I've had my topper stop responding a few different times. Here's what mine looked like today. Didn't start animations with a game start or gameplay. Just froze up like this and needed a full power cycle to reset. Has been running fine since earlier, but I assume others who are having topper issues are seeing this same sort of thing?

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Yep the pattern of the lights may be different each time it freezes. If you go into setup and check technician alerts at the time it's frozen, you should see a Node 12 alert. Running the node board test from diags has cleared the freeze for some, but for me it just basically disabled the topper completely until the next power cycle. However, since that happened to me, I'm going on 2 days now without a freeze. Not sure if doing that node board test made some kind of effective change or if this is just coincidence. Stern seems well aware of this issue and suspect it will get fixed in next code release.

Yeah, I am guessing it will come back. I think mine started freezing up with the .95 update in August. It has become very regular with the latest code update. Which is awesome by the way…as you all know.

So with all these re-releases and new LEs after new LEs (EHOH, JP) do we think Stern will pull the same move with Bond and drop a new Goldfinger LE next year what with the movies 60th Anniversary?

I doubt it but anything is possible. Made 1000 at launch compared to only 500 of the other titles they brought back and it's not to the level of popularity with those at least right now.

I think George already stated in a podcast interview it was something they were thinking about.

I think people are slowly coming around to Bond being a great game with the improved code so maybe there would be enough demand for a 500 unit run of a new LE Goldfiner edition.

In my opnion, the first LE should have been Goldfinger instead of Thunderball. Even though Thunderball made more at the box office, Goldfinger is almost everyone's favorite of the Connery series.

I suspect part of the reason Stern didn't make the LE a GF theme was because they are planning to do a GF60th LE or SLE. Might've been hedging to see how completing the code would affect buyer/owner sentiment. And with the JP30th LE release just four years after the JPLE, Stern is gonna be Stern with any title they can run LEs for. I'm sure LEs are their highest profit margin runs. We basically paid $2K for the designer's autograph.

Agree with this plus I think they sell more total doing Thunderball LE followed by goldfinger LE then vice versa

Same here, I never noticed my JB007 topper light show locking up, but after it sat for about 30 minutes in attract mode it did indeed lock up as others have described. Power cycling my game cleared it up. I never noticed this issue prior to 0.97 code, but that doesn't mean it wasn't there for 0.96 code as I may not have noticed it.

My Bond is off unless I am actively playing it so it is not huge deal, but it will be nice if the next code update takes care of this glitch.

Gord

It's definitely possible. The only LE now is specifically called Thunderball LE so they purposely left an opening for (and Gomez mentioned) a possible Goldfinger LE. I would be slightly annoyed if this happened, not because of the value of my current game but because I would have preferred Goldfinger to Thunderball in the first place, and it's too much of a hassle to buy a new one and sell the current one.

Hey all. I have about 15 bond loop fixes I need to ship out tomorrow. If you’d prefer to pick it up at expo @ our booth I can refund you the shipping - just shoot me a DM before 12 central. I'll have a handful for Pro and Prem/LE at the show for $15 if you’d like to grab one there.

Would also love to meet some fellow bond owners, please stop by!

https://www.teppinball.com/store/p/bond-girl-loop-fix

Absolutely, without question. Only way they wouldn’t is if the IP holder is too difficult to deal with again.

Thin tab of self adhesive felt.

I imagine the majority of current Thunderball LE owners would feel the same way.

Maybe if they did it they would make enough money to condifer adding the Goldfinger song to the code.

Thanks. I won't be at expo but look forward to the loop fix. I'm now seeing the sensor miss about 1/3 of the time. Happens more and more frequently... And several modes have that loop shot, so not just about multipliers.

So ray had about 5 bill on bond pro at NYCPC in qualifying, but the game froze up.

That allowed me to keep my GC lol

He was lucky someone had taken a picture of his score so he was able to save the huge number 1 qualifying game.

It was featured in a ton of games today on the stream. You can see that here…it’s 9 hours but skip around you’ll find plenty of bond.

My bond was FLAWLESS for 3 days straight. Not even a stuck ball till late last night: the ball got stuck on the habit rail from the Aston Martin. I moved it slightly and it didn’t happen again.

Topper did freeze up twice; I cycled it in between games and fixed it.

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1951674565

Hopefully now there is a little confidence and trust built between Stern and EON.

I remember Disney used to be pretty hard to work with, now it appears Stern have a far better working relationship with them. It may have been George but it’s been mentioned a few times at Sterns end that once they work with a licence holder they realise Stern handle the licence with care as best they can.

Fingers crossed because I would love to see a Moore pin someday to go side by side with Connery and hopefully Stern are given a little more length on the lease next time.

So, is there any official word on the Bond toppers? I heard that they were only going to do 500 more for resale. Is that true, or did they just do a small batch run at first so everybody gets gouged and then they come out with more months from now...

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All the distributors were told specifically by their sales reps that they were doing only 500.

Gomez said on Facebook the topper "is not limited."

So, there's nothing preventing them from making more, but there is no plan to, and marketing at least initially planned on 500 only. I wouldn't be surprised either way.

Oh, and mine has been occasionally locking up since the day it arrived. Power cycle always fixes. Frequency has been pretty consistent across updates.

How tall is the topper?

I think there will be another batch down the road. If you missed them, just wait.

Curious on your source? There is going to be at least one more run. There are still existing orders to be filled.

The topper is 7.5 inches tall.

Gord

I will never understand limiting toppers. They could make more money dropping the price a bit and focusing on volume. I find it particularly interesting that they have a pin like Star Wars that has been on the line forever and there are a ton of out there but they did limited, numbered toppers and never any more (similar design but same function). Doesn't make any sense to me.

I'd either include a "limited" topper with LE's or give LE owners first right of refusal for the limited toppers and then make one a bit different with the same functions for mass production. Just seems like Stern is leaving tons of money on the table which, based on all these "new" limited pin releases, isn't really their style.

Interesting! In my case I actually did check the service menu when I snapped that pic and no tech alerts noted on my machine. I didn't run a node board test but will have to give that a try to see if it jump starts the topper without power cycling.

2k and the topper is a punk.And,the thinking is another 007 LE named Goldfinger,and it was a thought originally? Anybody remember B66le?Then they turned out another LE title,Catwoman or some such> Think there is a pattern here??

I think what everyone's missing is toppers don't really make enough money for Stern to care about. Yeah, the markup SEEMS great, but when you can just churn out pinball machines I'm guessing it's pocket change. In manufacturing there's a substantial cost to making things that differ from your normal throughout, too. Folks can argue otherwise, but the clear evidence is stern DOESN'T cranks out toppers, never has. They're smart and good at making money; regardless what it looks like to the pinside experts, if there was money to justify it it they'd be making them like crazy.

If you have a source that has been definitively told first hand they are making more, do share it. It's entire possible, but I was told directly by four different distributors stern's sales team told them 500, no more. That does not mean they won't change their mind - Gomez explicitly said they weren't limited on Facebook - but to my knowledge no one has been told of another run. Some distros ARE keeping lists in case they do, but I have heard nothing about actually being allocated more product from Stern. If someone has evidence to the contrary, share! I'm sitting on an extra hoping to trade it eventually for a BKSOR topper, but I'd still just assume they ran more - it's a cool topper, put more out there.

Also, do another run of BKSOR toppers, lol

Game Room Guys told me Stern has guaranteed them an allocation. They did not have the schedule when they are being made.

Since it seems like toppers are the topic du jour here’s one I made for myself, no fancy light show to break (yeah I’m a little jealous of the official one, but out of budget).

Including photos with and without additional Funko and Lego additions. I’m well aware that there are mixed opinions on Funkos, Odd Job and the dead Jill Masterson bring me joy.

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My right most drop doesn't really register a hit when it takes a square and direct hit. Is there an adjustment I can make to the drop assembly? It will register when it's hit with less power, but not a full powered smack.

You can either cut the springs, buy stronger springs or start a request with Stern, in hopes they send you the upgraded springs.
The issue is that the springs don't pull the targets down fast enough with the stock springs and they end up resetting on the edge before dropping.

Thanks!

I'll email Stern, but I'm also happy to just buy stronger springs...I found the spring on PBL, but it's the stock replacement. How do I find "stronger" springs?

Call Stern tech support. They sent me the blue springs (higher tension) within a week for free. You just need the serial number handy.
When you get them, one of the springs is pretty easy to access. I changed that one and already notice all the others seem to drop correctly. But if I see more bricks I'll switch out the other two.

There was a lot of dialogue about the bricking issue a few weeks ago. Several different approaches. Not all of them are 100% verified. But there's some consensus the Stern blue springs will do the trick.

I'll give them a call tomorrow. Thanks!

Most recently, at the beginning of the month, I expressed my displeasure for why I paid in full for a topper that was allocated in July and haven’t received it yet. Email from Stern says there is another run in the works, but production schedule has not been set yet.

It’d be interesting to know/see the origin of the “only 500” statement. I’m not aware that anyone here knows how many have been produced to-date, just an assumption it was 500. Maybe 400 were made so far with 100 to go, maybe it was “all 500” and 500+ more are coming. As others have pointed out, I would imagine Stern would try to build as many as possible for a given production run, at least up to what they think they can sell/have been sold.

No one I spoke to is throwing out the “g” word, but it would be the worst customer service I’ve ever witnessed to not fulfill all paid orders that were allegedly allocated.

Have you had any issues with all 3 drop targets or just the right one?

I haven't noticed it on the others, but I'm not going to say it doesn't happen.

Which is fine, but they need to stop tying code features to the toppers if they don’t plan to keep making them in mass quantity. Keep them as a limited collectors piece, but the minute you mess with the coding features it really should be readily available. That’s why it works so well in video games, additional content is unlimited and merely a download that you pay for. Not that I am advocating paying for code expansion (the machines are expensive enough), just seems like they are trying to drive sales of a physical topper by offering code features when they don’t have enough inventory to support the model. Odd play IMO.

I've never been a topper guy, but have really been enjoying my Bond topper. I picked one up at the show at MSRP figuring I could get my money back out if I didn't like it, but this thing is nice. Aside from hynotizing me when not playing, it is very well integrated into gameplay with lights flashing all over the place when it hits the pops among other effects. I have a low ceiling so the light show reflects off the ceiling and its a great piece of immersion. Would I pay scalper prices for one? NO! But is it worth it at MSRP... probably. Would be really nice if Stern still priced these at $599.

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Hey Mike: that’s a REALLY nice lookin’ Monster Bash ya got there.

And I see my spot with the number 1 score has been lost to you. Good stuff. Glad you’re enjoying it.
FYI: I’m not even close to getting on the leaderboard with your EHoH. I suck at that game, LoL.

I share your story. Not a topper guy but FOMO got the best of me when they were available and I grabbed one.

I also wish it cost $599. But then I also wish I had the superpower of teleportation.

It's a cool topper and proves people just want awesome light shows, not cheap plastic moving things.

I also like that your Allentown Tournament notes are still on there; will save us the trouble when you bring it back next year!

Since there's a lot of discussions on topper on this thread lately, it would really benefit the community as a whole, if this thread here was updated with information and pictures of the electronics inside the topper (node board revision, wiring, etc).

Just saying

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/which-spike2-games-have-a-node-board-in-the-topper

Hey modders and 3D printers:
Christmas is coming up! Could someone take my money in exchange for a really cool replacement to the plastic over the left eject? Doesn't have to be a full mod with moon buggy, gold bars, etc. - although more options would be nice. No, I'm just thinking even a plastic piece to replace the unimaginative "Eject Advances Jetpack Lights - Complete for Multiball" with something better.

A few months ago this location on PF was discussed. I advocated for making this location "M's Office" since it is across from Q. Maybe putting Moneypenny on it. But if you've got a better idea go for it. Something, just about anything, would be better than what's there now. At least for HUO machines.

I've got a game nothing installed in the shooter lane. Ball wobbles with auto plunger. Works fine with manual plunger. I removed the level, DB5, Plunger rod, and nothing helps. It works about %70 of the time no issues, but when it wobbles it won't make it to the pops, drains down through between the henchmen and villain ramps..I was going to try a lane protector to fix my issue... Guess now after reading your post that won't work

Is there a way to reduce the number of spinner shots it takes to activate Q ring? I have started chaos at Crabtree and ahoy mr bond but still have never started Q ring . 400 spinner shots is bonkers!

No, and this why I see q ring every 25 games.
Some people lube the spinner to get more spins. Maybe it will change in the last 3 updates but who knows.

Make sure the entire playfield has not shifted too far left or right..which will in turn make the shooter rod not align squarely to the ball. This can happen ball to ball and will cause rattling plunges. Once you figure that out you could add the playfield alignment brackets that Stern seems to have stopped intalling to save another 50 cents per unit.

Have you run a switch test to make sure the spins get registered?

I agree that it can take a while before Q's Ring gets qualified (it's usually the last Q that does) but you should see it with any game that lasts over 10-15 minutes.

I juice my spinner and see Q’s ring literally every 2-3 games and I’ll be honest, you’re not missing much with just a 10m payout for finishing the mode.

They really need to do something with Q's ring mode - unless I'm missing something obvious, it's so low scoring and blocks everything else out. It's the only mode on the game where I literally groan out loud every time it starts.