I like it, was about what I was expecting. But then I wasn't expecting much from something designed to sit on top of a pinball machine. It's R2D2. His head rotates, and he beeps (which is about 90% of what he does in the movies). What do people expect? 3D hologram projection system that projects Leia on top of the pinball glass saying "Help me pinball player, you're my only hope!"? Not that that wouldn't be awesome.

I'm probably getting one. Worst case scenario I could probably sell it for $500 in a couple of years. I get the 'no one buy this, teach Stern a lesson' thing, but I am not in the hobby to change the world (and good luck convincing everyone), just want to have fun. What isn't fun about having am interactive rotating, beeping R2 head on top of your Star Wars pin?

If fiscal responsibility and "worth the money" were my primary pinball concerns I would only be playing on location and investing my money in a nice guaranteed investment and laughing at all the crazy people spending tens of thousands on their collections.

It is just a toy that sits on top of another toy. Why get worked up about it? I get people not liking the topper, not liking the price, and commenting on it. Don't understand the need to insult other people who feel differently.

I honestly don't care if you think the topper is stupid, that I am stupid for buying it, all the rest of your overblown angst. Don't need your or anyone else's support and approval for how I spend my cash. I do find your stance kind of funny though. Looking at your collection history you are a bigger part of the pinball hobby price explosion than I could ever be.

Just not sure why you feel the need to insult other people. To each their own I guess.

That is definitely something that has to be checked, as it was a problem on mine once I took it apart.

My guess is most of the people who have the issue where the motor doesn't work at all have had the motor control board short as described by John_I. On mine the heat shrink on the wiring wasn't done properly on the motor and had slipped off the terminals completely. Wouldn't be a problem normally because those terminals shouldn't be anywhere near anything metal, but if the motor starts turning in that clamp, which can happen if the drive gear is fubared, all bets are off.

I had Stern ship a new motor control board, and new motor just in case. I replaced everything, made sure the drive gear was right, the position of the motor was correct, terminals were protected just in case, and everything has been great.

I didn't check this when I had mine apart. Deciding if I want to take it apart again...

The QC on the assembly of these things was terrible. And it is super expensive. Not sure how much of that is licensing or Stern cash grabbing but it still sucks.

On the plus side, it is pretty cool once it is up and working. I've spent more money on worse things.

Has a full node board, motor control board, motor, multiple leds, metal base and metal ring/sleeve for the rotation. $750 is too much, but I think at the $499 price it would've been reasonable. Not great but compared to what some completely plastic non-interactive pinball toppers sell for, reasonable.

$100.00 is just trolling.

Definitely take it apart before installing. Three major things to check.

1) That the roller on the motor shaft is positioned correctly and that the set screw is tight. There is a great detailed post in this thread on how to check. This can cause the head not spinning/grinding issue.

2) Make sure the strap clamp holding the motor steady is tight. If it starts rotating in that clamp it can short on some screws and blowout the motor control board. This can be the cause of the head not spinning/grinding issue, and then the head not moving at all issue. At this point also check the motor position. The shaft is offset, the motor should be positioned so the roller is against the ring that rotates the head, but not so tight against it that the motor is leaning in the bracket. This is important especially if you tried out the topper and already had the motor rotating issue.

3) Check that none of the flasher lamp sockets are contacting or close to contacting the metal cover, can cause lighting issues.

All in all you are looking at about 15 mins of prevention to save a lot of potential headaches.

EDIT: Link to Yelobird's post on the motor shaft:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/stern-star-wars-topper/page/22#post-5461847

Take it apart. Most likely suspect is the roller is loose on the motor shaft and is now blocking full rotation. Unplug the topper until you fix this unless you want to completely fubar it. Look in this thread for Yelobirds post on taking it apart and what to look for.