That looks amazing, nice work! Do tell how you wired it up to pulse...I ordered the recessed version of the button and would also like to do this.

Sweet! I too added a big 2-inch to my Hobbit as well as a gold ring shooter. I like that pulse action @trumpanche!

Hats off to Modelvisionary for the fabulous start button and shootermods too!

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Yes please share the wiring mod you speak of, thank you!

Edit: nevermind I found it

I have an extra One Ring shooter in perfect condition for sale. It's the version on the right in the pics. $65 shipped within United States.

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My problem with the Hobbit/LOTR clear shooter rod ring nob is that it discolors to a yellow/fecal/bile stained hue with time. The attached photo shows the discoloration after 4 yrs. of age. That's alright with me since I'm obsessive/compulsive with anal overtones. Even with the discoloration, the gold ring is the focal point.

Note #1: Donate to Pinside if you haven't.

Note#2: Thank you Trumpanche for the Bag End Gate.

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Haven’t been loving my Hobbit lately ...game times seem awfully long. Nonetheless just ordered the gate mod which may not shorten game times but seems like it should be there giving me more things I can do safely when not in multiball modes. Excited to get it in the machine and give it a try! Thanks for tips

It changes eveything...

I have a strange Hobbit issue, although extra balls are set to 4, when the Extra Ball shots are lit and I hit them they change state to indicate I hit the shot but am not given an extra ball!

Any suggestions.

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Also why is stacked extra balls disabled? I can not enable it.

Man, That's awesome.
Forgot I even had this.
Had to dig out a shoebox from the closet to find it.
I've had it since high school (late 80's).

Remember kids
Just say no

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Thats a bad ass dugout right there! Thanks for sharing!

Come play mine. It kicks the shit out of me.

Pull the center and outlane posts. Made my game a lot more fun.

I've had this poster since the 90's..

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Thank you so much for the video! The button is nice, but your wiring mod takes it to another level!

My intent with post #9906 was not to offend or interfere with any LOTR shooter rod sales. Here's what happen: I was taking a shot of Jack Daniel's & accidentally dropped my wedding ring into the shot glass and said/thought: "That looks like my LOTR shooter rod." I started to see RED and then a lightbulb came on: Buy the blood red model! So I did @ Modelvisionary. You can purchase it on eBay are through Pinside (see post #9850). It is ring size 22, 36mm or 1 1/4 in. in diameter, the standard shooter rod size.

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Lots of physical and code setting adjustments you can make to the game if you want to reduce ball times if that's your concern. I removed the center post and the inlane/outlane rubbers to keep ball times down and keep it interesting. You could always put in lightning flippers or turn off extra balls, turn up the mode difficulty or turn up the Erebor difficulty

Looks like I got some tuning up to do when I install the gate

Pinball-Ike Thank you VERY much for the kind words and I'm so glad you're enjoying it. Someone was saying this gate was part of an early design cycle, but I've never heard/seen the source of that info. I'd be super interested if anyone could dig it up...

GoldenBear I'm glad you're giving it a go! I hope it adds some additional interest to keep you kickin' barrels!

Hey y'all - as far as the pulsing light on Bill's Arkenstone start buttons, it takes a certain 4-pin Molex connector and a little lamp controller and some insulated terminals. It's not complicated, but to gather the right parts and tools is sort of a pain and may not be worth it for a one time build. If anyone wants me to put one together for them, though, I'm happy to make them and include installation instructions and whatnot!

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1305-trumpanche-mods/04917-lamp-control-mod-for-arkenstone-start-button

BTW - the low profile start button is REALLY REALLY nice too. It blends seamlessly with the original LE cabinet and the crystal has this incredible depth to it - it's very hard to describe other than sort of bottomless... I'm also impressed that the gold bezel actually looks classy - it has sort of a glitzy chiseled appearance!

I think if I had a Smaug special edition, I'd still go with the 2" because it fits the art on the cabinet so well and it's hard for anything to stand out on that cabinet if it's not BIG, but for my LE, I think I'm sticking with low profile!! (although I reserve the right to change my mind on a whim - it only takes a minute to unscrew one and screw in the other one in )

Modelvisionary/Bill/William: You have two additional mod options for you Arkenstone crystal: If it really "picks up & refracts the room light so that it seems to glow even when not lit", why not make an Arkenstone shooter rod. If you do, Hobbit owners must decide between between a started button or a shooter rod. One wouldn't want to have both external to the cabinet. The second option is to mount a crystal mod variant centered on the game back panel pillar sculpture above Thorin. I'm tempted to purchase your smaller start button and adapt it. I could even light it, though it may not be necessary if it really reflects/refracts light. With that, Hobbit owners could have one crystal inside cabinet and one crystal external.

I don't know much about this title, and seems to be a pretty low volume changing hands. I'm looking to round out my JJP's (only missing this and WOZ). I've heard some negatives about this game, but heard the same about Wonka and it's my favorite game. Huge LOTR fan, so love the IP on the Hobbit.

Would anybody be able to give me a link or a quick description off the different version of this game? From the JJP website, I can see the SE, LE, and Black Arrow editions, and then from looking around I can see a Smaug edition. Assuming the chronological order was SE, LE, Black Arrow, Smaug? What's the difference (other than the armor colors)? Did they do technical changes like they did the series of WOZ machines (light boards)?

Probably subjective, but from a collector standpoint, which is the one to own?

Thanks for any insight!

They are all the same, different colours the Black arrow are the most limited, I believe.

Choose which one takes your fancy. i don't run the Hobbit in comp here, other than that it's a most enjoyable game and probably the most immersive pinball machine I've ever played. Especially through good headphones.

I'd choose whichever artwork you like the most. I chose the LE for that reason. It was a recent build, so had all the updates as well. I like having the characters on side of the cabinet as opposed to only the dragon. That's just me though. They all play 100% the same.

I just recently picked one up and as a previous black arrow owner, I went with smaug as I prefer the art package compared to the rest and that gold smaug. If you get smaug just make sure it has the latest fixes installed. Apparently that is a consideration on the LE too. The way I understand it, LE was original one than Jack said let's do a special LE which pissed people off (smaug) then they did Black Arrow (which imo, is the worst b/c the armor sucks).

The game plays much differently than the rest - not super fast but super deep and has some of if not the best theme integration along with music in pinball.

It's usually people who are repeating what they hear with pinball machines, or theme based crap.

I've heard heaps of people say Hankin Orbit 1 is a 'skidder'. It'd probably be the last pinball machine to leave my collection. I consider it pinball distilled. I think those that diss it either don't love pinball or have never played a good one. If it was the only pinball machine i had, i'd be a happy man and my mates would be happy too.

How good is the extra ball animation on Hobbit? Compare that to the gross spit in the face on Walking Dead.

I want to join the club! If anyone is looking to sell a Smaug edition in Southern California, please let me know. I’m willing to drive quite a distance for a nice one, or arrange shipping with a trusted Pinsider.

There is a nice flier I found in this group explaining the differences between the hobbits. Except for the SE it’s all cosmetic. Post #9544

I think the order was LE, Smaug, LE and then BA (and Standards sprinkled in).

I was in on the preorder (2+ years before they shipped). Jack said that people could 'upgrade' their LE preorder to an Smaug SE at no extra cost (which I elected to do). At the time the LE was 8500 and the Smaug was 9K - OR - you could order the Smaug edition IF you ordered before Dec 31, 2015. Some distributors got a few Smaugs in their inventory for customers that wanted the Smaug after the end of the year. After those Smaug's were accounted for they just built LEs and Standards until they did Black Arrow. As for the question on which is more 'rare' I would guess Black Arrow (but can't confirm).

It really is just cosmetic so pick the one you want. Either way, just be sure the pin has all the 'fixes' in place. I think the ones built BEFORE July 15, 2016 needed the updated ramp flaps, left rail, and beast clear blocks. After that date all Hobbit pin models had the fixes installed at the factory. Another thing I would recommend is try to get one with the RadCals - they are great!

Other than that, enjoy! It is a blast to play and own. It is certainly much harder to get now than it used to be.

Interessting, Ive heard nothing but praise.

Amazing! Incredible! Cinematitic! Best game from JJP ever! etc...

It’s incredibly coded.
I liked it at first and the longer I owned it, I loved it even more.

Having a problem with my Mini Display. So I'm loosing Red every now and then. I've already installed a new VGA cable, that seemed to help for a while but the problem still comes back. If you put it in test I will just not have Red. Not really much to the little screen, i took that apart but not really anything can be done with that. Doesn't seem like much can be done on the MPU also. Possible a reflow on VGA connector. The Board itself isn't very expensive. Not sure if i just get a replacement Motherboard or could this be more of a mini display issue? anyone else have this problem?

Does this board look like the correct one?

ebay.com link: MSI H81M P33 Motherboard Intel H81 LGA 1150 DDR3 DVI VGA USB3 0 mATX

It looks ok, what is the model number of the mainboard on your game?

Somebody posted this link for the screen a while back and I jotted it down in my notes...

https://www.buydisplay.com/lcd-4-3-inch-tft-display-module-in-480x272-vga-video-av-driver-board

that's great, makes me want one more.

Just as a heads up since these games never seem to pop up in the PNW, I'm planning on selling my Black Arrow soon. I'm the 2nd owner, it was routed for a bit before I got it. Smaug mouth currently not working (I never adjusted the end points after updating code so I suspect the servo is burnt up ), hoping to get around 6500ish for it. If you're interested before it hits Market feel free to PM me, hoping for a local sale at the moment.

Thanks that's really cheap also.

Looks like the same one. Anything hard about swapping over the parts?

Really? I always hear people think that it’s boring, floaty etc. I think others are realizing it’s really not like that but for many, they still do. Hence the price being the lowest jjp by far.

Its pretty easy.

I put an I5 cpu in mine and a Samsung SSD.

It boots pretty fast, gameplay is about the same.

I plan to change out the samsung ssd to an m.2 drive via the usb 3.0 to see if i can get a faster boot.

I have a few western digital black drives and some m.2 to usb adapter/enclosures.

I put cliffys on Hobbit last night. Not the easiest job, particularly on the left side, but I'm happy with the results. I was getting a little wear around the holes.

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It was a bit humorous to hear the guys on the Slam Tilt Podcast complaining about the supposed uselessness of The Hobbit's upper flipper in their latest episode. (spoiler: they are NOT fans of TH)

They're obviously unaware of Travahontas 's fabulous Bag End gate mod!

Its changed my game completely!

I did the cliffy on the right about a month ago. Looked at the left side and everything that had to be removed and said "nope!". I know I need to get it done, but been super lazy about it.

Yep, I also heard a lot of the same complaints before getting one:

1. Boring
2. Bare playfield
3. Floaty
4. Long ball times
5. Multiball heavy

Being a huge LOTR/Hobbit fan, and already owning an LOTR pinball (don't mind long ball times), I took the plunge. I'm so glad I did. The music, the callouts, lighting, gameplay variety, full assets from the movie, etc make this game amazing.

With that being said, is it as great for people who don't care for the movies? I think it is still the least liked of the JJPs by most players.

Looks good. Do they affect gameplay at all?

I bought these to add to my game as well. Need to replace the ramp flaps too. Not looking forward to it.

Correct. Topside, you have to remove:

- The pile of gold (one nut)
- The green diverter plastic (two nuts)

Underside, you need to remove:

- The DWARF bank
- The VUK

This gets you access to the nut you need for removing the small post. Fairly involved but I got it done.

No gameplay impact. I was starting to get a little chipping around the holes so it was time. Past time.

Too funny!

Reminds me of the person on Twitch who has the username ‘Hobbits3rdFlipper’, which made me laugh out loud the first time I saw it, but now the Gate at Bag End kinda ruins their joke!

We loved the pin when we first played the first releases and bought one without ever seeing a Hobbit movie. We didn't watch the movies until about 10 months later when the kids bought us the DVD set for Christmas.

I can see the point of "floaty" compared to the pins that tournament players have designed. But not while in any of the modes. The pin is a top 5 for me. Super fantastic, intense, immersive. I need to be "in the mood" to play and battle with it. One of the best integration of code, graphics, sound, music, and licensed assets. A theatrical masterpiece. The light shows are as good as it can get without having RGB GI. Can you tell that I really, really like this pin?

I have a Flash, a Fathom and just sold a Centaur. 2 x A grades and a B+.

Tell me the Hobbits floaty and i'll laugh in your face.

With the 3rd flipper mod I find myself working solely on modes for the first time, and I am a very early adopter. I have had my game since week 4 of production.

The 3rd flipper mod has me playing the game as it was envisioned. Modes are everything, multiballs are incidental.

Im amazed that this wasnt part of the original setup of the game.

I really love this game, its never leaving.