Quoted from ChipScott:

So I had the day off yesterday and I focused a decent amount of attention to my LOTR.
So on one hand, while I enjoyed the POTD ball deflector that I had made (to protect the left-sided plastic, cut down on some of the ball bouncing and randomness coming off of the POTD platform and instead routinely send the ball to the Legolas ramp), I ultimately wished I could collect more souls (which occurs when the ball falls in the Shire from the POTD, a fact that I wasn't initially aware of)....
I enjoyed seeing some previous ideas of creating that acrylic ramp over the Arwen plastic, but that does not seem to be available anymore.
So, yesterday morning I got a wild hair and created my own. I think it turned out well and works great!
You can see in the pictures the tip of the plastic that I used to fasten to the wooden side rail, and the very back of this ramp are painted black. Reason for this was that I created this ramp by heating the acrylic and forming it, and in that created some stains of the acrylic at these bend points that I could not get out (as well as some tiny little micro bubbles at the bend sites)... But, with the black paint, it gives it some cleaner ends and looks sharp and I think was a suitable solution....time to collect those souls!
Additionally, since I made these changes along the left side of the playfield, I still wanted to utilize my Legolas figure. I saw one fella in the remote past posted a pic and he had opted to stick his Legolas figure in between Mary and Pippin on the left sling...and sure enough, I think he fits there very well!! I have him aiming his arrow at the Balrog
I also had a Gimli character that I wanted to use. Initially I had him fastened on top of the gate there on the right ramp, but that just seemed distracting and not ideally placed to my eye. So, I have him on a small platform that he stands on that resembles Earth and rock. I cut that platform into a circle somewhat, and used a good double-sided sticky tape and placed him on the most forward pop bumper, and I think that looks best to me and he is on there solidly. I believe I like him there, time will tell.
I also opted to add some additional spotlighting.
I added double spotlights on a new post there on the left just past the Shire VUK ramp, and a double spotlight on a post threaded through the hole that holds the right ramp guard (sitting just behind Aragon on his horse). These two locations seemed somewhat hidden and out of the way and offered some really nice lighting to the playfield. An additional spotlight is on the left outlane facing the center of the playfield (a spotlight that was initially placed for Chuck's (PinWorlds) hobbit house). Everything is in incandescents.
Also, while I very much liked Chuck's ( PinballCharlie / PinWorlds) hobbit house there by the Shire (that sat on the acrylic in front of the VUK ramp), I ultimately decided to remove it. As the playfield developed, I felt it looked a bit visually heavy at that location, and also his work is so awesome, I found myself staring at it waaay too much during gameplay and I suppose it was just way too distracting! Lol.
Lastly, I installed John's ( @Mamuskas ) light puck for the ring lights in between the flippers. Man oh man, what a difference! Install was very straightforward and this mod also it allows for the ability to adjust that board slightly such that the lights are more appropriately placed underneath their respective ring. Really a nice touch and a big *hats off* to John for that creation!!!
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]

Quoted from Dezman:

Where did you get that plastic with the Elvish script in the bottom left.

Quoted from adrock:

Couple of questions.
My machine came with a loose Gimli. Was he included originally? If not is there a recommended mounting location?
Also, it came with the Balrog LED upgrade kit. If I already have an LEDOCD board, is there any advantage to using the upgrade kit versus just putting an LED bayonet in the original socket?
Thanks!

Quoted from ChipScott:

...I focused a decent amount of attention to my LOTR.

Quoted from Jason_Jehosaphat:

Boy, did you ever! Sweet machine! Great photos, too. LOTR has such fabulous stock lighting. Like, if someone tells you that LED's are the *only* way to go, just show him/her some of these photos of Chip's predominantly incadescent LOTR playfield! This thing has the warmest glow! Like a cinder, you know? Just perfect! He shares his progress with me via text now and then and he is a perfectionist, for sure. Always tweaking, improving, revising. He's never quite done. He went at his BKSOR last year with the same zeal, and followed it up with a mad-cool IMDN. I think his BKSOR was like a preamble to LOTR, because LOTR is a similar canvas in various ways. Chip is the Rembrandt of modding. You may not know that Chip is a crackerjack surgeon in real life. Like, for real! He is a one driven dude! No idea where he gets his energy, but I do like to see whatever he gets into.
Thanks for sharing the photos!

Quoted from killerrobots:

I am hoping some smart person can help me with a board issue I am having with my flippers, here is the situation:
- Very recently fully restored my LotR but the flippers where the same (however the playfield was stripped etc so maybe something moved around)
- Got everything back together and play tested 3-4 games with no problems
- Then the left flipper suddenly died
- 3A fuse was blown next to flipper and would blow again if reinstalled
- Removed the driver board and found that the IC Q15 was reading weird (all legs grounded)
- Couldn't find a direct replacement so I did my best and ordered one from Digikey
- Reinstalled it and had the same issue (blown fuse)
- Reinvestigated board and found that the Capacitor C248 was shorted to ground
- Ordered a new capacitor and replaced it
- Same thing happened
- Thought maybe I had ordered the wrong IC so I asked here and got new replacement ICs (IRF540)
- Replaced both IC (right and left) and both capacitors
- Carefully measured both ICs and capacitors and there was no short
- Put it back in the game and both flippers blew their fuse
- When I checked the capacitors both had shorted to ground
So at this point I am sure that when I try to activate the flippers it somehow shorts the capacitor? Maybe I ordered the wrong capacitors?
I am kind of at a lose of what to check next, I have attached the part information if it helps.
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]

Quoted from killerrobots:

Thanks I will try that. I have checked both resistors and they seem fine.
Do you know the best place to source that chip?

Quoted from ChipScott:

https://cointaker.com/products/lord-of-the-rings-etched-acrylics

Quoted from adrock:

Anyone have extras of these? Comet just went on backorder for months and I need three for the path of the dead mod. Thanks
[quoted image]

Quoted from heartbrand:

Been having an issue where the ball will just go around the white lock for TT even when lock is lit. Anyone have this issue before and having any suggestions?

Quoted from flipper73:

Anyone knows if there was a flyer for the LE Modell? I searched in the internet and found only the flyer of the first run.

Quoted from adrock:

Anyone have extras of these? Comet just went on backorder for months and I need three for the path of the dead mod. Thanks
[quoted image]

Quoted from killerrobots:

I just test playing my LotR after a full restore and reassembly. Everything seems to be working fine but I am getting a lot of rejects out of the back right scoop (Fellowship Start). I didn't have this before but have a vague recollection in reassembly that the parts/pictures where not clear. Does this set up look right? Anyone else have this issue?
Picture below (sorry for the poor quality)
[quoted image]

Quoted from ryandimx:

https://www.pinballlife.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=abl_SP
How do you plan to set it up?

Quoted from ChipScott:

So I had the day off yesterday and I focused a decent amount of attention to my LOTR.
So on one hand, while I enjoyed the POTD ball deflector that I had made (to protect the left-sided plastic, cut down on some of the ball bouncing and randomness coming off of the POTD platform and instead routinely send the ball to the Legolas ramp), I ultimately wished I could collect more souls (which occurs when the ball falls in the Shire from the POTD, a fact that I wasn't initially aware of)....
I enjoyed seeing some previous ideas of creating that acrylic ramp over the Arwen plastic, but that does not seem to be available anymore.
So, yesterday morning I got a wild hair and created my own. I think it turned out well and works great!
You can see in the pictures the tip of the plastic that I used to fasten to the wooden side rail, and the very back of this ramp are painted black. Reason for this was that I created this ramp by heating the acrylic and forming it, and in that created some stains of the acrylic at these bend points that I could not get out (as well as some tiny little micro bubbles at the bend sites)... But, with the black paint, it gives it some cleaner ends and looks sharp and I think was a suitable solution....time to collect those souls!
Additionally, since I made these changes along the left side of the playfield, I still wanted to utilize my Legolas figure. I saw one fella in the remote past posted a pic and he had opted to stick his Legolas figure in between Mary and Pippin on the left sling...and sure enough, I think he fits there very well!! I have him aiming his arrow at the Balrog
I also had a Gimli character that I wanted to use. Initially I had him fastened on top of the gate there on the right ramp, but that just seemed distracting and not ideally placed to my eye. So, I have him on a small platform that he stands on that resembles Earth and rock. I cut that platform into a circle somewhat, and used a good double-sided sticky tape and placed him on the most forward pop bumper, and I think that looks best to me and he is on there solidly. I believe I like him there, time will tell.
I also opted to add some additional spotlighting.
I added double spotlights on a new post there on the left just past the Shire VUK ramp, and a double spotlight on a post threaded through the hole that holds the right ramp guard (sitting just behind Aragon on his horse). These two locations seemed somewhat hidden and out of the way and offered some really nice lighting to the playfield. An additional spotlight is on the left outlane facing the center of the playfield (a spotlight that was initially placed for Chuck's (PinWorlds) hobbit house). Everything is in incandescents.
Also, while I very much liked Chuck's ( PinballCharlie / PinWorlds) hobbit house there by the Shire (that sat on the acrylic in front of the VUK ramp), I ultimately decided to remove it. As the playfield developed, I felt it looked a bit visually heavy at that location, and also his work is so awesome, I found myself staring at it waaay too much during gameplay and I suppose it was just way too distracting! Lol.
Lastly, I installed John's ( @Mamuskas ) light puck for the ring lights in between the flippers. Man oh man, what a difference! Install was very straightforward and this mod also it allows for the ability to adjust that board slightly such that the lights are more appropriately placed underneath their respective ring. Really a nice touch and a big *hats off* to John for that creation!!!
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]

Quoted from red-line:

I hadn't heard of mamushka's light puck until I saw your comment, I looked it up and bought it immediately. WOW. this has got to be one of the best and cleanest mods I've seen, no more settling the ball and leaning forward to count my elf rings. Amazing mod.

Quoted from adrock:

ChipScott red-line where does one find this mod?
Edit;
https://www.pinballlife.com/light-puck-for-lord-of-the-rings.html
Mamushka any idea when you’ll have more?

Quoted from adrock:

ChipScott red-line where does one find this mod?
Edit;
https://www.pinballlife.com/light-puck-for-lord-of-the-rings.html
Mamushka any idea when you’ll have more?

Quoted from jazc4:

Second this. I’ll take one as soon as they are available.

Quoted from adrock:

ChipScott red-line where does one find this mod?
Edit;
https://www.pinballlife.com/light-puck-for-lord-of-the-rings.html
Mamushka any idea when you’ll have more?

Quoted from red-line:

Man, I must have gotten the last one on pinball life. It's worth the wait, this is my favorite type of mod - unobtrusive, fixes something that was wrong with the original machine, and looks like it should be stock.

Quoted from paynemic:

Yep. I’ll take one too.

Quoted from Iamthelaw:

Haven’t been playing lotr lately but just came across these parts in a box, does anyone know what these are?
[quoted image]

Quoted from ShineSpark:

Hi everyone,
So I have a pinduino hooked up to the aux 12V 3-pin molex power connector inside the cabinet, right hand side. I need to unplug it to put in a splitter for more mods. Problem is, it seems to be pretty snug in that female connector, any ideas how to get it out safely? I don't see any kind of latches or grooves or anything which are facilitating a tighter connection, it's just stuck in there pretty hard. I guess I don't know my own strength.
Thanks as always for your insight.

Quoted from adrock:

RGP POTD plastic (here on Pinside)- has holes Below figures/slots for cable ties
Star post lights below plastic. screw up through hole in post light—> thru hole in POTD plastic—> into figures
Attach Star post wires to POTD lights. Either comet matrix alligator clips (plug and play) or I may use wire taps to avoid clips.
Seems pretty straightforward and inexpensive
Thanks for the link. Good to know. ChipScott hooked me up with some matrix ones he had left over (much appreciated)

Quoted from adrock:

Two sets of pliers?

Quoted from red-line:

Man, I must have gotten the last one on pinball life. It's worth the wait, this is my favorite type of mod - unobtrusive, fixes something that was wrong with the original machine, and looks like it should be stock.

Quoted from red-line:

This post aged like milk.
I played my first game since installing the puck, and the ball started behaving oddly at the center, within a minute I realized that my entire ring insert had been pushed out of the playfield by the LED puck. Nightmare. I removed the puck and pushed the insert back into place, but now there's a noticeable lip on the edge of the insert that I doubt was there previously.
Anyone ever had this insert pop out before? Any thoughts? If I play, will I start chipping the playfield away? Am I SOL?[quoted image]

Quoted from red-line:

I played my first game since installing the LED puck, and the ball started behaving oddly at the center, within a minute I realized that my entire ring insert had been pushed out of the playfield. I may have pushed it out during install somehow, tho I have no idea how. Nightmare. I pushed the insert back into place, but now there's a noticeable lip on the edge of the insert that I doubt was there previously. Can a yone confirm there's a little lip you can feel around the ring insert?
Anyone ever had this insert pop out before? Any thoughts? Am I SOL?

[quoted image]

Quoted from ryandimx:

The ad says it doesn't fit the 2003 version of the game

Quoted from adrock:

Yours is 2003?

Quoted from ShineSpark:

Hi everyone,
So I have a pinduino hooked up to the aux 12V 3-pin molex power connector inside the cabinet, right hand side. I need to unplug it to put in a splitter for more mods. Problem is, it seems to be pretty snug in that female connector, any ideas how to get it out safely? I don't see any kind of latches or grooves or anything which are facilitating a tighter connection, it's just stuck in there pretty hard. I guess I don't know my own strength.
Thanks as always for your insight.

Quoted from red-line:

I played my first game since installing the LED puck, and the ball started behaving oddly at the center, within a minute I realized that the right side of my ring insert had been pushed out of the playfield. Nightmare. I removed the puck and pushed the insert back into place, but now there's a noticeable lip on the edge of the insert that I doubt was there previously. Can anyone confirm if their machine has a small lip you can feel around the ring insert?
Anyone ever had this insert pop out before? Any thoughts? Am I SOL?
[quoted image]
Edit: anyone know of a NOS playfield?

Quoted from ryandimx:

It's the regular game, not the le. So wouldn't that be the 2003 version?