That is an interesting idea. Here is a link to the post ->

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-lord-of-the-rings-journey-begins-members-club/page/70#post-4738203

And the pic ->

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Which.....is there a special way where you can change the URL in pinside to jump to a particular post number? On a url like the one above, it has the database post ID number (4738203) but not the topic post #.

So if someone says "see post 3469", I have to guess what page it might be on and then hunt for it.

Pardon the interruption, but I have a really amazing Sideshow art piece from LOTR from 2003, brand new in box I hope worthy of your consideration. The third and rarest in the series of 3 framed giclees- Gandalf on Gwaihir over Helms Deep. #2/400 signed by Ian McKellen, Alan Lee and Richard Taylor. Would look amazing hung on the wall next to your game. The one pictured is my #7/400. My ask is $800 shipped on #2. I know y'all got a lot of hands on in the game stuff going, but hopefully this is worth enjoyment if not consideration. Many more pictures available if interested. Thanks for your time

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Yes, all you have to do is click on the post number then copy the URL it takes you too, you can then just paste it into your post.

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https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-lord-of-the-rings-journey-begins-members-club/page/123#post-5653175

No, I mean....lets say I gave you that post number in your screenshot, #6101. How would you be able to manipulate the url to go exactly to that post # in a particular thread instead of hunting for it?

oh I understand what you are asking now; I'm not sure there is a way to do that.

Post # divide by 50, (posts on a page) should get you to the page it’s on.

I wish I thought of that. Thanks.....my self-esteem took a hit because now it seems obvious.

I've been wanting one of these for awhile. Great mod Deathhimself!!! Gandalf Staff.

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I have NOS perfect color clear coated playfield for sale if anyone is looking for one.

Thanks,

Mike

Just recently picked up my first LOTR and I’m having a problem with the post on the sword ramp firing back up to quickly after it releases a ball and it’s kicking the ball off the wire form rather than allowing it to come down to the flipper. Anyone seen this? Is it a bad switch? Something else? Thanks

Pretty common. Your balls could be magnetized slowing down how fast they roll. You can also move the coil bracket slightly to see if that helps.

Yep, try carbon steel balls they don't magnetize as quickly. They also sell a piece of plastic insulator for the ramp lock area as well to help alleviate this.

https://www.pinbits.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13_48&products_id=463&zenid=a1fbadb52611b95977439d62959889ea

Awesome, thank you both!

I was able to acquire a ghostbusters/black knight BNOD holder. These won't work though. They are about 1/16" smaller and the holes are slightly closer together, so if you align the top hole with the LOTR hole, the bottom hole is going to be too close to the middle and possible touch a pinball.

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Now, for the orbit fix!

As I stated before, the issue with the orbit is that the BNOD (blue nub of death) holder is able to rotate since its only one screw. That then damages the playfield when the orbit gets hit with a pinball.

If your playfield already has damage, you'll want to get a cliffy to cover it up. They only cost $6 plus shipping.

The top of the LOTR BNOD holder is a 4-40 through-hole self-clinching standoff, with a hex-width of .1875", and a length of 3/16". I could only cheaply acquire a blind-thread 5/16" standoff, which works fine, though you do not want anything longer than 5/16".

Stern also uses a 5/16" 4-40 undercut machine screw. If you get a through-hold standoff, 5/16" length works fine, but if you get a blind-thread, you'll want 1/4" or less length screw.

First step, you'll want to drill a hole for the second standoff. Don't make the same mistake I did. You'll want to use a punch to put a small dent in the metal so when you use a hand drill, the bit won't move around on you. I didn't and my initial pilot hole was a bit too low ->

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Luckily, a friend had a huge end-mill machine and was able to put the right size hole a little higher.

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The original top hole's center is about 3/16" from the edge. You'll want to go a little bit lower than that with your hole if you plan to put washers underneath your orbit guide.

If you are reusing your blue nub, you'll want to make a little indent at the bottom for your new standoff.

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And attached!

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Now its impossible for your BNOD holder to rotate.

I would still like to experiment with a different blue nub, though its not necessary. Stern Blue Rubber Bumper 626-5065-00 looks like a great option at 1-1/4" x 1" x 1/4". (as long as 1-1/4" is the height).

I was about to use JB weld on the new standoff...but there is enough tension created with the rubber from the BNOD that its actually not necessary, so I'm going to leave as is.

Next, you'll want to put your cliffy on. Use the alcohol wipe, and then the cliffy has double sided tape on the bottom of it to hold it in place.

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It was a bit of a pain getting the washers into place (5 #8 washers), but once I taped them on then it was MUCH easier.

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The idea behind the washers, is that the end of the orbit guide can still scratch your playfield too (though I had much less damage from that vs the BNOD holder). The washers raise the orbit slightly so no further damage is possible. Or...rubbing against your new cliffy.

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One thing you'll want to check if you use washers, is clearance with the lower screw and a pinball. Mine was very close, but the screw doesn't touch the ball. If yours does, you'll have to take the washers off to lower the orbit guide.

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Now, I went ahead and bought extra standoffs and screws just in case someone else wanted to do this fix. I only have 7 pairs left, but PM me if you want them shipped for $2 (that's at cost) and I'll put them between some cardboard and put them in a normal envelope to you.

Best of luck to everyone!

And....I also did the shire VUK plastic protector today!

Looks like plastic protector "packages" for LOTR don't include something for the shire VUK. As shown by other examples here, you can make your own with a piece of lexan.

I went ahead and removed the VUK, and traced the shape.

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I used a jigsaw to cut the lexan, though I should have bought a new fine tooth blade. And I'm not the best with a jigsaw either.

This was the final shape that I decided on.

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Since my plastic was already cracked, I went ahead and removed the rivet from the bottom with a Dremel. (is there anything a Dremel can't do?)...oh wait..actually...maybe I should have used a Dremel instead of a jigsaw on the lexan! Oh well.

The rivet bends the plastic since its forcing it into the curve of the VUK. I don't see how anybody's plastic can't possibly be cracked here.

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Now its securely attached with a black anodized bolt, and I put a small dot of super glue at the top corner (not sure if glue will hold or not).

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I'll put the cracked plastic back on...as soon as I find a longer black screw and a black low profile locking nut.

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All done! The lexan is kind of thick so I was worried it was going to affect ball travel but no issues there.

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I love your dedication to this. I think i actually hate that upper left section of the pf. I just won't go near it.

Good work gog.

Compared to other machines, its actually not that bad. Path of the dead is only held on by 3 small screws.

I never knew about this issue until your posts. My playfield has an enormous gouge in it! I ordered a cliffy and am planning on putting it on this weekend.

While I love seeing your dedication and wathcing your homebrew fix - do you think it's necessary in addition to the cliffy? Seems like the cliffy fixes the issue.

Necessary? No....I don't think the additional steps would be necessary. I think if you already have playfield damage, the cliffy is the only necessary step. The process I used is the only foolproof fix to ensure the BNOD doesn't rotate. Considering how much damage the holder can do to the playfield (and the depth of the gauge), I'm not sure how much abuse a thin cliffy will protect against and for how long. Probably a lot, but I don't know.

There are other less intrusive things you can try. To get the cliffy installed you have to take the orbit guide off anyway, so adding washers is trivial. Adding the taller BNOD seems like a good option too that could help, and....reapplying glue to the blue nub rubber on both sides to help with it not rotating. Glue doesn't last forever though.

I had no idea of this issue until this thread either. Have a small scratch, but just barely noticeable, so I added the washers and some mylar. Now when I don't make it up the ramp, most times it drains down the middle, where it didn't do that before. What do you suppose caused the angle change by adding washers?

I...have actually noticed some changes too after adding the washers. Mainly that the orbit isn't sitting completely 90° to the PF (slight tilt).

I'm thinking....the rivets are differently shaped on one side vs the other, and the washer when tightening is cause the orbit to deflect a bit since the "curved" side of the rivet is touching the washer.

I may go ahead and remove the washers and see if it fixes it. Since I have a cliffy on (and the second screw on the orbit so there is no chance for the holder to rotate), I'm not too worried about removing the washers...

I've gotten quick on removing those upper PF items now so it shouldn't be too bad to test.

OK so.....I don't think its the washers.

Here is the orbit with the washers:

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And without the washers:

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Seems about the same. And the lean seems about the same as the orbit wall in front of it ->

lean (resized).png

The thing is...I don't know how my orbit looked before I did everything. It probably wasn't a perfect 90° perpendicular angle either, but of course I can't go back and see what it looked like.

Now that they are off...I'm not going to put the washers back on again. A bit too much work.

If you are getting SDTM after ramp rejects, yeah, you can either slightly bend the wall or try and position it a bit differently when tightening.

Anyway, what does everyone else's walls look like? A slight lean or perfectly straight?

I tried the dremel, and a jigsaw and an angle grinder. The angle grinder with a grinder attachment is the way to go.

Router is the way to go. Nothing cleaner than a sharp bit and 10K RMP's. I used this method when I created my own POTD mod and it cuts like butter.

May have originally been straight from the factory, but over time as you hit the Legolas shot it will hit that guide and lean it to the left a bit as your does, especially since there really isn't any reinforcement up high there......I wouldn't worry about it.

I rough out plastic pieces with a table saw and then use a bench grinder to shape to the final form. grinder works well, very controllable, . are you using a table top router or freeforming a hand held one?

I have a pinball refinery POTD mod for sale , thought I would offer it up here before putting in the classifieds

oh wow. yeah. absolutely. More Power!!! did u have a shaper or did u really free hand a router on such a small piece. If i had a small router i guess i would have been tempted. Did it gum up your bit.

When I did the POTD, I disassembled the mini pf and used it as a pattern with my bearing bit. Turned out amazing. I have also used the router on my router station with no guards free form based on my markings. I use the fence for the straight lines and then free form the curves. Anything you want to mass produced is super fast and easy if you build a template out of wood first and then just zip out your product in a mass produced manner without investing in any type of technical mumbo jumbo (CNC, etc.). The plastic shavings just get sucked up by my dust collector like wood shavings do. No melting or clumping issues.

I built myself the Norm Abrams router station and love it. That and my installed Milwaukee router tackle everything I throw at it. I can see using a high tooth count Forrest WW saw blade on my table saw if I needed to cut some big sheets down to size for sure.

Maricopa!! I lived in Phoenix for 7 years. My attempt at using a jig saw was funny. I put the jigsaw at a high setting and went threw the plexi like butter. But it generated enough heat to cut the plexi and then melt it back together. When i was finished it was like i had never even started.

Hahaha, live and learn

and they say dwarfs have no sense of humor.

I thought that scene was one of the best. why it was edited out of the orginal movie i couldn't understand.

I'm glad they left it in the directors cut, then again for any fan that should be the only versions to watch. So here I sit skimming thru the trilogy for additional sounds to import into pinsound

Hopefully yours arrived already

I have not even ordered it yet. I'm busier than one armed paper hanger and dont want the temptation of pinsound until i get some stuff off my plate. But soon.

Hi,

I have a Brand New LoTR SideBlades for sale:

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/classifieds/ad/96772

Thanks

lord-of-the-rings-path-pinball-sideblades-inner-inside-art-pin-blades-stern (resized).jpg

Hey all, I’ve got my sights set on a routed LOTR...it’s got about 3500 plays on it, kinda dirty, bit of shooter lane wear and the shire vuk guard is busted. Any thought on value? Does anyone make a replacement vuk guard? Thanks in advance for your help!

These are very nice. Here's what they look like on the machine.

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Play count resets with every battery change, so you have to inspect and consider the condition of everything. PF, cab, mechs, boards, gameplay, etc. Are you saying the plastic is broken by the shire VUK? The pinside price for LotR is $5550 - $6450. That is for good condition with everything working. Perfect condition would be higher and routed condition would be less.

If anyone is on the fence whether to order Franck's LOTR Mods or not, I say hell yes!! This three mods are awesome, here is a quick video showing two of them. The ring of fire is not shown cause I cant video and play at the same time lol.

They do look good. Do you have a pinsound in that?

Yep, re captured a lot of the sounds again for it there were many I didn’t care for

That animated Palantir is pretty cool!

Video doesn't really do these mods any justice, they are excellent. The PowerBlades are pretty sweet too, especially on the blackout sequences.

I previously added the Volcano mod from pin worlds. I busted added the tower mod at the left from pin worlds. I think both look great!

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Do yourself a favor and watch it. Amazing!

BIIIIIIG shoutout to Yyyyikes for helping me out with the 2 plastics I'm missing. Didn't want to have to purchase a new full set. Thanks again!

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