Very underwhelming for the price. And the scratches are so typical of Stern's poor QC. But thanks for the videos guys. It's nice to finally see this thing.

I reached out to Pinball Mod Co about possibly coming up with some sort of decal and he is interested. Agrees it needs something.

He has designed some pretty nice decals and other items for JJP Potc and WOZ.

Not sure best way to do this but if someone get Get measurements of the base or even a template we can get this moving.

Let me know what you think

Nice, let’s do mods to cover up scratches and dents for your band new toppers. Stern can save on returns.

given that it appears that every topper received and posted so far has had at least one issue, can you imagine the costs associated if they were all sent back for being defective and/or scratched "straight out of the box"?

this had so much potential and it seems that the ball was dropped given the 2 years that they've had to get it produced. it kind of has that NASA (farm it out to the cheapest bidder) feel to it, especially given the fact that R2 didn't even look correct on their first go 'round

Like probably everyone here, I wish this thing did more for the price. But it's still a really cool topper. I am glad Disney made Stern make it actually look like R2 instead of what we saw a year ago. I would like to hear the story behind what happened with the projector feature with Disney. I am sure it will be told someday. Disney is very protective of the Star Wars brand, especially something that could potentially be commercial equipment in a public location.

I am fairly certain what Stern wanted to do was something a little off and not consistent with the brand. Like use a BM66 style projector light to project an image of Leia on a wall or ceiling.

Look at the video of the LCD for the (deleted) "Midnight Madness" mode that was on the early code. It isn't consistent with the Star Wars look and feel, and it more amateur and cheesy than anything Disney would approve.

I didn’t suggest mods to cover scratches and dings just lackluster appearance of base of the topper.

How is it different from spending close to 10k on a machine and then adding toys, blades and other non functional shit to the game?

That’s right, it isn’t different.

I actually disagree with this idea. There are plenty of licensed SW products out that aren't exactly like the movies. In fact, I have the R2 toy that projects leiah on the wall, and it moves, beeps, hops, and even carries a beer around for me all for $150. It's the exact same size as the topper as well. This goes to prove what could have been.

I really get tired of giving stern these free passes by blaming Disney. Look at the original art on the game. Everyone blamed Disney. Wrong, stern WAS able to obviously use different art, but obviously chose the original easy way out. People blame Disney for the lack of playfield imagination and toys. I highly doubt Disney, maker of magical things, said no to any cool magnets, or better toys. It's stern and cost cutting. Jjp made a hell of a game with another huge Disney license, and a kick ass topper along with it. It's stern.

I knew that, just making a point about what’s the new normal now.

JJP made a hell of a game as is Stern SW but POTC would be way better and over the top if JJP got the video and music assets like Stern did for Star Wars.
Just my opinion on POTC of course. It’s a great game and the music is exceptional for being original but to not have the iconic theme song is mind boggling. One can hope it can get added as an attract mode feature someday!

I hear ya, it sucks.

If I’m a buyer of this topper I’m sure as hell going to try my best to make it look how I hoped it would. That part is easy.

Preach! I am so tired of the endless excuses for Stern and constant passing the buck on to the license. $750 for this below average topper is laughable. The only thing funnier is the hopeful denial of just how sad it is. There is a projector, speakers and it can hop up and down...right... right... No it can't its a cheap plastic topper, with a cheap motor, cheap lighting and cheap finish. I original thought if you have money to burn have at it all the power to you but the more we see the more this is clearly a scam to part people from $750. This will not be worth more in a year, in a year it's going to be broken, scratched and falling apart.

I agree with this. My comparison to potc is more about the playfield mechs. The art is great, and I wish it had the assets as well, but it's still awesome.

that is Fricking Awesome! That's what the topper should be....integrate all that the guy is pushing on his phone to the game and you'd have a winner.

I really don't care if people buy it or not. Spend your money how you want. I just wish this thing didn't look like a child's school project. Why are these decals both cut and applied so poorly (and why are they even using decals instead if a high quality, painted mold)? These photos posted show a severe lack of design and craftsmanship on Stern's part.

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And is that stenciled Sharpie for the black lines?
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For comparison, here is the Sphero of the same area...
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Wow...looks like the LE plaque is stuck on with double sided tape as well.

Can’t it easily be moved to the front? Lol

Are those photos from the production model or prototype?

Edit: Never mind - I see they are production. Thats pretty disappointing.

Production, post 732 in this thread

I don't think they made any changes between proto and production. Sure looks like a proto but this is also what's showing up in boxes on people's doorsteps.

Stern: Here's our proto.
Disney: You're going to have to do much better than that.
Stern: Ok, we'll see what we can do.

(2 years pass)

Stern: Here's what we've come up with. We added some black sharpie as you can see.
Disney: Is that the best you can do?
Stern: It's the best we're willing to do.
Disney: Fine, whatever.

Gives new meaning to hand drawn art I guess.

looks like I wasn't too far off with this post, eh?
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/stern-star-wars-topper/page/11#post-5331783

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lmaoooooooo

A Sharpie and hand-cut decals for $750?

Let's be honest, if this were from some random mod-maker we'd call it out as junk. Even if it was $150 bucks.

This topper is a complete joke. Star Wars fans stomped on again and the pinball itself is subpar to what it could have been.

If you look at R2 in the x-wing there is really not much you can do to dress up the base except to maybe make it looks a little war torn. Then you might have to paint R2 to looks a little tattered too. To me, I will be leaving it as it comes. If someone comes out with an interesting sticker, I might try it, Still kind of skeptical since all that is in front of R2 is the window frame.

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After seeing that picture you have a valid point.

Wonder what the heck the shape of that base is supposed resemble because it clearly isn’t a x-wing.

The front of the base would basically be a cross section. The edges of the base are angled similar to the x-wing...

Maybe if viewing from the side of the fuselage but we are looking at him from the front.

The droid builders have what they call the 10 feet rule. Looks great while standing at the game. No need to zoom in on the hand built close ups. Ha.

Funny thing is... this applies to many things we buy.

This is the topper equivalent of Tommy Boy's "If you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed I will". Really sucks because Star Wars fans are so passionate and deserve better.
Stern is taking advantage of that fandom and doing the bare minimum. Until people stop buying this stuff it will keep happening.

And I think you are kidding yourself if you think this will go up in value down the line, but in this hobby who the heck knows.

Yea, was thinking a graphics supplier could create something to spruce the base a bit.

Also, thinking about how R2 is deeply rooted into the base. Almost too deep. Perhaps he'd benefit from a spacer?

Yes, looking from the front, the fuselage angles down in a similar way on the left and right side of the topper.

I like that idea... he does look proportional to some of the standard images of how he mounts to a ship, but the topper base doesn’t really look like an x-wing component, so there’s something just off the way it is.

I’m going to go down the road of trying to get the base painted darker and weathered like a seasoned x-wing would look. What’s another few dozen hours and a few hundred bucks into this “investment” going to hurt?

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Now that’s what the topper should have looked like! Add a projector even if it’s inaccurate and through the main lense and these would have sold for $800 easy!

Anyone receive a topper?

Heard there were new builds on the line last week and the ones that have popped up we’re from a very small first run. Hopefully they addressed some of the issues with fit and finish.

I'm all about people being happy, but that's seriously an overpriced and underwhelming jenky assed topper yo!

Mine should arrive tomorrow. My distro just got a shipment of 5 today.

I received #91 today. The metal base does not lie flat to the top of the pinball but it cannot be seen from the player position. I tried a game as R2-D2, it integrated nicely. No need to video that since it was already done. I did video turning it on the first time. Partly to provide a video of the proper sequence of events when the topper is first installed and the nodes are loaded. And also to film in case it did not go smoothly I would have video to show what happened. Luckily it installed properly.

Is the motor always that loud?

Any video of what it does during attract mode?

Thanks for posting. Kind of cool how he wakes up and comes to life.

The motor is loud. I’ll do a video.

I wonder if a rubber gasket at the base of the topper would help seal the motor sound in just a bit, while also preventing light from leaking.

Can we see close up pics of the decals and rectangles around the perimeter? Are they still using Sharpie?

Can you hear it during gameplay?

I think so depending on your game volume. But also I reminder that they have a motor sound in the speakers that counters it?

When you turn on the game, it whistles and moves left and right twice. Pressing the flipper buttons, even when R2-D2 is referenced doesn't cause him to move or respond. After about 2:45 seconds, he whistles again and moved left and right twice. I made a video but will try to edit it tomorrow rather than post 5 minutes of video.

The blue decals looks attached rather than molded as someone previously stated. The sharpie lines look okay. The black metal base, as I stated, is not flat to the top of the head. You can see the black base is wavy and and you can see some of the light leak.

He is loud when he moves.

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I think he looks pretty good. From the player position you would never notice the stuff we see on the zoomed in photos. Yeah I know we should get more....but it’s still a pretty awesome topper.

I still think a rubber gasket would be good for the base.

I heard it during gameplay because I was listening for it and it was new sounds. I believe once I get used to it, I will not hear it (or register it) as much.

It looks good. Kind of short next to Deadpool and Star Trek toppers but it looks fine.