LEGO pinball machine — flippers, bumpers, marble physics

Most LEGO “pinball” builds are just a ramp with a ball that falls through a hole. This one keeps the marble on the table.

The playfield is a rainbow patchwork because I ran out of matching plates halfway through. Function beats colour coordination.

Flippers — two red Technic beams on pins, linked to buttons on the side. Short throw so the marble doesn’t launch over the walls. Took four tries to get the pivot height right; too high and the ball skips, too low and it sticks under the beam.

Centre bumper — a real rubber tire on an axle. It deflects the marble properly instead of acting like a brick wall.

Right lane — white flex tubes as arches and translucent blue panels so you can see the ball when it disappears behind the stack.

The walls are four bricks high at the flipper end and five at the launch end so a bad shot doesn’t escape. Marble is a standard 16 mm glass one from a craft shop — lighter than a LEGO soccer ball, heavier than a stud.

See it running in the clip below — muted on purpose so you can hear the flippers click in your imagination.