The cabinet art looks a little different by the flipper buttons and
under the rails.
Gold on Backglass is a little over the top, remove the plaque so we
can see it fully.
Kris
Cool, but i miss the little figures. Not enough wow factor to upgrade
my original LOTR, but the gold looks cool. How is the Clear coat?
Thanks for the peek!
So how did you find out it was arriving - call from the trucking
company or ??
Still waiting in NY.......
One of 500? They must be planning another run. The gold looks much
better than the pics I saw. I'd love to see a pic of the backglass lit.
More like "Big Wow!".
A couple extra grand for that backglass? They should have used the
side armor rails as all LOTR's get massive flipper button wear.
"Mike MN" <mdeise...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:77201c17-3ef0-424f...@m38g2000yqd.googlegroups.com...
Thanks for sharing pics!
I just can't wait. Looks great! By the certificate, looks as if 500
will be made overall at some point in tme.
captkirk
Unimpressed. Looks so bare without the figures and I thought the
backglass would be much nicer than that. Gold trim actually doesn't
look that nice on the game, you would think it would. Kind of looks
weird, like it's incomplete. Maybe if a gold shooter and gold coin
door were put on it would look nice. The originals were nicer IMO.
I still want one though haha
Does the gold outline on the backglass look like that up close, or is
that the flash causing that. In the picture, it looks like a child
took a gold marker and just outlined it by hand. Bizarre if it really
looks like that. Is this real or a photoshop job???
I've just set up a special free shipping discount for
my Stealth flipper button cabinet protectors. Just
place an order in the on-line store, and enter "LOTR" in the
Customer Code box at check-out. This will give a discount
of $2.50 that covers free shipping in the USA, and discounts
shipping the same amount everywhere else.
This code will work on EVERY ORDER, regardless of what's
being purchased, and I'll keep it in effect through the holidays
until 1/1/10.
So please, get something to protect your new LOTR cabinet,
even if you use something different. And take a look at
our line of Stealth protectors for the cabinet around
the flipper buttons, start button, leg attachments and
playfield. And regardless of what you may order be my
guest to use the "LOTR" discount code to save shipping
on every order. See the website link in my sig for
product details.
-Mark
-----
http://pinballpal.com
I dig it, but I wish they would have raised the quality of the cabinet
decals. That's really my only complaint with LOTR. The decals look
like dithered newspaper print.
Was the limited plate over the DMD expected or was that the bonus
surprise?
An email from Jolly at Stern today to a Mountain Coin distributor said
more "LE's"will be made in "the Spring".
marc
John
Indeed i would be.
So be bias, all the hell you want.
Enjoy
Tacky Gold Package
Heavily pixelated and cheap looking cab artwork
Ridiculous Gold Autographs
Possibly the most amateur, poorly done, ugly looking backglass in the
history of pinball
Another Home Run for Stern!
I had to go back and look at the pics again for that...HOLY SHIT! You
gotta stare at that right under the flippers?!?! C'mon! I know there
are figurine haters, but that looks really weird without the
Ringwraith by the red flasher, or the hobbits on the slings. I'm glad
anyone who wanted a NIB LOTR was able to get one, but I'm glad I
didn't get rid of my regular version for one.
Greg
No way it is worse than WPT :)
>Because the game is shipped without the armored siderails,
>it's important to protect the artwork around the flipper
>buttons.
>
>I've just set up a special free shipping discount for
>my Stealth flipper button cabinet protectors. Just
>place an order in the on-line store, and enter "LOTR" in the
>Customer Code box at check-out. This will give a discount
>of $2.50 that covers free shipping in the USA, and discounts
>shipping the same amount everywhere else.
>
>This code will work on EVERY ORDER, regardless of what's
>being purchased, and I'll keep it in effect through the holidays
>until 1/1/10.
>
>So please, get something to protect your new LOTR cabinet,
>even if you use something different. And take a look at
>our line of Stealth protectors for the cabinet around
>the flipper buttons, start button, leg attachments and
>playfield. And regardless of what you may order be my
>guest to use the "LOTR" discount code to save shipping
>on every order. See the website link in my sig for
>product details.
>
>-Mark
These are one of the BEST pinball add-ons EVER made! I have them on my
LOTR and Austin powers!
Great work Mark!
Eric A.
313-268-0541
Does this mean any updated code cannot be loaded onto ROMS for the
Whitestar boards?
"kbliznick" <kbli...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:9f67def6-4a2a-483f...@x5g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
Nice! Shakers in old games = NO. Lame! lol
Andrew
Wow, good point.
Well, either way you slice it, it looks like a photo finish for
Stern. . .
But this machine is wrong on a number of levels. Yes, the backglass
is poor. No armor for the flipper buttons. No figures. No shaker
included. It's $5k (I wouldn't have a problem with $5k if it
warranted it.)
Pretty much everyone that has one of these on the way bought it
blind. Most likely because of the last really special pin Spiderman
Black was a true home run because it offered many special extras for
not a lot of extra money. Are there any out there that were on the
fence who are not going to purchase after seeing the end result?
There is no way I would trade my low play standard edition for this
straight up, let along cough up an extra $1500. I feel sorry for the
guys that gave up theirs in anticipation.
Stern needs to go ahead and close up shop. It's been 10 years and
they have done so little to innovate pinball they might as well have
closed up shop with Williams. They've come out with 2 or 3 titles in
10 years that actually make any money and are worth remembering. Then
they rape the collectors with this.
Hope those of you out there who got raped don't take this too
personally. It's more of an attack on Stern's attempt to cash in on
the collectors that wanted a nice LOTR.
-Jeff
I want to see it in person, but from the pics the backglass looks bad
with the odd gold outline. I think the cab in gold trim looks great.
Dont care for the signatures. Not bad I guess, congrats to all that
got one.
Well, is it the SAM CPU, or just the SAM driver board? I'd find it
extremely hard to believe they migrated the game code to run on SAM
CPU, especially since Keith hasn't worked there in over a year.
Can we get pics of the backbox contents from any new LE owners?
Jason? :)
WOW, I didn't even know that the SAM board was going into this
definite plus !! That's why the LE has shaker code. No updates for
the standard whitestar. :) or ;( depending on your thoughts. NICE.
Great Post! However, I think those who forked over the $5K to Stern
got what they deserved. Stern has been ripping people off with crap
quality games for 10 years now, and all the drama that ensued
regarding this pile was no exception to their piss-poor ways. If
people could not smell this pile coming from a mile away than they
deserve to have stepped in it.
Can you say nail in the coffin?
Game-Set-Match.
Bye Bye Stern.
hahahahahhaha
Pop the glass and see if it is a full SAM system or just the SAM
driver board with a Whitestar CPU. A SAM CPU would require the game
code to be rewritten for the SAM CPU chip, which I highly doubt they
did for 500 games (not to mention the sound re-encoded in SAM-
compatible compression, etc). If it is a Whitestar CPU driving a SAM
solenoid board, it probably wouldn't take too much to add the shaker
to older games - just figure out what solenoid the Whitestar is trying
to drive on the SAM driver board and build your kit accordingly.
Regardless of the boardset, what version number shows up on boot?
I did not buy one Larry. I'm content with my HUO NIB LOTR I bought on
closeout in 2004 for $3400. ;)
2 friends did buy one locally. Mike and Brian. They should post some
internals pics I hope.
Whoops, glanced and saw MN in the title and figured it was you..
d'oh! Kewl on the closeout price... great game :) I got a HUO one
myself.
"MarcG" <mar...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:7aee64f9-cf15-463d...@v30g2000yqm.googlegroups.com...
You can honestly say that those slings look right without figures or
something on them? It's just grass and stone!
Here's a money making opportunity for someone with some art skills
and a way to make replacement plastics. Make new sling plastics for
this thing for people that aren't going to add figures. There may be
other plastics that look out of place without the figures, but I'm not
at all familiar with this game. I just know that those sling plastics
look craptastic as is.
Michael
I don't think you should be so hard on Stern, you've had 10years also,
apart from spreading your seed what have you done? zero I suspect.
Just the fact they are here with us today is good enough to know
they've done ok and those pictures of LoTR are nice, showing one of
the best games you can buy, minus the figures, only sad part.
Ping
Hey it works,a cheesey pin for a cheesey movie...
This is one pin I'd never let in my basement, sorry ;)
Yeah, you keep that space open for the MM remake.
I'd rather have a pinball game than an empty space for my $5000.
Just wondering about those sigs - are they above the clear or below?
Sorry if its a dumb question. I would figure thats a tough choice when
adding - because above would wear off and below would lock it in (so i
would say its locked in?).
You don't really need cabinet protectors for a home use only game, do
you? What did they paint these with - water colors?
> you? What did they paint these with - water colors?- Hide quoted text -
Sucks!
I have them on mine as most route LOTRs have terrible wear at those
spots.
They may very well be using watercolors ;-)
And FWIW...I've looked at the pics of the LOTR LE (Thanks for posting
them Mike and Congrats on the new pin!) and actually prefer my
standard original run NIB LOTR. The gold outlines on the backglass
just don't do it for me and the gold trim in general just looks a
little to "Liberace" for me. While I think George Gomez's signature
is REALLY cool, I'm not sure I like where they are located.
Glad to see this project carried out though! Kudos to Jack and Gary!
Steve
> Great Post! However, I think those who forked over the $5K to Stern
> got what they deserved. Stern has been ripping people off with crap
> quality games for 10 years now, and all the drama that ensued
> regarding this pile was no exception to their piss-poor ways. If
> people could not smell this pile coming from a mile away than they
> deserve to have stepped in it.
>
> Can you say nail in the coffin?
>
> Game-Set-Match.
>
> Bye Bye Stern.
>
> hahahahahhaha
lol, talk about lame.
Andrew
So many haters... I would like to get all of you guys in a room with
Gary Stern and see if you still act this way. I'd guess that the
semi-anonymous internet bravado would be tamed quite a bit...
This is pretty simple stuff - we were told enough about the LOTR LE
high level feature-set (and lack of toy figurines) with plenty of time
to cancel had we wanted to... How about letting those of us who
forked over $5K make the decision about whether we like it or not?
WELL SAID !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyway, as a LOTR owner, I'd like to congratulate all you guys that got
the LE model and welcome you to the club. Fantastic game and I'm
confident you guys will love it!! I still remember the first time I
beat FOTR multiball... chills. Have fun guys.
Cheers,
Craig
All i can say is Happy Happy Joy Joy.
Merry Xmas to all
Congrats to you.
Merry Christmas
James
I am probably the single biggest fan of this title on the planet even
though I don't own one.
The LE looks great, I'd like to see what the bg looks like lit up in a
semi-dark room. The gold trim matches the theme and graphics nicely.
The lack of figures does seem to diminish the theme somewhat but that
can be and SHOULD be resolved - if the owner deems it necessary. (I
would if it were mine.)
Hopefully the autographs are under the clear coat, although I believe
they would have been better placed on the apron.
If it were up to me (which it isn't since I did not buy one) I'd use
every Cliffy/lexan/clear plastic protector ever made for the machine.
If anyone in So Cal purchased one of these - I'd love to play it!
~Ron R
TBK=The Biggest Kid
"Route-rat extraordinaire!"
SD Pinball Club, OC Pinball League, RGP League
Ron--you're welcome anytime.
Congrats and thanks for posting the pics! I am curious on the boardset
and any updated code.
I look forward to seeing one of these, because I really wanted it. ?
Kenny
The LE LOTR is running a whitestar CPU with a SAM power driver board.
So, in theory, is a Shaker motor for a "NON-LE LOTR" still possible to
pull off?
If someone were to produce a shaker motor mod, tied into the hit
switch on the Balrog, I'd buy it in a Illinois Minute (as opposed to a
California minute)!
Steve
Thank you to all for the positive comments.
Negative people:
Do you understand why this person is so negative? Is it because they
hate their job, feel frustrated, feel trapped in their life or do they
lack in self esteem so the only way they can feel powerful is by
hurting others? If you can understand where it’s coming from, it’s
much easier to deal with. Some people seem to think that the only way
they can get what they want is to be manipulative. Remember the
saying, "the squeaky wheel gets the oil." They believe this and think
that if they don't whine and complain that they won't be heard and
that this is the only way to get what they want.
Remember that the negative behaviour is a reflection of them. It tells
you what kind of person they are and what issues they may be dealing
with. It's not a reflection of who you are.
Also you can add jelousy and envy to the list.
Jealousy is an emotion and typically refers to the negative thoughts
and feelings of insecurity, fear, and anxiety over an anticipated loss
of something that the person values, such as a relationship,
friendship, or love. Jealousy often consists of a combination of
emotions such as anger, sadness, and disgust.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to all you positive people...... Keep
on flipping!!!!!
It would seem so.
What are the differences in the whitestar and Sam driver boards? Are
there the same number of coil drivers?
Can someone check the code revision in their LE (hold the right
flipper button on start-up)?
Original LOtR translites are still available for those that don't like
the BG. Plus, the BG's can be sold as many would be willing to pay big
bucks for one.
You've just made a lot of original LOtR owners very happy.
Hold on for a few minutes, I'm making a batch of popcorn in my Gold
Medal popcorn-o-Matic.
Congratulations! I think it looks fantastic! It does look a little
barren without the toys, but those can be added in quite easily. I'd
really like to see what the back-glass looks like lit up! I was on the
fence about ordering the LE and ending up getting a mint HUO version
last week instead. I think i made the right choice given the price
difference, but if i had a bigger pinball piggy bank i would have
ordered the LE in a heartbeat! I absolutely love playing this game!
It's my first Stern title and I think the game has now by-passed TZ as
my favorite machine of all time. The software and depth is
unbelievable, and the game's theme/story and sounds really draw you
in! You can tell that Stern and the people involved really went all
out on this game! Kudos to Jack and Gary for getting this done!
So far on my game I've added pinbits plastic protectors, stronger ring
post, replacement Pippin (mine was de-capitated!),pinballpal flipper
and start button protectors, pincab leg protectors, i replaced the
Shire fork switch (was loose and flaky). I'm going to order stronger
flipper coils. I thought i could get by with the stock coils, but
they get pretty mushy after i've been playing awhile (2nd run game).
I might also get the Cliffy protectors, although i don't see any sign
of wear at either hole with around 500 plays on my machine. Any other
recommended additions that i'm missing?
Enjoy your game!
-Mike
Thanks to the positive people!!! Easy to not like it if you don't
have one, just like I hate the sm black, but not really I just wish I
would have waited to get it insead of buying the red roght away.
I would be pissed too if I had the holy Grail of stern (lord) and the
7 years later they made more of what I was hoping was going to
increase in value like bbb.
Really I would be a tad upset. But I also would still enjoy the game
I had.
Mike
1) jealous / envious, thus not giving an honest opinion, vs
2) those that really like or don't care for the appearance, whether or
not you own one.
Don't agree that those without an LE cannot give an opinion. If that's
the case, then the postings here on rgp will dwindle to next to
nothing.
Michael
Dennis
What else?
How about
Custom Shooter Rod- Either the Sting Sword Handle or the clear Acrylic
with the One Ring
Pinball Pal Fluorescent light filter (WOW, this makes huge
difference)
PinGuard DMD shields.
Cliffy Colored Posts.
Light-up Flipper Buttons ( I bought Multi-color changers but I want to
change it to just solidly lit translucent red buttons)
Shaker Motor Kit (pending software availability)
Extra Figures (Sauron, Gimli, Legolas, Boromir, Path of the Dead
Ghosts) Or install figures to plastics instead of zip ties.
EYE flasher in backbox
I changed the flipper rubbers from Black to Red and Now I don't think
I need to install the more powerful flipper coils (I have them but
haven't installed them yet for fear of destroying pastics and figures)
What did I forget?
This guy must have one coming...LOVE the BG??? How can you look at
those pics and love it?? They look like crap! Granted, it is
probably just the picture or the angle of the shot...I mean it MUST be
right? They couldn't have put it out looking like that?!!?!
Gold trim looks very nice. Worked really well on Elvis Gold and does
so on this one. Not sure about the backglass. Perhaps I'd like it
better if I saw it in the 'flesh' all lit up, but for now I'll reserve
judgement. I miss the playfield figures, but maybe that's because I'm
use to having them there. Not keen on the signatures, or at least
where they located them.
If you missed this superb game in its earlier incarnation, this seems
like a great way to acquire it. Am I jealous of those who've bought
it? Not at all - I bought the game new first time round and I'm
completely satisfied with it. To those who've bought the LE - ENJOY!
I have the stronger flipper coils. I think they are pretty much
required to reach Valinor. The one and only time I reached Valinor was
shortly after I installed them.
Still haven't got back several years later. Thinking of replacing them
again incase there are now fatigued. Have yet to damage any playfield
parts with the stonger coils.
Steve
Most of the mods are pretty easy.
Easiest Level:
Target Decals
Shooter Rod
Light up buttons
Backbox filter
POTD Ramp
DMD Guard
Flipper button and start button protectors
Pincab leg protectors
Easy level:
Flipper Coils
Plastic protectors
Stronger Ramp Post
Extra Figures
Gold Trim Kit
Change out clear thin posts under slings to red jeweled posts
POTD deflector
Intermediate Level:
Update Software
Eye Flasher Mod
Mound Figures on Plastics
Shaker motor.
You need them. My NIB LOTR started to fade around the buttons after
about a year. I got protectors on there before it was too bad, but it
absolutely will happen in normal use.
Wow...what a load of crap. So if a person has something good to
say...they are telling the truth and being a genuine person, but if
it's negative....it's because their mommy didn't love them enough? Get
over it hippie.
There is nothing wrong with expressing your opinion if it's good or
bad. Many people take their opinions to the extreme and I'm sure SOME
of the comments are out of jealousy or self assurance (trying to
convince themselves that their original LOTR is good enough). But I
think it's foolish to condemn every negative opinion with your new age
"negative energy / positive energy" spin.
Read my original post and tell me about how I'm jealous and I hate
my life. I don't care for the backglass (the opinions seem pretty
split on it) and I think the empty slings look totally ridicules. Why
would you design a pin to have a grass pattern sling plastic and a
stone looking sling plastic? YOU WOULDN'T! It was designed to have
figures standing on them....like they were standing on grass and
stone. It looks stupid and like something is missing without
them...even if someone didn't know they were supposed to be there. I
really doubt ANYONE thinks that a blank grass and stone pattern looks
good there. There is a negative comment that is made, not because I'm
a bad person...but because the fact that it looks the way it does is
negative itself.
Congrats!!! And thanks for the pics!!!!!
Chris
Anyone know what the free gift from Jack is going to be?
<big snip>
I think you're REALLY overanalyzing people's reactions here :) The BG
in that picture looks quite gaudy. A lot is likely due to camera
flash, but honestly, the bordering was done in a way that some folks
just might not like. You're taking photorealistic art and adding a
cartoonish border around lots of it - a border that is reflective and
stands out more than the artwork it encases. This could be "really
cool" all the way down to "butt ugly", depending on one's opinion of
that art style. Personally, I don't think it looks bad, but I also
don't think it looks really great either.. I'd like to see one in
person, though.
> Also you can add jelousy and envy to the list.
Eh, doubtful... if people were envious, they'd just go buy a LOTR LE
from the 2nd run. Seriously, I think that glass was not what a lot of
folks were expecting, and an overly bright camera flash picture made
it look worse.
Ok, that is very cool.. now, without trying to be a pest, got another
couple questions... When playing, do the slingshots have more
"oomph" than the regular LOTRs (or Sopranos or TSPP or other Whitestar
games?) I suspect they may be on the 50v rail now, since the SAM
board is being used. If this is the case, any chance of getting good
photographs of the boards and wiring in the backbox? Wondering how
hard it'd be to mod a regular LOTR for SAM driver. Also, if this is
the case, I'll say right now that is the best improvement the LE model
offers over the regular one. 20v slings suck!
http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z82/mikeeisenzimmer/lotr/?action=view¤t=IMG_1605.jpg
is that a 20V coil or a 50V coil?
Actually a full picture of the coil schematic that is partly visible
in this picture would answer alot of questions.
Scott
Thanks for putting that list of mods together. So far I've mainly
been focusing on protective mods, but i'll likely do some of the other
mods you mentioned later. High on my list are flipper coils, shaker
motor, DMD shield or filter, and warming filter. Adding extra figures
is a possibility if i can do so in a way that is reversible, looks
stock, and doesn't affect game-play (diverting the POTD). Anyone know
if the clear acrylic (with ring) shooter rod is going to be made
again? thanks,
Mike
Looking at the SAM and WHITESTAR driver boards it appears that they
are functionally the same board, and the SAM is backwards compatible
down to the later model whitestar driver boards. The only differences
I see in the boards is the use of surface mount components and the
indicator LED's. Otherwise it's the same number of connectors and
locations and driver transistors.
Maybe there are some other subtle differences but I don't think it
amounts to much.
So I think this means 20v slings.
now im not a huge fan of sterns products but how can u throw a dig on
the only company out there building completed pinballs...at least its
a finished completed game. cant say the same for other companys out
there!!!!
I'm not familiar with with LOTR (original or LE) but the tourney
button not being on the lockdown bar does sound like an improvement if
it was originally on the lockdown bar. I love the tournament system on
my Black Spider-Man but I hate the tourney button placement. It is
much better suited for the front of the cabinet.