Well, took Friday off and picked up my THSE #240 directly from JJP. My neighbor also got his THLE at the same time. We had the machines up and running within a couple hours of getting back to our houses.

I deal with freight and shipping for work, so let's just say I'm glad I live close enough to be able to go get the game and not have to worry about freight. Given the size, weight and general *design* of a pinball machine, I know in-transit damage has a decent probability of happening. Happy to report nothing was damaged or loose on my machine. Machines are protected and packed well. Set-up was a breeze. Machine weighs a gazillion pounds - two people is a must, a third to place a support under the back when installing the back legs is key.

Once in place and plugged in, THSE powered up without issue!

THSE is visually stunning. It sits next to my LOTR-LE. Absolutely no comparison. Integration of the artwork on THSE is incredible. Period. Light show - phenomenal. Sound - ditto!

My machine was delivered with the latest code, 1.21, and the new left wire ramp. The beast pop-up insert thingies aren't ready yet so I don't have them. Haven't had a ball stuck in the front of a pop-up yet. Did have one stuck in the back, but that quickly rectified itself with the ball search. Wife had one ball get stuck (don't remember where) but a nudge on the cabinet took care of that. I'll ask her where it was and address it if need be. Only two mechanical issues - one of the pop-ups registers a hit as soon as it goes up, so I think I need to adjust the leaf switch. Should be easy. Other is one of the drop targets sticks in the up position. Not all the time, but often. Not sure about that one - that may be easy too - at least I hope so!

Game play was awesome! It's pretty easy to get Smaug MB, so I adjusted the settings to make it more difficult. Into the Fire MB is absolutely bananas! Main LCD is extremely impressive and overwhelming - so much going on there. The mini-LCD is great and is definitely an asset for the player. It gives you the I don't have any issues hitting any shots/ramps, but I did up the flipper power to 22 for both bottom flippers. Was set at 20 from the factory. The game is fast and furious, especially when you add-a-ball during a multiball. I had all 5 balls going a couple of times and it is crazy. Smaug integration is spot on at the moment, and with more and more sound bites coming, he'll be over the top.

I think the axe slings are cool - they're not loud at all and they add a nice visual aspect to the game. They're no more annoying than any other sling mechanism! The drop targets aren't terribly loud in my opinion. Yes, you hear them, but I don't find it distracting or obnoxious at all. Beast pop-ups are great and already well integrated into play. Very clever usage that will only continue to get better.

I do like the LE armor better than the SE amour. Both are great, but the LE bronze looks better to me. Gold Smaug is nice, I might prefer normal red Smaug though. The Smaug attract video clip is a nice touch.

Flow versus floaty? Well, this game has both! Can it be a little "floaty?" Sure - it's a wide body pin with a fairly open playfield. When the beast pop-ups aren't active, for whatever reason, there are times where play can be floaty. But it doesn't last very long for sure. However, when you hit the ramps and orbits, you've got very nice flow to say the least. I've played hundreds of games on my LOTR - it can be a little floaty and clunky, especially if you're not hitting shots. TH is more floaty, but not much more in my opinion. Way less clunkiness on TH too.

TH is an experience - I think it's a great game already, and it's only going to get better. I'm incredibly happy I stayed in on it - I'll be honest - I was close to bailing. The wait was beyond worth it.

Last thing I'll say: if you like quick, 2 minute games, pins like LOTR and TH are not for you. LOTR is an adventure but TH is an odyssey! TH will be in my house for a very, very long time.

Forgot - will post a pic later.

Also, the upper graphic on the back glass is definitely washed out a little. Will be installing the gel filter ASAP. JJP should be using warm white LEDs or using the gel filter.

Will post a pic of the left wire form. Basically, the upper left wire of the wire form is extended towards the ball drop, preventing the ball from falling out on the left side. My only complaint about it is they didn't tie in the wire at the end - it's just extended. You'll know when you see the pic.

Not sure when the beast pop-up insert things are coming. I would imagine soon.

Thanks - will check this out.

I'll report back on the fixes when I can!

Thanks Joe! Worth the wait!

Dunno when existing games will get the wire form fix. My THSE was manufactured on 6/17/16 (completed). Neighbor's THLE was manufactured on 6/16/16 (completed). Both have the new wire ramp. Neither has the beast pop-up fix. Also don't know when JJP will roll out the beast pop-up fix. I'm confident it will come.

Here's some pics... One shows TH next to my LOTR, another shows the wire ramp fix, last one shows an extra feature I added to make the game more difficult via view obstruction...

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You don't want to know - I'm ashamed to admit it, but we're cat snobs!!! His brother was probably getting ready to jump up there with him. When both are up there, you can't see sh!t!! The one in the pic was most likely the runt of the litter - he weighs probably 8-9 pounds soaking wet. His brother? Probably 13-14 after a dump, 14-15 before a dump... It's fun watching them when they wrestle - usually the runt is the aggressor, but things quickly change when the big boy decides to flip the switch.

Avengers The Pin is actually pretty fun! Haven't played it in a bit because I have to look into a Hulk drop target that isn't working, and I'm too busy enjoying TH.

I take one off, the other jumps on - they tag team me.

My daughter was playing LOTR last night while I was futzing around adding lighted flipper buttons to TH. To be honest, I don't intend to ever sell LOTR unless a financial situation change occurs. Even then, my next door neighbor has dibs because his kids love the machine. I'll most likely end up swapping with him every so often to try and keep the rotation fresh so to speak. They both can have long ball times, but I'm a sh1tty player so that really doesn't factor for me yet. They are completely different games to say the least. Really the only common aspect is theme.

If you can hold on to LOTR, I would. Then you can compare for yourself and sell one or the other as you see fit. Also, for what it's worth, LOTR-LE is somewhat rare - TH isn't and may not be, only time will tell. It'll be a lot easier to get TH for the next year or two than it will be to get another LOTR LE. Just my opinion.

Forgot to add - I think it's great to have them next to each other.

Honestly have no idea what my pitch is... I was too anxious to get the game up and running, that I merely set the rear levelers to about 1/2"-3/4" higher than the front. Eyeballed it! Haven't even thought of checking / changing the pitch since. One of these days I'll get everything squared away and evened out. If I had to guess, I'm probably at 6-6.5 max. Raised the flipper strength to 22 (was 20 from the factory) on both and I have no issues hitting any shots. Bad / weak shots are a function of my skill, not the electromechanical set up of the game. And I don't mind a bit of floatiness in the game - helps break up the crazy pace every so often!!!

Can't see myself increasing the pitch beyond what it's at now - I'm very, very happy with the way the game plays as it sits.

Just to give everyone an idea of how bad a pinball player I am, I've only been able to muster around 60M on LOTR. Grand Champion on TH with 740K. Ooof, I'm bad!! I'm scared to play IM!!!

Decided my office needed some wall art....

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:^)

I like the old artwork! Granted, I think the new pf artwork is monumentally better, I find the old version appealing. Looks good on the wall too!!!! Told Jack I was going to build a cheap TH knockoff, with the old design pf and cardboard for the cabinet...!