Lord of the Rings
Stern, 2003
Lord of the Rings Limited Edition
Stern, 2009Quoted from mbl1116:From what i remember the balrog did register enough hits to move across the playfield and open up the area behind it. I was able shoot up the ramp and through the eye. I did not notice the ring magnet the first time around.
Balrog should be closed before starting and then it will open when you press start. The ramp is behind it, so it must be opening if you shot the ramp.
Quoted from mbl1116:I did think the total play audit being at 5k seemed high
You are talking about a pin that is 18 years old!!!
That's about 5 games per week. Not crazy.
Quoted from StrangeSubset1:You are talking about a pin that is 18 years old!!!
That's about 5 games per week. Not crazy.
Haha, i suppose when you actually do the math that’s right. I always figure when a HUO game like this comes along it ends up having sat in the owners basement for 10 years untouched
Quoted from StrangeSubset1:You are talking about a pin that is 18 years old!!!
That's about 5 games per week. Not crazy.
Bingo! I’ve had my JP for just over 2 years and I’ve put over 3000 plays on it so far. Yes I play most of my games every day but I always play JP. Once I completely beat it I suppose I won’t be motivated as much lol.
Quoted from mbl1116:It’s not listed but i did get a chance to play in person before i asked the forum this question. From what i remember the balrog did register enough hits to move across the playfield and open up the area behind it. I was able shoot up the ramp and through the eye. I did not notice the ring magnet the first time around.
The game is billed as HUO and there’s absolutely no shooter wear or wear in the spot below the Arwin plastic. I did think the total play audit being at 5k seemed high, but there were no paid credits showing
When i go back I’ll take a look at the other things mentioned
Arwin plastic in tact is a good sign. That is the first plastic to break on a worn machine. I would suggest getting a cliffy for that one if you think you are going to pickup this machine.
I like to see machines on listings that have a lot of pictures, it really makes it look like the owner is not trying to hide anything. But if you already went over to play it that does the same thing. I went to look at a Craigslist LOTR machine that had 1 picture on the list and the owner claimed HOU. It was anything but HOU. I stay away from Craigslist and really have just stuck to Pinside for listings. Do you have any other sites or sources you would recommend? Have you ever put up a machine on the wanted list that worked out? Thanks.
Any recommendations on how to stop the ball bouncing out of Barad-dûr? I hit buttery smooth shots into it and it gets rejected out enough that it is frustrating.
The Lord of the Rings sound problems
My I/O Driver board has just been repaired by Coin-Op Cauldron and is sending the board back but the the sound is still corrupt.
If I install the PINSOUND PLUS board would this fix the sound problem or do I need to find another solution.
Quoted from frogger:The Lord of the Rings sound problems
My I/O Driver board has just been repaired by Coin-Op Cauldron and is sending the board back but the the sound is still corrupt.
If I install the PINSOUND PLUS board would this fix the sound problem or do I need to find another solution.
Pinsound bypasses the on-board sound so it will sound ok. Keep in mind you will also need the Whitestar adapter from Pinsound.
Quoted from Dreadreaper:Any recommendations on how to stop the ball bouncing out of Barad-dûr? I hit buttery smooth shots into it and it gets rejected out enough that it is frustrating.
small piece of deadening foam (or foam weather stripping) is what I got as a recommendation - has worked well for me preventing almost all bounce outs.
Man. My LOTR still doesn't want to dial in for me. Fixed some more issues today. Turns out the stickers are reversed/upside down on my spinner so in order to get it to balance correctly, with the short side DOWN I get the eye rather than the ring at rest. Fine, whatever. It works now and I'll keep the replacement I ordered for if/when it bothers me that it's facing the wrong way). Had to bend the crap out of the gate after the Gimli VUK because it wasn't even close to registering. Replaced the completely mangled left EOS. Resoldered both flipper coils because the right flipper was randomly cutting out during gameplay.
And then I went to tackle the most annoying issue from me being able to actually play this thing: the random ball eject nonsense during gameplay. I replaced the outhole trough upkicker coil because it had a busted plastic on one of the lugs...seemed I could eliminate the issue of random balls ejecting during gameplay if I had it positioned juuuuuust right. Well, the new coil is in and the issue persists. Doing some searching I'm seeing a post about someone replacing an opto board (looks like the transmitter board, 515-0173-00 from his included picture) to resolve their issue.
My active switch test shows the following: 11, 12, 13, 14, 28, 31. That seems okay to me, unless there's something I'm missing... Any guidance before I hit this thing with a sledge?!
received_354600379599101 (resized).jpegreceived_721589249226554 (resized).jpeg
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Here's a video with the CURRENT behavior:
Previously it had only been spitting out one extra ball here and there...now it's just completely nuts. 
This thing is the devil.
So... it seems to function fine* with both optos unplugged. I guess that lends credence to bad opto(s) in the mix but I'm surprised it seems to work without the optos. Does it have both optos AND trough switches in combination as a failsafe for the event that one or the other starts having issues?
*it goes into ball search on initial boot but will play fine after that point, or at least that seems to be the case
In my case the optos weren't bad (I originally thought they were). The two pin connector started to fail after time, I ran some solder on the male pins to make a better/thicker connection, it has worked for now. Eventually I will hard wire this connection and eliminate this connector altogether. The male/female connection wears down after time due to vibration in the area.
Quoted from Angel:In my case the optos weren't bad (I originally thought they were). The two pin connector started to fail after time, I ran some solder on the male pins to make a better/thicker connection, it has worked for now. Eventually I will hard wire this connection and eliminate this connector altogether.
I'm wondering if my IDC plug(s) may be failing, also. I reseated both connectors and haven't had any issues in two games. Guess my next step is to molex them and if that doesn't permanently fix it, to order the replacement boards. Annoying.
That said, for every success I seem to find, another annoyance seems to pop up. Tilted twice in the wire form behind Mt doom on my last test play. Gmafb.
Quoted from frogger:I plan to install the pinsound board on LOTR who has the better sound track to download for this game.
I believe there are 4 variations available with one being the origial version. I loaded all of the onto the USB drive and switch between them every few games.
Quoted from mbl1116:Unfortunately the deal i was looking at fell through. If you know of any available within a few hours of Philly please let me know
Dam thats unfortunate. Seller pull the listing? Any advice on finding a machine? Looking for a one game collection with the LOTR machine.
Is the game supposed to IMMEDIATELY release a locked ball if a ball is shot up the right ramp (triggering the gate switch) -- before it engages the stacked rollover switch? Mine keeps releasing balls on errant shots (didn't even make it up the damn ramp!) and giving me multiball when it shouldn't. It's super GD irritating. What am I missing? The rollovers do seem to function properly. No weird switch behavior noted in switch test.
It does appear I'm using some Hella old roms...
20220206_224113 (resized).jpg20220206_224118 (resized).jpgOh boy. I checked the active switch test again and sure enough... the right ramp exit (for the Gimli shot and following a successful ring shot with ball following the habitrail around Mt. Doom) and the right ramp enter were switched. Why, I have absolutely no idea. Done at the time of installing the brass ramps? I guess that makes sense. For now I've swapped the Z connectors so things function correctly. Long term I need to disassemble enough to physically swap the switches (or desolder and resolder, whatever seems easiest at that point). I put a note inside the machine so I hopefully don't forget to do it. I don't really want to do it right now, I'm starting on a couple of Mata Hari hardtops. Meh.
Quoted from KSUWildcatFan:Oh boy. I checked the active switch test again and sure enough... the right ramp exit (for the Gimli shot and following a successful ring shot with ball following the habitrail around Mt. Doom) and the right ramp enter were switched. Why, I have absolutely no idea. Done at the time of installing the brass ramps? I guess that makes sense. For now I've swapped the Z connectors so things function correctly. Long term I need to disassemble enough to physically swap the switches (or desolder and resolder, whatever seems easiest at that point). I put a note inside the machine so I hopefully don't forget to do it. I don't really want to do it right now, I'm starting on a couple of Mata Hari hardtops. Meh.
I'm not sure about your switches. Possibly a missing or bad diode. Happened to me on a Fish Tales... But, I would look up Matt's Basement and get the updated roms (I think 10 or 10.2 and pal if you want to add shaker). He can set you straight if you email him about the sound and voice ones. There are a bunch of fixed codes and call outs added. It's worth it.
Quoted from Vernisious:I'm not sure about your switches. Possibly a missing or bad diode. Happened to me on a Fish Tales... But, I would look up Matt's Basement and get the updated roms (I think 10 or 10.2 and pal if you want to add shaker). He can set you straight if you email him about the sound and voice ones. There are a bunch of fixed codes and call outs added. It's worth it.
The two ramp switches are definitely swapped. Flipping things on the z connectors has things working pretty well as far as those switches go. My only active remaining (known) issue is that my right flipper occasionally drops during gameplay. I haven't yet tried to clean the cabinet switch but resoldering the coil didn't resolve the issue. I do have a couple of stuck ball issues from time to time but I've got some ideas on how to handle those. Oh, and occasionally the ball will hop off the wireform and into the shire...but I doubt I'm alone on that one.
I do need the updated ROMs, so thanks for that info.
Quoted from KSUWildcatFan:The two ramp switches are definitely swapped. Flipping things on the z connectors has things working pretty well as far as those switches go. My only active remaining (known) issue is that my right flipper occasionally drops during gameplay. I haven't yet tried to clean the cabinet switch but resoldering the coil didn't resolve the issue. I do have a couple of stuck ball issues from time to time but I've got some ideas on how to handle those. Oh, and occasionally the ball will hop off the wireform and into the shire...but I doubt I'm alone on that one.
I do need the updated ROMs, so thanks for that info.
Honestly, I would get the new rom. I'm pretty sure there is updated code that attempted to keep the flipper coils cooler. Also check the EOS (end of stroke) switch to make sure it's activating at the end of a flip.
The ball falling in the shire awards you more souls so is definitely how it can go. You might want to protect the plastic under the paths of the dead; especially if you have the original Arwen plastic. I think someone is selling the Arwen plastic now. It used to be very expensive to replace.
Quoted from Vernisious:Honestly, I would get the new rom. I'm pretty sure there is updated code that attempted to keep the flipper coils cooler. Also check the EOS (end of stroke) switch to make sure it's activating at the end of a flip.
The ball falling in the shire awards you more souls so is definitely how it can go. You might want to protect the plastic under the paths of the dead; especially if you have the original Arwen plastic. I think someone is selling the Arwen plastic now. It used to be very expensive to replace.
Pinball Life has the Arwen plastic. I replaced my cracked one.
Quoted from drummermike:Pinball Life has the Arwen plastic. I replaced my cracked one.
They sell the Arwen and Non-Arwen version. Weird!
Quoted from drummermike:Pinball Life has the Arwen plastic. I replaced my cracked one.
Thanks for the heads up - mine is in good shape but I'm going to buy a backup in case they go out of production again.
link: https://www.pinballlife.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=803-5000-80-03N
Quoted from Neal_W:They sell the Arwen and Non-Arwen version. Weird!
I saw that. I like to keep my pins somewhat original looking. The non-Arwen was too plain.
My first no-issue game after knocking out the vast majority of my issues. Made it to Destroy the Ring on ball 2 but choked immediately after hitting the flashing shots (yes, I did loudly yell out "NO!!!" 
). Still posted an okay score and had a BLAST. Really enjoying this game with it a bit closer to being dialed in.. she's a definite long-term resident in my collection I think.
IMG_20220209_124045_01 (resized).jpgreceived_211351684480235 (resized).jpegQuoted from KSUWildcatFan:Made it to Destroy the Ring on ball 2 but choked
You will be back again and again, trying to improve your DTR (destroy the ring) time.
Quoted from Medic:Any opinion on which one to get? There was a few posts behind showing one of the swords broken so not sure on quality.
[quoted image][quoted image]
My sword shooter was broken when the machine got here. He tried to glue but didn't have any success. I'm going to try tapping both sides and putting a threaded rod between the parts, with glue between. Hoping that fixes it up. It does look really cool.
Quoted from KSUWildcatFan:My sword shooter was broken when the machine got here. He tried to glue but didn't have any success. I'm going to try tapping both sides and putting a threaded rod between the parts, with glue between. Hoping that fixes it up. It does look really cool.
The handle of mine also broke off. I think the maker used superglue to hold it on the very small nub and it should probably be epoxy instead. Pinned will be next route if the epoxy doesn't solve it.
Quoted from Morgoth00:The handle of mine also broke off. I think the maker used superglue to hold it on the very small nub and it should probably be epoxy instead. Pinned will be next route if the epoxy doesn't solve it.
I've spent a ton of time filing and using acetone to try and clean up glue on mine so I can try again. Honestly it feels like it fits together way less now than when I started cleaning lol
I figure if I CAN get it back together (good call on epoxy) I'm going to have to try to fill in a bit right around the hilt. The gap looks... not great.
20220210_235456 (resized).jpg20220210_235500 (resized).jpg20220210_235508 (resized).jpg20220210_235558 (resized).jpg20220210_235635 (resized).jpgQuoted from Medic:Any opinion on which one to get?
The second type was already installed on my LotR when I got it 6yrs ago and I have had no issues with it and I have bumped in to it a few times. A bit of the silver paint has worn off where I grab it on the end and I touch it up occasionally.
The broken one shown above is the first type, but I have not heard mention that those are more or less fragile.
The brown handle ones are apparently no longer made even though the website shows in stock. Took a month to hear back on that after ordering earlier last year.
I found a used black handle one that I installed but as shown above, it broke in the same fashion shortly after.
Quoted from Morgoth00:The brown handle ones are apparently no longer made even though the website shows in stock. Took a month to hear back on that after ordering earlier last year.
I found a used black handle one that I installed but as shown above, it broke in the same fashion shortly after.
I contacted the guy who sells the black handle one and he offered to fix mine if I wanted to send it to him. I know I could just epoxy it myself but if he's willing to try...I'd rather him do it. I still need to package it up and get it in the box.
Quoted from KSUWildcatFan:Bought a fugly one to get me by for a bit. Lol
Also grabbed some OG rails so I can powdercoat my lollipops gold whenever I feel like forking over another hundo for a lockbar without a hole in it.
[quoted image]
I really like the ring shooters. Mine has the red acrylic. I don’t know if these are still available, but they look nice and shoot smooth.
D6614ED8-13BA-4254-A0BE-51E2CEE334AF (resized).pngQuoted from Pinkitten:I really like the ring shooters. Mine has the red acrylic. I don’t know if these are still available, but they look nice and shoot smooth.
[quoted image]
I'd be tempted to buy one along with the eye of sauron start button. It's not my favorite shooter rod but it's nice. The start button is OUTSTANDING.
Unrelated, but I would punt a baby to get my hands on some laser cut tron rails I could chrome or powdercoat. Uggggh
Among the closer brushes with Valinor I can remember having last night…had beaten 2 of the multiballs, collected 6 elf gifts, then destroyed the ring.
Would I have needed all 3 of the multiballs beaten, or just a 7th elf gift?
Quoted from blizz81:Among the closer brushes with Valinor I can remember having last night…had beaten 2 of the multiballs, collected 6 elf gifts, then destroyed the ring.
Would I have needed all 3 of the multiballs beaten, or just a 7th elf gift?
You must beat all MB.
Cleaning out the shop shelves - found some LOTR stuff
I have an almost complete set of plastics - missing two pieces
I have a pic of the Marco set and then arranged mine like that to compare
It will be on ebay tomorrow at 11am - my sellerID is KCTOYS
IMG_8830 (resized).jpgIMG_99829 2 (resized).jpgQuoted from MadMaxDad:I also found a rubber kit from Marco and a Back Alley Anduril Sword mod
His site is closed - not sure what I paid for the mod - make an offer[quoted image]
I'd be interested in the sword mod and could come pick up! Not sure on a price either, I'll have to do some research
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Medford, NJ
Surrey, BC