I'm in the club! Picked this lil' guy from a fellow Pinsider here - looking forward to really digging in! It was too easy on default settings, so I cranked it up to 7.5, opened the outlanes and pulled the center post - makes a HUGE difference!

Everything works great and looks fantastic! Smaug's jaw is a little crooked - is this common and is there a simple fix to the mechanism? Also - the VUK coils have to be really turned up high to be consistent - is this common as well?

-PC

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I've noticed how similar they play, for sure. I'm not entirely sure how to even get to the battle with Smaug, but I assume I was close. On my fifth game I got to all of the Arkenstone modes, so I assume the battle with Smaug was next.

Playing deep into the Ark modes is a blast! Really feels like an epic battle.....

Oh - well holy hell, I thought there was a different epic battle with Smaug after starting all three Ark modes Yes, I've battled with Smaug quite a bit then. I obviously have not been following the evolution of the game.

What happens after you complete the five objectives when the three Ark modes have already been played?

Wow - this is just fantastic news. I picked up the Hobbit just about two months ago, so I didn't have to experience the growing pains. Right now, I haven't grown weary of the current ruleset (I also have a 7.5 pitch, opened the outlanes an dropped the center post) - loving it the way it is.

This enhanced ruleset is going to be an amazing experience!

We've been playing this morning and love it!

I am getting a "HOBBIT DROPS" malfunction on startup - but I have no idea what that is. There are no HOBBIT drop targets, and no coils called hobbit drops, so I have no idea how to test or service.

Anyone else get this error?

Is anyone having trouble with hits registering on the Orc (upper right pop-up - I think it's the Orc)?

My game only registers about 40% of the hits. It's perfectly adjusted (just a simple leaf switch) and tests 100% in switch test mode using a pinball.

If others are having trouble, I wonder if it is a software polling issue? If it's isolated to my pin, I can't imagine what else would cause it?

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

Ever since I've owned this beauty of a pin, I wished there was some physical model to represent Hobbiton and I kept eyeing the empty space just above the Bag End feature lamp that leads to the pops. So this Friday I took a day off work and set my mind to finally making something that would look good there, but not obstruct anything on the playfield. It's a bit of tricky area with two layers of plastics to work around.

I came up with this first draft. I think it looks really good so far and fills that void that was bothering me. The green shades I used for the grassy areas need to be a closer match to the surrounding plastic artwork, but I'll save that for the next iteration.

The pictures below are before I applied a matte clearcoat to the finished model, so it's currently curing.

I'm also working on the overall shape to make it look a little less like a clock

Any other suggestions would be welcome!
Pinside2 (resized).jpgPinside3 (resized).jpgpinside1 (resized).jpg

That's actually exactly how I originally envisioned it. Doing it that way will greatly reduce details in the Bag End entrance (it will just be too small to paint well) and become more of a terrain piece. It's definitely something I will experiment with. The squarish look of the model as it it now has got to change; gotta try to find that happy medium. As far as lighting - that will be tough. So maybe an internal light that shines out of the windows? I've also gotta figure out the JJP electrical system and figure out a good place to tap power. I assume it would be a 12v tap somewhere?

I'm second owner of this pin - I always assumed that sticker was stock - ignorance is bliss

Here's a shot of the mod with a matte clearcoat showing the base plate.
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I just pulled the glass to check - I had no idea there was an opto switch there . Nice decal! That would be great if this mod solves a potential problem. I don’t recall which modes require a Bag End shot, but now I’ll pay attention.

I’m going to work on getting more of an inset look to it as pictured without shrinking the entrance too much.

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I've gotta see if the final version can be a potential viable product. If it takes two+ hours to post process and paint, it will probably cost too much (I just don't have that kind of time to dedicate). Hopefully I'll figure out a good process to make them at a reasonable end user price. The surrounding models look so good on Hobbit, I have to make sure whatever I make looks as if it came from the factory. Stern Pro pins are easier to make mods for since there are hardly any other models on the playfield to integrate with

I will for sure though get an .STL version out there for all to print free on Thingiverse! I did this for my last mod for GoT Pro (link below) and it worked out good. You can print a sweet version for free, or buy the more complex lighted version. I am going to try to stick with this same concept for Hobbit:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3601649

I'm going to need a bigger printer :O

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I'm with you on that! After measuring, I decided that the final model can be no taller than 65mm or it will start to obstruct the visuals in the pops. The pic below is an eye level view. I'm going to try to stay within that footprint. Probably have a little bit of play on the left and right to add inset hill details.

Baf End Eye Level (resized).jpg

Man, do you a great eye Yeah, that Cliffy has been bent up a little bit since I owned it. It hasn't made the shot any harder, so I figured don't fix what's not broken!

Oiling the spinners was the best thing that ever happened to my Hobbit. I love nailing those spinners now and hauling a$$ to Erebor For some reason, I have a problem hitting those orbits

Nice! I've only finished RitD one time and, man, was I excited! What is this about a 4x Into the Fire?? Is the 4X specific to completing RitD? There is so much awesome depth in these rules, I'll probably never know them all.

No $hit?! This changes everything. I guess it's time I stop beating "The One Ring", LOL!

Sure enough - I just got to Into the Fire (qualified with "The One Ring"), made it to level three and only scored a total of 97,000 for it. Time to get serious

Coming along great on this mod - it's become a more complicated model than I thought it would.

Added some color-matched terrain details and some pretty dramatic lighting that casts some good shadow effects and even illuminates the green on the playfield. The lighting taps into any standard 2-pin Molex 12v under the playfield. I'm currently tapping the upper right GI spotlight, so the lighting intensity varies during gameplay.

I was hoping someone that is still experiencing the opto switch problem could PM me. I'd like to send you one of my non-lighted protoypes to see if it solves the problem. I can't reproduce that error on my pin.

Pics attached here don't look as good as the real thing - man, is it hard to photograph LED lighting.

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I'm sure it is whichever is the hardest mode. I don't think Keith would penalize us for completing easier modes alongside the harder ones....

Thanks everyone for all for the comments and feedback on making this mod - it really helped in getting the details in order! I've really been working to make this something that I can produce for more than just my own machine and that the final piece has a professional finish worthy of this pin. You should see this pile of protoypes - oh wait, you CAN see

I'm going to order the materials I need to make ten of them for now as a trial run to see if it is sustainable. I would guess three weeks or so to get them finished. I'll charge $85 shipped domestically ($90 to Canada) - no international for this run. They will definitely never be cheaper than this if I make more beyond the first ten.

As Gandalf would say "A good mod is never cheap, nor is it too expensive, it is priced precisely where it needs to be".

PM me or let me know in this thread if you want in. I'll send a Paypal iinvoice when ready to ship! Those who have already expressed an interest, I'll make sure to reserve a spot (or two) if you want in.

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If this trial run is sustainable, I'll definitely ship overseas - will add to my store front here on Pinside!

Hmmm - I haven't seen that behavior on my Hobbit, but I certainly have on my WOZ with the old 5v lighting system. I'll be curious about this solution, too, since I thought the new lighting system got rid of first generation WOZ-like problems.

JJP pins definitely require more upkeep than Stem games simply because there is way more mechanical/electrical "stuff" to deal with and Hobbit is perhaps the most complicated one. I've experienced the problems you listed above except for the false switch hits and the LED lockups. Switch problems usually just require a little tweaking and are common on all pins.

The first thing you have to do is go through the playfield assemblies that are causing the problems and figure out how they work by manually actuating each mechanism and observing what is happening. Since most of the assemblies are redundant, you'll have no problem observing a working mech. Once you figure out how it works, the problem should become obvious.

And I wouldn't give up Hobbit - it's an amazing pin that is really something special.

These.... are.... almost.... DONE!

I've PM'ed everyone on my list, I think. If you signed up and I missed you, please PM and let me know....

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Lol - I hear you. This is exactly how I feel about my early order 5v light board WOZ. Sometimes I can’t handle even looking at it

That's awesome, KBW! Great to see the mod in action on another pin!

My plan is to start a mod thread either tonight or tomorrow but I was waiting for some validation. I tapped connector #94 for power (Coil #041, YEL/BLK, "PLAYFIELD SPOTLIGHTS (LOWER)) but the label was written on the connector with a sharpie, so not sure that was consistent at the factory.

Is that how your connector was labeled, as #94? Was the installation clear with good instructions?

I have another series of these ready to go (yes, that was my labor day weekend) for sale on my Pinside storefront (international shipping, too) and will start a thread for them. Great advice on the wire ties. My original mod has only a 24" of power wire to the mod, the production version has 36" to allow enough play for users to test other 12v power sources if they want to experiment with lighting behavior. Guess that leaves a bit of extra cable dangling about .

Thanks for posting - was really waiting on some feedback!!

Hmm, I included the picture of the wire going over the back edge as an example of how NOT to do it, LOL The pic say "NO!" - maybe I should just take that picture out :/

So glad you like it and thanks for the helpful advice - I'll start my new thread to stop plugging up our Owners Thread

Edit
New thread here:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinworlds-the-hobbit-bag-end-mod-now-available

Marketplace Ad Here:

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1139-pinworlds/02856-bag-end-mod-for-the-hobbit-pinball-machine-

This! I agree - game definitely bumps up power to get that ball out of the VUK on an as-needed basis. Drives me crazy, though, since sometime it takes five times to get it out of there and I have TIMERS going!! Really disrupts flow, too. Putting my eye right on that wireform, it's not obvious where the resistance is coming from. I have my coil power nearly at max. Hope someone comes out with a better fix for this.

Fantastic job on color matching!

Nice!! I have NEVER killed Smaug and I've had the game well over a year. I'm beginning to think there is something wrong with me.

I own both and think Hobbit is better. They both are really good pins, but Hobbit just nailed the license and I am still discovering new things about it after owning for a couple years. And I still HAVEN'T KILLED SMAUG!!!!

So, I still haven't done it. I ALWAYS choke on the last shot. Now, my 12yo kid JUST did it last week for the first time ever. (I've owned it for about two years) Unfortunately, I was on a conference call for work so I couldn't see the sequence of events. Also - I lost money since I had a $5 bounty on Smaug's head this month

Congrats! That's the way you do it!

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Wait - I thought the gold trim on the head was standard from the factory? I bought the pin on the secondary market. Hmmm - curious...

It really does change the game completely! I never realized how crappy the pop bumper actions was until I installed Trumpanche's gate.

You go IN the front door of Bag End, and OUT the back door - otherwise the dreaded Sackville-Baggins will see you leave and no doubt want something. This is known.

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Hmm - my gate installation is about 80% feeds the flipper - 20% still get through. Reverse those percentage before the gate installation.

Trumpanche is right on - after taking the summer off I just put these on the bench for painting. It does take some time as they require some precision painting but they should be available to purchase here on Pinside in a couple weeks.

Cheers!

Chuck

Hey Ashram - sorry to see that happen I've seen a couple occasions where an airball has destroyed the base on some earlier versions of that mod.

I've uploaded a base replacement that can be 3D printed - see Thingiverse link below.

I unfortunately sold my Hobbit awhile ago - we REALLY miss it! I do believe rockrand has my old machine She's a beauty!

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5760384

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