it wasn’t already taken you got it! I ordered #77 and got it. I could’ve ordered #7777 and if it was available I could’ve got it.

Oh that's interesting!

So are the /750 units entirely not accurate to some degree? Is there a general consensus regarding how many total units were produced?

And I keep asking this in general, but of all the current releases, which order would you buy NIB? I keep zigging and then zagging between Hobbit Black Arrow and a POTC, but I definitely want WOZ and DI too!

Seriously man, don’t buy NIB!

I’ve owned all those games but POTC (which I will eventually get), and they are all great and all different. TH is currently my favorite but we also have a WOZ I am learning to enjoy again. DI was -outstanding- and really really fun, just had to move it out for the space.

When it comes to SE no the 750 is not accurate at all. Not sure about BA.

As for NIB, I agree with Rdoyle1978. There are more than enough used ones out there in exceptional condition I would save the money and buy used.

What version, this is just a matter of preference. The BA has some things SE doesn’t but nothing dramatic IMO so go with the one you like.

You’re welcome to come to my place, in Pittsburgh, and play SE if you want. Just PM me.

Let’s say I already have a spare sub, what cables do I need to buy to connect it?

The simplest way to connect it is ( thanks to King BW ) go to Audio or electrical shop and get a single RCA subwoofer cable you don't need left and right , and a 2 female to 1 male RCA splitter . Remove the red RCA cable at the back of the silver box , insert the RCA splitter where the red cable was , plug back in the red cable and your subwoofer cable . Remove at least three screws from the Square metal plate on the back of the cabinet and push it down , then poke your subwoofer cable through the hole . Connect the end of the subwoofer cable into the RCA input on the back of your subwoofer ( I used the red input ) you might have to adjust your crossover knob if your sub has one , then it's just a matter of adjusting the volume to a level you like . And then you're done .

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It is slightly different instructions (for those interested) that use the Pinnovators sub mixer to put more than 1 pin on each sub. Pinnovators recommends that you use both the right and left channels for the best sound. Not mandatory, but this was based on their test results. The link below shows the slight differences using the Pinnovators 3.5mm stereo cable.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/hobbit-owners-thread/page/110#post-4620192

But you're itching to go in on a new POTC somewhat soon, yes? Why do you recommend going HUO? Less cost and prior issues worked out by the former owner?

I feel like building a pinball supporting roof arcade is clearly the next step for us all!!!

That's such a kind gesture, and truly appreciated my friend! I've played it at JJP when my friend and I were lucky enough to head there last year for my birthday, and there's a great vape/pinball shop in Sharon that has a Hobbit, and we've gone there twice in the past two weeks to play that and his POTC. I know I'd love to own.....both, it's just finances. Though it is seeming like buying one of the two NIB, and maybe one HUO... might be the smarter move.

Again, thank you so much for that kind offer, it's duly noted! Do you commute to Pittsburgh?

I’m not going to buy POTC NIB though - I put my ad out early so I could talk to some owners, and have already gotten some offers to sell, but I’m not ready to move another machine just yet -

Yes, less $$ and issues already worked out. Buying NIB especially right now will almost guarantee a $1k or $1500 loss. Think about that! That’s almost a whole game!

Sometimes you get mods added in which is a nice-to-have too

Oooooh, I noticed that ad today, at least I think it was yours!

Now I feel like I should buy NIB, just to hook you up for that sound advice!

I got lucky the guy I brought the subwoofer off is an audio engineer and has his own company OAD and makes high-end amplifiers. He has made the world's first fully touch screen amplifier . His setup sounded absolutely awesome . I asked him about the left right channel on the subwoofer and he said without seeing the equipment in the pin he didn't think would make any difference , either way it's still sounds great . Besides music pins I can't think of a better pin to connect a subwoofer to . It the best " mod " I've ever done on a pin .

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WOW. Those speakers!

His quote is correct - the sub does not care which input it gets, and the only tiny possibility you would lose anything is if somehow, a mix had just the bass specifically hard-panned all the way to the right or left. IF you were plugged in with the opposite connector, you would miss that one event. This would never happen on a pinball music mix since there's only the one speaker, all bass would be kept in the middle. So you're good.

I know . He played Nick Cave , Red Right Hand and it was as if the band was there in front of me .

That is awesome - he has the speakers build freely (no box to muffle rear projected sound), positioned correctly - in the middle of the room, and pointed slightly in to the listener position. Makes a Huuuuuuge difference, even with crap speakers

It looks like I am going to be joining the Hobbit club this weekend. I am picking up a modded low use HUO LE with about 7 mods with the following description.

The RGB mod is from LER mods, you can leave it off or select a color or have it fade in or out . The flipper mod is from hooked on pinball and is the one that looks like gold coins. The art blades are from PINGRAFIX and match the game with the gold coin artwork like in the dragons treasure room. The award throne sits in the middle of the loop around and has an RGB light instead of the standard green only light. The fluorescent plastics are 4 pieces around the flipper area and protect the plastics and glow green. it also has an orange trough light, and color matching hex nuts.

I think I'm getting it for a good price ($6750) and wanted to know if there was anything in particular I should be looking for on this machine. It's a 6 hour round trip, so I'm pretty much committed once I get there, but needed to know if there were any "walk away" items on this one. Supposedly the cabinet and playfield are perfect.

Other than the included mods, is there anything else one of these needs? I am already downloading the 3.1 code and will install it once I get it home.

Also, as far as moving these things, how hard is it really to take these apart for moving purposes. I was reading earlier in the thread it's about a 15 minute job to remove the backbox and playfield, but didn't know how likely I'd be to cause permanent damage doing this.

In any case, this is going as my "modern and deep game" next to my Jurassic Park. I think they play pretty differently.

Excited to join the club!

You can't trust low plays he might not have saved settings after an update . look for playfield were around the holes and shooterlane the usual stuff , and I would want to make sure it had the updated ramps and also the plastic inserts in the Beast pop-up mechs .

Main things to check: Ramp flaps curling, beast pop ups working, Smaug working, ball falling off left ramp where it drops to the inlane, vuks kick ball out right, back magnet catches ball. None f these would necessarily be a deal breaker.

How do I tell if these are there?

Don’t worry about that - the point was really that you shouldn’t trust the counted plays. Just do your due diligence and look over the game thoroughly. Frankly, there’s not a lot of issues with this game - make sure Smaug moves around and talks (just play a game and when you drain and end your game pay attention to make sure the mouth moves roughly with the speech)

check the VUKs when they kick a ball up - AND make sure the monster mechs pop up AND that they have the plastic blockers on them so the ball doesn’t get trapped

Lift the playfield and check for damage to the beast wiring, as they are known for getting pinched. If they get sliced it's a major PITA.

Lift the trap doors to the beasts on the Playfield and there should be a piece of plastic in front of the head

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So my "beast lights" look like the second picture where they are in two segments. Should I contact JJP about getting the clear pieces like the third picture?

"Also, as far as moving these things, how hard is it really to take these apart for moving purposes."

It's very heavy...like 350+ pounds. All the weight is in the cabinet, so removing the head won't help. Get lifting help with friends or rent/borrow an Escalera or other type of self walking hand truck if stairs are involved.

I took the playfield out when I moved it. Makes a HUGE difference. It's a few connections plug and play. Get help pulling it out and take photos of all the connections if you're worried about it. Otherwise look for errors, run through the tests in the menu, play at least 3 or 4 games. Either way you are not paying too much. Like any pinball machine, if you're at all handy you won't have trouble keeping it up and running.

Its quite easy to remove the playfield in this game too - there are about 12 connectors, and if you take good photos when you remove each connection, it takes about 5 minutes to reinstall. Pull the plugs from the back of the computer, lift the whole black tube of all the wires out and lay on the playfield, then lift the whole playfield out (with help!). Reinstall glass and lock bar (or not) and then just move the cab as usual. You can remove the head too - I think it weighs about 50 pounds, so it helps. But the playfield is like 100 pounds, so that's the big mutha.

ha! beat me to it

If you dont have the inserts, you should get them from JJP.
They greatly reduce ball traps in the mechs.

Joined the club today. I picked up an awesomely modded Hobbit LE with ring shooter mod, ring button, gold flipper toppers, gold lug nuts, titan rubbers, gold side blades, RGB throne, trough light, backboard light, cliffy's, padded targets and decals, flourecent plastic protectors... pretty much every mod you could want.

After moving it into my garage for staging, I noticed the Dragon's mouth isn't moving. I just installed the 3.1 code with no luck. Is there a setting for this or a way to test this easily? I can take it apart and troubleshoot, but want to wait until it's in it's final location first. I gotta wait for the ground to dry so I can take it down a hill to the walkout basement.

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There is a dragon mouth adjustment in device settings. Often it needs to be reset after an update. Open and closed number should be 15 apart I think.

Yesterday, when lifting up the playfield to replace a spring, I discovered something broken in multiple parts. The parts were a little everywhere so difficult to know from where it dropped so I have no clue where it comes from. The game still works perfectly so...

Any idea what is it?

Thanks for your help

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I'm no expert, but those appear to be the shards of narsil

Hello, I just received my ground loop isolator for my hobbit to eliminate static noice. Can someone help with install? Thank you!!

looks like insulator spacer for a leaf switch

Locate the sound board in the board cage (middle right side with RCA cables coming off the back). Unplug the male cable going into the pink jack, plug that cable into the female port on the isolator, plug the male cable coming from the isolator into the pink jack. Secure the thing somewhere so the cables don’t get into the CPU fan.
Note: if you find that the isolator knocks down the speech levels a bit, adjust them up in the sound settings.

Ok I found the broken parts. I discovered that they are all broken for E L F and M A N. And for F of dwarf.
It's the plastic that retain the letter to fall with the ball pressure.
Without those plastic, the letter fall very easily with a lot less pressure...
Looks very hard to replace unfortunately

I am a little shocked to discover this. The game has just 3 years, it looks like it will be a job to redo always except if it's a known problem by JJP and they sell now a more reliable plastic.

Probably the price of those plastics are cheap but it's the time it will take to replace them that will be crazy.

Curious to see if other owner could inspect their Hobbit to check if the problem is at large.

Thanks

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On this side ( M A N) it's completelly missing for M and partially broken for A and N.

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A few of them have failed but its not a rampant issue across all games.

When the plastic edge fails people have been replacing the mechs.

I'm not sure if they can be rebuilt.

It would be great if they could as it would be inexpensive.

Lloyd or JJP may be able to provide more insight, possibly get a credit for exchange? It's definitely out of warranty.

Before you take anything apart make sure all the connections(plugs)are properly pushed in under the Smaug area and in the cabinet where the wires go in to the main board(the big metal box in cabinet). I just went through this problem a week ago or so and it was a loose connection. Good luck.