For those of you who have shopped your LOTR, what's your sense of the difficulty and time spent on average?

Found the answer to my question earlier in the thread. I still would be interested in hearing what a full playfield teardown takes.

I am looking at pictures of the playfield underside and it looks that a full tear down is quite manageable.

I like this a lot. Is the frame custom made in wood? I can't tell from the picture.
Do you have more pictures of the installation and assembly?

I just got a LOTR and started shopping it. So far it's fairly straightforward.

The very first I lifted up the playfield all the way, I noticed that the bottom end of the playfield was resting not on the flat metal bars with a curved end that are screwed under the playfield (the edge slides), but on the woodrails. Somehow the bars are not long enough. The miniplayfield also endd up hitting the metal rails that are attached to the cabinet, and the very bottom left plastic that sits in the angle got broken as a result. I will take some pics that show the setup. To avoid this, the playfield bars would need to be extended by 3/4 inch or so.

Anyone noticed this as well or this is something that's specific to my machine?

I remember reading mixed feedback on the speaker upgrade. It seemed it was not night-and-day. Did I get this right?

Thanks a lot. Sounds like a worthwhile upgrade.

530-5332-03 for left and right sides.
530-5012-02 for the rear one.

Better double check with pics and manual.

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I have the same problem and it got bent bad enough that it started eating into the wood. I am planning on adding a small piece of L steel bar in the back. If the fit isn't great, I will looking into the TZ reinforced target http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/A-18530-6R as a starting point.

You likely need to adjust the switch that registers the horizontal position of Balrog. You can do this without taking out the whole assembly.

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I would start by slightly untightening the two small machine screws that hold the switch in place and seeing if you can move the switch closer to the gray cylinder. When this is done, the cylinder will need to rotate a bit more to open the switch. If not enough, remove the switch and bend the arm a tiny bit outward.

Then put in the game in test mode and run the Balrog test to verify.

Do many of you have mirror blades? At least on my machine, there is very little clearance to install them.

Thick blue rubber makes the left loop a tight shot. Has anyone tried moving it to the right side of the ball guide?

That explains why the EOS switch was broken on one of mine's flippers with no apparent adverse effect.

Also take a look at your plunger end. Mine was mushroomed and was scrapping again the sleeves.

That's a great suggestion.

If I understand correctly, the power comes out of the printer power port that's used for say, the flipper led lighting that you can see in

You can either make a connector or tap directly into the line using a splice connector.

All nicely described in #78 actually.

At most you need to replace two transistors. You can easily check them with a DMM and find out right away if this is your problem.

In my own limited experience, if you have a fried transistor, you should be able to detect it very quickly with three DMM transistor measures between the head and each of the three legs and comparing the results with what you get for a good resistor. I had this exact problem with a dead flipper on a SM. It was super easy to detect without even disconnecting anything. Replacing it took a bit more work.

Personally, I would send it to the Coin Op Cauldron for diagnostic and repair. Unless you can do it yourself or find a local resource. Your game game will be down for 8 weeks, but at least it will be fixed right. Or you can buy a new board.

Thanks for documenting this. This is the blue rubber that's right of the Pippin insert, right?
I don't think you can really prevent any rotation. When the ball hits, even when it's screwed on tight, the whole thing will move a little.
It looks like maybe the bracket holding it got loose and sagged onto the playfield, then scrapped it.

I'd do three things. 1- Tighten the bracket and periodically check it is tight. 2- Add a washer under the ball guide bracket to slightly elevate the assembly. 3- Add a small piece of Mylar under the whole thing, hidden under the rubber assembly. Maybe overkill but you shouldn't have any problem.

A small piece of Mylar would work just as well. You could touch up the wear spot, wax, add a small piece of Mylar on top, maybe even double it, and you're good to go.

Do you have close ups of the clear coat in high wear areas? I'd be curious to see the dimpling and level of reflection.

Are you planning on polishing the clear before reassembly?

I put two washers on my game to be on the safe side. I tried inverting the bracket to have wider Pippin lane but eventually moved it back to be able to replace the rubber. Otherwise the screw head is on the wrong side.

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No, I just put the bracket upside down. I backed away because I did not want to be in a situation were I could not access the head and either unscrew or tighten the bracket.

Really nice shine. You did a fine job with the clear coat.

And the Cliffy's will hide the wear in the VUK areas just fine.

I have been having some issues with the sword lock. The release often does not work when all three balls are locked. I have put very few plays on the game since rebuilt and the balls are brand new silver jets chromium balls. I'm thinking it could be the balls are already magnetized but it seems awfully quick. Thoughts?

I'm getting consistent rejects from the left loop -> Barad-Dur shot. Is there something that can help? Foam on the metal deflector?

I am going to use the same foam tape I use for targets and I got at Home Depot.

I put some foam but that didn't stop the bounce backs. What eventually fixed the problem is the entire removal of the small spacer that's supposed to prevent trapped balls. It is what the ball was hitting.

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Try it out and see. It is easy to access and remove. Looks like foam was used by others but it took some experimentation and adjustments.

In my case the ball was bouncing back 90% of the time so it was a real problem.

Now I have to figure out how to tame the crazy bounces I get off the Palantir target and also reinforce the target bracket.

Removing the screw and small plastic post fixed the problem for good I have not had a refuse since then.

The flippers are strong and I believe upgraded by the previous owner who had the game dialed in. But that was before I restored the playfield. The game was in good shape but had many dimples. Now the playfield is like glass and at 7.4 degrees. The game is really fast. The Palentir target got hit hard the first few games. The bracket got bent with the end result of the target facing up. That lead to major air balls. I had to bend it back and change the foam. I'm still looking for a reinforced L bracket.

Even with that a few times the ball bounced over the flippers.

It might indeed be a little too much. I still need to fine tuning the game, that's for sure. I never played it elsewhere so I can't tell how it is supposed to play.

I ordered some balls from eBay that are supposedly carbon steel and should not magnetize. After two games they were severely magnetized. It's amazing how fast it happened and the problems this creates. Balls stuck in the sword, in the Ring's exit hole, stuck together when cradling multiple balls, and also problems in the ball trough.

What are you guys using for balls?

Turns out the thread I got the ebay seller recommendation from reported similar magnetization problem.

I also tumble rusty balls and they come out very nice. I did it in a vibrating tumbler but I also have a double rotary tumbler and will try it out and see how they come out.

Game is unplayable with magnetized balls

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Thanks for the link. I started a batch with Flitz. Are you able to remove minor rust off the surface?

I don't remember there was any adjustment possible with either ramp when I put the play field back together.

The looseness can come from a number of different reasons. Have you checked the fit of the axle shaft in the frame? Best check first.
Another possibility is that the steel clutch plates are loose and need tightening.

Same here.

What's the problem with your ramp?

http://christopherhutchins.com/gallery/album511/61_G?full=1

The idea and technology are very impressive but the colors seem off to me. I would have liked a warmer / redder / more orange feel.

Nice one. How do you make the decals printing wise?

I changed the shire Y switch which was working 80% of the time with the pinball life ST one and it works perfectly now. I had to bend the tip though so it just clears the tip of the plunger home without touching the plunger. It’s straightforward.

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I second this.

I went this route and I haven't had a problem since.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-lord-of-the-rings-journey-begins-members-club/page/34#post-3848992

What drummermike said and bending the end of the switch. Something like this:

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I suspect that the Y switches are more prone to failure. The ball hits a much wider area, the metal arm is thinner and extends further out. This means a heavier load.

I see the left ramp right side wire either inside (as in the picture) or outside the stainless ball guide. Mine's inside and I was thinking about moving it outside.
Has anyone tried both and seen the outside setup help with the shot?

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Interestingly, there does not seem to be a consensus on what's the right set up. I took the glass off. When the wire is on the inside, the ball hits it. On the other hand, when it is on the outside, I can see how the additional speed would send the ball flying off the ramp a lot more often.

I like this solution! I'll give it a shot.