You need to put that in the scores section on pinside..you rank #18 buddy..CONGRATULATIONS!! how long was the game? that must have been one wild ride

Wow. A top 20 score on LOTR is impressive. And reaching Valinor puts you in select company. I need to start playing my LOTR more! Heckuva game!

Thanks! Not exactly sure on length. Probably in the 45-50 minute range. Ended up with 2 EBs from gifts, an EB from ring multiball, and I think one from Barad-Dur. I have my machine set to give an EB in lieu of a replay at a static 50mil. I also still have the tilt bob out for now as I need to address a ball hangup on the POTD, and the wife wants to learn the physics of nudge and slide (I try to give myself 2 warnings in my head). Wouldn't want to post on any sort of universal leaderboard as a result.

The 2nd run of Fellowship often takes a long time to qualify for me - this time it was surprisingly the last thing left, usually I'm still behind on ROTK. But I was hustling to finish Fellowship and had the other ball drain, had one more shot left, hit the balrog, and that was the final shot luckily. Cutting it close.

Anyone running the precision pinball aluminum flippers? I got mine today - I haven’t been able to get ahold of the medium strength coils so I’m hoping these + OEM coils achieves a similar result. I have been running the strong coils for a little while & they are definitely too much - in the game before the Valinor game last night, I had a ball spin off the left ramp rail right into the left outlane.

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The have nice looking wood horizontal knife stands that are only $15-$20

I have the precision flippers in my LOTR. Immediately noticed more power. Then the fade came. Also the stock spring to return the flipper to resting isn't strong enough now.
All in all, I'd say it was an improvement. I need to do more tweaks and probably get coil fans.

I know the hope in the thread was that these resisted fade more than the OEM assembly, but nobody had done any temp recording, etc. Was thinking DIY fans might be in my future.

I have precision flippers in my game. Using standard coils and DIY coil fans. Also, my flippers have been rebuilt, new sleeves, plunger, and coil stops.
Game plays great, no power or fade issues that I can tell.

I have these..https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1113-arcademade/05673-lit-kit-flippers-for-lord-of-the-rings-stern-pinball-mod
which I installed in my LotR..it actually got me a quick 75million..highest score so far (haven't had a lot of time on that pin)..anyways, I think they look great, but they are too powerful for the machine, imo..so I'm selling these..pm if interested. (I would rather have a light option on stock, hollow bats-if I had it my way)
$80 shipped CONUS.

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sold my LOTR and I have a brand new set of cliffy protectors available.
The complete kit without the enhanced ramp flaps.

Asking 100$ usd + shipping

please PM me

Thinking of buying a LOTR. Trying to think of fitting in car. is it easy enough to remove the head on this game? Disconnect several connectors under playfield, undo hinge bolts, undo rear head bolts? 10 minutes?

i did some days ago, there is a bit less cables than a bally / williams from 95, still add tags to each cable, will be easy to match the cables , i did that and it took me around 15 minutes to take it off, and around 20 to 30 minutes to mount all again

You would unplug the connectors inside the backbox since the wires under the playfield are secured and may not all have connections and there are also wires going around cabinet. Take lots of photos and note connectors not used, etc.

Best way is track down friend or family member with a van or decent sized SUV. (32" tall opening back door is plenty)

Here is a LotR backbox pic:

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Hi all, having a strange issue with the post that holds the balls on the Aragon ramp
It's started stuttering up and down before finally releasing a ball sometimes. Any ideas?

I'd first test your (pin)balls with a small washer and see if any of them have started to magnetize (which may esp be an issue if you just replaced them and put normal chrome balls in - I did that and it only took a few games for the ramp post to stop reliably letting balls through). If that's not it, you can remove the mechanism pretty easily and test for any binding or issues with the plunger hanging up / clean it all up.

.... solved

Reversed ribbon cable?

Use a few balls and test the switches there. If the switch is misadjusted or has a loose wire it might make the lock behave abnormally.

Yes, it was that!
I thought i had deleted my post since i discovered that some minutes after posting. But apparently the "bin" doesn't delete the comment.

Hi. Can anyone tell me how many volts go to the bulb inside balrog? I tried measuring the volts during flasher test and it quickly goes to something around 3-4 volts but it’s also flashing. Not sure if it’s 12 or 5v. My goal is to add a light strip to it to interact with balrog but not sure it can handle a light strip and also not sure if I should use a 12 or 5v led light strip. Thank you for your help.

Any suggestions for improving the lighting? My LOTR is so dark when I have my roo lights off and only my neon sign lighting the room. I have real trouble following the ball. My LOTR has incandecent bulbs. This one and my WOZ are pretty dark compared to my other games. Thanks

I bought the led kit from comet including the OCD board and can see perfectly now in a dark room.

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Pinstadiums?

It's a 12V flasher. It's an #89 bayonet.

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Nope just the LED kit.

Does the LED kit include the extra spotlights? I feel the stock spotlight placements a little underwhelming. What bulbs do you have in the spotlights?
I went with pinstadiums, but understand those that prefer incandescent lighting on this game probably would prefer not to as it would wash out the warm feel.

There are 2 styles. Incandescent and LED. Note the warning just above the picture of the Balrog. You will need to check your machine.

I don't know the specs about the LED version but the incandescent bulb is 12V as mentioned by @vernisious. HOWEVER!!! The voltage sent to it is much higher than 12V. It's identified as 20V but can be higher because it's unregulated. It gets pulsed ON/OFF rapidly (100's or 1000's times per second) which is why an incandescent bulb can handle it. If you connect a 12V LED strip you will blow it.

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Yep includes the two spotlights. I do not exactly recall what the bulb is, probably cool white or similar.

Finished the interactive topper. Soldered two wires to B and common on 12v led strip and spliced into balrog light. Lights up blue when balrog is lit.

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Pinstadiums are incredible on this pin. Fun fact, Pinstadiums were first designed for Lord of the rings. So not only do they brighten it up a ton but also they are interactive. The effects with the path of the dead UV and the Balrog are super cool.

Joined the club! I'm a bit jealous of the few amazing condition HUO games I've seen here recently. This one definitely has some miles on it and needs some work, but price was right and the playfield seems decent. Will be back in the upcoming days with lots of questions!

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Good Job, well done! glad you were able to get the sword mounted, and go even farther with the lighting! looks really cool man.

Hi everyone,

I'm replacing rubbers and I'm getting intimated by the center ring ramp. There's a lot piled on top of the rubber which separates the center loop and the ring ramp, and of course the spinner's mechanical switch is also on that side.

From the perspective of someone who's a bit of a novice at removing ramps, much less ones with "complications" like this one, do you have any advice? I'm happy to take the whole center ramp off to replace the rubber if it's necessary, but can I sneak around that spinner switch and get a new rubber on there without a full removal? And if there's no way around it, any tips on a ring-ramp-ectomy?

Thanks as always,

Evan

The center ramp is only held in by two bolts if I remember correctly. I would just remove it and set it aside.

Sharing some more pics of the LOTR I just acquired. I will probably be back for gameplay/mechanical/electrical advice but first focusing on cleaning/repairing/preserving playfield.

It needs some cleaning and waxing but overall pretty happy with the playfield surface itself. But this i my first older game. I am not sure what I need to do to maintain it. for my GZ I just use novus 1 and carnauba wax. Should i do the same for this playfield?

As far as stuff mounted to playfield anyone see any glarinmg issues, missing pieces? (besides figures/figure bits, i'll figure that out).

I'm going to install the cliffy set. anything else important to preserve the machine? One spot im concerned about is wireform drop over right inlane. There's mylar there, the mylar feels a bit worn also though. Not sure if should leave it or try to put fresh mylar there.

Interest in getting this machine into good shape and keeping it that way. Any feedback/critiques/comments very appreciated!

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refer to vid's guide to cleaning the playfield

vacuum up all the lose dust and debris. give it a wipe down with naphtha and see how it looks. Maybe if there's some real caked on grime you may need to use novus 2 but it may not be necessary. Then give it a good wax with carnuba wax.

It looks like it's in pretty good shape. If you want to replace that mylar there's guides for that too. I've used the compressed air method with good results. You also may want to look into a set of cliffy protectors.

Thanks for the ideas. I ended up using strong tape to hold that mount so no drilling

sold

Oh, I wasn't suggesting you drill ANYTHING to the cabinet ..which I think I mentioned before. Glad I could give you some ideers, as the other guy about the knife holder velcro is also an option, but some styles of velcro can leave a nasty mess after time. BTW, I use progressive strips? cut to size, to place toys on playfield ramps, plastics, etc...removal is very painless, and doesn't hurt those materials.

I know you weren’t suggesting drilling, I was. I figure it would make you happy that I didn’t drill

Just take lots of reference photos from different angles and set your parts down aligned to how they came out of the machine. You'll do great!

Thanks! Will very slowly and carefully give it a try.

Thank you!

Welcome to the Fellowship!

I ended up buying pinstadiums. Did I make a mistake not getting the upgrade to neo?

Yes. Once you see the striping on the sword(or any other metal reflective surface) you will never unsee it.

This the Balrog LED upgrade kit from service bulletin 148 that includes the flasher and socket. I installed one of these 5yrs ago and it has worked fine since. It's not supper bright but lights up the Balrog OK.

https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/502-5022-00

This the Balrog LED upgrade kit from service bulletin 148 that includes the flasher and socket. I installed one of these 5yrs ago and it has worked fine since. It's not supper bright but lights up the Balrog OK.
https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/502-5022-00</blockquote

Pinball Life has a better replacement LED bulb.

Anyone have a recommendation for lighted speakers?

https://speakerlightkits.com/