Hi all from Oz, had my Black arrow from the original owner HUO for about a month now and have spent the time while resting my sore flipper hands scrolling through the 142 pages of this thread.

Now feel qualified to say hello at least and know i won't be asking questions already answered.

I've been doing things as they arise, i'm new to Pinball (second machine) so i am very lucky to know an operator with extensive experience next town over who has showed me how to do things like repair the beast wires etc.

Now need to try and find the leaf switch that operates the axe on the slingshot and stop it going off multiple times over and over, next learning curve for me.

I am incredibly impressed by the way this machine draws me in, must have had 15 games yesterday as i walked past to get a beer. I average around 400k on a good game and my best is just over a million, but i am starting to play with some purpose now and slowly figuring out where i am in the game and what to aim for.

Really just a very average to below average player, haven't played since childhood until getting my Deadpool NIB a few months ago and the cataracts don't help.

Anyway, just an introduction and a hello.

PS; There was a question about putting Pinstadiums on Hobbit a few pages back, the photos show them on Deadpool (which has a dark area between the flippers and the middle of the playfield) where i think it really improves the game. The Hobbit, on the other hand, is so very well lit and the light show has so much going for it and so much work and thought gone into it, i think it would be a real shame to disrupt the standard lights. (see second photo)
To each their own and i know lots would laugh at my pimped Deadpool and call it clown puke too.
I have a Rocker C which is pimped out a lot, but it sits next to my standard Duke 1098 and MkIV LeMans cycles.

I do have the coolasfuk sword handle shooter rod coming for Hobbit though and i am so disappointed that while i was on page 110 or so i missed out on the last gold buttons by a day or so.

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Quick question, after i light ,ITF, what do i have to shoot to start it?

Never have time to look around on this game.

Thank you. Gandalf was telling me to shoot that hole but i thought it was to finish the mode i was on.
So next ball the ITF is still lit, do i have to re qualify something or just shoot the hole and it auto starts?

Thanks guys. Slowly getting my averages up, have only broke a million once.

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No, Black Arrow is a run of 750.

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New place i haven't seen for a stuck ball before. I thought there should have been a ball left during multi but the machine didn't do a search until i tried to start a new game an hour later....

Any one else seen this one? I'm assuming it's come off the ramp...

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Wish i could find a recipe for Sweet baby Rays Kickin Bourbon Wing Sauce.

Thanks LTG but that is not the one. I like the Kickin Bourbon WWing Sauce, i don't think their plain BBQ sauce is even in the top 23 from SBR's.

My Black Arrow also came with 5 black balls inside it from the previous owner. It looked like they were a sealed plastic bag direct from the factory.

Running 6, the black balls are ok to see. I can play in a dark room and i have cataracts.

I think the black balls may be wearing thin and looking a lighter black after about 3 months now of regular home use.

It's not a cut wire is it?

Maybe a slight loss of colour on the active balls, but not much.

They look great during multi's.

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I bought a NIB Stern Deadpool pro and a HUO Hobbit Black Arrow for my first two. I've got my head under the bonnet of both machines about equally i spose. I wouldn't discourage another brand of machine just because of maintenance, they all need it more or less.

I know have a couple of Sterns, the one JJP, some gotlieb, Williams and Bally machines and my first EM is on it's way. Buy good machines, surround yourself with experienced people and use the resource here giving back when you are able.

You'll love your machines more and more as you get to know them more intimately.

I do know what you are feeling as my Genie seems to be a constant issue after another and i get sick of the sight of it sometimes.

. please delete double post

Skill shots are all weighted, you get more i believe if you don't select it but play the one you are dealt.
Rollovers for example, the more of them you hit (in the order of lit especially) the more points. Same with the inlanes, get the flashing one and get more.

I do understand what you are saying though, you can get the same for dwarf or rollover as man or inlanes.

I dunno, Deadpool is a terrific game and 3-4 k cheaper here (i have both).

I confess i didn't think Hobbit needed an external sub and connected one to Deadpool and Spiderman that were sitting next to it.

After playing the Hobbit i decided it really could use the sub. It is spectacular, but more like thunder rumble than the music that Deadpool etc gives.

I did want to turn the sub section of the sound down, i can do that by turning the channel down on the mixer but thought that there should be a section in the menu to turn it down.
Can anyone tell me which bit of the menu (if any) control the sub sounds? Thinking it maybe Fanfare?
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The sub has a volume knob and a cross over but i am running three machines through it. I want to turn the bass down on the Hobbit, leave it as is for Deadpool and turn it up for Spiderman. I'll just pull the cover off the mixer and use the internal volume controls, i thought it may be something i could do in the menu easier is all.

Pretty common thing with up to three subs according to all the threads i've read about it here. There are people who make the mixers that i used especially for pinball with 3 inputs.
The only one that sounds like garbage is the Hobbit as it's just a rumbly thunder sort of background that i think is related to the input volume.

http://tanglestech.com/Three-way-Audio-Mixer--for-use-with-the-TPP-1035-Pin2Sub-adapter_p_28.html

Yeah so can the Aussie one i linked to that i have, just means crawling under the machines to do it is all. I'll do that next maintenance day.

Hi all, hoping for some advice.
My spider mech has been sticking up and not dropping. I knw from reading this whoile thread that LGT advises finding where the mech is binding and bending a little.
The problem is i can't see anywhere it's binding. I can feel it binding at the top 10% of the stroke but can't see anything where it's touching around the mech at all.
The only places i can see where it could be binding is the two shafts, one for the coil that goes through a sleeve and one on the mecch that goes through a little plastic split collett.

I undid the mech from the coil and they both moved smoothly with no binding seperate but now i have screwed them back together the stiff ness is worse, stronger sticking qand on 20% of the stroke maybe.

Hoping someone can tell me where to look next?

Also is there a way to reroute the green/white wires? I've already fixed it once and it's a bit flattened again.

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Figured it out, it was the front plate connected to the coil section that the toy section is bolted to. The whole mech was binding when it was together but not apart so i just had to figure which way the plate had to bend then do some experimenting to get it right. Did loose one of the stainless spring clips up into the drop targets somewhere and will have to find one of those somewhere.

If you mean the binding it wasn't that. I had to unbolt the spider mech from the coil mech and bend the plate where they bolt together one way so the assembly was truer when bolted back together and ran straight. Hard to explain but easy to see when i finally figured it out.

Does anyone know how to take the side rails off these machines? Trying to measure up for some custom rails with protectors but the small bolt at the front corner looks to be the only fixing but the rail still feels like it's either bolted or glued to the glass guide.
My Deadpool Stern the rails come off easy.

Sorry i don't know how those ones are stuck on either? Scraper where? Not on the decal?

Thanks very much mate. getting some made with protectors on them. Seems like it's the same pattern as the modern sterns but wanted to make sure with the rail off.

My Black arrow is the same colour as that.

I believe the Black Arrow is the smallest run at 750 machines.

You can bend the frame of the mech if you need to. You need to pull the mech and dismantle it to see how it slides up and down and then bend the actual mech frame so it doesn't catch. My spider was holding up because it was binding on the frame at the top of the stroke.

I have Deadpool and The hobbit, they were my first two machines. Both excellent at what they do, but what they do is very different. Hobbit is completely immersive and extremely long playing at times.
Deadpool is fast with shorter game times, although a great game can still be longish. The shots on Deadpool leave you more satisfied as a player and the strategy is easier to keep up with.
A great game on Hobbit means you really need a spotter calling over your shoulder, where Deadpool everything is simple and clear as to what you have to do, mostly you've learnt it by heart.

In short, two great but very different games.

I seem to make my largest improvements as a player when i compete against new and better players (they are all better) and my small incremental gains through playing different machines and the skills that are needed for a particular machine.

Coming home from a comp will see me practicing things i have seen, and my scores reflect that.

I have both and love them both for what they are, but i don't play Hobbit a tenth of what i play Deadpool.

I find it plays the best if you have a spotter over your shoulder who understands the game that can call the shots you need for you.

The Isolation of Smaug;

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Hobbit makes my heart beat fast on a good game. deadpool makes me sweat. Other machines make my legs shake. It's weird how they can have different effects, but Hobbit it's like my heart is gunna split a rib.

I have 15 of my own at home, but i'm currently renting Aerosmith and The Munsters from an operator mate who's had to pull all his machines out of closed pubs.

A couple of our group who don't own machines also got to rent some nice machines too. It's the way ahead.

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I own and love them both and don't give a fig what people rate them up enough to even look.

Asks for help, gets someone to go out of their way to look up every step to get you there and then writes it down and posts it for you. FREE!

Abuse the helper because he had a little crack at the same time as helping instead of laughing it off? PRICELESS!

It's a year since i bought my first and i have 17. Hobbit was my second.

I would have been very happy if i hadn't had room or cash for more pins to keep Hobbit and Deadpool for many years. They compliment each other very well as two different faces of pinball. There's many other pins here now i don't love as much, but a few that i do.

It'll save the ball sdtm from a weak return if you hit it on the way out too.

I've had to employ that last fix. It was much easier in the end to see where it was binding once out of the machine. I had to pull the whole mech apart and twist the frame.

Can't you just shut the fuck up about it or take it somewhere else tiltboss? The rest of us are here to talk about a pinball machine.

I've seen international incidents blow over quicker than you are dragging this out.

It's written on the apron next to the left flipper button. Mines says #23 out of 750.

He is right though, it's a pretty intuitive game and the callouts are all there to help you. Best tip i could share about learning it is to have a wingman calling the shots over your shoulder if you are ever having a real good game. You never really have much time, specially in multi's) to look at the main screen, and i've never looked at the samll screen while playing at all.
It needs to be someone with some understanding of the game but they can be telling you what to shoot for and you can muscle memory the shots.

'Mystery is lit'

'Just need left hole for extra ball' etc

Obviously can't do it in comp, but harmless at home.

Houdini is designed the same way i believe.

To each his own.

Absolutely.

Just don't loose a ball.

Yes an LE as well.

Bought mine off pinside i think.

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Yeah it's not perfect. I always go the rollover skill shot so doesn't really impact that. Can't put that pin on the right hand end of a line, but that's a small drawback. It does feel pretty nice in the hand.

My favourites are made by a bloke here in Australia and they are a solid stainless ball rod. heavy as and feel beuatiful in the hand, suits and machine. You can see one on Houdini in the pic, they are beautiful and simple.

No sorry, just looked but i must have tossed the paperwork. That would probably be about where i bought it new in a really nice presentation box though i think.

Yeah Hobbit and Houdini are out of our Sunday comps because the other groups have to wait too long for good games to end. still much loved round here, but not suited to competition play.

Houdini is the closest i own so far. But in saying that, i've never played a game with the level of immersion that The Hobbit has.

And if i had some ham i could have some ham and eggs if i had some eggs.

Maybe one of those little suction caps you get for downlights?

Post a photo of it, someone will want to put it on the hacks thread.

Mine came with a grunt, and promptly fell asleep.

That's a pretty fucking ordinary photo.

great comeback, you win.

First i've heard of it. Houdini is prone by all accounts, although i haven't noticed it on either.

to reset the high scores, use the green button on the front, then use the two buttons on the side many times to make the score higher and higher.

Once the score is higher than the existing score, let the ball drain and use the buttons on the side to enter your initials and then you won't see the old score, no more.

It's in this thread. The limited to numbers anyway.

Black arrow was limited to 750, i don't remember the others off hand. Assumptions were that standard editions were probably the lowest produced.

Sounds right to me. It also makes it unimportant.

There must be. My Feast only has one ball lately. Any ideas from anyone?

Can start the first multiball on my Deadpool with 2-3 flips for lil deadpool, few more flips for disco. Three good shots will get the ninja one too.

Not getting mine.

Shoved that into junk mail without looking at it this morning. Thanks for letting us know! I'm in.

Center post won't make bugger all difference. I took mine out for a long time, then put it back. You so rarely use it that it may as well not be there.

I have black flipper rubbers on my BA so don't see dirt. Black rubbers would look ok on the yellow bats, or you could replace the bats and rubbers to black.

I'm the wrong guy to ask mate, only had pinnies for 18 months.

My magnet is flush.

I normally skip the credits, but that was cool.

I need a mod gate for between the bottom flippers too. I think this will drastically increase my use of the bottom flippers.

They are not even up long enough for me to look at before i've got at them except in some of the modes. I don't really look at them when i aim at them either, it's a pherephial thing.

My bet is that it's binding slightly and you will find it hard to notice. That's what it was on my goblin.
The spider atm does this, but it pops all the way up and then drops straight away. That one is a switch registering a hit.

My snakes don't give a fuck.

You do what you want, but it's not going on my game.

Or making a backstab.

Don't throw it out, i'm sure it can be fixed. If you do throw it out i'll take it. 2 hobbitses are better than one.

I know this one, as above it's a switch registering a score.

On my machine the upper and lower flippers are used the exact same number of times each game?

I'm a masher

Not everyone want's to win a grand slam. Some just want to play tennis in the sunshine.

I found the Hobbit wasn't really improved with a sub. I loved Tommy and Deadpool being hooked to the same sub, but Hobbit sounded poorer with the sub than without.

I used one of tangles little boards and a splitter to hook to the existing sub connections.

Biggest improvement in sound came from my sol republic headphones.

Mine is only one man's opinion mate. All good.

My mate would love that to chop up on. He's always using my Mad magazines.

Let me get this straight, you are reverse engineering the mod that Travahontas developed and cutting him out by publishing the print file?

TellMeIHaveThisWrongPunkin

So artists should not sell paintings?

Sawmillers should not sell the wood?

What world are you from where people don't sell products so they can buy food?

All music should be publicly owned and the musicians not be paid?

That's some kind of twisted justification for stealing someone's idea mate. And I'll judge it if I feel it.

I disagree with what you are saying completely. You are also contradicting yourself. So the idea for the gate there was neither his idea or original appied to the hobbit? It was a factory option or he just copied it from another modder who also did it for bag end?

Your stooping to name calling makes your own discussion skills obvious without questioning my intelligence.

I think both you and the intellectual spoiler you are defending should go and develop your own ideas and stop piggybacking on others.

I have no interest in the mod, but i'll be buying one and having it shipped to Australia and throwing it in the coin box just to show my support.

Got some coming for my GnRLE.

Prophets.

What are you gunna do?

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I have the sword shooter on my hobbit. Mates give me shit about it being a hip bruiser.

One mate laughed his arse off when it got me a beauty.

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.

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 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.

I also did it by myself, and i HATE working on pinball machines.

Are your screws really clockwise to tighten?

They are anti clockwise here.

No not the clocks but the ceiling and floor fans turn the opposite way (not backwards, that's you guys).

Orcs.

Evil bastards.

Got the gate yesterday mate thanks.

Custom message works well too. I sent all my op mates machines back after renting them with 'Punkin's Munster', 'Punkin's Maiden' etc.

You don't see it often unless you are looking for it.

Ahem...cough cough

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I wish people would stop saying they would pay extra for code that should be included.

Yes, the whole Hobbit series is based on cooperation defeating insurmountable odds. #1 take-home lesson from the books.

Try different rubbers. I am a below average player and a good game for me is over half an hour.

Not every game has to kick you in the nuts.
I have a Walking Dead, Hurricane and a JJP GnR for that.

It's good to practice other skills sometimes than keep the ball alive and shoot accurate.

But everyone is different.