Playfield art for the hobbit released

[Kolchak357]

Have they started shipping these yet?

 

[Metalzoic]

Not yet. I think we're finally getting close though. I'm in no hurry. Part of the reason I jumped in was because I thought the wait, the tease of information and the anticipation would be the fun part and it has been.
Jersey Jack is doing an open house in August, and he sent us an email couple days ago saying all production parts have been ordered and they're just waiting for the parts to arrive to get these on the line.

I imagine their plan is to have the assembly line under full swing before letting people in to the factory open house.

 

[Kolchak357]

Did you settle on the SE or the LE version?

 

[karl]

This waiting game is not for pu....., but I have good feeling about The Hobbit. I just changed back from SE to LE after thinking back and forth about it for a long, long time. After seeing the latest you tube videos of the LE prototype in action I am certain I made the right choice......I think

I must admit that the waiting can be a hard thing. At the moment I am waiting for The Hobbit, Full Throttle, Alien/s and The Big Lebowski. On top of those 4 there is Centaur, Fathom and Flash Gordon being restored to as close to new as possible, all of them with new playfields, all new digital cards in the back boxes, cabinet paint jobs, etc.

Looks like Full Throttle is right around the corner, at least. Did I say that waiting is hard?

 

[Kolchak357]

karl your poor bank account must be in tears. Such cool stuff on the way. Please post a pic of Fathom when it returns so I can drool over it.

 

[karl]

Will do. Regarding my bank account: Lots and lots of big red letters and nothing else. It has been a strain, that's for sure. I also had to say goodbye to a lot of other great pins last year to afford this gamble. Probably not so wise.
Metallica, Tron, Star Trek and Iron Man, among others all seem like a distant memory already

 

[Kolchak357]

Moving them in and out is a good way to keep it fresh and fun. Smart way to do it unless you have unlimited funds and a warehouse to display them all.

 

[Metalzoic]

Did you settle on the SE or the LE version?

I'm getting the SE, but with a red Smaug and playfield protector installed.

 

[Kolchak357]

I prefer the red Smaug as well. I got to play it last month at a pin show and I loved it. I'm sure you will be pleased with your purchase.

 

[Metalzoic]

Yeah I'm not a fan of the Gold Smaug, but I think the red Smaug will add better contrast to the gold SE table elements.
I've also got a (really, really good) sculpter in Seattle with a 3D printer lined up that sounds willing to make me some custom parts.

I'm hoping to change the wireform on the right-side VUK to be the burning tree at the end of the first movie with a couple sculpted eagles flying/grabbing dwarves out of it.
Not sure what else.

 

[David T. Melnick]

I saw a lot of people ripping on it on Pinside. My favorite one asked why the Paramount mountain logo was on the pin. They also complained about the L and K letters touching the dragon wings. Apparently this is a big no no in the art world. They also didn't like the "floating heads".
I think it's hard to tell until you see a completed table with all the inserts, light, ramps, and toys in place. I don't hate it, but it was hoping for a little more. And there are a lot of little heads on there.

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These complaints are sorta lame eh. E.g.: letters touching a wing. Like...big wow.

 

[Kolchak357]

Yeah, they we're pretty harsh. But that was very early on. A lot of changes were made since then. Maybe the complaints helped make the final better. The version I played last month looked and played super.

 

[Metalzoic]

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These complaints are sorta lame eh. E.g.: letters touching a wing. Like...big wow.

Like Kolchak said, those complaints were about the original playfield art. The one I have in the first post. All of those issues were wiped out by the new, updated playfield art which looks incredible.

Honestly I think that original playfield art was so bad that it ruined the theme and the entire table. I was planning to cancel at that time, but some French dude got a sneak peak of the fixed artwork and let it slip so I stayed in. Glad I did because the new table is amazing.

 

[Metalzoic]

New populated playfield pics hit yesterday.

New teaser vid with the Gandalf sound-a-like (which is damn good!)

 

[David T. Melnick]

New populated playfield pics hit yesterday.

New teaser vid with the Gandalf sound-a-like (which is damn good!)

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The playfield looks great; love it if FS can give us customers this.

 

[EldarOfSuburbia]

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The playfield looks great; love it if FS can give us customers this.

It would be nice if FS can emulate the Linux-based PC that is sitting inside the cabinet, yes. After all, you just need to run a Linux VM....

 

[invitro]

New populated playfield pics hit yesterday.

Dear Lord that is ugly. Except for the ramps. I think a Stern artist did that in their time off.

 

[Dedpop]

New populated playfield pics hit yesterday.

Thanks. Now I'm blind.

 

[canuck]

That play-field is a work of art.

 

[EldarOfSuburbia]

That play-field is a work of art.

The stuff my kid draws on the walls could also be considered a "work of art" but that doesn't mean it's any good ....