No Longer Available Lord of the Rings HUO (without skill posts!)

[VeeMonroe]

I'm looking to trade (or sell) our Lord the Rings (standard edition) HUO with no skill posts that I bought from Mark9 on this forum in August last year:

https://www.pinballinfo.com/community/threads/lord-of-the-rings-huo-uk-non-skill-post-version-£5500.50346/

It is as pristine as he wrote in the original advert. It's apparently been HUO since NIB from Pinball Heaven with three (now four) owners.

Since purchasing, I've added a colorDMD, Palantir mod, sword mod, ring shooter rod, an engraved ball guide, coin door plaque, shooter gauge plaque, flipper covers, auxiliary power source for running lighted mods and a Mad Nat board and target decals (one of which has fallen off, but I've got a spare).

It doesn't have skill posts and has been very reliable, except for a replacement plastic on the auto-launcher, which we believe happened due to my small sons pulling the plunger. We've started a shop log (a notebook) where we record all the work we've done on the pin (not much with this one).

I also have a big box of unfitted mods, including the Ring of Fire, Orthanc mod, Gollum runic side armour, Sauron's eye.... All the common mods for LoTR except for the Path of the Dead (I've got a single model that Gonzo kindly shipped me and three other mods in a pack) and a Pinsound card which, when added, would make it the sort of visually-stunning LoTR that commands price premiums (this one is an LE but you get the picture https://www.pinballinfo.com/community/threads/lotr-le-pinsound-and-loads-of-mods.51329/#post-434921). The total cost of unfitted mods purchased new is in the region of £1,500, including shipping from the US, but I appreciate mods don't necessarily recoup. I'm happy to provide a full list and potentially sell separately, or bundle into a trade.

We have an extra-large Pin2DMD with panel and Col’s small gold rings on order, which I’m happy to include in the trade when they arrive.

We are interested in trading for (with cash either way):

• Avengers: Infinity Quest Pro;
• AFM (Remake or original);
• TNA;
• Monster Bash (Remake or original);
• Medieval Madness (Remake or original);
• Star Wars Pro;
• Stranger Things Pro;
• Metallica Pro.

We are open to a sale, but would prefer to have a pin to trade into the slot.

We're in SE London. You're welcome to visit to play, or to arrange a WhatsApp virtual tour around the pin. We'll obviously use Martin.

[NOTE: Kids' toys and foldable step-up stool not included in the trade Some of the pictures are new as, since I last considered trading/selling this, we’ve added a Balrog topper and a shooter plaque (and an auxillary power source)]

 

[ELTANK01982]

Oh man, I was so ready to buy this last month. I picked up a JP pro yesterday or I would have snapped it up in a second.

 

[VeeMonroe]

Duplicate comment deleted.

 

[VeeMonroe]

Oh man, I was so ready to buy this last month. I picked up a JP pro yesterday or I would have snapped it up in a second.

Sadly, I’ve been very unsure about selling it for months now.

I was giving it some more time as it was obvious from the messages I got when I offered it last time, that it’s a lovely example of a LoTR and I’m unlikely to get another as nice as this.

I‘ve been wondering if I was missing something, or maybe I wasn’t a good enough pinball player to appreciate LoTR. @Jib’s thread on DP really helped me clarify how I was feeling (thanks, @Jib )

 

[ELTANK01982]

Sadly, I’ve been very unsure about selling it for months now.

I was giving it some more time as it was obvious from the messages I got when I offered it last time, that it’s a lovely example of a LoTR and I’m unlikely to get another as nice as this.

I‘ve been wondering if I was missing something, or maybe I wasn’t a good enough pinball player to appreciate LoTR. @Jib’s thread on DP really helped me clarify how I was feeling

It is a lovely example. Hopefully I'll get another crack at buying it in the future. Good luck with the sale.

 

[Jib]

GLW trade or sale, hope you get something else you have no question on if you like it or not!

 

[Moonraker]

Bonkers to sell this unless you're fed up of destroying the ring... its nice to play it every now and again to remember how Stern used to make machines.

 

[VeeMonroe]

Bonkers to sell this unless you're fed up of destroying the ring... its nice to play it every now and again to remember how Stern used to make machines.

That’s what a couple of people said in May 2022, so I kept it (and played it exclusively for a few weeks to practice consistently making basic shots)

Thing is, we only currently have the space (and cash) for four pins and, unfortunately, the longer I’ve kept it and the more I’ve played it, the more I’ve realised it isn’t for me and it can’t really sustain itself in a four-pin collection. It is regarded as a true classic. It is sturdy, rock solid build, packed with toys… loads of people love it. I can see why they love it But, for me, I feel I’m shooting loads of basic fan shots over and over to get to the palm-wettingly exciting bit (i.e. Destroy the Ring) and, to be honest, I’d like to get to the exciting bit in under 15 minutes.

My husband likes it, but he’s open to a variety of pins. So… it goes

 

[AlanJ]

I felt the same about my Lotr, was a dream game but after a while it just got boring. you need to be a decent player to get anywhere. I was happy to see it leave. i don’t miss it one bit.

 

[VeeMonroe]

I felt the same about my Lotr, was a dream game but after a while it just got boring. you need to be a decent player to get anywhere. I was happy to see it leave. i don’t miss it one bit.

Well, I’m not selling this game very well, am I?

I did wonder if I’d like it more if I was a better player (and I am improving slowly… so I live in hope), but realised I‘d just be doing more basic fan shots more competently, over a longer time, which didn’t exactly fill me with anticipation.

That’s not to say it is a bad pin. It has oodles of theme (and that’s without the Pinsound). It’s beautifully built with loads of toys. The multiballs are different and the modes are relatively varied. The callouts and sound effects are great.

My husband likes it. He’s currently playing it… (he says I have the patience of a cocker spaniel and that’s why I don’t gel with it).

I just prefer my pins faster and more furious, I think.

 

[Epotech]

The opposite here. I loved the adventure of lotr. If ever there was a perfect game based on a film this was it.

 

[johnwhitfield]

Any game in a small collection gets stale. I love my LOTR but probably have only played less than 10 games in the last year. I’ll 100% come back to it and undoubtedly absolutely hammer it again. One of the best Stern 2000 games, can’t see mine ever leaving.

 

[VeeMonroe]

Any game in a small collection gets stale. I love my LOTR but probably have only played less than 10 games in the last year. I’ll 100% come back to it and undoubtedly absolutely hammer it again. One of the best Stern 2000 games, can’t see mine ever leaving.

The problem is that our Fish Tales, which I bought first, is still getting daily play and I keep upping my Pinside rating. It’s currently 10 - higher than Godzilla!

 

[johnwhitfield]

I tend to end up focusing on one game to the detriment of all others. Since my lad returned from uni, GOT is getting played almost exclusively. I’ve ended up discovering a load of features that I didn’t know existed, which then changes the way I approach the game.

Anyway, sorry for derailing the thread. LOTR is a great game.

 

[Gonzo]

One of my favourite pins and absolutely my dream theme. If I had a 10 pin collection this would be in it but with space for 5 (6 at a real push ) it ends up getting culled. I'd certainly love to own in again one day.

If all avenues fail Vee I'm happy to exchange swap with MB for a few months but it would have to be later in the year.

 

[Sgt GrizZ]

It’s an epic title to really get into … but as 2 or 3 player game it’s a disaster as the session will end up longer than the directors cut Boxset I had one here for a while and it just wasn’t played when people were round for that reason.
I wouldn’t mind one again one day though.

 

[JAG555]

What did you trade for it in the end?

 

[VeeMonroe]

What did you trade for it in the end?

I haven’t traded it. I’ve pulled it for the moment because my husband started playing it last night after my sons went to bed, and I could still hear him playing it at 11pm when our little one woke up and started crying!

He said it was because “it was leaving”. He said he was okay with me trading it, but I think we need to discuss further because I’m trading it out from under him, as it were.

 

[VeeMonroe]

Back up for trade/sale. Husband says he’s ambivalent.

 

[VeeMonroe]

One of my favourite pins and absolutely my dream theme. If I had a 10 pin collection this would be in it but with space for 5 (6 at a real push ) it ends up getting culled. I'd certainly love to own in again one day.

If all avenues fail Vee I'm happy to exchange swap with MB for a few months but it would have to be later in the year.

We would be absolutely LOVE the idea of a temporary exchange of LoTR for something else.

Unless I need to be doing intensive IVF monitoring next weekend, we plan to be at Pinfest for one day and would be delighted to discuss